Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more
For the past two weeks, the blog has been full of wedding inspired tutorials. These projects were specially designed to give as wedding favors or gifts. Bath and body products are a great way to thank your loved ones for sharing your special day. They are also easy to customize with colors and fragrances to suit your wedding’s theme and vibe. All the tutorials were made with a gold and pink color scheme that’s wonderfully feminine and romantic.
If you have a lot of wedding favors to create, the task can seem a bit daunting. I recommend keeping the project simple to avoid unwanted stress. When you need to make a lot of individual favors, soaking salts are a great option. Simply mix the salts with colorant, fragrance and a small amount of oil to create adorable gifts. Best of all, you can make them well ahead of time or days before if need be.
For this project, I created ten jars at once using two different scent and color combinations to make five jars of each. One combination features Sweet Pea Fragrance Oil and Rose Gold Mica for a feminine option. The other combination uses King’s Gold Mica and Tobacco & Bay Leaf Fragrance Oil for a more unisex or masculine choice. These soaking salts can also be used as a body scrub by applying it to damp skin rather than adding the salts to bath water.
Burly beards and mustaches are back in style in a big way. To keep facial hair looking polished and healthy, beard oil is a must! Just like conditioner for the hair, beard oil works to give facial hair essential moisture. This beard oil recipe is formulated with lightweight fractionated coconut oil to ensure it doesn’t weigh beards down. It also contains luxurious jojoba and argan oils for intense hair loving properties. Aloe extract helps soothe skin, while vitamin e oil provides antioxidant properties.
Simply apply a few drops of the oil directly to the beard and skin to make it look shiny and well kept. This formula can also be used directly on skin, hair, or as a bath oil. To make the process of creating beard oil even easier, the Beard Oil Base is a premixed beard oil formula. The oils are already measured and mixed; all you need to do is customize the base with a fragrance or essential oil of your choice. Then your oil is ready to label and use! This beard oil would make a fabulous gift. In particular, I have heard of soapers making beard oil as wedding favors for the guys.
What You’ll Need:
Beard Oil from Scratch
Six 4 oz. Bottles (Black Disk Cap)
14 oz. Fractionated Coconut Oil
4.8 oz. Sweet Almond Oil
3 oz. Argan Oil
2.1 oz. Jojoba Oil
0.5 oz. Aloe Extract
0.2 oz. Vitamin E Oil
4 mL Tobacco & Bay Leaf Fragrance Oil
Dropper
Optional: DIY Wedding Labels
Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!
Pre-mixed Recipe:
Six 4 oz. Bottles (Black Disk Cap)
24 oz. Beard Oil Base
4 mL Mahogany Fragrance Oil
What is your favorite product for men to create? I’ve been working on a shaving soap recipe, so keep your eyes open for that in the next few months =)
Making your own wedding favors can seem a little daunting, especially if you’re having a large wedding. My biggest piece of advice is to give yourself plenty of time. Crafting at the last second can be stressful. I also recommend choosing a project that suits your skill level. Wedding favors may not be the best time to try an advanced project if you’re a beginner. =)
Candles are a great favor option. They are relatively quick and easy to make, and who doesn’t love a candle? For this tutorial, I made five candles featuring two different color and scent combinations. One candle is scented with Sweet Pea Fragrance Oil and colored a light pink for a feminine option. The other is uncolored and scented with Tobacco and Bay Leaf Fragrance Oil.
The recipe and tutorial below makes ten candles total. If you need to make a lot more, you may consider melting your wax in a large sauce pot over medium-low heat. This way, you can use a larger container than what may fit in your microwave. Then, use a ladle or smaller container to pour the hot wax into each candle container to cool and harden. I recommend pouring the wax on a counter space where the candles can cool and harden without moving them. Once the hot wax is in the container, moving the candles can be tricky!
Today, Jen of Something Turquoise is taking over the blog to share her favorite DIY wedding projects. Something Turquoise is a wedding focused blog that’s full of DIY projects, inspiration and resources for the crafty bride. She even knows her way around bath and beauty projects; check out her adorable tutorials for DIY Stenciled Wedding Soap Favors, Baked Bath Salt Favors and a cute Nail Polish Bar. Thanks so much for the inspiration Jen, take it away! -A.M.
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Hi there soapy mavens! My name is Jen and I write a wedding blog called Something Turquoise, the only wedding blog that truly embraces the DIY bride. That is why I have the pleasure of being here on Soap Queen during DIY wedding week!
I would personally call myself a hardcore DIY-er, but I completely understand if you are not. So let’s say you are a creative bride who wants to make a few special things to give that unique touch to your wedding day, but without burning your fingers on a hot glue gun or breaking the bank on crafting tools you might not use again. Well you are in luck, because today I’m breaking down the 5 easiest projects to DIY for your wedding!
