This week the sun came out in full force, warming up cloudy Bellingham to 70 degrees! All this sunshine certainly inspired new projects and recipes, including a delicious twist on kale salad. Using roasting chickpeas instead of croutons, the Roasted Chickpea and Kale Cucumber Salad is the perfect lunch on a hot day.

Speaking of heat, the Jazzed about Gel Phase post is full of information regarding what happens when your soap heats up. Gel phase has great benefits, particularly when you gel with LabColors. If you’d like more information on LabColors, this post will get you up to speed.

Does soapy inspiration ever strike while you are away from your computer and enjoying the sun? The newly updated Soap App for Androids makes it easy to collect and formulate cold process recipes. You could even use it to formulate recipes for the Make it Monday Challenge! Simply share your project using the Carnation Fragrance Oil, or the Sunny Herb Garden Fragrance Oil with the hash tag #BBGarden for a chance to be featured on the blog. Projects can be shared on the Bramble Berry Facebook page, Twitter or on Instagram until May 30th.

The Facebook Photo of the Week was inspired by all this talk of hot summer days days and impending summer vacations. Called “Birds of Paradise,” it’s a bright colored soap reminiscent of exotic beaches.

[Read more…]