Thanks to everybody who entered the Like and Win Contest! It’s been fun to interact with new followers via Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr, as well as connecting with existing followers. Yesterday the contest came to an end, and we are excited to announce all six winners! Scroll down to see if you won a Bramble Berry Gift Certificate…
Archives for September 2014
5 Tips to Create Professional Looking Soap
When making soap to sell or give as a gift, it needs to look polished and professional . Unfortunately, not every batch comes straight out of the mold this way! Whether the soap has a bit of soda ash or uneven edges, there are several tricks to making each and every bar picture perfect. Here are my top five finishing touches to create soap that looks professional and finished.
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Soap Queen Cuisine: Homemade Pumpkin Puree
With the change of seasons, new fresh produce comes available. Although it’s sad to say goodbye to berries, I’m excited for squash, pumpkins and apples. During fall and winter, I make sure to have plenty of pumpkin puree on hand for making breads, soups and yes, soap. While buying puree at the store is always an option, I prefer to make mine at home to freeze for later (especially if it’s for soap making because, no additives). It’s easy to make, and freezes well.
When making pumpkin puree, remember to use baking pumpkins rather than carvings pumpkins. When hollowing the pumpkins I like to save the seeds to roast and snack on later. If you’re looking for another way to use the pumpkin puree, the Pumpkin Puree Cold Process recipe uses real puree to create a luxurious bar of soap!
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Soapy Social Media Roundup
Happy first official week of fall! The Pacific Northwest certainly received the fall-memo, as the weather changed suddenly from sun to pouring rain this week. On the bright side, the garden is receiving plenty of water and the kiddos are utilizing their inside toys. Gotta stay positive!
With the grey weather comes more crafting and inside activities. Today, I’m whipping up some pumpkin puree (blog post about that tomorrow) and gathering inspiration via Pinterest for upcoming Halloween/fall projects. If you haven’t already, there is still time to enter to win one of SIX Bramble Berry gift certificates, simply for following Soap Queen on social media outlets. Click here to enter the contest! Speaking of social media, here are my top pins, tweets and instagrams from the past week.
Pins:
Left to right, clockwise:
- It’s almost time to decorate pumpkins! While the traditional carved pumpkin is cute, this glittered pumpkin really brings the glam.
- Can you believe that the colors in this soap made by Zahida from Handmade in Florida are all natural? If you admire Zahida’s work as much as I do, read more about her in this interview.
- These Flourless Apple Pie Pancakes from Jessica in the Kitchen look incredibly moist and tasty. Perfect for a weekend brunch!
- I love using recyclables for DIY projects; it’s so fun to turn trash into treasure. These candy corn Ombre Wine Bottles look easy and super festive.
Instagram:
This week, I have been practicing my squeeze bottle skills. It can be tricky to find the right squeezing consistency, and to keep a steady hand! Practice makes perfect.
I’m thrilled with how this dandelion soap turned out! This soap has real dandelions on top, and the swirl in the center is called the Dandelion Zebra Swirl, first featured by soaper Vinvela Ebony. If you want to try the Dandelion Zebra Swirl, check out this tutorial.
Top Tweets from Twitter:
- Love almonds as much as I do? Good news, almonds may reduce heart attack risk and protect artery walls from damage. These 9 Health Benefits of Almonds will have you reaching for these tasty nuts more often!
- Working from home is a luxury. If you are able to do so, make sure you are being effective with these tips.
- Skincare routines are becoming increasingly complex, but does it actually lead to better skin? Probably!
- Staying on top of email can feel totally overwhelming. These tips are great for keeping your inbox organized.
- Taylor Swift’s shift into pop music is a great example of why cohesive branding is so important!
I hope you’re all having a great weekend! To keep up with the latest soapy social media throughout the week, you can follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine and YouTube.
Facebook Photo of the Week (Sept. 20th ~ Sept. 26th)
This week was all about bright cheerful color! Jojoba beads are a great way to add a pop of color to your soapy projects. They also provide all-natural, bio-degradable, gentle exfoliation. Check out some tutorials using them in this Sunday Night Spotlight: Jojoba Beads.
How to Make Fresh Rain Sugar Scrub
This Fresh Rain Sugar Scrub is so easy to make and a really nice alternative to traditional oil & sugar scrubs that can be greasy and slippery in the shower. Potassium Cocoate is one of the key ingredients in this scrub. It’s a soap concentrate made from coconut oil that contains glycerin resulting in a lovely, moisture-rich scrub. Plus, jojoba beads add a pretty sprinkle of color, and, as highlighted in this Sunday Night Spotlight, they are an ideal alternative to plastic micro-beads.
What You’ll Need:
10.5 oz Sugar
1.5 oz Shea Butter
1 oz Potassium Cocoate
0.6 oz Ocean Blue Jojoba Beads
6 mL Optiphen
6 mL Mallow Extract
6 mL Rain fragrance oil
Three 4 oz. Plastic Bail Jars
Click here to get everything you need to make this scrub!
Chatting with Zahida of Handmade in Florida
Zahida of Handmade in Florida creates stunning cold process soap featuring signature swirls and gorgeous colors. With numerous soap challenge wins under her belt, Zahida has popularized several soaping techniques including the “Butterfly Swirl.” Her passion for creating and eye for design shines through in her blog and YouTube videos.
