Thursday, June 26, 2008

A Little Sneak Peek

I haven't talked about it much, but I am currently working on a Soapylove "how-to" book about glycerin soap crafting with North Light Books. It will be published in Fall 2009 (yes, in over a year!), and I'm writing the projects right now. There will be 24 main projects and 12 variations. All of the techniques need to be really dialed in so you all can do them in your kitchens easily, too (that's the goal, at least! Gulp!).

Here's a sneak peek of one technique which is like making your own molds. What's extra fun about this one is that it's suitable for CP soap making, too! I have another surface design I still need to try but I'm out of soap. Gotta fix that!

I'll be going to Cincinnati for a week in August for the photo shoot of all the steps. I'll need to bring some finished soaps and step outs with me, so I'll be making quite a bit of soap over the next 2 months to get ready. I'm sure I'll have more pictures!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Playing Around With Some New Stuff - The Coat of Arms Soaps


Yesterday I was thrilled to get a surprise care package from my friend, Anne-Marie. I'm a Moderator for her Teach Soap Forum and she sent me a thank you gift! It included a Coat of Arms Mold, an ounce of her new Heavy Metal Gold Mica, Smokey Patchouli Fragrance Oil, and Red Apple Fragrance Oil. Considering my usual repetoire of food and neon inspired soaps, I decided to challenge myself with this new theme - "medieval."

I decided to only use what she sent me (but I'm saving the Red Apple for something else). I got 6 different final outlooks. Here they are, from top left

1) Stone Effect: this is the only one where I broke my rule. I painted gold and silver soap into the mold before pouring white tinted with gold for the bar. After unmolding, I dusted the details with gold mica.

2) First I filled the mold 1/3 full with gold clear soap, then poured white soap tinted with gold. All of the gold clear soap floated, so it looks like an off white bar.

3) The top of the shield and the helmet are off-white, then the rest of the design was filled with gold soap. I filled the rest of the bar with off-white and dusted the details with gold mica when it was finished (using a dry paint brush and the mica on the inner lid of the container).

4) I painted gold soap into the mold in a few areas then filled it with off-white. The effect is barely noticable.

5) Marbled Effect: I used 2 cups of soap, one gold in clear and one white tinted with gold, let them both cool as much as possible before it got clumpy, and poured at the same time. After unmolding, I dusted the details with gold mica.

6) This is the most basic - just white soap tinted with gold, then after unmolding I dusted the details with gold mica (I sound like a broken record! But I really felt that the details on this soap were not noticable without a little more oomph.)

I just planned on making 2 bars and sending them to my friends Rani and Jed in Santa Cruz. They're die hard D&D fans, Ren Faire attendees, and all around fantasy junkies. You should see their library! And Rani makes these great stained glass wall hangings with dragons. They're amazing! But now I have 6 bars. Anyone want to trade? I love polymer food thingies! :)

To see the soaps more clearly, click here.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Thanks Pink World UK!!


Lisa Clark, of Pink World, asked me to do an interview for her totally fabulous blog. Check it out here! (Get your slang dictionary out if you don't consider yourself on the cutting edge of hip - I had to!)

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Fun at the Farmer's Market!



Sunday was my first day at the La Jolla Market and it went really well! It was really slow at first. I could tell the "die hards" were bee-lining it to the veggies and were not there to browse. But eventually more people arrived to check out all the great booths and I sold a good number of soaps including a special order for some party favors.

My sister stopped by and took a picture of my display. Some of my loosely wrapped soaps started to sweat by the end of the day, so I'm a little worried about hot days this summer. Anyone have some tips who sell glycerin soaps outdoors?

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Soapylove Sale Coming Up!


I'll be announcing a special sale just for newsletter subscibers soon including a preview of some great new stuff! Join now so you don't miss it! Just add your email address in the subscription box on the left or on my main site. Thanks!

"Yart" Sale Going On Now All Over Etsy!


Tons of Etsy sellers have put many of their items on sale for a huge "Yart Sale!" (I guess that's "yard" + "art") If you go to the homepage and search "yart" you will find items in every category marked down. It's great! Like this beautiful soap above by FreshandClean. Beautiful, huh?

Monday, June 16, 2008

Thanks Outblush!


