Search Results for: facebook photo of the week

When Opportunity Calls …. We Stay Up!

January 4, 2008 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Local t.v. station, KVOS, called on Wednesday afternoon to invite us on their well-regarded morning show, Northwest Notebook. Of course, we were thrilled to get the call.

Panic quickly set in as we realized that a project needed to be designed, prepped and made for the show. And, we only had 36 hours to do it all! With Bramble Berry and Otion‘s holiday closure and inventory downtime, we’re scrambling to get back to our normal 24-hour-turnaround. There was no time to spare during work hours to prepare for this great opportunity.

This is where the rubber hits the road for an entrepreneur. Part of being “lucky” is being prepared to take all opportunities when they call. Being “lucky” in this case meant staying up until midnight to make sure that the project would be completed on time and the filming would go smoothly.

Soap Queen readers will get a step-by-step tutorial of the project (“Celebration Soap!”) in the upcoming week.

In the meantime, here are a few still shots from the t.v. shoot this morning.

It was a great experience. We shot the entire 6:00 minute segment in one take and made a project, talking the entire time. I’m a little nervous to watch the show and hear some of my answers. As I replay them in my mind, they sound more outlandish and foolish as the hours go by.

Ty asked about Bramble Berry’s business, how I got started, soapmaking as a creative outlet and what sets Bramble Berry apart from the other places to buy supplies – all while making making an embedded soap extravaganza.

Ty and his crew at KVOS were the consummate professionals and made it easy. The show will air at the end of January and if it hits YouTube, I’ll be sure to share it here.

And now, I’m off to follow my own adviceand write a ‘thank you’ note to Ty for having us on to help spread our brand of soap evangelism to the world (or at least Bellingham and Vancouver, BC)!

Saturday Round-Up

December 29, 2007 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Today was a relaxing Saturday. I was able to finish the new John Grisham book, “Playing for Pizza.” It’s a sweetly sentimental story about a so-so football player, struggling to find personal joy and fulfilment in life. He travels to Italy to find success. The story centers around his journey and travelling, Italy and food.

Then, while my hubby outfitted my new skis (a Christmas present from my generous brother), I went to Otion to help with the last of the inventory. Erik, Sarah and I had a jolly time counting droppers, bottles and stray candle colorants.

Finally, we ended the day in a bowling alley. Here’s Erik (generous brother and Otion store manager), getting ready to bowl with his brand new bowling ball (our Christmas gift to him). He chose a scented 14-pound ball (yes, it’s really scented – it smells like Lime) called “Tropical Storm.” He totally smoked the entire group, at one point getting 3 strikes in a row.

We’re getting up early tomorrow to go skiing at Mt. Baker with Erik, his fiance Cheriss, and my brother-in-law, Weston. It should be exhausting but hopefully in a challenging way, as opposed to a broken-bones-kind-of-way. It’s my first time skiing in two years and I have new skis, bindings and poles to get used to. Wish me luck!

While lusting over new kitchen designs tonight, I came across some free label templates from Kitchen and Bath Ideas magazine. The label templates seem particularly cute for one-off toiletry products that just require a quick and easy handwritten label. Click here to go see them.

We’re ending our day by folding laundry and laying out our ski equipment for tomorrow. All in all, it’s been a delightfully rewarding day.

Holiday 3-D Soaps

December 28, 2007 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

A few weeks ago, I made Holiday 3-D soaps for the Skincare Naturals Gift Guide. The soap in the top photo is colored with Opalescent Green Mica, Non Bleeding Red and a opaque soap and scented with Christmas Spice. In the bottom photo, the round is colored with Merlot Mica and Super Pearly White in clear soap.

I know it’s post-Christmas but the photos turned out so good that I wanted to share the cute final project.

If you missed the week of 3-D soap mold posts, here’s the final poston coloring and layering 3-D soap mold projects.

Meet Lisa from Savor

December 27, 2007 Filed Under: Business Musings

I recently fell in-like with Savor Soaps. Check out their Flikr Photostream here.

Who is Savor Soaps?: Lisa Salamida from California is the brains behind this brand

What: (Lisa says:) “I specialize in soap that resembles food, and especially desserts. I love to make whipped soap, like my Spun Sugar and Lime Chiffon.”

“I use only the best melt-and-pour base, purchased from a small shop in Berkeley, CA. I love to use dried botanicals, teas, and I really love to use sea salt for its scrubbiness! It really helps the dry patches on heels. I include shea butter in all my soap, and use vitamin E oil and olive oil in certain varieties depending on the effect I want to achieve.”

“I don’t use goat’s milk often, but I found a fantastic base and will begin using it regularly.”

