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Send Kyle & Nicolas a Card

December 16, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

My little friend Kyle was diagnosed with an inoperable brainstem tumor in February 2007. Since then, he’s undergone radiation, clinical trials, chemotherapy, surgery and more. He is a very brave boy. To read more about his treatment, see pictures and learn more about his family, click here to be taken to his blog. Kyle’s Mom, Christin, also writes a blog about her daily experience of juggling two active boys, a full time job, Kyle’s medical treatments and side-effects. You can read her blog here.

One of the things that makes him and his older brother Nicolas very happy is mail! When I went to visit them last night, they were both opening Christmas cards from well wishers. Many of the cards were corporate cards from local businesses who had tossed Kyle and Nicolas onto their own mailing lists and other cards were elaborate handmade cards with long notes. It didn’t matter what sort of card it was – the boys were thrilled to receive holiday wishes from people all across Washington state who were wishing them well.

If you have a moment, please send Kyle and Nicolas a Christmas card. They love opening them and their Mama is planning on stringing them up in the hallway, for a giant reminder of how many people are rooting for Kyle and his family.

Their address is:

Kyle and Nicolas Roger
837 South Hills Drive
Bellingham, WA 98229

PS – If you have any bath fizzies lying around, Kyle loves to take baths and bath fizzies make it much more fun for him.

Etsy Purchases

December 16, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

I’m very excited that almost all my letterpress card purchases from Etsy last night.

Peace Cards by Blackbird Letterpress

Cupcake cards by Dingbat Press

Cards by Studio OlivineWith Christmas here and many thank you cards to write, these will be sent out into the world in no time.

Simply Thrifty touts Eco Chic Soap

December 15, 2008 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Thanks Simply Thrifty for mentioning how easy it is to make professional looking, lovely and gift worthy soap using the Bramble Berry Eco Chic soapmaking kit and containers in your own home.
UPDATE: This kit has been discontinued. Click here to shop more kits.

Salvation Army Shopping Trip

December 15, 2008 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

For the last 11 years, Bramble Berry has adopted a family or two through the Salvation Army to keep them in toys, clothes and food for the Holidays – this year we got 5!

We love making handmade soaps and candles for the families as well as terrorizing our local shopping center for one fantastic evening. Giving back to the community is important to me and everyone at Bramble Berry. In fact, “Be Socially Responsible” is one of our five guiding principles at Bramble Berry. This year nearly all of the Brambleberrians volunteered an evening of their time to choose fabulous Christmas gifts for our adopted families. A few even brought their children to start them early on the idea of giving back. All I had to do was swipe my credit card at the end!

The entire Bramble Berry gang gathered just inside the doors – a possible fire hazard – and received their assignments. This year it was extra fun due to the addition of many children. They were particularly helpful in picking out adorable baby clothes and the coolest toys. Left to my own devices, I fear that my choices for toys would be wooden, old-fashioned or book-related.

We all exchanged cell phone numbers in case someone needed emergency assistance – what is an RC Hauler anyway? – and barreled into the clothing department like a herd of wild buffalo! The laughter was so loud from certain not-to-be-named employees that it was like a honing beacon if anyone got lost. Who needs cell phones when you have hilarity to guide you with?

Traffic jam in the toy department.

After 2 hours and much mayhem and laughter we were ready to check-out.

Yes, the entire line is Bramble Berry. We had 11 full carts and our very own line.

Patiently waiting.

Gleefully making the purchase.

This year we had our own “experienced” cashier and check stand! She was so organized and on top of it – not a single cart set-off the door alarm as we left the store (which was good since Norm had accidentally taken the receipt with him as he exited the store).

Our final receipt was taller than Chloe and Titan, two our kidlet helpers.

It’s our favorite time of the year for many reasons and the Salvation Army Shopping Trip makes it much sweeter for the whole Bramble Berry team. A heartfelt thank youfor supporting us throughout the year so that we can give back and make Christmas brighter for others.

Green Bloggers Like our Eco Kit

December 14, 2008 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Green Among Gray likes our Eco Chic soap kit. Here’s what they had to say about it:
UPDATE: This kit has been discontinued. Click here to shop more kits.

So why not skip the chemicals and make your showers that much more rewarding by making your own soap?

