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Romantic Reeds Tutorial

February 4, 2010 Filed Under: Home Crafts

Reed Diffuser Basics

Ingredients
Fragrance Oil or Essential Oil
DPG (Dipropylene Glycol)
Rubbing Alcohol
Reeds
Reed Bottle

Mix 1 part fragrance and 1 part DPG. Next add rubbing Alcohol to thin it down to a watery consistency (usually less than 25% of the total blend). The amount you use will vary depending on the consistency of the fragrance or essential oil.

Fun Blends

Here are some romantic, Valentine’s Day Blends that we came up with. Give ’em a try and impress your Valentine!

1 part Vanilla Select, 1 part Sugar Plum Fairy

1 part Passion Fruit Rose, 1 part Herbal Essence

1 part Jasmine Dreams,1 part Vanilla Select

1 part Dark Rich Chocolate,1 part Moroccan Mint, 1 part Tahitian Vanilla

Get Creative!

Personalize your reed bottles with Mod Podge (a decoupage glue) for a one of a kind reed diffuser and a one of a kind gift! As you can see, I had a blast.

This is my favorite. I cut up the program from Wicked in London for a souvenir that will forever remind me of a once in a life time trip!

This black and white is bottle is super simple. I used white tissue paper with Rub-Ons, which are stickers used for scrapbooking. I love how the texture turned out. It reminds me of paper-mache!

Last but not least is a collage from my old magazine collection (I knew I saved them for a reason). I just picked out fun colors and things that I love…notice the iphone, Twitter bird and the work out girl.

Please note: The cute curly Ting Ting sticks don’t wick-up the fragrance blends like the reeds do – but they are so cute I used them as is. If you are trying to fragrance a large room try mixing in some reed diffusers with the curly Ting Tings.

Frozen Fragrance Oils

February 3, 2010 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

We’ve had numerous customer questions regarding fragrances ‘freezing’ in transit. So I thought others might be interested in the “fix” as well. Below is a fragrance oil (Hello Sweet Thangto be exact) that we left outside in the cold overnight. This is what the fragrance looked like after a night in the cold. Some of the fragrance components have cooled off enough to harden up and sink to the bottom of the mixture. But have no fear, the fragrance oil can be brought back to life using our simple heating trick.

Before…

Hot Water Bath: Bring water to a boil on the stove, turn the heat off and submerge the fragrance oil bottle (with cap off) in the hot water. This can take up to an hour for the fragrance to get back to normal so be patient! Re-cap and give the fragrance a good shake and store in a comfortable room temperature and your fragrance should be a-okay.

After…

Win Free Soap App for iPhone/iTouch

February 2, 2010 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

We have two lucky codes for two lucky winners for a free full-service version of the iPhone SoapApplication – it works on the iPhone and iTouch. The Soap App calculates your lye and water for your recipes and allows you to change the size of your recipe with just two easy clicks. Soap App works in grams and ounces. Tutorials on using the Soap App are here and here.

Ways to win a code for the FREE Soapmaking App:

1. Post a comment on this blog post and tell me what’s in your Soap Pot this week.

2. Tweet a link to any blog post from 2010 using the following phrase:

“I’m reading the @brambleberry Soap Queen blog! “

That’s it; it’s easy! Winner will be chosen next Monday!

Seek to Serve

February 2, 2010 Filed Under: Business Musings

I listened to a great audio CD on the way to work this morning – an interview with Wayne Dyer by the publisher of Success Magazine. Aside: if you don’t subscribe to Success Magazine and you’re a small business owner, you should. It’s chock full of business advice, interviews with inspirational leaders and practical day-to-day advice on how to stay positive, focused and goal-oriented in good times and bad.

In the interview, Mr. Dyer (author of ‘Excuses Begone’ and other self-help or inspirational books) exhorted his listeners to ask what you can do for others – rather than constantly looking around to see what others can do for you. In the ‘like begets like‘ way of thinking, Mr. Dyer said that if you’re constantly asking the universe to give you more, more, more, the universe looks at you and asks for more, more, more.

In business, this attitude doesn’t need to be about giving everything away. Rather, it’s just a simple mind shift of “How will this help my customer?” when you’re adding new products, asking “How can this help my community?” when you’re deciding where to go to lunch or asking “How can this benefit my staff?” when thinking of employee policy changes.

