My Etsy Splurge(s)

I bought some amazing products today, all made by small handmade businesses across the United States:

Lip balms by 'Give Me Lip' - I just loved the dual colored look of her lip balms and purchased Vanilla Chocolate Donut and Cherry Vanilla Cupcake. My lips will be tasting sweet when I get these yummy creations.

Soap by Kristy's Lovely Lathers - The designs intrigued me. It takes real talent to get swirls and artistry on cold process soap and I can't wait to try my Fizzy Pop, Lavender Hugs, Love Note and Star Mint soaps.

Toiletries by Daileys - My secret shame is that I've never tried tooth powder or just tooth soap. I am going to remedy this with Dailey's Tooth Powder (and I got some of their all natural deoderant to try since mine never did work).

It's been a while since I got an Etsy soap fix and I was delighted to see Sweet Anthem on the home page! You may remember I blogged about Sweet Anthem after meeting her in person at Sweet Petula in Seattle.

Now, I just have to stay patient enough for all my goodies to arrive.

Starbucks & My (new) Clover Obsession

I got to take a behind-the-scenes tour at Starbucks Headquarters with their Vice President in charge of e-commerce. That's us in front of the original Starbucks sign. How cool is that?


I learned some very practical sales application practices for Bramble Berry but what I was most excited about was Starbucks emphasis on communication, internal brand messaging and the atmosphere of quiet collaboration.

Every meeting at Starbucks starts with a coffee tasting. It's a way of bringing everyone together, grounding everyone and educating team members about product lines.

Starbucks also had their values and mission visible, everywhere. It was inspiring to see how well they've integrated their values into their practices - their product design, their marketing messaging and their on-site amenities. Seeing how well they publicized their values inside their company gave me some ideas on how we can integrate our values better into Bramble Berry's daily routine.

I also got the scoop about some of the uber cool, limited edition, small batch coffees coming to Starbucks in the next few quarters and they sound delicious. By far my favorite part was the Clover. It is basically the next big thing for the coffee connoisseur. There are a handful of the Clover machines in Seattle for you to try. It's a single-cup brew cofee machine that brews limited edition, rare coffee, one cup at a time. It is so specialized that there's a Clover certification at Starbucks, above and beyond regular barista training. To learn more about the Clover or find a location near you that's brewing with the Clover, click here. I can't wait to try my next cup of Clover-brewed coffee. It was so good that I didn't have any urge for cream or sugar - just the straight coffee. If you get a chance, try it. As for me, I'm already angling for another visit so I can get some more of that delicious Clover-brewed coffee.

My Favorite Cold Process Recipes

Cold Process Soap is amazing and produces a better bar of soap than most store-bought soaps. It does require research before diving in. If you are not familiar with sodium hydroxide or CP soapmaking, please read this post on lye and how to use lye properly and buy either the Learn to Make Cold Process Soap DVD here or 'The Everything Soapmaker's Book' here prior to attempting these recipes if you are not an experienced Cold Process Soapmaker.

These are my favorite 3 Cold Process soap recipes that I tend to stick to when making soap for classes, family and friends.

Lots of Lather (my most favorite, tried and true, teach this in every class, really, really hard soap bar)

16 oz. Coconut

16 oz. Palm

16 oz. Olive Oil

2 oz. Castor Oil

13 - 19 oz. water

7.4 oz. lye

Recomend 3% superfat for best bubbles

Moisturizing

4 oz. Avocado Oil

8 oz. Coconut Oil

1 oz. Jojoba Oil

16 oz. Olive Oil

8 oz. Palm Oil

4 oz. Shea Butter

11 - 15 oz. water

5.6 oz. lye

Nourishing

2 oz. Sweet Almond Oil

2 oz. Avocado Oil

8 oz. Coconut Oil

2 oz. Hempseed Oil

16 oz. Olive Oil

8 oz. Palm Oil

4 oz. Shea Butter

2 oz. Wheatgerm

2 oz. Vitamin E

12-16 oz. water

6.0 oz. lye

Typical Disclaimer: Please be sure to follow all safety guidelines when handling Lye. If you haven't studied a comprehensive guide on Cold Process soap making I highly recommend the Everything Soap Book. If you are new to cold process soapmaking, please purchase a book and read about the serious safety issues associated with lye or better yet, buy the DVD on making CP soap. Another good book to start with is Susan Miller Cavitch's "The SoapMakers Companion." When working with lye, please always use gloves and goggles and do not breathe in the fumes. I also wear long sleeves during my soapmaking process and keep my goggles on the entire (entire, entire, entire!) time. Even I burn myself; if you missed the post last year where I dumped fresh soap on an open cut, click here to learn from my (idiotic) mistake.

