techniques Archives - Page 12 of 16

Testing Colors

April 4, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

I had a rewarding evening last night. After work, I went to yoga. Afterwards, I felt strong and zenlike.

Since my dear husband was busy, I knew I could turn our kitchen into my private soapmaking studio. Bramble Berry is testing for some new non-bleeding color ants so I had plenty of stuff to play with.

Plus, we received some new adorable flexible soap moldsand they were calling out for some TLC playtime.

While testing out the new (hopefully non-bleeding colors), I built the simple layers for the owls and daisies. The detail work is nothing like Otion Soap Teacher PJ’s but since my attention span is on par with a toddler’s, I was happy that I managed to have different color eyes for my owl.

The daisies also came out cute though the yellow in the top right daisy? It speckled during testing so it won’t be added to our line up.

Out of all the colors I tested, there was a clear winner in the Non-Bleeding Red color so expect Bramble Berry to add it to our line up in the next few months.

Mother’s Day Lip Balm – Color & Divots

April 3, 2008 Filed Under: Lip Products

On a recent Mother’s Day Lip Balm post, commenter Spankinart, asked:

“I notice is there are holes in the lip balm tubes..I always get this and can’t figure out why..I top it off after it cools a little and still get those holes..Any tips on how to avoid those holes in the lip balm tubes?”

When you make lip balm or home made lipsticks, a main ingredient is wax (typically beeswax). Beeswax contracts as it cools down. This means that the total volume of balm shrinks in size. If you have poured product into a lip balm tube, the contraction is especially pronounced because of the small opening.

Additionally, the design of chapstick tubes exacerbates this shrinking tendency. Lip balm tubes work by “screwing” the lip balm up and out of the container. There is a little cup at the bottom of the lip balm tube that runs up and down a center screw-like pole to force the balm out of the tube. As the balm settles and cools, it fills in the circumference of the screw, causing more of a drop in the middle of the balm.

While you cannot get rid of shrinkage entirely, there are a few ways to minimize shrinkage:

1. Cool Temperatures – The cooler your lip balm base is when you pour it, the the more dense it will be. Cooler temperatures help to prevent the divot in the top of your lip balm pots and tubes.

2. Use a knife – In the photo below, we used a knife to cut the top of the lip balm for a smooth even look.

3. Use a lip balm tray – allows for easy pouring of 50 lip tubes at a time. Because the tray allows for overfilling and scraping, the divoting will not happen.

4. Top-Off – When you make a custom color of lip balm, save some of your colored balm for topping off the hardened chapstick tube with a dropperful of melted balm.

Bramble Berry has the labels pictured above available for free download here. Over on the MetaFilter forum, there is an interesting discussion labeling your lip balm. Click here to go see it. If you want to make lipstick like the photos above, click here and here to go to the multiple part tutorial on making your own lipstick.

Celebration Soap Recap

March 28, 2008 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

If you missed the article on how to make these soaps, here is the how-to tutorial. Click here to see how to make this very easy, Celebration soap.

All commenters to the Soap Queen blog for the next 7 days will be entered to win the kit to make this soap. It’s the exact same soap mold and products that I used on air. Hopefully it will bring another soaper “Good Press” luck too.

PS – Mori on TeachSoap Forum, the second bar of soap is what happens when you use a “bleeding” color in melt and pour soap.

Bonsai & Pineapple Cilantro

March 10, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Much thanks to Jude in Australia from Aussie Soap Supplies for this wonderful blending tip and inspirational photo.

She says,

I was seeking a fresh scent and aftering running along the rows a couple of times nothing “hit the spot”.

So, this is

10mls Bonsai

16mls Pineapple Cilantro

3mls Litsea (or any lemon really)

Smells delish, but the bonsai is still a little strong, so it could be lowered a little more 🙂 It has bentonite clay beads in the top layer, and black oxidesprinkled/dusted dry between the layers.

Thanks for sharing!

Dr. Seuss Cloud Soap

February 20, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Here is SoapyLove’s latest creation.

Debbie posted some useful tips about making this soap over on her Daily Soap Ditties blog:

The problem with clear colors is that they bleed. But one way to get around that is to make the bleeding unnoticeable. These clouds might absorb some of the light blue color, but since they’re encased in blue, you won’t notice it. Also, I used so little blue color that if any bleeds into the green grass, the green will still be darker.

The Dreamy Soapsicles have white glittery clouds, though. In order for the clouds to sparkle, I mixed in quite a bit of opal glitter and poured the soap while it was pretty hot so all the glitter would sink to the bottom. Then, when I unmolded my white soap sheet, I used the bottom as my face which was now sparkling like crazy!

If you’d like to buy finished soap rather than trying for the patience required to make these soapy creations, SoapyLove’s etsy shop can be found here. If you’d like to learn firsthand from Debbie how to make soap, book out the weekend of July 19th to take a trip to Washington. Details are not yet finalized (patience grasshopper, patience) but Debbie from SoapyLove will be teaching at least two classes at Otion during a Soapmaking Extravaganza Weekend (limited to just 12 people) July 19th and 2oth.

