Soap Queen

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Fresh Fish, Sugar and New Words

Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Happy Weekend all! We’re already off to a busy start with a 16 mile run for Chris and Farmer’s Market for the rest of us. Bellingham is located on the water, up in the tippy top point of Washington state. We have a gorgeous marina that Jamisen loves to explore. This last time, we got lucky and met a boat just coming back from Alaska and the boat captain (Hi Captain Dwight!) shared some fresh Alaska salmon that he had smoked on the boat. What a treat! We are going to go back with a care package of handmade soap for him tomorrow.


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Shimmer Fall Layers Melt and Pour

Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

As leaves change to vibrant shades of red, orange and yellow, it’s hard not to be inspired. Created by layering various shades of gold, burgundy and green, this melt and pour project celebrates the change of seasons. Scented with the October fragrance of the month, Spiced Amber Ale Fragrance Oil, this soap smells as warm and inviting as it looks.

Now until midnight on Sunday, October 5th, the Disk Mold and Package used in this project is 35% off! Use the code: SPICYSALE during checkout. The Disk Mold and Package is incredibly convenient as it acts as both a mold and packaging. Simply create your project in the mold, add the lid and your soap is ready to sell, give or store.


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Soapylove Sale + Project Roundup

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

If you are a melt and pour soap maker, you’re propbably familiar with the adorable projects created by Debbie Chialtas of Soapylove. Full of bright colors, cute shapes and fun designs, Soapylove’s projects are incredibly creative and unique.

Soapylove Plaid Soap Kit

Debbie’s Soapylove line of products are well known for sugary-sweet fragrances and eye-catching colorants. Sadly, the Soapylove line is now on clearance, to make room for new products in our warehouse. But act fast! These items are available while supplies last, and will not return once sold out.
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5 Tips to Create Professional Looking Soap

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

When making soap to sell or give as a gift, it needs to look polished and professional . Unfortunately, not every batch comes straight out of the mold this way! Whether the soap has a bit of soda ash or uneven edges, there are several tricks to making each and every bar picture perfect. Here are my top five finishing touches to create soap that looks professional and finished.
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How to Make Fresh Rain Sugar Scrub

Filed Under: Soaks & Scrubs

DIY Sugar Scrub Tutorial on Soap Queen TV

This Fresh Rain Sugar Scrub is so easy to make and a really nice alternative to traditional oil & sugar scrubs that can be greasy and slippery in the shower. Potassium Cocoate is one of the key ingredients in this scrub. It’s a soap concentrate made from coconut oil that contains glycerin resulting in a lovely, moisture-rich scrub. Plus, jojoba beads add a pretty sprinkle of color, and, as highlighted in this Sunday Night Spotlight, they are an ideal alternative to plastic micro-beads.

 

What You’ll Need:
10.5 oz Sugar
1.5 oz Shea Butter
1 oz Potassium Cocoate
0.6 oz Ocean Blue Jojoba Beads
6 mL Optiphen
6 mL Mallow Extract
6 mL Rain fragrance oil
Three 4 oz. Plastic Bail Jars

 Click here to get everything you need to make this scrub!

Chatting with Zahida of Handmade in Florida

Filed Under: Business Musings

Zahida of Handmade in Florida creates stunning cold process soap featuring signature swirls and gorgeous colors. With numerous soap challenge wins under her belt, Zahida has popularized several soaping techniques including the “Butterfly Swirl.” Her passion for creating and eye for design shines through in her blog and YouTube videos.
Before diving into soap, Zahida worked in corporate management and was an active member of the aviation industry, serving on several boards including the Pass Bureau Association. Zahida took a break from the corporate world after the birth of her son, and began soaping shortly after. Read on to learn more about Zahida, her business, and what inspires her to create such gorgeous soap!

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Puppy Love Melt and Pour Tutorial

Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

Pin

Furry friends bring loads of fun and love into our lives. Growing up, I had an Australian Blue Heeler named Hershey and a sweet cat named Tiger. During high school I ran a small business breeding and selling Russian Dwarf Hamsters. I love animals of all shapes and sizes!

