I had the best weekend (and hope you did as well). It started out with a super fun holiday party in Seattle. Chris and I got all dressed up (notice how the dress cleverly hides my 5-months-along baby bump) and went out on the town. To make it even more fun, we stayed at this very hip and modern hotel in downtown Seattle called Hotel Max. The rooms had Sealy Posturpedic beds so we absolutely melted into the mattresses and slept incredibly good all night. Of course, after a night of dancing and dancing and dancing, we needed it! My sweet hubby was a good sport and even danced with me. He did get worried about our little unborn baby (now the size of a very large Heirloom Tomato) getting seasick since I was treating the dance like it was an aeorbics class. =)
On Saturday morning, we got up and walked around Seattle (yes, it was cold!) and had a fantastic breakfast (I had blue cheese and grape pizza for breakfast. It was more delicious than it sounds) while codifying our family values. Both Chris and I have individual lists of things that are important to us as values (integrity, hard work, family, achievement are on my list) and we melded our two lists to make our list for what we want to stand for as a family. With the little one on the way, it was the perfect time to do it.
Sunday was definitely my favorite day of the weekend though. I got to make soap all day! My husband’s company had a custom soap mold done up by SoapMolds.com and I used the very simple Gingerbread Man technique (kit here, video tutorial here) to get a easy dual-toned soap that matched his logo colors perfectly.
This soap is using White Soap Base, Clear Soap Base and Antique Blue for the blue color (scented with #1 best-selling fragranc Oatmeal, Milk & Honey).
This soap is made using the White Soap Base, Clear Soap Base and the liquid Black Non-Bleeding color and the liquid Blue Non-Bleeding color (scented with #2 best-selling fragrance Energy).
Chris didn’t want to leave the kids out so he gave me free reign with the kids soaps so of course, I used the Bramble Berry House Clear and White soap bases, with glitters galore along with Brilliant Blue Labcolor and Fuchsia Labcolor to get fun effects.
We’ve been getting a few customer service calls and emails in the last week from people that just aren’t getting their ‘white’ piping on their Gingerbread men to stick around. Since I made 80 bars of soap with just that technique this weekend the best tip I can give you is pour the second layer within 10 minutes of pouring your white piping details. The sooner you pour it after the white has hardened, the greater the chance the two layers have of sticking together. And of course, don’t forget the all important alcohol spray. =)
Hi Langmeli –
Thanks for your note. That is not a silly question at all! If Iโm doing large production work – so I know that I need to make 60 soaps that are exactly the same in a row, I’ll melt everything in a crockpot and scent/color the entire batch the same. Then for the small detail work, I melt that in the microwave in individual little containers. With the crockpot, make sure to melt 16 ounces in the microwave FIRST to help get the crockpot party started. If you try to melt all the ‘dry’ soap in the crockpot, for some reason it takes forever but just a little starter liquid, helps the entire process. If you don’t want to do the crockpot, I have a large 8 cup Pyrex that I got at a specialty kitchen store that I can melt 4 pounds of soap in at a time to do the color/scenting at once which really helps with continuity AND saves time with your batches.
Hello Ann Marie!!! all your work is amazing… i have been making soap for the last 4 months, following all your tutorials with Brambleberry, products of course ๐ When you make a lots of soaps with several details, do you handdle all your MP soap with a double boiler or you melt everything in the microwave??? I hope is not silly question ๐ thanks… and congrats on the baby, i have a 2 months baby girl, and a two years girl, is the greates in the world!
I’ll make sure never to tell another pregnant woman that she’s ‘glowing’ then! LOL! =)
We all have full cheeks in my family too (at all times), but I definitely would not consider your face “fat”. It’s called the pregnancy “glow”!
Oops, I meant “waited too long to pour…” but you probably knew what I meant. ๐
Aw shucks, I hate that! Yes, speed is definitely good.
My face is really getting fat but the Faiola family tend to show our fat in our face so it’s tradition. =) Yes, the pink ones were made for the little kids at my husband’s office. I’m betting some of the wives will be snagging them too.
I suspect all the adults will wish I had made them those ones as well! =)
That is a very adorable story. You look great, by the way!! I love the soaps too! I especially like the gray and pink ones on the bottom picture. Awesome!
Thank you for that last tip! I had just made some layered MP soap and had (obviously) waited to pour the subsequent layers and the bars fell apart when I cut them. Now I know, thanks to you! ๐
OMG! Very cool! I love the glittery ones the best.