Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Brewing Up the Next eZine Issue

That time is fast approaching... time for another issue of Let's Get Soapy! The August issue will be in the funky and colorful Soapylove style, and the theme is Light Bright!

I'm brewing up lots of great stuff you're definitely going to love, reminiscent of the Day of the Dead Soapsicles, above. Get ready for some fun techniques, eye popping color, and tons of fresh inspiration.

Make sure you're signed up for the Soapyclub so you'll know when the August issue is ready. I plan to have it ready as soon as July 27. I always offer an early bird special during the first week it's out, so don't miss it, and get ready to Get Soapy!

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Mouthwatering Soapy Creations from Australia!


Kim Wilton is the owner and very nice person behind Pepo Park - a great line of natural body products. We met at the HSMG Conference and had an awesome time!

Well, she just returned from Australia and has some amazing photos posted on her blog. They're all sweet inspired and are beyond belief. The Licorice Soaps above are certainly the tamest (but my personal favorites!). Head over and check out more of the coolness she discovered. Thanks, Kim!

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Nature: The New Frontier

One of my first soap projects I made, about 4 1/2 years ago, was a coconut soap. I used Coconut Lemongrass fragrance and thought, "real coconut would be a nice touch!" So I stirred some in (the sweetened kind for baking). It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Of course, a week or so later it started going bad in my soap. Not very nice. And that completely scared me away from herbs and natural additives. I went full steam ahead with everything else (which has certainly kept me busy) - but now I realize I am woefully uninformed about natural soap ingredients.

Honestly, I'm really embarassed. I feel like this is a "true confessions" post or something. But it's never too late to learn, right?

When I went to the HSMG Conference in Palm Springs in May, I attended a great presentation by Kayla Fioravanti of Essential Wholesale about how to thrive in a sluggish economy. She showed some amazing projections about the bath and body industry. Kayla talked about how the organic and all-natural products will be growing in demand over the next several years.

This got me thinking. She showed me that people are taking natural body products seriously and are looking for this in soaps they're buying. I can certainly respect that and would like to address that in both my own soap line and in the projects I'm developing.

So... back to my learning dilemma. Soapylove's lesson #1: dried peppermint leaves degrade in soap, creating a brown bleeding effect. Dang. I thought that herbs didn't do that! Thanks to several helpful people on Twitter, I got their feedback about this. If I want exfoliation and those cool earthy flecks, I should go with seeds or ground up oats.

Do you have some favorite botanical or natural ingredients that you use in your MP soaps? I would LOVE to hear all about them!! And if you comment, please link to any soaps you have made in your shop, or pics online. I'd love to see what you make!

I'll keep you posted on my discoveries and mis-haps. I'm sure there will be lots! Thanks for listening to my confession. I feel so much better! :)
(Photo is of a beautiful spirulina soap by The Soap Queen.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

New Tutorial!

Head over to The Soap Lab for a brand new tutorial! You'll love its rustic, all natural style!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Congrats to Anne-Marie on Awesome Features!

Anne-Marie Faiola, the CEO of Bramble Berry Soap Supplies, is an inspiration to so many people. She is a self-made success who started out selling soaps at farmer's markets. Now Anne-Marie (The Soap Queen) not only offers top notch supplies for all b&b projects but also teaches how to make them on her blog and is producing great videos, too.

To add to that, she was featured on Cakespy and The Crafty Chica recently. So amazing! Definitely head over and read her interviews. They're great!

In the interview with Kathy Murillo (The Crafty Chica herself!), she was asked:

Q: We've all seen things embedded in soap, soap made to look like food, all natural soap - what is the next big cutting edge technique in your industry?

I think the next big cutting edge technique in our industry is using a flexible molding putty. Bramble Berry sells Flexy Fast to create custom, one-off soap molds and texture sheets. I just shot a soapqueen.tv episode (airing late august) showing people how to use flexible molding putty to create molds for whatever they want. On this photo of the sushi soap I whipped up, I actually made a mold using the Flexy Fast of a flat piece of nori seaweed so that the sushi soap roll would have the same look and texture of a real piece of seaweed.
I look forward to seeing her video! In the meantime, if you would like to know more about this method and some fun texture inspiration, check out the June issue of Let's Get Soapy, where this is the featured tutorial. Then keep your eyes out for the Soap Queen video in August!

Friday, June 19, 2009

Video: The Making of a Soap Mini Cooper


Since posting the photo of my soap Mini Cooper, I heard several comments like "I'd love to see how you did that!" So yesterday I made this little video as I make a red, checkered roof Mini. I didn't add any captions, but if you'd like to read more detail about the steps, please check out my post at the Teach Soap forum.

For lots of great tutorials, check out Let's Get Soapy, and for my book (coming out this fall), reserve your copy on Amazon. Thanks!!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Some Overdue Thanks!

I'd like to thank the following people for the Soapy Love they've been sending my way!

Donna Maria of IBN for her recent interview with me about Let's Get Soapy.

Romantic Homes Magazine for their double soapsicle feature in the June issue.

Anne-Marie for her Soapylove shout out in her guest blog post on Cakespy.

To Craft: on Twitter for their tweety love of my soapy Mini Cooper.

And last, but not least, thanks to Carol from Out of Eden Soaps for her Soapy Pride! She was showing off her Soapylove tee in North Carolina. Love those glam glasses!

Thank you so much! Your support is what keeps Soapylove going strong. xoxo!

BTW, I have more of those tees. I just haven't had the time to take pics of them. They're really awesome - in nice stretch cotton, with pink glittery ink, in white and pink. One of these days! :)

Monday, June 15, 2009

Check Out What Just Drove Out of Soapyland!


Ever since I saw a great post about a Swarovski-encrusted Mercedes on The Crafty Chica Blog, I've been dying to make a soap car. Like many of my soap projects, it took me months to finally decide on all of the details. When I saw a fist-sized Mini Cooper toy at Rite Aid, I knew I found my muse.

This is just a fun personal project. It wasn't for any reason - just to see how it would come out. I got some molding putty and cast a silicone mold, then layered, embedded, remolded, and painted until it came out right. (The tires are actually part of the soap bar - not made separately!) It's scented with Green Apple fragrance. Oh, and this was my 3rd one! Glad that's over with!

Would you like to hear the blow-by-blow of how I made this? Check out my post at the Teach Soap Forum here.

I hope you like it! :)

Monday, June 8, 2009

Great New Soapylove Class Coming up at The Nova Studio!


The last time I was up at The Nova Studio, Lori and I were tossing around different class ideas. We thought of an advanced class, a Soap Lab style class, something artistic, and even an all-day bootcamp style class. Well, luckily we were able to combine all of those ideas into one, and it's going to be happening on August 8!

Come to "Artistic Melt and Pour Techniques: Engraving, Painting, and Transfering." It is a 6 hour class that will run the gammot from basic m&p techniques to much more complicated concepts. The coveted design transfer method will be shown (which also appears in my book coming out in August/September), engraving, painting, and embedding. Each student will make at least 2 of each project, and I will be sharing loads of tips and advice on using glycerin soap.

I'm so excited to go back up to Lori's gorgeous studio. I had such an amazing trip last time. If you'd like to see more about it, please check out my video. It's a great reason to plan a weekend vacation to the Bay Area!

For all the details and even more descriptions of the projects, click here, where you can also register online. See you in August!

Monday, June 1, 2009

New Video Over at the Soap Lab!!


Take a trip with me to Architectural Salvage of San Diego to hunt for new soap ideas! Turn antiques into techniques! View this brand new video over at The Soap Lab. Enjoy!