Thursday, April 30, 2009

Breathtaking Party Ideas

This post started out as a helpful guide on how to throw a kid's party. But as my internet browsing led me to the most jaw droppingly gorgeous event planner sites, I had to switch gears. Let me show you what I found!

Bunny Cakes
This amazing and so-incredibly-beautiful blog is written by a woman who loves throwing parties. Plus she takes great photos and shares tons of tips on how to do it. Her post today is about a Safari Party she coordinated for a friend's daughter's 1st birthday. What's great about this theme is that it would work for any age up to 12 (I would think) and definitely any gender.

In addition to this party, she has a whole category on her blog dedicated to birthday parties she has written about in the past. There are even lots of free downloads to print on your own.

Check out her amazing tablescapes (thank you for that term, Sandra Lee!)!

Amy Atlas Events
Grab some coffee and be ready to be floored. I still haven't flipped through all of the "eye candy" pics on this site yet but once I saw a few, I knew I had to share with you! You will die! Go - NOW! Amy Atlas has a blog, too, with lots of awesome links!

I really can't top Amy Atlas, so here's where my post ends. But maybe I'll still do a more humble post on how to throw a kid's party. I need to plan my son's 4th birthday in June, so I'm going to need some ideas! :)

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Have You Heard of Peter Paiva?!

I just caught wind of an incredible company and soap artist in Brazil named "Peter Paiva." I thought I loved color and sweet themes, but wait until you see the amazing glycerin soap creations he makes!!

Brazilians seem to be big fans of glycerin soap crafting. I've seen awesome soaps from Brazil in the Teach Soap gallery, on Flickr, and elsewhere online, but I'm really surprised I haven't heard of Peter Paiva before now. He is quite a personality and looks like a big celebrity, too, considering his major line up of TV and radio appearances scheduled for the rest of the year (under "Agenda")! It's really inspiring! It looks like he has a book, too, but my website translator seems to be blocking the link.

Anyway, head over to Peter Paiva and check out the "Portifolio" link on top, then the "Produtos de Banho" tab. You'll be glad you did!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Tomorrow is the Big Day!

Friday, April 24 is the last day of Intuit's "Share and Win" business grant contest and I have an article I'd love for you to read. My article is called "Diversify to Survive" and has tips on how to use your skills in many ways - all of which will help your core business grow. If you like my tips, please rate the article to help me get considered for a generous business grant of $5,000! Consider it your Random Act of Kindness for the day. :) Here's a special hint: you can actually click on all 3 types of ratings (at the bottom of the article) for a super boost of Soapylove support!

Thank you so much! Have a great weekend!

Click here to go to my article.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Special Issue of Let's Get Soapy Coming June 1

Head on over to The Soap Lab to learn about a special edition of Let's Get Soapy which will be available June 1. If you like the modern aesthetic of The Soap Lab and would like to learn how to do some of the interesting techniques you've seen there, you're in luck!

The next fall issue is scheduled to be available August 1 and is going to be chock full of eye popping, high contrast Soapylove style! :) As usual, stay tuned here for lots of sneak peeks of the articles and tutorials that will be included.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Take a Little Trip With Me!


I hope you like this little video I made about my trip. My sister, Cheryl, is the one who takes the amazing photos you often see on my site and in Let's Get Soapy. You'll see more of her great pics in this video!

Lori and I are working on the next class I will be teaching at The Nova Studio. We're thinking it might be a 1 day melt and pour bootcamp! Stay tuned for details and get ready to plan your next weekend getaway by The Bay! :)

Monday, April 13, 2009

An Awesome Time at The Nova Studio!

I'm back from my trip up to Point Richmond, CA, to teach at The Nova Studio. I had such a great time! My sister, Cheryl, joined me and she took some beautiful photos of the class (as well as made some impressive soaps! Not bad for a scrapbooker! ;) ). You can see some of the pretty projects in the photo above.

We started with Rainbow Fantasy soaps, using injector tools from the melt and pour tool kit to fill our candy molds and apply them to round soap bars which we made as well. Although many felt their skills at filling the rainbow arcs were not as sharp as they wanted, all were impressed by the final results.

Next we started our Jelly Donut Soaps. I showed how pearly mica is great at turning purple soap into glistening jelly. The scent of grape candy fragrance filled the room. Cutting the "bites" at the end of class was very gratifying.

