Gift Bags from Envelopes... who would have thought?

Now who would have thought that an ordinary envelope could be used to make such an adorable mini-gift bag? Way cool and so inexpensive.

Here's a shout out to Jessica Jones at How About Orange for a great tutorial. A perfect gift bag for GoPlantEarth.com customers to package small soap favors or a bath bomb.

Hope you find this useful!

Easter Springfetti Melt & Pour Soap Slices

The Springfetti soap slices are a confetti tye-dye blending of colors. We were pleasantly surprised with the color effect once the loaf was sliced. It presented a wonderful splash of Easter colors, perfect for any Easter basket, or in our case, table setting.

We used our 2-pound wooden loaf mold which yielded 8 generous slices weighing 4.25 to 5 ounces per slice. We didn't use our mitre box soap cutter for this loaf project, otherwise the slices would have been more uniform in per slice weight. Instead, we opted to use a large chef's knife for slicing.

The tutorial shown below will walk you through the steps of making this colorful Sringfetti soap. You will find all of the supplies needed to complete this project at GoPlanetEarth.com, including the awesome wooden loaf. I do suggest that you melt more than 2 pounds of soap. In the end, including the colorful confetti pieces, we used closer to 3 pounds of soap. I would rather have more melted soap on hand, than not enough.

Finished soaps were wrapped with stretch wrap and labels applied to backside. I'm going to use these soaps as seating cards for Easter dinner. I've printed Happy Easter bunny place cards and taped to front of each soap (with double-sided tape).

 

How to Line a Wooden Loaf Mold for Easy Release

Soap is easy to release and, best yet, it can be used for Melt and Pour soap as well as CP soap. One key factor that contributes to easy release for melt and pour soap is that all four sides lift up off the base. It's a breeze to push the finished soap out of the mold. I just finished a melt and pour Easter loaf (which I'll talk about in another blog post) and it turned out beautifully. I was impressed at how well the wooden mold worked for melt and pour soap.

Another key factor for release, and VERY CRITICAL, is making sure the wooden mold is lined properly. GoPlanetEarth has put together a video tutorial (see below) showing the method we use to line a wooden loaf mold. It has proven to work well for us and we've experienced no leakage around the base of mold.

If you are still concerned about leakage issues after lining mold, I suggest purchasing dental wax and push into the areas you think could be problematic. Dental wax is very pliable and easy to remove and reuse. You don't want an overkill with the wax. It could impede removing the top portion of the mold from the base and you won't be able to remove your soap.

Here's the tutorial. Hope you find it helpful!

This Week's Soap Making Poll

My Dad's Veteran's Flag Case Finished

This month marks the 6 month passing of my Dad. He died from cancer. My hubby has been working on assembling a Veteran's Flag Memorial case to honor the years my Dad served his country.

Tomorrow, we are presenting my Mom with this memorial. I think of my Daddy daily. I miss his smell, his laugh, his encouragement, his kind, giving heart and most of all his butterfly kisses.

EZ To Make 2-Buck Chuck MP Soaps

Melt and pour soaps don't get any easier than this. Our 2-buck chuck soap mold offers a generous 5 1/2 ounce bar of soap. We've even created printable labels for you to use in 2 buck, 3 buck and 4 buck printable formats.

These are perfect soaps for gift giving or resale. Very EZ to make, even for first-time soapers! GoPlanetEarth offers a great variety of soap colors and fragrance oils.

Last Week's Poll Results....

Last week's poll question was "Are you willing to pay additional $$'s for organic based soap supplies and/or green packaging options?"

54% of you said YES. The remainder was divided as follows:

27% voted NO
12% voted YES, but soap supplies only
8% voted YES, but packaging only

There you have it. If you're manufacturing bath & body product, you might want to consider offering "green" options.

