This weekend is full of family, friends and of course a little crafting. Today I spent some time working on a fun Valentine’s Day tutorial that I can’t wait to share (look out for that project tomorrow). I’ve also been doing some meal prep for the upcoming week, while the kids eat their weight in pomegranate seeds. Tomorrow the family is visiting a new trampoline park in town; it’s full of trampolines for all ages, foam pits and obstacle courses…the kids are going to love it. What are your fun plans for the weekend?
These kiddos can’t get enough of pomegranate seeds!
If you’re looking for a weekend projects, the blog has been full of tutorials featuring clays and other natural ingredients. Many of these items are currently 20% with the code, CLAYCLEAN. These items are on sale until January 29th at midnight, PST; click here to see all sale items. Next week, keep your eyes on the blog for a hot process tutorial, as well as a rebatch project. Looking for more crafty ideas? Check out my favorite social media finds from the past week, including pins, instagrams and tweets!
Pins:
Top left to right, clockwise:
- This minty blue soap topped with orange and red poppies is absolutely stunning. Created by Handmade in Florida, the inside of the soap is even better!
- I love tea of all kinds, and this Thai Almond Milk Bubble Tea by Love and Olive Oil looks like a yummy variation of the typical cup.
- Speaking of delicious variations, this Roasted Moroccan Carrot Salad with Chickpeas is hearty take on the average spinach salad.
- With Valentine’s Day less than a month away, it’s time to start making love inspired gifts. These DIY Cement Valentines are an adorable gift idea, and look easy to make.
Instagram:
This month I’m spreading my soapy wings and practicing the Butterfly Hanger Swirl for the Soap Challenge Club hosted by Amy of Great Cakes Soapworks. I’m thrilled with how it turned out, and can’t wait to try this technique again.
Last weekend the kids, Chris and I had a great time watching the big football game (go Hawks!), and spending some time in the rainy outdoors.
Twitter:
- When attempting to accomplish any goal, you’re bound to question yourself throughout the process. Instead of questions that create doubt, ask yourself these 5 Questions Success People Routinely Ask Themselves. They are great motivating tools!
- We have all heard about detoxing, but Does Detoxing Really Work?
- Starbucks is making some big, awesome changes for their employees in 2015. The company is increasing starting-pay rates as well as loosening their strict dress code by allowing employees to show tattoos.
- This New York City condo sold for $100 million…is the view worth the price?
- If you don’t have a blog, these tips on How to Use a Blog as the Cornerstone of Your Content Marketing might persuade you to start one =)
To keep up with the latest soapy social media throughout the week, you can follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine and YouTube.
I have a question for the expert! I made lotion bars when I wanted soap: 1/3 coconut oil, 1/3 cocoa butter and 1/3 beeswax. Is there anything I can add if I melt it down to make this mixture ratio into soap? Thanks!
Hi Mary!
It looks like that recipe has a lot of hard oils, so I think adding some soft oils may be an option. It would add some moisturizing properties to your soap and also allow you more time to work.
Olive oil would be a great option. It is mild and moisturizing, and can be used in your recipe up to 100%. You can read more in the Common Soapmaking Oils: Free Beginners Guide to Soapmaking post: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/free-beginners-guide-to-soapmaking-common-soapmaking-oils/
The Formulating Cold Process Recipes blog post may be helpful for you as well: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/formulating-cold-process-recipes/
The beeswax in your recipe will be a little tricky to work with. Beeswax has a high melting point and tends to harden very quickly. That means you’ll need to keep your oils above 170 degrees and work quickly to prevent the mixture from clumping.
Busy Beeswax Soap Tutorial: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/beeswax-spoon-plop/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
And I just wanted to say that as much as I love your company and all your products, your slow shipping is killing me!
My last 2 orders were placed on 1/16 and didn’t even ship until 1/21, and it’s supposed to arrive on 1/27! That is just crazy (the processing on your side part)! And I live in Illinois. I can’t even imagine if I lived in New York or Florida!