How: “While I’ve been making soap for many years for friends and family, I only recently decided to open a shop and sell to the public.”

“My husband sells his art prints and he inspired me to take that leap. I opened in October 2007, and the shop has taken off — already a couple hundred orders, and even repeat buyers, in a very short time. I work full time as a computer tech, but with the way Savor has taken off, I’m also putting in 30-40 hours weekly making soap and processing orders.”

Where: “I sell on Etsy alone right now (or in person if I know you!). My shop there is located at savor.etsy.com — I recently bought my own domain and may consider selling directly on my site in the future. But it’s really hard to beat Etsy’s great interface, and lovely customer base that comes with it!”

Thanks for sharing, Lisa! Here’s to great success in 2008 to you and Savor!

When the Mouse is Away …

December 23, 2007 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

My husband and my brother wanted to go bowling last night. Normally, it’s a Saturday night and weekends are for family. But, Erik (Otion Store Manager) and the hubby really wanted to spend some guy time. But, we had a living room full of gifts to be wrapped, cooking for 9 to do, and a thorough house cleaning to perform before my Mother showed up.

Our conversation went like this:

Hubby: “Well, I know we have all of the cooking, cleaning and gift wrapping left to do before your folks arrive at 5 tomorrow, but I really want to go bowling and just hang out. Please?”

Me: (sigh) “Honey, tomorrow won’t be enough time to cook the food, wrap the presents and clean our house. It’s a mess!”

Hubby: “I’ll work super hard on it tomorrow. I swear. You can just sit on the couch and read all night while I’m out. When’s the last time you got to do that?”

Me: (grudingly) “Well, you do have a point. And, I do have a book club book to read.”

Hubby: (silence) (pleading eyes)

Me: “Okay, go out. Have fun. Be home by 11 so we can get a good night’s sleep at least?”

As soon as he was out the door, I was doing the happy soaping dance! Woo-Hoo! Forget the book club book; a night to myself to make soap and goodies! What could be better?

Within 15 minutes, all the counters in our house were covered with soap and bath fizzy making stuff.

I made bath fizzies.

I made lotion (Berry Red Labcolor and Rosehip Jasmine fragrance).

I made liquid soap (Berry Red Labcolor with Rosehip Jasmine fragrance).

I made M&P soap.

And, I was 85% cleaned up by the time he got home so I didn’t even get caught.

Jelly Rolls! Jelly Rolls! Cracking! Day Four

December 15, 2007 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

Click here for Day One (set up)
Click here for Day Two (color & fragrance)
Click here for Day Three (release and video)

As I mentioned in this post (which included a video of the soap rolling), the layers for this Jelly Roll were too thick. You can see that my rolled soap cracked (yes, my head is hanging low in shame). Thankfully, the middle part of the oval roll was usable so all the soap was not lost.

In my 9 x 9 pan, I used 8 ounces of soap per layer. In hindsight, a 5 ounce layer would have been appropriate.

I’ll have final photos and the final recipe for Jelly Roll Soap posted on the blog tomorrow, Sunday.

Remember, all comments (on any posts) this week are automatically entered to win a Starter Kit of Essential Oils from Organic Fusion so comment as much as you can. The kit is a pretty sweet deal.

Happy Saturday & Contest

December 15, 2007 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Happy Weekend! I’m working at Bramble Berry today, along with my dear husband who is working outside in the rain (that’s him, all dressed in his rain slicker and boots) to clear away all of our empty drums.

We’re both cleaning to prepare for inventory. In order for us to count the entire warehouse in 2 days, the warehouse needs to be organized and the plan for counting, deliberate and thought out. So, my fabulous husband who works more than a full time job of his own (he’s a senior engineer at his firm) is supporting me, helping to downgrade my stress levels from High High Red Alert to Medium Orange.

I went running last night after work. I’m trying to run 50 miles in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’m close but not quite there.

Contest: Our contest for the week is a good one! All commenters that post between Saturday morning (today) and next Friday morning (the 21st) will be entered to win a starter kit of Essential Oils from Organic Fusion. The essential oils included are: 1/2 ounce sizes of Bergamot, Clary Sage, Litsea, Peppermint, Orange, Eucalyptus, Lemon, Tangerine, Patchouli, 2 oz. Lavender Jasmine blend, and 4 oz. Lavender. The Starter Kit is valued at over $100.

Testing New Trends

December 8, 2007 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

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 of using fully tested fragrance oils for cold process soap. After all, when you are making a 5 pound soap batch, it’s always nice to know if a fragrance will accelerate trace or turn a nice shade of brown (ruining the perfect swirl or geometrically balanced layers).

