Happy St. Patrick’s Day from our little red-haired leprechaun. [Read more…]
Archives for March 2012
Happy Birthday Chris
Honeycomb Melt and Pour
Kat from Bramble Berry’s retail store, Otion, was inspired to make this honeycomb soap technique using bubble wrap. Using bubble wrap has long been a staple in the cold process soapmaking world but in melt and pour, it’s just catching on. This soap is earthy, eye-catching, easy and a great way to reuse your packaging! This project can be made by the most novice of soap makers and all you have to do is line your mold with bubble wrap to get this cool effect. Be sure to check out Otion’s blog for more creative, soaping inspiration!
March 2012 Bath Bomb Swap Line Up (updated daily!)
Here is the official Master List of Swappers for our March 2012, first ever Bath Bomb swap. We will keep this list updated with the fragrances being used and we will also note when we’ve received your soap.
What’s a bath bomb swap you ask? Basically, you send us 12 handmade bath bombs and we send you 12 different bath bombs back. We don’t charge anything but postage to and from for this fun community event. Read about all the details, including size and date deadlines, here.
Interested in signing up? Just email us with what Bramble Berry fragrance or essential oil you are going to use (check the list below to make sure no one else has claimed your scent). [Read more…]
Flip Flop Soap Kit
These flip flop soaps would look cute sitting next to your bathroom sink. The soaps are made with two mouth watering fragrances oils – Tropical Vacation and Pineapple Cilantro.
Driven by Data
Quick! What were your top three best sellers for last year?
When the names of the products sprang to your mind, where did you get this information? Was it a gut “This product is SUPER popular! I’m always selling it and I can’t keep it in stock!” or was it from hard data and metrics? If it wasn’t from hard data and metrics, you could be leaving money on the table. A business best practice that a wise mentor once shared with me is that he makes all decisions on sales and production based on the previous year’s sales. He doesn’t base decisions on his gut. He doesn’t make decisions based on what he likes. Rather, he uses data to figure out what the customer wants and likes. [Read more…]
Bramble Berry’s Mobile Site
We’ve designed a mobile site for your soap supply ordering convenience (say that five times fast – wowza). Our creative and supportive customers can now place orders at www.brambleberry.com with your smart phone, on the road AND with the wind in your hair. I would prefer to order supplies snuggled up on the couch with my iPad. Let’s just say you have options now! Check out screen shots below if you haven’t see the mobile site yet.
Okay. Okay. Twist my arm. I’ll tell you about my favorite features of the new mobile phenomenon…
Favorite Feature #1: We’ve included the “Buy it Now” button so you can put the project ingredients featured on the homepage right into your shopping cart. [Read more…]
Vertical Sandalwood Vanilla Soap, With a Twist!
You might already know this, but vanilla content in some fragrance oils can really cause discoloration. Have you ever used that fact to your advantage in the design of your soap? I wanted to demonstrate how to incorporate the discoloration and wind up with a really neat bar of soap! And I used a super fun technique that I’m excited to share with you.
Let’s Swap Some Bath Bombs!
Who’s ready for a swap? We had a great suggestion on our Facebook page to try swapping bath bombs. This is our first bath bomb swap that we’ve ever done and we’re super pumped about it! If you’re interested (and I hope many of you are) check out the details below.
Bath Bomb Swap Details!
Talk It Out Tuesday: Melt and Pour Soap
Welcome to Talk It Out Tuesday!! Today, we’re going to explore some frequently asked questions regarding melt and pour. Most of these questions are specific to the melt and pour bases that Bramble Berry carries, but some are universal. Check out these answers to the most common questions we get about melt and pour soap making. And, feel free to ask your questions below – we will get to them in a future Talk It Out Tuesday.
What’s the difference between your bulk 25 pound bases and the Bramble Berry Bases?
Our Bramble Berry bases, often referred to as our “house” or “premium” bases, are our most natural melt and pour bases. They come in many varieties with natural additives such as real goat milk, shea butter or honey. They have a rich lather, and are high in kosher vegetable glycerin. We sell these in 1, 10, and 50 pound quantities, and offer an additional 25 pound size called “premium bases” in white, clear and goat milk. These bases have a crafting point of around 125 for embeds.
The other soap bases we offer are referred to as our “Bulk” bases. These bulk bases come in 25 pound blocks only, and are available in white, clear, and goat milk. The main differences between the bulk bases and the house bases are ingredients and cost; the bulk bases contain a synthetic lathering agent (sodium lauryl sulfate or SLS) to create a rich creamy lather, and are at a more economic price point than our house bases. This base has a crafting point of around 135 for embeds.
Are the ingredients in your Bramble Berry melt and pour soap bases all natural? [Read more…]
Etsy Easter Inspiration
Who’s ready for spring? (I’m enthusiastically raising my hand) I’m ready for the pastel colors, opened toed shoes and the smell of fresh fragrance oils. To encourage spring to show up in our neck of the woods (here in “drizzle town” Bellingham, WA, it’s raining sideways today), I’m thinking springy thoughts and posting some Easter inspiration from Etsy. I think the felted sheep soaps at the very bottom are my favorites. But the bunnies are cute too…and the eggs…and carrots. Heck. They’re all cute. Love Etsy! Who doesn’t?
Sakura Bath and Body, Heffernans Crafts
Artwork Soaps, SoFino (I know this is a duplicate but the felting is just way to cute)
Bondurant Mountain Art, Love Lee Soaps
PS – The Egg soap was made with these molds here and I think this little chickee eraser would be such a cue soap embed. See all our best Easter product here.
PPS – It has been sooooo difficult to not gobble up all the delicious Easter candy out in the store. My favorites are Cadbury eggs, those delicious hard shelled egg chocolate thingies (you know, those ones) and chocolate covered marshmallow bunnies. So far, I’ve remained strong but it’s only a matter of time …
Tutti Fruity Blending Fun
Rubber Ducky Soap Tutorial
I had a dream about this soap project and I actually got up to write notes down in my phone. Does anyone else ever have soaping dreams? It’s a blessing and a curse. I didn’t get much restful sleep that night (I dare you try to sleep with giant ducks roiling in foamy soap!) but I did come away with a super cute Rubber Ducky Soap project! I hope you like it.
I used the swirling cube technique from a couple weeks ago. Don’t you just love how easy it is to swirl by controlling your temperatures? I want to see you make this project or a variation of it on the Bramble Berry Facebook page. Flaunt your Easter soaps!