I was remiss in telling you that Cookie was Jamisen’s first dog that he has met. And, I have unfortunately offended my dear niece doggie Samantha who met Jamisen at least 1 week before Cookie did. Whoops! Can I blame my slip on lack of sleep?
Archives for July 2011
Faux Funnel Pour: Advanced Cold Process
This is a great alternative to column pour and funnel techniques. This pour creates a unique and fun swirl in your soap with no two bars exactly the same. Plus, bonus points for getting to soap with a buddy since this technique works best with four pouring hands.
If you have never made cold process soap before, I strongly suggest getting a couple of basic recipes under your belt before diving in, as this is an advanced technique that requires you to move quickly. Check out Soap Queen TV on Cold Process if you want to get started with cold process. It’s a 4 part series that will take you through the basics (and be sure to watch the episode on Lye Safety). Bramble Berry also has some helpful reading tools for you bookworms out there.
Do you want to sell wholesale? Be prepared!
We’ve been getting copious amounts of questions recently on the Soap Queen Blog, Facebook Fan Page and in customer service requesting wholesale advice. It’s been so long (over a decade now!) since I’ve sold my soaps wholesale, I thought I would reach out to some of my successful soaping friends to share some current best practices and advice with the Soap Queen readers. Today’s wholesale guest blog is by Debbie Chialtas from Soapylove (you’ll soon be addicted to her website)! Thanks for the tips, Debbie!
Anne-Marie
Guest Post by Debbie Chialtas
When I first started Soapylove I was just selling to support my hobby. I came up with my prices pretty randomly and didn’t have any real business plan or structure. Eventually, though, shop owners asked if I sold wholesale.
Wrap It Up
On our (super active) Facebook Fan Page, Cigar Bands come up in conversation at least once a week – how to create them, how to use them, how to print them etc… and though we’re a little slow, we finally got the hint and created some easy cigar bands that you can customize yourself for your products. This cigar band was designed around the oh so popular 12 Bar Square Silicone Mold
Making Almond Milk with Amber
Guest post by Amber from Bramble Berry
Last year Anne-Marie discovered the joys of making milk from Almonds and I thought it sounded easy and fun and really wanted to try it. Of course, it took me nearly a year to do it – but now I can’t wait to make another batch! I just use it like I would regular milk; in my tea, smoothies and cereal (Captain Crunch and almond milk? Heaven!).
Jamisen Loves Books
“If daily reading begins in infancy, by the time the child is 5 years old, he or she has been fed roughly 900 hours of brain food! Reduce that experience to just 30 minutes a week, and the child’s hungry mind loses 770 hours of nursery rhymes, fairy tales and stories. A kindergarten student who has not been read to could enter school with less than 60 hours of literacy nutrition. No teacher, no matter how talented, can make up for those lost hours of mental nourishment.” (USDOE, 1999)
Bath Bombs + Salt = Love
My basic bath bomb recipe was seeming a little “vanilla” lately (aka: in need of a change). So to spice things up and continue with the bath bomb theme of the week, I mixed it up by adding Fine Grained Dead Sea Salt and some Himalayan Pink Salt for garnish. The salts combined with the new Orange Grove Fragrance Oil is just what I needed to make extraordinary double duty bath bombs!
Soap Queen Loves Dirty Laundry
“We” (meaning the royal “we” for all of Bramble Berry!) have been obsessed with Jeanee’s Dirty Laundry Blog for quite some time. I’m pretty sure the entire customer service and marketing team check in daily (including myself). Her posts are always cheeky, fun and inspirational, which is why we invited her back for a second time to be on the Bramble Berry S.O.A.P. testing team (a group selected to test new fragrance oils for Bramble Berry- read more about S.O.A.P. here). After testing the mystery fragrances in her mini bath bomb cupcakes, she was a dear and sent us a sample of each (sweet!). You shouldn’t have, Jeanee, but we’re so happy you did. My marketing team and I were like jungle animals, fighting to smell each bath bomb at the same time.
Dressed Up Bath Bombs!
Guest Post by Kim of Pepo Park
Using water soluble paper and melt and pour soap, you can dress up plain bath bombs to indicate scent or to personalize them for the recipient. These bath bombs have been personalized with robots for some young boys. Check out a basic bath bomb recipe from the Teach Soap Web site. There are several others on the site that will also work for this project.
Make Like a Fluffball and Get Back Up
Sometimes life can feels a little like those adorable fluffballs, one setback after another, one ‘No’ after another. It’s important to remember when you’re knocked down that it’s not the end, that you will get up and that things will continue to move forward. For example, if the only thing you know about me and Bramble Berry is our current website, this cheery looking blog and the lovely photos of a healthy and happy family, you’d be missing 90% of the story. Over the years, there have been plenty of doors closed and mishaps (like when our entire warehouse flooded with groundwater and sewer and insurance wouldn’t pay for the damage or when our office roof literally peeled off in hurricane-force winds or when I was embezzled from or watching me go through a painful and contentious divorce or when … … the list goes on and on). When those things happen, my mantra is always “Thank goodness I have a successful thriving business to even have these problems! After all, if I didn’t have a warehouse, there wouldn’t be a roof to be torn off!” Sure, it’s hokey but it puts it all into perspective for me.
Bramble Berry’s Business Coach suggests celebrating successes for one day and never wallowing with setbacks more than one day either. I’ve embraced this philosophy and it’s served my company and my life well. So, my friends, make like a little fluffball duck and just keep on keepin’ on; get up, every single time, and move forward, even if it’s just a little bit at a time. When you look back over a lifetime, you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve flown.
Neck Strength Improves
Learn to Infuse Herbs and Teach Your Kids
E-Book Infusing: Herbs, Spices, Teas and Clays
Infusing Herbs, Spices, Teas & Clays – Have you ever wondered how to naturally achieve rich, vibrant color in your soaps, lotions, massage oils and lip balms? This is my how-to on infusing herbs, spices, teas, & clays for naturally adding color and the benefits of herbs, spices, teas & clays to your handmade toiletries. In this digital or paper book, you will find full color photo examples of finished soaps made using infused herbs. Within the 28 pages, you will find an extensive chart with 104 herbs, spices, teas and clays, with tips and notes on their color outcome. Also included are journal pages for you to print out to track your results as you experiment with natural colorants. If you want more journal pages, check out our 40 page Infusing Journal. You can also buy the Infusing Herbs book as a paper version here.
The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011
Tub Time: Goatsmilk Bath Tea
This simple, four ingredient recipe only has 4 steps, making it easy to whip together a luxurious bath after a hard day on your feet. What’s so great about goatsmilk?
Goatmilk is particularly moisturizing and nourishing to the skin because of capric-caprylic triglyceride. Capric-caprylic triglyceride is an effective skin moisturizer that helps to contribute to skin softness by forming a barrier on the skin to help inhibit the loss of moisture. It is the only milk that contains naturally occurring capric-caprylic triglycerides. The protein strands of goat milk are shorter than other types of milk and are more readily absorbed by skin.
Goatmilk also has naturally occurring lactic acid that helps keep skin smooth by encouraging skin turnover (it acts similar to a gentle peel). It also contains many vitamins, specifically A, D and B6, as well as the anti-oxidant Selenium.