Gloves & Goggles Are Your Friend

While there are many different ways to make soap, the two major methods are Melt and Pour (basic instructions here) and Cold Process. One major component of making cold process soap from scratch is lye (also called caustic soda or sodium hydroxide). To make beautiful cold process soap, you need to start with the basics - water, lye and fats. If you're unsure of the scientific method to making soap, this site has the best, most understandable way to explain it that I've seen.

Soapmaking is like many other activities - like for example, driving a car. Driving a car is inherantly dangerous. So, we go to school to learn how to drive a car, and now, when used properly, our cars are a wonderful and safe tool. When you learn to use lye safely, it is a snap to make all kinds of soap recipes from scratch.

Lye is a poison and needs to be treated with care. It is a corrosive alkaline substance that reacts with the molecules in fat to combine and turn into soap. Lye comes in flakes, pellets, micro beads, and coarse powder. It is also available as solution, often dissolved in water. It is used in everything from food production (brining olives and making lutefisk) to making bio diesel to drain cleaner. Despite is varied uses and the fact that you can often purchase lye (or a form of lye) in grocery stores and hardware stores, there are still safety considerations to take into account when working with lye. Both dry and wet lye solutions are corrosive and will degrade organic tissue.

While working with sodium hydroxide, always use safety glasses, heat and chemical resistant gloves and mix the lye in a room with adequate ventilation. Lye can cause chemical burns, blindness and may be fatal if swallowed.

When working with lye, keep in mind that when mixed with water, it produces an exothermic heat reaction and heats up to 200 degrees. You need to mix your lye water solution in a fully heat safe container with plenty of head space. Ideally, you will always mix over a sink to prevent any unfortunate accidents, like the one below. Lye stains wood and eats away furniture varnish.


Always add your lye to your water. Doing it the opposite way can cause an overflowing, volcanic type of reaction.

Avoid all contact with aluminum. It will ruin your soap and also produce hydrogen as a by product. Hydrogen is highly flammable and explosive.

Lye should be stored in airtight containers. Because of its propensity to draw moisture from the air, air tight plastic containers work best. Lye is highly corrosive and can eat away at glass material over time. Old lye sometimes acts as though it is not working. This is often because the lye has taken on so much moisture that when it is weighed out, it is significantly heavier with water weight than lye weight.

Using Lye Safely:

Always wear gloves & goggles (glasses are not enough, goggles)
Measure out distilled water & slowly pour and stir lye into water
Do not breathe in lye fumes; work in a well ventilated room
Keep small children and animals out and away from your soapmaking
Protect your workspaces with newspaper or cardboard
Lye corrodes metal so remove jewelry before making soap
Lye in the eys = trip to emergency room
Lye on your skin = flush with water. Some soapmakers swear by vingear instead of water.
Soap utensils are for soap. Food utensils are for food. Never the twain should meet.
Soap needs to cure, undisturbed, from either pets or small children
Soap molds need to be either lined with wax paper or be made from a flexible plastic. Never make soap in glass or aluminum.

From the MSDS sheet:

If swallowed:

Rinse mouth with water and drink one or two glasses of water. Do not induce vomiting! Immediately get medical attention or call your poison control center at 1-800-222-1222.

If in eyes:

Immediately flush eyes with water. Remove any contact lenses and continue to flush eyes with water for at least 20 minutes. Immediately get medical attention or call your poison control center at 1-800-222-1222.

If on skin:

Gently wipe product from skin and remove any contaminated clothing. Flush skin with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes and then wash thoroughly with soap and water. Contact a physician or call your poison control center at 1-800-222-1222.

Remember, just like any 'dangerous' tool, lye can be used safely to make amazing and wonderful soap. Use it wisely and responsibly.

Special Edition of Soap Queen TV (Video)

I got a little carried away in this episode of Soap Queen TV. I show how to make two adorable projects, pinwheels and fortune cookies - out of soap of course! Make your Fourth of July really exciting with Pinwheel Soap Favors for all of your guests.

Soap Queen TV: 4th of July Special Edition from Soap Queen on Vimeo.

For the Pinwheel soap:

Clear Soap base
White Soap base
Liquid ultramarine blue
Pineapple Cilantro fragrance
Liquid Glycerin

tools:
Flexible brownie tray
Craft knife
Heat safe containers
Spoon or stir stick

For the Fortune Cookies:
Clear Soap base
White Soap Base
Sparkle Gold mica
Peach Shimmer mica
Butter Cream and Snickerdoodle fragrance
Vanilla Color Stabilizer
Liquid Glycerin

tools:
Flexible brownie tray
Round cookie cutter or craft knife
Paper fortunes

Making Sushi Soap - The Rice Secret

To see the full tutorial on how make the Flexy Fast 'texture sheet' for the seaweed, click here.

