Here is an inspirational quote for when you feel like you couldn’t possibly make one more sales call:
“Many of life’s failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
Thomas Edison
Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more
Filed Under: Personal Ramblings
Here is an inspirational quote for when you feel like you couldn’t possibly make one more sales call:
“Many of life’s failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
Thomas Edison
Filed Under: Bramble Berry News
Craftzine.com picked up the Cupcake Project that SoapyLove did for the Soap Queen blog. Click here if you haven’t seen the project in its entirety or click here to get yourself the mold.
Thanks for the shout-out, Craft. It’s an honor to be recognized by one of the most innovative periodicals on the market today.
Filed Under: Bramble Berry News, Business Musings
I’m fresh back from the Washington DC fact finding and information sharing trip. If you missed the background of this trip or the FDA Globalization Act of 2008, click here to read about it. It was a well planned out, busy day, shared with invigorating company.
A big “Thank You” to Donna Maria Coles Johnson of the Indie Beauty Network for setting up a whirlwind tour from Maryland to DC on behalf of small home based crafters everywhere. To kick things off in the right way, I made a few bars of this fun John Kerry soap to leave behind, along with our briefing packet. At the very least, it’ll help with a good laugh.
Our first meeting of the day was with the Director for the FDA’s Office of Cosmetics & Colors, Dr. Linda Katz. Dr. Katz and Patricia Hansen, Ph.D., a Deputy Director were gracious enough to explain their position with regards to the FDA Globalization Act of 2008. If the legislation becomes law, it is the FDA that will promulgate the rules and regulations to implement it.
During our meeting, we described our position with regard to the draft law. For example, we explained how the requirement that having to file paperwork listing each product and each ingredient in each product every time a new product was sold would be a lot of extra red tape for a small business. Here’s a fun photo of Jamila White of j.blossom and Donna Maria from IBN posing, right before the meeting started.
Dr. Katz and Dr. Hansen gave us some additional information about the reporting systems currently in place and felt strongly that the systems were manageable for a small business, since they were computerized. They also offered to meet with industry representatives in person, at a conference for example, to train small businesses on various reporting structures. They reminded us that fees are not anything the FDA has input on. They are set by Congress.
So, off to Congress we went.
We took the Metro from Maryland (where the FDA offices are) to downtown DC to meet with a staffer for Senator John Kerry. Kerry is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and is a strong advocate for women owned businesses everywhere. Senator Kerry’s staffer took copious notes and expressed significant interest in following the draft legislation as it becomes a bill (if that happens). She pointed out that Senator Kerry has no official role in the process until draft legislation becomes a bill, and then moves from the house to the Senate. She thoughtfully offered to follow the legislation to ensure Senator Kerry would be well informed if and when the bill comes up for a vote. Here is a photo of Donna Maria and I in front of the famous Swifboat photos in Senator Kerry’s office.
After a short lunch in the Metro Station (wow! What a great variety of food they had in there!), we were off to meet with Virgil Miller, the professional staff member in the House Energy & Commerce committee, where this legislation originated and is now pending. Mr. Miller was very kind and listened to our concerns. He explained Congressman Dingell’s (co-sponsor of the draft legislation) reasons for introducing the draft legislation and expressed surprised at the very existence of our small handmade industry.
Jamila White of j.blossom and Lela Barker from Bella Lucce took to the floor to speak passionately about the burdensome fee requirements. It was very gratifying to be listened to with an open mind. After we all had a chance to speak about the potential reporting requirements and fees, he gave us an opening to potentially help shape the final draft of this bill. Specifically, he requested that Donna Maria take the lead in proposing alternatives to the fee structure and reporting requirements now contained in the draft. Donna Maria is looking forward to working closely with IBN members on forming an exemption for small businesses or perhaps a sliding fee fee structure based on the size of impacted businesses. It was great to be asked to participate. Here’s a photo of Donna Maria with Lela Barker from Belle Lucce, riding the metro.
And, like dessert, it’s good to save the best for last. We met with the Deputy Communications Director and another staffer in Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.’S OFFICE. They were very surprised to hear about the potential unintended consequences of the draft discussion framework and agreed that it seemed like an oversight to impose fees and paperwork requirements that would essentially tax small businesses heavily, perhaps even right out of existence. The staffers had some very interesting ideas for getting press for the small business cause, as well as helpful suggestions for working within the current framework of the House/Senate bill session. The two staffers we met with were funny, witty and charming. It was almost like sitting down for coffee with good friends.
After that last meeting, we were tired but in high spirits to meet with soapers who had driven up to 3 hours to meet us at California Pizza Kitchen (a tip: their White Pizza is delicious!) for debriefing and some great food. Here’s a photo of our merry group. That’s Jamila White from j.blossom with the closed laptop. She jumped right on the internet to do some research, right at the table. Now that’s a perfect example of an entrepreneur – always thinking and willing to do what it takes to get the job done – even if it’s during dinner!
