Awesome Giveaway from The Soap Lab!

The Soap Lab and All Modern have collaborated to bring you a chance to win some beautiful accessories for your bathroom!

This very cool toothbrush cup and soap dish set is by Alessi. They were designed by Emma Silvestris, an eclectic and versatile jewelry designer by trade. She combines soft, feminine lines, the precision of geometry and classic elegance, as well as the use of ancient symbols, to create seemingly weightless designs. The red set is offered in this giveaway, but you can find the silver set and many more coordinating pieces here. I especially like the paper towel holder!

All Modern has a fantastic selection of modern furniture and home accessories from many leading designers. Part of CSN Stores, All Modern is just one of over 260 retail sites that offer a diverse array of products from Herman Miller’s popular Aeron Chair to cookware by Rachael Ray. Check out their popular Modern Design Blog - www.moderndesignblog.com.

If you would like a chance to win, just leave a comment telling me about your favorite modern designer or modern item, and make sure to include your email address. A name will be randomly drawn by www.random.org. That's it!

Good luck!

Tutorial: Rustic Chevre Soaps

Inspired by handmade fromage de chevre (goat cheese), the rustic texture of these round soap bars is created using cheese cloth. This easy project uses only natural ingredients (with goat's milk soap of course!), and the lather is super creamy thanks to a healthy dose of real honey. Add tea, herbs, or crushed dried flowers for an attractive and slightly exfoliating texture.

Supplies:

10 oz Goats Milk Glycerin Soap Base
1 Tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon crushed tea, dried herbs or flowers
8 squares of cheese cloth, cut 4" x 4"
Standard muffin tin
Pastry brush

Steps:

Layer 2 squares of cheese cloth and put them into 4 muffin tins.

Melt the soap base in the microwave (30-45 seconds should be plenty). Stir in honey and tea.

Dip pastry brush in soap and paint the cheese cloth, so it sticks completely to the muffin tin.

Before filling molds, make sure soap has cooled enough so the herbs are suspended in the soap, not floating or sinking.

Fill molds generously. Spray surface with alcohol to pop any surface bubbles (optional).

Allow to harden completely.

Unmold soaps by tugging on the cheese cloth. Peel cloth from bars.

Wrap in fresh cheese cloth and tie with twine for a nice presentation.

You can certainly use any kind of fragrance you like, but the honey adds a nice subtle sweetness that suits the roughness of these bars.

For some great chevre inspiration, search "fromage de chevre" on Flickr.
Enjoy!

New Video! Finding Inspiration for New Soap Designs

I hope you enjoy this new video about finding inspiration. I took a trip to Architectural Salvage of San Diego in the Little Italy neighborhood and went browsing in this wonderful shop full of antique treasures. Enjoy lots of tips and design suggestions as I show you how to translate beautiful details into soap ideas.

Where are some places you feel inspired? I'd love to hear!

The Lights Just Got a Little Brighter in The Soap Lab!

Have you heard of The Bright Side Project? If you receive the Daily Candy emails, maybe you remember seeing their feature. It's a really neat blog that picks an artist and gives readers a chance to win something from that artist by answering a nifty question. It's a fun and easy way to look on the bright side!

Today they chose Soapylove as the artist du jour. Get a chance to win a Typography Soap of your own here. I'll be picking the winner myself, so make your answer a stand out! :)

BTW, more Typography Soaps will be available June 1. We're making them as fast as we can!

Thanks for the love, Bright Side Project!

Come and Get It! Early Bird Discount This Week on New Issue.

The new special edition of Let's Get Soapy is now available! You will love this issue, dedicated to the look of The Soap Lab. Find out how to:

make custom texture sheets
use them for melt & pour AND CP soap
engrave these gorgeous Wood Grain soap bars
get inspired by an amazing packaging design page
learn how to make some great new non-bleeding soap colors
and a lot more

There are 20 pages packed full of great info (21 if you include the printable wood grain template).

As usual, if you order your issue this week you get the early bird special - $12 instead of the regular price of $15. Special price goes up June 1!

For more pictures from inside the issue, you can go straight to the shopping cart page here.

I hope you enjoy it! I think you will! :)

The Amazingness!

Erin Pikor, of Naiad Soap Arts, is contributing a great article for the special June issue of Let's Get Soapy. The above photograph is from her tutorial. She shows how to use the custom texture sheet project, the featured project in the eZine, for cold process soaps. A recipe and great tips are included. It's amazing the amount of depth and detail she was able to get, and it was her first try!

I'm really excited about this issue. It will be available starting on Monday at www.letsgetsoapy.com. If you get yours by June 1, you'll get a special early bird discount, too. Don't miss it!

Psst! The Soap Lab Shop is Now Open!

Since I'm all the way over here in California, I decided to open my shop today so anyone in the rest of the world will find an open shop when it's Monday there. :)

I have added the Writer's Block Soaps and my custom Black Walnut soap dishes to the shop as well. If you have any questions please feel free to drop me a line.

Thanks and happy shopping!