Examples of Cold Process Soap Frosting

I just love when customers share their soaping projects. These soaps were made by my New Zealand friend, Jude. All of the soaps were made using Mold Market molds. And, of course, GoPlanetEarth stocks the entire mold line. For the above ice cream soap, Jude used the "cone" mold. The ice cream topper and cupcake frosting were made using a cold processed soap recipe found on David Fisher's soap and candle making site. You can also make a melt & pour version of these toppers using GoPlanetEarth's body butter whip.



I love how Jude put an engagement ring into the cupcake frosting. Very unique idea and a wonderful way to "pop the question". The mold for the cupcake base can be found here.

The above 3-D Popsicle Mold is available from GoPlanetEarth. You'll find the how-to instructions here. Thanks, Jude for sharing your wonderful creations!

DIY Room Spray

I went shopping with my daughter last week at Kohl's. We were heading for the check-out when my daughter stopped and picked up a bottle of Linen Spray.

"OMG", she said. "I love this stuff. You spray it on your sheets and they smell wonderful."

I took one look at the price and gently pried it from her hand.

"What are you doing, Mom?"
"I'm going to make you a home-brew and trust me, it will be 1/4 of the cost."

I had a container of a new linen base that I was sampling and this was the perfect opportunity to give it a try. I had some extra bottles and sprayers lying around and I knew I could whip up a scent similar to the one my daughter coveted. I used a 3 to 1 part ratio (1 being the fragrance oil). A few vigorous shakes of the bottle, and the results were awesome. I used Lavender, Island Retreat, Silk & Cashmere and Martini Rose fragrance oils. I kept the labels very simple using natural kraft 2-inch round circles. A few squirts in the air and.... wow... the aroma lasted for hours.

I can't wait to give my daughter her new home-brew linen and room spray. I'm giving serious consideration to stocking this linen base. I'm certain that you could do a 2 to 2 part ratio and still have a powerful scent. I'm pretty impressed with this product, but want to do some more testing. I'll keep you posted if we decide to add this product to our line-up.

FREE Soap Saver Bag!!

Make an online purchase of any value between 12 noon today (January 24) and 12 midnight ET, January 26 and receive a sample of our new mesh soap saver bag. Here's the catch!! YOU MUST type SOAPBAG in the comment section at checkout. If you forget to do this, the offer is void. Offer valid on online shopping cart sales only.

Just slip your soaps in and close the top by pulling on the cord. A great little spring loaded stopper will lock it shut. The net mesh has a "crinkle" effect that is wonderful for exfoliating action and you simply hang to dry. Click here for more details.

This Web-based App is Worth a Peek & It's FREE

Small businesses are often operating on a shoe-string budget. This is especially true when just starting out in business. The Internet offers a wealth of apps and programs that can help jump-start your business and many are FREE. But which ones are really worthy of consideration. Well, (in my opinion) this particular app/program is definitely worth a second look. More than just a to-do list manager, Remember the Milk acts like a full-blown calendar, but without the row-and-column display. You can send reminders via SMS, e-mail or instant message, and view the lists themselves via RSS (Really Simple Syndication).


Remember the Milk web app has been widely acclaimed over the past several years, and it works for individuals as well as small businesses. Best yet, RTM integrates with Gmail and Outlook, and the service has mobile apps for Windows, Android, iPhone and BlackBerry. My iPhone has a calendar but I don't have the ability to separate all my entries into specific lists. With RTM, you can. There is a list for Work, Personal, Study or personalize it by creating your own list folder like "Meetings" or "Customers". Once I create my list entry, I then set a reminder to be sent to my iPhone (see below). You can also have it sent to your email address, instant message program and even Skype.




This is a very thorough planner and list maker, easy to use and best of all it's free. It's definitely worth a peek.

Melt & Pour Soap Making: Divided Love Valentine Heart Soaps

I've been going stir crazy since I've been home with the flu. Last night I was on the mend and decided to pull out some soaping supplies from home and see what I could whip up on the fly. The end result were these Divided Love Heart Soaps. I know they aren't the traditional Valentine colors, but my color palette was rather limited when working from home. I used what colors I had available. I'll load up on more supplies today and will give it another whirl.

I'll be sharing how these were done in a later post. For now, I just need to firm up the technique and experiment with some of the creative ideas I slept on overnight. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. It's snowing again here in Michigan. Surprise, surprise.

Valentine Melt & Pours Soap Projects

Valentine Cup Cake Soaps

Here's a recap of some of the Valentines soaps we have done in the past. You will find information on how to make these soaps under our Tutorial RESOURCE section of the GoPlantEarth web site.