Try it when you’re making decisions today. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the difference this subtle shift in perspective makes.

Loans that Change Lives

February 1, 2010 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Being socially responsible is one of Bramble Berry’s core values. That means a lot of things (from recycling, to paying extra for green energy, to being a ‘water wise’ workplace), including donating time and money. To that end, since our inception in 1998, we’ve always donated a portion of our profits every year to worthy non profits.

Last year, we started doing some micro-loans as well as straight donations through a lending program called Kiva whose mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty. Kiva is an awesome organization that allows you to loan money to low income micro-entrepreneurs. Why? To help them make great strides towards economic independence as they go down the path to self-employment. And another great thing? You’ll have your money back with in 6-12 months to either re-fund a new loan or take it out to help fund your own needs.

One of our recent loans went to Cecilia, a soapmaker from Ghana who uses the money to purchase raw materials and processing equipment. She lives with her husband and seven children in the outskirts of their town. She is a hard working mother and wants to give her children a quality education. I am so happy that my donation could potentially help her achieve that goal.

Another loan went to a young entrepreneur, Kerlyn Echavarria, who sells perfumes and cosmetics door to door in the Dominican Replublic. She hopes to one day expand into other cosmetic areas like facial creams, lipstick and makeup. Kerlyn is a single mother raising her two-year-old daughter. Kerlyn’s business is successful so far, she is just constrained by how much she can purchase at one time. This loan will help Kerlyn buy more perfume and other cosmetics to expand her business.

Do you want to lend money to help someone get started? Lend here. You won’t regret it!

In other non-profit news…

“A Lather Goes a Long Way: Soap Hope and The PLAN Fund Announce New Anti-Poverty Partnership”. Read the press release here. Soap Hope donates 100% of their net profits to funds that invest and make loans with women owned microbusinesses. Salah, from Soap Hope also has another company, MyObamaBar.com. Check out the old blog post here to see the “audacity of soap”. I’ve been chatting with Salah via email and she’s thrilled that her sales have grown 20% each month for the last 6 months thanks to the support of the soaping community! You guys rock!

The Great Eyelash Experiment

January 31, 2010 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

It’s a beautiful Sunday evening here in Bellingham, WA. I hope you’ve all had a fabulous weekend and got to relax a little bit today. I’ve spent the day with my fabulous husband and mother in law. And, I also found time to conduct a little eyelash experiment (and who better to share it with than my Soap Queen friends?).

Dear Diary,

Today is the first day on my quest for longer eyelashes. I just received my elongating eyelash kit in the mail from Talika. It’s a plant extract based gel that will “possibly” grow my lashes longer and thicker in just 28 days. Can you imagine? Well, I’m giving it a shot! See ya in 28 days with the results!

XXOO,
~Anne-Marie

PS – Federal Trade Commissioners who might be reading my diary, I paid full retail for the Talika eyelash growth set. It’s not a free sample.

What’s New at Bramble Berry?

January 30, 2010 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

We’ve got some new additions to the line up of products at Bramble Berry.

8 oz Bottles with Natural Pump Tops, Silver Spray Tops or White Disk Caps. Take your pick!

4 oz Jars
Perfect for lotions, balms and scrubs!

Stainless Steel Bath Bomb Mold
Makes a professional looking, mondo sized bath bomb!

Lip Smacking Sweet Flavor Oil
An oh so sweet addition to any lip balm recipe.

Soap Queen TV 2010 Season Begins!

January 28, 2010 Filed Under: Soaks & Scrubs

Soap Queen TV is back with a fun and unique project perfect for Valentine’s Day!

This year we are focusing on other types of projects and techniques including Cold Process Soapmaking, Lotions, Scrubs and so much more so stay tuned!

Soap Queen TV – Massage Candles from Soap Queen on Vimeo.

Massage candles are a wonderfully luxurious treat to make for yourself or that special someone. A massage candle is a blend of skin safe waxes, oils and essential oils that melt at a low temperature, perfect for a warm and soothing massage.

Ingredients

4 oz. Container Soy Wax

1 oz. Deodorized Cocoa Butter

4 oz. Avocado Oil

5 oz. Shea Butter

1/2 oz Ylang Ylang Essential Oil

1/2 oz Patchouli Essential Oil

4 six oz. Candle Tins

4 WU 250 Wicks

Buy everything you need with the click of a button!

