“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” -John F. Kennedy
Sunday Night Spotlight: Cinnamon Sticks
I love to bake during the holidays, and one of my staple ingredients is cinnamon. Whether it’s cinnamon sugar cookies, cinnamon pinwheel rolls, or cinnamon bread pudding, there is nothing that says ‘holidays!’ to me like the warm, rich scent of this versatile spice (well, that and eggnog…).
Givember 2013: Holiday Crimson Lip Stain
Perfect for holiday dinner party or sophisticated evening out to see The Nut Cracker, this Holiday Crimson Lip Stain is as pretty as it is lip loving. It’s made with our Nourish Lip Balm Base, which contains a luscious blend of coconut, sweet almond and avocado oils. Make it to enjoy yourself or give away as a fun stocking stuffer! This lip stain is part of our Givember 2013 ensemble of gifts.
Selling Success at Fairs and Public Markets
By now the holiday craft season is in full swing, and you may be experiencing a bit of “seller’s fatigue” – it can be exhausting remembering to pack all your supplies, set up and take down your display, and be on the ball and ready to go week after week. Bronwyn Bacon, a soapy enthusiast who has worked in customer service and business management for more than a decade, has amassed a wealth of tips and advice for being successful at craft fairs and markets. Read on to learn how to sell for success! — A-M
Before You Go
If you’re still new to fairs, I strongly encourage you to set up your booth at home (or in your backyard) from top to bottom. Don’t guesstimate on how much time you’ll need; by setting it up for real, you’ll know exactly. Just to be super prepared, add a half hour for “issues” that always seem to crop up. Once you have as much of your booth set up as you can and it’s arranged to your liking, take photos so you have a reference to easily recreate your setup.
Expect the unexpected when taking your products on the road. Time yourself so you know exactly how long it takes you to set up and tear down your displays.
Make it Month: #BrambleTart
We’re continuing our Make It Month Feature using the Sample of the Month, Cranberry Chutney Fragrance Oil. With every order you place at Bramble Berry throughout November, you’ll receive a complimentary .5 oz. sample of this wonderful holiday fragrance.
Cranberry Chutney Fragrance Oil is one of our go-to fragrances oils because of its diverse fruity notes grounded by subtle spice. There are hint of apple, raisin and concord grape, and of course the robust scent of tart cranberries. It performs well in cold process soap, but note that it does discolor to a warm tan. In terms of other bath and body products, we like this scent so much that we use it (along with Santa’s Spruce!) in our Givember 2013 projects.
The guidelines for this Make It Month are the same as our Make It Month: Chai Tea Cybilla, but here is a quick refresher on how it all works:
- Your project needs to utilize the Cranberry Chutney Fragrance Oil. Cold process, melt and pour, lotions, scrubs, home crafts and all other bath & body projects are all welcome.
- Post photos of your creations on Bramble Berry’s Facebook page between now (November 4th) and Wednesday, November 27. Entries submitted after November 27 will not appear in the Facebook album.
- Your entry must include the hashtag “#BrambleTart” in the photo caption. Without the hashtag #BrambleTart, your photo will not appear in our Facebook album (the hashtag makes it possible for us to search for just those photos for the Make It Month).
- You can make multiple projects, but we will only consider three photos per person.
- We will post a collage of staff favorite projects on Friday, November 29th. We’ll base our choices on how unique and creative the item is.
- We encourage everyone to participate, from veterans to newbies! All photos submitted before the deadline that include the hashtag #BrambleTart will appear in a Facebook album on the Bramble Berry Page.
Ready, set, create! We can’t wait to see what kinds of projects you’ll create this month =)
Holiday Cookie Bar Cold Process Tutorial
Holiday madness is officially upon us … well, it is if you’re a cold process soaper! I am always so inspired by all the wonderful treats and desserts that show up at yearly holiday parties, and we wanted to try and replicate a delectable holiday treat in soap form. This recipe was inspired by a lovely dessert I came across on Pinterest: soft, doughy cookies with ample fudge and swirled holiday frosting. Delish!