This Puppy Love Melt and Pour project uses the new Good Dog Mold 2 to create three adorable and unique puppy soaps. If you are looking for more dog molds, the Good Dog Mold 1 features three different designs. Scented with Energy Fragrance Oil and colored using various color blocks, these molds are easy to customize to recreate your own pet. If you enjoy looking at cute animal photos (who doesn’t?), scroll to the bottom of this post =)

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Like and Win!

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Sharing tutorials, soapy inspiration and bits of my life on this blog motivates and inspires me immensely. I love being able to swap ideas and interact with fellow soapers! Did you know you can find more Soap Queen tutorials, inspiration and behind the scenes sneak peeks via other social media outlets? Check out all the unique, fun soapy activity happening on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, Google + and Facebook.

To show our awesome social media followers extra appreciation, enter now for a chance to win one of SIX Bramble Berry gift certificates! Simply like or follow Soap Queen or Bramble Berry on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or Tumblr (or all four!) to be entered.

For each social media outlet, one follower will be selected at random to win a $15 Bramble Berry gift certificate. One winner will be selected at random from all the social media outlets to win the GRAND PRIZE $50 Bramble Berry gift certificate. Liking and following on all outlets greatly increase your chances of winning  both a $15, or the GRAND prize $50 gift certificate!  This contest is open to international readers and followers as well. One person may not win two gift certificates. 


HOW TO ENTER:

    • Sign into the Rafflecopter widget below using your email. This makes it easy to contact you if you win!
    • Via the widget below, follow Bramble Berry and Soap Queen on various social media outlets.  Simply select which outlet you’d like to follow, click on the “+1” button on the right, and follow the instructions. Note: Be sure to sign in to Rafflecopter using your email, or leave a comment on the blog while logged in using your email. This way if you win, we can contact you!
    • You can also win by just reading the blog! Select “Leave a Blog Post Comment” via the widget to be entered, and leave a comment telling us about your latest DIY project.
    • Tweet about the giveaway to receive an extra entry for the $50 grand prize. Select “Tweet About the Giveaway,” and follow the instructions.
    • To increase your chance of winning, you may enter with all six options.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The contest ends on Monday, September 29th at noon, PDT. Six winners will be chosen at random, and contacted via email. One person may not win two gift certificates. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be selected at random.

Sunday Night Spotlight: Jojoba Beads

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Looking to add gentle exfoliation and a pop of color to your next project? Small, spherical jojoba beads are a great option. Created from jojoba oil, jojoba beads (sometimes referred to as jojoba esters) are odorless, firm and come in a various colors and sizes. Jojoba beads can be used in various projects including melt and pour, scrubs and cold process.

Love the cheery orange color of jojoba bead shown above? This new color will be available soon!

Jojoba oil is a luxurious liquid wax derived from the seed of the Jojoba shrub. Jojoba oil is made of up various long chain molecules. These molecules are transformed from a liquid to a solid wax by processes called hydrogenation or transesterification. This firm wax is referred to a jojoba ester, also known as a jojoba bead!

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Handmade Holidays Roundup

Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials

The past two weeks, the holidays came early with a series of festive projects and tutorials. Even though the holidays seem far away, making handmade gifts takes a lot of time and planning. This is the year to plan ahead and have a stress-free, handmade holiday!
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Christmas Tree Swirl Cold Process

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

Handmade cold process soap makes a fantastic gift. Everybody loves the beautiful designs, fun colors and skin loving properties. Because many people have never experienced handmade soap before, it’s extra fun to give! This festive Christmas Tree Swirl Cold Process features a reverse hidden feather swirl, made popular by Handmade in Florida. Topped with Sparkle Gold Mica, this cold process project would be perfect under the tree.

Cold process soap requires a four to six week cure time, making now the optimal time to create soap for the holidays. If you are looking for more holiday project ideas, check out the Handmade Holiday Gift Inspiration post. From lip balm to melt and pour, there is a gift for everybody on your list.


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