Craft Show Display

I didn't realize I have so many more products than last year!  It took me about two hours to figure out how to display everything on one 6-foot table but I finally did it.  Here are a few pics:

Let me know what you think!

Craft Show Addition

One more show for this year's list:

November 19 10am-4pm
TC Williams High School
Alexandria, VA

Book Review: The Crossing by Serita Jakes

"On the way home from a football game a decade earlier, a masked gunman opened fire on a Texas school bus. Cheerleading coach B.J. Remington was killed but he murderer was never found. Claudia, who had a close friendship with the young, spirited teacher constantly relives the anguish of that day, caught in one moment in time. When her assistant district attorney husband becomes determined to uncover the mystery of that tragedy, the secrets buried over the years threaten to tear their family apart.
Officer Casio Hightower will never forget the day his dreams were destroyed. A star quarterback with a promising future, Casio was on top of the world-until one bullet changed everything. He is eager to help Victor Campbell find B.J.'s killer, the man who shot him. Maybe solving the case will help silence the demons driving Casio to hurt the woman he loves"

This book was very easy to get into. Each chapter begins with the thoughts of Ms. Remington as she lay dying on the floor of the bus. More secrets and clues become revealed with each chapter but the killer still came as a surprise to me.

This book held my attention and I was able to finish it in only 3 days. I would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a mystery.

An excerpt from the book can be found HERE.

As a reminder, I was given this book for free from the WaterBrook Multnomah "Blogging for Books" program. All opinions are my own.

2011 Show Schedule

Here is my list of shows so far for this year:

October 22 9am-3pm
Forest Park High School
Woodbridge, VA

November 12 9am-3pm
Centreville United Methodist Church
Centreville, VA

December 10 9am-3pm
Gar-Field High School
Woodbridge, VA

I'm working on a few more so I'll keep you posted. I hope to see you there!

Christmas Ornaments

The holidays are quickly approaching! It's time to work on some ornaments for my other Etsy shop. Here's what they look like so far:

Each ornament has between 85-90 origami stars that I patiently folded, taking over 1 hour per ornament.  The stars were then placed into the plastic ornament and the sides were glued so it stays together.
Eventually they'll have a ribbon like this one I made last year:

If you have any color suggestions I'd love to hear them!

Book Review: Breath of Angel by Karyn Henley

I think this is my favorite of all the books I've reviewed.  I was hooked from the first chapter when the young priestess, Melaia, witnesses the murder of a stranger in the temple courtyard.  Legends that she has been told since childhood suddenly come to life with the discovery of angels and shape-shifters.

Melaia finds herself caught in the middle of a feud between two immortal brothers who destroyed the stairway to heaven, stranding angels in the earthly realm.  After being tricked into giving away a very important item to one of the brothers, Melaia discovers that she is the key to repairing the stairway.  She must find a way to get the items back, save her friends, and repair the stairway.

This is the first in a series of books.  As the book ends, Melaia has not yet repaired the stairway.  Eye of the Sword will be coming out in Spring 2012 and I'm very much looking forward to it.

An excerpt from this book can be found HERE.

As a reminder, I was given this book for free from the WaterBrook Multnomah "Blogging for Books" program. All opinions are my own.

Sugar Scrub Bars!

For those of you who love the sugar scrub cubes, I have a wonderful new product for you!  These sugar scrub *bars* are just like the cubes but the same size as a bar of soap.  You can use the whole bar as an exfoliating soap, or break a piece off and crush it up like you do with the cubes.

These bars will be available early next week.  I currently have Sugar Dust (above), Yuzu (below), and Herbal Bliss.  I'm also working on Lavender, Cherry Blossom, and Pumpkin Spice.

New Packaging - I Need Your Help!

Most of you know what my current packaging looks like.  If not, here's a peek:

I love the look of this but it's very time consuming so I'm trying to come up with some other options.  Here's the first one:

It's very similar but the bottom isn't covered.  There's also a bit less soap showing at the top since the paper doesn't fold down as far now that the bottom inch is gone.
Another option is this one:

This one is a just a band of paper with the same label and ribbon.  (Please ignore the label on this one; it printed incorrectly so I decided to use it as my trial.)  This is the easiest and it uses the least amount of paper.  I like this option for those reasons but it seems odd to me since I'm so used to seeing my soaps wrapped with the front folded down.

Please comment and let me know what you think!  Which option would you prefer?  Or maybe something else that I haven't thought of?



4 Year Anniversary Sale!

I've been so busy lately that I forgot July 26th was my 4 year anniversary of selling on Etsy!  I decided that I have to do something to celebrate so as a Thank You to all my customers who helped me reach this milestone, everything is now 25% off!  All of the prices on my website will be marked down through Saturday the 6th.

Be sure to keep an eye on my facebook page for more events!

New Soaps!

New soaps have finally been listed in my shop.  Here is the Pineapple Cilantro:

Perfect Pear:

And I restocked the Sandalwood Vanilla: