Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more
Making Jelly Rolls with melt and pour soap is easy, fast and fun! The Jelly Rolls are the soap on the far left and far right (bottom). This tutorial will focus on how to make Jelly Rolls out of melt and pour soap. The project takes about 30 minutes to complete and requires singular purpose (no … Continue Reading
These soaps were made by first timers at Otion's Soap Bar. Aren't they amazing for first timers? Our soap bar is open to anyone that wants to come make soap. You rent the bar for $7.50 (and get unlimited use of fragrance, color and molds) and only need to buy the soap base that is used. Of … Continue Reading
Today was our Annual Christmas Tree Hunt. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground as we took off to find the perfect tree. We were bundled up tight against the weather with scarves, gloves, hats and ski jackets. We settled on a seven foot Douglas Fir. Here's my hubby sizing up the best … Continue Reading
The sawing only took about 15 seconds; our saw was sharp (or maybe my hubby is just super strong!) And we have our perfect Douglas Fir for our holiday festivities. The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry. Have a … Continue Reading
The Beauty Brains has a good post today about Rose Oil's supposedly great benefits for skin. Since many of us formulate our own products for face, body and hair, this article is particularly pertinent. Excerpted from the post: It’s true that rose oil contains over 300 different chemical … Continue Reading
Trend Testing for 2008 I had a fun afternoon today, testing new trends forecasted for 2008. These are the same exact recipes but look at how different the soaps look. The color, the texture and the trace thickness are all vastly different. This small test batch shows the importance … Continue Reading
According to Experience Inc., 58% of new college grads moved home after school and 32% stayed more than a year. Pew found that 73% of 18 to 25 year olds have received financial assistance from the parents in the past year.I wonder what this level of parental involvement does over the long term? It … Continue Reading
It's sunny and cold outside but thankfully dry. I'm headed to Otion today for all-day soap demos. We'll be making one cold process loaf and demonstrating how to do layers. The rest of the demonstrations will be around melt and pour and the Holiday season. The best soap supplies on the … Continue Reading
This is a fascinating retrospective of a family that takes a photo of themselves every year. Click here to see all of the changes through the years. The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry. Have a question about … Continue Reading
This is one of the soaps we made for our Christmas soap display at Otion. The red and white chunks are made with clear soap colored with Labcolors Red and white melt and pour soap. We made the flat layers in a cake pan, chopped up the layered soap and then embedded the chunks into a Milky Way Square … Continue Reading
Recently, one of our Bramble Berry customers wrote with some problems he was having unmolding his 8% beeswax soap. It was sticking in his lovely Milky Way Tray mold and causing him no end of consternation. We made his recipe for him to test it and see if it was technique or the mold. It was … Continue Reading
I'm squealing with delight over these wonderful products. The Squeaky-Clean packaging is professional and appealing. The lip balms are especially swanky with fun fonts and professional printing. I love the Honey and Carmel Latte. The Sugar & Blueberries soap is already long gone in my … Continue Reading
Thank you Christy over at Thrifty Decorating for doing the hard work for us and researching Bramble Berry fragrances in Effusion Lamps! She wrote about Effusion Lamps here and then here to answer reader questions. It's a great post, complete with photos and should answer all your questions about … Continue Reading
Thank you to Northwest Digital Designs for reading this blog and pointing out that yoga probably isn't making me fat. Here's a site that addresses how yoga can be used to control your weight. It involves eating a healthier diet (picture me making a frowny face here). I was really hoping for a … Continue Reading