Soap Queen

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Latest Etsy Purchases

Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Wow! Where did the day go? All of a sudden I look up and it’s past 9 p.m. and I haven’t even written my blog. Whoops! I’ve got some exciting projects underway for this week – a Belly Balm recipe to share with you, the Cranberry Fig soap instructions and (eeeek!) the sex of the baby. It’s going to be a jam-packed week. Yay! But in the meantime, I’ve been doing a little shopping on Etsy and here’s my latest finds and purchases:

Recycled Baby Thank You notes. I’m thinking about having this seller (graciegirlnotes) make all the baby shower invitations for the new Bramble Baby. This is my trial order to see the quality and consistency of this seller. I love supporting small business.

A Butter Caramel sampler for my family at Thanksgiving. With flavors like Matcha Green Tea, Rose, and French Lavender, not buying from Fusion Sweets was a virtual impossibility. My family is excited to try the veritable sugar feast.  And I’m just excited to see my family, caramels or not! =)

For some reason, I am an absolute sucker for necklaces with sayings and whimsical things on them. I was looking for a pendant that actually said “Be Happy” but out of all of Etsy, I couldn’t find one but I did find this adorable one  from Always A Memory and I couldn’t help but make it mine.

Etsy is always my shopping downfall but in this case, there’s no buyer’s remorse. =)

The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry.

 

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Peppermint Bark Soap for the Holidays

Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

It’s time to officially kick off the holiday season with our first Christmas tutorial of the year! Keep it clean this holiday with delicious smelling and realistic looking Peppermint Bark Soap.


Ingredients
White Melt and Pour
Clear Melt and Pour
Goat Milk Melt and Pour
Dark Rich Chocolate Fragrance Oil
Peppermint 2nd Distillation Essential Oil
Perfect Red Color Block
Brick Red Oxide
Liquid Brown Oxide
Liquid Black Oxide
Get everything you need for this project in the click of a button!
ONE: Melt 5 ounces of white soap base and pour it into the silicone tray mold and let cool. Then melt 5 ounces of clear soap base and mix in Perfect Red Color Block and Brick Red Oxide (2 parts Perfect Red and 1 part Brick Red Oxide makes a perfect candy cane red). Pour the red soap on top of the white soap and let cool.
Hint: Make a slurry with your red oxide by mixing it with a little rubbing alcohol before adding it to your soap. This will eliminate speckles.
TWO: Unmold the soap and cut into small, irregular pieces. These are going to be the peppermint crumbles on top so uneven cuts make them look super realistic.
THREE: Melt 16 ounces of clear soap and mix in ½ ounce of (delicious) Dark Rich Chocolate Fragrance Oil. To make the realistic chocolaty color, combine Liquid Brown Oxide with a skosh of Liquid Black Oxide. Let cool.
FOUR: Melt 16 ounces of white Goat Milk soap base and mix in ½ ounce of Peppermint 2nd Distillation Essential Oil. Let cool to 130 degrees, spritz the “chocolate” layer with rubbing alcohol and pour about 12-13 ounces of the goat milk soap, saving 3-4 ounces (you can totally eyeball the amount, just make sure to save a little bit).
FIVE: Once the soap has cooled, remelt the remaining 3-4 ounces of goat milk soap base to 130 degrees. Start spritzing your “peppermint” pieces with rubbing alcohol and get ready to sprinkle them on top of the final layer of soap. Spritz the top layer of soap and pour the remaining 3-4 ounces of goat milk soap then sprinkle on your “crushed candy cane” garnish.
SIX: Once the soap has cooled, cut the soap into triangles and trick your friends into taking a bite of delicious Chocolate Peppermint Bark.

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Peppermint Bark Soap for the Holidays
 
Print

This peppermint bark soap makes a great "treat" for the holidays!
Author:
Recipe type: Melt and Pour

Ingredients
  • White Melt and Pour
  • Clear Melt and Pour
  • Goat Milk Melt and Pour
  • Dark Rich Chocolate Fragrance Oil
  • Peppermint 2nd Distillation Essential Oil
  • Perfect Red Color Block
  • Brick Red Oxide
  • Liquid Brown Oxide
  • Liquid Black Oxide

