New products! Finally!

With the holidays coming and craft show season having already begun, I figured it's about time I roll out some new products! 

Gift Sets!

These sets contain a bar of soap, solid lotion stick, solid perfume, and soy wax melt. They currently come in 5 scents: Sandalwood Vanilla, Brown Sugar Vanilla, Sugar Dust, Jasmine, and Raspberry.

Soy Wax Melts!
These are made to add an amazing fragrance to your home by melting in your wax warmers. They are made with soy wax which burns clean and cleans up with soap and water. They currently come in 15 different scents.

Penguins!
These cuties will waddle right into your hearts. They are wintergreen scented glycerin soap. The perfect scent to wake you up in the morning!

Be sure to keep checking my shop for new items. I have some great ideas for the new year!

Etsy Trading

"What can I get for 2 bars of soap and a washcloth?"

Ask that at your local store and all you'll get is funny looks. Ask that on Etsy and the possibilities are endless! (one more reason I love etsy)

Here are a few of the FABULOUS things I've gotten through Etsy trading:

Wine Stopper by DreaBunny: (custom made to match my kitchen...isn't she awesome?!)

Crackle Glass Purple Earrings by KSchaffter:

Fabric Covered Pocket Mirror by flirtbuttons: (Please note, flirtbuttons is not currently trading)

Pluck Bracelet by relishdress:

You might be wondering how you go about trading. There are a few ways you can do this. One way is to search the Etsy forums. There are numerous trading threads you can search through or add your name to.

Another way is to contact a shop owner directly. Read through the shop announcements, policies, and profile first. Some owners will state whether they are open to trades or not. Please be respectful and courteous when contacting shop owners. Not everyone likes to trade. Ask nicely and don't be offended or upset if they say no.

Some people do trades differently, but the most common way is to agree on an equal trade (example: a $5 item for a $5 item) and then purchase the items from each others shop but don't actually pay for it. Then send out your item! Oh, and don't forget to leave great feedback for your awesome new goodies!

I'm currently on the lookout for some cloth napkins, placemats, and a tablecloth to match my blue and purple kitchen. So...what can I get for 2 bars of soap and a washcloth? :)

Soapers Exposed!

Etsy soapers have been exposed! Here's a peek at myself and some of my fellow CYA (Clean up Your Act) team members:

Sneak Attack Was A Success!

The other day I posted about the Sneak Attack I was sponsoring on the 29th. Well, it turned out to be a HUGE success! My "victim" was herbanlifestyle. During her attack she received 28 sales! I'm really not surprised considering what great products she sells. Here's a peek at a few of them.


Deep Relaxation Massage/Bath Oil:



Soak On It Bath Salts:



Gift Set containing 6 of her items:


Congrats on all the sales, herban! And a big THANK YOU to everyone who participated!

Wanna help make someone's day? Here's a list of the upcoming Sneak Attacks: http://www.handmademovement.com/

Sneak Attack!

I'm sponsoring a Sneak Attack on Tuesday October 28th at 2:00pm!

If you don't already know what a "Sneak Attack" is here's some info:

We all get together and "attack" an unsuspecting Etsy shop at the same time and make a purchase (or several). The shop chosen has zero or only a few sales, so this is an awesome surprise!

Sneak Attacks are planned almost every weekday. Check out www.handmademovement.com for the schedule.

The shop isn't announced until it's time for the attack. That way the surprise isn't ruined. You will be given a hint as to what the shop sells though. The shops always have at least a few items under $10.

It's easy to participate! Just show up at the given time and make a purchase from that shop. Even if you can only afford one small item, sales add up quickly when everyone gets involved.

Check out the schedule and help make someone's day!

New Etsy Baker!

These cookies are what I found in my mailbox yesterday. Aren't you jealous? hehe:) They were made by Heidi of Heidi's Cookie Shop. She's one of my fellow etsy soapmakers who recently decided to open a cookie shop. I'm glad she did! These are her Strawberry White Chocolate Cookies. As I opened the package, the smell was enough to make me want to eat them all right then. They were moist and chewy and delicious! Notice I said "were". The cookies didn't last very long once my husband and daughter discovered them. Looks like I'll need to buy more! Keep up the great work Heidi, and good luck with the new shop!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Trying to make products for my new shop and keep up with all my soap is exhausting! I have 10 things in my new shop so far and I'm working on a lot more. Right now I'm making some more cupcake play sets like I made my friend's daughter for her birthday. It comes with 4 cute cupcakes in their own cupcake box.



Hopefully I'll have these ready for my shop by Monday. I have a busy weekend ahead so I won't be getting much done.

Thankfully I had a nice break from making dinner last night. My food from athyme2bcomforted arrived yesterday afternoon so we had some delicious Carne de Puerco en Salsa Roja for dinner. I made it with rice and we all loved it! After dinner I got out the Pico Salsa (remember this from my previous post?) and Baja Chips. I will definitely be ordering from her again!

Shop #2 Open for Business!

Yay! I finally opened my second Etsy shop that I've been thinking about for ages! I named it "Angie's Others" because it contains all my 'other' crafts besides soap. So far I've added some washcloth/dishcloth sets (shown above), origami paper boxes, and a few other crochet items. I'll be adding some more paper goods and Christmas items soon. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Look What I Bought!

Doesn't that look delicious?! I just ordered this fabulous salsa from athyme2bcomforted. I also got the baja flavored tortilla chips and Carne de Puerco en Salsa Roja (Pork meat in red sauce). Don't Etsians make the most fantastic food? I just wish I could pull it out of the computer screen and enjoy it immediately. The wait is so hard!

I finally gave in and ordered that brownie sampler from ASugarAffair as well. It comes with six different brownies that make me drool just looking at them! Now I just need to figure out how to hide them from my husband and 5 year old so they don't eat them all...

Etsy-versary Sale!

July 26th is my one year anniversary of selling on Etsy. I'm so excited! To count down to the big day I'm having a 20% off sale in my shop!

This year has been great! Considering I started this as a hobby with no client basis whatsoever, I'd say I've done pretty well. I currently have 205 sales from my site. A lot of them were multiple items and a few were bulk orders of 25 or more.

I've learned a lot in the past year and I'm still learning more. I've learned a lot about soapmaking as well as business.

Here are a few things I've learned along the way:

~Take good pics that show off your product well.

~Don't put the date on your pics. Some of mine still need to be retaken because of this. I use the same pic over and over so I have some pics that still say 2007 even though the soap is freshly made.

~Use good titles that state what your product is. Some customers get annoyed when they have to click on the item to find out exactly what it is.

~Use the tags. They are there for a reason. Come up with as many words as you can to describe your product so it comes up in as many searches as possible. Don't use words that have nothing to do with it though. I hate searching for something and a completely different product comes up because someone tagged it wrong just to give it more exposure.

~Have a good variety of items and learn what customers like.

~Add new items and/or relist often.

~Spend time in the forums and chat rooms. Promote yourself, answer a few questions, make some new friends, but NEVER be negative.

~Use free online ads. It doesn't always help, but it certainly doesn't hurt either.

~Advertise offline too. I'm always looking for new ways to do this. If you have any tips, leave me a comment. A few ideas I've heard are:

• Hand out/hang up business cards.
• When taking your items to the post office carry a bag with your biz name on it.
• Put stickers with your biz name on your packages.
• Use your product in public. If you make clothing or jewelry, wear it. If you make handbags, carry one. I use my soap-to-go in public restrooms.
• Give your products as gifts.

I'm sure there are many things that I still need to learn. Feel free to share some tips that you have picked up. I'd love some new ideas!