Soap Queen

Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more

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Soapy Social Media Roundup

Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

This week has been quite the whirlwind, hasn’t it? The team and I filmed Soap Queen TV videos on Friday. It’s always a fun, but long day. We filmed three videos, including melt and pour, bath bombs and a cold process recipe. I can’t wait to share them with you! What kind of Soap Queen TV videos would you like to see in the future?

Next week , get ready for more dessert-inspired projects using fragrance oils from the limited edition Seasonal Sweets Fragrance Oil Collection. The collection will be gone after the 18th, so don’t miss out on the chance to save on these amazing fragrances! If you missed out on the live introduction on Facebook this week, check out the video below. =)

Pinterest:

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Top left to right, clockwise:

Instagram:
This month’s fragrance oil sample is Blueberry Jam. It’s such a fantastic scent and it performs wonderfully in soap. For ideas on how to blend it, and instructions for these cute blueberry cheesecake melt and pour soaps, click here.

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It’s so exciting to see people make recipes from my newest book, Pure Soapmaking. Karen of @mookamadethis created the Dark Ale Loofah Bars and hit it out of the park!

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YouTube:
Speaking of Pure Soapmaking, did you catch the latest Soap Queen TV video? In the video, I share the Annatto-Yarrow with Embeds Soap. It is a more challenging recipe that results in a totally unique looking bar.

Twitter:

To keep up with soapy social media throughout the week, you can follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and Snapchat.  I’m Bramble-Berry on Snapchat. Don’t forget to tag your soapy projects on Instagram with the hashtag #SoapShare so I can see your projects!

Annatto-Yarrow Soap with Embeds on Soap Queen TV

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

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When I was writing Pure Soapmaking, I knew I wanted a really unique looking bar of soap. I also wanted a recipe that included several techniques, including embeds and infusions. That’s where this Annatto-Yarrow Soap with Embeds comes in! It’s a fun and funky bar made with natural colorants and essential oils.

This recipe does require some preparation, and the embeds will need to be made at least 2 days ahead of time. They’re colored with spirulina powder and scented with fresh bergamot essential oil. Those embeds are placed into the base, which is colored with an annatto seed infusion. It also has poppy seeds, which adds exfoliating properties to the bar. Calendula is placed on top for a finishing touch. The combination of bergamot essential oil and rosemary essential oil creates an earthy and refreshing blend.

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Share Your Favorite Soaping Tip Contest!

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Share your favorite soaping tip to win a Pure Soapmaking book and Bramble Berry gift certificate! February has been a whirlwind with the release of my new book, Pure Soapmaking. To celebrate, I’m giving away a signed copy of the book, along with a $50 Bramble Berry gift certificate to one grand prize winner. Two runner up winners will win a $25 Bramble Berry gift certificate. Want to win? Entering is easy!

To enter, comment on this blog post with your favorite soaping tip. This tip can apply to other bath and beauty projects, such as lotion, lip balm, candles or bath fizzies. The tip could be simple or complex, there are no limits. Then, sign into the Rafflecopter widget to let us know you commented.

In addition, you can earn bonus entries by completing the various tasks listed in the widget below. From tweeting the contest link to signing up for the Bramble Berry newsletter, bonus entries are easy but completely optional.

This contest is managed by Rafflecopter, which makes entering the contest really simple. Follow the steps below to enter:

  1. Sign into the Rafflecopter widget below using your email. This makes it easy to contact you if you win! By entering the contest you will be signed up for Bramble Berry’s newsletter. We do not share or sell your email address to any other party.
  2. Select “Leave a Blog Post Comment” on the widget, and leave a comment on this blog post telling us your favorite soaping tip.
  3. Receive bonus entries by completing tasks via the Rafflecopter widget. Complete them all to increase your chances of winning!
  4. Contest ends on Wednesday, March 9th at noon, PST. Winners will be chosen at random.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rules and Fine Print:

  • To enter, you must comment on this blog post with a soaping or crafting tip.
  • We are unable to send a Pure Soapmaking book to international residents. International residents are still eligible to win a Bramble Berry gift certificate.
  • Winners will be chosen at random via the Rafflecopter widget on Wednesday March 9th, at noon, PST via the Rafflecopter widget.
  • The winners will be contacted via email. If a winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen.

I can’t wait to read all your soaping tips! I will collect my favorites and share them in a blog post after the contest ends. 

Pure Soapmaking Book Signing & Author Talk

Filed Under: Personal Ramblings


Anne Marie recently visited Village Books in Bellingham, WA to sign Pure Soapmaking books. Click here to read more about the event.

