Peanut Butter Soap - Good enough to eat?

As usual I had packages sitting outside waiting for a pick-up this morning. It looked like it was going to rain so I peeked out to see if the mailman had taken them yet. One of them had fallen on the ground so I went out to pick it up. As I set it back on the pile, guess what I discovered? Two other packages with holes in them and a bar of my Peanut Butter Soap had a bite taken out of it!

Hubby thinks it was squirrels. After all, they do like nuts. However, those crows sitting on my neighbors truck were looking quite suspicious...

Whatever it was had ripped all the way through my flat rate envelope to get to the soap. The other package was ok, just a few holes poked in it but I guess it was strong enough to keep the critter out.

Luckily, I had more and quick repackaged it with a new bar before the mailman got here. I can't even imagine the convo I'd get about that one! "Umm, my soap arrived partially eaten". I would never have believed it!

Sale!

In an effort to reach my goal for the year, I'm having a 10% off sale in my shop! This sale will only last until I reach 400 sales, so hurry before it's over! Whoever gets me to 400 will also receive a FREE Soap-To-Go in addition to their 10% discount!

I'm Still Alive!

I can't believe it's been almost a whole month since I posted! The Christmas rush has been wonderful! Between that, a wholesale order, and craft show season, I've been crazy busy lately. I'm working on some new soaps too, so keep an eye on my shop for some exciting new items!


Speaking of exciting, I'm getting closer and closer to my goal of 400 sales! I'll have to have a big celebration sale when it happens:)


Check out this cute new packaging for my Caramel Macchiato Soaps:

I found these cups at the store the other day and couldn't resist.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Christmas is Coming!

Can you believe Christmas is next month already?! I finally got some of my Christmas soaps listed in my shop. Above are my Peppermint Candy Soaps.

I can't wait to see what everyone else on Etsy makes for Christmas. I need to start shopping for gifts and I have my eye on quite a few shops already!

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/

Getting Ready for Winter

Some winter soaps that will be available in my shop shortly:


Frostbite (wintergreen):



Sugarplum:



Sinus Relief:

Everything's on SALE!

It's time to stock up on Christmas gifts! Everything in both my shops is 10% off for the CREST team sale! The sale is going from today until November 3rd.

Be sure to check out the other great CREST sales going on too! Just search for the tag "etsycrestsale".

New ornaments in my AngiesOthers shop:



New soap sampler in my Suds 'N' Such shop:


Happy shopping everyone!

Vote and Win!

Hop on over to the CYA Team blog and vote for your favorite Autumn item from a few of our shops. The winner will receive the winning item! Voting ends midnight October 26th and the winner will be announced on the 27th.

Not only do you get a chance to win a great item, but after you vote you'll receive 10% off any of the participating shops! Just ask the seller for your voter's discount.

Here's my entry...My autumn themed washcloths!

Cross Promoting - Get Some More Customers!

Need some more customers? Who doesn't? Today I'm going to share an idea that I've been working on lately to promote my store.

What is it? Cross promoting!

What is cross promoting? Cross promoting is when you collaborate with another seller to promote each others work. Here are a few tips to get you started.

1) Find someone who sells something that fits with your product so you can reach your target audience. Example: I'm working with a feminine product seller to help promote my PMS Relief soap.

2) Research the other seller. I have absolutely nothing against new shops but if you want the promotion to work, you need someone who is selling. If they're not making sales, your samples are just sitting in their house.

3) Contact the seller. Be polite. Explain the benefits of the cross promotion for both the other seller and yourself. Don't be pushy. If they don't want to work with you, don't be offended. Just find someone else.

4) Work out the details. Discuss with the other seller how many items you want to swap and when. Trade addresses.

5) Get to work on your samples/promo items. Make something that will stand out. Something that the customer can use is always best. People are more likely to buy if they can try out the product first. If your product isn't something that can be made into samples, try a promotional item like a lipgloss or pen with your logo on it. Preferably something that fits the theme of your shop and will remind them of you when they use it.

6) Be considerate of the other seller. Don't send big samples that are going to cause the other seller to lose profits to pay the extra shipping charges. Keep them small.