The camaraderie was high and it was an honor to put a face to the names I see online. The main clearing center, the woman who is focusing much of her current time on this potential legislation, however is Donna Maria. Her blog is here. You should check it regularly as well for updates on where the draft discussion framework is going. I’ll also keep you posted on what is going on with this legislation through this blog as well.
Filed Under: Bramble Berry News
One of the fabulous teachers for the Soapmaking Weekend Intensive put up a very detailed article about the weekend. Click here to be taken to PJ’s web site and her detailed, play-by-play of the weekend.
Filed Under: Business Musings
Longtime soaper and all-around firecracker of a businessperson, Lori Nova, is hosting a Business Boot Camp in California this upcoming September. Looking at the lineup, it’s a full weekend with an impressive depth of subjects. It’s $695 if you pay via check and sign up before August 15th. The photo on the left is an example of the award-winning swirl artistry that Lori does in soap. If you’d like to learn how to make soap from Lori, click here to see her upcoming fall classes.
These are the instructors coming from all over to teach at the Boot Camp:
~ Donna Maria Coles Johnson of The Indie Beauty Network
~ Scott Blackson of The Soap Fairy
~ Kaila Westerman of TKB Trading
~ David Critchfield of Mission Peak Soap
~ Elizabeth Hagen of Organize with Confidence
~ Jane Diokas of Jane, Inc.
~ Alexis Masters of Design by Alexis
~ Lori Nova of The Nova Studio
Click here for more information on the Bath & Body Business Boot Camp at the Nova Studio.
Filed Under: Bramble Berry News
Thank you to Cupcakes Take the Cake Blog (one of my fave blogs) for the link love for our Cupcake Soap Project.We had quite the celebratory “Whoop’n’Holler!” session when we saw the recognition.
Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap
There are many types of exfoliants you can add to Melt & Pour soap that add textural and visual interest to your designs. Bramble Berry carries lots of great options like bamboo powder, seeds, pumice, and now almond meal, which you can find on their exfoliants page. You can also try salt, sugar, even sand. Don’t overdo it, though. Once I added coffee grounds which resulted in a bar so scratchy “it could take barnacles off a ship,” my husband observed. Oops.
My favorite exfoliant is jojoba beads. Jojoba beads are awesome because they’re gentle and come in gorgeous colors. They can be a beautiful part of your soap design. In the soap picture above I used yellow beads in a clear bar as part of a set of citrus soaps.
There are 2 challenges to using jojoba beads, though – they can melt or float if you’re not careful. In my Citrus Set, the two other bars also had jojoba beads but they totally melted, making my bars look like solid colors. That was a mistake. I should have waited until my melted soap was between 120-130 degrees before stirring them in.
To avoid floating, you should be very conservative with how much you use. The more you use, the harder it is to get them all incorporated. So start with a pinch and add more until you’re happy, but then wait until the soap starts to thicken, like a thin pudding, before you pour into your molds. Or you can get soap base with a suspension additive which takes all the guesswork out of it. This is a must if you’re adding botanicals like tea leaves which LOVE to float!
You can also use jojoba beads as a garnish for your soaps, instead of stirring them in. Here’s a picture of some Soap Tarts where I sprinkled a mixture of beads onto a pink sheet of soap while it was still hot, which I later cut into frosting shapes (see my Cameo Soap Kit for how to make your own embeds like this). You can also sprinkle them on top of a loaf soap for some cute color.
Next Monday I’ll have a new tutorial featuring Jojoba Beads, so make sure to come back and check it out! Thanks and have fun!
Filed Under: Personal Ramblings
Filed Under: Personal Ramblings
“I am perfectly happy with your products and especially happy with your service. I have to say this, because I live in Puerto Rico, and you know sometimes the shipping and delivery costs are very high and that is the hard point when selling our products. So your company always helps me manage costs in a very efficient way. Thanks for that!!”
Thanks for your email, Liliana! It made my day here in Washington DC.Check out her beautiful soaps below. I’m sure once the Brambleberrians are awake and get to work that they’ll be oohing and ahhing over the cuteness all day.
Thank you Lillian for sharing.
Filed Under: Bramble Berry News
Our cupcake molds sold out within a record 4 days (don’t worry, they’re back in stock now though). Don’t get left behind on our latest addition, the long-promised Flexible Loaf Mold.
If you missed the projects using it, click here, here, here, here, here or here to see the mold in action. We tested it a lot! If you’d like to learn how to make geometric soaps, like the one pictured above, click here to be taken to that tutorial.