Last week, I had the opportunity to talk about the process of writing Pure Soapmaking at Village Books, a local book store in Bellingham, WA. It was a huge high to talk about the journey with fellow soapmakers, as well as friends and family in the audience. If you weren’t able to attend the talk and signing, you can read about the writing, editing and photography process of the book here.

Anne Marie recently visited Village Books in Bellingham, WA to sign Pure Soapmaking books. Click here to read more about the event.

The best part of the book signing and author talk was being able to connect with people in the audience. Thank you so much to everybody who came. It means so much to me that you took the time to attend the event. To those of you who don’t live in the Bellingham area, it’s equally exciting to see the book in hands of crafters all over the world. Below, the book made it all the way to Moscow, and even made a trip to the Grand Canyon! Thanks again to everybody for all the support, and for sharing your #PureSoapmaking photos. If you have a copy, I’d love to see where the book is being read. Share your photo on social media with the tag #PureSoapmaking so I can find it. =)

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Facebook and Instagram Photo of the Week (Feb. 13th ~ 19th)

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

This week was all about new products and techniques. For instance, French green clay, nettle leaf and comfrey leaf were recently added to the Bramble Berry line. Natural colorants look great in soap and other products. If you’d like to give them a try, the Natural Colorants Sampler Pack is the perfect way to do so. There are also new mica sampler packs, including the Green Mica Sampler Pack, Purple Mica Sampler Pack, Blue Mica Sampler Pack and the Rainbow Mica Sampler Pack. Click through the New at Bramble Berry post to see all the recent additions. You can always find new Bramble Berry Products by clicking the “What’s New” button at the top of the homepage, or click here.

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How to Use Alcoholic Beverages in Cold Process Soap

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks


Learn how to use beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages in your cold process soap recipes.Photo by Lara Ferroni

To prepare sodium hydroxide lye for soapmaking, it needs to be dissolved in some type of liquid. The dissolved lye solution is then emulsified with oils to create soap. Distilled water is usually the liquid of choice for dissolving lye. But, some soapers prefer to use other liquids such as milk, tea or alcoholic beverages. Using alternative liquids (anything other than distilled water) in cold process soap is an intermediate to advanced soaping technique. It requires a few extra steps to prep and can affect other aspects of the soaping process.

One of the most popular types of alternative liquids for cold process soap is alcoholic beverages. This includes beer, wine and champagne. These liquids contain sugar, which give the soap a stable and fluffy lather. Alcoholic beverages can also give the soap color and are great from a marketing standpoint. Some alcoholic beverages do contain beneficial properties like antioxidants, but it is debatable whether these properties make it through the saponification process.

Making soap with alcoholic beverages poses a few challenges. They contain sugar that becomes very hot when mixed with sodium hydroxide lye. This turns the liquid a deep color due to the sugars scorching and can cause an unpleasant aroma. In addition to sugar, alcoholic beverages contain...you guessed it! Alcohol. Alcohol and the saponifcation process don’t mix very well. In addition, many alcoholic beverages such as beer and champagne are carbonated. Carbonation and the saponification process don’t mix very well either.

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A Look Into the Pure Soapmaking Book Writing Process

Filed Under: Business Musings

It’s still hard to believe that my new book, Pure Soapmaking, is finally here. The book has been such a labor of love for more than two years; to finally hold it in my hands is incredibly exciting. Even more exciting is seeing other soapers with the book! It’s been an affirmation (and, a relief!) to hear all the positive feedback. Thank you all so much for the support. =)

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Now that the book has been out for several weeks, I have begun to reflect on the process of creating the book. If you’ve ever thought about writing a book, let me tell you…it’s a lot of work. Fun? Absolutely. It’s a fun and rewarding gift to share your passion and knowledge with others. But, creating a book requires an insane amount of time and resources. I was lucky to have access to both during the writing process. My Bramble Berry team and family helped me find time to work on the book. They also were invaluable in assisting me with recipes and other aspects of the testing process. It takes a village to create, photograph & lay-out 32, fully-tested, cold process projects!

The first step in writing this book was creating a book proposal for the publishing company, Storey Publishing. This is essentially an overview of what information the book will contain. Below, you can see a few pages of the original 2013 proposal, including the cover page and an overview of some of the chapters. After sending in the proposal to the editors, we began to work on the framework of the book and what information it should contain. A lot of the proposed topics made it into the book, while some did not. This is another reason why having input during the writing process is important. Talking about these topics and how they should be organized with soapers and non-soapers helped to lay out the book in the most cohesive way.
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Facebook and Instagram Photo of the Week (Feb. 6th ~ 12th)

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

There are so many ingredients from the cupboard that can be added to cold process soap. This week, there were several posts about those ingredients, including the How to Add Purees to Cold Process Soap post. Every fruit or vegetable adds certain properties to the soap. For instance, avocado puree gives the bars a luxurious feeling. Purees that contain sugar, like strawberry puree, provide great lather. Click through this post to learn how to add fruit and vegetables to your next project.