7) Hand the other sellers items out with your orders! This should be obvious. Please hold up to your end of the bargain.

8) Watch the sales roll in! Well, I hope anyway:)

I'm thinking for the future I might add a coupon to the samples with a special code so I know where my customers are coming from. This will help me track which promotions are working best.

If you give this a try let me know how it works for you!

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!

Sneak Peek

I know I haven't posted in awhile but I've been super busy preparing for the holiday/craft show season. I'm also working on a few contests, cross-promotions, etc. Here's a little peek at what's coming to my shop soon.

This is a batch of Sugar Plum that I made this morning. That's real sugar sprinkled on the top.


This one is Almond with Almond Meal for exfoliation:


This has absolutely nothing to do with soap but I found this little guy in my yard yesterday. His face cracks me up:)

Now I've gotta get back to work! I promise to try to update more often!

And the new name is....

Dark Chocolate Chunk!

Thanks jewelstreet for the great new name!

Runners up were:
Double Fudge Brownie
Death by Chocolate
Double Chocolate Chip

Thank you to everyone who participated! Now I can go list this in my Etsy shop.

Name the Soap Contest!

I've decided to hold a contest to name the chocolate soap I blogged about earlier today. If I pick the name you submit, you'll win a free bar!

Enter as many times as you like. Winner will be chosen at noon on Friday!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip?

My chocolate chip cookie soap is finally done curing, but...look what happened! I knew it would get a bit darker as it sat, but this is DARK!

Here's what they used to look like:

I'm not quite sure what to do with them now. Do I label them Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie or some other clever name that fits the color? Or do I sell them at a discount cuz they don't look so pretty?

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!

I've Been Featured!

I woke up this morning to an email telling me that my Lemon Meringue Soap has been featured on a website! What a great way to start the day!

Here's the site:
http://www.freewebs.com/thinkyummythoughts/index.htm

Thanks daiseedeb!

About Me

Joanna over at The Soap Blog told us all about herself and challenged us to do the same. So here are some facts about me:

-I don't really like beer
-I like wine and girly drinks
-I've been allergic to bees every since getting stung 7 times at once when I was younger
-I can't whistle (my husband and daughter try endlessly to teach me)
-I'm 5'4"
-I weigh in at about 107 lbs
-I'm 28
-I wanted to be a nurse (doctors make more $ but work too much)
-I wanted to be a Muppeteer
-I worked in a ribbon factory
-I was a travel agent
-I worked as a daycare provider
-I love almost any type of Italian food, seafood(except oysters), or baked good
-I hate crowded stores
-I hate people who whine about their food being wrong in a restaurant just so they get it for free
-I'm originally from a small town in Pennsylvania
-I went to the same high school as Steve Burns from Blues Clues
-My middle name is Dawn
-My b-day is December 14, 1979
-I've owned 7 different cars
-I know how to drive a stick shift
-I have 17 piercings (16 on the ears and 1 bellybutton)
-I don't have any tattoos or any desire to get one
-I grew up going to the same church and high school as my husband but we didn't actually start dating until we graduated
-I got married in 2001
-I have a 5 year old daughter
-I have a cat named Mercedes
-I want a Yorkie and I'm going to name her Lexus (stop laughing)
-I love everything about soap
-I love to sleep but if I sleep too long I get headaches
-Dolls scare me (I think I've seen too many Child's Play movies)
-I love to read, knit, and crochet
-I hate sitting still

Well, like I said, I hate sitting still so I'm gonna go get some stuff done. I'm gonna pass along the challenge for everyone reading this to post a bit about yourself as well. Let me know if you do it. I'd love to read about you!

I'm Addicted to Additives!

I think I need help...

Lately I can't seem to make a bar of soap without adding something to it. I made tomato facial bars with tomato juice, almond bars with almond meal, chocolate raspberry with real chocolate, etc., etc. I think the watermelon and Drakkar are the only cold process soaps in my shop that don't have something special added to them.

So...I have some questions for you:

Do you like your soap plain, or with something special added?

Do you think it's weird to have fruit and veggie purees in your soap?