Ingredients:

• Clear M&P base
  
• White M&P base
• Liquid Glycerin
  
• Wasabi Fragrance Oil
• Green Chrome Oxide
• Orange mica
• Gold Sparkle mica
• Luster Black mica
• Flexy Fast Molding Putty
  

Tools:

• Flexible brownie pan
• Heat safe container
  
• spoon for mixing

Directions: This the process is very similar to our Jelly Roll soap project. The first step is to make all of your parts; make a thin seaweed sheet (utilizing Flexy Fast and following the instructions here), use different colors of soap cut up into sticks, and grated white soap for the rice. To see the full tutorial on how make the Flexy Fast 'texture sheet' for the seaweed, click here.

To make the 'seaweed' the perfect texture we actually rolled out a sheet of our Flexy Fast molding putty onto a sheet of real nori. After the putty had completely hardened, we ran it under warm water and rubbed off the nori. It left behind a few scraps of seaweed - but that just added authenticity to our sushi soap! Trim down this textured sheet so that it fits perfectly in the bottom of your flexible tray mold. The actual 'nori' soap is three different colors of melt and pour base, each one a slightly varied green to add texture and character to the soap 'nori' wrap. Notice the drizzle pattern in the third photo above? Try and drizzle in alternating patterns for the different colors of green. We used Green Chrome Oxide, Patina Sheen Mica and a small, teensy amount of Heavy Metal Gold colors to get our perfect 'nori' color. And, of course, the fragrance oil we chose for the project is Wasabi but another good one would be Lettuce.

It's important to have all of your components ready as soon as the 'seaweed' soap sheet is set-up. The fresher the soap, the easier it is to roll.

Make the 'rice' by grating white melt and pour soap and mixing it with a little glycerin. How much is 'a little'? For 16 ounces of grated soap, drizzle 2 teaspoons of liquid glycerin over the soap and mix well. The glycerin is the 'glue' that helps to hold the sticky rice together. Make your 'vegetables' by pouring realistic food colored soap into sheets and cutting in circular, triangular and square strips for authenticity.

Once all the materials are ready, lay down the seaweed sheet *textured presentation-side down) and sprinkle a little grated soap along the longer edge on the inside. Next, lay strips of the various colored soaps on top of the 'rice' and then sprinkle a little more grated soap on top. You can sprinkle some melted soap on your 'vegetables' to help keep the vegetables in place. Gently but firmly, roll up the soap pressing down the shredded soap. If you wait too long after making the 'nori', the soap will not be as flexible and forgiving for rolling. Cut into pieces and you're done! Buy some sushi take out boxes and wow your customers, friends and family with your authentic looking sushi soap. We've been using our sushi soap for over a month now and the entire thing has stayed intact perfectly!

Flexy Fast - Tips for Success

We're totally jazzed about Flexy Fast, our new versatile silicone that makes it possible for you to make your own molds at home. Want to do a custom product for a special customer? It's easy with Flexy Fast! Want to do a realistic texture screen? It's easy with Flexy Fast!

SoapQueen.TV will be doing an episode on Flexy Fast in August but until then, here are some tips and instructions on working with Flexy Fast Silicone Molding Putty.

Flexy Fast comes as 2 parts. The usage is 1:6 by weight or 1:20 by volume. Think marble to golf ball. It is a two-component mold making silicone that is applied directly to almost any model. It sticks to itself and can be used with most any base (wax, gypsum, resin, sculptures, etc...)

Tip: This product is mixed by hand and wearing gloves is required. We recommend vinyl gloves, as latex gloves tend to stick to the mold putty. The photo below is using latex gloves and it was a mess!

Tip 2: Pre-kneading Part A (working in your hands for one minute prior to mixing with Part B) will make the two components easier to mix.

Step 1: Measure by weight or measure by volume. If doing weight, use an accurate gram scale and weigh out 100 parts A – level by hand into bottom of container. Squeeze 6 parts B into center of flattened Part A. The by volume mix ratio is about 20A:1B (golf ball: marble)


Step 2: Measure an amount of Part A approximately equal to the size of a golf ball onto the palm of your hand and create an indentation. Squeeze an amount of Part B approximately equal to the size of a small marble into the center of the Part A indentation. (Hint: It is better to start out with less Part B and add more if needed, rather than too much Part B).

Step 3: Fold the Part A around the Part B and knead aggressively with thumb and forefinger. Continue folding until a uniform light-pink color is attained. Make sure that all color streaks have been eliminated. Getting a thin layer formed is easiest with a rolling pin and the thinner you can make your putty, the less money you have to spend on your mold.

