LOVE Soap Mold Debut Tutorial
- Difficulty:Easy
- Time:30 Minutes
- Yields:4 Love Soaps
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.
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
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Tips for layering melt and pour:
- Use the same brand of soap base for each layer. Different brands of soap base have different cooling temperatures (this will help the layers adhere). In this tutorial the clear and the white soap base are the same Bramble Berry brand.
- Spritz each layer with rubbing alcohol before pouring.
- Pour your layers in a timely fashion (don’t wait until the next day to pour your second layer).
- Make sure your layers are no hotter than 125 degrees when you pour (any warmer will melt the soap).
Orange Colorant
1 Tablespoon Liquid Glycerin
1 Teaspoon Tangerine Wow
Pink Colorant
1 Tablespoon Liquid Glycerin
1 Teaspoon Electric Bubble Gum
Mixing the Colorants: Blend the colorants and the liquid glycerin together with a mini mixer. Be sure to stir a little bit with the mixer before turning it on, otherwise you’ll be standing in a pink or orange cloud of colorant. If you’re unsure about pre-mixing colorants, there’s a “SoapQueen Short” video about it here.
ONE: First, make the orange colored soap for the heart. In a small heat safe container, melt 2 ounces of clear soap base in the microwave for 30 seconds. If the soap is not melted after 30 seconds, continue melting the soap on 10 second bursts. You don’t want to overheat or boil the soap…that ends up in a stinky mess and may change the consistency of the soap. Add 5 mini scoops of the Tangerine and Liquid Glycerin mixture. Mix well.
Tip: The mini scoops give nice big drops of colorant in the soap.
TWO: Use an injector or dropper to fill in all of the hearts in each cavity of the mold. Make sure to have a cup of boiling hot water by your side so you can clean up the injector before the soap hardens inside.
THREE: To make the pink colored soap, repeat the same steps as you did to get the orange colored soap. Then add 5 min scoops of the pink colorant to the soap and mix well. Use an injector to fill in the letters L, V and E in each of the mold cavities. Let the soap cool for 15-20 minutes.
Bonus: You’ll have a little of the orange and pink colored soap left over for more LOVE soaps. Mixing colorants in fragrances in anything less than 1-2 ounces can be a little difficult, in my experience.
FOUR: While your hearts and letters are cooling you can start making the background and final layer of the soap. In a heat safe container, melt 12 ounces of white soap base in the microwave on 30 second bursts until melted. Add .25 oz of White Tea and Ginger Fragrance Oil and mix well. For the colorant, stir in 15 drops of Liquid Violet and 6 mini scoops of Red Blue Mica. Mix, mix, mix and let the soap cool to 125 degrees.
FIVE: Once the letters and hearts have hardened, liberally spritz the soap in the mold with rubbing alcohol. Then, after you’ve confirmed that the purple soap is around 120-130 degrees, pour the purple soap as the final layer and spritz with rubbing alcohol to get rid of any air bubbles.
Let the soap cool for 6-12 hours before unmolding and it’s ready! All you need is love.
All You Need Is Love
Swoon!
Check out Bramble Berry’s new Love Mold, ready to make it’s debut to the world tomorrow, Friday 1/27/2012! I know what you’re thinking, “Where’s the tutorial, Anne-Marie? It’s tutorial THURSDAY!” Hang tight, Soap Queen Pals, we’re going to show you how to make the fabulous soap above. You’ll just have to wait until tomorrow. One. More. Day. =) How about a little baby love to keep you entertained?
I remember bubbles in childhood as fun and magical. Naturally, I wanted to introduce Jamisen to this fun and magical concept.
Whoops. Is that a look of terror on his face? 
Hm. Still terrified. Wait, if I can remember bubbles, how old was I when I played with those bubbles? 
But, proving he is my son, he did eventually warm up to the bubbles and even tried to use his slow baby reflexes to catch a few.
That’s my boy! Check back tomorrow for the LOVE tutorial. I swear, it’s coming!
How to Sell Consignment
Recently on our Facebook Page, someone asked about selling their products consignment. If one person is having that question, you can bet others are. Selling consignment is often a first step to getting into a retail store. Consignment means that a store owner will take your product and instead of buying it, they will pay you for the product when they sell it. You own the product, in their shop, and are responsible for stocking the store shelves. You and the shop owner work out a deal for a percentage of the sales – generally a 70/30 or a 60/40 split with the store getting 30% or 40%. The reason that the store gets less than 50% is because you, the small business owner, are taking all the risk. First you will need a contract with the shop owner.
