If you loved last month’s Make it Month #babypowder, you’re in luck, because we’re bringing it back. This month’s featured sample is the delightful Oatmeal, Milk and Honey Cybilla Fragrance Oil. OMH Cybilla is a delicious fragrance with notes of warm milk and honey supported by the richness of oatmeal that is sure to be a hit in your products. Show off your skills on the Bramble Berry Facebook page by posting a picture of your bath and body product with the hashtag #OMHcybilla and at the end of the month, we’ll pick our faves. Your soap could be featured in a special Soap Queen blog post!
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Facebook Photo of the Week (Feb 22nd ~ March 1)
Let’s start out our week with some inspirational soap….Facebook Photo of the Week time. As always, there have been some incredible bath and body product photos that each and every one of you are creating (and posting to our Facebook page). We have such an active soapmaking community and I’m grateful for all of you that continue to participate and make it a better place for all soapers. Are you ready for the winner? Let’s go!
This week’s photo comes to us from Andrea of Soaps4Squares. Andrea told us that she used our soap boxes to create these adorable bridal shower gifts and that she really used loved how the Tropical Vacation Fragrance Oil stuck in her ITP (In-the-Pot) Swirl Soap. I totally agree with her, these little soap favors turned out so cute and show that you can do so much with just a little soap box. You might actually recognize Andrea from when she was on our BBAC Team from last year, and you can check out her super inspirational interview here. Thank you so much for being part of our amazing soapmaking community on Bramble Berry’s Facebook page, Andrea. Keep your eyes open for a special little package being sent your direction.
Andrea’s Facebook Page: Soap4Squares
Andrea’s Blog: Soap4Squares
Would you like your photo or project to be featured on the blog? Come join us for soap talk, contests and lots of crafty inspiration on Bramble Berry’s Facebook page and share a photo of your latest project. Your handmade soap might be next week’s feature!
Top of the Beer Soap To You!
It’s March and a favorite spring holidays is coming up…St. Patrick’s Day! There are many fun crafts and ideas you can do to get ready for it (check out my Spring Projects pinboard for more inspiration) and soaping is no exception. For St. Patrick’s Day, a lot of people think of beer, and I have you covered for that with your soaping. Check out these fun beer-inspired soaps that are sure to please those fans in your life.
Black & Tan Beer Soap, Honey Ale Soap, Oatmeal Stout Soap
Reimagining Honey Ale and Luck of the Green Beer
You can also check out all of our beer and wine inspired scents here: Pinot Grigio, Bordeaux Blend, Berry Wine, Pumpkin Lager, Oatmeal Stout, Honey Ale and Raspberry Porter. Are there other beer or wine scents you’d like to see us carry? Or do you have a favorite blend you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments below!
Happy Soaping!
Solid Bubble Bath Recipe
To “chillax” means to both simultaneously chill out and relax. Sounds good to me! And the perfect chillaxin’ wind down is a great bubble bath and a book. Here is a recipe for some bubbly goodness paired with the earthiness of Patchouli, sweetness of Orange and balancing notes of Rose for a perfect bath time essential oil blend. Plus, these solid bubbling bath bars harden up pretty fast, so you can get your bath time on quickly.
Recipe:
1.5 Cup Sodium Bicarbonate
1.5 Cup Cream of Tartar
1.5 Cup Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)
3/4 Cup Liquid Soap Concentrate
Click here to add everything you need to your Bramble Berry shopping cart! [Read more…]
Ombre Layer Cake Recipe + Technique
Oh, Pinterest. You are the best distraction source of inspiration for just about anything! When looking for fun treats for our gender reveal party, I took a cue from this cake pinned from Ms. Martha herself and ombre’d (is that a word?) it up. The plain white frosting was the perfect veil to hide the pink-colored cake inside. The best part is that this concept is so versatile; it can be tailored to you color needs!