Step 4: Flexy Fast can be applied directly onto almost any model surface (see preparation above) except skin. After mixing Parts A & B as directed above, flatten mixture and gently press into model detail. Spread evenly over model surface, maintaining about a 3/8” (1 cm) thickness. Mix and apply more as needed, connecting and smoothing seams of different batches together. Because no two applications are quite the same, a small test application to determine suitability for your project is recommended if performance of this material is in question. In this case, I did one side as a seaweed kelp sheet and the other side with bubble wrap for a fun texture sheet.

Be Careful: If your original is made of modeling clay or other soft material, pressing putty onto model surface may affect model detail.

Curing: Allow the mold to cure 20 minutes at room temperature (77°F/25°C) before removing from model surface. Adding more Part B can reduce cure time. Adding less Part B will give you a longer working time and lengthen demold time. If applying a support shell, apply the shell before removing the rubber mold from the model.

Using The Mold: When first made, silicone rubber molds exhibit natural release characteristics. Depending on what is being cast into the mold, mold lubricity may be depleted over time and parts will begin to stick. No release agent is necessary when casting wax or gypsum. Applying a release agent prior to casting polyester, polyurethane and epoxy resins is recommended to prevent mold degradation.

Fun Fact: 'Let's Get Soapy' latest special edition eZine covers how to make handmade texture sheets and more uses for molding putty.

Check in later this week on what I did with the seaweed sheet mold and learn how to make sushi soap!

Simple is Good. And, it Works.

A very wise friend of mine (Ms. Erin Baker from Baker's Breakfast Cookies) recently shared one of her secrets to keeping on track and on target with goals.

A notebook and a list.

It's that simple. Ms. Erin plans out her day every evening before leaving the office. She estimates how much time it will take to get something done fills out her day, via the notebook and the list.

She says that if she can't get it done, it doesn't go on the list. And then, she stays focused, going down the list and checking things off, not getting distracted. If it wasn't important enough to get on the list to start with, it doesn't need to be

done - not that day at least.

I've tried various productivity methods ('4 Hour WorkWeek' and 'Getting Things Done') and they haven't quite worked for me. They don't have quite enough flexability for my zany, madcap work flow.

But, I do need something to keep me in line or else the 'zany' takes over and nothing productive really gets done.

The list is working for me. I'm on my 2nd Chronicle Books Hammerpress Notebook (love it!), try to use special pens (pink, bright green, fun colors!) and derive immense satisfaction when I cross something off the list. The concept doesn't have a book to explain it and there's no daily blog to explore it. But, simple is good. And, it works.

"It was beautiful. Loved it."

Get on the waiting list for the Otion Soap Intensive Weekend and have your own 'beautiful' soaping experience. We've got a great weekend planned and all it's missing is you!

Did you get your Newsletter?

Not signed-up for our newsletter? Thursday morning, we sent out instructions on how to make these adorable pinwheel soaps! Sign-up here if you're not on the list to get the Bramble Berry newsletter. And if yours went into your spam box, let me know and I'll forward you a copy so you don't miss out on this fun project.

What's that you say? You are signed up and you still aren't receiving our newsletters?

One thing that usually helps is to add Bramble Berry to your address book. All of our newsletters are sent from info@brambleberry.com or add the brambleberry.com domain to to your address book.

Here are are some specific suggestions for Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, & Earthlink.

AOL:
1. Open a Bramble Berry newsletter email if you haven't already.
2. Click on the "Add Address" icon.
3. Your Bramble Berry newsletter email address should automatically appear in the name and email fields in the "Add Contact" pop-up box. Verify the information was entered correctly.
4. Click the "Save" button.
5. Your Bramble Berry newsletter email address will be entered into your AOL Address Book.

Hotmail:
1. Open your latest Bramble Berry newsletter email if you haven't already.
2. Click "Save Address(es)" at the top of the message.
3. Your Bramble Berry newsletter email address should automatically appear in the email field on the Add to Address Book page. Verify the information was entered correctly.
4. Your Bramble Berry newsletter email address will be entered into your Hotmail address book.

Yahoo:
1. Open your latest Bramble Berry newsletter email.
2. Click the "Add to Address Book" link next to the icon on the far right.
3. Your Bramble Berry newsletter email address should automatically appear
4. The email field on the "Add to Address Book" page. Verify the information was entered correctly.
5. Click "Add to Address Book."
6. Your Bramble Berry newsletter email address will be entered into your Yahoo! address book.

Earthlink:
1. Open your latest Bramble Berry newsletter email if you haven't already.
2. Click your mailbox's "Message" menu and choose "Add Senders."
3. Your Bramble Berry newsletter email address will be entered into your EarthLink address book.