Soap Toppings Tutorial

February 7, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Check out this helpful soap tutorial (in two languages no less) on how to make thick, lumpy soap look like you meant to make it that way!

Besides color, texture is another medium that can be used to make your soap stand out on the shelf and provoke and immediate, “Wow! Cool! I gotta look at that unique soap!” reaction in shoppers.

Don’t do this at home!

February 2, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

For future reference, bath melts plus bath salt – not such a good combo.

You’d think it’d be great plus great equals supa! great but, not so much.

I made a solid bath melt recipe and poured it over dead sea salt. Then, I scooped the mixture into the tub. The reasoning was that salt would purify and the oils would moisturize. Instead, neither did either.

Instead, the lumps sat in the bottom of my tub, taunting me. I had to cut the tub time short. It was tragic.

More Whip-Up Love

January 30, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

We are honored that crafty e-zine Whip Up has accepted and posted two more of our Soapy Ideas. Head to the links to learn how to make these fun projects. And, if you get to talk to Nicole on the phone this week at Bramble Berry, be sure to compliment her on her soapy sculptures in the Play Dough Moldable soap. Didn’t she do an amazing job?

Secret Message Soap: A bribery idea

Play Dough Moldable Soap

Red Lychee Tea Unveiling & Economics

January 27, 2008 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Melt & Pour Soap

Here are some photos of the newly cut Red Lychee Tea soap. I’m very happy with how the batch turned out, especially the dark vibrant blue.

Colors used:

Non-Bleeding Pink Pigment (liquid)
Non-Bleeding Blue Pigment (liquid)
Non-Bleeding Purple Pigment (liquid)
Sparkle Gold Mica

I roughly sketched out the Profit & Loss of this loaf on the back of a napkin. The rough economics behind this loaf of soap look like this:

COG (cost of good sold) – the price you pay for the raw materials

4 pounds soap = $7.40
2 ounces fragrance = $3.00
color = $1.30

total: $11.70 for materials

Mold: suggested retail around $30; if the old is used 30 times, this works out to $1 per use

The soap loaf makes approximately 12 bars of soap. At $5 per bar, that works out to $60-$70 retail value.

Gross profit for the loaf, sold at retail, is approximately $53. Gross profit is the retail price less the COGS (materials). Afte

If fixed costs are taken out of the Gross Profit number, such as the cost of the mold ($1), wrapping ($1), overhead ($3) and labor ($15), the net profit works out to about $33.

That’s a pretty good return for such a wondrous creative outlet of expression.

Whoops, we have breakage! Video

January 26, 2008 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

When pouring layers in melt and pour soap, sometimes the temperature is too cool between layers. This is one of the more common causes of layers not sticking together. But getting the temperature right is tricky. Too warm and the soap will melt through the bottom layer. Too cool and the layers will not adhere.

If this happens to you, there is an easy fix. Watch the video above to see a new bond being formed between the two layers.

Video of Swirling Melt & Pour Soap

January 24, 2008 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

This is a short video showing the final layer being poured in the loaf soap. Notice that a very thin layer has formed on the top of the soap. The loaf soap has been cooling for approximately 2 minutes. The teal soap is very viscous and thick. It is within a minute from setting up completely.

The thicker the melt and pour soap is, the better it keeps a distinct swirl.

The Revealing

January 24, 2008 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

When making melt and pour logs, it’s always suspenseful waiting for the first cut. Here is what the soap from last night turned out like.

I’m pretty happy with the results (though definitely see room for improvement). I’m doing more testing tonight using our non-bleeding colors and our brand new economy soap base. I’ll be sure to post photos.

Salt Bath Tea Bags?

January 23, 2008 Filed Under: Soaks & Scrubs

In the spirit of sharing, I offer up one of my less brilliant ideas. One of the Yahoo Groups I belong to was agonizing over slowing herbal bath tea bag sales. Thinking I might have something to add to the conversation, I took a bunch of random supplies home and tried to reinvent Bath Tea for the current market. I made a bath fizzy in a tea bag. Then, for good measure, I added salt. And because that looked bland, black tea went into the mix as well.

Check out the two videos with the um, “results.” And then, don’t try this at home.

FeedBlitz subscribers: you’ll need to visit the site to see the videos. They don’t display in your email. Sorry.

Palm Oil Prices Rise

January 23, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

These two features in the New York Times are fascinating. Pricing on Palm Oil, a common soapmaking ingredient, have risen almost 70% in the last year. The first thing that comes to my soap-obsessed (or maybe it’s just soap-addled) mind is “Wow! That’s going to raise prices on finished soap.” But, on a global scale, it really affects people on a subsistence level. Palm Oil is a diet staple in India. With pricing rising so quickly, families in developing nations are directly affected.

Click here to watch a 2 minute video about how Palm Oil is processed and farmed. This is a 10 photo slide showabout the impact of Palm Oil pricing on families in India. It is worth watching. For me, it’s a reminder that life isn’t always about soap.