From Camels to Cadbury

January 27, 2010 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

I’ve been back in the States going on 2 days now and am just getting back into the swing of things with jet lag and the fun accumulation of snail mail and work projects that built up while I was away.

We were very lucky and had a long layover in London so I went from Camels one night to Double Decker buses the next afternoon. It was surreal to go from sand to the pavement and hustle of London within one 24 hour period.

On our last day, we went to a farm out in the country side and rode camels, Arabian horses, hiked to the top of a hillside to watch the sunset and experienced traditional dancing, food & hookah smoking (Well, it was available. I’m a wimp and didn’t try it). For future reference, camels are really, really tall and when you’re in the air, you feel very high up. And, they’re not smooth at all to ride unless they’re running. When they are running, they’re easy to ride but when they are walking, it’s a core workout!

When we got back to our hotel (which overlooked the Red Sea), we were interested to see that there were blankets spread out all along the waterfront with small groups of people eating and hanging out in picnic-fashion. There were a lot of people out picnicing by the water, too. Imagine our surprise the next morning to find many of them still along the waterfront. The had stayed up all night! The photo from the top left is one of the picnic-groups leaving their area and walking away, presumably to go home and sleep.

And then it was off to London for 2 days. London was cold, drizzly and foggy but was steeped in history. We rode the Red Bus for the entire day on the first day, listening to the tour and marveling at the sights. In the evening, we went to go see the musical ‘Wicked’ (which we loved and highly highly recomend). On the second day, we went to the Tower of London and the Tate Modern. It was quite a juxtoposition – a tower that had been around since 1078 and then the Tate Modern, showcasing international modern and contemporary art. It was almost a 1000 year swing in time periods.

We were sad to leave the history-rich city of London but thrilled when we retuned home to Seattle to find that the weather in Washington state was warmer and more clear than in London (How is that possible? We typically have terrible weather in Washington state!).

I was delighted to see everyone at Bramble Berry and was especially thrilled that the 24-hour-turnaround goal had been kept for all of our orders that shipped while I was gone (yay!). A special thanks to Amber for doing such an incredible job with putting her spin on the blog and keeping everyone entertained with her screen printing and mad baking skills. She’s quite a whiz.

Look for a new SoapQueen.TV video tomorrow! Sign up to receive the latest video news at SoapQueen.TV if you want to be the very first to be notified. Also in Bramble Berry news, we sent out a newsletter yesterday. If you didn’t get it and you’re a subscriber, let me know. There was an exclusive recipe in it for subscribers.

A Few of My Favorite Blogs

January 26, 2010 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

I hope you’ve enjoyed my posts while I’ve been babysitting the Soap Queen blog. Anne-Marie is safe at home and happily recovering from the long flight while desperately trying to adjust to our time zone. She’s at work today and looking forward to resuming blogging this week but in the meantime….

Anne-Marie and I are huge consumers of Blogs. I say ‘consume’ rather than read because reading sounds so passive and we get so excited it feels like we’re gorging ourselves at an all you can eat buffet for inspiration, projects, and pretty things to look at. We both have numerous blogs that we read everyday and the emails flying back and forth sharing favorite posts is a bit extreme at times. I thought it would be fun to share a few of my current favorites with you.

My Tartlette: Beautiful photography and dainty dessert recipes. I’m excited to try her macaron recipe.

ii-ne-kore: Interesting, unusual and random with a focus on Japanese design.

Oh Hello Friend: An inspiration blog with lovely pictures of stuff…I just love looking at stuff.

Paper Crave: All about paper from cute project ideas to adorable letter press cards to neat origami creations.

Something’s Hiding in Here: I just love their style and their loft apartment – so cool!

Tipnut: They always have great, succinct round-ups of useful projects and ideas from all over the net.

Twig and Thistle: Another gorgeous design blog with a heavy leaning towards pretty paper things.

Chocolate and Zucchini: This cute blog satisfies the francophile in me. Her photos are gorgeous and I love trying out her recipes.

Decor8: Design blog based out of Germany that I love for the photos and colors.

Saudi trip to Aramco

January 25, 2010 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

I’m writing this from our long layover in London; I know it’s not as timely as it could be but I wanted you to share in the incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience at the Saudi Arabia Aramco refinery. We head back to Seattle today and it’s not a minute too soon – I’m homesick!