And of course, if this doesn't work for you feel free to email us at info@brambleberry.com!

Making a Mini Cooper - Flexy Fast Project

Project designed & written by Debbie from SoapyLove. Check out her blog here, her soaplab site here & her soapy ezine here.

To make this realistic toy car, first I bought a die cast metal toy car at Rite Aid. It had open windows so I had to make new plastic windows (cut from some packaging) and taped them in. I pushed a whole bunch of play-doh and packing peanuts inside the car to make sure the windows wouldn't just push in when I made my mold.

I got some silicone molding clay to make the mold, pressing into the wheel wells and a little under the car. You can use something from a craft store or get the Flexy Fast Molding Putty from Bramble Berry (if you got a copy of any of my eZines, there's a coupon in the back for BB! ).

Then I poured white soap to fill the roof. I unmolded it and cut it into stripes for the final roof.

I mixed my minty body color by combining 3/4 clear soap and 1/4 white, then green shimmery mica and BrambleBerry's iridescent glitter, scented with 1/4 teaspoon of Apple fragrance. I poured a bit into the roof then placed in my white stripes. I let it harden.

Then I made clear soap mixed with BrambleBerry's silver mica for the windows. I poured this in until the windows were filled up (spraying my roof layer with alcohol of course!).

After that was hard, I topped off my mold with minty soap and let harden.

I unmolded the whole car, then used a sharp knife to cut out the wheels. I put the car back in the mold and made some dark grey soap, and filled the wheel areas with that. Let cool, unmold, yadda yadda.

I used an exacto knife to trim up my soap car since it had some lumps and bumps.

Now it was time for painting the details. I mixed the silver mica with a touch of black oxide to make metallic silver. I stirred in a few drops of liquid glycerin to make a paint consistency. I painted on my details with a little brush. I used white colorant for the license plate. All painted areas dried in my window for 2 hours. I used a pen to etch in my license plate (SOPYLUV).

Oh - I misted my soap with rubbing alcohol right before taking the picture to get that shiny wet look.

Voila! It took me 3 cars to figure out what worked and what didn't.

What didn't work:

• Plain clear for the windows. Wasn't clear enough and just looked like the body color. Not cute enough.
• Solid white roof. Looked too pasted on.
• Solid black wheels. Straight black oxide looked very harsh. I used silver mica plus black oxide for a dark grey instead.

The video below should give you a better understanding of what this project took. If you try anything like this, let me know. I'd love to see how this inspired you.

Massive Sale on Inventory Oops

Our bad inventory luck is your gain! We've had a spate of products arrive in that aren't ideal (Relaxing fragrance that is too dark to sell, Oatmeal, Milk & Honey that is slightly more sweet than usual, Spearmint that didn't pass our color test and a few special order double shipments). All of this ends up being your good fortune.

What we have (at a massive discount for you):

* 10 pounds Tropical Punch (inspired by Escada Tropical Punch)

From Escadas Limited Edition line of 2001, this fragrance was launched to correspond to the look and feel of their fashion collection. Their Tropical Punch is a very fruity fragrance, with just enough floral and dewy green notesto make sure it doesn't turn into a more teen spirit type of fragrance. The main notes are Pear and Mango, tropical flowers (including Jasmine and Lily of the Valley). Of course, it has lovely supporting base notes of musk and exotic mangrove. Try this fragrance and dance your senses out of our current Winter holiday and into a dreamy tropical bliss. $182.40 (normally $285) for 10 pound mini drum.

* 10 pounds Lavender Chamomile (inspired by the Huggies fragrance)

This fragrance is absolutely delicious in baby products. It's soft, sweet and just amazingly kissable. It starts out with top notes of Lavender, Chamomile and a bit of Orange and Eucalyptus. The blend is rounded out with Cedarwood, Musk and Hay, making it absolutely precious smelling. CP Safe $160.90 (normally $260) for 10 pound mini drum.

* 10 pounds Stargazer Lily

This duplication of the lovely pink and white oriental hybrid flower is sweet and sensual. Lilies are a classic wedding flower, known for their beauty and scent. Our fragrance doesn't disappoint in its floral intensity. Try this fragrance for your June brides or as a staple for your spring line. CP Safe $160.90 (normally $260) for 10 pound mini drum.

* 10 pounds Mulled Cider

A bit of apple cider mulled with cinnamon and nutmeg to warm the soul, this soap is a wonderful treat for any soaping experience. It is more spicy and musky than our AppleJack Peel. This one does discolor. CP safe. $182.40 (normally $285) for 10 pound mini drum.