Would you rather have a smooth bar or a scrubby bar?

I love the additives but I want to know what everyone else likes. Leave me a comment with your opinion!

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...

Tomato Juice Facial Bars

My tomato bars finally let me take their picture:

I can't wait to use these! Tomato is supposed to tighten pores, balance and maintain moisture and pH levels, cleanse oily skin, and help with troubled complexions.

These bars are unscented and uncolored. Their peachy hue comes from the tomato juice.

Coming Soon...

I am so happy to have time to work on my soaps! This week I got 5 batches of cold process soap made. That's 15 pounds of soap!

I already updated you with the chocolate cookie soaps. I also made some All Natural Calendula Soap, Castile 100% Olive Oil Soap, Tomato Juice Facial Bars, and some Apple Cider Soap. Not to mention a few melt and pour projects along the way.

Here's a pic of the Calendula Soap. The rest were camera shy today...or my camera was just having a mood...not really sure what the issue was.

More will be coming soon! I'm waiting on an order of supplies which contains some exfoliants that I'm super excited to try out. I also just received some new scents that have inspired me. I hope to do some more soaping on Monday so keep an eye out for updates!

Mmm...Cookies!

Ok, so they're not real cookies...but they smell just like them! I made a batch of chocolate chip cookie soap the other day and here are some of the bars, cut and ready for curing.



I love the way the one in the second picture turned out. Even though the chunks all kind of gathered in one corner, I love the look of it.

I don't know why I always torture myself with these food scented soaps. It seems like every time I make a soap that smells this delicious, we have no sweets in the house. I crave sugar all day and wander around staring in the cabinets hoping that a cupcake or some chocolate will magically appear. Then I start browsing the baked goods section on Etsy and drool over all the cupcakes, caramels, and other wonderful items on there wishing I had them in my house right now.

I have to show you a few so you can drool along with me...


White Chocolate Raspberry Sundae CupCheesecake(tm) by DelectableDelights. I've tried this one and let me just say it's amazing!



Caramels by earcmra. I've tried the vanilla ones. They're a delicious melt in your mouth (not sticky or chewy) treat. The perfect texture if you ask me. She now has pumpkin pie and pomegranate caramels too!


These next two I haven't tried yet but they're on my list!

Brownies by ASugarAffair.



White Chocolate Raspberry Mini Cake Trifle(tm) by PinkCupcakes.

There are so many yummy treats on Etsy I wish I could list them all. The next time you get a chance, stop in and browse for yourself. Oh, and don't forget to visit my shop while you're there!

New!

The first of many new additions to my shop!

This is a set of 5 soaps in rainbow colors and wrapped like a pack of candies. Each soap is a good size bar weighing in at 2.6 ounces for a total of 13 ounces of soap.

The scents are:
strawberry
orange
lemon
green apple
blueberry

What a great way to stock up on some delicious soaps!

Time to Make Soap!

My daughter started kindergarten the other day. It's so strange not having her around the house with me all day. I was so sad the first day:(

But...

This means I have plenty of free time to make soap! Keep an eye out for some great new scents. I'll update my blog along the way to let you know what I'm doing!

Up To My Ears In Taffy!

Here are a few pics of what I've been up to lately. I received a big order for my Taffy Soaps so I haven't had much time to write.

Here they are after wrapping:



Packaged:



Labeled and ready to go (box one of two):


At the request of the buyer I had some cute labels made to let everyone know that these are soap. (They're for a 6 year old's birthday party)

I put in an Alchemy request on Etsy and received several great bids. I decided to go with these cute stickers from madebyjackie. In case you can't see it, it's a little animated bar of soap with the phrase "do not eat" underneath. So cute!

And the Winner is....

Thank you to everyone who voted on my new scent! The winner was Chocolate Raspberry and I made a batch last night. The chocolate half is scented and colored with real semi-sweet and white chocolate morsels. It will become a darker brown as it cures. I think it looks (and smells) wonderful with the raspberry topping!

