Soap Queen

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Peacock Swirl in Cold Process Soap (Video)

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

Presenting another Soap Queen Short video that we quickly put together to show how to do the Peacock Swirl technique. I’ll admit that my design was a little large and loose so the ‘peacock’ didn’t turn out perfectly but if you tighten up the design, it’ll be peacock-spot-on. The Peacock Swirl is a marbling style that has been around for centuries and the technique has become very popular in the soapmaking community. This is an advanced technique so be sure to brush up on the basics of cold process soapmaking on Soap Queen TV and pay extra attention to the lye safety video. I hope you enjoy my demonstration of the basics of this beautiful swirl variation.

For colorants I used natural infusions of Alkanet and Annatto as well as Seaclay and Titanium Dioxide. To learn more about how to make and use infusions, check out my book and video on infusing herbs and seeds. [Read more…]

Cherry Blossom Cold Process Soap

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is taking place this month in Washington DC! I love the Cherry Blossom fragrance oil that the S.O.A.P. Floral Edition approved, so I thought it perfect to make a great project with for March. Plus, it made for a great opportunity to soap with one of our newest silicone molds!

Ingredients

1.0 oz Castor Oil

6.6 oz Coconut Oil

22.1 oz Olive Oil

3.3 oz Palm Oil

4.4 oz Sodium Hydroxide Lye

10.1 oz Distilled Water

3.3 oz Cherry Blossom Fragrance Oil

½ teaspoon Merlot mica

½ teaspoon Electric Bubble Gum colorant

½ teaspoon Fizzy Lemonade colorant

2 ¼ teaspoons Super Pearly White

0.9 oz Avocado Oil

12 Bar Round Silicone Mold

Soap Making Buddy (optional)

Get everything you need for this project with the click of a button! [Read more…]

In-the-Pot Swirling (Cold Process)

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

Advanced Swirling Part 4: In The Pot Swirling

Guest post by Kat from Otion (Bramble Berry’s retail store)

Welcome back! This is part four of Kat’s advanced swirling tutorials. Please make sure to check out parts 1 (Understanding Color Theory Terminology) , 2 (Getting Brave with Color) and 3 (Soap Design and Color Matching) if you haven’t already. In this section, the secrets to successful swirling are revealed!

Must have materials:

Before beginning, make sure to have all safety equipment and supplies at hand. Have your colors picked and prepared and your fragrance oil weighed, line your wooden mold and have divider inserts set up on the side. Snug fitting rubber gloves are ideal for maximum dexterity (Tip! Pick up some hair-dying gloves from the local beauty supply store). A rubber spatula is your best friend for swirling! This tool manipulates the swirl pattern and pulls it through the entire bar.  Use a bamboo skewer for creating finer details and surface swirls. You will also need extra smaller heat resistant pitchers for dividing the soap into sections to color.

[Read more…]

Getting Brave with Color

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

Advanced Swirling Part 2: Getting Brave with Color

Guest post by Kat from Otion (Bramble Berry’s retail store)

 

Welcome back to my four-part swirling tutorial! If you missed part one on Understanding Color Theory Terminology, make sure to check it out here.

I’d like to start out today’s topic by reiterating what my professors told me in painting classes that helped build my confidence with color and technique.

1. Don’t get too attached. This means a couple of things; don’t get too attached to a plan (expecting the swirls/colors to look a specific way) because it limits your spontaneity and creative flow. Allow things to happen. Also, don’t get too attached to the finished product or you will have a hard time trying new things, and you will most likely get stuck repeating yourself. Remember, what makes an interesting product line is variety.

[Read more…]

CP + MP = Magma Soap

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

This free flowing, lava like design inspired the name for this project. Magma Soap is an intricate project with so many possibilities. I’ve combined melt and pour soap with cold process soap to create a uniquely fascinating bar.

[Read more…]

Soap Queen TV : Learn to Make Mineral Makeup

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

In this episode, I show how to make your own eyeshadow and eyeliner from scratch using our Mineral Makeup kit. I think you’re going to be surprised at how easy it is. I also go over some of the most common mineral makeup ingredients and share two of my favorite recipes.