Finally, we made Martian Soaps. Everyone was very anxious to see how we were going to get those little martians into the space ships and were concerned when the first step didn't include them at all. But with some patience the mystery was revealed and our little guys got their rightful place in the cockpits. (Thanks to Paula from PJ Soaps, her tip on how to make natural clear base crystal clear was a life saver. My stash of crystal clear soap base was apprehended by airport security!)

Thank you most of all to Lori Nova, who is such a gracious host and super fun person. I love teaching at her gorgeous studio. I just wish I lived closer so I could be a student at many of her amazing classes! Make sure to check out her schedule and see what she's offering. You'll be glad you did!

Friday, April 10, 2009

Riding on Coat Tails

Well I'm off to the SF Bay Area to teach at The Nova Studio! I'm so excited! Not only do I get to teach again, which I love, but I'm taking my sister with me this time. She is so fun plus we're going on our own - no kiddos!!

Anyone who is following me on Twitter has heard, with graphic detail, about the stomach flu that hit my household over the past 2 weeks. Now that everyone is healthy again I can go on this trip with a clear conscience and relax. Cheryl and I will be in Point Richmond on Saturday and we'll cruise around San Francisco all day Sunday. Aaaahh... I feel more relaxed already!

And since Easter is coming, I thought I'd ride on Bakerella's coat tails once again. Please head over to her blog to see this really adorable and wonderfully sweet post she put up today. The last photos actually made me tear up a little.

Have a great Easter weekend everyone! Even if you aren't celebrating the holiday, enjoy the delicious candy!!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

More on the "Pretty Scary" Note...


If you liked the idea of ghastly gelatin creations as opposed to the pretty ones from my earlier post about the Gelatin Flickr group, you will have to check out this amazing set of old cookbook pages called "Misguided Efforts in Cookery" by Miss Retro Modern.

Not only are the photos nauseating (what is with that greenish tint to all photos from the 60's?), but the comments people have left are just hysterical. I almost died laughing when I read the ones left for "Lamb with Mint Jelly." Words like "barftastic" and "disturbing" are quite common, and well deserved. And what is with that stuffed cabbage? That was a dirty trick!

Mega Inspiration! You'll Love This!


kumquat jelly, originally uploaded by bananagranola.

One of my most exciting new discoveries is an amazing photo group on Flickr called "Jelly, Jam, && Gelatin" (yes, 2 &'s). It is a jaw dropping source of glycerin soap inspiration like this gorgeous Kumquat Jelly photographed by bananagranola.

It's also funny since gelatin has a very checkered past. Does the word "aspic" mean anything to you? Well, I've never eaten any savory gelatin dishes, but there have been some pretty stomach-turning creations that have been encased in wiggly wonder (more on that in my newer post, expanding on the gross ones!).

Take a moment and click through the 5 pages of pretty and pretty scary gelatin creations. Happy browsing!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Sun Basil Garden is Feeling the Love!

Yesterday I was browsing on Etsy and found an adorable set of Easter egg soaps from my fellow glcyerin soaper, Lauren of Sun Basil Garden! I recognized the technique from the Summer issue of Let's Get Soapy and wrote to let her know I loved her dotty eggs. She wrote back and said

You like?
I have only begun to polka dot!!!!
Love the new technique...fun to have something new.
Thanks! - Lauren :)
She even said she has some more soaps coming out using the Dotty Soap Technique that will be Peonies. I can't wait to see them!

To check out this easy and fun technique which leaves a lot of room for your own creativity, check out the newest issue of Let's Get Soapy! You may find fresh inspiration as well!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Soapylove Hosting IBN's Indie Cafe Tonight!

Come and see me live tonight on IBN's Indie Cafe at 7pm Pacific Time! If you're an Indie Beauty Network member tune in to chat about beauty biz, happenings, and more. It will run until 7:45 so jump on in if you have some time! Just click here to be taken to the show.

If you're in the beauty business, I strongly encourage you to check out IBN. I joined first to get the great liability insurance, but have fallen in love with the amazing community, endless resources, tons of business advice and information, and opportunities to grow Soapylove. You don't have to be a member to find many of these great things at www.indiebeauty.com. Check it out and sign up!

Hope to see you tonight!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

New Soapylove Video Tutorial!

Check out my first full-fledged soap tutorial for the Parsons Soap Blocks on my YouTube channel. I hope you like it! :) For more about this style, check out The Soap Lab.