Last Minute handmade gift ideas

I often find myself making last minute gifts during the holidays - they are perfect for those friends who have everything and are nice to have around in case there are any unexpected guests during the holidays! Here is what I did this year:

1) Flavored liquors make for pretty gifts when packaged in corked bottles! You can get the recipes for these on my blog here. There is still time to make the Chai Whisky which only needs 24 hours to infuse! I used frosted glass cosmetic bottles that I had left over from some R&D but you can find Cork top bottles at most craft stores. Mason jars would also be lovely for packaging. You can make up sticker labels, or a raffia tie with a tag and the name of the infusion would be perfect too!

2) Handmade chocolates are always a hit! Get some nut and dried fruit trail mix and add to melted chocolate to make fruit and nut bars. Trader Joe's Omega Trail mix works well! Wrap in tin paper and a cigar band label or tag label.Good quality chocolate can be found at most health food and natural food stores or get melting chocolate from the your local craft store.  
how to to temper chocolate

For chocolate clusters get some raw nuts, candy them (great recipe here), and then dip the nuts into chocolate and spoon onto parchment paper until set! I made some yummy ones with white chocolate, candied almonds and freeze dried blueberries from Trader Joes! They go great with a blueberry vodka spritzer! (wink)

3) You can NEVER go wrong with homemade marshmallows! I used an easy recipe from the NPR website and the book "Make the Bread Buy the Butter". I added some cardamom to mine, or you can add a tablespoon or two of cocoa powder for chocolate marshmallows or even some peppermint extract! Bags can be found at your local craft store.

Bird on Branch Mini Chocolate Covered Cakes on SoapQueen

This delicious, edible chocolate project is made with my bird.on.branch mold available at Bramble Berry. Originally intended for soap making, the mold material is PERFECT for molding chocolate! I have provided a gluten free vegan recipe for the cake as well as links/resources for vegan chocolate and cream filling if you want to make this project all Vegan. Check it out on the Soap Queen Blog.

I made these cute labels for the cakes - download the free clip art for the labels here: Bird.on.Branch Mini Chocolate Cake labels

Tutorial: Sweet Treats Mini Soap Chocolates

I always love to give handmade goodies for holidays and I think these little soap chocolates are the perfect Valentine's Day gift for a sweetheart or even friends and co-workers. They are simple and budget friendly! I hope you enjoy it!

Materials:

• 12 oz. of Bright White glycerin soap

• 8 oz. of Naturally Clear plus 4 oz. of Bright White glycerin soap

• two, 2 cup microwave safe glass measuring cups

• 2 plastic droppers

• Wilton Bite size brownie squares pan

• Strawberry Fragrance Oil

• Dark Rich Chocolate Fragrance Oil

• Non Bleed Red Liquid Color

• Brown Oxide Liquid Color

• two, 2 or 4 oz. Plastic Squeeze Bottles

• Rubbing Alcohol in a Spray Bottle

a simmering pan of water (optional)

Directions:

1) Melt 12 oz of white soap in microwave - about 2 minutes. Add 6 drops of Non bleed red color, less or more depending on how light or dark you would like your pink, and 4 ml of Strawberry Fragrance. Set aside

2) Melt 8 oz of clear soap base plus 4 oz. of white soap base in microwave - about 2 minutes, Add 30 drops of Brown Liquid Oxide, more or less depending on how light or dark you would like the chocolate color, and 4 ml of Rich Dark Chocolate Fragrance Oil. 

here are the colors you are looking to get

3) Pour about 1 oz of pink soap into one squeeze bottle and about 1 oz of Chocolate Brown soap into the other squeeze bottle. If the soap starts to set up, place the bottles in a pan of simmering water until the soap is liquid again.

4) Working in only 12 of the mold cavities, make thin lines of soap across the mold in a diagonal motion using one of the soap colors. You may get a little pooling depending on how hot the soap is – this is ok! Repeat in the remaining 12 cavities with the other soap color. Let set for about 5 minutes.

I make the lines across the entire mold but if you are less messy than me,  you can concentrate the lines within the individual cavities. The lines will just be thicker if you do that.

5) Make sure the soap in the glass containers is at about 120 degrees, not too hot to melt the soap and not too cool to look goopy. Let cool or heat as needed. Spray the brownie mold with a generous amount of rubbing alcohol coating all of the soap lines. 

6) Pour the pink soap in the mold cavities with chocolate brown stripes and the chocolate brown soap in the mold cavities with the pink stripes. Spray with rubbing alcohol to remove air bubbles and let set about 1 hour until the soap is completely firm.

