My Etsy Finds

ETSY FIND OF THE WEEK!

ZOMB

I am proud to announce that as of today, I will be featuring at least one fantastic Etsy find each week....and this week, my first fantastic find is zomb, also known as Steph! http://www.zomb.etsy.com/

Steph started in graphic design when she was in high school and was asked to design school clothing, event programs and ticket designs. This led to eventually learning to screen print t-shirts in an effort to have her own unique look and style.

Zomb is a fun shop where you can find hand sewn monsters, screen printed t-shirts, prints, and much more! Right Etsy is part time for Steph as she is a full time univeristy student in visual studies and marketing.

When asked what she would like people to come away with when they visit her shop, Steph says, "When someone visits my shop I want them to go away thinking, 'that was fun!'" Steph also wants her shoppers to feel as though they had a unique experience in her shop.

Unique and fun...and quality is exactly what you will find at zomb! Bold colors, fun items that make you smile and say THAT IS SO COOL is definately what you will find. Check out Steph and her shop at http://www.zomb.etsy.com/!

Treasury Beaty and The Front Page!

If you have ever been to etsy, you have probably been to the treasury....where, you will find some of the finest collections from fellow etsy artisans. I just had to share this treasury made by budanArt, http://www.budanArt.etsy.com as it indeed made the front page earlier today! So congrats to budanArt, and to all the fine etsy artisans in this beautiful treasury!

About Me!!!

Sometime soon I hope to have an etsy member besides myself featured on this blog....having written that, I also hope to have more time to post in this blog....as nothing is more fun than writing about my passion---SOAP!!!

Some people have asked me why I started making my own soap. The answer sets us back about a year from this January, when I was so fed up with winter dry and cracked skin. It was then that I started researching the differences in store bought soap, and why handmade, and handpoured soap was sweeping the nation. I went out and bought a few bars of handmade soap...melt and pour and cold process...and I gotta tell ya, not only was I hooked, but I wanted to make it myself. So the research continued. I knew I wanted to start out with melt and pour, but I also quickly realized not all melt and pour bases are created the same. So I educated myself..used the different ones out there to see which would indeed be best, did my homework, and the purest, best soap bases I use and sell today are the ones that came out the winners. I made so many bars of soap my husband finally asked me what I was going to do with it all.

Etsy came into my life around mid May 2007---several months after I started making soap. I started my shop with all melt and pour soaps....as I was still researching and developing my own recipes for cold process soap. I started selling cold process soap in November 2007 after several test loaves that didn't work, and several that worked quite fabulously.

Its almost been a year since I started making soap, and I'm about 4 months away from my 1 year etsy anniversary...and had I had to do it all over again, I still would not do it any other way. Is my shop wildly successful and do I sell to salons and sit in the etsy forums and brag at nauseum about my success? No, not at all. I sell what I use and I enjoy what I do....I would not have it any other way!

Cold Process Soap vs. Melt n Pour

There's a lot of talk about which is best...cold process, or melt and pour. Without a doubt Cold Process and Hot Process soaps will always be the champions of natural soaping...however, don't discount Melt n Pour!

I make both forms of soap....I love making both forms, and while I agree that making cold process ensures that I know exactly what is in my soap, I also know what is in my melt and pour soap as well...it helps to use reputable suppliers who sell the good stuff! Don't get me wrong, nasty melt and pour does exist out there...you just have to watch for it! A good quality melt and pour actually has some percentage of goat's milk, cocoa butter, hemp, and quality oils...but does not contain sulfides, or other hard to pronounce harsh ingredients. However, you can make your melt and pour soap irritating if you use the wrong colorants and fragrances. Look for soap that contains natural colorants and mild fragrance oils, or essential oils.

In my case, I offer both melt and pour and cold process because I opened my shop with melt and pour, and it is ready within a day of making it. Cold process soap takes weeks to cure... waiting a few weeks to a couple of months results in a beautiful hard bar that lasts for a long time! I love both forms...my skin loves both forms.....if you are new to either one, you should really try both and see which you like the best!

I love questions about soap....if you have questions, feel free to email me!

Uh, Yeah

So this morning I got out of bed only to realize there are only so many shopping days left before the day after Thanksgiving...yipes! We are only almost a week away...so I've been feverishly trying to get my stock up so I can handle everything at once....and just when I think I've got it.....the attack of the supplier who can't handle rush orders unless you pay a rush order fee hits!

Don't get me wrong....I love my suppliers. Great prices...natural, quality products that enable me to bring a quality natural product to my shop---but come on...pay a fee to get my order looked at first? Does this really ensure I will have my items packaged up today and out the door by tomorrow?

Its kinda like paying priority when you know its only going to arrive as quickly as first class....what's the point?

Anyway...happy days are ahead...and I think I'm ready!

Fall Is Definately Here!

I'm partial to this time of year....Halloween, the trees changing colors...being able to be outside without sweating---good times! I especially love that I can have the windows open and....no bugs!

Fall also means school! My daughter Hailey is in Kindergarten...and one day her teacher sent the kids home with a project..

<......this is Hailey's project! It is made of a grapefruit, apple, string cheese chunks make up the mouth, peanuts for eyes, acorns for ears, and the wild and funky hair is cinnamon sticks---how creative and fun!

Welcome to My Sudsy Blog!

Hello and welcome friends! As I get more familiar with how to set this up, I will be adding more to it, and look for featured etsy artists I adore!