Skip to main content

A Bramble Berry Christmas part 4

And now for the last two...


Sleigh Ride  I liked this scent right off (and I love the name!) but it has steadily grown on me until this just might be my favorite scent of all, but it's so hard to pick an absolute favorite!  It's spicy, but it reminds me of mulled apple cider.  (I just checked the scent description to see what the listing said--orange, green apple, with mint and cloves--no wonder I guessed cider!)  Bramble Berry did a perfect job of noting any discoloration that would occur with some scents.  Since I had a heads-up this one would turn to a tan, I kept it simple, just adding a ultramarine violet swirl and a smattering of glitter. 
























Gingersnap  This one smells really and truly edible.  How edible?  By complete coincidence, I decided to make ginger crinkle cookies the same day that I planned to make this batch of soap.  When I was finished with my day's projects, two floors of my home smelled deliciously similar. 



I didn't need to insulate after all--my first ever "volcano!"






I made these by filling an old plastic juice concentrate container with the soap.  I cut it into slices the next day. 







 I then frosted them with some unscented soap and finished them off with cookie sprinkles.  (I labeled the drying soap cookies to keep a hungry Mister from a sorry surprise if he wasn't paying attention.)  I love them so!!  And I think they will make perfect guest soaps.

I'd like to thank Bramble Berry SO much for sending me this fun project.  My friends and family have been identifying their favorites, so they'll be going to some very happy homes.  And with what's left, I'll be surprising some customers with an extra little Christmas gift.

Heads-up, 10th Ave. customers--you can look forward to these sampler kit fragrances appearing in my 2013 Christmas collection!  (And I haven't ruled out a last-minute Christmas soaping binge, either, so stay tuned.  I just may take advantage of the GIVEMBER50 code, too and a chance at a $50 gift certificate!)

Comments

  1. Those both look and sound so yummy! Great creativity - fun, Amy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. OMG AMYYYY those Gingersnap soaps are so frickin adorable!!! You outdid yourself, I really love them, and I love both of those fragrances too. (I just ordered my second bottle of Gingersnap last week, hehe)

    P.S. So far my Sleigh Ride white, red and green swirled soap hasn't discolored at all. I remember I asked about the discoloring of the FO on BB's facebook page a few months back because of the notation on their website and the fact that their loaves of Sleigh Ride soap for sale are bright white... and one of their CS replied that it doesn't discolor and that actually needed to be removed from the FO description but it never was. *shrug*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I'm scratching my head over this....you can see that mine did discolor. I used the same recipe that I did with all the rest of these (and most of my soaps this fall/winter). And I did notice the soaps on the BB website were white. Well, maybe I hit the one in a million recipe that discolors!!

      Delete
  3. Love the swirls in the Sleigh Ride soap, Amy, and the Gingersnap soaps look edible. It was a good idea to label the soaps so no one mistook them for cookies! BB's Gingersnap is a favorite around here, too, and it's one of my mom's favorite scents.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am REALLY hemming and hawing over some of these scents, especially the gingersnap. I just don't know if I want to wait until next fall for more of this!!

      Delete
  4. I bet it smells super duper delicious in your house right now!
    Good job, especially with the gingersnap soap. just georgeous!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The cookies are long gone, but the cookie soaps still smell so good!! Thanks!

      Delete
  5. Beautiful soaps Amy! I especially love the cookies, what a clever idea! I love Gingersnap too, it's my favourite gingerbread fragrance :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Cee Gee! One thing I really like about the cookie soaps is their size--not too big. It's definitely a new favorite scent for me, too.

      Delete
  6. Loved the cookie soaps too! Was looking at your Facebook photos - so proud to see you still eat vegemite on crackers. Let me know if you need more. Jeanette xxx

    ReplyDelete
  7. *GASP* ESP still lives! I was making definite plans regarding a Christmas care package for you just yesterday. Thanks--I will let you know when I hit a vegemite crisis! (It's Christmas music season--do you know where your Bucko and Champs is??) :D

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Soaping with Madder

I know that any color added to soap can morph into a surprise, but there is an added element of unknown when using botanicals to color my soap.  Some people jump out of planes or ski off mountains, but this is how I live on the edge these days.  Hmm.  If I weren't having so much fun, I'd be embarrassed. I recently had my first go with madder.  So....whatsa madder?  It's a root--the root of the madder. Ahem. (I love puns...) I infused 8 oz. of olive oil with 2 t. madder root powder for almost a week.  This amount worked out to be 20% of the oils in my batch. I wanted something in the way of embeds to add visual interest.   I dearly love my soap balls but I don't want to over do a good thing.  I've recently done square-shaped embeds, so this time I cut a bar of white soap into slices. I panicked a little that it wouldn't get dark enough--it was kind of a dusty peach--so I added 1/4 t. dried powder right before pouring. Madder powder can get a little

Loofah--from vine to soap

If you've followed my blog for a long time, you've already seen a post on one of my favorite things to grow--loofah, but I think it's time for another one.  People are often surprised when they learn that loofahs are grown.  No, a loofah isn't a sea sponge, but the mature "skeleton" of a zucchini-like plant.  Everyone knows they are good for the bath but they also make great natural pan scrubbers in the kitchen.  They are so popular that I have to remember to tuck away any that I want to keep myself. I raise three or four plants every year.  Like a zucchini or a cucumber, it likes to spread out with little regard to another plant's personal space.  Here is last year's crop. Early in the summer, the loofahs remained neatly on the trellis: But then they wandered over to the basil: Cozied among the tomatillos: And hung out with the butternut squash: Harvest time was a regular treasure hunt.  But I ended up with about 20 loofahs fr

Soap Challenge--Piping

I'm jumping into Amy W's soap challenge here in week 3--piping soap.  I chose to make a version of a batch I made last year--my Sweet Pea scented soap.  It was really popular for me last summer so why mess with a success? Some soapers assume that piping soap means that it must be whipped, but it's not necessary to whip it first.  When I don't want the whipped look (or more frequently, don't want to clean beaters) I just let it sit until it thickens up on its own.  (By the way, don't you adore these itty-bitty dishes?  I just bought them a few weeks ago. A set of four cost $1 at the Dollar Tree!) I used a Wilton tip #3 to make the little squiggles. I added tip #103 sweet peas and made leaves with a # 352 tip. One thing I love about piping soap....it never leaves even a trace of ash to spoil the design.   And then I took lots of pictures (it was a rather photogenic batch).  Here are a few-- These will be cured enough to have them at t