Bramble Berry’s Eco-Chic Soap Kit ($15.45) is a great way to do just that. You get an organic base, cranberry seeds, natural oils and more, plus Web-based instructions (no paper waste!) on how to incorporate your own ingredients – oatmeal, coffee grounds, etc. – to bring it all together.

And, The Green Parentcalls our Eco Chic Soap Kit a “quick any easy gift for anyone on your gift list.” The Green Parent is a kid friendly guide to green living. Melt and Pour soapmaking is an ideal child-friendly project for kids 4 and over with adult supervision.

Beating Bad Holiday Habits

December 13, 2008 Filed Under: Business Musings

Will Holiday Habits Set You Back for 2009?
Guest blog by Jack Canfield, author of The Success Principles

You are an accumulation of your habits. From how you get out of bed, how you shower, how you dress, how you shop for food and eat meals, how you exercise, how you walk, sit, and talk, how you respond to the world, how you act in front of others, and how you think; you are living out your habits.

Habits are necessary. Because they typically come naturally and automatically (“through habit”), they free up your mind so you can concentrate on how to survive day to day. You don’t have to think about how to drive your car so you can be on the lookout for danger while you are driving. You don’t have to think about how to walk so you can concentrate on where you’re going.

Unfortunately, habits can also keep you locked in self-destructive patterns, which will limit your success.

This is especially true during stressful periods, like holidays. And compounding the holiday season this year is the current economic downturn we’re all experiencing.

It’s probably going to last longer than a season, infringing upon people’s aspirations and optimism for 2009. People are facing job loss, foreclosures, higher bills, lower incomes…and yet those holiday expectations loom large.This is when it’s far too easy to let bad habits take over and multiply with every holiday symbol that you see.

What’s the secret to surviving this holiday season, bring in the new year feeling fantastic–physically and emotionally–and have more confidence in the future?

You will need to drop those bad habits and develop new ones that are in line with the life you want to live. This will help you to get through the holidays cheerfully and embrace 2009 with high hopes. People don’t suddenly appear in the life they want to live, habits determine their outcome!

So ask yourself, what are the habits you have that are keeping you from achieving your goals? Which ones seem to become magnified during the end of the year, setting you up for feeling behind and lousy come January 1st?

Really be honest with yourself. Are you always running late? Do you make promises you can’t keep? Do you get enough sleep? Do you make excuses for not eating well and scheduling exercise? Do you plan out your day?

Imagine what your life would be like if all those habits were their productive counterparts.

What would your life be like if you ate healthy meals, exercised and got enough sleep? What if you saved money, stopped using credit cards and paid cash for everything? What if you stopped procrastinating, overcame your fears, and began networking with people in your field? Would your life be different? I bet it would!

So, my suggested action step for you is to write down some productive habits you could adopt and visualize in your life. Step two is to “act as if” you were living these new habits right now!

I know, you thought you wouldn’t have to do this until New Year’s, but I’d like to help you get moving toward creating more successful habits today, so you’re already in motion when 2009 lands.

I’d recommend you plan on developing four of your new success habits each year, one for each quarter. That means right this instant you can map out which four you intend to adopt in 2009, and then create a method that will support your new habits.

Here are some ideas: You could write it down on a card that you keep with you and read several times a day. You could make it a part of your daily visualization. You could also enlist the help of an accountability partner who has habits to change.

It’s important to make a 100% commitment to each of your new habits, so be specific about the steps that you’re willing to take in order to drop an old habit and adopt a new one.

Don’t be vague about how you will change your habits. Spell it out for yourself so you can recognize situations that motivate you to act out your new habit.

Just developing four new habits a year will dramatically shift your life to be more in line with your vision. And the more in line it becomes, the easier the other habits are to replace because your perspective is shifting and you can see more clearly how your old habits aren’t serving you anymore.

Don’t let the economic forecast for the next several months impede your movement forward. Get ready for 2009 today. Focus on habits that will launch you forward, not back.

Make the decision. Make the commitment. Then watch your new, positive life unfold!

Jack Canfield, America’s #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you’re ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com

Mom Most Traveled – Contest

December 12, 2008 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

The Mom Most Traveled blog is doing a contest with a Gingerbread Man Soapmaking Kit as a prize. Head over to their blog to enter. They love our Kid’s Soapmaking Kit, mentioning that it’s a great way to engage creativity and that kids love the sparkles and fragrance in the kit.

Mistletoe Soap – Part Three – The Berries

December 12, 2008 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

In the first part of this project, we worked on making and embedding the mistletoe leaves and in the second part, I showed you how to finish the soap with a ribbon for hanging.

