Are you ready for a departure from your typical candle? This adorable whipped topping adds punch and pizzazz with some fun embedded wax objects to boot. A friendly gift, perfect for your spunky desk mate at work or friendly neighbor at home.
Domino Lip Balm
These fun and fruity lip balms are great for those who love the classic game of Dominoes. We are personally big fans of Trains (sometimes referred to as ‘Mexican Trains’) in this household. By manipulating hardened lip balm base, I was able to create a fun polka-dotty look with a tropical twist. Read on to learn how to create these adorable and yummy-tasting lip balms.
Recipe:
Drinking Straw
Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart! [Read more…]
Matte Finish Nail Polish Tutorial
Creating our own nail polish has become all the rage for Team Bramble Berry and we can’t get enough of playing around with our Suspending Nail Polish Base. We’ve done everything from basic colors to scented nail polish. Have any questions about making your own nail polish? Check out Talk it Out Tuesday all about customizing nail polishes. For this tutorial, I’m trying out a cool effect I came across while surfing Pinterest last week. Matte nail polishes are all the rage, and the addition of a special ingredient – cornstarch – can take your polish from glossy to glam.
Ingredients:
Cornstarch
4 oz Suspending Nail Polish Base
10-15 Nail Polish Mixing Balls
Click here to add everything you need for this project (except for the cornstarch) to your Bramble Berry shopping cart! [Read more…]
Red Apple Cold Process Soap
Here’s a great way to dress up an otherwise unassuming bar of soap. It reminds me of the painted heart soap technique that we learned at Soap Weekend Intensive 2011 (fun memories!) but with a twist. Adorable little apples dot the surface of this soap made with our newest Quick Mix oil recipe. Red Apple fragrance oil pairs perfectly with the cute and kitschy apple design! Yum to the eleventh power.
Recipe:
33 oz Basic Quick Mix Oil
4.7 oz Sodium Hydroxide (Lye)
10.9 oz Distilled Water
2 Condiment Bottles
Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!
PS – This technique, of course, works for all cold process soap recipes – not just ones with the Quick Mix Oils =) [Read more…]
Sunset Ombre Soap Tutorial
Here is the first of many, many recipes included with the brand spankin’ new Business in a Box Kit, exclusively from Bramble Berry. With the kit, you get this Ombre Soap advanced technique recipe along with another (soon to be revealed) technique option and a Business in a Box quick start guide all in a handy PDF. Read even more about all of the contents in the Business in a Box Kit here. Note that this recipe below uses the Quick Mix oils but this technique will work for any slow-moving recipe.
This soapmaking technique is for a super on-trend ombre look. Try out different color schemes with other LabColors from your Business in a Box kit for varied styles. Match colors to fragrance or essential oils, or create multiple colored soaps for a rainbow-esque display. Simply colored soap, when strategically layered, creates a light to dark fade that is sure to impress your customers. A seamless transition between colors will show off your expert sense of color and design.
RECIPE:
33 oz Lots of Lather Quick Mix
11 oz Distilled Water
4.7 oz Sodium Hydroxide
Diluted Canary LabColor
Diluted Orange Labcolor
2 oz Energy Fragrance Oil
If you’d love to try out this tutorial but aren’t ready for the full Business in a Box kit, click here to add ingredients for just this recipe to your Bramble Berry shopping cart! [Read more…]
Kissably Soft Lotion Recipe
Get ready for a lotion that will change your life; well, as much as a lotion can change your life. I am totally in like with this recipe! And, I’m hoping you do too. This lotion glides on smooth, and a little goes a long way. Super luxe ingredients like BTMS-50 conditioning emulsifier and DL-Panthenol (also known as Pro-Vitamin B5) work in tandem with skin-loving oils and extracts to create a super soft skin without it feeling too greasy or slippery. I dare you to try it and not love it! Psst: the essential oil blend is the perfect compliment to this luxurious recipe. I have a bottle of this on my desk at work; that’s how much I love it.
Recipe:
1.6 oz Avocado Oil
1.28 oz Rice Bran Oil
1.28 oz BTMS-50
0.96 oz Liquid Glycerin
0.64 oz Stearic Acid
0.64 oz Oat Extract
0.16 oz Buckthorn Extract
3.2 oz Aloe Vera Liquid
21.6 oz Distilled Water
0.64 oz DL Panthenol
0.32 oz Optiphen
2.5 mL Jasmine Grandiflorum Absolute
2.5 mL Sandalwood Essential Oil
1 mL Lavender 40/42 Essential Oil
4 – 8 ounce Bottles with Pump Tops
Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart! [Read more…]
Sparkle Power Bath Bomb Tutorial
Here’s a kid-friendly bath bomb tutorial guaranteed to make bath time tons of fun. It’s a spin off of the recent Hidden Color Bath Bomb tutorial, where a secret stash of super concentrated color appears once the bath bomb is activated in water. This time around, instead of color the secret stash is full of glitter! What a fun and unexpected treat for bath time adventures.