This Week's Soap Making Poll~ March 2

Here is the newest addition to our mold line-up. Made in the USA from quality pine these wooden loaf molds have finished/sanded edges and feature quality craftmanship. For use with cold-process soap. Each mold sold is helping an unemployed craftsman in our area. Michigan's econony is one of the worst in the Nation. Most of these guys/gals are not able to draw unemployment and building these loaf boxes is helping to put food on the table or fill gas tanks. It's just one of the ways that GoPlanetEarth is giving back to our community.

The rectangular shaped box lifts off the base for easy release. Lid fastens with bolts. As with all wooden molds, you MUST line box with waxed freezer paper; but, we make it easy by pre-lining so it's ready for first-time use.

Once the mold is filled, cover the soap with plastic wrap and place the lid on top. When the soap is covered in this way, it will not need insulation while curing. Clean the mold by scraping with a putty knife or by wiping with a damp cloth. Do not soak in water.

Molds are offered in two, four and six pound sizes. For a complete list of interior dimensions visit GoPlanetEarth.com.

Drizzled Heart Soaps- Melt & Pour Instructional

I posted these soaps Pre-Valentine's Day with a promise of a tutorial instructional. Well, I'm making good on my promise. Here's the video. Enjoy!!

All supplies for this project can be purchased at GoPlanetEarth.com.

Last Week's Poll Results....

Last week's poll question was:

Which city would be your top pick for an extended weekend getaway to learn about soap making?

Top pick was Chicago, followed by Charleston and New York. Other suggested cities included Austin, Philadelphia, and Atlanta.

Be sure to submit your vote on this week's poll question.

This Week's Soap Making Poll~ Going Green

Melt & Pour Soap Crayons- A Tutorial

Mold Market's new soap crayon mold arrived this week and has already become one of my favorite molds. On Saturday afternnoon, the grandkids and I made a batch of soap crayons. They loved picking out all the colors (we used liquid gels) and scents. We printed out the soap crayon labels available on our web site.

We used GoPlanetEarth's Pure & Natural melt and pour soap base and Ultra White base to create these colorful soap crayons. They don't write or color, but the grandkids didn't seem to care. They just thought these jumbo crayons were awesome and couldn't wait to take them in the tub. I have found that if you over-colored the soap base with liquid gel colors, the soap crayon does make markings on a porcelain surface or on ceramic tiles. Colors like red, blue, and green seem to show up the best.

Little Miss O (soon to be three) was a big help. Her job was to stir the color into the soap base. She was quick to point out, "It's a 'portant job, isn't it NeeNee?"

You'll find all the supplies for this project at GoPlanetEarth.com along with a brief video tutorial on making these kid-friendly soaps.

It's all About Color! Melt & Pour Soaps that POP!

I bookmarked this company some time ago. I'm just now getting around to a "shout-out". I tend to gravitate to soaps that scream color and call my name. Especially soaps that have unique twists that make you scratch your head and say, "Howd they do that?" The soaps from EpicallyEpic do just that! They don't just whisper "Buy me!", they scream it.

I love Allison's choice of colors in her layered Tulip Soaps. And the classic B/W Zebra striped soaps are simple, yet profound. GoPlanetEarth's Black Oxide liquid gel is a perfect choice for coloring soap black (just be sure to use clear soap base with the black color).

I was especially delighted to see these soap curl soaps. This is one of the instructionals listed on GoPlanetEarth's Tutorials. Allison showcases a terrific loaf slice using soap curls. This soap would work very well using the Mold Market square loaf mold.

I also fell in love with the layered loaf shown below. Each deep earthy color is layered between a single layer of clear soap base. It's a perfect uni-sex soap design and very organic in style. I love it! Great job, Allison. Our Earthtone Six-Pack will produce these wonderful colors. Might try pairing this soap design with an Australian Bamboo & Hemp or Teak & Sandalwood fragrance.

This Week's Poll ~ Best City to have a Soap Weekend Getaway

If you could pick a city to spend an extended weekend learning, making, and socalizing about soap making... where would it be?

Poll Results ~ Favorite Melt & Pour Colorants

And the winner for favorite Melt & Pour soap colorant is...
Bright, primary type colors in liquid gel form. These have always been a TOP seller for GoPlanetEarth.