Here are some alternatives and including how to add berries (just in case the plain green leaves aren’t good enough for you!).

In the example to the right, we just pierced a hole in the ends of three cut-out soap leaves with an embroidery needle. Then we threaded them on a piece of red embroidery floss and tied a knot to keep them in place. Don’t tie your knot too tight or the string can break through the soap.

Hang this up in your doorways for the ultimate conversation starter and room deodorizer.

To add little white Mistletoe berries, melt a few ounces of clear melt and pour soap and add Pearly White mica. Using a dropper, make little groups of three dots of soap in the base of the brownie pan.

Once they’ve set-up (which will only take seconds), spritz with rubbing alcohol and pour your your green soap as directed in step 1. Just be extra careful that your soap isn’t too hot or else you’ll melt all of your little dots. The ideal temperature is around 120 degrees for most of the Bramble Berry melt and pour bases.

You can also add little berry dots using this technique right before you embed the leaves in your mold (do this before step 4). The image at the top of the first mistletoe post is an example of this technique.

And finally, you can use some of your home made soap paint to add little berry dots. Instructions for making soap paint can be found here.

There are lots of options for making your home look and smell good with soap for the holidays. I hope you enjoyed this three part tutorial on making Mistletoe Soap.

Help Another Small Business

December 11, 2008 Filed Under: Business Musings

Though the FDA Globalization Act is on the back burner for now, another small industry – handcrafted toys – is at risk of falling prey to the same type of catch-all law our industry has been fighting all year.

Toys from China have sickened children all over America in the last two years. Clearly, something needs to be done to protect children and families in America from poor product safety laws in other country’s exports. The United States Congress rightly recognized that the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC is the oversight committee that works with toys) lacked the authority and staffing to prevent dangerous toys from being imported into the US. So, they passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in August, 2008. Among other things, the CPSIA bans lead and phthalates in toys, mandates third-party testing and certification for all toys and requires toy makers to permanently label each toy with a date and batch number.

This is all good stuff, right? Well …. yes. But, what about the home crafters (your grandpa, maybe?) that have been whittling cool little wooden toys for a part time income and selling them at craft shows. Should they have to pay a $500-4000 third-party testing fee? Well … no. But this law addresses all toys, no matter where they were made, no matter where they are sold and no matter what materials are used.

The CPSIA simply forgot to exclude the class of toys that have earned and kept the public’s trust: Toys made in the US, Canada, and Europe. The result, unless the law is modified, is that small-batch, micro-business handmade toys (like the one pictured) will no longer be affordably legal in the US. Etsy did a video interview with one such toymaker who will inevitably go out of business if provisions for small business are not put in this law.

What you can do to help – sign the petition, join their Facebook group, write to the CPSIA, research more (the Etsy Discussion Forum about this potential law is here) and write your lawmakers here and here. There’s a sample letter here.

Here’s the one I just wrote and sent to our Washington State lawmakers.

I am writing about the Consumer Product Improvement Act (CPSIA). The way it is currently written, it will put small toymakers (you know, the people you see selling old-fashioned wooden toys at holiday craft shows?) out of business.

Since the bill was primarily written to address toys imported from China, could you consider modifying the bill to have a threshold of at least 5,000 toys, made in the US, sold per year before the $4000 per toy-testing fee is attached? This bill does not address the issue – poisoning from toys imported from China – but rather, taxes all toymakers, regardless of where their toys are made or the materials used.

Please help to protect small business. The way the law is currently written, many small, unique, old-fashioned businesses will be forced to close. In a time of economic turmoil, shutting down any small businesses due to burdensome taxes is a shame.

Be the eco princess you know you are

December 11, 2008 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Green Beauty & Style Slices loves our Eco Chic soap kit! Yippeee! Click here to read the entire (long) article. The mistress of Green Beauty & Style, Jennifer, says:

This is a fun holiday gift idea for sure, especially because everyone loves a good eco soap. Secondly, I visited the Bramble Berry site, and it’s amazing – well worth a visit (a long one). Not only do they carry everything you need to make delicious eco-friendly soaps, but they offer loads of tips and recipe ideas as well. This is not just a shop site, but an excellent resource if eco chic soap is your thing (of course it is!).