Recipe:
1 Cup Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda)
1/2 Cup Citric Acid
1/2 Cup Corn Starch
1/2 Cup Epsom Salt
1.5 Tablespoons Avocado Oil
Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart! [Read more…]
Oatmeal Facial Scrub and Mask DIY
Here’s a quick and adaptable recipe for a gentle facial scrub and mask. It works great as a simple exfoliater, but for an added boost leave it on your skin as a mask to absorb oil and clean pores. Skin-loving ingredients and gentle oils make this scrub and mask a soothing addition to any skin care routine.
Recipe:
2 1/2 cups Oatmeal (NOT quick oats)
1/2 cup Bentonite Clay
2 Tablespoons Lemon Peel Powder
3 mL Oat Extract
3 mL Vitamin E Oil
Egyptian Geranium Essential Oil
Aloe Vera Liquid or Chamomile Tea (for hydrating the mask)
OPTIONAL: Lavender Grade 1
Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart! [Read more…]
For the Love of Waterlily: a Bath Fizzy Tutorial
Love is in the air and we couldn’t be happier. February is one of my favorite times of the year because Valentine’s Day lands in the middle of it and there are always so many fun projects that you can do for it. Still on the lookout for more Valentine’s projects? Check out this V-Day mashup for more inspiration.
This project came to me back when we announced the S.O.A.P. 2012 fragrances, I knew that I just had to use the Waterlily Orange in a Valentine’s Project because it just smells amazing! And, we all know how much I love bath fizzies, so read on and learn how to make a great and fizzy Valentine’s gift.
Recipe:
1 cup Citric Acid
2 cups Baking Soda
4 Tablespoons Kaolin Clay
1/4 cup Epsom Salt
2 Tablespoons Deodorized Cocoa Butter, melted
9 mL Waterlily Orange Fragrance Oil
Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart! [Read more…]
Embedded Heart Melt and Pour Tutorial
As we head full swing into February, love is in the air. Here’s an adorable melt and pour project that is great for practicing layers and embedding. I used a unique trick to get these heart cut-outs to sit up on their sides. Read on and try not to fall in love with this soap.
Recipe:
55 oz. Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base
Super Pearly White Color Block
Mango Peach Salsa Fragrance Oil
Glossy Silicone Square Tray Mold
Silicone Loaf Mold
Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart! [Read more…]
Hidden Color Bath Bombs
Here’s a fun idea for a colorful surprise hidden inside a bath bomb. This tutorial is perfect for getting kids to take a bath, because there’s enough colorant in each bath bomb to color the bath water. And since you can’t see the color until the bath bomb is activated, you have to be in the bath to get your surprise! I originally came up with this idea … well, you’ll have to see why this weekend. =)
Scroll down to the bottom of the post to see a mini fizzy coloring water!
Recipe:
1.5 cups Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda)
1 cup Citric Acid
12 mL Baby Powder Fragrance Oil
Witch Hazel (in a spray bottle)
2-3 Stainless Steel Bath Bomb Molds
Mesh Strainer
Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart! [Read more…]
How to Frost the Perfect Bath Fizzy Cupcake
I have a special guest on Soap Queen TV – Jeanee Duval of Dirty Laundry! She came all the way to Bellingham (15 hours of flying time – wowzers!) to show us her technique for making perfect the Bath Fizzy Cupcake. I had such a great time Jeanee, and her craftsmanship is amazing. We show 3 different versions – to dress up your cupcakes. [Read more…]
Hair Chalk Recipe and Application Tutorial
I’ve been loving (obsessing over?) the hair chalking trend going around. If you follow me on Pinterest you may have seen a few hair chalking pins lately, so of course I had to give it a try. After a few test runs with the help of some gracious Bramble Berry team members’ luscious locks, I’ve come up with what I think is a great hair chalk recipe that works on both light and dark colored hair. Plus, a how-to about applying the chalk to hair once it’s made. It washes out in 1-2 shampoos (depending on the color of your hair before chalking; lighter hair may take a second shampoo) and really pops – the perfect low-commitment pizzazz to kick off the new year right.
Tiger Stripe “Hanger” Swirl Tutorial
Have you checked out Bramble Berry’s brand new Brazilian clays yet? These natural colorants work excellently in cold process soap and are available in an amazing range of colors. They’re even available in a sample pack so you can test them out before purchasing a larger size! To keep with the natural elements of the clays, I used a delightfully herbal essential oil blend for fragrance.
To create a two-color tiger stripe effect, I modified Bramble Berry’s 2 pound Wood Loaf mold. If you have some cardboard lying around from holiday packaging, here’s your chance to reuse it for some soapy goodness. We’re keeping it green on Soap Queen!