Recipe:
3 Vanilla Boxed Cake Mixes + their standard ingredients
2 1/4 Cups Sour Cream
3 Eggs (in addition to the eggs called for on the box mixes)
About 2 (small) Boxes Instant Pudding
1 bottle Red Food Coloring (or color of choice)
4 containers of White Frosting
Tools:
9 inch round Cake Pan
(optional) Cake Leveler
(optional) Frosting Bag
(optional) Frosting Bag Tip [Read more…]
Bramble Berry Athletic Club: Patty Staniewicz
For every year we have been in business, Bramble Berry has donated a portion of our profits to local charitable organizations and non-profits (see our Social Responsibility Statement here). Last year for the first time ever we decided to bring our friends, blog readers and customers, in on the charitable contribution action with the start of Bramble Berry Athletic Club. 2012 was super fun (and successful) so a new team was an easy decision. We recently we announced BBAC’s Sponsored Athletes for 2013. If you missed the announcement, check it out here. Today we have an interview with one of last years team members, Patty Staniewicz, who ran a half marathon at Disney World (how fun!). You can also check out Patty’s teammates’ stories here: Andrea Edgar, Bonnie Garrity, Harmony Davis, and Kerri Kretzmeier.
Facebook Photo of the Week (Feb 15th ~ 22nd)
What a busy and exciting week it has been. Though I was down for the count one day with a lovely stomach bug, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching all the great interaction on our Facebook page. Big thanks to our customers who helped us reach our goal of 500 new likes within a week. I was overwhelmed by the incredible enthusiasm and appreciate all the help to reach our goal. We also had a couple of super fun tutorials, our Sunset Ombre Soap and our absolutely decadently-scented Whipped Coffee Butter (that I’m using every day). This weeks winner of our Facebook Photo of the Week is…
Sunset Ombre Soap Tutorial
Here is the first of many, many recipes included with the brand spankin’ new Business in a Box Kit, exclusively from Bramble Berry. With the kit, you get this Ombre Soap advanced technique recipe along with another (soon to be revealed) technique option and a Business in a Box quick start guide all in a handy PDF. Read even more about all of the contents in the Business in a Box Kit here. Note that this recipe below uses the Quick Mix oils but this technique will work for any slow-moving recipe.
This soapmaking technique is for a super on-trend ombre look. Try out different color schemes with other LabColors from your Business in a Box kit for varied styles. Match colors to fragrance or essential oils, or create multiple colored soaps for a rainbow-esque display. Simply colored soap, when strategically layered, creates a light to dark fade that is sure to impress your customers. A seamless transition between colors will show off your expert sense of color and design.
RECIPE:
33 oz Lots of Lather Quick Mix
11 oz Distilled Water
4.7 oz Sodium Hydroxide
Diluted Canary LabColor
Diluted Orange Labcolor
2 oz Energy Fragrance Oil
If you’d love to try out this tutorial but aren’t ready for the full Business in a Box kit, click here to add ingredients for just this recipe to your Bramble Berry shopping cart! [Read more…]
Business In a Box
Have you ever wanted it to just be easier? For someone to pick out all the stuff you needed and point you to the correct resources so all you needed to do was create safe products and sell? That’s what we’ve done with our Business in a Box kit. It is literally everything you need to get started making 100 pounds (roughly 375/545 bars) of soap, learn the basics of safe soapmaking, get an overview on starting a craft business and even includes label templates that are designed with correct INCI labeling. These kits are unique in that they include our most popular Quick Mix oils. You don’t need to worry about designing a recipe that works. We’ve done the work for you (though, full disclosure, soapmaking is addicting and we’re betting that you’ll want to do more research in the future and create your personal idea of a ‘perfect’ recipe). All you need to do to start is read up on business and soapmaking to get the basics under your belt, get your state and city business license, explore insurance, make the soap using our easy and safe recipes, add your address to the labels, cure your soap and get out there and sell! When you buy this kit, even with all the start up costs of the molds, equipment etc… included, the soap comes out to just under $1.39 per bar (without your overhead costs like rent, energy and labor worked in).
