Green Eggs & Ham Valentine Morning

Today, Grandpa Mike (a retired Detroit Fire Chief) read Green Eggs and Ham to our grandson's pre-school class. Grandpa Mike dressed for the occasion which I thought was pretty cool. It's awesome to have such a wonderful relationship with my son-in-law's family. My daughter and son-in-law have been together since 8th grade and are now happily married with three kids. Fischer (pictured in the green shirt) is the youngest.

The book reading was a joint family effort. NeeNee packaged "SAM I AM" bubble bath for my little buddy to give to his Valentine friends. Fischer eagerly applied the ingredient labels to the finished product. Many of the labels were applied cock-eyed, but no one noticed. This was a memory in the making.

The bubble bath product was colored green and scented in GoPlanetEarth's green apple fragrance.

Below are links for the printable labels. There are plenty of companies on the Net that offer bottles and bubble bath. You can also purchase pre-scented bubble bath at your local supermarket. Check-out your local Dollar Store for inexpensive plastic bottles. You will be surprised at what you can find in the $$ stores.

The labels I created fit one-ounce Boston round bottles. Ingredient labels are in MS Publisher allowing for changes based on product ingredients. Take note that the FDA requires an ingredient label on bath products. If you would like the editable MS Publisher template for the ingredient label, email with a Subject Line: Sam I Am Ingredient Label. Ingredient labels are designed for 30-up Avery Address Labels

The bottle labels are in PDF format so NO changes can be made. We sell 8 1/2 x 11 inch high gloss paper for printing the bottle labels. It has 4 slits on the peel-off  sie of the paper making it VERY easy to remove the printed labels from the sheet. You can design and print custom labels and cut to size. Ideal for small projects such as this one. Below is a picture showing the backside of this high-gloss paper.

Packaging Rock Soaps

I'm behind on uploading the Rock Candy tutorial and I apologize. I know that many of you are anxiously awaiting its arrival. My "OCD" kicked in this weekend and I couldn't help myself (that's the story I'm sticking to) and I became obsessed with how to package these sweet little soaps. I love the results. The best part, this packaging format will be available on our web site as a FREE printable. We will also offer the option of ordering a pre-printed kit (at a cost). Just hang onto your britches while we get everything in place.

There are two different label tags. One is for Rock Candy, and the other simply reads, Soap, Soap, Soap (click the inset image to enlarge). You can either hand-write or apply a clear label naming the scent.



I plan to offer this packaging in three different color formats. I should have them all uploaded within the next week. I used a double-sided color printed so the striped pattern printed on both sides of the insert. No double-sided printer? No worries. Just leave the back side plain. White card stock paper was used for the inserts and labels.

My insantity kicked into high gear when packaging these soaps for a local boutique. Their customer base is 99% women. Wheels began turning in my peanut size brain. Why not use "fun & whimsical" scent names on each package? Any fragrance could be used with no concern about changing the label. Heck, this is a fun, novelty soap and the scent names should reflect this playful concept. Here are scent names I created for the specialty boutique:

• Polka Dotted Panties
• I'll Let You Be Right
• Gravity At Work
• Altered Ego
• I Changed My Mind
• It's All About Me
• Counting Sheep
• Bad Hair Day
• Vary Smrt
• What's the Point
• Don't Interrupt Me
• Get Over It

Packaging fits our 4 x 2 x 9 gusseted clear cello bags. GoPlanet's small soap bags are a perfect fit for the rock candy soaps. How fun to use these as favors at a special event. Slip a personalized printed message into the back side of each bag.

Rock Candy Tutorial Nearing Completion

The Rock Candy soap tutorial is nearing completion. It could have been done today, BUT the grand kids were here for an overnight. It's nearly impossible to concentrate and stay focused with three kids calling your name every five minutes. They are currently tucked in bed for the night and I'm enjoying some quiet time.

I am working on printable labels for both the Rock Candy soaps and coordinating bath salts. The above spa bath salts were colored with GoPlanet's pink salt dye and scented with Hugs & Kisses fragrance oil. It's amazing what you can do with a recycled Mason jar.

Pictured below are my grand kids in the recycled box car we designed today. They were pretty excited about the headlights which were assembled from clear plastic cups, miniature flashlights, and a computer print out of car headlights. My grand daughter played all day in her new Spider Girl costume. Poppy (that would be my honey-man) made a steering wheel from paper plates.

I've never seen kids so excited about empty boxes.

They played for hours and with little fighting (amazing!!!)

New Packaging Supplies Are Arriving

This week we started receiving some of our recycled and "organic" looking packaging supplies. Over the holiday closure (December 23-January 1) I will be assembling ideas to showcase on my blog. GPE will be selling gift packs that include various items needed to put together your own touches to a natural type of gift wrap.