We had a massive treat a couple days ago. We got out of the hotel by 5:30 a.m. to catch a private corporate jet (yep, that’s the plane in the top photo) to the Saudi Aramco oil fields. The Aramco team flew our entire Entrepreneur’s group across the country to tour their oil fields and learn more about their company.

According to the presentation, Saudi is facing a massive problem. My memory is a teensy bit fuzzy but the demographic information for Saudi’s future will be challenging for them: 70% of the population is supported by 30% of the population and within 10 (?) years, over 50% of the population will be under the age of 18 with no jobs in sight (since Saudi Arabia doesn’t export anything besides oil). Aramco used the opportunity encourage the entrepreneurs in the group to partner with them in their Innovation Zones. They import a lot of industrial products for their oil fields and would like to manufacture those products in-country (to help produce jobs for future generations).

The official line is the Saudi government partnered and purchased Aramco from their U.S. counterparts back in the ’70s. Some of the locals told me that they actually “appropriated” Aramco from a US based company back in the ‘70s for under market value. The truth probably lies someplace in the middle. Today, Aramco produces 1/10th of the world’s crude oil every single day. Their last plant cost multiple billions to build (memory is foggy but I think it was $2 billion) and they repaid it within four months. Saudi Aramco is thought to be (by far) the world’s most profitable company.

We were given a once in a lifetime opportunity to climb the sand dunes at Shaybah oil fields. We all kicked off our shoes and climbed the sand dunes and watched the sunset from these massive sand dunes. Climbing sand dunes is a lot of work (very, very physically taxing) but was so very worth it. It was breath taking and incredibly peaceful.

The Saudi Aramco company prides itself on being a “Little America” so they allow women to work with men and women can drive. When we got to our second destination of the day (three flights on the private jets – it wasn’t much of a hardship), the Aramco men greeting our plane INSISTED the women take off our abayas. Since we typically have understood that we will very much offend the locals and be under possibility of imprisonment if we are caught out in public
without our head coverings and abaya coverings, we were quite hesitant but the Saudi Aramco men wanted us to understand that they are ‘different’ at Saudi Aramco and welcomed us to wear our western-style garb. Even then, several of the women still left theirs on.

This permissive attitude only went so far however. When I asked, in a public Q & A session, if the women and children are allowed to live with the 700 worker men who work in this very very very remote section of Saudi, the man feigned puzzlement and said “Thank you for your comment.” Still having the mic, I said, “No, that’s a question. Are women and families allowed to stay with their husbands in your staff housing?”

He looked at me sideways, barked a short laugh, turned his back to me and said “No. No women. It’s very simple!” And when we were boarding the plane to go home, one of the women put her abaya on as she was cold and he said to her “Ah, you look much prettier in that.”

The trip to Aramco was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I am so thankful that we were given the opportunity. And, if I could only figure out how to manufacture one of the parts that the Aramco company needs, I would be one happy businesswoman. I wonder if I can convince them that they need a lot of handmade soap?

Shea Butter Soap Cupcakes – Cold Process soap

January 23, 2010 Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

Hi Everyone! Please welcome Erin from Naiad Soap Arts who generously offered to help me out while Anne-Marie is away. Erin’s soap craftsmanship is mind boggling, not to mention beautiful. She created this amazing tutorial just for Soap Queen, enjoy! ~Amber

Have you been drooling over all of the cupcake themed bath and body treats lately? I have! Here is another to add to the collection – a deliciously sweet Cold Process Soap Cupcake scented with Strawberry and Cream cheese! The end result smells just like a cupcake!

If you unfamiliar with Cold Process consider this DVD or this Book. For your safety please do not try this until you are familiar with the Cold Process method of soap making and are familiar with safety precautions when handling Sodium Hydroxide. Many thanks ~ erin

Now let’s get started!

Soap recipe for 6 cupcakes:
7.5 oz. Coconut oil 76 degree
7.5 oz. Palm Oil
6.25 oz. Olive Oil Pomace
2.5 oz. Castor Oil
1.25 oz. Shea Butter
7 oz. of distilled water
3.5 oz. of Sodium Hydroxide
1 oz. Cream Cheese Frosting Fragrance Oil
1 oz. Strawberry Fragrance Oil
we will be soaping at 100 degrees
There is a little extra soap incase you want to add more frosting than I did!
If not, have a small plastic container ready for extra soap!