Bramble Berry Athletic Club: Kerri Kretzmeier
For every year we have been in business, Bramble Berry has donated a portion of our profits to local charitable organizations and non-profits (see our Social Responsibility Statement here). Last year for the first time ever we decided to bring our friends, blog readers and customers, in on the charitable contribution action with the start of Bramble Berry Athletic Club. 2012 was super fun (and successful) so a 2013 was a no-brainer. We recently we announced BBAC’s Sponsored Athletes for 2013. If you missed the announcement, check it out here.
BBAC’s inaugural year brought together 11 sensational athletes. So far we’ve shared the stories of team members Harmony Davis, Bonnie Garrity, and Andrea Edgar. Today’s story is from Kerri Kretzmeier, BBAC sponsored athlete who ran her second ever marathon while wearing her custom BBAC t-shirt with pride! Prepare to be inspired.
Whipped Coffee Body Butter Tutorial
This recipe is a variation of the classic and well-loved Whipped Shea Butter tutorial that was eventually turned into a Soap Queen TV episode. It’s hard to deny the ease of making a whipped butter (just three steps in this case!), and you get such a wonderful result. Plus, the combination of the Coffee Butter and Tamanu Oil’s natural fragrances mixed with Vanilla Select Fragrance Oil and Almond Cybilla Fragrance Oil is downright sinful. Use this whipped butter on super dry patches, like elbows and knees, for extra happy skin.
Recipe:
16 oz Coffee Butter
1 oz Rice Bran Oil
0.5 oz Tamanu Oil
6 mL Vanilla Select Fragrance Oil
3 mL Almond Cybilla Fragrance Oil
3 Plastic Bail Jars
Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart! [Read more…]
Interview with Hayley of Paintbox Soapworks
I love receiving soap from Bramble Berry’s friends, customers and blog readers so I was excited when Hayley from Paintbox Soapworks recently sent me a box full of goodies to share with the team. Hayley’s soaps are absolutely adorable and she has the cutest paintbox-themed sets (you can check them out here and here). Check out her interview below and learn her number one advice for small businesses. -Anne-Marie
Facebook Photo of the Week (Feb 8th ~ 15th)
The past couple of weeks we’ve had many fun Valentine’s Day inspired tutorials. If you missed them, you can check them out here: Sensuous Rose Infused Massage Oil, Sparkle Power Bath Bomb Tutorial, For the Love of Waterlily: a Bath Fizzy Tutorial, Making Fingerpaint with Bramble Berry Colors, Embedded Heart Melt and Pour Tutorial and Kissably Soft Lotion. Whew, that’s a lot! Are you ready for the Facebook Photo winner this week? Let’s go!
Kissably Soft Lotion Recipe
Get ready for a lotion that will change your life; well, as much as a lotion can change your life. I am totally in like with this recipe! And, I’m hoping you do too. This lotion glides on smooth, and a little goes a long way. Super luxe ingredients like BTMS-50 conditioning emulsifier and DL-Panthenol (also known as Pro-Vitamin B5) work in tandem with skin-loving oils and extracts to create a super soft skin without it feeling too greasy or slippery. I dare you to try it and not love it! Psst: the essential oil blend is the perfect compliment to this luxurious recipe. I have a bottle of this on my desk at work; that’s how much I love it.
Recipe:
1.6 oz Avocado Oil
1.28 oz Rice Bran Oil
1.28 oz BTMS-50
0.96 oz Liquid Glycerin
0.64 oz Stearic Acid
0.64 oz Oat Extract
0.16 oz Buckthorn Extract
3.2 oz Aloe Vera Liquid
21.6 oz Distilled Water
0.64 oz DL Panthenol
0.32 oz Optiphen
2.5 mL Jasmine Grandiflorum Absolute
2.5 mL Sandalwood Essential Oil
1 mL Lavender 40/42 Essential Oil
4 – 8 ounce Bottles with Pump Tops
Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart! [Read more…]