Ask soapers what their favorite part of soaping is, and the answers will be diverse. Ask soapers what their least favorite part is, and the large majority will answer, “The cleanup!” It’s true, cleaning up after a soapy session is not particularly enjoyable. Luckily, with a little hot water, grease-cutting soap, a sponge and gloves, it’s easy!
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Snowy Forest Melt and Pour
Preparing handmade holiday gifts requires a little bit of planning. That’s why Soap Queen holiday projects have come early this year! This modern holiday melt and pour project features festive layers and embeds to create a snowy forest landscape. With glitter and the piney Christmas Forest Fragrance Oil, this soap is the perfect holiday gift.
When making melt and pour soap in advance, it’s important to store and wrap it properly in order to keep it in tip-top shape. This Packaging Soap Queen Tv Episode shows you how to protect your melt and pour from glycerin dew (aka: sweating) and fading. Storing your melt and pour in a dry, cool place also helps extend the life of your creations.
Ready to kick off your holiday crafting? Now until September 18th at noon, PST, all fragrance oils are 20% off! Use the code: SAVESCENTS during checkout.
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Soap Queen Cuisine: Chocolate Chai Tea Mix
On a cold day or night, there is little better than snuggling up on the couch with a book and a warm drink. Sweet, spicy and o’ so comforting, chai is a favorite treat of mine during fall and winter. Unfortunately chai can be expensive, and chai tea lattes contain a lot of sugar (a Starbucks chai tea latte packs in 42 grams!). Luckily, recreating chai tea lattes at home is easy. Made with a combination of milk powder, spices and instant tea, this chocolate chai mix cuts back on the sugar content while saving money.
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Soapy Social Media Roundup
The morning air is becoming crisp, and some areas of the country are even experiencing brrrr, snow…fall is coming! This weekend, the kiddos and I are spending as much time as possible outside. Soon, it will be too cold and dark to enjoy the backyard and parks without bundling or gearing up with flashlights. While we will all miss our walks around the neighborhood, I’m excited for cuddly hot cocoa filled evenings.
On the blog, the holidays are in full swing with the Handmade Holiday series. The holidays are a few months away, but if making holiday gifts is on your to-do list, now is the time to get started. I have started gathering gift inspiration via Pinterest; in particular, I’m loving all the beautiful packaging ideas. Keep your eyes on the blog for cute holiday ideas and in the meantime, in case you missed any of my social media posts, here are the favorite pins, tweets and instagrams from the past week.
Pins:
Top left, clockwise:
- “Do What You Love.” Such a simple statement, but it says so much! It’s amazing how doing more of what you love improves all aspects of your life. I started that process 16 years ago and haven’t looked back. I feel so lucky and #blessed.
- This raw, vegan Cream of Green Soup looks beautiful. Made with coconut milk, kale and broccoli, I’m sure it tastes decadent.
- Made with Green Clay, this Green Clay Cold Process Soap is stunning! While I’m a huge fan of swirls and intricate design, the simplicity of this soap really shines.
- How cool are these Ringly rings? They connect to your phone, and send you notifications of texts or phone calls via vibrations in the ring.
Instagram:
The feather swirl design continues to be a challenge, but practice makes perfect. What technique are you attempting to master?
Another technique I attempted this week was making a new negative space embed soap! Keep your eyes on the blog, in the next few weeks there will be a tutorial for this soap, which is made the same way.
Tweets:
- Twitter has begun testing a “buy” button that can be embedded into tweets, allowing users to purchase products more easily. This could be interesting for both small, and large businesses!
- This week I shared my favorite business books, but I read a lot of other books as well! To find my recently read books, you can always find them on the right hand side of the “About” page.
- Feeling like you never have enough time? According to sociologist John Robinson, Americans have about 40 hours of free time each week.
- A strong, clear and consistent branding concept is crucial for any business. Here are some great tips to consider when building yours.
- If you consider yourself empathetic, these 6 Habits of Highly Empathetic People may ring true. If not, they are great skills to practice.
Have a great weekend! To keep up with the latest soapy social media throughout the week, you can follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine and YouTube.
Facebook Photo of the Week (Sept. 6th ~ Sept. 12th)
Handmade gifts are a special treat during the holidays. Giving someone a gift you worked hard on is a great feeling. Handmade gifts – especially cold process soap – do take time to prepare. That’s why it’s a good idea to get started now. If you need some ideas, there is plenty of Handmade Holiday Gift Inspiration to go around.
Making Lip Balm on Soap Queen TV
It’s another throw-back Thursday video on Soap Queen TV! This video was originally filmed in 2009 (check out the background on the set). This recipe is still a favorite and the label templates are remain cute and functional. The label template will be free to download for the next week and after that will be available for purchase.
Too early for Christmas? If you are like me, every year you say you are going to make gifts for the holidays and every year you run out of time (or like me, end up pulling an all-nighter). So let’s make this the year we plan ahead. The trick is to get your supplies now and make your projects in those few hours here and there. Before you know it, the holidays will be here and, you’ll have no stress because you’ll have a wonderful gift for everyone on your list.
This video features two recipes. One for a small batch and one for a large batch of lip balm.
Get everything you need with the click of a button!