I'm excited to start working on some fun packaging ideas for your soap or toiletry products. With the trend for "green" and re-purposed items, I think you'll find some of the ideas a selling point for your product.

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.

Creating Your Own Bath & Body Labels

Last week, a customer emailed the following:

I would like to know how to find labels that are round, different shapes, etc...where do i find the paper for those? Could you toss me a few tips on how to make nicer labels? I would appreciate that!

Although GoPlanet no longer makes ready-made bath and body products, we have certainly had plenty of experience through the years. In years past, there wasn't nearly the label selection that is offered today. I have pictured a few of the labels that we have done for our annual "Girls Night Out" soaping event. The labels on the jars were created using MS Publisher. The labels were ordered through OnlineLabels.com. They have labels for just about everything and offer a comprehensive selection of labels that include waterproof, fun shapes and assorted colors. They also offer templates and software that you can download to create some pretty awesome labels (with little effort!).

If you are getting serious about your soaping business, I suggest that you invest in a Color Laser Printer as the ink doesn't smear and labels are resistant to light and water (to a certain degree). Here are some tips from my point of view, and I welcome any input from others:

• Keep the label design simple and to 2-3 colors
  
  
• Be sure to include ingredients for the product being sold
  
  
• If you are reselling the product, you will want to have your company name and contact information on the label. I am not going to get into the details of FDA regulations for retail products in this post, but I do suggest a book that provides easy guidance about the technicalities of bath & body labeling: http://www.forsoapmakers.com/books/
  
  
• Use a design theme that works with your company logo and design concept. Select a font type that fits your company image. If your company is fun and whimsical, then select a font type that depicts that image. Are you wanting to create a more up-scale image, then lean toward a font type that has a more classic appeal.
  
  
• Be careful with images. I, personally, like to use fun shapes as opposed to detailed photos. That's a personal choice. As you will note with the above labels, basic shapes were my option.
  
  
• Do your homework. Take a look at some of the bath & body labels you find online. What jumps out at you, what do you not like? Take notes and then design your label based on those assessments. It's always good to get a few opinions. Create a couple of different label designs and then ask family and friends what they like best. Afterall, these people are going to be some of your best consumers and advocates for your product.
  

Bath Butter Scrub Recipe

It's time again for my annunal Holiday Soap Night with the Bunco gals. Tonight we are doing 3 projects. Soap crayons for the grandkids and 2 projects for us girls... a Bath Butter Scrub and Body Butter Lotion. When you get to be middle-aged, you need all the pampering you can get.


Below is the Bath Butter Scrub recipe that we are using for Soap Night. If you would like to purchase the entire kit, you can do so on the GoPlanetEarth web site. A limited number of kits are being offered until the end of the year. You will want to order early to ensure you get one. The kit includes labels, jars, and all the ingredients needed to make (4) body butter scrubs. The only thing not included is the sugar which is readily available from your pantry or a local grocer. There are two fragrance choices offered with the kit: Japanese Cherry Blossom (makes a pink color body scrub) and Olive Asian Tapenade (makes a yellow color body scrub as shown below).

The finished product is perfect for gift-giving. This type of scrub sells for up to $30 a jar. Make your own for a fraction of the cost!

RECIPE:

Fills two 8-ounce jars

• 16 ounces of bath butter
• 2 1/2 tablespoons of glycerin
• 8 drops of DWP colorant
  2 1/2 to 3 teaspoons of fragrance oil
• 3/4 cup sugar (we used standard white sugar that you bake with)
• 1 cup medium coarse sea salts
  

Whip the bath butter with electric mixer unitl it begins to get smooth. Then add the glycerin, color and sugar. Continue mixing until light and fluffy. Fold in the medium coarse sea salt and fragrance. Spoon mixture into jar.

NOTE: If you find it difficult to get the mixture into the jar, do the following:

Scoop all of the mixture from the mixing bowl into a 4-cup microwaveable dish. A glass measuring cup works well. Set microwave on medium heat and heat the mixture for 3 minutes, remove and stir gently. Place back in the microwave for another 1 to 2 minutes. DO NOT OVERHEAT. Every microwave heats differently, so keep your eye on the mixture. You just want the mixture soft enough to pour into the jar.

More On Creating Your Own Labels for Soap

Creating labels or packaging your soaps so they stand out from the rest can seem like a daunting task. You've created your soaps, now what? Here are a few pointers I've found helpful over the years. They have proven to work for me and I want to share.

First and foremost. KNOW YOUR MARKET. Are you selling to high-end spas or targeting the "tween" or college kids. This will determine how you label and package your soaps.

For this post, I'm showing an example of selling to young college students. They love bright colors, fun soaps, and are very much into labels that speak to them personally. Remember how you loved (and maybe still do) reading your horoscope in magazines? Those printed words seemed to jump off the page and speak to you on a very personal level. You would read it and say, "Yes, that's me exactly!" We've applied that horoscope type personality to our soap labels.