* 75 pounds Vanilla-y Oatmeal, Milk & Honey - $13.20/lb (normally $22.00/lb)

Blended with utmost care, this is the perfect melding of three fabulous scents. Sweet and toasty, this is one soap that you'll want to take a bite out of! Discolors to light tan. Our number one best seller at Bramble Berry for 5 years running, this blend is slightly more Vanilla than usual but such a slight difference that you'd be hard pressed smell it.

* 25 pounds dark colored Relaxing - $15.55/lb (normally $25.92)

A relaxing blend of French Lavender and Fir Pine, enhanced with Egyptian Jasmine and sweetened with pure Vanilla, softened with delicate Musks. We have had customers tell us that this is a "mature, grown-up vanilla based blend" and we think that description is very accurate. Fantastic not only in soap but also in Bath Bombs and Lotions. This fragrance discolors because of the Vanilla but the smell is too fabulous to care. Normally this fragrance is almost perfectly white. This fragrance is a dark brown. Since the fragrance discolors brown anyways, it is not a problem for the final product but we can't sell it as perfect ... because it's not.

* 20 pounds Spearmint EO - $19.77/lb (normally $32.96)

Distillation Method: Steam Distillation

Country of Origin: USA
Botanical Name: Mentha Spicata
Part: Leaves (& Kosher)

Color is just slightly off but you probably wouldn't notice a difference

How can you order this amazing, fabulous deal? It's simple! This special pricing isn't available on the Bramble Berry site and it takes a little more work for you to get it, but at these prices, it's worth it. Just email me your entire order to info (at) brambleberry (dot) com (replacing the at with an @ and the dot with a .) and I'll get your order typed up for you and on its way. Feel free to add any normal, regular items from Brambleberry.com to ensure you get the best price on shipping.

Ready. Set. Go!

Diary of a Crafty Chica & More!

I'm a huge fan of Jessie at CakeSpy (see my fawning posts here, here and here) and have been following Kathy from CraftyChica's crafting journey for years. This week was a trifecta for Soap Queen press as Jessie and Kathy both interviewed me for their blogs and Mas Kes Ke Fee listed The Soap Queen blog as one of her Top Ten Foreign blogs. Why foreign? Because Ka Fairy is in France! Yippee - world renown is one stop closer to world domination through soap.

Read Kathy's interview here (and learn about my first miserable attempt at soap), find Jessie's interview here (and find out where I get cupcake & sweet inspiration on the 'net) and check out Mais Kes Ka Fee's other blog picks here.

Soap Queen Video - Episode 8

This week I'm teaching one of my favorite projects - candy soap! You may recognize these from my project last year. I think that the video really helps the project to come to life and make more sense.

Soap Queen TV Episode 8: Candy Soap from Soap Queen on Vimeo.

Ingredients:
Clear melt & pour base
White melt & pour base
Hello Sweet Thang! fragrance
Vanilla Color Stabilizer
Red-Blue Mica

Tools:
Round soap mold
Utility knife (like an exact-o)
Spray bottle with rubbing alcohol
Spoon
Droppers
Heat safe containers

Coming Tomorrow to SoapQueenTV

Learn how to make these beauties ... and more! A new episode SoapQueen.TV debuts tomorrow.

Bath Bomb Surprise

In honor of a fabulous employee!
Luke (pourer extraordinaire) created this project and we're so lucky that he's sharing it with all of us. Read his adorable tutorial below on how to make a Bath Bomb Surprise. There's a short video at the bottom so you can watch to see the fizzy duck in action. Before I (badly) edited it down, it was over 2 minutes because the bath bomb kept fizzing for that long!

Ingredients
1 lb citric acid
2 lbs baking soda
Witch hazel (in spray bottle)
Rose Pearl Mica
Herbal essence Fragrance Oil
Hockey Puck Mold
12 Rubber duckies
Pigment scoop
Droppers

Directions (from Luke)

First, I used a large plastic bowl to mix the citric acid and baking soda together. I used a whisk for this step, and mixed for a good 5 minutes until I was sure the powder was properly blended.

Second, I used a pigment scoop to mix in a small amount of Rose Pearl Mica. I began with 3 heaping spoonfuls but continued to add a few more to darken the bath bombs (caution: bombs will darken after using witch hazel. Too much Mica tends to leave a ring around the tub. Easy to clean-up, but a possible annoyance). I blended this for another few minutes.

Third, I added .75 ounces of herbal essence fragrance oil, distributing evenly using the dropper. After adding the fragrance I used a mixing spoon to stir. Blend well for another minute or so. The concentration of herbal essence I used made a very potent bath bomb. In future bath bombs, I will likely use a fresher fragrance such as Champagne in lower quantities.

Fourth, I began to mix slowly while squirting witch hazel into the batch. When the batch began to thicken, I stirred and sifted using my fingers. After a few minutes, the batch began to thicken and clumped when squeezed which is the perfect consistency.