In discussing these 5 projects, I want you to keep in mind that I’m not telling you to arrange your own flowers, make your own invitations or sew your own dress, because those details are large scale projects that will take specialized expertise and lots of time. The ideas below are easy because they are not only quick, but you also don’t have to make a ton of them (like favors). Many brides think making favors is easy – and although the favor itself might be easy to create, you’ll still have to make anywhere from 100-200 of them. The details I’m showcasing pack a special punch and will make your day ultra personal without making you go DIY crazy. How detailed you get with these items is up to you and your skill level, but any type of crafty bride will be able to execute these ideas with ease!
1. WILL YOU BE MY BRIDESMAID GIFTS
This is an absolute must now a days, so you might as well get creative with it! Take a little extra time to handcraft something special for your besties because you know they’ll truly appreciate it. Whether assembling a large gift box packed full of fun items or just a special handmade card, your love will shine through this project. You can easily search Pinterest or Google for great ideas that will fit your theme and style. Many sites, like mine, even offer free printable designs!
Make your own “Will You Be My Bridesmaid Coloring Cards.” Image + project courtesy of: Something Turquoise
Make your own “Will You Be My Bridesmaid Tin Boxes” plus ideas for the Groomsmen too! Image + project courtesy of: Something Turquoise
Nail polish is one of my favorite cosmetic products to make. It’s easy and customizable. If you’re getting married soon, custom nail polish makes a fantastic a wedding favor or bridesmaid gift. A nail polish party is also a great idea for a bridal shower or bachelorette party. Last year I threw a nail polish party for a few friends and we had a blast. Click here to see the fun, and my tips for throwing a nail polish party. Jen of Something Turquoise also created her own “Nail Polish Bar.” Click here to see her adorable set up and ideas.
If you’ve never made nail polish before, it couldn’t be easier. In a nail polish bottle, simply add the mica of your choice, a mixing ball and the Suspending Nail Polish Base. Then shake, shake, shake to disperse the color! Then it’s ready to use. You can also add pigments to the nail polish base as shown in the Anti-Pinch Nail Polish, but if using pigments, they do need to be mixed in isopropyl alcohol first to get rid of clumps.
June through September is generally considered wedding season. If you (or somebody you know) is getting married this year, you know how quickly those months will be upon us. There are so many details to organize and things to plan!
One of the ways I made my guests feel special at my wedding was with handmade wedding favors. Whether you give these gifts to everybody at your wedding, only your wedding party or a select group, wedding favors are a great way to thank family and friends for celebrating with you on your special day. If you know somebody getting married, creating wedding favors is also fantastic wedding gift for them.
Handmade soap is a luxury item that many people have never used before. It makes a great wedding favor. The colors and scent can be customized to suit any theme. In this tutorial, I used the large 36 Bar Birchwood Mold and the Guest Dividers for 36 Bar Birch Mold to create 72 guest-sized soaps. Depending on the size of your wedding, you may be done with all your wedding favors in as little as two hours! Just make sure to create them ahead of time to allow for a 4-6 week cure time. In addition, I used the Lots of Lather Quick Mix to cut down on the mixing and measuring.
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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.
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Weddings are beautiful occasions. A day of love and togetherness and the celebration of a new beginning. Unfortunately the sticker price for these festive events can be a shock especially if the bride and groom are paying for it themselves! There are clever ways to save money and going the DIY route on a lot of tasks can really help save money. When researching wedding bouquets I found that the standard was about $175-$250 for a simple rose bouquet. When you start counting Bridesmaid Bouquets and Boutonnieres you are looking at spending $1000 plus dollars. No Thank You! I made this elegant handmade bouquet for less than $30 and there were plenty of flowers left over. I used them in vases but I could have easily gotten another bouquet and a few Boutonnieres out of the three bunches of Calla Lilies that I bought at Trader Joe’s for $7 per bundle. The ribbon was in the $1 bin at a craft store and the pins were about $4.00 for 100 pins. I had the floral wire but it can be purchased for a couple of dollars at a craft store. All you need is an eye for matching color, a few simple supplies and about 30 minutes of time. I embellished the bouquet with lavender and greens found around the yard!
Ingredients
The Bubbles: Mix all of the liquid ingredients into a bowl and mix well. For the best bubbles, let the mixture sit for about 5 hours (overnight would even be better). I’m not sure what the science behind this is but it works, trust me.
Almond Biscotti Fragrance Blends
In this episode, I demonstrate a variation on the silhouette soap project taught by Soapylove at last year’s Soap Weekend Intensive. By the way, we just had a cancellation and there are 2 places open for this year’s Soap Weekend Intensive coming up next weekend!
Soap Queen TV Episode 10: Wedding Favors from Soap Queen on Vimeo.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Clear melt & pour soap base
Merlot mica
Light Gold mica
Champagne fragrance
4 in 1 Basic Shapes mold
Craft knife (like and exacto)
Spray bottle with rubbing alcohol
Heat safe container
Stir stick or spoon
