Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more
Real flowers are beautiful, but sadly they can’t last forever. These coffee filter flowers (yes, those are coffee filters) not only look like the real thing, but they also have a much longer shelf life! These filter “flowers” are incredibly easy to make, and you can dye them an infinite number of colors using a wide array of LabColors. Make a dozen of them for a bouquet, place setting or cute garland.
This project uses the Heavy Duty Victorian Heart Mold, and features nourishing Chamomile Extract and the aromatic Chamomile Bergamot Fragrance Oil. This project is great for beginners or anyone looking to practice their melt & pour skills.
This week we kicked off a series of sales and promotions that will continue into next week. Be sure to keep your eyes on the blog and the Bramble Berry Facebook page for the coupon codes. If you’d like to be the first to know about sales and specials in advance, sign up for the Newsletter. Newsletter subscribers were given advance notice of coupons and the schedule for coupon release.
Paired perfectly with the promotions is a collection of soothing, floral-themed projects. The Rose Water Lotion tutorial uses rose water to give the lotion a light, rosey scent. If you have never made lotion before, it’s a great recipe to get started. The recipe also includes Chamomile Extract, which helps to calm the skin and reduce redness. If you are curious about extracts, the Sunday Night Spotlight: Extracts explains what they are, their special properties and how to use them.
The Lavender and Chamomile Goat Milk Bath Tea is another great project for the beginning crafter, and it’s the perfect way to unwind after a long day. If you are looking for more bath time additives, the Soothing Bath Soak with Oat and Lavender is made with Aloe Extract and Colloidal Oatmeal, making it great for dry skin. If you are scrambling for a last minute gift for mom, our Mother’s Day Bath Tea can be made in no time!
The tutorials and promotions continue today with this light and fresh Rose Water Lotion. This a simple lotion recipe that is great for beginner lotion makers. We didn’t add any additional color or fragrance to it so the natural aroma of the rose water can really shine. This recipe also features Chamomile Extract, which is known for it’s anti-inflammatory properties and ability to soothe irritated skin.
The next two weeks will feature all kinds of exclusive tutorials and specials discounts. We took inspiration from rose, lavender and foxglove blooms, winding pathways and secret gardens tucked away behind giant stone castles. Expect lots of light floral scents, rich colors, and tutorials to help you relax and breathe deep. Each day will feature a new special discount, so be sure to watch our Facebook page, Twitter account, Tumblr Blog, newsletter and the Bramble Berry homepage to get the exclusive coupon code. You can find the coupon codes here too!
The series kicks off with this Goat Milk Bath Tea tutorial, which features a soothing blend of essential oils, Epsom salts, and of course, skin-nourishing goat milk.
We (well, actually … you!) have selected the final fragrance oils for the 2013 Spring S.O.A.P. (Soap Opinion Awesome Panel)! A diligent 8 person team tested 7 different oils for us and took detailed notes on everything from first impressions out-of-bottle to how it reacted in many products from candles to cold process soap. Thanks to our panelists for their painstaking efforts to make sure that our newest additions are the most well-rounded, long-lasting fragrances we can offer. Many of the testers shared their thoughts via blogs and even video, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention a few of our favorite posts.
Roxana of Pink Sudz Soap was particularly excited when her S.O.A.P. box arrived and gave some great first impressions.
Andrea with Soap4Squares brought her testing samples to the local art walk and got the opinions of fellow art walkers. My favorite part is how well she captured reactions as people sniffed away. This was a particularly clever way to gauge reactions. Kudos for being so creative (and brave!), Andrea.
Katie of Royalty Soaps was kind enough to shoot video for her testing thoughts. Not just once, but twice!
Here are the Spring 2013 S.O.A.P. Survey winners!!
Tart Apple (Mystery Fragrance #1)
There’s no doubting that this is a true apple! Wonderfully tart like the Granny Smith variety, it finishes with a slight hint of tropical pineapple. Try blending it with Cinnamon Sugar Fragrance Oil to conjure up a warm apple pie, or round out a floral blend with this as a delightful top note.
