Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more
Aren't these fun? I was doing some test designs with Bramble Berry's Dark (liquid) Purple colorant and got to be really creative. The other colors I used were silver glitter and orange liquid color. The bars are a full 6.0 ounces because they are done in Heavy Duty Octagonmold. The best soap … Continue Reading
Johnny Cupcakes, an entrepreneurial genius and the brand behind the ubiquitous cheeky limited edition t-shirts and now retail stores, just pointed out an amazing similarity between one of his shirts and the multi-kazillion dollar Billabong's shirts. Judge for yourself in the photos above. The … Continue Reading
I'm headed out to another day of Otion Store Two location scouting in Old Bellevue and the Queen Anne neighborhood (for all you Seattle based readers). I'm bringing my pedometer to see how far I walk in the neighborhoods. I'm betting I log at least 2 miles. In the meantime, Lovena has a detailed … Continue Reading
Continuing her run at world dominance, Oprah has announced the formation of her own TV Network - the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Continuing on her path to help others lead their best lives, the t.v. venture will focus on a broad mission involving celebrating life, inspiring and entertaining. Oprah … Continue Reading
Thanks to this Etsy Treasury (put together by AJ's Country Cottage), I am continuing my shopping streak today. Take a look at a few of the bars I purchased - doesn't the second bar look exactly like a thick slab of granite? You can buy your own bar of faux granite soap at Savonara's shop … Continue Reading
I went on a wee bit of a shopping spree this morning on Etsy. I bought this creative soap from the MagicHands Workshop in California. The soap is using our very own Winter Grapefruit. and this: I couldn't justify yet another Letterpress card set so soon after my last binge. But .... I did. … Continue Reading
If you missed the Celebration Soap, click here to recap this easy project. The photo below shows a common issue when embedding objects in melt and pour. Sometimes air bubbles will catch under the wide, flat surface of the embedding soap. If the air bubbles are trapped between the mold and the … Continue Reading
Or.... Brother Knows Best. It was not one of my finer moments. Erik (my younger brother and also the Otion store manager) cautioned me that my lip balm project wouldn't work. However, since he did so in front of my mentee Linda, I did not listen to him (to better maintain my Alpha role, of … Continue Reading
Candle Maker Originally uploaded by /\ltus Look at this! It's an Otion-like store in Japan. Isn't that neat? Apparently, great minds do think alike - even on separate continents! Sunday is shaping up to be a crafty haven day. After reading the new Fortune Magazine cover to cover (there's a … Continue Reading
What a fun day Linda and I had at Otion. We started the day by having breakfast and reviewing Linda's reactions about her first day (conclusion: overwhelming but exciting) and made an action plan for the day. Since Linda has plenty of business experience, we chose to focus on making product and … Continue Reading
There are always massive flameouts of venture capital funded businesses but this one is particularly egregious (though it certainly doesn't beat this doozy). N2N was an internet site design company. They had one client, Victoria's Secret. Despite this lack of client diversity, venture capitalists … Continue Reading
Please take the 2 question survey to help us determine what you'd like The Soap Queen to focus on: Click Here to take survey The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry. Have a question about this blog post? Come join us … Continue Reading
As promised in the KVOS post, here are instructions for making Celebration Soap. I'll post photos and a description of the final Vocation Vacation day (including the amazing exploding microwave mess) tomorrow. This is a simple project, suitable for children and soapmakers of all skill levels. … Continue Reading
I spent the day at Otion yesterday, mentoring my very own Vocation Vacationer! Linda flew in from Michigan. She's interested in learning about running a small shop, and wants to sell handmade soaps and toiletries. We put her through a "normal" retail day. She opened the store and learned how to … Continue Reading