Bubbles Soap Tray Mold (Can’t you just see this with the awesome Neons with a black background?)
3D Molds: A Bramble Berry Update
Bramble Berry is offering more 3D mold options! Now you can get your 3D molds with a white back and a clear front for $7.75 with an even cheaper option on the way. Soon you will be able to purchase a totally white 3D mold for just $6.50. Why the change you ask? Because of the rising costs of plastic (a petroleum product), we were forced to raise our pricing on 3D molds. We’ve been brainstorming for weeks and came up with the idea to offer more choices so YOU can be in control. If you don’t need clear, you won’t need to pay for that increased plastics cost.
Have you ever made a 3D soap? Learn from Anne-Marie on Soap Queen TV. OR learn how to make a beautifully brushed 3D soap (below) by clicking here. I think this Rosette Mold would look amazing with the dry brushing as well.
Projects we’ve done with the 3D molds in the past:
Heart Valentine 3-D Molds
Alien Head Soap
Loofah Soap on a Rope
Soap on a Rope – Basic Instructions
3-D Molds – Trimming
3-D Molds – Layering & Coloring Detail
3-D Molds – Pouring & Fill Line
3-D Molds Set Up
I love the 3D molds and the final bars – they’re so smooth and sophisticated. Enjoy the entire line here.
Vote on New Silicone Molds
Do you love Bramble Berry’s line of Silicone Kudos Molds? We love them too and it’s time to add more molds to the selection. That’s where you come in. Which molds would you like to see added to the Bramble Berry line?
Take 2 minutes to take the survey and check all of the molds that you would like to see at Bramble Berry! There are 38 fun designs to choose from. Take the survey HERE. Thanks, good luck and have fun!
Take the Survey HERE!
Green Machine (Melt and Pour Tutorial)
What You’ll Need:
25.5 oz White Melt and Pour Soap Base
19.5 oz Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base
10 ml Emerald Green LabColor (diluted in 8 oz water)
Get everything you need here in the click of a button!
This 15 layer soap was inspired by a Bramble Berry newsletter project using the cold process soapmaking method — here’s the link if you want to check it out. For our melt and pour fans, we wanted to give them the same option of making graduated layers. In order to make the 15 layers manageable, I separated the recipe into 4 parts, pouring 3 ounces per layer and adding drops of Emerald Green LabColor for the fading effect. But, I did do the project all at once, in one sitting so plan to set aside at least 30 minutes to do the project all straight through. If you have never made a layered soap before, please watch the Basic Layers Episode on Soap Queen TV to brush up on the basics before tackling this project. So dilute that LabColor (see directions here) and let’s get started.
Hearts, Flowers and…Gnomes?
Hot off the presses (or mold machine in this case)! New goodies at Bramble Berry!
New Cold Process Ezine!
Just a reminder – we are still at an extended processing time (and working hard to catch up!). Current order turnaround times are listed on our home page at www.BrambleBerry.com Thank you for all of your exciting and overwhelming amount of business this January. We’ve been hiring like crazy, working overtime and are making progress to get back to the speedy processing time you expect. =)
What’s New, You Ask?
Toys!
Learn to embed your new toys in soap with this Soap Queen Video!
Books!
These books are out of print so get them while you can!
Dividers!
Guest Dividers for Birchwood Molds!
Reeds!
Salt!
Dendritic Salt has a greater surface area than other salts which means the fragrance (or essential oils) and color sticks better and with more oomph!
I hope you’re having a fantastic weekend. My family is up so in ‘The More the Merrier’ spirit, we invited extra people to dinner last night and threw a laughter-filled dinner party, complete with after-dinner Cranium. I feel confident that (eh hum!) my team was on the verge of winning when the power went out in Bellingham. Nothing quite shuts down a dinner party like losing power. This morning, my parents are coming over to bake Fake-on (faux-bacon) Cheddar Cheese biscuits with me. YUM! Happy soaping, erm…. um, eating?
I’ll Have the Honey Ale (Soap), Please.
Honey Ale Melt and Pour
Ingredients
25 oz Honey Melt and Pour
5 Tablespoons Liquid Soap
ONE: Melt 25 ounces of Honey Melt and Pour soap base in the microwave and mix in .5- .75 ounces of fragrance oil.
TWO: Whisk the melted soap until you have frothy bubbles on top. Switch between whisking and stirring the soap. The goal is to suspend the bubbles in the soap (to look like carbination). Stir until the soap is gelatinous and pour into the mold. Do not spritz with rubbing alcohol. We’re keeping the air bubbles this time!