Instructions
  1. Melt 5 ounces of white soap base and pour it into the silicone tray mold and let cool. Then melt 5 ounces of clear soap base and mix in Perfect Red Color Block and Brick Red Oxide (2 parts Perfect Red and 1 part Brick Red Oxide makes a perfect candy cane red). Pour the red soap on top of the white soap and let cool. Make a slurry with your red oxide by mixing it with a little rubbing alcohol before adding it to your soap. This will eliminate speckles.
  2. Unmold the soap and cut into small, irregular pieces. These are going to be the peppermint crumbles on top so uneven cuts make them look super realistic.
  3. Melt 16 ounces of clear soap and mix in ½ ounce of (delicious) Dark Rich Chocolate Fragrance Oil. To make the realistic chocolaty color, combine Liquid Brown Oxide with a skosh of Liquid Black Oxide. Let cool.
  4. Melt 16 ounces of white Goat Milk soap base and mix in ½ ounce of Peppermint 2nd Distillation Essential Oil. Let cool to 130 degrees, spritz the “chocolate” layer with rubbing alcohol and pour about 12-13 ounces of the goat milk soap, saving 3-4 ounces (you can totally eyeball the amount, just make sure to save a little bit).
  5. Once the soap has cooled, remelt the remaining 3-4 ounces of goat milk soap base to 130 degrees. Start spritzing your “peppermint” pieces with rubbing alcohol and get ready to sprinkle them on top of the final layer of soap. Spritz the top layer of soap and pour the remaining 3-4 ounces of goat milk soap then sprinkle on your “crushed candy cane” garnish.
  6. Once the soap has cooled, cut the soap into triangles and trick your friends into taking a bite of delicious Chocolate Peppermint Bark.

News and Chatter, Hearts ‘n’ Dots

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

New molds just hit our warehouse today, fresh off the mold presses. We couldn’t be happier about what Erik has designed for us and hope that you find these modern, whimsical designs equally appealing. Want your own custom mold? Erik is a miracle worker. Email him here. Buy the Heart Grids here or the Beads on a String here.
Another thing that’s been keeping our team busy this week is prepping for our ultra cool (wait? am I maybe a bit biased?) Bramble Berry newsletter. If you’re not a subscriber, you can sign up here. Can’t wait? Here’s a sneak peak into the newsletter tomorrow (below). There are full instructions on making my Soap Swap Cranberry Fig soap. Wondering how to make the soap? Sign up for the newsletter on the homepage (right side, middle). It will be hitting email boxes in timed waves after midnight tomorrow (Wednesday) in time for you to see it Thursday.

 

Thank you happy customers and Soap Queen readers for keeping our warehouse and customer service team hopping. We are so excited to see the holiday orders pouring in and are currently processing orders at 1-2 day turnaround so give yourself an extra day or two to get your super sweet soapy supplies from us. We are working weekend shifts and late nights and are so thankful for the business. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry.

 

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What’s New? And a Contest!

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

I just wanted to give a shout out to Creative Soap Week. They’re having a Winter Wonderland Soap Making Contest. The prize is $100 gift certificate to Bramble Berry! Check out the details and how to enter HERE. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Also, in Bramble Berry news, we’ve added some new products:
dl-Panthenol–This white, powdered, water soluble conditioning agent is also known as Pro-Vitamin B5 and is super moisturizing to skin and hair care products. Add it to your hair conditioning recipe for extra sheen and shine (it’s also known to help improve hair structure). Recommended usage rate is 1-5%. Starts at $3


Castile Liquid Soap Paste: This liquid soap paste is made up of 100% Olive Oil, which makes it an ideal hand and facial soap. Two pounds of soap paste can make up to seven or eight pounds depending on your dilution rate. Ingredients: Saponified 100% Olive Oil. Starts at $18. Also, in a high sudsing formula.


Mini Temperature Gun: This digital, infrared, non-contact thermometer is a must have for all soapmakers, from melt and pour to cold process. Temperatures range from -27ºF to 230ºF and responds in 1 second. Pssst…it even comes with a wrist strap (no dropping in the soap pot!)! $22.75

Two new Holiday Soap Loaves: Cranberry Fig and Sleigh Ride. Finished handmade cold process soap read to use, sell, or give as a gift. Shown above the Sleigh Ride is swirled with Merlot mica, Green oxide and Titanium Dioxide for a stunning result.
The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry.

 

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Fashionable Soapmaking Gloves

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

Happy weekend everyone! I’m spending part of the weekend with Selena who flew over to Bellingham from London to take private classes at Otion (Kat did a great write up on the classes she taught Selena here). We’re going to hit the farmer’s market today (hellooooo, cupcakes!) and engage in some retail therapy locally. If you’d like to engage in some retail therapy with us virtually, I may have found the thing just for you – the latest and greatest, fashion forward gloves for you cold process soapmakers out there. He he. Are these a must have or what? Gotta love The Spoon Sisters!

“Now you can look chic and sophisticated while…washing the dishes (Soap Queen Insert: Or making soap)! Yes, these decorative rubber gloves allow you to turn a simple household chore, into a fashion statement. A fabulous hostess gift. Hand-embellished with faux jewels and faux leopard cuffs.”

Get your designer gloves here at The Spoon Sisters or at Fancy Pants (much larger selection) here.
The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry.

 

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Merry Christmas!

Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Merry Christmas from my family to yours. We are enjoying a snowy holiday at Whistler and have taken sleigh rides in the snow, walked the entire Whistler Village and eaten entirely too much food.

I hope you’ve had an equally enjoyable family-filled special day.
The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry.

 

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Holiday Schedule at Bramble Berry

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Thank you to all of our Bramble Berry friends and fans who have been such a big support this year. We love working with you and for you and feel so delighted, thrilled and humbled to be surrounded by such great customers and inspiration.
We are taking a couple days off to relax and laugh with family and friends before coming back to the warehouse to do inventory.

Inventory is a laborious process that involves counting every single item in the warehouse; literally, hand-counting out all of the bottles of essential oil, weighing all the partial drums of fragrance, combing through the colorant racks to get an accurate count of everything and then crawling up and over mountains of bottles in the the ‘bottles’ room to count each and every bottle. The entire process usually takes the Bramble Berry team 2 days to count and then 1 day of recounts. Any initial count that is more than 10% off gets counted again. And again. And again by different people each time. Though we hope to be done with the inventory process by the 30th and shipping orders on that day, we don’t want to over promise. When you go to our homepage, you’ll see our handy dandy “If I order today, when can I expect my order?” shipping chart. This is how you can determine the worst-case scenario of when your order will arrive at your door. This chart is updated daily to give you the most information possible.
Right now, we are officially “closed” for shipping orders until inventory is finished (best case: December 30th; worst case: January 4th). If you have any questions, you can always email us at info (at) brambleberry (dot) com or phone us at 360.734.8278. We will be answering phones and emails during inventory to take orders, answer questions and chat soap. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call or email.
I hope you and your family have a wonderful, safe and happy holiday. Thank you again for your support and loyalty in 2009. It means so much to all of us.
Merry Christmas from all of us here at Bramble Berry
The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry.

 

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Bramble Berry Cookie Exchange

Filed Under: Soap Queen Cuisine

This afternoon is Bramble Berry’s holiday party. The entire staff is doing a White Elephant and a Cookie Exchange (I’m super excited). I found this fabulous recipe in Food and Wine Magazine and got to work Sunday night so I could impress my fellow coworkers. I decided to plunge into Gingersnap Sandwich Cookies with Lemon Cream Filling (drool). I’ve already sampled a few and the verdict is: DELICIOUS! Here’s the recipe in case you need cookies for a last minute cookie exchange. The photo below was taken by the experts at Food and Wine Magazine. My cookies, I trust, taste just as good but eh hem, um, don’t look quite the same.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
Filling
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

ONE: Preheat the oven to 350° and position racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.TWO (the cookies): In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy, 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and molasses. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until incorporated, scraping down the bowl.Gingersnap Lemon Cream CookiesTHREE: Working in 2 batches, drop scant tablespoons of the dough onto the baking sheets, 3 inches apart. Food and Wine says to bake the cookies for 20 minutes on 350° (I baked mine for 15 minutes and they still got a little bit crispy), until risen and fallen and slightly firm; shift the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through for even baking. Let cool slightly, then transfer the parchment paper to racks and let the cookies cool completely. Bake the remaining cookies.
Gingersnap Lemon Cream CookiesFOUR (filling): In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter with the confectioners’ sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the lemon juice (I doubled the amount of lemon required for a more tart taste – worked out great).

Gingersnap Lemon Cream CookiesFIVE: Arrange the cookies in pairs on a large work surface. Spoon or pipe 1 rounded tablespoon of the lemon filling onto the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with the remaining cookies, pressing them together so the filling spreads to the edge.

Gingersnap Lemon Cream Cookies
Make Ahead: The sandwich cookies can be stored in an airtight container between sheets of wax paper for up to 1 week.

Check out the original recipe online here

Gingersnap Lemon Cream Cookies

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Eggnog Christmas Cocktail (Light)

Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Snuggle up on the couch with a guilt-free holiday cocktail. My hubby and I sipped this light eggnog drink with my brother and sister-in-law. It started snowing outside so we all plunked down for game night, which is always full of laughs and “friendly” competition.

I love eggnog but the calorie content is horrifying. I found this great recipe by Bethenny Frankel on Health.com and it only has 148 calories! I can live with that!

DSC06553Beat 2 egg yolks until lightened in color. Add 1/3 cup sugar, beating until dissolved; set aside. Combine 2 cups 1% low-fat milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 dash each cinnamon and nutmeg in a saucepan over high heat; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

My creation
Remove from heat, and gradually whisk into egg mixture. Return to pot, and cook to 160°. Remove from heat, stir in 1/4 cup white rum, and pour into a bowl; set in the refrigerator. Beat 4 pasteurized egg whites in a separate bowl until soft peaks form; with mixer running, gradually add 1 tablespoon sugar, and beat until stiff peaks form. Whisk egg whites into chilled mixture; sprinkle with cinnamon.

DSC06549
It tasted delicious – and practically full-fat. Everyone was a fan at Game Night.

Here’s the link to the original recipe
The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry.

 

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Coordinated Christmas Packaging

Filed Under: Home Crafts

I was in a pinch this year to get my presents wrapped and out the door (but, of course, didn’t want to settle for run of the mill wrapping paper since my handmade gifts certainly weren’t run of the mill). I dug through my gift wrapping box and found some adorable paper that I could use to coordinate my entire ensemble of gifts. This project works with any sort of wrapping paper and looks incredible. Just don’t tell anyone how easy it was!

Picture 183Do you like the wrapping paper I used? Check out Smock Paperon Etsy.Ingredients and Tools
(paperboard) Lunch Boxes
Cellophane Bags

My creationSEA SALTS: Bath salts are an easy gift with simple ingredients. I just mixed 3 cups of Dead Sea Salt with 2 ml of diluted Blue Mix Labcolor and 10 ml of Cranberry Fig Fragrance Oil. Just mix them well and they’re ready to give away. For the packaging, scoop the salt into a cellophane bag and fold down the top. Fold a piece of wrapping paper over the top and staple on both ends.

My creationPAPER LUNCH BOX: I found these cute little lunch boxes on sale at a local craft store and they’ve been in storage waiting to be used. To snaz them up, I cut a 4 inch wide strip of wrapping paper, wrapped it around the box and secured it with clear tape.

My creationSOAP BOX: Our plain white soap boxes are blank canvases for creativity. Above, I cut two strips of paper and wrapped them around the soap box in opposite directions, securing the ends with clear tape. The paper I used is double sided but you could use 2 different, coordinating pieces of paper as well. Check out our Finished Cold Process Soap if you don’t have time to make your own.

My creationCARDS: My cards turned out so cute that I had to make extras to keep on hand. With a glue stick, adhere a strip of paper over the blank card. For an extra special touch, I added a Merry Christmas Sticker to the bottom that I got at my local rubber stamping store (so much faster than rubber stamping). Trim the edges of the card and you’re done with the card. Pack your goodies in the lunch box, close up the box and your present will hold its own under any tree!

Picture 339Here are some great Ety sites to shop adorable paper…
The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry.

 

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Salvation Army Shopping Spree

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Every year Bramble Berry adopts a Salvation Army families and buys Christmas gifts for them (our post from last year). This year we had 5 families with a total of 33 individuals. It was a big job – but fortunately much of the crew turned out to help! It’s a holiday tradition that we all love. The Bramble Berry team volunteers their time after work to help do the shopping. And, that’s a good thing because even with 20ish people help shop, it still took over 2 hours to find everything on the lists.

SalvationArmy09FirstTo the right is Amber passing out the shopping wish lists. She gets the names and ages ahead of time and makes up the ‘Wish Lists’ so everyone is clear on the sizes of the clothing and what toys the kids want. Her organization is key to making the shopping trip go smoothly. And to the left is Nicole (aka BrambleMomma on the Teach Soap forum) and her daughter finding the perfect gifts.

SalvationArmy092ndHere we are lined up at the register. The line was so long I couldn’t get all of us in one picture! Shoppers kept walking by our line and looking at us with a mixture of horror and pity. And then, quickly scurried off to find shorter lines. On the right, we are bagging, organizing and labeling all of Christmas gifts. Though we buy wrapping paper to include with the gifts, we don’t wrap any of the presents so that the parents can look everything over before the big day. We are extremely thankful to Fred Meyers for giving us our own cashier and for giving an extra 10% off of everything we bought so we could give even more presents.

SalvationArmy093rdHere I am swiping my credit card card; it’s one of my favorite moments of the entire year – surrounded by the incredible Bramble Berry team, living up to our value of being ‘Socially Responsible’ and making a positive impact on our local community. Alas, even with all the joy, someone has to clean up. Tim, the experienced cashier they gave us, sure had a lot of hangers to clean up after we were done.

SalvationArmy09LastIt was good thing our warehouse crew is so very good at packing. They managed to get everything into Norm’s car – of course there wasn’t room for anyone else besides Norm after they were done. He also reported that everytime he stopped, no less than 3 toys would start singing or making some type of racket.

We were all extremely grateful that we were able to share some holiday cheer with those less fortunate than us. It such a blessing to be given the incredible opportunity to give back to our community. Thank you for shopping at Bramble Berry so we can continue to give back throughout the year to worthy non-profits. Happy Holidays!

The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry.

 

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Candy Cane Soap Tutorial

Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

Candy Cane Melt and Pour Soap

Are you having guests over this Christmas? Sneak these Candy Cane Soaps into the guest bathroom for holiday ambiance. Just tell the little ones not to eat them, they look and smell like the real thing.

Candy Cane Soap

This project involves mixing melt and pour with glycerin to give it a softer, pliable texture. As soon as the soap is cool enough to handle, it’s cut into strips and molded into candy cane shapes. Timing is crucial for this project. Once you pour the soap into the mold, don’t walk away! The cooler and harder the soap, the more difficult it is to mold.

Once you start twisting and molding the candy canes, work quickly. We recommend having a soaping buddy for this process. If the slab of soap becomes too cold, it becomes very difficult to twist the soap without breaking.


Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!
Candy Cane Melt and Pour
ONE: Melt 3 ounces of White Melt and Pour Soap Base in the microwave using 10 second bursts. Add 1 mL of peppermint essential oil and 0.5 ounces of liquid glycerin. Stir together. Pour the soap into the mold and spritz with 99% isopropyl alcohol to eliminate bubbles. Let the layer cool for about 5 minutes. If the soap has a skin on top that can support more soap, it’s ready for the next layer.
TWO: Melt 3 ounces of Clear Melt and Pour Base in the microwave using 10 second bursts. Add 1 mL of Peppermint Essential Oil and 0.5 ounces of liquid glycerin. Stir together. Add about 1/16 teaspoon of the Red Mica and mix together. Once the red soap has cooled to 125 degrees F, spritz the white layer of soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol and pour the red soap into the mold. Let the soap cool for about 5 minutes.
My creation
THREE: Once the soap has cooled enough to unmold but is still warm, remove it from the mold and place it on a cutting board. With a craft knife and ruler, cut the soap into thin strips.

My creation

FOUR: Place two of the freshly cut soap strands on top of each other (so they look like a checkered board) and squish them together as much as possible.
FIVE: Gently twist the soap and curl the top so it looks like a candy cane. Timing is very important. You need to work quickly to mold the candy canes while the soap is still pliable. You’ll have about 5 minutes to do all of the twisting before the soap gets too hard to be pliable and breaks.

SIX: Once all the candy canes have been twisted, melt 4 ounces of Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base using 10 second bursts. Mix in about 1/4 teaspoon of Fine Silver Rainbow EcoGlitter. Feel free to add more glitter if you prefer. Dip the candy canes in the sparkly soap. Then, you can either lay the soap flat on a silicone mold to dry, or create a “hanging contraption” as shown below to allow the soap to drip off. Allow the soap to fully cool and harden. Enjoy!

Picture 168

Candy Cane Drying Contraption: We came up with a silly contraption to dry our candy canes, and you probably have the supplies in your home to make one too. We used 2 medium sized jars (or mugs), a ruler, a chopstick (or skewer) and salt to weight the jars so they don’t tip over.

Picture 172

Candy Cane Soap Tutorial
 
Print

These candy cane soaps look and smell just like the real thing!
Author:
Recipe type: melt and pour

Ingredients
  • 6" Silicone Slab Mold
  • 7 oz. Clear Melt and Pour Soap
  • 3 oz. White Melt and Pour Soap
  • 2 mL Peppermint Essential Oil
  • 1 oz. Liquid Glycerin
  • Red Mica
  • Fine Silver Rainbow EcoGlitter
  • 99% Isopropyl Alcohol in Spray Bottle

Instructions
  1. Melt 3 ounces of White Melt and Pour Soap Base in the microwave using 10 second bursts. Add 1 mL of peppermint essential oil and 0.5 ounces of liquid glycerin. Stir together. Pour the soap into the mold and spritz with 99% isopropyl alcohol to eliminate bubbles. Let the layer cool for about 5 minutes. If the soap has a skin on top that can support more soap, it's ready for the next layer.
  2. Melt 3 ounces of Clear Melt and Pour Base in the microwave using 10 second bursts. Add 1 mL of Peppermint Essential Oil and 0.5 ounces of liquid glycerin. Stir together. Add about 1/16 teaspoon of the Red Mica and mix together. Once the red soap has cooled to 125 degrees F, spritz the white layer of soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol and pour the red soap into the mold. Let the soap cool for about 5 minutes.
  3. Once the soap has cooled enough to unmold but is still warm, remove it from the mold and place it on a cutting board. With a craft knife and ruler, cut the soap into thin strips (about ¼ inches or smaller).
  4. Place two of your freshly cut soap strands on top of each other (so they look like a checkered board) and squish them together as much as possible.
  5. Gently twist the soap and curl the top so it looks like a candy cane. Timing is very important. You need to work quickly to mold the candy canes while the soap is till pliable. You'll have about 5 minutes to do all of your twisting before the soap gets too hard to be pliable and just breaks in your hands.
  6. Once all the candy canes have been twisted, melt 4 ounces of Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base and mix in about ¼ teaspoon of Fine Silver Rainbow EcoGlitter. Feel free to add more glitter if you prefer. Dip the candy canes in the sparkly soap. Then, you can either lay the soap flat on a silicone mold to dry, or create a "hanging contraption" to allow the soap to drip off.

Glittered Sparkle Soap Kit

Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

This Christmas kit came just in time for last minute Christmas presents, hostess gifts or stocking stuffers! For just $29.99, get everything you need to make 8 dazzling and personalized soaps! Grab your kit HERE and check out the easy instructions below!Picture 544Printing your homemade stencils: Download the PDF file that comes with the kit or choose your own Christmas design. Print the design on sticker labels. Allow the ink to dry then use your craft knife to cut out the design or lay the paper design over contact paper. Keep in mind that you will be able to use both the cut out and the silhouette for your stencil.

My creationONE: Prepare your glitter. If you want a colored glitter check out the instructions on How to Color Glitter just by mixing in mica (yes, it’s really that simple).

Picture 400

TWO: Melt 3.5 ounces of clear melt and pour soap and mix in 1 ml of Sleigh Ride Fragrance Oil.

THREE: Stir in a couple drops of liquid colorant (either the red or blue) and pour the soap into 1 cavity of the Slim Rectangle Mold. We love the Slim Rectangle Mold because it holds 3.7 ounces and fits wonderfully into the palm of your hand. Allow the soap to cool for 3-4 hours.

Color Variation: Mix the red and blue together for a fun purple. Or combine the super green and Matte Yellow micas for a bright, lime green color. Don’t be afraid to get creative with this part!

My creationFOUR: Remove of the backing and adhere the cut-out sticker to your soap. Spray the top of the soap with hair spray to make sure the glitter adheres to the soap.

FIVE: Sprinkle the soap with your colored (or plain) glitter and let dry for at least 5 minutes. Do one solid color or an array of colors.

SIX: Once the glitter has dried onto the soap, dump the extra glitter on the soap into a container to use for your other soaps. Then, carefully peel off the backing and ooh and ahh over the sparkles and clean lines. Give it another finishing spritz with hair spray to make sure the glitter really sticks.

What I love about this project and kit is that it can change with the seasons so easily. Make a heart silhouette and you have Valentine soap, make a bunny silhouette and you have Easter soap. Get creative. This technique will give you holiday after holiday of sophisticated-looking soaps.

The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry.

 

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Christmas Mash-Up

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

It’s December 1st already! Where has this year gone? Well, like they say, time flies when you’re having fun! Here’s a look back on our past Christmas projects…

DSC01645

GbreadMan
Between all of them, we hope that you find lots of Christmas and holiday inspiration for your holiday craft needs.

StackedTree4
The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry.

 

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