Other supplies:
• Round Cupcake Silicone Mold
• 6 paper cupcake liners
• Flamingo Pink High PH Lab Color
• Iridescent Glitter
• Disposable Cake Decorating bag
• Plastic Star Cake Decorating Tip or stainless steel decorating tip
• Stick Blender
• scale

• safety goggles

• gloves

• plastic spoon

• stainless steel whisk (for thorough stirring)

• one, 2 cup microwave safe glass measuring cup

• one, 4 cup microwave safe glass measuring cup

• one, 8 cup microwave safe glass measuring cup

• one, 2 cup plastic or glass cup for measuring sodium hydroxide. (I have one measuring cup I use for sodium hydroxide and nothing else and I suggest you designate a sturdy measuring cup for this task)

• thermometer(s) that reads up to 200 degrees

• box large enough to fit the mold, and at least 6 inches deep.

For all supplies without a link you can do a web search to find them and many of the cake supplies will be available in a local craft or baking store. The measuring cups can be found at any big box store that sells kitchenware.

1) Get everything out and within easy reach. Line the cupcake mold with paper liners, cut the tip of the plastic disposable decorating bag so that the plastic star tip fits in it, weigh out your 1 oz of fragrance oils and set aside ( I like to save empty fragrance oil bottles for this), double check that you have all of your supplies ready.

2) In your 8 cup measuring glass, weigh out your Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, and Shea butter. Microwave until melted about 4 minutes

3) Add your olive oil and castor oil and set aside.

4 ) PUT ON YOUR SAFETY GOGGLES AND GLOVES. They will be on from here on out. 🙂

5) In your 2 cup glass measuring glass weigh out your water, set aside. In your 2 cup glass or plastic measuring cup weigh out sodium hydroxide. VERY IMPORTANT: in a well ventilated area mix the sodium hydroxide into the water (never the other way around). Be sure not to inhale any of the fumes as they are toxic. Stir with your plastic spoon until the solution is clear and all of the sodium hydroxide is dissolved – about 2 minutes. Set aside with your thermometer and wait for the temp to reach 100 degrees. Start with ice water to expedite this part!

6) Once the sodium hydroxide is just above 100 degrees, take the temperature of your oils and make sure they are also at 100 degrees. If it is too hot pop the container in an ice water bath and if it is too cool pop in the microwave for just a few seconds at a time. NOTE: temperatures can be within 5 degrees of each other.Slowly mix the sodium hydroxide solution into the oils while mixing with the same plastic spoon you used to mix the sodium hydroxide solution. Finish off by mixing with your stick blender until you achieve a light trace (looks like thin pudding). This took me about 1 minute.

7) Separate out 18 oz. of soap into your 4 cup glass measuring cup, add 1 oz of Cream Cheese Frosting FO, stir well, pour into your cupcake mold, and tap on the counter to level out soap. Set aside.

8) To the remaining soap add your 1 oz of Strawberry FO, and 40 drops of Flamingo Pink labcolor or until you get a pink that you like. The soap should be getting pretty thick at this point. Stir with your whisk until the soap is very thick and can hold shape.

9) Fill your disposable decorating bag with the strawberry pink soap. Make sure you hold the decorating tip securely in the bottom and keep it in place until the bag is full of soap. Twist the top or secure with a twist tie.

10) Begin piping frosting onto the tops of your cupcakes in a circular motion, building up tapered layers as you go. Repeat with all six cupcake soaps. I used a small star tip to get a tight ridge on the frosting but a larger tip will make for the big fluffy frosting look you have probably seen!

11) Sprinkle with glitter when you are finished.

12) Place a box over the top of the mold, tall enough for clearance for the soap frosting. Cover with a blanket and let sit undisturbed for 24 hours. After 24 hours your cupcakes should be very firm and easily removed from the mold. You can peel the paper at this point or keep it on. Let them cure for 4 weeks in a cool, dry place!

Afternote: the Cream Cheese Frosting FO will start to darken the soap because of the vanilla in the fragrance. I think the end result is going to be a tan color and you can see that starting to happen in the photo. If you do not want this to happen choose a non-discoloring Fragrance.

