Saturday, November 22, 2008

Soapylove Workshops are a Hit!

Today I taught my second workshop ever, this time at Paper Tales in Point Loma. We made lotion, bath salts, and sugar scrubs. It was so much fun and everyone seemed really pleased with their creations! The store smelled wonderful when we were all done, and many people were asking when my next class would be - I couldn't ask for a better compliment! :)

Last weekend I taught my first workshop, which also included glycerin soaps. I was fortunate enough to have a huge clubhouse to work in with a kitchen, so we had a lot of space. I set up a table for each station. After that class I was a little concerned that using one family size table at Paper Tales would be too small, but was happy to find that the workshop can work in both large and small spaces!

I would love to continue teaching so if you live in Southern California and would like to host a workshop at your store, home, school, or workplace, please consider a bath & body workshop! It is easy and fun, and even people who are self-declared "not creative" have a great time and love what they make (believe me, my Mom is #1 tough cookie in that department and was surprised by how much she enjoyed making sugar scrubs!).

The classes are great for fundraisers, private parties, bridal showers, birthdays for kids or grown ups, work teambuilding events, etc. There are many fun projects to choose from and even ingredients can be selected to fit a theme. I bring all of the supplies - you just provide a space. Even a back yard would be a great location!

Contact me for more info, and keep reading the Daily Ditties for announcements about future classes!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Yay! We Have a Winner!!

Thank you to everyone who entered my contest this week! I got 37 awesome entries which had oodles of loves and hates about m&p soap crafting. I'll be reviewing them carefully and using many of these tidbits for new posts, to help many of you enjoy the craft even more than you already are (or giving you the little nudge to go ahead and give it a try!).

Our wonderful winner, picked randomly, is Tammy from Milk and Cookeez (not pictured - I don't know who that guy is)! Coincidentally, she is a fellow member of IBN and I'm an admirer of her shop, too! She has a huge assortment of bath and body yummies you should definitely check out. With shop categories like The Fizzy Soda Pop Shop and the Ice Cream Parlor, it's a delectable feast of eye candy!

So Tammy will be receiving a complimentary set of Neon Soap Paints from PJ Soaps. I'll be getting it out to her lickety split.

Thanks again everyone and have a great day!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

My Pet Project, The Soap Lab, Now is a Shop!

I'm so excited to announce that I have finally opened a real online shop for my Soap Lab babies (only 5 months behind schedule!). The Soap Lab is at Big Cartel and has several styles you probably haven't seen yet! Please make me very happy and go check them out. And, if you're feeling like getting some gifts off your list, make me squeal with delight and make a purchase or two! I promise you will love the soaps and be very proud to share them with everyone you know. I put a lot of love and care into every bar.

I'll be posting about new designs and other things at The Soap Lab Blog. Head on over whenever you need a little soap design fix!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Mmmm... felty!

I LOVE felt food. My Soap Tarts were totally inspired by a felt version of Pop Tarts I saw on Etsy. There is a great feature today on Etsy Storque showcasing many beautiful felt food creations from Etsy. Check that out here.

I glanced at the comments and saw a great shop name: JustFeltHungry. The name alone made me want to see more. So I looked and boy, was I in for a treat! It was eye candy galore! And then when I saw these felt candy sticks I almost died from the cuteness. They're $10 each, which makes sense considering all of those swirly stripes are hand stitched!

If you're thinking of making a purchase in her shop, I think the Tea Party Pastries are an incredible value. For $20 you get 5 hand sewn cookies. They're so beautiful!

JustFeltHungry's profile says,
I am a stay-at-home mom of one little boy. I started creating Felt Food for my 18 month-old son. But since he was still too young to play with it, I decided to offer it on Etsy. And then I made more ... and more ...

My goal is to make play food that can really be played with: I make it strong enough to be handled by little hands without tearing or coming apart (within reason). This is why I sew around all edges and often double or triple-layer the felt.

I also want my food to be educational: I try to offer original, exotic and colourful items which can teach children to eat and cook a healthy and varied diet. But I also sell a few pastries, cookies and rashers of bacon!