What the panelists said:
“Very cheerful and happy!” — Amy of Foam on the Range
“It reminds me of apple tea. Sweet yet cut with a floral subtlety.” — Andrea of Soap4Squares
Shave and a Haircut (Mystery Fragrance #2)
This fragrance oil was a favorite for its distinctly masculine notes. Aromatic spices and a slight musk combine with notes of orange zest that finish clean and crisp. This one reminded our testers of a barber shop, and we agreed!
What the panelists said:
“Smells just like a hot guy fresh out of the shower.” — Janet of Janet’s Candles and Creations
“This was my #1 choice.” — La Shonda of Nyah Beauty
Spring Meadow (Mystery Fragrance #3)
This scent is a delightful and sweet floral with fresh and herbaceous notes. Feminine and light, Spring Meadow has just the right balance of earthy greens for something that’s not overwhelmingly floral.
What the panelists said:
“This initially reminded me of lilacs, gardenias, a hint of rose and freshly cut flower stems.” — Andrea of Soap4Squares
“This is the best behaving floral I have personally ever used!” — Katie of Royalty Soaps
“My husband thought it smelled like an apple orchard or like early morning dew in an English meadow.” — Amy of Foam on the Range
Thanks again to our wonderful testers. Which of the new fragrance oils will be the first you try? Or, is there something our Bramble Berry line is desperately missing that you’d like to see us add? Tell us because we’re always on the hunt to round out our line of fragrance oils.
Welcome to another Q&A session about everything soapy and soap related. Check out our previous information product posts all about Nail Polish, Lip Balm, All Things Lotion, Preservatives, Melt and Pour Soap or Colorants. This week’s post comes to us from a few questions we’ve received from customers about maintaining clarity in Clear Melt and Pour Soap. Read on to learn more about these awesome scents that you can use in your bath and body products.
Here is the official Master List of Swappers for our March 2012, first ever Bath Bomb swap. We will keep this list updated with the fragrances being used and we will also note when we’ve received your soap.
What’s a bath bomb swap you ask? Basically, you send us 12 handmade bath bombs and we send you 12 different bath bombs back. We don’t charge anything but postage to and from for this fun community event. Read about all the details, including size and date deadlines, here.
Interested in signing up? Just email us with what Bramble Berry fragrance or essential oil you are going to use (check the list below to make sure no one else has claimed your scent). [Read more…]
Here is the official Master List of Swappers for our May 2011 swap. We will keep this list updated with the fragrances being used and we will also note when we’ve received your soap.
Reading through all the comments on the 2011 Goals & Intentions Post was absolutely overwhelming, in a good way. You all inspire me and I am thankful that we can learn and grow together. Winners, send us an email at info (at) brambleberry (dot) com with your addresses and we’ll get your goodies to you!
Read the two winner’s goals below and get inspired!
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My 5 goals for 2011:
I will….
1. Do my paperwork every week! I get sidetracked and I procrastinate because I hate doing the accounting stuff. I put it off for months at a time (crazy, right??). I want to do better and while I would like to shoot for doing it every day, I know I won’t be able to stick to it so I figure that doing it every week should be manageable.
2. Walk every day that I have time. I’m too heavy and I feel like I’m caught in sludge. I need to exercise and so I will pledge here that I will do it! That means no excuses like, I’m too tired, or I don’t feel like it. I really love to walk and once I’m outside I don’t mind. It’s just getting my butt in gear that is the hard part!
3. Stop spending so much time impulse shopping for my soap stuff. I spend WAY too much time browsing your wonderful website and then filling my cart with things I know I can’t afford. I have a paper list of things I need and I’m determined to stick to it….unless you happen to have a fabulous sale going on that is!!! 😉
4. Focus on better time-management. I spend entirely too much time online not accomplishing anything. I check in on every site I sell on and spend too much time “window shopping” for things I have no money for. I should be listing, making, labeling, or packaging….something is always needing to be done, right?! I’m going to try to be aware of my problem and actually DO something productive with my time and not sit in my desk chair screwing around.