Fifth, Using the hockey puck mold, I took a handful of the batch and squished it to the bottom of the mold, packing it down. I placed the rubber ducky into the mold, and the packed around and above it until covered. I found when using the ducky, I added more of the bath bomb mix than I had intended, ending up with a tray of muffins. I packed these down with my hand, and set them aside.

Sixth, I checked on them an hour later. They were beginning to harden, and a few cracks began appearing on top. I decided to go for broke, and removed the bombs from the molds. They were still hard-packed, but I didn’t like their muffin shape. I decided to hand-pack them as if packing a snowball. After getting them into rough circles, I lightly spritzed the outside with witch hazel and smoothed them down. Satisfied with their shape, I let them sit out to dry overnight.

Voila! The bombs dried nicely, completely concealing the rubber duckies inside! A few had developed small cracks, but they weren’t deep and didn’t affect the ability of the bomb to stay together. The size of them allowed for a particularly long fizzy-period. The duckies from the first batch didn’t pop out of the bath bomb for over a minute and a half!

My girlfriend Erika did another small batch after me. She used twice the colorant (hence the warning of the ring around the tub). She managed to fit the duckies completely into the hockey puck mold while still completely concealing them. This allowed for a smaller, more durable bath bomb that still smelled just as fragrant. More of her batch tended to develop cracks, which may be attributed to the duckies expanding while the bombs were drying.

There you have it!
-Luke

Video Below (email subscribers - you need to click through to the blog to see it). In a large tub, the water would not discolor. Enjoy!

Grapefruit Lily Blends

Have you tried Grapefruit Lily before? It's a lighter, romantic fragrance with a clean finish. Though this fragrance is heavy on the Lily notes, the touch of Grapefruit makes it an intriguing scent. It's also a fun scent to blend. I've included a few blends below that really make this fragrance a great one to keep in some way, shape or form year round. I hope you enjoy them and if you have any to share with your fellow Soap Queen readers, please let comment. I'd love to know what you're doing with this fragrance.

Blend #1
3parts Grapefruit Lily
1part Mango, Cybilla
1part Ginger Lime

Blend #2
2parts Grapefruit Lily
1.5parts Gardenia
1.5parts Raspberry Violet

Blend#3
2.5parts Grapefruit Lily
2.5 Apricot Freesia

Blend #4
3parts Grapefruit Lily
1part Lily of Valley, Cybilla
1 part Romance

Blend #5
2parts Grapefruit Lily
2parts Coconut, Cybilla
1.5parts Sandalwood Vanilla

Blend #6
2parts Grapefruit Lily
2parts Vanilla Select
1part Spearmint, Cybilla

Lynda Applegate on Thriving

I recently attended the Women Presidents' Organization annual conference where Lynda Applegate (professor at Harvard, author of numerous books) spoke on how to not only survive but THRIVE in this economy. Her main premise was that small companies can really take advantage of this economy because of how nimble we are. I took the following notes during her presentation. They're a bit choppy but all still excellent points for coming out of this recession strong.

In order to thrive in this economy, we need to execute on three things:

Stabilize - shore up cash flow, make sure processes are solid, reaffirm pricing models. One way that we're doing this at Bramble Berry is to look over all of our sourcing to make sure that we're getting the best pricing we can on everything. And, of course, we renewed our line of credit to make sure we have ready access to capital.

Strategize - focus on the essentials but don't let opportunity pass you by, ruthlessly execute strategy. One way that we're working on executing our strategy is by developing new lines within our existing company. Look for an announcement about a creative flanker line debuting mid July from the Bramble Berry family.

Innovate - try new things, be an industry leader (within reason. Don't neglect your core business while innovating). We took this to heart by purchasing the Heavy Duty Mold line and are now manufacturing soap molds from a warehouse in Bellingham.

The key question for any small business right now is "How do I take control of my business and how do I stabilize?" This is no time at all to be reckless. There is tremendous uncertainty out there and none of it is really known. Cutting without strategy is not the answer. If all you do is cut fat, then muscle, then bone, you will not be prepared to come out of the crisis healthy. You don’t know what to cut unless you’ve thought ahead to say “Where are these opportunities going to be?” What if you lay off your staff only to realize that the economy is bright again but you can't take advantage of those opportunities? As you think about the opportunities, as you stabilize, be sure you are strategizing at the same time and continue to build your business with precision and focus.

Innovation during this time is going to be critical. "You cannot fix the economy by throwing money at it. It is not a money mess. It is the failure of sustained innovation."