The goal with this soap is to get your layers as straight as possible by using a pour-over-the-spatula technique. We also incorporated the fragrance sample of the month, the delightfully warm Chai Tea Cybilla. It does discolor in cold process soap, which is something we kept in mind when formulating this recipe. In the end, we think the result is just as sweet as the original dessert inspiration!
Holiday (Soap) Leftovers
Sqeeeeeeeee! The holidays have come and gone and hopefully, they’ve taken all of your holiday inventory along with it. But just in case you over made a few items, here are some ideas for getting rid of that extra inventory:
(1) Sale – Yes, I know, you could have thought of that on your own but I’m trying to be thorough. Sales are the most obvious and time-honored way of getting rid of holiday inventory. While it may be painful to take less money for the product than you’d like, it’s better than waiting a year for the season to come around and have fully spoiled products. Some money is better than no money! And, inventory sitting in your closet? That’s MONEY. Think of those bottles of lotions and soaps staring at you as what they really are, CASH. Cash now beats cash later. [Read more…]
Happy Holidays (and closure notice)
Holiday Closure: Bramble Berry will be closed December 22nd until December 27th, re-opening on Wednesday December 28th. We wish you and your family a Happy Holiday while we are celebrating with our families, too! When we return we will work hard to catch up and ship all orders in the order they were received. Please allow a few extra days for orders placed over the holiday weekend and the last week of December, Thanks! For more details see our Policies and Shipping Info here.
Do you like this sparkly, holiday soap? Check out the tutorial, Cool Yule Peppermint Soap. It’s not too late to make this for Christmas!
Annual BB Charity Shopping Trip
It’s everyone’s favorite time of year, when the giving spirit runs through our veins and people come together to help and support those in need. This year Bramble Berry sponsored five different families (with a total of 25 people) through the Salvation Army. The Brambleberrians warm my heart. This was an off the clock event that nearly the entire staff showed up for. I couldn’t ask for a better team and support system. This year, we added a new shopper – Jamisen!
‘Tis the Holiday Season from Artfire
‘Tis the season to shop for (and make) holiday themed soaps. I’m not sure if anyone realizes this but December 1st is this Thursday. December starts this week. Gulp! How did this happen and where did November go? To celebrate the soapy season, I did some window shopping for some holiday inspiration. Check out some of the festive soaps from Artfire.com.
Row One
Oh Christmas Tree Cupcake Soap– From God’s Garden
Christmas Dreams Handmade Bar Soap– Heart J Creations
Christmas Snowflake Hand Cast Glycerin Soap– Bonnie Bartley, Soapmith
Row Two
Snowman Cupcake Soaps– Castle Lake Studio
Holly and Ivy Cold Process with Aloe and Cocoa Butter– Heaven Leigh Scents
Holiday Gingerbread Man Soap– Pink Pleasures
Row Three
Holiday Soap Bar– AJSweetSoap
Christmas Light Bulbs– Bubble Genius
Candy Cane Lane Holiday Soap– Soap Garden
If you haven’t started on your holiday goodies yet, there are some easy recipes in our Soaks section (no cure time, can use right away!) and lip balm section (perfect stocking stuffers!). PS – I am totally listening to Christmas music in my office. It’s after Thanksgiving and completely allowed now. I am such a sucker for Holiday music…
Falling for Fall Soap Projects
It’s that time of year again when I like to take a stroll down memory lane and dig up the great Fall(ish) tutorials to kick off the holiday season (seriously…how is it November already?). Who is hosting Thanksgiving this year? Will you be handing out soapy favors or will you be bringing soapy hostess gifts? I’m hosting this year (Eek! My first time hosting Faiola Family Thanksgiving. I guess this means I’m growing up?!) but I still don’t know what I’m going to do for soapy favors so I’m brainstorming. If you’re doing favors, I want to hear about it because I need some Fall Soap inspiration.