5. Finally realize that I’m not superwoman and that I cannot clone myself. For my soap business, I will be aware of which things I like to do for fun and which things I need to do for profit and find a happy medium. I sometimes get so busy making orders that it becomes a chore. And I want to continue loving what I do so I will make a bit of time to create something fun. If not for sale, then at least for the sake of feeding my artistic side.
I love being creative so I would definitely choose the M&P prize!
Note: After writing this I realized that it helped me focus on things I knew needed to be worked on. I printed this list and stuck it on the wall next to my pc to help me remember my goals. Thank you for this exercise!
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My goals for this year:
1. To find a workout routine that fits my capabilities and time frame, and stick with it. I’m trying out hiphop abs right now and I’m hoping I can dance my way to a healthier me.
2.Find a new job where I am happy, so I can continue to support myself through college. My father recently passed away, so I took a break from working to mourn and to collect myself. Now I really need to stop feeling bad and get back to my responsibilities. By the end of January I plan to be situated in a job that I truly enjoy.
3.Purchase a home. My boyfriend and I have been living with family members and now its time for us to leave the nest. By the end of January we plan to be pre-approved for a loan and making an offer on a house that will suit our needs for the next several years.
My Theme for this year:
Positivity
This past year has been a difficult one. This year I want to take with me the knowledge of who I am as a person and the strength that I have gained, but also have an over all positive outlook on life. Being caught up in past pains is a waste. I want for myself, to see the beauty in what is given to me today.
It was impossible to pick just two; so many of the commenters had such fantastic goals but two really stuck out to me because they were specific and measurable and covered different areas of their lives. So, I chose two Runners-Up for $35 gift certificates to Bramble Berry.
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So, these are my goals for 2011:
1. Concerning fitness and health: Work-out three times a week, preferably outdoor activities and pilates/yoga. Mini goal for Q1: do the sun salutation every morning. Mini goal for Q2: work-out 3 times per week. Mini goal for Q3: Create an activity group among my friends ( busy women, a lot of mums) to meet once per month (can be upgraded :)). Q4: Stick to my program despite cold and bad weather!
2. Concerning far-away friends/family: Stay in touch by calling for birthdays, writing a kind of newsletter once per month and establishing fixed dates for gatherings (like a German holiday in October when nobody has to work).
3. Concerning family: Do something special 6 times in 2011. All of our 4 grandparents are getting older and older and I want to spend some quality time with them until they are too weak to do something. Ideas for this: Visit a chocolate museum in France near our home town, have a Easter brunch, invite them to a concert…
4. Concerning the music club I’ve been a member for 14 years: Have 2 creativity days per year to bring together adult and younger musicians (in Q1 and Q3). Organize a Christmas market for our Christmas concert (Q4). Q2: Play a great concert (as always).
My overall-theme for the year is to have a good time management as I am starting the final part of my studies (which means pratical education in school to be a teacher) and having SO MUCH work to do. I don’t want this work to overtake my social life, though. So BALANCE could be my word for 2011.
This is a very long post, but I am so glad to have supportive people around here as my husband and our closest friends don’t really appreciate goal setting and planning. I think it’s overwhelming them to be confronted with their own weaknesses!
I wish you all the strength and discipline to stick to your goals for 2011!
Steffi from philosoapia
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This year, like you, my word of intention for the year is BALANCE. I supply several stand alone shops [in a few states], as well as having some on-line shops. I have had a bad habit of letting the on-line presence go when I was faced with issues this past year. I really need to redevelop the balance that I lost.
My theme for the year is Developing/cultivating relationships, this is both a personal and professional goal.
A few of my goals are;
1) To get back to development (my love) by dedicating 1 day a month (minimum) to experimentation/cooking. Which will help lead to success with my next goal
2) To introduce at least 6 new products to my on-line Unique Garden Essences shop, 6 to the uniqueXpression shop, and 2 to the Unique Treat Dog Bones shop.
3) To finalize the organization of the brochures by Jan. 15, 2011 and to begin distribution by Feb. 1, 2011.
I have many more, goal, both personal and professional, but I won’t bore you with the details. Suffice it to say that I gave myself a structured tract to follow for the year.
