Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more
I have a special guest on Soap Queen TV – Jeanee Duval of Dirty Laundry! She came all the way to Bellingham (15 hours of flying time – wowzers!) to show us her technique for making perfect the Bath Fizzy Cupcake. I had such a great time Jeanee, and her craftsmanship is amazing. We show 3 different versions – to dress up your cupcakes. [Read more…]
I’ve been loving (obsessing over?) the hair chalking trend going around. If you follow me on Pinterest you may have seen a few hair chalking pins lately, so of course I had to give it a try. After a few test runs with the help of some gracious Bramble Berry team members’ luscious locks, I’ve come up with what I think is a great hair chalk recipe that works on both light and dark colored hair. Plus, a how-to about applying the chalk to hair once it’s made. It washes out in 1-2 shampoos (depending on the color of your hair before chalking; lighter hair may take a second shampoo) and really pops – the perfect low-commitment pizzazz to kick off the new year right.
“Here’s a toast to the future, a toast to the past, and a toast to our friends, far and near. May the future be pleasant, the past a bright dream; may our friends remain faithful and dear.”
– Unknown
This year, like all of them, has seemingly flown by. Having a toddler in the house definitely adds to the surreal feeling of time being extremely fleeting. Some of the highlights were: [Read more…]
Have any plans for this evening? Here’s what I’m up to (yes, yes, you guessed it: difficult to get a baby sitter on New Year’s Eve). Recently I made a wonderful spray perfume for my mom that smelled amazing using a blend of different fragrance oils. However, it’s not always necessary to blend fragrance oils. A quick and easy way to get a perfectly lovely scent is to use a fragrance oil that is already a bit complex on it’s own. All the blending is done for you, and you can get on with your fancy New Year’s Eve parties and champagne toasts at midnight!
Recipe:
10 mL Cyclomethicone
10 mL 91% Isopropyl (Rubbing) Alcohol
1-2 mL Fragrance Oil
Droppers with Suction Bulb
Small Funnel (optional)
Click here to add everything you need for this project (including the three fragrance oils I tried) to your Bramble Berry shopping cart! [Read more…]
I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and were able to spend some quality time with your friends and family this year. This Christmas, Jamisen got a visit from Santa, as well as being the cutest darn Christmas elf I’ve ever seen. We were able to spend time with both sides of the family and I can hardly believe that next time this year, I’ll have two little Bramble Bumps in the house! Eeeek!!! We find out in less than two weeks what we are having and I cannot wait. I haven’t even thought about names yet until I know if we’re having a boy or a girl. On to Facebook and the fun photo of the week:
Have you checked out Bramble Berry’s brand new Brazilian clays yet? These natural colorants work excellently in cold process soap and are available in an amazing range of colors. They’re even available in a sample pack so you can test them out before purchasing a larger size! To keep with the natural elements of the clays, I used a delightfully herbal essential oil blend for fragrance.
To create a two-color tiger stripe effect, I modified Bramble Berry’s 2 pound Wood Loaf mold. If you have some cardboard lying around from holiday packaging, here’s your chance to reuse it for some soapy goodness. We’re keeping it green on Soap Queen!
Christmas is only four days away and I just can’t wait (family, family, family!). This month has been full of fun projects like our Hot Process series: Crock Pot Camo, CPOP Swirls, and HPOP Layers; interesting contests like our Make it Monday: #Christmas Schwag; and even a couple Facebook photos of the week (see here and here). We also celebrated this month of giving by going out on our annual Salvation Army Shopping Trip and holding our Bramble Berry Cooke Exchange (more on that later, but check out last year’s swap here). But, on with the show. Here’s the winner of this week’s Facebook Photo of the Week:
This week’s photo comes to us from Linda of The Enchanted Bath. Linda shared a gorgeous cold process soap made with our Turkish Mocha Fragrance Oil that had me drooling all over my keyboard (since I know what that fragrance smells like and in a word, it is ah-maz-ing). Using just the fragrance oil to color the soap’s main body, Linda added a touch of Titanium Dioxide to the frosting to keep it nice and white. She says that the Turkish Mocha “Smells delicious and it’s flying off the shelves at my store. I highly recommend this fragrance!” Thanks for being a part of our soaping community on our Facebook page Linda, I’ve really enjoyed watching you grow in your craft and try new things with your soaping. There is a special little package headed your way. [Read more…]
Ever wondered what the difference is between CPOP, HPOP, and CPHP? I’m hoping to set the record straight when it comes to various methods of using heat to aid in the soapmaking process. Or, at the very least, I’ve set out to tell my own accounts of what happens when I soap with these different methods. I’ve already rocked out some CPOP and CPHP tutorials, and today we’ll be visiting HPOP.
