Soapies Newsletter, Edition 2
Greetings Soapies Subscribers! This is the second edition of the Soapies Newsletter. This week we have a special sale on a few select items as well as a fabulous article written by the Princess herself - how to make the most awesome swirled soap EVAH!
But before we get into that, I know you're dying to read another chapter in the Official History of the Royal Beginnings of Her Royal Highness, Princess Kelley of Soapies.
When we last left our story, Kelley, dripping with goat milk, was pitching the mother of all fits in the middle of the country lane for the entire world to see. Not ladylike - at all!
Not being a shrinking violet, Kelley, once she had recovered from the initial shock of being pounced upon by this little goblin, immediately flew into a rage. Red hair on end she berated the little man with a string of curses and scoldings such as had seldom been heard by the innocent woodland folk or forest animals before. Stamping her feet and shaking her fist, she would have raged on for an untold length of time if the most extraordinary thing hadn't happened…
Without warning, she suddenly and inexplicably lost her voice! Oh, she was still shouting only now nothing was coming out. It took a few moments for this fact to reach her, being in such a temper she was incapable of noticing anything, but once it did, she clapped her hands over her mouth and ceased saying anything at all.
For a few moments there was blessed silence. The birds began to chirp softly and the woodland creatures went back to their business. And in the road Kelley, hands over her mouth, eyeballs bugging from her head, stood like a statue. It was at this point that the little man stepped forward and began to speak.
And what he said changed the course of her life from that point forward. He pointed out the small mark that had been on her right ankle since birth - it resembled a diamond. He informed her that was a Royal Mark and that she had been chosen. The next years would be years of great change as she underwent a transformation… no, not into a Vamp! But into a Princess. A true Princess. Not the dumbed-down Princesses that are written about in children's tales. Every good tale comes from actual facts and princess fairy tales are no exception.
But unlike those Princesses, a true Princess has powers and is a bit like the yin to a Vamp's yang. An equal force of light and for good against the forces of dark and scary things that do more than just go bump in the night!
It would be a number of years before Kelley would complete her transformation and until that time, she was to be silent. No speaking, no words, and no shrieking obscenities at odd little men in the roadway. She would know the transformation was complete when she once again had the power of speech.
Before he left, the little man, who had by this point introduced himself as Bronson, handed Kelley a thick book and told her to study it well. Then, before she quite knew what had happened, he vanished, POOF! in a puff of purple smoke.
Kelley sank to the ground, dumbfounded. Even if she had been capable of speech, she would have been rendered speechless. A Princess? HER? What?
After sitting for some time in an attempt to make sense of this bewildering turn of events, Kelley rose to her feet and headed for home. And to the myriad of questions that were sure to arise once it became apparent that she could no longer speak….
What will happen as Kelley transforms? What will her parents say when they realize she cannot speak? Who WAS that odd little man? And what is in the book that Kelley carries with her? These questions will be answered in the weeks to come as we continue the story of Princess Kelley and Soapies Supplies.
Swirl, Swirl, Swirl!!
A Guide to 6 Color Swirling!
Ok…So I have made Cold Process Soap with Swirls for many years. I have never attempted 6 Swirls at one time...Boy, was this both challenging and FUN!! I decided to try something new...I thought, why not "layer" in my swirls?? Here is what I attempted to do and what actually panned out:
I was commissioned to make a 24 Bar batch of soap for a Baby Shower by a friend of my daughter's from her work, Jessica. Jessica was not completely sure what she wanted as there was no real "theme" for the Baby Shower, just bright Spring Flowers and not "florally" scented. The soon to arrive 'little one' is a baby boy. That is all I had to go on. So, made my special batch of CP Soap and scented it with a new Soapies Fragrance Oil from our Simple Soothings Collection (S~S), Tranquil Sleep…TO DIE FOR!! Tranquil Sleep will be on the site soon!
Here is the thought process for this special soap. Make my batch, scent it and then divide it into 6 equal parts. Switching from color to color to color, pour very thin lines, horizontally, into the log mold until all colors were used in the first round and then start again...repeating this until all of the batch was poured. I used beautiful FD&C and D&C colors of Red, Green, Blue, Orange and Yellow and the last equal part of the batch was made of Titanium Dioxide and Pearl Mica mixed together.
So…My molds are prepped and ready (really no prepping my Silicone Lined Molds except to rinse them out before use), the lye water and oils are cooling separately and what happens?? LUNCH ARRIVES!! Well...you cannot forgo lunch from Subway, right? The cooling process will be fine as I always soap at between 100-110F anyway. So I eat lunch with my family and then decide to get this little guy (it is a "guy" today since the little bundle of joy is a boy!) started. So, I mix the lye solution into the oils and decide to not even bring it to trace (I am wanting plenty of time to work and I also want to pour very thin lines of soap into the mold) so I decide to just, thoroughly, emulsify the oils and lye solution together. Ok...Time to color each!! That was too fun!! I made all of the colors bright and BOLD! Now, I am ready to rock and roll....errrrrrrrrrrrgh <insert car tires screeching to a halt> my batch is at danged near medium trace!!! Ok...so the next thing I said was, "JACKIE!! Get in here!!" Jackie, my precious baby girl and momma to my perfect grandson, Marcus, came running to help. We divided the batch into the six containers, colored each and then started pouring them into the molds.....I took a color and made a random design, and she followed with the next color in her random pattern. We continued this process until we had used all of the colors multiple times, and in the same order and poured in the same design, and we used up the batch...WHEW!!!
