Soap Queen

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Wax Sealed Valentines

Filed Under: Home Crafts

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With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, now is the time to start creating gifts for your loved ones. Handwritten valentines are an excellent way to show love and appreciation; I’m a firm believer in the power of a well written card! This year, make your love note one to remember with a dramatic wax seal.

Sealant wax is commonly comprised of beeswax and resin to create an incredibly hard, sticky wax. Without resin, this combination of waxes is not as hard and brittle as traditional sealant wax, but it’s perfect for adding a decorative touch to your letters.

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For the Love of Waterlily: a Bath Fizzy Tutorial

Filed Under: Bath Fizzies

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.

For the love of waterlily

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

Cantaloupe LaBomb Colorant

Gurlie Pink LaBomb Colorant

Witch Hazel

Simple Heart Mold

 Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart! [Read more…]

Embedded Heart Melt and Pour Tutorial

Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

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.

Embedded Hearts

Recipe:

55 oz. Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base

 Shimmer Yellow Color Block

 Perfect Orange Color Block

 Super Pearly White Color Block

 Red Blue Mica

 Mango Peach Salsa Fragrance Oil

 Heart Shaped Soap Cutter

 Glossy Silicone Square Tray Mold

Silicone Loaf Mold

 

  Mini-Scoop

 Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart! [Read more…]

Valentine’s Day Mashup

Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials

Valentine’s Day is just right around the corner (19 days if you are counting!), and I know many of you are going to make some special soapy projects for the wonderful people in your life. From Cold Process and Melt and Pour soaps to Lipstick, Lip Balms, and Massage Candles, here’s a convenient mashup of ideas for making those fun and soapy Valentines.

Valentine's Day Mashup

Ombre Heart Soaps, Chocolate Lip Balms with Cocoa Powder, Lipstick Recipes, Rose Melt and Pour Soaps, Valentine Soap Wraps, MP Loves CP [Read more…]

Facebook Photo of the Week 1/11 – 1/18

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

What an exciting week we’ve had here at Bramble Berry! I’ve enjoyed watching the hundreds of photos coming in from our newest Make it Monday contest and awed and inspired by your creativity. We still have another week to go and I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us. We’ve also released another new SQTV episode featuring Jeanee from Dirty Laundry — check it out here. Are you ready for this weeks winner? Check below…

Monument Soapworks [Read more…]

Happy Valentine’s Day

Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

I know you’re distracted by the little bum and that Cupid has caught you with his arrow but there are cute Valentine soaps in the background. Click here to get your last minute (like, very last minute) soap wraps!

Valentine Soap Wraps

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

EEEP! Valentines day is next week. I have a good excuse for forgetting and that reason just learned to crawl like a big boy – no more army crawling for him. But I digress … If you’re still wondering how to wrap up your valentine soaps, I’ve got an easy (and free) last minute idea for you. This sweet packaging involves printing, folding, whole punching and ribbon tying – easy peasy lemon squeezy! We’ve designed a FREE Valentine Wrap to fit our cube molds perfectly whether you’re making melt and pour or cold process soap. I’ve been having a little too much fun with the cube mold  that’s developed into a full-blown obsession (I’m sure you daily readers have noticed- sorry ’bout that. I’ll try to branch out. I swear!).  If you make melt and pour soap, try the Faux Swirl melt and pour recipe we posted last week! If cold process is more your style, try our Valentine themed soap with embedded hearts. Also check out Holiday Cube Soaps and Crazy for Cubes posts.

Get your FREE Valentine Soap Wraps!

Folding Instructions

1)            Print the free downloadable template out on card stock.

2)            Cut out a band (there are 2 per sheet). Place soap in center of band and fold wrap over soap, making 4 “soft” folds.

3)            Remove soap and crease folds. Replace soap on band between bottom creases.

4)            Line up vertical tops, fold over both ways, creasing top folds.

5)            Next, fold top ends over to form the flap, punch one hole in the center.

6)            Cut ribbon 7” long, fold in half and feed through punched hole, ends going through front to back to make a little lariat. Feed ends through loop and tighten.

To get the pretty pink color above, use 2 drops of the new Non-bleeding Cherry Colorant in a rubbing alcohol slurry. Then mix in the colorant in 18 ounces of white soap base . If you have any other ideas on how to use the heart wrap, we want to see it! Show us on the Bramble Berry Facebook page.  Happy Valentine’s Day!