The labels were created with eye-catching colors and simple in design. The wording is easy to read and the term "Kick Butt" on the front panel is a familar term with this age group.

Selecting names for the scents used is very important. Apple is boring, Apple Autumn Affair has more appeal. Japanese Cherry Blossom is not so exciting, but Sexy Sukura, well, that might make this age group stop and smell the soap. I think you get the idea.

OK, you've lured your buyer into smelling the soap. So... how do you clinch the sale? Including a brief "trigger" descriptor on the label might be the ticket that seals the deal. When your buyer reads it, it's much like that horoscope that shouts out, "Yes, that's me!" Here are some of the descriptors we've used successfully:

For Apple Autumn Affair:

If you love Autumn, football, hay rides, and fresh apple cider... then you've found your magical scent. You can have an affair with this yummy, delicious smelling soap year-round.

Sexy Sukara:

A blend of Asian cherry blossoms and mimosa flowers with warm vanilla & orinetal woodsy ntoes make this a very romatic, sexy scent. If you want to kick things up a notch... this is the soap for you.

Paradisus Riveria:

Hikes along the beach, porch swings, candlelight dinner for two, spa get-away, curling up with a good love story... this is your signature soap. A soft, romantic floral scent with hints of tropical paradise.

Hometown Girl:

Warm creamy milk fresh from the farm & nutty almonds mingled with natural grain oats. If you're a hometown kind of gal... this scents for you!

Limon Mojito:

A soap cocktail of juicy lime, sugar, mint leaves and rum. Are you trendy, colofrul, energetic, adventurous, love sunsets & strolls on the beach? Then take off those big-girl panties and lather up. This is the soap for you!

I've offered some teasers to help get you started. Hope it stirs up new ideas for you!

Last Week's Poll Results are in... Favorite MP Soap Base is...

This results of this week's poll question have been tallied.

POLL QUESTION:

"Which Melt & Pour base do you craft with the most?"

As you can see, clear soap base was the winner by a landslide.

New Spa Fragrance Oil Added

Love it, love it, love it is all I can say about this newst addition to our fragrance line up. It's sure to be one of our all-time favorites (at least in my opinion). Cilantro-Wasabi-Guava is a perfect uni-sex blend with hints of citrus, fern and cucumber. It is currently featured as one of our web specials. The consensus of our staff is a Big Bravo!! We'd like your opinion.

About the FDA Globalization Act of 2008

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce released a Discussion Draft of the "Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act of 2008." The “Discussion Draft is meant to stimulate discussion about how to provide adequate funding and authority for FDA to ensure safety of . . . food, drug, medical device, and cosmetic” products.

While the bulk of the document addresses the safety of foods and drugs, there is a section on cosmetics that, if enacted as it is currently stated, will have an adverse effect on any cosmetic manufacturer - and that includes all of us who make any products that fall under the FDA definition of "cosmetic".

This video gives more insight about how this act will affect small businesses and why it's important to take a proactive stand against this proposed Draft Legislation. As it stands, the act would require small cosmetics companies to pay thousands of dollars a year in registration fees and comply with burdensome paperwork that would serve only to put them out of business.

Marie Gale, President of the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild, has commited to making it a primary mission of the The Guild is to "give a voice to the handcrafted soapmaker". She states, "You can count on my making our voice heard on this matter in those hallowed halls of Congress!"

What can you do? Copy and paste the following Petition text and send it to Virgil Miller at virgil.miller@mail.house.gov. Mr. Miller is a Professional Staff Member with the House Energy & Commerce Committee. Make your voice count!

Petition Text:

We are the owners of small cosmetics companies, and the customers who love their products.
We understand that laws must be in place to protect everyone from unsafe products, but we are outraged by the Draft Legislation that would require small cosmetics companies to pay thousands of dollars a year in registration fees and comply with burdensome paperwork that would serve only to put them out of business.

If passed the legislation would deny thousands of families the ability to earn an honest living, and also deprive consumers of the variety of cosmetics and personal care products available to choose from.

We oppose this law and condemn any companies that support it as being interested only in creating an unlevel playing field where small and family owned businesses will be forced from the marketplace before they even get a chance to start out.

We urge you, as our representatives in Congress, to stop this law which would serve only to make it even harder for families to support themselves. We call instead for a real and meaningful discussion about how Congressional goals can be accomplished without enacting unfair laws that make it impossible for small businesses to survive.

In signing this Petition, we formally request that the Discussion Draft of the FDA Globalization Act of 2008 be marked up so that the legitimate concerns of small businesses and the consumers they serve can be translated into reasonable laws that protect consumers without also killing small businesses by making them pay unfair fees and comply with burdensome paperwork.

We sincerely thank you for your time.

