S.O.A.P!

S.O.A.P is a panel of random soap makers who get the incredible chance to test some of Bramble Berry's newest scents before they become publicly available.  To me it is also an extremely coveted chance to do something in return!  Bramble Berry staff is always there for us, and now a few lucky soapers get to be there for them, how awesome is that?  Below is my application, of sorts, to the spring 2013 S.O.A.P panel!  Wish me luck folks, I SO want this!!

The first question is this: what is my favorite Bramble Berry product.  Seems simple and straight forward, right?  But alas, that means choosing just one!  Which I can't do!  So I guess I will chose my top 5 favorites and explain why I can't soap without them.

1) My BB Multi-Bar Cutter!  Who can argue with perfect bars?  Gone are the days of the knife, cheeseboard, and push cutters.  You'd be amazed at how crooked I can cut!  This guy has made my cutting jobs look wonderful, and boy is it easy to use!

2) 5lb Wood Mold with Silicone Liner!  I find this mold to be the PERFECT size, the bars fit in my hands just right (I cut the loaf using the multi-bar cutter mentioned above, of course!).  The liner also makes this a super easy to use mold, no fussing with freezer paper!  I was a bit skeptical of the sliding bottom at first, was worried it would slide out randomly and ruin my batch, but it is actually pretty snug!  My trick with the liner is to use double sided tape to stick it to the mold so it doesn't fold in on itself when you try to pour in your batter.  Works like a charm!  Everyone needs one of these molds!

3) The Heavy Duty Column Mold (with liner)!  I tried my own PVC pipe mold and struggled to unmold my soaps.  These molds are extra nice with their perfect fit liners, no more struggling with freezer paper inside a pipe!  I think these are my most used molds, you can make some super pretty swirls and funnel pour designs using these.  A word of advice?  Get at least 2!  One just isn't enough!  [I have the "old" version of the linked mold, the new ones look even easier to unmold!  Great job BB!]

4) Fragrances!  Not just a specific few, but a whole BUNCH! Dragon's Blood, Fresh Snow, Black Raspberry Vanilla, Sweet Meyer Lemon, Orange 10X Essential Oil, and Peppermint Essential Oil (2nd distillation)... just to name a few!  The only problem I have with the fragrances from BB is that I don't have enough money to buy every one I want to try!  Thank goodness for those free samples!  A little sample of love!  

5) The Mini Mixer!  These little guys are great for mixing colourants into glycerin, oil or water.  They get rid of any clumps and help you get a nice cohesive mix.  Since I got my first one I haven't really had any "colourant clumps" in any bars, which is excellent!  Those little lumps always annoyed me.  I now have 2 of these just in case I should break one, can't go without it!

That is a brief taste of my favorite BB items, but the list is extensive!

The second question: why should I be chosen for the spring 2013 S.O.A.P panel?  This one is a bit easier for me, and less lengthy for you!  I've been making soap since I was around 10 (MP then, CP/HP for the last 1.5 years) and I am absolutely, beyond a doubt, hooked.  I love pouring my creativity into something that is ultimately useful.  I also love Bramble Berry.  I think I should be chosen for this panel because of my love of the craft, and the company.  I believe it is my turn to give something back to the folks who are always there to help me when I need it.  I don't think I've ever waited even a day for help when I send a message to BB, and the responses are always friendly and helpful.  I want to be able to use my love of the craft to help BB for a change!  It would be an incredible honour to be chosen for the panel, but even if I'm not I'll be excited for those who are!

<3 Heather

What's this??

This is SOAP!  Yes, my friends, I have been making some new soaps.  Boy it feels nice to be back at it!  Here is what I've been making!  

This is "Rainforest".  It is a very light fresh outdoors type scent, definitely unisex!  I chose the colours of rainforest flowers because I didn't want to go just plain green!  This was made in my Brambleberry (BB) 5lb wood loaf mold with silicone liner, LOVE that mold!  I messed up my measurements somehow so I also have some smaller bars that I think will be gifts when I finally open a shop!

Next we have Blackberry Sage, a scent I picked up from AHRE (Aroma Haven and Rustic Escentuals).  LOVE the scent, much more fruity and yummy than I expected!  I seemingly forgot to "clean" these bars, so they look a bit rustic.  Oops?  Using this in the shower now, very nice soap!  Made in BB's older version of the column mold with liner. 

And last, but not least, black raspberry vanilla!  Still in the mold too!  Slightly annoyed at this one, one of the colourants I used (see the awesome raspberry colour?) is bleeding like mad and colouring the entire batch!  So much for my nice swirls!  The company assured me it was non-bleeding too!  GAH!  At least it still smells great, and doesn't look too bad!  The fragrance and mold are both from BB!

That's it for the current soaps, off right now to make my tiger swirl soap for the Great Cakes Soapworks 2013 soap challenge!!!  Well... right after I do my post to try and get into the spring S.O.A.P. test group!  Wish me luck!!

The coming storm!

Well, hopefully!  Now that we're through the flu, the sick dog (she's alright!) and spring cleaning (yes, before spring even arrives!) we're ready to put the last few finishing touches on the workshop!  What does that mean for the blog?  Well... soap!!  And soap videos too hopefully!  Its been a long and soapless month and I'm getting restless!

For now, I sign off from the Geek Cave and soon hope to be bringing you tidings from the Workshop!

Happy Holidays One and All!

This time of year a lot, dare I say most, of us are celebrating one holiday or another.  I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season and a wonderful New Year!

Happy Holidays!

Wow, does time ever fly when you have a million things to do!!  Looks like I won't get in ANY more batches before Christmas!  

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Holiday season,  and I'd like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!  

I plan to have that snowfall batch done next week!

Cheers folks!

Salt Bars

Here are my salt bars!  They are made with 100% coconut oil with a 20% SF (super fat, the extra oils that don't get turned into soap... leaves your skin nice and soft!).  I scented them with "Pears and Berries" from The Sage.  The colours ended up more of a watermelon type combination, which is fine, as the fragrance definitely has a melon undertone.  Love this fragrance!

Sorry for the bad picture, my new phone case doesn't let me use the flash so you get to see the shadow of the phone in the picture!  Gah!  The pink is more of a watermelon pink than the orange it seems above.  I really need to take pictures during the day!

Next up: Snowfall restock!  And hopefully 1 more soap before Christmas!  

Is there a pictorial you'd like to see me post?  If so, leave me a comment here and I will do my best to make one for you!

Happy Holidays folks!!

EDIT:  Forgot to say that I made these in my Bramble Berry 9 bar birchwood mold, LOVE this mold!  One of my favorites by far!  They were unmolded after ~12 hours and were a little crumbly along the edges.

And I'm Back!

New posts coming soon!  Had a little issue with my google + account and couldn't get in to make posts!!!

Up tomorrow... salt bars!  My first go at these, and I think I love them!