Bramble Berry’s customer service team (what a great bunch of gals they are) had another fun team bonding experience at Otion last week! They made cold process as a team too so be sure to check out that post if you missed it (Cold Process and Customer Service). Team BB delved into the wonderful world of lotion making from scratch using Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter and luxurious fixed oils. The class was taught by Otion’s newest addition, Alycia! She’s already a pro at teaching classes so if you’re local and interested, check out Otion’s class schedule HERE!
Search Results for: www.brambleberry.com
Impressionist Soap Tutorial
This pretty and unique soap is inspired by impressionist paintings. It utilizes a unique “swirl” technique created with…of all things…squirt bottles! Don’t forget to bring a little bit of patience along. Squirting the soap can take up to 10 minutes, but it is SO worth it. Get ready to fall in love.
Did Someone Say Free Candle Wax?
How long have you wanted to make candles but have never tried? We have the perfect opportunity for you to get started. Check Bramble Berry’s brand new candle fragrances that are totally skin safe so you can use them in soaps too (double whammy)! Browse the yummy new candle fragrances HERE. But that’s not the only exciting news that we have to share today.
Tiger Stripe Bath Bombs
Check your shipments for this month’s fragrance oil sample, Buttercream and Snickerdoodle! It makes for an awesome blender when you need something just a little bit more special than plain Vanilla, but is definitely amazing on it’s own. Here’s a fun project idea to use your sample!
Rainbow Mold and Island Style (Tutorial)
I’m addicted to the SoapyLove line of products! The adorable Rainbow Mold and the super cute colors of the Island Style kit work so well together, so I’ve made up a quick tutorial to show you an easy way of using both products. Because the Island Style kit comes with both colorants and a brand new fragrance oil (Guava Shaved Ice – delish!) all you’ll need is some Melt and Pour Base and the kit and you’re good to go!
Dead Sea Salts Are Best for Psoriasis
When it comes to skin care, are all salts created equal? Not according to a study done by the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, which tested the effects of “common salt” (like table salt) vs. the effects of Dead Sea Salts.
Double Feature SoapyLove Ice Pop Soap!
Here’s Debbie with another super adorable SoapyLove project! When you’re done oohing and aahing over this tutorial, check out the totally rad soaps she taught at Soap Weekend Intensive 2012 using Bramble Berry’s neon colorants. -Anne-Marie
Cold Process and Customer Service!
Last week Bramble Berry’s fabulous customer service team was able to take a soaping class with the soaperrific Kat at Otion (Bramble Berry’s retail store). They made a fun and simple cold process recipe while having a great time as a team. Check it out!
#Embedding Challenge Winners
Just like our last soapy challenge there have been so many fabulous and fun soaps entered into the #Embedding Challenge. All of you that have participated have been so creative, and we have seen everything from angry birds to dinosaurs, koalas and even bullets embedded into soap! Check out the awesome #Embedding winners below!
Maria from Kokolele Soaps: “Sunset at the Beach,” using Liquid Black Iron Oxide for the Palm Tree.
Kristi from Life Soap Simple : “Songbird,” using Water Soluble Paper
Kathy Vu: “Penguin in the Water”
Jenna from East Detroit Botanical : “Orange Citrus,” with Organic Melt & Pour Base and Calendula
Thank you to all the wonderful soapers who participated in the #Embedding challenge, we were super inspired by your creations and excited to see what you come up with in the next challenge!
See the latest Make it Monday Challenge here!
Three Color Mantra Swirl
I hope everyone had a relaxing midweek holiday! Thankfully, Jamisen, slept right through all of the bangs and booms from the fireworks (and there sure were plenty!). I’m back in the office today, refreshed after a full day off, and super excited to share this tutorial with you. The mantra swirl is a gorgeous, delicate “dance” of a swirl that looks great no matter how many colors are used. For this technique, an additional splash of a contrasting color adds interest while a quick modify to the mold gives to soap an extra kick!