 

 

7) Pop out of the mold and you are done!

Variation: Once you get the hang of the squeeze bottles you can make other designs such as hearts, swirls or dots.

Packaging ideas:

Stack soaps in a wide mouth glass apothecary jar. Decorate with an antique key to your heart and a handmade heart tag and finish with ribbon!

 

4 soaps fit perfectly in a 3.25 in square by 1 inch box. Add a little paper shred in the bottom of the box, place soaps, and finish with a ribbon and handmade tag.

Add pink wood shred to the bottom of a shallow tin and fill with soaps! What  a nice surprise when the lucky recipient opens the box!

resources:

A little Package of Joy!

On Monday I got a little package of Joy from a wonderful customer of mine...

The fabled Neiman Marcus Cookies! 

There is a whole urban legend around the cookie claiming a customer bought the recipe for a $250 price tag. Another recipe is also on the Neiman Marcus site which looks pretty standard save coffee powder, but the Urban Legend version calls for such delights as ground chocolate and finely ground oatmeal and I think it is far better!

The beauty of the recipe is that you can add just about any nut or morsel to it and it will still taste wonderful! Masa's version has pecans, walnuts, butterscotch , white chocolate and semisweet morsels. I had a friend who added cut up Reese's peanut butter cups instead of chocolate morsels - also wonderful!

Next time you are in the mood for some cookies try this recipe (the urban legend one)!

It is always the best cookie at the party!

The super cute card is from Seltzer 

Thanks Masa!

New sugar scrub results in...

...with the tie breaker vote by me. Cream Cheese Frosting and Pumpkin Cake came out dead even so I decided, considering the season, that Pumpkin (Crumb) Cake is the winner. Sorry to the Key Lime, Lavender Buttercréme and Cream Cheese Frosting folk. The good news, Pumpkin Crumb Cake is mouthwatering and is sure to please any sweet tooth!

Buttery yellow cake with creamy pumpkin, cinnamon brown sugar and pecans! Now available in the Seasonal section of my Etsy shop, 10.5 oz jar for $13.50 plus shipping!

Other seasonal items now available:

 

Chocolate Pumpkin Spice cake soap

 

Mulled Cider Soap

Hot night, glass of wine, first blog post, way too long!

So I am, or was, and perhaps still will tell you a little about me but the heat is getting to me, making me reminisce about age 16, summer vacation, midnight hanging out with friends, grounded for sure, 85 degrees and humid, but you still get a chill up your spine when the boy you like sits down next to you, kinds of thoughts. Maybe it was the sticky sweet soap I just made; luscious berry, passion fruit, peaches, vanilla kind of fruit punch for adults that made me think of 16.
FYI: There is a roll on perfume in the works!

So I make soap, primarily, but venture into other yummy B&B treats. The daytime is for responsible production, with schedules, deadlines, phone meetings, shipping – but the nighttime is for half asleep euphoria inspired research and development!

How I make stuff:
The scent inspires the bath and body medium. I rarely make say, a cold process soap, a glycerin soap, a bath mousse, etc., all in the same fragrance (much to the dismay of my customers I am sure, but I am trying to get better about it!) I mean, Key Lime Pie and Orange Sherbet work SO much better as a creamy dessert like whipped bath mousse rather than a bar soap – I think. And French Lavender, in my opinion, is better as a rustic traditional bar of bubbly cold process soap, rather than a bath product the consistency of frosting (though lavender butter créme frosting bath mousse sounds pretty good to me right now – see I AM working on it!)

How I started:
As many soap makers can relate, I started making glycerin soap, or melt and pour, as a hobby on crafty weekends with friends, loved that I had a homemade alternative to the (mostly) commercial junk in the stores, and was utterly obsessed with soap making from the very first pour. I thought about soap all of the time, even dreamt about it, and would get up in the middle of the night to work on new ideas.
(I went to school for fine art, photograph and design so being inspired in the middle of the night and obsessing over creativity is something I have been at for a while) Every new creation was a love affair, my first and most long standing being the chocolate mint soap bars – Ahhhh

Long story short, I got laid off from my job and was encouraged by my awesome boyfriend and family to take the business full time! I can't tell you how much support I have received! I was also fortunate enough to meet Debbie Chialtas from Soapylove® who has been a friend and inspiration since! I don’t think I could have done it without her!

“And they lived happily ever after”
THE END ☺