(1) The percentage split – Are you getting 70% of the sales price? Less?
(2) Rent or extra fees – Is there administration cost every month? Is there any rent that the owner would like you to pay for your part of the store?
(3) Theft and damage – Mistakes happen and unscrupulous people happen. Who pays for that inventory? You or the shopowner? Or, is it a split?
(4) Payment – How often are you paid?
(5) Removal – If things aren’t selling, when and how can you pick up your products?
(6) Inventory – Are you keeping track of inventory or is the store? What if there is a discrepancy?
(7) End Date – How long does this contract last? Under what circumstances can you get out of the contract?
Other things that you will want to take into account are general business questions – is this store in a good location? Will the store owner give you good placement in the store? Can you work with them on in-store promotions? Will you be proud to have your merchandise in the store?
It’s important for you to do the research into the store before you approach the shop owner. Is the store in good traffic location? Will the store owner do a good job promoting her store (and your products)? Your soap will be tied up in the store, while you still own it. It is a big risk and that’s why you are normally paid more than 50%. If you get a chance, talk to other people that are consigning in the store about how their products are being treated in the store and how their products sell through. Past experience predicts future experience.
Summer 2012 S.O.A.P. Team [CHEER]
Announcing the new S.O.A.P. Team for Summer 2012!
[APPLAUSE]
Andi from We Love Soap: Twitter, Blog
Alanna from Peach Blossoms Cosmetics: Facebook
Dawn from EcoSations: Etsy, Facebook
Rose from Brooklyn Bath: Blog, Etsy
Jean from Soap Art: Website, Blog
Nicole from My Quest for Health: Blog, Facebook
April from April’s Soap: Blog, Facebook
Lucky Lucky Neko: Artfire, Blog
Attention S.O.A.P. team: Please email SOAP(at)brambleberry(dot)com with your contact and shipping information! We’ll be packaging up your fragrances and getting them out the door by the end of the week. Oh the suspense of not knowing what fragrances you’ll receive! Could one be Bacon? Or Wet Dog? You’ll soon find out!
[LAUGH] (more…)
A Birthday Dinner Without Sugar
We’re officially into Week Two of Crazy Sexy Diet Cleanse. Woooooo HOOO! And in our office, all of us made it through Week One with **no** slip ups. We are so lucky to have each other to cheer us all on AND to peer-pressure us into staying on the straight and narrow. There’s something to be said for being inspired by others’ successes. I am sending out daily updates to our email group of virtual cleansers with recipes, experiences and support. If you’re missing those emails, be sure to post and let me know and I’ll get you on for the last 14 days of this great experience. The most positive part about the entire first week? I have found *so many* amazing vegan and gluten free blogs online with inventive and interesting recipes. This week has got me back in the kitchen and excited to be there!
Dad's Birthday Dinner
I had a fun challenge this weekend. It was my Dad’s birthday (happy birthday Dad!). I wanted to make him a fabulous birthday dinner but needed to do it vegan, gluten free AND sugar free. Holly in Customer Service is doing the Crazy Sexy Diet Reboot with us (and she’s been incredibly inspiring to do it with – I love her exuberant attitude!). She had a great suggestion: poached pears! Voila, my Crazy Sexy Vegan No Sugar Poached Pear recipe below! (more…)
Snowmageddon Came and Went
Greetings from a fantastic weekend in the Pacific Northwest. Though our snow has melted now, it has been quite a week! These photos are from my Dad’s medical office (in Olympia, WA). They got a bit more snow than we did 3 hours away but we were colder, with temperatures down to 9 degrees. (more…)
Craxy Week 1: Recap
Craxy Week in Review
It has been nearly a week on the Crazy Sexy Diet 21 day Cleanse and we are over 20% of the way through. I have been sending out daily e-mails to everyone who signed up to join me on this journey. Let me know if you want on the mailing list by emailing craxy(at)brambleberry(dot)com. For those of you not on the mailing list, here are some highlights from the week including this weeks findings, recipes, motivations and challenges.
Motivation, Love and Support
Group support has been awesome! Six people here in the office are doing this cleanse along side me as well as a bunch of you. It has been great to chat about recipes, how we are feeling and keep each other motivated and accountable. It has also been fun to find really nifty blogs with people who are doing juice cleanses like Fred Dursts (lead singer of Limp Bizkit) is on a juice fast. Fred gives a really honest perspective of his experience. My current blog crush is Healthy Happy Life, which has a ton of recipes, reviews & videos. One of the biggest things to remember is…YOU CAN DO THIS, WE CAN DO THIS.