In the photo above, the soap on the right top looks lumpy. It is in fact, very lumpy. The fragrance made the soap get all clumpy with the appearance of cottage cheese. Whoops. That is one fragrance that Bramble Berry will not be bringing in.

In the photo above, the soap on the left is starting to rapidly heat up. It also showed an alarming propensity to accelerate trace (as evidenced by the nicely formed peaks on the soap).

For every fragrance that Bramble Berrycarries, we’ve tested at least 100 more to find that one fragrance. The two problem soaps above are not the end of the testing. Each of the bars in the batch will be sniff tested at the 6 week mark and, if they happen to make it through that (they normally won’t), we’ll retest the same fragrance in a 5 pound batch and a 8 pound batch to ensure that they will hold up to the rigors of real life soaping.

Champagne-Sipping Fruity Soap

December 3, 2007 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

Aren’t they cute? They’re using Kumquat fragrance, non-bleeding purple and either Super Pearly White (soaps on right) or Sparkle Violet (soaps on left) for the contrasting color.

The Kumquat fragrance is absolutely a stunner. It’s bright and effervescently fruity in a sophisticated manner that manages to avoid all nuances of Kool-Aid fruity and stick to adult, champagne-sipping fruity.

I’ll do a tutorial in the next few weeks on how to make Jelly Roll Soap.

Anti-Talc – Day Five – Stuffing

December 2, 2007 Filed Under: Soaks & Scrubs

Click here for Day One – Set Up
Click here for Day Two – Fragrance and Color
Click here for Day Three – More Fragrance and Color
Click here for Day Four – Sparkle Mica

Filling the powder containers is straight-forward. The powder is slightly heavier with the addition of fragrance so is less prone to poofing all over.

You can scoop directly into the powder container, as shown, or pour in through a funnel to reduce spill possibilities.

You’ll notice that the powder shaker containers are only 90% of the way full. This is because if you pack them too tightly, the powder will not be able to be shake loose for the initial first uses.

Push the cap on tightly either with the heel of your hand or your fingers. Once the cap has been securely fitted, the cap will not come off so be sure that you’re ready to cap and be done with your project before you hit that point of no return.

All you need to do now is clean-up and label your powders. Check back this week for a cool label template for the powder shakers used in this project.

It’s Snowing!

December 2, 2007 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Evergreen vs. Rangers 5

It’s snowing in Bellingham and part of Washington. The snow makes everything pristine and beautiful and not surprisingly, there aren’t many cars out driving around.

We have a skeleton crew here at Bramble Berry, still working hard to catch up on orders after the 4 day Thanksgiving weekend.

Even with the snow, Otion had a decent day for sales on Saturday. I guess some things are worth venturing out for – like soapmaking supplies!

Anti-Talc – Day Three – Color & Fragrance, Again

November 28, 2007 Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

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 L avender 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:

4 oz. Tapioca Powder
1 oz. powdered lavender buds
1 oz. powdered rose petals
optional: 1 tablespoon zinc oxide powder
1/2 teaspoon L avender 40/42 Essential Oil or Rose Fragrance Oil

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.

Scent Trend Alert

November 20, 2007 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

The trends for 2008 are out and they are a puzzling mix – exotic yet also homebound. Apparently, we’re all craving yummy food-like scents such as hot chocolate, S’Mores and blueberry muffin. Yet, we’re also predicted to be desiring exotic and healthy fragrances like acacia, pomegranate and banana plant. Odd. We have schizophrenic taste buds in 2008 and 2009. When you open up your fridge next year and find yourself craving a Cucumber Basil Cilantro Wasabi Smoothie, don’t be surprised; after all, the trend reports predicted it. Supposedly, 2008 and 2009 are the year for exotic fragrances.

We put 15 of our favorite latest trend fragrances into candles to test their throw and elicit opinions of Otion customers, friends and family. Over the next six weeks, we will burn all of the candles and rate them for smell, throw and saleability.

I already have a favorite – Green Zuccinni with White Truffle Oil. I don’t dare buy it yet though. It won’t sell until 2009 – or so, that’s what the trend report tells me!

Christmas Soap Already?

November 17, 2007 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

It was a very full day at Otion. Erik, Sarah and I worked all day helping the stream of customers coming for help with Christmas gifts.

I made our first Christmas display (is it that time already?) of Peppermint Essential Oil (1st distilation) melt and pour soaps, including some Peppermint Candy soap. The photo on the right is from the “Project Of The Week” site. Click here for the project.

I’ll have photos of all the soap I made, including peppermint jelly roll soap, uploaded tomorrow. I’m pleased with how they all turned out and can’t wait to get your feedback.