15.5 oz. Canola Oil
3.1 oz. Cocoa Butter
12.4 Coconut Oil (76 degree)
12.4 oz. Olive Oil
6.2 oz. Palm Oil
3.1 oz. Palm Kernel Flakes
9.3 oz. Rice Bran Oil
8.62 oz. Sodium Hydroxide (lye)
20.5 oz. Distilled Water
0.7 oz Vanilla Bean Fragrance Oil
0.7 oz Island Coconut Fragrance Oil
2.6 oz Lime Fragrance Oil
1 teaspoon Cappuccino Mica
1 teaspoon Titanium Dioxide
1 1/2 teaspoons Violet Oxide
1/2 teaspoon Ultramarine Blue Oxide
4 tablespoons Sunflower Oil
12 mL Diluted Lime LabColor
Silicone Liner for 5# Wood Log Mold
1- 14 ounce Condiment Squirt Bottle
Buy all of the ingredients you need for this project at the click of a button!
Talk It Out Tuesday: Lip Balm
Guess what day it is? Yep! It’s Talk It Out Tuesday (you can check out previous TIOT’s on melt and pour, preservatives, colorants, bath bombs and our most recent one on lotions)! This is a fun topic because lip balm are a blast to make and use. Read on to find the answers to many of Bramble Berry’s frequently asked questions. If there is anything I didn’t cover, feel free to ask your questions in the comment section. Or if you want to get started right this very second, check out our Lip Balm Quick Start Guide on the Bramble Berry Website.
What is lip balm?
Lip gloss, lip shimmers, lip conditioners, lip sheers, lip balms and lip butters are all very easy and inexpensive to make. Generally, they are a mixture of oils and waxes combined to heal and soothe dry or chapped lips (and sometimes, they provide a bit of color as well). You can create an all-natural mixture using edible essential oils and nourishing vegetable butters or you can get wild and make them sparkly and decadent with micas and flavors. But a word of warning – once you start making your own beautifully hand crafted lip balms, you won’t be able to buy another mediocre, manufactured, tube of low quality oil and wax again. We’re all addicted to our homemade creations here and, it’s a good thing! [Read more…]
Sunday Funday and Soap Queen TV
Yesterday we wrapped up another successful filming session of Soap Queen TV. The BB crew and I had a blast on set (as always) and I couldn’t be more excited about the upcoming episodes! We filmed a spray perfume, an all natural solid perfume with a custom essential oil blend, Lavender bath truffles, Vanilla and Chocolate bath truffles with another yummy custom blend and, finally, a goat milk cold process soap using fresh goat milk. It was a jam packed Sunday which we enthusiastically called Sunday Funday (or Sunday Soapday)?
Above is the set up for the goat milk cold process soap project using the 9 bar Cube Mold and the In The Pot Swirl technique. ITP looks amazing in the cube mold. The design is hypnotizing (Can’t. Stop. Staring. At. Soap). And I can’t wait to show you how “non-scary” goat milk soap really is (if you can’t wait for the episode to air you can read up on the technique in this Goat Milk Book). [Read more…]
Fourth of July Melt and Pour Soap
Happy weekend! I was inspired by this awesome 4th of July Fudge (pinned onto my 100 Days of Summer Pinterest page, naturally) to create a tutorial using our brand spankin’ new 4-sphere silicone mold, along with the 9-cube silicone mold that I’m still obsessing over. I built sand bottle-like layers in the cubes by manipulating the melt and pour as it dried. In the spheres, I used some of the ideas from this Soap Queen TV episode to create marbled swirls. The color scheme is as American as apple pie, so what better to use than Bramble Berry’s Red Apple Fragrance Oil? Either of these intermediate techniques can easily be modified for a beginner by creating basic layers in the cubes and spheres, and can be varied by using different thicknesses in the layers. If you don’t have these molds, it’s okay, this technique works for all kinds of molds (the thicker the mold, the better).
Neon Ambrosia Soap on Soap Queen TV
Quite possibly the cutest episode of Soap Queen TV… ever (although the piggies were REALLY cute). I had a great time making this video and creating these two projects. And, as you’ll see from the outtakes at the end, I had a really fun (slash dorky) time with the soap I made.