Looking at the soap in the mold, I decided I still had time to do a quick swirl with a Chop Stick and so I did. I threw the mold into the oven (preset at 170F <my lowest setting>) for 2 hours and then removed to cool. Fingers crossed that the batch would still be beautiful. The process did not go, exactly as I had envisioned, but I knew it would be great as well. I know what happened and will be able to avoid it next time I attempt this.
1. The oils and lye had cooled too much to attempt this new process as I had intended....It was not a failed attempt by any means…just different.
2. The Fragrance Oil was new to me and I should have not attempted a larger than test-size batch until I knew its behaviors...especially at cooler temps (I know better than that!)
All in all....the moral of the story is two-fold: There is no wrong way to make soap (unless it is Lye Heavy and removes your customer's skin upon use) and TEST, TEST, TEST!!!
Although this batch did not go as planned or expected...It came out very, very nice and the customer was both floored and thrilled at the same time! Judge for yourself:
Now….Here is a little challenge for you all!! Want to win a Soapies Gift? Send us your best 6+ Swirl project, a short bio about you, a short bio on your submitted project and PHOTOS of the submission. We will take entries until Sunday, September 19th at midnight (MST) and will choose a winner on Monday, September 20th. What will you win? Wouldn't you like to know!?!? Have to wait and see!! Mean, I know, but we are all adults and you can handle it ;o)
Toodles and Smoochies to you all...
Princess Kelley!
Reader's Choice Awards at Saponifier!
"The main purpose of the survey is to allow the industry to vote for their favorites for 2010 and to also find out what is happening with our soapers and chandlers. The results are entirely decided by you, the voters."
Please vote for Soapies! We appreciate your support :)
Shop for FREE for One Full Year at Soapies!
Once we reach 250 subscribers, we will be randomly drawing a name and if that person has ordered in the past 90 days, they will receive a fantastic prize - 12 - $100 Gift Certificates to be used at the Soapies website. Woot! The winner will be able to use 1 certificate per month towards the purchase of anything on our website.
Of course, there is a bit of fine print... but it's nothing too major. Just a few points to keep in mind.
1. Each Gift Certificate will expire at the end of the month in which it was given.
2. Unused balances will be forfeited.
3. These supplies are to be used by the winner only -- if Soapies catches you purchasing supplies for others or to sell and make a profit on... well, let's just say that Kelley transformed quite a number of years ago and in her vast repertoire of abilities, reading minds and poofing! (aka: teleportation) are just a few of her more favorite activities. From previous experience, no one has enjoyed one of these surprise visits by Kelley... though a Princess for quite some time, she hasn't quite learned to fully hold her temper. So please, don't cheat. Hiring a PR rep to cover up these little, um, "incidents" is quite time consuming.
4. The winner will receive their first $100 Gift Certificate within 5 business days of the drawing. Each subsequent Gift Certificate will be sent on that same date of each month. IE: if the first Gift Certificate is sent on September 20, the other 11 will be sent on the 20th of each following month, through August of the following year.
5. This Prize will only be awarded if the person has placed an order at the Soapies Supplies website in the previous 90 days. If the name drawn has not placed an order, the prize will be forfeit.
6. One prize per person, per year. Previous winners are not eligible and a new name will be drawn.
7. The winner's name will be posted on the Soapies website and you may be asked to complete a quick interview so our customers can get to know the person behind the win.
7. Soapies reserves the right to end this promotion at any time and for any reason.
8. Soapies employees, family members, partners and/or affiliates are not eligible for this drawing.
Weekly Winners - coming soon!
Once we reach a subscriber base of 400, we will begin randomly drawing names every Friday. If the person has ordered from Soapies in the past 90 days, they will receive a $25 Gift Certificate to be used towards the purchase of anything on our website. One win per year, per customer. Previous winners are not eligible and a new name will be drawn.
Fine Print
1. If the person has not ordered in the past 90 days, no gift will be given that week. We will draw a new name the following week.
2. The winner's name will be posted on the Soapies website and you may be asked to complete a quick interview so our customers can get to know the person behind the win.
3. Soapies reserves the right to end this promotion and at any time and for any reason.
4. Soapies employees, family members, partners and/or affiliates are not eligible for this drawing.
Start shopping!
Your name might be the next one drawn!
Take a Class at Soapies!
Did you know that you can take classes at Soapies? We offer both online classes as well as actual classes held at our warehouse. Learn about a variety of skills and projects including...
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Cold Process: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced
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Liquid Soap
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M & P (Melt and Pour Soap)
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Candle Making
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Lotion and Creams
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Lip Balms and Salves
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and much more!
Click here to learn about Online Classes Coming Soon.
Click here to learn about the classes offered at our Scottsdale, AZ location.
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