Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more
The warmer temperatures and sunny days this week inspired tutorials that are full of color. The Dragon’s Breath Cold Process Tutorial has orange, red and yellow colors, which are inspired by the fire emitted from a dragon’s mouth. It is accented with a smoky scent from Dragon’s Blood Fragrance Oil. To get the fiery layers, the Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold is set on its lid to keep your mold tilted. Click through the post to see how to make the soap.
Happy weekend everybody! This past week has been full of change. As the house gets worked on after the boiler explosion, we have been staying with friends and family. I feel so grateful to have a strong support system through this period. Luckily, the kids have adjusted well to the change of routine. Staying at other people’s homes has meant more time with the kiddos which has been great. Got to keep looking on the bright side!
In other news, last weekend I had the opportunity to attend the Central Soapers Workshop. It was a blast to see familiar faces and meet lots of talented soap makers. I left feeling incredibly inspired and energized. Keep your eyes on the blog tomorrow for a full workshop wrap-up =) In the meantime, scroll down to see my favorite pins, tweets and ‘grams from this week.
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During the Central Soapers Workshop, I had the opportunity to demonstrate this beer cold process soap (on the left.) These adorable Lemon and Goat Milk Melt and Pour Bars (right) will be on the blog in the next few weeks. I love how bright and cheery they turned out!
The Soap Swap is in full swing with soap arriving everyday. This stunning Rainbow Twist soap made by Raven and Rain Soap Co. is one of my current favorites!
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To keep up with the latest soapy social media throughout the week, you can follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine and YouTube. And Snapchat! To watch my ‘stories’, which include sneak peeks into future projects, add me. I’m Bramble-Berry on Snapchat.
The longer you soap, the more soapy supplies tend to build up. Before you know it, your house is overflowing with oils, fragrances and molds. This week had tips on how to use and care for your supplies. For instance, if your wood molds get messy, you can use a soap scraper/cutter to remove any hardened soap and polish them with Simple Citrus Furniture Polish. Silicone molds are easy to maintain, and can be cleaned with 99% isopropyl alcohol, dish soap and warm water. Read more tips in the How to Care for Silicone and Wood Molds post.
As many of you know already, it was a hectic week for my family and I. We are currently working on cleaning up after a boiler in our house exploded. The great news is my family is safe and doing well. You can read more about that in the Soap Queen Has a Mess to Clean Up post.
One of my favorite ways to reduce stress is crafting, so I’ve been squeezing that in when possible. This weekend I will be speaking at the Central Soapers Workshop, so crafting is definitely on the agenda! One of my favorite recent projects is the Mermaid Tail Cold Process, which uses squeeze bottles and a spoon to create scales. It takes a bit of planning, but once you get going the technique is simple. It creates an interesting and unique look. The soap has some sparkle from Iridescent Glitter and smells fresh from Crisp Cotton Fragrance Oil.
I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend so far. Ours started off with a bang. We’ve had an eventful couple of days in our household (more on that later!).
Lily is growing like a weed. I wouldn’t be surprised if she followed in her dad’s footsteps and was a runner…that girl is full of energy! She learns new words everyday. It’s so fun to be able to communicate with her better, and listen to her adorable renditions of big words.
Below are my favorite tweets, ‘grams and pins from the week. I’m also on Snap Chat now! To see my stories, my username is Bramble-Berry.
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On the left is a Cinderella inspired soap, featuring melt and pour embeds and a hanger swirl. I can’t wait to see the movie. On the right, is the Mermaid Tail soap cut into bars. Be on the lookout for that tutorial next week!
I feel so lucky to live in such a beautiful place. Below, the family and I went exploring on the beach.The combination of fog and sun made for a gorgeous day.
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To keep up with the latest soapy social media throughout the week, you can follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine and YouTube. And Snapchat! To watch my ‘stories’, add me. I’m Bramble-Berry on Snapchat.
The weather here in Bellingham, WA has been gorgeous. The sunny days and warm temperatures have us thinking of sandy beaches. If it’s still cold where you live, you can bring the beach to you with our Sweet Sea Dreams promotion. As part of the promotion, several colorants are 15% off with the code: SWEETSEA. To see all the sale items, click here.
A combination of Cellini Blue Mica and Gold Sparkle Mica create a sea-inspired blue that makes the Mermaid Shell Melt and Pour Soaps stand out. To get a realistic clam shell look, several thin layers of soap are poured into the mold and a fork is used to create texture. The soap is finished with a fresh smell from Crisp Cotton Fragrance Oil.
