Welcome to Soapylove Daily Ditties!
Learn how to create very unique effects with fun detailed molds. We'll cover a range of techniques using multiple colors in each project, from double molding to intricate details. All materials are included and you'll go home with all of your beautiful creations!
I drove to Scottsdale Friday afternoon through the impressive desert. Kelley - the owner of Soapies - and her husband, Bronson, were wonderful hosts and even let me stay the night at their beautiful home. I got to meet their adorable new grandbabies (teeny little Chihuahuas), too!
The keynote speaker is yet to be announced, but judging by last year's speaker - Erin Brokovich - I'm extremely excited to find out!
If you're interested in going to the conference and are an HSMG member, you can get a great early bird rate, and the guild is offering a helpful installment plan. For details, click here.
I hope to meet many of you personally in Denver next year! Last year I toted around some Soapylove goodies and treated many fans to tee shirts, soap dishes, and eZine coupons. I plan to do the same this year, too!
See you in April!
This weekend I taught Artistic Melt and Pour Techniques at The Nova Studio in Point Richmond, CA. This is my third time teaching there (5th class!) and I LOVE it so much! First of all, Lori is awesome and it's such a treat to hang out with her, and secondly, the classes are always so much fun because the students are the best! There's no better situation for a teacher than having a class full of enthusiastic and eager participants.
Even though many of the students didn't consider themselves "artists" when they arrived, I think everyone was impressed with what they made. First, we used transfer sheets to add printed designs to our soaps. Learning about soap temperature was definitely the take home message for this project.
Next we created paintings within our soap bars. I taught how to make a "Y Tree" (see video tutorial here), and even those who had never tried it before had beautiful forests before they knew it. We used soap paints from PJ Soaps (scroll to bottom of her page to see awesome paint kits) and also mixed paints from scratch.
After lunch (this is a 6 hour class after all!), we made hand-engraved monogram soaps. Each student received a great tool for engraving with their supply fee. Although I provided some printed letters to use, one student created an awesome freehand "anarchy" soap, which was my favorite!! I think everyone was really impressed by how their engraved design really stood out when the final soaps were unmolded.
Last, we made some pretty hand-cut tile soaps. Everyone made at least 8 bars of soap, and had time to wrap them nicely, too. I was able to share lots of my stories and answer everyone's questions. Having 6 hours was just like the studio classes I had in college where you get plenty of time to work on projects and not feel rushed. I think everyone enjoyed the pace and learned a lot.
Last December, I taught 2 classes at The Nova Studio. One was Bubbly Holidays and the other was Sweet Treats. Hilary Goldman was a student in Sweet Treats and apparently glycerin soap crafting really clicked for her!Welcome to A Slice of Delight where I design and hand craft melt and pour glycerin soap. I strive to create soaps with engaging colors and scents(fragrance and essential oils) that generate an upbeat, happy, cheery and (oh yeah) delightful feeling.
You can tell by her adorable packaging and heartfelt product descriptions that she is putting a lot of love into her designs, and they look great! Make sure to check out her shop, which is full of her beautiful work.
First, on Friday, I went to the Bramble Berry offices to prep "step-outs" (every step of a project made in advance) so Anne-Marie and I could film our first ever Soap Queen TV episodes together. I was really nervous once filming began but Anne-Marie made me feel much better and we had an awesome time. So awesome that I'm really afraid of what the out-takes are going to look like! Stay tuned to the Soap Queen blog for details about our videos. We made Plaid Soaps and Soap Tarts!
On Saturday I got to hang around town with my family. Bellingham is so beautiful that it was easy to have a great time. One of my favorite moments was getting soft ice cream from an old English double decker bus that has been retrofitted into a fish-n-chips and ice cream stand. Love that! 
On Saturday night, everyone came to Anne-Marie and her husband's lake house (on Lake Samish) for a little campfire. We had hot dogs and s'mores, and many many pebbles were thrown into the water. Here is Chris (Anne-Marie's hubby) hanging out with my daughter. Lori Nova and my son really hit it off, too, and roasted marshmallows together. The kids certainly had no shortage of loving grown-ups to play with!
On Sunday, it was my turn to teach. Anne-Marie did a great intro to M&P, and then we made Soap Tarts and Plaid Soaps. Even though there were only 4 out of 11 students who had melt and pour experience, everyone made gorgeous soaps! I was very impressed by how meticulous they were when it came time to plan their plaid design and again later when they cut their pan of soap into bars. 
Once we were done, Lori Nova took the stage to do her fabulous Coloring Soap with Confidence presentation - undoubtedly the most thoroughly researched and informative class on CP soap colorants! She made 77 soap samples at The Nova Studio to test every major category of colorants, with photos and supply sources, too! Lori has just made her Power Point and handouts into an eBook that you can buy here. It is a very valuable investment! (Sorry for my lack of photos. I took some but there was a bright window behind Lori and my pictures are really bad!)
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 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!)
Also, I have 2 soapmaking classes coming up! One is at the Nova Studio in Point Richmond, CA, on April 11. I'll be teaching how to use molds of all different kinds. Each student will be taking home lots of great molds and tools, and plenty of soaps you'll make right there! We had an awesome time when I taught the Bubbly Holidays and Sweet Treats classes in December, so don't miss this one! For more info, click here.
Yay! The Soapmaking Weekend Intensive is officially ready for registration, scheduled for July 17, 18, and 19!
Lori Nova, who I met directly on Twitter, is the owner of The Nova Studio where bath and body classes (and non b&b classes, too!) are held in her beautiful Point Richmond shop. I packed up my family and we drove over 8 hours north so I could accept Lori's invitation to teach 2 Soapylove classes this past Saturday: Bubbly Holidays and Sweet Treats. It was such a great experience!
First, for Bubbly Holidays, we had 4 projects lined up. We made Glittery Glass Ball Soaps, Fancy Ball Ornaments, Sugar Plum Ornaments, and Frosty Vintage Tree Soaps (all tutorials are available in my Soapylove shop if you'd like to try some at home!). There were many m&p newbies in the class, but everyone took to it easily and made some truly gorgeous soaps! The marbling of the Sugar Plum soaps was probably the highlight since it was a team effort and it's really fun to swirl! 
Next, after very quickly cleaning up, setting up again, and grabbing a bite to eat, we started the Sweet Treats class. Again, we had 4 projects on the agenda: PB&J soaps, Peppermint Soap Bark, Neapolitan Loaf Soaps, and Mint Chip Soapwiches. Each of these projects required a LOT of soap and our amazing helper, Joan, and Lori frantically cut and melted brick after brick of soap. The crock pots did their best! It was so fun unmolding and packing the soaps as they were finished. Here's a pic of me cutting up the Mint Chip Soaps. 
Today I taught my second workshop ever, this time at Paper Tales in Point Loma. We made lotion, bath salts, and sugar scrubs. It was so much fun and everyone seemed really pleased with their creations! The store smelled wonderful when we were all done, and many people were asking when my next class would be - I couldn't ask for a better compliment! :)
I would love to continue teaching so if you live in Southern California and would like to host a workshop at your store, home, school, or workplace, please consider a bath & body workshop! It is easy and fun, and even people who are self-declared "not creative" have a great time and love what they make (believe me, my Mom is #1 tough cookie in that department and was surprised by how much she enjoyed making sugar scrubs!). 
I am really excited to announce that Lori from The Nova Studio has invited me to teach TWO Soapylove classes there next month! They're just in time for the holidays, so don't miss them!
The second class, starting after lunch, is called "Sweet Treats" where you'll learn how to make 4 sugar-inspired soap designs including Mint Chip Soapwiches and PB&J Bars. 