Fun Cupcake Bath Set

Happy Birthday Chocolate Spa Cupcake $29.99

A whimsical Happy Birthday Chocolate Spa Cupcake filled with indulgent chocolate-scented treats, including bath gel, body lotion, foot scrub, a candle and more.

Consider using a chocolate theme for your own bath and body products. GoPlanetEarth's fudge brownie, chocolate cherry and chocolate fragrance oils are ideal for "chocolate" themed products.

Package your "themed" bath products in a large paper bucket available here. Decorate the unprinted bucket with cut-out shapes from up-scale wrapping paper. Adhere the cut out shapes with craft glue. Fill the bucket with colorful paper shred, arrange your product in the bucket and you're good to go. When marketing themed product, you want all of the product, including the bucket, to have the same color scheme.


The gift set pictured is availabe at Costco and includes the following:

16 oz. White Chocolate Bubble Bath
8.4 oz. Cocoa Chocolate Bath Gel
8.4 oz. Milk Chocolate Body Lotion
7.5 oz Chocolate Scented Candle in glass jar
4.4 oz. Chocolate Peppermint Foot Scrub
2.2 oz. Cocoa Chocolate Bath Salts
Plastic Pumps 2-pieces
White Poof Sponge

A Fun Favor: Parfait Sea Salts & Soap

An ideal favor for parties or showers from GoPlanetEarth.com. Layers of colorful sea salt in a plastic champagne glass topped off with a layer of soap. A few sprinkles of colored salt and a bath oil bead add the final finishing touches. An ideal favor for baby or wedding showers. An easy soap making craft for kids.


To use the salts, gently release the soap from the glass by sliding a table knife between the top edge of glass and soap. Add 2-3 tablespoons of salt to warm bath water. The bath oil bead can be added to the bath water and the top layer of soap can be used for cleansing the body.

Supplies for this project can be purchased at http://www.goplanetearth.com/.


Other Creative Ideas

• Attach a seating card or greeting to one of our lollipop sticks and insert into the salt before pouring the layer of soap.
• Consider making a chocolate fudge parfait. Use our liquid gel brown to color salts. Rotate salt layers with uncolored salt and mocha colored salts. Top off the salts with a layer of chocolate brown soap (add the brown soap color to clear soap base) sprinkled with white sea salts and a Vanilla Bath Oil bead.

View the instructional video:

Labeling Your Soaps for Resale

OK, you've made your soap, now what?

Both the US Food and Drug (FDA) Administration and US Consumer Product Safety Commission have specific regulations on labeling a bar of soap. In this post, I've given only the basics. I suggest you pay a visit to the FDA website for more in-depth resources.


Cosmetic vs/ non-cosmetic:

• A bar of soap is deemed non-cosmetic if no special claims are made beyond the fact that it cleanses the skin and is represented solely as soap.

• A bar of soap is deemed cosmetic if claims are made that is moistuizes, exfoliates, heals, beautifies, or makes any other claims beyond cleansing the skin.
  
  

Labeling a cosmetic soap bar:

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the labeling requirements for cosmetic products. The label for a bar of soap must contain the following six components:

• Ingredients in descending order of predominance
  
  
• Net weight of soap
  
  
• The word "soap" displayed on the Principal Display Panel (PDP). This is usually on the front panel of label.
  
  
• Name and place of business. The street address may be omitted if your business is listed in a current city or telephone directory.
  
  
• A warning statement whenever necessary or appropriate to prevent a health hazard that may be associated with the product.
  
  
• Directions for safe use

Labeling a non-cosmetic soap bar:

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission administrates and regulates the safety of personal care products that are non-cosmetic. Three key elements must appear on the label.

• The word "soap". Examples include" "Cucumber Melon Soap", Fragrant Soap Slice, Maggie's Handmade Soap
  
  
• Net weight of soap
  
  
• Company name and place of business

These are only the basics. Comprehensive labeling information is available at the FDA web site listed above. Another highly recommended resource is a book by Marie Gale, Soap & Cosmetic Labeling, How to Follow the Rules and Regulations Explained in Plain English. If you order the book, let Marie know that Denise from GoPlanetEarth.com sent you her way!

Make Rainbow Colored Soap Labels with Shaving Cream

Here is a unique, inexpensive and simple method for creating banded soap labels. Print the labels using a laser printer. You can print the labels on any paper type that is suitable for laser printers, including color card stock. Once you've printed the text for your labels, follow the instructions given in this How-To video. (NOTE: Do not try to print text once you have colored the paper. It could damage your print cartridges.)

This is a fun project to do with kids. The guest artist in this instructional is my grandson, Carson. He did an incredible job and definitely enjoyed watching himself on the 'puter (that's short for computer).

Look for an upcoming post about how to label your soap for resale. Learn what info must be listed on soap labels.