HPOP: Hot Process Oven Process. This method of using hot process calls for heat being applied while the soap spends time in the oven. Like the oven’s purpose in CPOP, and the crock pot’s purpose in CPHP, the oven facilitates holding the temperature of the soap at or above 160 degrees, speeding up the saponification process. Remember from the CPOP post that according to Professor Kevin M. Dunn, author of Caveman Chemistry and Scientific Soapmaking, heat speeds along the saponification process. The major difference is that HPOP cooks the soap in oven before it goes into the mold instead of after, which gives the finished soap a more rustic look. Questions? Check out the FAQs at the end of the post!
Click here to tweet this tutorial!
I am obsessed with licorice. I’ve heard rumors that chocolate is also delicious but when forced to choose, give me the acquired taste of licorice. For the record, my favorite kind is Panda (though RJ‘s or Darrell Lea’s are never turned down) or the ultra-acquired taste of Salted Licorice (available at fine mail order stores or specialty candy stores). Even though I love straight-up licorice most of all, I’ll still eat delicious Licorice Allsorts. And, I think that this project would make such a fun gift or a since it ’tis the season, a stocking stuffer. This project is easy and suitable for a beginner (just watch those temperatures!).
Recipe:
33.6 oz. White Melt and Pour Soap
22.4 oz. Clear Melt and Pour Soap
1.2 oz. Star Anise Essential Oil
Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!
Christmas is coming! Christmas is coming! I can hardly believe that this year has gone by so fast. It seems like yesterday that we were started our very first Make it Monday challenge but it was actually this summer. It’s been so much fun seeing you all participate in these challenges and coming up with such clever and fun products all year, and we can’t wait for our next series (starting next year!) to see what you have up your sleeves. Are you ready for the winners of Make it Monday #Christmas Schwag? Drum roll please…
Top Row:
Jill Lemaster-Moore – ‘Yultide Soap Balls’
Yurie from Kumamama Soap
Krista Scott – Adaptation of Cool Yule Peppermint Loaf from Soap Queen
Middle Row:
Katie from Royalty Soaps – ‘Holiday Cheer Cold Process Hanger Swirl Soap’
Patty from Lather Rinse Clean – ‘Snowman Cupcakes’ with Fresh Snow Fragrance Oil
Heather from Blackbird Soap Company – ‘Enchanted’
Bottom:
Amanda from Bubblina’s Soap Boutique – ‘Christmas Tree Soap’ with Santa’s Spruce Fragrance Oil
Ludmila and Pablo from Epuyen Jabones Artesanales – ‘Christmas Magic Wands’
Jenny Rose from I‘d Lather Be Soaping – ‘Christmas Cheer Soap’ [Read more…]
This week I’ve been getting ready for Christmas by baking cookies for our upcoming cookie swap and going on our annual Salvation Army shopping trip! It has been so much fun seeing all your fabulous Christmas-themed products in our Make it Monday: #Christmas Schwag Challenge (check out the Facebook album here). Now onto our winner for our Facebook Photo of the week…
Ever wondered what the difference is between CPOP, HPOP, and CPHP? I’m hoping to set the record straight when it comes to various methods of using heat to aid in the soapmaking process. Or, at the very least, I’ve set out to tell my own accounts of what happens when I attempt these different methods. We’ve already visited CPOP, so next up let’s take a look at CPHP.
CPHP: Crock Pot Hot Process. This method of using hot process calls for heat being applied through the use of a crock pot (or a double boiler or jacketed soup tureen). Like the oven’s purpose in CPOP, the crock pot in CPHP facilitates holding the temperature of the soap at or above 160 degrees, speeding up the saponification process. Remember from the CPOP post that according to Professor Kevin M. Dunn, author of Caveman Chemistry and Scientific Soapmaking, heat speeds along the saponification process. The major difference is that CPHP cooks the soap before it goes into the mold instead of after, which gives the finished soap a more rustic look. Scroll to the end of the tutorial for some FAQs!
Click here to tweet this tutorial!
We’ve got so many new goodies that will make your winter soaping a blast! Everything from adorable new kudos silicone molds to our S.O.A.P. 2012 fragrances and a brand new e-book by Jeanee of Dirty Laundry. Check it all out!