Happy Saturday! The weather has been wonderful in the Pacific Northwest lately, which makes the weekends even more fun than usual. It’s so nice to spend more time outdoors with the kids. We’ve started walking around the neighborhood more consistently; sometimes those walks turn into wagon rides instead =). While I’m sad to lose an hour of sleep to daylight savings time tomorrow, I can’t wait for longer days!
This early spring is a pleasant surprise, but I understand that’s not the situation for the entire country. To those in the snow, I hope you’re all staying warm! If you’re looking for a little indoor inspiration, my favorite tweets, pins and instagrams will give you some quality internet-surfing time =)
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I’m thrilled (!!!!!!) with how this Mermaid Tail Cold Process turned out. I’m giving it the weekend to stay in the mold…I can’t wait to unmold it on Monday! This petal technique was made popular by Kenna of Modern Soap Making.
Speaking of mermaids, I had fun mixing up mermaid inspired eye shadow this week (left). On the right are melt and pour bars made from scratch using Kayla Fiorvanti’s book, “How to Make Melt and Pour Base From Scratch.” It was a fun, interesting process.
Twitter:
To keep up with the latest soapy social media throughout the week, you can follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine and YouTube. And Snapchat! To watch my ‘stories’, add me. I’m Bramble-Berry on Snapchat.
There are so many new bath and beauty products on the market. It’s intriguing and inspiring to see all the options for pampering yourself, including in-shower moisturizer. In-shower lotion is basically a conditioner for your skin. To use it, apply the lotion, rinse lightly and pat dry with a towel. The Rose and Aloe In-Shower Lotion hydrates your skin and leaves a sweet floral scent from Crisp Apple Rose Fragrance Oil.
Every now and then a little silliness in life necessary, don’t you think? I’m glad my team agrees. Below (right), the team and I pose for a fun picture during a Boys and Girls Club Bingo Fundraiser. It’s awesome to spend time together outside of the office, especially when it’s for a good cause. A few of us even won at Bingo!
In more “serious” business news, I had the opportunity to speak on the latest Indie Business Network podcast, “Women, Wealth and WOW!” hosted by Donna Maria, click here to listen. In addition, I’m giving two talks at the Central Soapers Workshop in Kansas City along with other talented soapy experts on March 21st. If you can’t travel to Kansas City, the workshop also offers a virtual registration option. I hope to see you there! I was also a guest on the Business Bootcamp Podast this week. You can listen to that here. Now, let’s get to my favorite tweets, pins and ‘grams from the week.
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The team and I have been obsessed with everything mermaids recently. Below, mermaid-inspired nail polish shades are in the works! Be on the lookout for mermaid inspired projects on the blog soon.
Below (left), I demonstrate the “frozen spoon trick,” during the Handmade Beauty Box virtual craft party. You can watch that entire 18 minute LIVE crafting session here (don’t judge; it’s hard to talk and demo with no editing or script!) =) This handy trick is a great way to test lipstick colors before pouring into containers. On the right are a box of yummy macarons that the office snacked on. Have you tried making macarons before? They are tricky, but so worth it!
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To keep up with the latest soapy social media throughout the week, you can follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine and YouTube. Annnnnnd, Snapchat. Yup. I’ve joined up. To watch my ‘stories’, add me. I’m Bramble-Berry on Snapchat.
Thanks to everybody who entered to be a part of the Spring 2015 S.O.A.P. Panel! It was beyond hard to choose only eight panelists out of nearly 100 entries. We are excited to announce the new panelists, and can’t wait to hear what they have to say about the mystery fragrances. Scroll down to find out who made the panel.
Spring 2015 S.O.A.P. Panel
Estrellita of The Mama Juju
Kevin of Devinely Designed Products
Jennifer of Skyline Soapworks
Candice of Candy Body Factory
Andrea of DJ’s Creek Farm
Maureen of Reeny’s Butterflies Blooms and Bees
Shelly of Lion and Rose Soap
Eren of Eren’s Creations
Congrats panelists! We are thrilled to have each of you on the S.O.A.P. panel, and can’t wait to hear what you think about the eight new mystery fragrances! Please e-mail us at sma2(at)brambleberry(dot)com with your shipping information so we can get you the mystery fragrances. We will package and ship the fragrances out no later than March 3rd.