Before diving into soap, Zahida worked in corporate management and was an active member of the aviation industry, serving on several boards including the Pass Bureau Association. Zahida took a break from the corporate world after the birth of her son, and began soaping shortly after. Read on to learn more about Zahida, her business, and what inspires her to create such gorgeous soap!
Puppy Love Melt and Pour Tutorial
Furry friends bring loads of fun and love into our lives. Growing up, I had an Australian Blue Heeler named Hershey and a sweet cat named Tiger. During high school I ran a small business breeding and selling Russian Dwarf Hamsters. I love animals of all shapes and sizes!
This Puppy Love Melt and Pour project uses the new Good Dog Mold 2 to create three adorable and unique puppy soaps. If you are looking for more dog molds, the Good Dog Mold 1 features three different designs. Scented with Energy Fragrance Oil and colored using various color blocks, these molds are easy to customize to recreate your own pet. If you enjoy looking at cute animal photos (who doesn’t?), scroll to the bottom of this post =)
Like and Win!
Sharing tutorials, soapy inspiration and bits of my life on this blog motivates and inspires me immensely. I love being able to swap ideas and interact with fellow soapers! Did you know you can find more Soap Queen tutorials, inspiration and behind the scenes sneak peeks via other social media outlets? Check out all the unique, fun soapy activity happening on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, Google + and Facebook.
To show our awesome social media followers extra appreciation, enter now for a chance to win one of SIX Bramble Berry gift certificates! Simply like or follow Soap Queen or Bramble Berry on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or Tumblr (or all four!) to be entered.
For each social media outlet, one follower will be selected at random to win a $15 Bramble Berry gift certificate. One winner will be selected at random from all the social media outlets to win the GRAND PRIZE $50 Bramble Berry gift certificate. Liking and following on all outlets greatly increase your chances of winning both a $15, or the GRAND prize $50 gift certificate! This contest is open to international readers and followers as well. One person may not win two gift certificates.
HOW TO ENTER:
- Sign into the Rafflecopter widget below using your email. This makes it easy to contact you if you win!
- Via the widget below, follow Bramble Berry and Soap Queen on various social media outlets. Simply select which outlet you’d like to follow, click on the “+1” button on the right, and follow the instructions. Note: Be sure to sign in to Rafflecopter using your email, or leave a comment on the blog while logged in using your email. This way if you win, we can contact you!
- You can also win by just reading the blog! Select “Leave a Blog Post Comment” via the widget to be entered, and leave a comment telling us about your latest DIY project.
- Tweet about the giveaway to receive an extra entry for the $50 grand prize. Select “Tweet About the Giveaway,” and follow the instructions.
- To increase your chance of winning, you may enter with all six options.
The contest ends on Monday, September 29th at noon, PDT. Six winners will be chosen at random, and contacted via email. One person may not win two gift certificates. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be selected at random.
Sunday Night Spotlight: Jojoba Beads
Looking to add gentle exfoliation and a pop of color to your next project? Small, spherical jojoba beads are a great option. Created from jojoba oil, jojoba beads (sometimes referred to as jojoba esters) are odorless, firm and come in a various colors and sizes. Jojoba beads can be used in various projects including melt and pour, scrubs and cold process.
Love the cheery orange color of jojoba bead shown above? This new color will be available soon!
Jojoba oil is a luxurious liquid wax derived from the seed of the Jojoba shrub. Jojoba oil is made of up various long chain molecules. These molecules are transformed from a liquid to a solid wax by processes called hydrogenation or transesterification. This firm wax is referred to a jojoba ester, also known as a jojoba bead!
Facebook Photo of the Week (Sept. 13th ~ Sept. 19th)
This week was all about saving time, planning ahead and being efficient. When soaping, the cleanup can be both messy and time consuming. Oils can get spilled, colorants can get knocked over. And don’t forget about the dishes – a pretty design takes a lot of bowls! While cleaning up isn’t the most fun part of soaping, it can be easy with this Soapy Session Clean Up Guide.
Handmade Holidays Roundup
The past two weeks, the holidays came early with a series of festive projects and tutorials. Even though the holidays seem far away, making handmade gifts takes a lot of time and planning. This is the year to plan ahead and have a stress-free, handmade holiday!
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Christmas Tree Swirl Cold Process
Handmade cold process soap makes a fantastic gift. Everybody loves the beautiful designs, fun colors and skin loving properties. Because many people have never experienced handmade soap before, it’s extra fun to give! This festive Christmas Tree Swirl Cold Process features a reverse hidden feather swirl, made popular by Handmade in Florida. Topped with Sparkle Gold Mica, this cold process project would be perfect under the tree.
Cold process soap requires a four to six week cure time, making now the optimal time to create soap for the holidays. If you are looking for more holiday project ideas, check out the Handmade Holiday Gift Inspiration post. From lip balm to melt and pour, there is a gift for everybody on your list.
Soapy Session Clean Up Guide
Ask soapers what their favorite part of soaping is, and the answers will be diverse. Ask soapers what their least favorite part is, and the large majority will answer, “The cleanup!” It’s true, cleaning up after a soapy session is not particularly enjoyable. Luckily, with a little hot water, grease-cutting soap, a sponge and gloves, it’s easy!
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