Photo by Lara Ferroni.

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#PureSoapmaking Inspiration & Contest!

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News


Pure Soapmaking contains 32 cold process recipes made with natural colorants and essential oils.
It has been so exciting to see my new book, Pure Soapmaking, in the hands of the soaping community. I’m blown away with the response and enthusiasm (thank you thank you thank you!). The book is already in its second printing! It’s amazing to think about how much the soaping community has grown since I started soaping over 20 years ago.

If you have received your book, there is still time to enter the #PureSoapmaking contest on Instagram and Twitter to win one of ten $25 Bramble Berry gift certificates! Simply post a selfie with the book and use the hashtag #PureSoapmaking. Contest ends Wednesday, February 15th. If you’re feeling shy, feel free to post a photo of the book in a creative way. Check out some of the adorable selfies below; even furry friends are getting in on the fun. =)


collageTop row: wildgardencreations, kennacote, ashley_thomas
Middle row: kritterinc, sudzylove, sweetsophiallc
Bottom row: winn_martinez, avitals_aspiaries, sevenseassoap

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How to Add Purees to Cold Process Soap

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks


Learn how to add natural purees to your cold process soap recipes!Photo by Lara Ferroni. I ❤ all of her photos. Swoon.

There are a wide variety of natural ingredients that can be used in cold process soap. From natural colorants and exfoliants to essential oils and extracts, new soapy ingredients are always popping up. Recently, adding fruit and vegetable purees to cold process soap has become extremely popular. Natural purees can add color and skin-loving properties to your bars. In addition, natural purees in bath and beauty products are fantastic from a marketing standpoint. Who doesn’t want a bar of soap made with their favorite fruit or veggie?

In general, there are no limits to what kind of natural purees you can add to soap. In my new book, Pure Soapmaking, there are recipes that include purees of blueberry, cucumber, tomato, aloe leaf, banana and potatoes. Here on the blog, you can find soap made with purees of pumpkin, strawberry, carrots and avocado. If you can blend it into a smooth consistency, you can (most likely) add it to cold process soap.

Adding purees to soap is an advanced technique. If you have never made cold process soap before, I highly recommend getting a few basic batches under your belt before using purees in your soap. It’s important to get an understanding of how soap behaves without additional sugar, water and fats. A solid grasp on how “normal” cold process soap behaves will allow you to alter your techniques and recipe accordingly when you begin to add uncommon ingredients. Remember: soapmaking is a science. Tweaking a recipe with extra ingredients (like purees) alters the chemical reactions between the lye and oils.

Purees add extra sugar, fats and water to your soap. Each type of puree will affect your soap recipe a little differently. The amount of water, fat and sugar will vary depending on the ingredient and how the puree was made. Before adding your puree, it’s important to consider the properties of the fruit and vegetable and how it will affect your batch. For example, a strawberry puree will add extra sugar and water. Using an avocado puree will add extra fats and water, but not much additional sugar. A cucumber puree (shown below) adds mostly water and a very small amount of sugar.

Learn how to add natural purees to your cold process soap recipes!Each puree will add different properties to your soap. For example, cucumber puree (shown above) will add extra water to the soap, but very little sugar. Photo by Lara Ferroni. ❤❤❤.

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Facebook and Instagram Photo of the Week (Jan. 23rd ~ 29th)

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

This week continued our streak on natural cleaning (get it, streak? Punny!) including the Natural Soap Scum Cleaner. It is made with baking soda, pumice and Epsom salt. They scrub away tough grime in the bathtub. The baking soda and salt also absorb any unpleasant smells. The lemongrass essential oil and fir needle essential oil added to the recipe will make your bathroom smell crisp and clean.

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Pure Soapmaking Book Signing at Village Books!

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

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I can’t believe that my new book, Pure Soapmaking, is finally here! This book has been such a labor of love. It took over a year to formulate and test the 32 cold process recipes in the book, and I’m so proud of each and every one. If you pre-ordered a book on Bramble Berry, they should be arriving very soon! If you haven’t yet, you can still grab a book along with three free gifts (only from Bramble Berry!) if you order before January 26th.

To celebrate the launch of the book, I will be signing Pure Soapmaking books at 7 p.m. on February 12th at Village Books in Bellingham. If you live in Bellingham or the surrounding area, I would love to meet you. I will also be talking about the book writing process and taking questions from the audience. I’ll also have soap from the book that you can take home!

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Pure Soapmaking Book Signing and Author Talk:
When: February 12th at 7 p.m.
Where: Village Books 
Address: 1200 11th St. Bellingham, WA 98225

I hope to see you there!