Outdoors for Labor Day
Happy Labor Day everyone. I hope that you are enjoying the long weekend celebrating the economic and social contributions of workers. I’ve been busy enjoying the last of the PNW summer with three urban hikes (hiking through town, up and down hills and in and out of neighborhoods) and one real deal outdoor hike. Chris, Jamisen and I hiked to Fragrance Lake in Bellingham. It was a beautiful day to hike and we ran into multiple sets of friends on the hiking trail.
Always Better With Age
2010 Fall Project Mash-Up
Let’s take a look back at our favorite SoapQueen Fall projects from years past, including some yummy (food) recipes that would be great for Thanksgiving appetizers!
Beating Bad Holiday Habits
Will Holiday Habits Set You Back for 2009?
Guest blog by Jack Canfield, author of The Success Principles
You are an accumulation of your habits. From how you get out of bed, how you shower, how you dress, how you shop for food and eat meals, how you exercise, how you walk, sit, and talk, how you respond to the world, how you act in front of others, and how you think; you are living out your habits.
Habits are necessary. Because they typically come naturally and automatically (“through habit”), they free up your mind so you can concentrate on how to survive day to day. You don’t have to think about how to drive your car so you can be on the lookout for danger while you are driving. You don’t have to think about how to walk so you can concentrate on where you’re going.
Unfortunately, habits can also keep you locked in self-destructive patterns, which will limit your success.
This is especially true during stressful periods, like holidays. And compounding the holiday season this year is the current economic downturn we’re all experiencing.
It’s probably going to last longer than a season, infringing upon people’s aspirations and optimism for 2009. People are facing job loss, foreclosures, higher bills, lower incomes…and yet those holiday expectations loom large.This is when it’s far too easy to let bad habits take over and multiply with every holiday symbol that you see.
What’s the secret to surviving this holiday season, bring in the new year feeling fantastic–physically and emotionally–and have more confidence in the future?
You will need to drop those bad habits and develop new ones that are in line with the life you want to live. This will help you to get through the holidays cheerfully and embrace 2009 with high hopes. People don’t suddenly appear in the life they want to live, habits determine their outcome!
So ask yourself, what are the habits you have that are keeping you from achieving your goals? Which ones seem to become magnified during the end of the year, setting you up for feeling behind and lousy come January 1st?
Really be honest with yourself. Are you always running late? Do you make promises you can’t keep? Do you get enough sleep? Do you make excuses for not eating well and scheduling exercise? Do you plan out your day?
Imagine what your life would be like if all those habits were their productive counterparts.
What would your life be like if you ate healthy meals, exercised and got enough sleep? What if you saved money, stopped using credit cards and paid cash for everything? What if you stopped procrastinating, overcame your fears, and began networking with people in your field? Would your life be different? I bet it would!
So, my suggested action step for you is to write down some productive habits you could adopt and visualize in your life. Step two is to “act as if” you were living these new habits right now!
I know, you thought you wouldn’t have to do this until New Year’s, but I’d like to help you get moving toward creating more successful habits today, so you’re already in motion when 2009 lands.
I’d recommend you plan on developing four of your new success habits each year, one for each quarter. That means right this instant you can map out which four you intend to adopt in 2009, and then create a method that will support your new habits.
Here are some ideas: You could write it down on a card that you keep with you and read several times a day. You could make it a part of your daily visualization. You could also enlist the help of an accountability partner who has habits to change.
It’s important to make a 100% commitment to each of your new habits, so be specific about the steps that you’re willing to take in order to drop an old habit and adopt a new one.
Don’t be vague about how you will change your habits. Spell it out for yourself so you can recognize situations that motivate you to act out your new habit.
Just developing four new habits a year will dramatically shift your life to be more in line with your vision. And the more in line it becomes, the easier the other habits are to replace because your perspective is shifting and you can see more clearly how your old habits aren’t serving you anymore.
Don’t let the economic forecast for the next several months impede your movement forward. Get ready for 2009 today. Focus on habits that will launch you forward, not back.
Make the decision. Make the commitment. Then watch your new, positive life unfold!
Jack Canfield, America’s #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you’re ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com