Thanks for the nice shoutout today, Outblush! Neapolitan is definitely the flavor of the day. I'm writing a how-to book and today I wrote how to make this style! The book won't be available until Fall '09, though. So until then, you can get all you like at the Soapylove eShop or check out my shops page for retailers around the world!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Fun Soapy Finds on Etsy

Today I was browsing around Etsy to see what's the latest in the B&B category and found some really great stuff. First I found these great "Soap and Shave Cubes" from Red Leaf in Seattle. I love their cool shape and eye catching labels. Who says soaps have to be complicated to be impressive?! Check out all of their enticing fragrances at ShopRedLeaf.


If there's such thing as soap porn, Purusha is the mistress of all. Her bars are so artistic and feature very luxurious oils. One time she had a 100% Macadamia Oil Bar. I'm kicking myself for not buying one! Her colors, designs, oil combinations, and fragrance choices make Purusha my favorite CP soaper on Etsy. Check out this listing for an opportunity to try several.


Last but certainly not least is Naiad Soap Arts. This stunning Bamboo Sugarcane Charcoal Soap is made with activated charcoal and scented with Bamboo Sugarcane fragrance oil. If the photo doesn't make you want one, then the description of the fragrance will!
"A sparkling splash of citrus and sweet florals of jasmine and rose, join branches of green leaves with a dry down of pure sugar sweetness".


The talented woman behind Naiad is Erin Pikor, a soap maker who is not only an essential part of the Soapylove team but a good friend, too. She and I swap soap business tips (and groans) every weekend. Last weekend she showed me some gorgeous gift sets she put together for Father's Day, like this one (pictured). At only $30 it is a total steal. When you go to the listing, check out the picture of the closed tin. It's so elegant! What Dad wouldn't love that!

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Thank you Mommy Insider!!



Thanks so much - or should I thank your kids? They tried my Soapsicles and they licked them! And they liked them, too! :)

This is a great review for anyone who is a little concerned about kids who might mistake my soaps for real popsicles. I'm not saying that it won't happen - just that it's nothing to worry about. Angie from Mommy Insider did a cool blog journal about her family's trip to a resort in Florida and incorporated some product reviews as well. Her kids tried my Neapolitan and Bath Blasters with glowing praise (kids are brutally honest, so I take their compliments VERY seriously!!).

So thank you to Angie and your kids - I'm glad you were Feeling the Love!

Soapylove Now at the La Jolla Open Aire Market!

This Sunday I will be a new vendor at the La Jolla Open Aire Market. I'm so excited! The coordinator is a customer at my uncle's plastics shop and saw my soaps there (showing a custom display they made for me). Anyway, she asked for my info and invited me to be a vendor.

I haven't sold at a market like this before. Actually, I've only sold at a summer fair and at a shopping event (Appel & Frank). Neither was worth the time or effort involved. However, when I had a children's clothing business with my friend, we sold at summer street fairs and made a killing. So I'm hopeful that once I find the right venue that it can be good.

More about this market... it's located in gorgeous La Jolla and is held every Sunday from 9am to 1pm. There are crafters, food vendors, and farmers there. It's always really busy. I'll be there as many Sundays as I can until I get a feel for how right it is for Soapylove.

In the meantime, I need to get some soaps made! I'll have primarily Soapsicles but I want to bring more designs and see how they do. I think today I'll make some new UFO's. I'll post pics if they turn out well!

Hope to see you there! :)

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Creative Fantasy!


There is a great article on the Decor8 blog today. It's an interview with Lori Marie of Pretty Little Things. You've got to read it. Wait until you see her design cottage!!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Hooray for Hollywood!


So yesterday morning I get a call from a TV show producer. He says that he has a scene he needs to shoot using tangerine popsicles and needs some soapy stand-ins. I said that my soapsicles would be perfect! He needed them to match the real popsicle the actor would be eating, and by the way... he needed them to ship yesterday, too!

No problem - just as long as my kids take naps at the same time and wake up before the post office closes! Miraculously, this did happen. But since I didn't have a chance to buy some real tangerine pops to match the color, I worked off a photo the producer sent me. Just to be sure, as I made the soaps I added more yellow after every 2 soaps I poured so hopefully there would be a good match in there somewhere!

I got them off in the mail just in the nick of time. Phew! This isn't the first time I've made popsicle props, actually. A few weeks ago I made a bunch of cherry ones for a Macy's commercial.

FYI, to achieve a realistic popsicle look that's not too clear and not too opaque, use a liquid colorant that is opaque plus some matching mica. For these tangerines, I used Brambleberry's red mica (that turns orange in m&p) plus Oregon Trail's neon orange and yellow.