For extra motivation I created a Pinterest Crazy Sexy Diet Vegan Board to share exciting new recipes and ideas. Don’t you just love Pinterest?
Jeanee from Dirty laundry emailed me this week too and was just the refreshing burst of energy that I needed. Check out her super cute blog post on her gluten free bread here. It looks like she’s been combining a couple of different recipes from the Crazy Sexy book to make her own fabulous creation. You definitely have to get creative on a diet like this to stay sane. Thanks for the pick-me-up, Jeanee!
Here are this week’s recipes
Spicy Peanut Ginger Kale Salad
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups wild rice
3 1/4 cups vegetable stock, low sodium
1 carrot, grated
handful or so fresh cilantro, chopped
4-5 large leaves collard greens, stems removed and chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 bag frozen peas
1/4 bag frozen corn
olive oil
coconut aminos (optional)
raw olives, chopped (optional but add great taste!)
Directions: Cook rice in the stock until done, about 35 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the beans, peas, corn, and collards. Top the bowls with cilantro, carrot, and olives. Drizzle on olive oil and coconut aminos to your liking. Easy, yes? The leftovers are wonderful too. The possibilites are endless, so feel free to get creative or keep it simple like this recipe. You basically just want a gluten free grain, topped with raw and/or steamed vegetables and add a couple flavors and textures to the top like olives, avocado, bell pepper, carrot, etc.
Remember
MP Loves CP
- Difficulty:Beginner
- Time:45 Minutes
- Yields:About 5 lbs
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!
Valentine Etsy Linkspiration and Love
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
Apply for the Summer S.O.A.P. Team
S.O.A.P. Summer 2012
We’ve got some great fragrances that we can’t wait to try out for the next round of the S.O.A.P. panel, Summer 2012! We need to enlist 8 soapy soldiers to help us decide on the new fragrances for Summer 2012.
What’s up with the S.O.A.P. panel? Soap Opinion (Awesome) Panel members will receive 10 one ounce fragrance samples of our top fragrance choices for Summer 2012. Give the cutting-edge fragrances a sniff AND test them in any product you like (CP, MP, lotion, scrubs, body balms, candles, anything!). Then fill out a survey to help distinguish the top choices. We want your honest opinion and notes on testing! In the past, we’ve really enjoyed the fact that our S.O.A.P. team members have taken no liberties in expressing exactly how they feel about some of the samples. If the fragrances don’t pass with the SOAP Team then they don’t pass with the BB testing team either.
- “Smells foody, but then a bit antisepticy at the end, a bit like acetone at the end but at first foody…not sure which food, cookie, vanilla but definitely acetone, burning to the nose at the end.”
- “Fruity, orange (dreamsicle), popsicle scent or fruity chewing gum, kind of want to lick it.”
- “Fruity again but with some floral at the beginning, strong at first but then relatively subtle, a bit perfumey, not something I would want to eat.”
Thanks Mommy You Soap It for those super creative and funny quips, taken from this blog post: The actual notes from my sniffer when I first popped the bottles open {SOAP Panel}
How do I get in on the action? Tweet, Facebook or Blog about your favorite Bramble Berry Fragrance Oil (including links) and why you should be selected for the S.O.A.P. team. You have until Tuesday January 24th to get your links out there, and then we’ll choose and announce the finalists soon after. Be sure to get your tweets, posts and blogs done by next week! Note: your Tweets should have @brambleberry someplace in the body of the Tweet (but make sure they don’t just get directed directly to @brambleberry or else no one else can see them)!
Fine Print: We will be sending the fragrances out by the end of next week and we would like the surveys complete by February 27th, which gives you about a month to test the fragrances. Please keep these dates in mind before you enter. We are looking for an accountable and enthusiastic panel, so be sure that this works out with your schedule! Because these fragrances can’t ship internationally, we are not able accept international entries.
Still curious? Check out the results from previous S.O.A.P panels!
Fall 2011, Summer 2011, Floral Edition 2011
The darling soap above was made by Emily from Soap and Restless. She was on the Summer Soap Team for 2011 and did a fabulous job testing the fragrances in her cold process soap. Check out Emily’s Blog Posts about her testing experience: SOAP Opera Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5.
Remember to Tweet, Blog and Facebook about your favorite Bramble Berry Fragrance Oil.
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