Recipe for the small batch:
- 2 tsp. Coconut Oil
- 2 1/4 tsp. White Beeswax
- 1 1/8 tsp. Sweet Almond Oil
- 2/3 tsp. Avocado Oil
- few drops Peppermint Essential oil
- Red Mica ( 1 teaspoon for a light pink 2 tablespoons for a lip stain)
Recipe for the Large Batch:
- 2.7 oz. White Beeswax
- 3.8 oz. Coconut Oil
- 1.7 oz. Sweet Almond Oil
- 1.2 oz. Avocado Oil
- .25 oz. Buttercreme Flavor Oil
- a few mini scoops of Apple Moss Green Mica
Note: this recipe was made with Shamrock Green Mica, which was reformulated and no longer lip safe. It’s now made with Apple Moss Green Mica.
Tools and Containers:
Handmade Holiday Gift Inspiration
If you are planning on giving handmade gifts for the holidays, now is the time to plan ahead and start creating. Handmade gifts are not only more personalized and unique, they cut down on holiday spending. In 2012, the average American spent an estimated $854 on presents for family and friends…wowza! This year is the year to not only save money, but show your loved ones how much you care with handmade gifts. Not to mention…crafting is fun!
Because cold process soap requires 4-6 weeks to fully cure, soap that is ready to use for the holidays needs to be made now. If you are looking to make a festive and traditional cold process soap, the Holiday Cookie Bar and Holly Berry Cold Process features cheery red and green.
Top left, clockwise: Holiday Cookie Bar Cold Process, Espresso Shot Cold Process, Lemon Poppy Seed Cold Process, Holly Berry Cold Process, Indigo Spoon Plop Cold Process, Black White and Gold All Over Cold Process
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Handmade Holiday Kits (only 106 days ’til Christmas)
The holidays may seem far away, but they will be here before you know it. If you plan on creating homemade gifts for family, friends and loved ones, now is the time to get started. Crafting gifts early cuts down on stress and makes the holiday season more enjoyable. With a little preparation, this will be the year for a handmade holiday!
Fall 2014 S.O.A.P. Panelists!
A big thank you to everybody who entered to be a part of our Fall 2014 S.O.A.P. Panel. It was so much fun to read every entry, and look through the fabulous tweets, pins, instagrams, blog posts, facebook posts and comments! It’s amazing to be part of such a vibrant and creative community. With so many wonderful entries, it was difficult to choose only eight to be on the S.O.A.P. Panel but it had to be done. Curious who was chosen? Of course you are!
Facebook Photo of the Week (Aug. 30th ~ Sept. 5th)
One of the great things about working at Bramble Berry is connecting with other soap makers. For some, it’s a fun hobby. For others, soap making changed their lives. This is the case with Donovan, an 11-year-old soap maker who started making melt and pour creations after he and his mother fell on hard times. Now, he makes creative and fun designs and donates half his profits to the Supportive Housing Coalition of New Mexico.
Pumpkin Spice Latte Sugar Scrub
The celebration of all things pumpkin spice continues with a creamy and luxurious Pumpkin Spice Latte Sugar Scrub. Made with a combination of skin-loving coffee butter and Foaming Bath Whip, this scrub moisturizes skin without a greasy feeling. Finely ground walnut shells and sugar gently remove dead skin, and the combination of Pumpkin Spice and Turkish Mocha Fragrance Oil leaves a light, spicy scent.
If you are looking for more ways to use coffee butter, the Whipped Coffee Butter Tutorial creates a fluffy and intensely moisturizing body butter. If you prefer a lighter moisturizer, the Coffee Butter Foot Creme features a delicious blend of Dark Rich Chocolate Fragrance Oil and Peppermint Essential Oil.
A Young Entrepreneur with a Cause
Soap making is not only fun, it can have a dramatic impact on lives. After falling on tough times, Casey started teaching her son Donovan how to make melt and pour soap. Donovan fell in love with the craft, and quickly began selling his creations at a local farmers market in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and on Etsy. Donovan is currently looking into selling his soap at local stores, and was chosen as a featured artist in the upcoming issue of Albuquerque Magazine.
Donovan donates half of the profits from his soap to the program that helped him and his mother get back on their feet, the Supportive Housing Coalition of New Mexico. Donovan’s fun melt and pour creations include Mac and Cheese Soap, Ice Cream Soap, and Millennium Ship Soap. Read on to learn more about Donovan and Casey’s inspiring story!
Pumpkin Spice Latte Cold Process Soap
The first signs of fall have begun. The morning air is crisper, the sun is setting earlier and leaves are changing color. This Pumpkin Spice Latte Soap celebrates the arrival of fall and the debut of a delicious fall beverage, the Pumpkin Spice Latte! Made with a delectable combination of Espresso and Pumpkin Spice Fragrance Oils, this project is a great way to spend a fall afternoon.
This cold process recipe combines several soaping techniques, including melt and pour embeds and soap frosting. If you’ve never made soap frosting before, check out the new Soap Queen Tv Video, How to Make Soap Frosting, which covers the process. It’s easier than you think!
Sunday Night Spotlight: 99% Isopropyl Alcohol
When making both cold process and melt and pour soap, a spray bottle of 99% Isopropyl Alcohol is helpful. Also known as rubbing alcohol, isopropyl alcohol helps to prevent soda ash on cold process soap, and helps layers stick together when working with melt and pour. It is also helpful to have on hand to clean up messy surfaces after making projects!
The two most common types of alcohol are isopropyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol. The basic difference between the two is that ethyl alcohol is commonly used for consumption, while isopropyl alcohol is used for topical application. Isopropyl alcohol is not safe for consumption.
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