I still love you though! 🙂
I live in Illinois also and that turn around time seems to be the average for places on the west coast that are pretty big companies. Bramble Berry is rather large for a “small” business; they get a ton of orders in every day. When I order from them, I just make sure I don’t need anything super soon. I ordered from a jewelry boutique in California and and BB on the same day and the packages arrived a day apart.
Ah yes, the dreaded weekend curse and then us being behind for a whole host of perfect storm reasons. I am so sorry that your order has taken so long to process. I hope that it arrives fully in tact and full of awesome goodies for you to create wonderful DIY projects. I appreciate your business and your support as we work our hardest to get caught up and stay caught up (we di have crews working over the weekend) =) I can’t wait to see what you create!
I agree, BB is awesome but the shipping seems to have really gone downhill. I live in Portland and it still takes about 3 days for my package to arrive, and thats after it has processed out of the warehouse and got into the shipping system. It takes about a week for the order to get filled to ship. I try to be proactive with my orders, but sometimes I’m in a bind and need faster service than this. If there were local places to stop in and shop I could do that but there aren’t those options.
Hi Michael!
Because we were closed over the holidays, that did slow down our turnaround time a bit. However, our warehouse crews are working really hard to get caught up, including working weekends. We hope to be back to a 1-2 day turnaround time soon! You can always find out when we’re shipping orders on the top of brambleberry.com.
We also have several other options if you need your package quicker, including 2nd day air service. You can read more about that in our guidelines: https://www.brambleberry.com/Store-Policies-and-Shipping-Info-W11.aspx
Thank you so much for your feedback Michael, we really appreciate it. We know shipping times are a concern for our customers, and that is something we’re constantly thinking about and working on. If you have any other questions or concerns, please let me know.
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Thanks Kelsey. I know the order filling process was slowed down due to holiday closures etc. My own comment was targeted more towards the actual shipping. It used to be that when i got my shipping notification from BB I would know that my package would arrive the following day. Now I get my shipping notification and it takes days to get into the shipping process and for the tracking number to register anything, and it takes about 3 days for me to receive the package. Just not the same level of service as was previously enjoyed.
Hi Michael!
If a package is shipped late in the day (around 3 p.m, as we close at 4 p.m.) the package may not make it onto a truck until the next day. It depends on when our carriers come to pick up the packages. Sorry for any confusion!
Thanks again for your feedback. Shipping is something that is constantly on our minds, and our customers’ opinions mean a lot to us. Let me know if you have any other shipping concerns.
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I love everything you post and can’t wait to see other tutorials!
I would love to see the butterfly swirl tutorial and maybe a soap using your Tussah Silk.
Also, I would love it if you could update the fragrance calculator. There’s a lot of oils (especially Essential) that are there that you don’t carry anymore, and a lot that are not there, that you do.
And a last question: my Vanilla Stabilizer turned white and solid (like lotion thickness), so what caused that and is it still ok to use? It is around 65 degrees in my basement, so is it too cold for my EOs and FOs?
Thanks!
Hi Martina!
So glad you like the tutorials! Thank you so much for your suggestions. 🙂
Also, thanks so much for the feedback on the Fragrance Calculator! The person in charge of that is currently working on getting it all updated. Because we have so many fragrances, it can take a little bit!
We have an awesome blog post that gives you general fragrance oil usage rates for all your projects. I would also be more than happy to answer any questions you may have on fragrance or essential oils. 🙂
Using the Bramble Berry Fragrance Calculator: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/use-fragrance-calculator/
Also, sometimes the Vanilla Color Stabilizer can harden in cool temperatures. You can leave it out at room temperature overnight, or put it in a warm water bath. That should help it thin out. 🙂
Vanilla Color Stabilizer: https://www.brambleberry.com/Vanilla-Color-Stabilizer-P4156.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry