Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more
I am so excited about my latest Etsy find – Amethest Soap Company. Check out the soaps that I just bought; are you in awe?
I’ve played with making rock based melt and pour creations for years and have never achieved such technical perfection. I am anticipating the soapy rocks’ arrival with excitement normally reserved for extreme sporting events.
Congratulations to Savor Soaps and Karen’s Soaps for hitting the front page of Etsy. We already knew Lisa from Savor was cool before this latest exciting recognition. Read her interview with the Soap Queen blog here.
Thank you to Soap Queen commenter, Michie, from Oats & Honey for the heads up on this super cool soap.
I purchased literally half of Alkali Soap’s Etsy store and she now has only three bars left in her entire store. Quick – you can buy the last of them here if you hurry.
Blocks made by IceHouse Crafts.Buy your own set for $9.99
Seller BrandyWine Design made this Sandalwood, Vanilla & Pine scented Palm-Oil based candle. Buy it for just $8 here. 
After your crafting projects, you’ll need some Eco-Sponges, made of cotton, from seller ShutterKate. For $14, you can pick up three hand-knit sponges and feel good about your carbon footprint. 
While this soap dish is sold out, there are 22 others to choose from here for $14 per handmade dish.
I wrote five “Great to meet you!” cards yesterday for the Shop/08 panelists and cool chicks I met at the event. That means that I get to buy replenishment cards!
These are the limited edition, linoleum block print cards that I purchased. They’re even hand signed, and numbered, by the artist. I might just frame one and put it up in my house. The artist, Ronna Richmond, only makes 10 prints of each design so these are very original and special.
You can buy your own set of limited edition, linoleum block print cards by Ronna here. She’s only got a few sets left.
I have written five thank-you cards this week. I have a lot to be thankful for! So, it’s time to splurge on some new stationary from Etsy.
I bought this set from Pressure.
I really wanted this set from Pistachio Press. But, resisted the urge.
I did buy this set from Albertine Press.
Previous related posts: Letterpress Explanation, Letterpress Splurge, Thank You note advice,
It wouldn’t be a fulfilling Saturday if there wasn’t an adorable food based soap to share.
Norma’s Bath & Body has designed a happy cupcake soap, using melt and pour soap and a little bit of creativity. Norm hails from the state of Kentucky where she has been making soap since 2004. Her Etsy shop is empty right now but it resides here.
Hopefully she’ll open up again soon to share her soapy creations.
I am so excited! I just purchased a massive splurge on Etsy – a $14 bar of soap from Swisher Hill Soap Works.
Read this amazing description:
Just look at this beauty! She’s rich, beautiful, and decadent but she’s also wonderful for you. Nourish your skin and your senses with this blend of Carrot Seed Oil, Rose Absolute, and Yogurt. The scent is an earthy carrot seed background with a rosy sweetness. This is probably my very favorite soap that I make. It started out as a luxury for myself but is just too good to keep a secret.
With Rose Absolute going for $184 for 10 ml and Carrot Seed Oil as precious as ever, this is definitely one luxury that I will savor every moment of. Kudos to Swisher Hill for elevating a commodity (soap) to a luxury item, selling for the going rate of Truffle Oil!
In other news, thank you to everyone that participated in our Soap Queen community last week. We appreciate your feedback and questions. Randomly drawing a number to win handmade bath goodies and Organic Fusion essential oils, Adrienne in Customer Service chose comment #21. That is Becky (Becky from SoapNuts?). E-Mail me at info (at) brambleberry (dot) com with your address and I’ll get your box of goodies out to you, including this fabulous bath fizzy. Weighing at least 12 ounces, it looks just like a mini wedding cake. Isn’t it clever?
Look at these gorgeous bars of felted soap for sale on Etsy from SandieK.
If you’re inspired by these photos and want to make felted soap yourself, click here to go to the Mielke’s Fiber Arts. Hint: you don’t have to make the soap. It’s all in the wool and the felting process to make these little works of art.
While researching the perfect soapy Valentine presents for you, I couldn’t resist the siren song of this fabulous necklace. No, I don’t need it. Yes, I have plenty of necklaces. Yes, I am vaguely ashamed of myself.
The artist says this about my one-of-a-kind creation:
I have taken a small collection of things and made them into charms for this charm necklace. This necklace has a sweet little ‘i love you’ brass postcard, a puffed brass heart charm, a capped red faceted glass charm with red Czech glass dangle and a Czech glass flower bead in a pink with a bit of pale green.
Check out JuliaCatherine’s Etsy store here.
Thanks to this Etsy Treasury (put together by AJ’s Country Cottage), I am continuing my shopping streak today. Take a look at a few of the bars I purchased – doesn’t the second bar look exactly like a thick slab of granite?
You can buy your own bar of faux granite soap at Savonara’s shop here.
I went on a wee bit of a shopping spree this morning on Etsy. I bought this creative soap from the MagicHands Workshop in California. The soap is using our very own Winter Grapefruit.
and this:
I couldn’t justify yet another Letterpress card set so soon after my last binge. But …. I did. In my mind, the fact that I sent out two “Congratulations” cards yesterday and two “Thank You” cards today means that I am almost out of cards and need more. It’s not a legitimate justification but PistacioPress‘s beautiful work tipped me right over the edge.
In other news, the Blog Direction Survey has been completed by about 20% of our active daily readers. Right now, over 80% of you are asking for more soap projects and only 16% want more candle tutorials. I wish I would have had this information before I knocked myself out with massage candles this weekend (ha ha). But, if you’re reading this and thinking, “Hey! But I really want to learn about candles!” and don’t want just 20% of the readers to decide the direction of the blog – make sure to fill out the two-question survey located here.
Finally, Playing with Soap has a great tutorial on making soap with Beet Juice. Notice the before and after colors?
Click here to go see her experience in using this natural colorant in soap.
Paula Begoun (writer of “Don’t go to the Cosmetic Counter Without Me”) has come out with her Best of Beauty List. It’s a long read but is bound to save you some money in the upcoming year.
Summary: expensive products don’t work any better than Oil of Olay and Neutrogena for the most part.
Paula has (had?) a monthly (print) newsletter called Costmetic Counter Update that reviews all of the new beauty and make up products. It’s a must read if you’re at all vain or just interested in formulating for effectiveness. Reading her site, it appears that she’s transitioning to something new and improved and web based for 2008. If you don’t want to spring the $24.95 for the subscription, she does a bi-monthly Beauty Bulleten with some select material from the print edition. It won’t replace the magazine but it’s a good start.
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On Etsy, there is a Showcase featuring soapmakers from the popular Soap Dish forum. Click here to see it. Thank you Donna at Dream Tree Studio in South Carolina for putting it together. It’s a nice visual representation of how different handmade soap can be.
I noticed a couple non-soap items in the mix, including a bath cupcake! If you haven’t learned how to make your own, The Soap Queen did a five day tutorial on making bath cupcakes. Click here to go to the final wrap up post.