The latest fragrances to touch earth at Bramble Berry is Hello Sweet Thang! with Blueberry Delight (or we might call it Blueberry Syrup – we’re undecided), Fresh Snow (think clean, ozone and crisp), and Cream Cheese Frosting close on its heels. Look for thosein the next few weeks.
Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap
Hi! I’m Debbie Chialtas, owner and designer for Soapylove. I recently taught how to make UFO Soaps and Cameo Soaps at Otion’s Soapmaking Weekend Intensive. I’m truly obsessed with M&P soap crafting and am so excited to be a guest blogger for The Soap Queen! Every week I’ll bring you new projects and soap making tips. So without further ado, I present this first tutorial made just for you!
Brambleberry’s new Cupcake Mold is so adorable I just had to make a soapy rendition of a classic: Chocolate Cupcakes with Pink Frosting. These cupcakes are almost better than the real thing because they have a sprinkle of glitter, too! This project is fun because you build your cupcake, layer by layer, and when you unmold your soap you get a very sweet reward!
You’ll need:
Cupcake Mold
3 oz clear soap base
8 oz white soap base
Non-bleeding liquid red colorant
Rose Pearl Mica
Iridescent Soap Glitter
Brown Oxide
Dark, Rich Chocolate fragrance oil
Vanilla Color Stabilizer
Melt and Pour Tool Kit
3 small cups and a mug
Spray bottle with rubbing alcohol
1. Melt 4 oz clear soap base. Pour about 1 tablespoon of soap into a small cup and add a few drops of red colorant. Put some hot water in the mug. Using the injector from the tool kit, fill each cherry with red soap. Clean your injector with the hot water. Put extra red soap aside.
2. Pour another tablespoon of clear soap into a different small cup. Stir in a pinch of pink mica and a tiny pinch of glitter. Use injector tool to fill frosting area. This will take 2 turns to adequately fill the outer details of the frosting, as you can see in my photo. If you have overflow into the cup area, use the pointy tool to scrape it out when it’s cool. Clean injector tool in hot water. Put extra soap aside.
3. In your last small cup, spray a few squirts of rubbing alcohol. Add a large “pinch” (or about 1/16 teaspoon) of brown oxide and stir well until dissolved. Add 1 tablespoon of melted clear soap and stir until smooth. Tilt mold so 2 of the cup portions of the mold are level. Inject brown soap into cup area carefully and let cool. Do this in 2 layers again so it’s nice and opaque. This time you can use the flat scraper tool to remove any brown soap that spilled over onto your frosting. Repeat for other 2 cavities.
4. Melt 8 oz of white soap. Stir in the extra pink and red soap to make a nice pink color (you might not need it all). Add 1/4 teaspoon each of Chocolate fragrance oil and Vanilla Stabilizer. Let cool to 120 degrees, or until it’s not too hot to touch with your finger. Spray molds with alcohol and slowly pour in pink soap (don’t pour directly onto your cupcake design). Allow to cool overnight and unmold!
When planning other color combinations, make sure to refer to Bramble Berry’s list of non-bleeding colorants. It’s a life saver! See you Thursday!
Filed Under: Bramble Berry News
Regular readers of the Soap Queen blog will know that I’ve been in awe of Debbie Chialtis, aka SoapyLove, for quite some time now. See previous fawning posts about her and her work here, here, here, here, here, here and here. She graciously did an interview for the Soap Queen blog in 2007. Click here to see that interview.
Debbie’s melt and pour style is crisp and clean with well thought out color choices and clear lines. She will be Guest Blogging projects for the next three months as our Featured Soap Designer. Every time she posts, you’ll see the banner up top to alert you at a glance that creative genius is in progress.
Debbie is an accomplished teacher, both in person and in writing. In fact, she has a book coming out late next year from North Light Books with the tentative title of “Soapy Love.” Many of the projects that she will be doing for the book are showcased here. In person, Debbie is charming, talented and hands on in her instruction. We were lucky enough to have her teach at the Soap Weekend Intensive this year. You can follow along with those projects on this blog in the upcoming few months. Links to the schedule and corresponding kits are here. Debbie has a paying gig as a teacher for a fashion design college in California when she’s not wrangling her two (adorable) children, or making Soapsicles galore for one of her many wholesale clients.
Look for Debbie‘s first project to start tomorrow. While I’ll be on a plane to Washigton DC, I know you’ll be in good hands with Debbie’s creativity. Her first Guest Blog is about my second favorite obsession.
Filed Under: Personal Ramblings
I just purchased soap from VodaSoap.com Among other things, I got a 4 bar set of soaps and an Anise soap, just in case I decide to give the beautiful boxed set away. I also picked up one of their Amber Body Butters. I can hardly wait to get these gorgeously displayed and subtly colored soaps into my greedy little hands.
Contents of Delinah Box Set
Filed Under: Personal Ramblings