LOVE Soap Mold Debut Tutorial

Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

Loveable soap is easy to make. In truth, all soap is loveable but this tutorial will teach you how to make the LOVE soap pictured below. If you have never made melt and pour soap before, this project is for you! Check out the fool proof layering tips below and follow the step by step instructions for beautiful results.

Ingredients
4 oz Clear soap
12 oz White soap
15 drops Liquid Violet
6 Mini Scoops Red Blue Mica
1 teaspoon Tangerine Wow Neon
1 teaspoon Electric Bubble Gum Neon
2 Tablespoons Liquid Glycerin
(Note: this mold has been discontinued.
It has been replaced with the 6 Cavity Valentine Hearts Silicone Mold.)
Tools
Heat safe containers

Buy everything you need in the click of a button! [Read more…]

MP Loves CP

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

I’m still in love with our new silicone cube mold (I’m sure you can tell from the recent cube mold tutorials: Holiday Cubes and  Crazy for Cubes). I even designed a brand new mini heart mold specifically for embedding in the cube mold (now that‘s love). The technique of combining melt and pour with cold process soap is super simple with lovable results. It’s even easy enough for CP beginners!

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Valentine Etsy Linkspiration and Love

Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Valentine’s Day is less than a month away which means you still have time to purchase your valentine goodies. Or even better…MAKE your valentine goodies (Pushaw! As if we’d recommend anything but handmade). If you decide to buy instead of make, check out some super cute and homemade finds from Etsy and support the handmade soaping community. Chris and I are planning on celebrating Valentine’s Day as a family with little Jamisen by our side. Though we go on date nights, I’m pretty sure finding a friend to babysit might be impossible on the date-iest night of the year!

Lemmers SoapWorks Co. LoveLee Soaps, Howards Home

Big T Ranch Soap, Herb’n Development Handmades, Sunbasilgarden Soap

Robyn’s Nest Boutique, Be Greatful Shop, Dallas Soap Company

KC SoapsNMore, The Twisted Purl, Delightful Wonders

Valentine Inspiration

Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

According to the Bramble Berry Facebook page, many of you have already started on your Valentine. Way to plan ahead people. For those of you that are needing a little extra push to get started, here’s some inspiration from Soap Queen blogs gone by:

Neapolitan Cold Process for Valentine’s Day

Save The Bath Bomb- Valentine Style

XOXO Soap, Red Lipstick (for a date night),  Massage Candle

3D Hearts, Ombre Hearts, Heart BathFizzies

Romantic Reeds, Cold Process Hearts, Chocolate Lip Balm 

Save The Bath Bombs, Valentine Style

Filed Under: Bath Fizzies

Have you ever had a bath bomb go wrong? (cough cough…no, never, not me!). Well, on the RARE occasion that you have a bath bomb go wrong, we have the fix for you! Just wrap up the crumbled bath bomb pieces in water soluble paper and pop them in the tub! Bonus: They’re so cute no one will know you ever “goofed” up a recipe!

Get your Free Heart PDF here!

Below are our examples of a bath bomb gone wrong while testing a new recipe. Let’s just say it went a little “flat” (obviously).

PREP: Once you download the PDF, print out the images on water soluble paper, preferably on an inkjet printer (laser printed water soluble paper doesn’t dissolve as well in water). Then cut out the square but cutting on the dotted line.

Printing Tip:  We tested the water soluble paper printed from an inkjet printer and a laser printer and found that the colored parts of the paper dissolved way faster with the inkjet printer. If you have a laser printer, we designed a heart pattern with less color just for you.

ONE: Crush your old bath bombs with a fork, hammer or rubber mallet. Choose accordingly depending on how hard your fizzies are.

TWO: Put three tablespoons worth of  bath bomb chunks into the center of the back of the paper, so you’ll see the hearts when you eventually fold them up.. OR three tablespoons of  completely powdered bath bomb mix (depending on how you decide to crumble the delinquents).

Example Above: Three tablespoons of the crumbled mixture.

THREE: Carefully pull the side of the paper up and around the bath bomb mixture then secure with a twisty tie or ribbon.  Plop it in the bath tub and let the fizzy disperse.

If you want to make bath bombs just for the super cute paper and project, here are some great tutorials: Bath Bombs and Salt, Bath Bomb Cupcakes, Star Bath Fizzies, Bath Bomb Surprise and check out the entire section just for bath bombs on the blog! Do you want more recipes using water soluble paper? Check out these tutorials: Baby Onesie Soaps, Baseball Soap, Water Soluble Paper on Soap Queen TV.

Check out the Bath Bomb Wrapped Surprise in action (video below)!