Happy Soaping!

Saudi Arabia is Going Straight to My Hips…

January 22, 2010 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Greetings from Saudi! It’s going exceedingly well, despite some surprising cultural norms around the way women dress and are treated (separate eating areas, separate meeting rooms etc). Being in Saudi has been a bit of a shock with all of the women in their burkas and abayas. It’s odd not to see women working in shops or driving. Women are still not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia and up until a few months ago, they could not work in shops where men worked (‘mixing’ was illegal and now is just heavily frowned upon). That said, there are some incredible parts of the culture that are heart warming (emphasis on family is strong) and some surprising – like, they have Krispy Kremes here! It’s like an oasis in the desert to see American comfort food. In fact, we ate at a ‘South of the Border’ Mexican joint last night. That was hilarious. Saudi Arabia is a ‘dry’ country – no alcohol at ALL in the entire country yet look at the ‘chandelier’. It’s made out of empty beer bottles that they can’t drink here. And the coaster? Is it a ‘margarita’ if there is soley Lime Juice and a salt rim?

Food is another big part of the culture here. I’ve been eating a lot. It probably has to do with the no-waist abaya; there’s no waistband to remind me I’ve eaten too much. This is just a small fraction of the desserts that we had at one of our first functions here. Doesn’t it all look insanely good?

In our Hilton (a little liberal oasis), they have a small little non-head-scarf wearing area for the American women (though we do have to sit on our women’s section for all the educational classes behind one-way mirrors; we can see the men and the speaker but they can’t see us). My husband and I were able to meet some local dignitaries (as evidenced by their golden robes). My husband’s company does work in Saudi Arabia so it was great to strengthen his relationships in the country.

The head scarf is a strange thing for me to wear. I’ve always been an exceedingly opinionated, strong willed woman. To not have men look me in the eyes or take my order at restaurants is a new experience. My husband is always by my side on this trip as women traditionally are accompanied by a man. When we were in the hotel lobby the first day, I turned around and my husband lost me. With me turned around, I looked like every other woman in the lobby. He found me again, surprise, confusion and a whiff of panic in his eyes, “I thought I lost you. You can’t tell who you are from behind.”

Another difference here is that there are separate sections in restaurants for women & children and then one just for the men. My husband typically is the only man in the area. Many of the of the other men have left their women and children in the ‘family’ area and are seated by themselves in the ‘men only’ area. It’s just one of the interesting and different cultural norms that I am getting used to.

As if the schedules didn’t keep us busy enough, the internet is quite spotty and expensive in our room. I’ve been missing Facebook, Twitter and interacting with friends and customers on this blog and the Teach Soap forum. It’s yet another thing I took for granted in the States. I’ll try to post another update on Sunday. Until then, happy soaping! =)

Soapylove tutorial: Rainbow Carnations!

January 21, 2010 Filed Under: Home Crafts

The weather outside might be cold and unfriendly but these Rainbow Carnations will warm up any room! Plus they’re a great project when you’re stuck inside. All you need are a bunch of fresh white carnations (baby or full size are fine) and your set of Jewelry Box Colorants. Now let’s get started!

First, get 2 cups of warm tap water and 5 or 6 glasses. Fill each glass about 1/2″ full then put 3-4 droppers full of colorant in each (use each color individually, plus mix them to get other shades. Check out this handy color mixing chart here). Pour remaining water into a bowl, then cut your carnation stems about 6″ long, at an angle, under the water. Immediately put your cut flowers in each cup.

Depending on how fresh your flowers are and how intense your color mixture is, you may start to see color in as little as one hour and get full color saturation in 24 hours.

To arrange your flowers in a pot like in the photo, take a small pot, a plastic cup, and a block of oasis. Cut your cup down so the top is below the rim of the pot. Then cut your oasis with a knife until it’s slightly bigger than the bottom of your cup. You should push it down so it’s wedged into the cup. Now start sticking your flower stems into the foam, working from the outside edge into the center. Then fill your cup with water. Ta da!!

SHORTCUT!: If you are feeling impatient and want to see some seriously instant results, cut your flower just below the bud (under warm water!) and put in a tiny cup like a shot glass with warm heavily colored water. I started seeing color in 5 minutes!! Have fun!

-Debbie, Soapylove