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The exciting news this week was my visit to the Starbucks Roastery in Seattle. It was an amazing Disneyland experience – the Disneyland of coffee that is! I was so inspired by the visit that I’m pretty sure there’s a blog post in there about branding and experience. I instagrammed (and even vined!) the visit up.
These are the top pins of the week. Follow me here:
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Sometimes it takes a few tries to get a recipe just right. Below are the first two attempts of the Luck of the Irish Hot Process Tutorial. I’m really happy with the lighter, fresher green tones in the final tutorial.
Speaking of colors, this Create a Rainbow: Mixing Colors in Cold Process Soap blog post demonstrates how to make a rainbow of colors using only three pigments. On the left are a batch of soap for the local Umpqua Bank. They have been a huge supporter of Handmade Beauty Box, and soap is the perfect way to say thank you.
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I hope you are all having a great weekend, and enjoy Oscar Sunday tomorrow! To keep up with the latest soapy social media throughout the week, you can follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine and YouTube.
One of my favorite things in life is to look at beautiful things; specifically, YOUR beautiful soap creations. My book hashtag, #soapcrafting, on Instagram has many stunning photos already. But because I just can’t get enough of your photos, I’d love to see even more! Each Friday, I will pick a photo on Instagram to win a copy of the Soap Crafting book, and share on Bramble Berry Instgram account. To enter, use the hashtag #soapshare on your Instagram photos. I can’t wait to see your soapy projects. =)
Can you believe tomorrow is the 1st of February already? Time flies when you’re having fun! Yesterday the team and I filmed several videos for Soap Queen TV and the new Bramble Berry YouTube channel. Look out tomorrow for a behind-the-scenes post into the shoot. We filmed two cold process recipes, along with a colorful and sparkly melt and pour soap. Below is an Instagram photo of the melt and pour project. Based on the Rainbow Hearts Melt & Pour project, this soap was updated slightly to feature more hearts per bar.
Today we did a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) activity day and of course, are in the midst of prepping for the Super Bowl tomorrow. Do you have fun Super Bowl plans? Jamisen is starting to pay attention to the sport, while Lily simply enjoys wearing her Seahawks gear. I picked up some cute Seahawks cookies from a local bakery to celebrate and those are sure to be a huge hit. On Friday, some of the Bramble Berry team showed their support with plenty of blue and green; go Hawks!
If football is not your cup of tea and you’re looking for some fun crafty projects for the weekend, check out my favorite pins, ‘grams and tweets from the week below.
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This past week has been full of colorful projects for a fun promotion starting in February. Below on the left, is a cold process soap made with Ultramarine Blue Pigment and Ocean Rain Fragrance Oil. On the right, is a chamomile soap made with Yellow Oxide and Chamomile Bergamot Fragrance Oil. I can’t wait to share these tutorials with you!
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I hope you are all having a great weekend, and enjoy Super Bowl Sunday tomorrow! To keep up with the latest soapy social media throughout the week, you can follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine and YouTube.
This weekend is full of family, friends and of course a little crafting. Today I spent some time working on a fun Valentine’s Day tutorial that I can’t wait to share (look out for that project tomorrow). I’ve also been doing some meal prep for the upcoming week, while the kids eat their weight in pomegranate seeds. Tomorrow the family is visiting a new trampoline park in town; it’s full of trampolines for all ages, foam pits and obstacle courses…the kids are going to love it. What are your fun plans for the weekend?
These kiddos can’t get enough of pomegranate seeds!
If you’re looking for a weekend projects, the blog has been full of tutorials featuring clays and other natural ingredients. Many of these items are currently 20% with the code, CLAYCLEAN. These items are on sale until January 29th at midnight, PST; click here to see all sale items. Next week, keep your eyes on the blog for a hot process tutorial, as well as a rebatch project. Looking for more crafty ideas? Check out my favorite social media finds from the past week, including pins, instagrams and tweets!
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This month I’m spreading my soapy wings and practicing the Butterfly Hanger Swirl for the Soap Challenge Club hosted by Amy of Great Cakes Soapworks. I’m thrilled with how it turned out, and can’t wait to try this technique again.
Last weekend the kids, Chris and I had a great time watching the big football game (go Hawks!), and spending some time in the rainy outdoors.
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To keep up with the latest soapy social media throughout the week, you can follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine and YouTube.