Green Beauty & Style Slices tag line is “Be the eco princess you know you are.” They specialize in eco-fashion and beauty tips and we were thrilled to be recognized on their blog. Thanks!

UPDATE: This kit has been discontinued. Click here to shop more kits.

FDA Globalization Act – Update

December 10, 2008 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

With the political landscape changing quickly in Washington DC, there seems to be a lull in activity surrounding the FDA Globalization Act of 2008. Representative Dingell, the original proponent of the act, has been replaced by Representative Waxman as the the Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee (the Committee overseeing the FDA Globalization Act). With Representative Waxman comes an entirely new agenda that may or may not have the FDA Globalization Act (in some shape or form) on it. For now, it appears to be off the active agenda table and literally, tabled for 2008.

Bramble Berry and a coalition of fellow vendors (Essential Wholesale, WholesaleSuppliesPlus), active micro businesses (Belle Lucce, j.blossom) and industry groups (The Soap Guild, Indie Beauty Network) are continuing to monitor the situation, actively brainstorm solutions and proactively educate friends and customers how to best comply with current laws and best manufacturing practices.

To see previous posts about this (including a round up of the Washington DC trip) click here.

Mistletoe Soap – Part Two – Finishing

December 10, 2008 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

In the second part of the Mistletoe soap project, I will show you how to finish your festive holiday soap decoration. If you missed the first part on making the holly leaves, click here to be taken to that tutorial.

step 6: Melt clear soap base (it’s fine if you remelt some of the base you used for embedding the leaves in), taking care to control the temperature so the soap doesn’t boil or steam too much.
step 7: Add iridescent glitter and Holly Berry fragrance (I used .5 ounce of fragrance for a pound of soap for a really bold scent) and mix well.

step 8: Make sure your soap is cool enough to pour so that it won’t remelt your first layer of soap. Usually 120F. Spritz the surface of the the first layer with rubbing alcohol and pour your second glittery layer. Spritz the back of the soap to disperse any air bubbles.
step 9: Cut about a 6 inch loop of ribbon or string.

step 10: Place the ends of your ribbon in the soap. We tried to position ours behind the leaves so the ends would be hidden. Hold in place with a piece of tape or you hand until it sets up.

Step 11:Allow to sit for 24 hours and remove from the mold. Hang above a door a frame or some other high traffic zone and casually wait underneath for someone kissable to walk by.

Soap Centerpiece for the Holidays

December 10, 2008 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

I had some guests over this weekend and used the fun blog projects to make an attractive and yummy-smelling table centerpiece. It got a lot more attention than the usual bouquet of flowers and I was able to give away soap ornaments as party favors.

Mistletoe Soap Project – Part One

December 9, 2008 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

Here’s a cool twist on hanging traditional mistletoe. This mistletoe can be hung just like the real thing and by adding a little extra fragrance, it scents the room for a pleasant holiday ambiance.

Ingredients:
Clear Melt & Pour Soap Base
Green Mica or Oxide
Holly Berry fragrance
Basic Shape mold
ribbon or string
holly leaf soap cutter (cookie cutter found in kitchen or craft stores)
spray bottle with rubbing alcohol
Optional:
Blue Mix lab color
Pearly White Mica

step 1: Melt about 6 ounces of soap base. Basic melt and pour instructions are here if you’re new to melt and pour. Add green colorant and Holly Berry fragrance (I used about .25 ounce for a nice bold scent). Pour soap into the flexible brownie mold and allow to set-up.
step 2: Remove soap from mold and cut Holly leaf shapes out of the soap slab using your cookie cutter. Plastic or metal cutters work just fine for this project but metal cuts through the soap more easily.

step 3: Melt clear soap base. Hint: To make the soap look a little more clear, add a drop or two of Blue Labcolor. Be careful to not add too much; you don’t want blue soap. I usually dilute the Labcolor in a bit of water to control the amounts and ensure no color clumping. Fragrance your soap. Since you want this to be a overly smelly soap, go with .5 ounces of fragrance per pound of base. Stir and mix in well.

step 4: Pour a thin layer of the clear soap into the bottom of the mold. Spritz with rubbing alcohol.
step 5: Thoroughly spray the Holly Leaf shape with rubbing alcohol and place in the clear soap. Repeat with the second leaf.

In the next installment of this tutorial, I’ll show you how to finish these soaps with ribbon and give you some additional ideas if you want to do a little something extra. Until then, happy holiday soaping!