Tied for second was Shimmery Mica colors {jewel tones or metallic types} and Food Grade Dyes. Followed by powder pigments (earthy color types) which tied with earthy color liquid gels.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Everyone's aware of the ecomonic woes facing our country. And, no one knows better than the suburban communities where I live. Forbes magazine just announced the Top Ten Worst Cities. My surburban community happens to be positioned midway between #6 (Flint, MI~pictured above) and #7 (Detroit, MI~pictured below).

The economic conditions and recent press on these two cities is so bad that when my husband and I travel and are asked, Where do you live?, we reply, "The North Pole." I'm not joking! I am saddened that these once thriving cities are on national display for government corruption & scandals, auto plant shutdowns, lay-offs, homelessness, foreclosures, and the list goes on.


I may not live in these cities, but I have friends and family that do. And, many of our surburbia neighbors commute to these cities for work, or at least they did before being laid off or let go from their jobs. From six-figure design engineers to hourly line workers, everyone is facing hardship.


Why do I share this news with you? To thank each and every one of my loyal customer for your continued business. I know that many of you are facing financial uncertainies and economic hardships. I want you to know that I value your business and appreciate that you have selected GoPlanetEarth.com as a supplier. We truly want to see your soaping business and soaping projects succeed.


In 2009, GoPlanetEarth will be showcasing many new resources to help you grow your business. Including FREE instructionals, tutorials, and special preferred customer discounts. If you haven't already signed up for our newsletter, you should. This will ensure you recieve notification of special discount offers. You can do this from the main page of our web site.

Here is a special Blog 8% discount valid through 2/15/2009 when placing an order with GoPlanetEarth.com. You must enter the following code during checkout to receive the discount:


BLOG210

Possible Retraction on Bath Soap Crayons??

Earlier today I posted about my soap crayon testing. However, the real testers were here this evening. That would be my grandkids. They immediately spotted a round blue ball in the bathroom. Yep, you guessed, it was one of the soap flake test crayons.

There are no word to describe how excited they were to try it out. They thought it was (and I'm quoting here) the coolest, most awesome soap ever! Since I used the term "bath crayon", they had a hard time understanding that they weren't suppose to be coloring the mirror, the toilet seat, the glass shower doors and walls. In their mind, a bath crayon was for coloring EVERYTHING in the bathroom. It took NeeNee about 2 seconds (nah... more like a 1/4 second) to make it VERY clear this was a crayon for the bath tub. Nixnay on the glass shower doors.

The kids did some coloring on the sink to see how the soap crayon worked. They left my house toting their little soap ball crayons home in plastic baggies for tonight's bath.

I must say that letting the soap crayons set for 3 days instead of 2 made a difference in the firmness of the crayon. I'll still do a 2nd test batch that includes other colors and hotter water. But for now, it was a hit with the 3-6 year old age group. I may have to issue a retraction on some of my initial test opinions.

Tutorial on Making Soap Crayons

I continually see recipes and rave reviews about homemade bath crayons made from soap flakes. What I never note are photos from these individuals who boast or post about the success of these soap crayon recipes. For that reason, I decided to give it a try. This tutorial logs findings based on my intial test.

A follow-up test with modifications is in the works. In the meantime, I believe this tutorial will give you a good idea of what to expect when making soap crayons from soap flakes.

If you have any follow-up comments, email or post on the blog. We have some way-cool soap crayon molds arriving soon and it would be great to have a perfected soap crayon recipe for use with the crayon mold.

A $100 cash-prize is in the works for that one special person providing a proven (GoPlanetEarth staff approved) soap crayon recipe that we can share with our customers. Look for an entry form to be posted soon.

Requirements:

a) crayons must visibly write on porcelain tubs/tiles

b) crayons must be soap based and lather when used as soap

c) contain colors that won't stain skin or tub

d) contain skin safe colors/ingredients

e) sample soaps must be submitted with recipe

This Week's Soap Making Poll ~ Soap Colors