New leaders often emerge during crisis: 18 of the 30 companies in the Down Jones Industrials were founded during an economic downturn.There are opportunities for those with cash still in this market. However, this can bring another issue up: buying on a whim.

Don’t buy anything just because it’s cheap! Do not ever buy businesses just because they are cheap. It’s like shopping at a discount store and there are discounted stuff on the table and you pick something out and go “I don’t know what I’m going to do with this but it’s SO cheap!” And then you never use it. Don’t buy things you don’t have a clear plan for.

Crisis helps focus business and drive efficiency. It is much easier to teach values of frugality, sacrifice and patience to employees, partners (and your children) during this time of turmoil.

By running your business better, you will start to build more recognition by the fact that you're a survivor. People will start to flock to you.

If you sit here waiting on the sidelines, you’re going to miss the biggest opportunity of your time. Whether that opportunity is to really lead your company and make it stronger and build your brand around the fact that you’re a survivor, whether you’re seeing those adjacent opportunities, whether you’re cutting back so you can get strong At all times though, keep your eye on why you’re doing what you’re doing, on your strategy. What’s the medium term positioning that’s going to help me think through where I’m going and how do I play defense to make sure I’m strong in the back?

Hiking Obsession

After summiting Pine & Cedar Lake Trail

As the sun has come out in Whatcom County, I am so lucky to have found the perfect hiking buddy ... or rather, buddies! My sister in law, Cheriss and her fabulous dog, Samantha. They are always game for a hike, no matter how tired they are or how long the day has been. We've been hiking everywhere. The upside to all the rain in Washington is that we have lots of lush greens, old growth trees and every hiking trail seems more beautiful than the last. It's easy to get addicted and Cheriss and I are fully on our way to obsession. Cheriss even got a pair of ... trail shoes.

We totally bit off more than we can chew on our latest hike though. Cheriss bought a book of the best hiking in Whatcom County and we've been methodically going throgh it. It was working swimmingly until the Pine & Cedar Lake trail. Ironcially, I had been warned about this trail by my mother-in-law but had completely forgotten about her dire predictions when we bounded out of the car to feed our addiction.

From Kulshan.com explaining Pine & Cedar Trail: Unless you begin training a couple weeks before you go, don’t attempt a hike to Pine and Cedar Lakes with a case of canned beverages in your backpack. Why? Because apparently this Whatcom County Parks trail was created before the advent of switchbacks –- it’s straight uphill, no mercy.

They were not joking in any way, shape or form. Pine & Cedar made our legs burn, our lungs ache and humbled my sister in law and I. Apparently we had not been training enough to take on this trail. However, we are nothing if not competitive to a fault so we made it up the lake and back down, vowing to never do it again. Or at least, not until we train some more.

Otion SWI 2010 Schedule

There are still two spots left for this awesome weekend series. We're flying in some of the best minds in the soaping industry, just for you! Here is the tentative schedule for the weekend extravaganza:

Soapmaking Weekend Intensive 2009

Friday – Business Development time with Ron Huntington

12:00 – 4:00 – Ron Huntington

Developing a Vision

Defining your Mission

Making a ‘BHAG’

Saturday

9:00 a.m. Orientation by Anne-Marie

9:45 a.m. Anne-Marie – Hands ON!

Cold Process I

12:00 Lunch – Farmer’s Market

1:00 Lori Nova on Cold Process swirling & layering

4:00 Lotion I with Jill (Hands ON!)

6:00 End

Sunday

9:00 a.m. Beginning Melt and Pour Anne-Marie

10:00 a.m. Advanced MP – Jelly Donut – Debbie (SoapyLove) (Hands ON!)

12:00 noon Lunch on your own

1:00 Plaid Soap with Debbie (SoapyLove) (Hands ON!)

3:00 Lori Nova on colorants

4:00 Cut CP soap/Cupcakes/Graduation

All this for just $350 ( includes materials fees and handouts).

Sign up here.

Where Cupcakes Meet Fashion

Bella Cupcake Couture Have your cupcake and adore it too!

Carrie Middlemiss is the founder and owner of Bella Cupcake Couture in Seattle, Washington. After being laid off after an 18 year career as a Marketing Manager for Washington Mutual, she followed her dream and started her own business. Thus, the cupcake accessories fashion line was born! "Why should frosting have all the limelight?" Carrie makes adorable cupcake wrappings that make your cupcake stand out from the crowd. And perfectly unscientific studies show that eating a cupcake that looks cute makes the entire experience more rewarding.

Read her entire story here.

See more cupcake couture on Cakespy, and check out Carrie's blog here! Oh, and purchase your very own cupcake couture here. P.S. I found another use for Carrie's accessories: Bath Bombs Cupcakes, of course. Spruce up your sweet bath morsels with a little color and fashion sense.