Cupid's Heart Soap

Drizzled Heart Soaps


Embed Heart Soap

OUT OF OFFICE due to Flu Bug

I will be out of the office the remainder of the week. I have a case of the flu bug that is kicking my behind. I'm home on bedrest. If you need to contact me while I'm recovering, please email. If you leave a message on the office phone, I can't reply. I will, however, be checking emails on an ongoing basis. Orders will process as usual, but no one will be in the office to take calls.

Thanks for understanding.

Denise

Let the Countdown Begin!

In a prior blog post I mentioned I will be heading to South America in early February. If you follow GPE on Face Book you know I am offering a Countdown To South America special. Starting tonight at 12 midnight (EST) receive 20% off an online order placed through January 16, midnight (EST). Each countdown week decreases the coupon value by 5%. So order early to reap the biggest savings. The last week to save is January 30 through February 2.

Now, here's the skinny on how to make sure you qualify:

• Your item total must be at least $65 (shipping/handling excluded)
  
  
• You MUST key the discount coupon code COUNTDOWN in the coupon code box during checkout. We will not add the code later. It must be done at checkout, or no discount will apply. Please don't email later and ask cuz we're gonna say "No".
  
  
• Discount valid on online orders only. Phone order, fax orders, email orders excluded. Sorry! But those are the rules.
  
  
• When you key the discount code, the shopping cart will apply a "one penny" discount. Rest assured you will get the full discount once the order is received and reviewed. Why do we have to review it? Because there are some things that don't qualify for this Countdown discount. These include:

1. 24-lb. soap blocks
2. Body Butter Whip
3. Clearance or items already discounted
4. 32 ounce Liquid Gel Soap Colors
5. 11-lb. soap blocks (hemp and olive oil)
6. Organic Soap Base
7. Anything currently out of stock
8. No backorders allowed
9. Discount cannot be used in conjunction with any other discounts or coupons

Other than that, it's all good. So what are you waiting for? Get shopping and take advantage of this first week savings... 20% off!

South America Here I Come!!!!!

Yesterday, I received a call from my honey-man. He said, "Hi honey-woman (then a long pause). IT'S A GO!!! WERE GOING TO CHILE AND ARGENTINA!!!!!! For those of you who follow my blog, you know that my husband is in the fine wine business. He works for a major national distributor and is brand manager to many suppliers. He has opportunity to travel abroad on many occasions, but it is very rare that spouses are allowed on trips. So, I am tickled pink that I have been invited. We will be traveling with another couple which is icing on the cake. Just giving a heads up that I will be gone February 4 - February 13.


First, a big thanks to my honey for working and managing his accounts to earn this trip. Second thanks to the winery and supplier hosting this incredible get-away. The itinerary is nothing less than spectacular.

We will be staying in Chile but a 2-day stay in Argentina is planned where we will visit the winery and dine in some pretty awesome places. What I love about this trip is there is plenty of free time to visit local sites and hang out at the beach.

My staff will be working to process orders while I am away. I will be in contact with them via mobile devices and Internet connections. However, this is a vacation for me (and I don't take many) so I want to keep work issues to a minimum. If my staffers are unable to assist with questions or concerns during my away time, it will have to wait until I return.

Orders will go out as usual with the exception of international shipments. International order received during the week of February 3- February 13 will not ship until February 15.

Did I mention that I'll be leaving Winter weather temperatures of 20-30's to spend time in a tropical place with temperatures in the 80's? I'll be sure to blog while away and fill you in on the many wonderful places we visit.

My $2.00 New Years Eve Manicure

On New Year's Eve morning my granddaughter, Miss O, gave me a very special manicure. She wanted my nails to look nice for our dinner party later that evening. She carefully picked out, not just one, but 5 different nail polish colors. Her exact words:

"NeeNee, I'm going to do each nail a different color. I think everyone will really like that, don't you?"



As you can see, she did just that. Each nail was painted a different shade of pink (cuz that's her favorite color). Miss O even had a special tool (which was really a cuticle tool) to remove any excess polish from around the edges of the nail. And, rest assured, there was plenty. For a 4-year old she did a pretty good job. There was gobs of polish in the center of the nail... yes, in the center of nail. She couldn't quite master spreading the polish across the entire nail bed...but she's working on it.

Considering the cost of a manicure, I think my $2 manicure was a bargain. However, if Miss O is to make a living at this she must remember to never ask "What's that?" (she was referencing the knuckle area of my hand. I simply replied, "It's wrinkles, that's what happens when you get old." To which she replied, "Oh, that's too bad." Sadly, she missed out on a tip ;)