Support handmade this holiday season. You just can't find this amount of love and thoughtfulness in Wal-Mart! :)

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Soapy Contest!! Win an Awesome Neon Soap Paint Kit from PJ Soaps!

My friend and fellow soapmaking addict, Paula from PJ Soaps, makes these incredible soap paint kits. You may have read about them before when I made my Day of the Dead Soapsicles. I was so impressed by how easy it was to make my soaps look even more special!

Now you can try Paula's Neon Soap Paint Kit ($24 value) for free! You'll get 8 colors plus arrowroot powder to prime your soap. All you'll need is a fine paintbrush and a cup of water (and soap to paint - even store bought!) Just comment in the box at the top of my blog and tell me what you love and hate (or not love) about melt and pour soapmaking. If you have never tried "M&P" before, tell me why you haven't taken the leap.

The winner will be chosen randomly, so don't sugar coat your answer - tell me what you really think!! :) One of my goals with Soapylove is to share how much fun soap crafting is, so if I know why many of you haven't felt the love yet, then I'll know how I can make it fun for you!

You can enter once and the contest will be over on November 20. So go ahead - let me have it!

Monday, November 10, 2008

Shop - Learn - Create - at Soapylove!


Woo hoo! Soapyfans can now do much more at Soapylove. When you get to the Soapylove site, you'll be greeted with 3 new choices. It's like "Choose Your Own Adventure" for soapers!

Shop!
The Soapsicle Shop has been restocked with newness! Get ready for the holidays with the new Winter Wonderland, the ever-popular Candy Cane, and customize your own great gift set with an Ice Cream Truck Soap Dish and your choice of Soapsicle! Plus don't miss the brand new Peachy Keen with floating polka dots and a fresh peach fragrance.

Learn!
Check out the latest holiday tutorials all in one place - the new Learn page at Soapylove! Each is only $6.00 and will be delivered right to your email box pronto, so you can get soaping!

Create!
There's nothing better than learning how to make soap in person. Check out my latest schedule of classes including the double feature at The Nova Studio!

I'll still be making a few minor improvements to the site over the next week, but it's ready for your shopping enjoyment so definitely head on over! See you there!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

2 Special Soapylove Classes at The Nova Studio!

I am really excited to announce that Lori from The Nova Studio has invited me to teach TWO Soapylove classes there next month! They're just in time for the holidays, so don't miss them!

The Nova Studio is located northeast of San Francisco in Point Richmond. I live in San Diego, so I'll be packing up my family and heading up there to teach two classes on Saturday, December 13.

The first class is called "Bubbly Holidays". I'll teach how to make 4 different holiday soap projects including the marbled Sugar Plum Soap Ornaments (each soap is actually threaded with a ribbon to be hung anywhere in the house - or on a gift!) and Frosty Vintage Tree Soaps.

The second class, starting after lunch, is called "Sweet Treats" where you'll learn how to make 4 sugar-inspired soap designs including Mint Chip Soapwiches and PB&J Bars.

We'll provide all of the supplies and make the soaps together. These classes are great for someone with no melt and pour experience, or a lot! I'll include tips and techniques, stories about some disasters I've had to prevent you from making the same mistakes, and best of all - we'll wrap up all of the soaps so you'll leave with special gifts ready for the holidays!

You can take just one class or both. Lori has a special offer for those interested in both. Go to http://www.thenovastudio.com/ for all the details! Enrollment is limited, so don't procrastinate. I hope to see you there!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

The World is Feeling the Love!

I was just checking my site hits on Statcounter and noticed an unusually high number of hits for a Sunday. So I checked to see if there was a new site that was linking to mine, but there isn't. I guess people are doing searches for Soapylove and finding me. Then I checked the fun map feature on Statcounter and saw how widespread the hits are.

This is another reason why I really love selling on the internet. Before the web, how would I (or any small business) get the word out all over the world? It would have been much harder!

Jim (my husband) and I were discussing how interesting the appeal of Soapylove Soapsicles is. I had no idea that popsicles had much resonance with people outside of the US. But apparently they make people smile in countries from Brazil, to the UK, to the Kingdom of Bahrain. That's just so awesome! Cheers to that!