THREE: Once the soap has cooled make your frosting recipe for the “foam”. Combine, 5 tablespoons of liquid soap, with 8 ounce of White Melt and Pour and .25 ounces of Honey Ale Fragrance Oil and blend on medium/high with an electric mixer (or super strength elbow grease). See this Soap Queen TV episode on Soap Cupcakes with Whipped Frosting to learn more about soap frosting.
FOUR: Once the beer soap is completely cool and the frosting recipe is frothy, spritz the first layer of soap with rubbing alcohol and pour the soap frosting on top. No spritzing alcohol on the frosting. You don’t want to deflate the beer froth.
FIVE: Once the soap has cooled, carefully release from the mold and cut into adorable cubes and give them away or keep them all to yourself.
Soap Puffed Marshmallows
As promised (on Facebook; what, you’re not reading our Facebook fan page obsessively? Shame. Shame), my Hot Cocoa Soap recipe in all of its chocolaty goodness! I used an advanced technique called ‘In the Pot Swirl’. Basically, you split up your batch into two different colors and pour 1 color into the second pot in various places. The soap batter naturally swirls the colors together when you pour the soap into the mold (I used the 5 lb Wooden Log Mold). I also used real cocoa powder as my brown colorant then mixed in Super Pearly White Mica (in about 12 ounces of soap batter) for the swirling color. Swirling a thin layer on top adds a nice touch so save a little extra of the Super Pearly White soap. You can use any swirl technique that you want though. If you want to see exactly how the ‘In The Pot Swirl’ technique is done, check out this video to watch the step by step process.
The Recipe (screen shot from the SOAP iPhone App)
I do have to admit that I made this recipe to test a new fragrance called Hot Cocoa that Bramble Berry is bringing in for the holidays. It’s pure chocolate bliss and passed the cold process test with flying colors. I’ve already ordered it so keep your eyes peeled on the Bramble Berry site. In the mean time, I would suggest a combination of Dark Rich Chocolate and Vanilla Select.
And now the secret to my ‘mallows! They were totally inspired by Soapylove’s Soap Frosting recipe (check out the guest blog post here and a Soap Queen TV episode here). They smell delicious and look positively edible!
Ingredients
4 oz White Soap Base
2 Tablespoons Liquid Soap
Electric Mixer
Knife
ONE: Melt 4 ounces of white soap base in the microwave. Use an electric mixer to blend the melt and pour soap base with 2 tablespoons of liquid soap, 1 ml of Vanilla Select and 1 ml of Vanilla Color Stabilizer. Once the mixture is fluffy, scoop it into a silicone tray mold and let cool for about 30 minutes.
TWO: Once the mixture has cooled, gently release (or pry) the soap from the mold and cut evenly into marshmallow sized squares. Use your hands to round out the corners (they mold really easily).
THREE:Pop them on top of your CP soap at thin trace for a sweet accent!
Get everything you need for the soap and the marshmallows with the click of a button. The only thing you’ll have to get on your own is the olive oil. I’ve also included the 5 pound wooden mold but if you already have one, remember that you can delete anything that you don’t need from your shopping cart.
Mighty Weighty Kudos
The new Kudos Molds are selling so fast. I can’t believe I already had to place another order to get more. WOW! I wonder if it has anything to do with the Facebook Coupon Code (grin)? It only lasts until Monday so get the deal while you can. I also had a couple of emails from customers wanting to see the actual mold and see how it differs than ‘regular’ molds. Here you go! It’s the super flexible silicone that allows for the meticulous details and I can’t tell you how easy they are to unmold. I could do it blindfolded with one hand tied behind my back (that would be a sight to see).
In other news, Bramble Berry just launched our TWO new calculators: The Liquid Soap Calculator and The Fragrance Calculator. Check out the Lye Calculator- There are some new features like an option for liquid soap, grams and ounces and the addition of some new butters and oils that we didn’t have before. There’s also a place for notes on your recipe!
Below is a screen shot of the new fragrance calculator. You’ll never have to second guess yourself again about how much fragrance to use. Just plug in the product that you’re making (lotion, soap, etc.), the size of your recipe and which fragrance or essential oil you want to use. Then hit the ‘calculate’ button and we’ll give you the recommended usage rates! Easy!
Do you have any other suggestions on how you’d like to see us improve the Bramble Berry site to make it more useful to you? If you do, I want to hear them!