Soap That's Fit for a King

The King of Rock 'n' Roll that is...Elvis himself! If he were still alive he'd be knocking on my door right now for a bar of this Peanut Butter Banana Soap! Inspired by his favorite sandwich, this soap has real peanut butter and pureed banana. The peanut butter part is made with peanut oil and peanut butter which makes gives it a delicious peanut scent.

Strange use for peanut butter that I just discovered: according to this website peanut butter is a great alternative for shaving cream.

I added pureed banana to the banana part of the soap. It didn't add much of a scent so I added some banana FO. I added a little bit of yellow coloring also, not realizing that the natural sugars in the banana would make the soap turn brown. Oh well. It still smells great!

After doing a little research, I learned that August 9-17 is Elvis week. How do I get this soap ready for the big week? CPOP! I popped it into a 190 degree oven for 90 minutes to speed up the process. I'll let it cure for another week or so and it'll be ready to go into my shop!

Whipped Soap

I finally got around to making another batch of whipped soap last night. I made it cotton candy scented and added blue and pink coloring. The color looked great last night (not so great in the pics so you'll have to take my word for it) but when I unmolded it this morning it looked more orange and green. Not what I wanted but still pretty.

I did a checkerboard pattern with the different colors. Here's the first layer:


Second layer:


Here it is this morning after I unmolded it. It was 12 hours later and it was still a bit warm and soft. I went ahead and cut it anyway. If you let whipped soap sit too long it will get too hard to cut.


Here are the cut bars curing on the shelves:



My daughter is going to love this one! She loves the scent and when she finds out that it floats, she'll be amazed:)

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!

Earn some cash!

Suds 'N' Such is proud to announce the arrival of fundraisers! I hope everybody is as excited about this as I am. This is a great opportunity to earn some cash for your church, charity, or even yourself! Online fundraisers are simple and profitable. Everything is done through my website so there is no paperwork for you, no money to collect, and no items to hand out. All you do is advertise!

Here's how it works:

~Contact me with the date you would like your fundraiser to begin. It will last for 10 days.

~You will then be given a code to be used during checkout.

~Advertise your fundraiser and direct people to my site with your code. I ship worldwide, so invite anybody!

~After the 10 day period you will receive payment based on the number of sales generated from your fundraiser. Payment is based on the total retail cost excluding shipping charges. If you generate 49 or less sales you will receive 20%. 50-99 sales will receive 25%. 100+ sales will receive 30%.

~The fundraiser host will also receive a free gift after the fundraiser has ended.

If you have questions or would like to begin your fundraiser, please email me at SudsNSuch@gmail.com.

Hubby's Business

I'm not the only entrepreneur in the family. My husband has his own business as well. He's where I get all the fantastic energy drinks that I use in my Youthful Energy soap. I have my own site linked to his biz where you can find tons of health and beauty products.

I'd have to say my favorite product (besides the energy drinks) is the skin refinishing lotion. Their description doesn't lie! I couldn't believe how much smoother my skin was the first time I used it! Now I'm hooked. They also have a microdermabrasion system that includes the polishing scrub and a microexfoliation cloth. Both items are a bit pricey but well worth the cost. Not to mention everything has a 100% money back guarantee!

Would you like 10% off the site? Just shoot me an email and I'd be happy to give you a discount.

What's next?

I love the Youthful Energy Soap that I made using the XS energy drink. I've had some great comments from customers about it also. I'm thinking about making more but I just can't decide which flavor to use. The last batch was made with the lemon.

Here are the choices:

Tropical
Cranberry Grape
Rootbeer
Citrus
Peach Tea
Cola
Black Cherry Cola
Cherry
Tea Berry

I need your opinion! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

A peek into my world

Finally I have my own room to create in! The 2 weeks without internet, numerous days spent packing and unpacking boxes, hours painting, and everything else was SO worth it!

Here's my worktable:


Storage area:


Shipping supplies:


Some soaps waiting for a new home:


The room wasn't originally going to be pink. We bought the pink paint for my daughter's room and then she changed her mind so my husband suggested painting the craft room pink. I still need to decorate a bit though. The walls are too plain for me but right now I have about 5 other rooms to paint so it'll have to wait.