Here’s the recipe for the light brown eye shadow:

1/4 tsp Sericite
1/8 tsp Honeyed Beige Mica
1 mini scoop Patina Sheen Mica
1 mini scoop Cappuccino Mica
3 mini scoops Super Pearly White

And for the Dark Brown eyshadow that I used to make eyeliner:

1/4 tsp Sericite
1/8 tsp Honeyed Beige Mica
1 mini scoop Patina Sheen
7 mini scoops Cappuccino Mica
4 mini scoops Luster Black Mica

Have a question about this blog post? Come join us at Bramble Berry’s Facebook page and we can help you out with any of your soapy questions!

Soap Queen TV Makes Soap for a Gardener

Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

Learn to make a soap that is perfect for scrubbing those green thumbs clean! In this episode of Soap Queen TV, Anne-Marie shows how to make a beautifully layered soap using 2 kinds of natural exfoliants – Walnut Shells and Shredded Loofah. This project is perfect for that gardener in your life or just someone who needs a little extra help getting those  little piggies clean! And if you’ve ever wondered about our tray molds, this episode shows just how easy it is to make 8 bars of soap at once.

Make Gardener’s Soap from Soap Queen on Vimeo.

We’ve created a kit with all of the ingredients you need to make the soap in this video. You can make at least 8 bars of soap with our kit. Buy it NOW!

In this episode, Anne-Marie uses:

 

Have a question about this blog post? Come join us at Bramble Berry’s Facebook page and we can help you out with any of your soapy questions!

How to Make 3D Soap on Soap Queen TV

Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

Soap ropes are making a come back! In this episode of Soap Queen TV Anne-Marie shows how to make Soap on a Rope using our 3D soap molds. Take notes as she shows you how to get that professional and smooth, finished look to your 3D soaps. Add a rope to the mix and you’ve got a soap that is fun and functional!

How to Make 3D Soap on a Rope from Soap Queen on Vimeo.

 

In this episode, Anne-Marie uses:

Clear Melt & Pour Soap Base
White Melt & Pour Soap Base
Patina Sheen Mica
Liquid Green Oxide
Super Pearly White Mica
Kentish Rain Fragrance
3D Soap Mold
Soap Rope
 

Have a question about this blog post? Come join us at Bramble Berry’s Facebook page and we can help you out with any of your soapy questions!

Embedding Toys in Soap on Soap Queen TV

Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

On this episode of SoapQueen.TV,  I show how to use our totally adorable Japanese erasers. This project uses the layering and embedding techniques to make an entire loaf of soap, making 8 -10 bars just in time for Easter! This project is easy to customize with different colors or fragrances.

Looking for more kid-friendly projects? The Butterfly Sparkle Surprise Tutorial shows you how to embed little toys into bath bombs. Once the bath bomb is placed in the water, the toy is released! This Kid-Friendly Project Roundup also has some fun ideas.

Embedding Toys in Soap from Soap Queen on Vimeo.

Get everything you need to make this project with the click of a button!

What You’ll Need:

32 oz. White Melt & Pour Base

16 oz. Clear Melt & Pour Base

Non-Bleeding Red Colorant
NOTE: The Non-Bleeding Red Colorant used in this project has been discontinued. The kit now contains the Perfect Red Color Block.

Liquid Green Oxide Colorant

Liquid Ultramarine Blue Colorant

Liquid Yellow Oxide Colorant

1/4 oz.  Watermelon Fragrance

1/4 oz.  Summer Fling Fragrance

1/4 oz.  Pearberry Fragrance

1/4 oz.  Sun Ripened Raspberry Fragrance

Loaf Mold

8 Piggy Erasers

Have a question about this blog post? Come join us at Bramble Berry’s Facebook page and we can help you out with any of your soapy questions!

Mixin’ It Up

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Bass Fish Soaps
Heavy Duty Bass Mold (made using non-bleeding colors and the MP Tool Kit)
Mini Mixer (a must-have for clump free colorant addition) I used it for the bass soap up top. Not sure how to mix pigments into your soap using this adorb mini mixer? This great post from SoapyLove is a good primer for using pigments in Melt and Pour soap.
The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry.

 

Have a question about this blog post? Come join us at Bramble Berry’s Facebook page and we can help you out with any of your soapy questions!

Peppermint Bark Soap for the Holidays

Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

It’s time to officially kick off the holiday season with our first Christmas tutorial of the year! Keep it clean this holiday with delicious smelling and realistic looking Peppermint Bark Soap.


Ingredients
White Melt and Pour
Clear Melt and Pour
Goat Milk Melt and Pour
Dark Rich Chocolate Fragrance Oil
Peppermint 2nd Distillation Essential Oil
Perfect Red Color Block
Brick Red Oxide
Liquid Brown Oxide
Liquid Black Oxide
Get everything you need for this project in the click of a button!
ONE: Melt 5 ounces of white soap base and pour it into the silicone tray mold and let cool. Then melt 5 ounces of clear soap base and mix in Perfect Red Color Block and Brick Red Oxide (2 parts Perfect Red and 1 part Brick Red Oxide makes a perfect candy cane red). Pour the red soap on top of the white soap and let cool.
Hint: Make a slurry with your red oxide by mixing it with a little rubbing alcohol before adding it to your soap. This will eliminate speckles.
TWO: Unmold the soap and cut into small, irregular pieces. These are going to be the peppermint crumbles on top so uneven cuts make them look super realistic.
THREE: Melt 16 ounces of clear soap and mix in ½ ounce of (delicious) Dark Rich Chocolate Fragrance Oil. To make the realistic chocolaty color, combine Liquid Brown Oxide with a skosh of Liquid Black Oxide. Let cool.
FOUR: Melt 16 ounces of white Goat Milk soap base and mix in ½ ounce of Peppermint 2nd Distillation Essential Oil. Let cool to 130 degrees, spritz the “chocolate” layer with rubbing alcohol and pour about 12-13 ounces of the goat milk soap, saving 3-4 ounces (you can totally eyeball the amount, just make sure to save a little bit).
FIVE: Once the soap has cooled, remelt the remaining 3-4 ounces of goat milk soap base to 130 degrees. Start spritzing your “peppermint” pieces with rubbing alcohol and get ready to sprinkle them on top of the final layer of soap. Spritz the top layer of soap and pour the remaining 3-4 ounces of goat milk soap then sprinkle on your “crushed candy cane” garnish.
SIX: Once the soap has cooled, cut the soap into triangles and trick your friends into taking a bite of delicious Chocolate Peppermint Bark.

Have a question about this blog post? Come join us at Bramble Berry’s Facebook page and we can help you out with any of your soapy questions!
Peppermint Bark Soap for the Holidays
 
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This peppermint bark soap makes a great "treat" for the holidays!
Author:
Recipe type: Melt and Pour

Ingredients
  • White Melt and Pour
  • Clear Melt and Pour
  • Goat Milk Melt and Pour
  • Dark Rich Chocolate Fragrance Oil
  • Peppermint 2nd Distillation Essential Oil
  • Perfect Red Color Block
  • Brick Red Oxide
  • Liquid Brown Oxide
  • Liquid Black Oxide

Instructions
  1. Melt 5 ounces of white soap base and pour it into the silicone tray mold and let cool. Then melt 5 ounces of clear soap base and mix in Perfect Red Color Block and Brick Red Oxide (2 parts Perfect Red and 1 part Brick Red Oxide makes a perfect candy cane red). Pour the red soap on top of the white soap and let cool. Make a slurry with your red oxide by mixing it with a little rubbing alcohol before adding it to your soap. This will eliminate speckles.
  2. Unmold the soap and cut into small, irregular pieces. These are going to be the peppermint crumbles on top so uneven cuts make them look super realistic.
  3. Melt 16 ounces of clear soap and mix in ½ ounce of (delicious) Dark Rich Chocolate Fragrance Oil. To make the realistic chocolaty color, combine Liquid Brown Oxide with a skosh of Liquid Black Oxide. Let cool.
  4. Melt 16 ounces of white Goat Milk soap base and mix in ½ ounce of Peppermint 2nd Distillation Essential Oil. Let cool to 130 degrees, spritz the “chocolate” layer with rubbing alcohol and pour about 12-13 ounces of the goat milk soap, saving 3-4 ounces (you can totally eyeball the amount, just make sure to save a little bit).
  5. Once the soap has cooled, remelt the remaining 3-4 ounces of goat milk soap base to 130 degrees. Start spritzing your “peppermint” pieces with rubbing alcohol and get ready to sprinkle them on top of the final layer of soap. Spritz the top layer of soap and pour the remaining 3-4 ounces of goat milk soap then sprinkle on your “crushed candy cane” garnish.
  6. Once the soap has cooled, cut the soap into triangles and trick your friends into taking a bite of delicious Chocolate Peppermint Bark.