Finally, The Saponifier magazine is having their ‘Academy Awards for Vendors’ contest to choose the best soapmaking supply house on the ‘net. You can vote for your favorite supplier here!
New Kudos Molds
We are positively leaping for joy that the new line of Kudos Single Cavity Silicone Molds is here. These are all originally hand sculpted designs. And, for our production soapers, we’re offering discounts when you purchase 5 of any one kind. You can see the entire line HERE (starting on page 2). And pssst, if you’re a fan of ours on Facebook (hint hint), look for an introductory coupon code today…
The Highs and Lows of Mint Chocolate Chip
Here’s a peek of my Mint Chocolate Chip swirls from yesterday. See the blog post HERE if you missed it. The soap is pretty soft at this point (Olive Oil, 5% superfat, no gel phase) but they were still easy to unmold from the ‘World’s Best’ Baltic Birchwood Mold. These “sweet” soaps will be ready to use in 4-6 weeks!
On a painfully sad note, there was a casualty during the unmolding process. I was so giddy and excited about my swirls that the soap just bobbled out of my hand. I guess this will be the “tester” soap. Sigh…poor little guy. He didn’t deserve this!
We’re having the Bramble Berry Bridge Building Contest today + BBQ Fundsday! I can’t wait to have a rematch and hopefully redeem myself (and my popsicle stick bridge building abilities).
FREE Soap Mold!
You read it right, get a free soap mold from Bramble Berry! Choose from one of these seven exclusive ELF mold designs; oval massage, tractor, peace sign, slim broad rectangle, slim oval, slim short rectangle, or slim square. See all of your choices here.
Use coupon code: FREEMOLDSQ
To use the coupon you must make a minimum purchase of $25. Just add your items and the free mold you would like to your shopping cart, then enter the coupon code in the coupon field and voilà- the price of the mold will be deducted from your total. Head over to Bramble Berry now, offer ends Friday, June 18th.
Cuteness Alert: New Soap Molds!
Guest Chinese CoinsCan you tell we’ve gone a bit mold crazy here? It was virtually impossible with so many great designs hitting the market this month. I hope you like what we added.
Graduation Party Favors Tutorial
Graduation is just around the corner which means your graduation party is just around the corner too! Make these easy melt and pour graduation scrolls in your favorite school colors. Your guests will give you an A+ and they’ll never know how easy it was!
Ingredients
4 oz clear soap
4 oz white soap
2 ml fragrance oil
Rubbing Alcohol
Ribbon
Yields 2 scrolls
ONE: Melt 4 ounces of clear soap base in the microwave (about 30 seconds). Once the soap is fully melted, mix in .3 ounces of liquid glycerin, 1 ml of fragrance oil and your non-bleeding (school) colors. I chose Liquid Green to represent one of our local schools, Sehome High. Mix well and pour the soap into the brownie pan mold. Spritz with rubbing alcohol to get rid of those pesky bubbles. Let cool for about 5 minutes.
TWO: In the meantime, melt 4 ounces of white soap base in the microwave (about 30 seconds). Then mix in .3 ounces of liquin glycerin and 1 ml of fragrance oil. I left this layer white but feel free to add a colorant at this time. Mix well.
THREE: Once your first layer of soap has cool and your melted soap is around 120-125 degrees, spritz the first layer with rubbing alcohol and pour the second layer of soap. Spritz again with rubbing alcohol to get rid of any bubbles. Let the layers cool for about 10 minutes.
Tip: Don’t let the soap cool for too long. As soon as it’s hard enough to unmold it’s ready to “roll”. If you wait too long the soap will be harder to work with and you could end up with unsightly cracks (which may drop your grade on the project).
FOUR: Once the soap has cooled, carefully pull the soap out of the mold and place it on a flat surface. Cut the soap in half with a soap cutter or flat edged knife. Then trim up the sides so all of the edges look the same (getting rid of those rounded corners).
FIVE: Start at the skinny end of the soap and roll it all the way up. Then (aggressively) squeeze the middle of the soap to slightly dent it. This will give the soap its “paper like” effect.
SIX: Tie a coordinating ribbon around the soap in a simple bow and you’re done. They’re ready for the party favor bowl!
Like what you see? Check out similar projects on the Soap Queen Blog like Fortune Cookie Soaps, Pinwheels, Soapy Candy Canes, Sushi Soap, Jelly Rolls Soaps