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.
This “Carnival” soap is from Blue Leaf Botanicals, and features the drop swirl technique. This was Blue Leaf’s entry for the Great Cakes Soapworks Challenge, and everything from the bright color combination to the thick, textured top make this soap a winner. The glitter is a nice touch too! The spots of color are reminiscent of those in the Leopard Spot tutorial, which is a great way to mimic this technique.
Here is a closer look at the top of the soap. The pink, orange and green-hued dollops of frosting look like sprouting flowers. Check out this blog post to learn how to frost your own soap loaves or soapy cupcakes. For those with the Soap Crafting book, take a look at the “Cupcake Cuties” recipe on page 114.
Many of Blue Leaf Botanicals’ soaps feature textured tops and beautiful swirls. Shown above (left to right, clockwise) are the lovely orange and green swirl, Mountain Dreams, Lavender Whispers, and Chocolate Espresso Soap. Thanks to Blue Leaf Botanicals for being a part of our soapy community — your creativity inspires us all!
Find Blue Leaf Botanicals:
On Facebook
You can win the next Facebook Photo of the Week by posting pictures of your crafty creations on the Facebook page. Winners are featured on the Soap Queen blog and receive a sweet soapy package of goodies from Bramble Berry. Photos are chosen based on consensus from the Bramble Berry staff, so the best way to increase your chances of winning is to show us lots of photos!
I am just starting cold process soap and can’t seem to get the amazing colors as seen here. What am I doing wrong?? I buy everything from Bramble Berry and even have the soap crafting book. I’m wondering if the oils I am using is the problem. HELP!! 🙂
Hi Laura!
I’m sorry that you are having trouble achieving bright hues. Sometimes it can be tricky because there are so many factors to consider! One is which type of colorant you are using. We have found that using LabColors are a great way of achieving bright, vibrant colors. This is especially true when soap made with LabColor goes into gel phase! You can see examples of this in this blog post!
LabColors and Gel Phase are Friends:
http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/labcolors-and-gel-phase-are-friends/
Sometimes the oils that you are using can contribute to the color of your soap, but usually not drastically. Olive Oil is the biggest culprit when it comes to the color of your soap. Using less in your recipe may help 🙂
I hope this helps Laura, let me know if you have any more questions 🙂
-Amanda
Wow! What pretty soaps for this week! I love the colors! I haven’t started Cold Process soap making yet but I hope one day I can be as talented!
Hi Leanna!
I’m so glad that you’re going to give cold process a try, you are going to have so much fun! If you get photos of your projects, be sure to post them to our Facebook page, we would love to see them! 🙂
https://www.facebook.com/BrambleBerry
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
I love the name of this soap with the design; it is so fun and colorful and the piping is gorgeous. Great job!
Hi Amanda!
Isn’t the soap pretty? I love all the fun colors as well, it makes me excited for summer! I’m glad you enjoyed this post 🙂
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
I’m so honored to have my soap chosen as the photo of the week! Thank you so very much!!!
Hi Jeannine!
You’re so welcome, we are happy to feature your lovely creations! Thanks so much for being a part of our community, we can’t wait to see what you make next!
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
I love that soap 🙂 very festive looking !
Pooja, thank you for messaging me about this lol. At first I though surely you were mistaken then I checked my email 🙂
Jeannine
That soap is just gorgeous!
Thank you very much Margaret!
Hi Margaret!
I’m glad you enjoyed this post, isn’t the Carnival Soap amazing? I love all the fun colors 🙂
-Amanda with Bramble Berry