Since I make both types of soap I would love to win either, but if I have to choose I’ll ask for the mp items (of course if I don’t win those and you really need more in the other category, feel free to list me twice! lol).
Thank you to everyone that commented and shared their dreams, goals and aspirations for the new year. Now the hard work, sticking to your commitments day in and day out, is up to you! Here’s to a healthy, happy and prosperous 2011 filled with love, laughter and amazing experiences.
I designed some fun Tomato Leaf Fragrance blends last month that I thought I’d share. After all you never know when you will tire of a fragrance and need to create something new fresh and different with it.
1 part Cucumber Melon Cybilla
1 part Tomato Leaf
1 part Mango! Mango!
1 part Tomato Leaf
1 part Tomato Leaf
1/2 part English Rose
1 part Gardenia, Cybilla
1 part Cranberry Realistic
3 parts Tomato Leaf
(this one smells so much better after it ages and airs)
I know one of them is good because one of Bramble Berry’s customers sold out of it. Check out his rave review below. If you have a great Tomato Leaf blend to share, I’d love to hear about it.
Well I have to give praise to Anne Marie on the blend of English Rose, Gardenia and Tomato leaf. I made a sample batch for test and gave one bath bar to a co-worker for her birthday. The response from the entire working area was overwhelming. In two days I sold 15 orders of this great blend and now has become my best seller for my Female clients. I can not keep up with the demand for my product just from word of mouth. Thanks keep those great blending ideas coming! Sincerely Denny Creative Designs in Shaving and Soaps.
Click here for Day One – Set Up & Ingredient Explanation
Click here for Day Two – Fragrance & Color
As mentioned yesterday, there are a two main ways to color your Talc Powder:
1. Micas – Micas are a natural product that form a flat platelet. This flat platelet is then colored, either with natural or non-natural colors, to form a shimmery, diamond-like color. Micas form the base of most eye shadows and provide the shimmer you see in lipsticks and nail polish. In body powders, micas add a subtle color with a little sparkle.
2. True Tones, Labcolors or other FD & C water-based colorants – These colors are normally used in soaps, lotions, bath fizzies and provide color in most make-up, including lipsticks. These water based colorants are a little trickier to use in dry powders but provide a more defined, bright color. Per use, they are more economical than micas.
The photo above shows the color achieved with Fuchsia True Tone color in the powder. It took just 3 mls (a full dropper) of color in 8 ounces of dry powder to get the bright color in the photo above.
3. Other Additives – Spices, ground herbs, and ground flowers can add color, texture and even scent to your powder. Many times, these items can be scratchy though. Be sure to check the grain of the product to ensure that it won’t irritate skin and doublecheck that the product is skin safe. Also, ground spices and herbs may leave fine bits of herb detritus, often colored, on the skin. Test batches are very important when using spices, ground herbs and flowers.
This is a recipe that uses ground herbs:
2 oz. Tapioca Powder
1 oz. Arrowroot Powder
1 oz. finely powdered dried chamomile flowers
1 drop Lavender 40/42 Essential Oil or fragrance oil
2 drops 10x Orange Essential Oil
3 drops gardenia fragrance oil
Here’s another powder recipe using ground lavender buds:
Other options for adding fragrance: Some people add their fragrances or essential oils to their powders and allow the entire mix to sit for weeks, shaking daily, prior to shifting. The thought is that the fragrances may better permeate the entire batch if the fragrance sits in the powders before sifting. I haven’t found this to be the case.
Another option to cut down on fragrance clumping is to spritz the fragrance onto your dry powders with a very fine mist spritzer. This does cut down on clumping. However, that first spritz can cause the light powder to poof up and out, covering the surrounding area with a fine dust.
Another option to avoid clumping is to avoid adding fragrance directly to the dry powders altogether. The trade off is less scent in the final product for minimal clumps. Add a fragrance or essential oil saturated cotton balls to a sealed container (zip lock or canning jar) filled with the dry powder mixture. Leave the cotton ball in the dry powder for a week (1 or 2 cotton balls per 16 oz of dry products) and shake daily to impart a subtle scent without clumps like the photo above shows.
Check back tomorrow for making sparkle powder and also a bit of a mess.
