Soap Queen

Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more

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Havana Classic: Neptune Column Pour + free template

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

The Havana Classic series wraps up this week with one final tutorial — the Neptune Column Pour. Typically this look is achieved by pouring the soap batter over a weighed column shape. Check out page 74 in the Soap Crafting book for an example of this technique. In this project, we put a little twist on the traditional column. Instead of a 4-point rectangle shown in the Soap Crafting book, we poured over a 5-point star, resulting a beautiful and unique pattern. The star template is included for free in this tutorial.

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Class is in Session

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

In the digital age of email and texting, receiving a physical letter is a rare treat. So when a letter from a group of elementary school kids in Ohio arrived in the mailbox a few weeks ago, the whole office was delighted. The students had used Bramble Berry supplies and Soap Queen tutorials to raise money for a local charity, and they were excited to share their experience with us. You can read their letter below. Don’t be surprised when a few “Awwwwws” escape your lips.

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Soap Queen Cuisine: Spicy Baked Plantain Chips with Garlic Cilantro Dip

Filed Under: Soap Queen Cuisine

I love food. Love. Food. I enjoy food from all over the world, and when I was in NY last year I came across a delightful little Cuban restaurant. What I learned is that Cuban foods tend to feature a mixture of flavors and spices that are savory and truly unique. I wanted to bring a little Cuban inspiration to a healthy snack, and these baked plantain chips with garlic cilantro dip did the trick. They won’t take all day to make, and the complexity of flavors in such a simple dish will delight and surprise everyone. Watch out! The chips in combination with the dip are highly addictive.

This Cuban-inspired snack is part of the Havana Classic series, which runs through March 26. This week, watch the Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Homepage and Soap Queen blog for coupon codes and discounts as part of the series.

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Facebook Photo of the Week (March 15th ~ March 21st)

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Despite the name, The Soap Queen blog posts all kinds of information and how-to guides on everything from sewing to cooking. It’s sort of a smorgosboard of my personal interests at the time. This week however, was all about the subject that got it all started: soapy projects!

Learn how to make Luscious Lemon Cupcakes with this tutorial. Don’t be fooled by the fluffy frosting, these cupcakes are made with melt and pour soap and feature the Lemon Cake Fragrance Oil. As a bonus, this wonderful fragrance is also 20% throughout all of March.

Visit the Soap Queen Tumblr for this rum aftershave recipe as part of the Havana Classic series.

The Havana Classic series began this week, so be on the lookout for projects featuring the Tobacco & Bay Leaf Fragrance Oil until March 26. This series features projects that are perfect for the man in your life, including the Havana Layers Melt and Pour Soap. Made with lots of scrubby exfoliants and fun colors, it’s a tough soap that will make hands squeaky clean. Visit the Soap Queen Tumblr for a recipe for rum aftershave too!

Speaking of fun colors, the Facebook Photo of the Week is bright, cheery and features sherbet-like colors that are perfect for spring.

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Domino Soap Video Tutorial

Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

In this episode of Soap Queen TV, I show a fun melt and pour technique for creating soaps that look like over-sized dominoes. I used a luxurious blend of Honey and Goat Milk melt & pour soap to make the perfect ivory color.

To make this soap you will need:

Get everything you need to make this soap.

Note the video lists 16 oz of Honey M&P but we actually used 18 oz. using a little less in the final layer won’t ruin your soap, so if you only have 16 oz of honey soap – it will still work!

Havana Layers Melt & Pour Soap

Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

The Havana Classic series continues today with this super sensory melt and pour project. Loaded with natural additives such as Shredded Loofah, Poppy Seeds, Lemon Peel, White Pumice and Walnut Shells, this is a fun textured bar of soap that exfoliates as it cleans.

Now through March 26 we’re rolling out specials tutorials, coupons and discounts as part of Havana Classic. Subscribe to our newsletter, and keep an eye on our Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Homepage and the blog for the coupon codes so you don’t miss the savings!

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Honey Bee Soap Tutorial

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

The first day of spring is tomorrow, and that means sunnier days, sprouting flower and Soap Gatherings! The Central Soapers will host this year’s first Soap Gathering. If you aren’t familiar, soap gatherings are mini conferences held by soapers across the country. Many of the gatherings feature workshops and speakers. Best of all, they’re organized by members of our own soaping community.

The Central Soapers workshop is spearheaded (with lots of help from other soapers) by Kenna of Modern Soapmaking, and takes place March 22 – 23 in Overland Park, Kansas. Bramble Berry is a proud sponsor of many soap gatherings, and this year we’re sending the mold & ingredients to make this Honey Bee CP soap as a raffle prize. Scented with Wildflower Honey, it features four natural colorants including Yellow Silt Clay, Purple Brazilian Clay, Dark Red Brazilian Clay and Activated Charcoal. You can still make this lovely soap even if you can’t attend the gathering!

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Luscious Lemon Melt & Pour Cupcakes

Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

Celebrate the sunshine with these cute lemon cupcake soaps. These soaps feature Lemon Cake Fragrance Oil, on sale for the month of March. It smells wonderful in cold process and melt & pour soap. It will discolor to dark brown in cold process and tan in melt and pour. This recipe uses Vanilla Color Stabilizer in this recipe to keep the cakes yellow (as opposed to brown), but be aware that the stabilizer does not work as reliably in cold process soap.

This tutorial also features the Foaming Bath Whip, which stiffens to mimic sugary sweet frosting. These cupcakes are a real treat!

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Soap Swap Update

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

When the Winter 2014 Swap was announced back in January, we knew it would be big — we just never anticipated how big! This has been the largest swap to date, with more than 200 swappers from across the country sending in melt and pour, cold process and hot process soaps.

A snapshot of a few of the soaps that have arrived at our warehouse. Keep an eye on the Instagram account for more.

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Soapy Social Media Roundup

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

All of the snow has melted in Bellingham. It’s (finally) starting to feel like spring has sprung! The whole family took a quick trip to Hawaii with my parents for a little surf and sand. It was wonderful to enjoy the sun rays and sand. Back at the office, we are busy clearing room for the latest round of Soap Swaps. There are a record breaking number of soapers (205, to be exact) participating this year. If you couldn’t get in on this round of swapping fun, keep your eyes on the blog because you can bet we’ll announce another swap soon.

I’m a fan of many of social media options out there to keep touch with friends and customers from all over the world. I pin, tweet + ‘gram a lot. These are my favorites from the past two weeks.

Pins:

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Facebook Photo of the Week (March 8th ~ 14th)

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

This week was jammed packed with inspiration and exciting events. If you are looking for a fun way to try new soap projects and connect with fellow soapers, there are still a few spots open in the Spring Subscription of Soap Crafting Club. For more information about the club, head over to this post. This week we also announced a contest to win a Soap Crafting Book and Soap Crafting Kit for your mom or other loved one. Entering the contest is easy; simply upload a photo of a crafty gift you have made to Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter with hashtags #ShowMomLove and #BrambleBerry. Don’t wait, the contest ends April 20th!

Speaking of handmade gifts, this recipe for Cherry Blossom Solid Perfume would make the perfect, quick and easy present. Not only is solid perfume easy to make, it’s easy to use. If you’d like to learn more about making solid perfume, check out the “How to Make Solid Perfume” Soap Queen TV Video. If you’re interested in making liquid perfume, this tutorial for White Ginger and Amber Spray Perfume will show you how.

The Cherry Blossom Solid Perfume is a perfect spring gift.

This tutorial for the Natural Colorant Taiwan Swirl proves that natural colorants are anything but dull. If you need more convincing,  look at the Facebook Photo of the Week from Herbolution Natural Body Care.

Look closely! The soap stamp says, “Chocolate: It’s not just for breakfast.”

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Natural Colorant Taiwan Swirl

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

This beautiful technique is called the ‘Taiwan Swirl’ because of the first YouTube video that showcased this style of soapmaking. The most difficult part of this recipe is keeping the batter at a light enough trace to get wispy lines. You can change the look of the design by changing the size of the dowel/chopstick/skewer or swirling tool. This recipe used a larger tool and a thin to medium trace to achieve the final product.

Bonus! The new Multi-Pour Sectioning Tool makes it a breeze to separate the 4 colors in this recipe that create the unique design. Scroll down to step 7 to see how to use the dividers.

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Cozying up with Kenisco Soap Bar

Filed Under: Business Musings

For many soapers, opening a retail store is a dream come true. Sites such as Etsy & eBay make it easy to complete sales online. However, there’s nothing quite like a brick & mortar store to display your creations and interact face-to-face with customers. With a year and a half of soaping under their belts, Erin and Kirsten opened Kensico Soap Bar in 2012.  Read on to learn her top advice for soapers.

Soap Queen: How long have you been soaping for and how did you get started?

We started creating bath and body products over a year and a half ago, and opened our retail store in September 2012. During our decade long friendship, we talked about creating a business that would be fun for our children and be a part of our neighborhood. After exploring several business ideas, a lightbulb went off in workshops held in NYC by Marla Bosworth. We were excited about creating a unique shopping experience as well as place for crafting, and wanted a place that was comfortable for all ages.

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