Thnking Spring

It is time to think Spring in the arts and crafts world, especially with soap. Certain soaps take over a month after being made before they are actually ready to sell! So, I'm thinking Spring by early February. So far, I've come up with a few Springy ideas... Lavender Loofah Soaps. The fragrance is phenomenal and a loofah to go along with it too!





What would Spring be without lovely Spring colors...and everyone seems to think of eggs. So, I've made some egg shaped soaps that fit nicely into these hand crocheted egg shaped bags that can be used for a soap bag in the shower! I got the egg bag pattern from CapeCodConsignments.etsy.com and modified it just a bit to make them work for eggs/soap bag thing.





A great melt and pour soap, this Lavender fragranced Dragonfly soap is a beauty! These are just a few of all kinds of stuff that is coming up for Spring in my shops. You can find me as SoapyBlessings on etsy.com, Silkfair.com, and Lov.li.com

Several of these items I will be showing at the next Jantzen Beach Center Artwalk on March 6th from 4-9pm. If you live in the Portland, Oregon area, stop by and say HI!

I LOVE MY BAG!

I just recently made a trade on etsy.com with another etsy vendor, cathytrott.etsy.com
I loved her bags and she loved my soap, so we traded.

OHHHHH MY, this bag is AMAZING!

The picture doesn't do it justice! This is completely reversible. On the inside of this bag is full of pockets that has come from a pair of jeans. Flip it inside out and it looks like a jean bag.

Big enough for all my things, but not overwhelming.

The hardest part about this etsy trade was trying to decide which bag I loved the most. She has so many different fabrics to choose from!

Do yourself a favor and take the time to visit Cathy at cathytrott.etsy.com

Coming up, the Second Artwalk at Jantzen Beach

I'm getting ready for the second Artwalk at Jantzen Beach in Portland, Oregon. It is coming up on Friday, February 6th. So if you live in the Portland area, come on over to the mall at Jantzen Beach between 6 and 9pm and say hi. I'll be there, with all of my packaged soaps of course! I won't complain bitterly about packaging...maybe a grumble or two, that's all.

There is also an opportunity for me to sell at a Saturday market, so I'm thinking seriously about adding that to my agenda as well. I'll let you folks know if that happens. I'm hoping for it to be a fun and fulfilling experience. Get my soaps "out there" locally. So far, I've sort've been stuck in the online mall venue showing myu soaps there and haven't really had the opportunity to do anything else. It is time for a change.

Happy soaping everyone! If your not a soaper, well, happy whatever is that you do. And support your local soaper by trying out some handmade soaps if you haven't already. You will be amazed at what a handmade bar of soap can do for you. There is no resemblance to that commercial stuff...trust me. The first time I tried my hand at making the homemade stuff, it was simply as a research project to see if I could and wanting to know the process of doing it. Once I tried the stuff, I realized what a great thing I stumbled across.

But, I digress...am starting to ramble on...

OK, I'll stop now.

Packaging....WHO NEEDS IT?

Well, if you haven't already figured it out by this time, I make soap with the idea in mind to sell it all! And then make more so I can sell it too...and so on.

Which comes to the subject of packaging...

It never occurred to me just how important this cotton pickin' packaging thing is until I started presenting my wares in arts and craft fairs. Why can't I just make a great bar of soap that smells and looks amazing and leave it at that? NOOOOOOO, gotta make the package to go with it look good too? You gotta be kidding me! I don't make packaging...I make SOAP! Who cares what the package looks like?

Apparently a lot of people do!!!

First time I sold at a craft fair, I didn't want to bother with packaging, but I knew that I had to include the ingredients along with the soap, so came up with the wonderful idea of adding a small slip of paper that goes with each soap. When someone bought one of my soaps, I would wrap the soap up in tissue and include the cute (AND DECORATIVE I might add) slip of paper along with it.

People couldn't get past the idea of, "Where's the package that goes with the soap?" thing. "Can I have it in a box?" "Can you put a wrapper on it of some sort?" YEAH, it's called tissue paper! Cheap, not bad looking, and you're probably going to throw it away anyway, right?

Didn't matter. People want "packaging". It has been the biggest headache for me. I hate packaging the soap. I love to look at it, smell it....but when you put something around it, it loses the look and you don't get the full impact of just how amazing handmade soap is!!!

But, I break down and do it anyway. Still don't know how I want to do it. I am such a minimalist when it comes to those kind of things, so try not to bury my stuff in packaging. Simple freezer paper I suppose and leave it at that. That's what I think...with a label of course, telling folk what it is, and ingredients, and size etc.

Sheesh!!! Picky, picky!!!!

Anytime you want your soap without all the extra fluff and frills, let me know. I'll be more than happy to accommodate. :D

Wooo Hooo! First Artwalk at Jantzen Beach!

We had a wonderful time at the first Artwalk at Jantzen Beach in Portland, Oregon! I truly believe that we have a prime spot in the mall! We are located just opposite of the food court and carousel! As you can see, my hubby decided to take full advantage of that great location! We met some wonderful vendors in the area as well as running across a few folk we know, co-workers, former co-workers etc. and some prospective future customers of course!

Artwalk at Jantzen Beach will be held on the first Friday of the month from 4-9pm. Currently, it is up in the air whether it will be held during the summer months, but we will be there if they make that decision!

If you live in the Portland/Vancouver area, please stop by and say hi next month, March 6th from 4-9pm! Bring a friend and have a great time shopping from local vendors and some of the great stores at Jantzen Beach!

By the way, if you make a comment on this posting and mention this blog when you come and see me, Trish at Soapy Blessings, I would love to give you a free soap of your choice and a coupon for any future item you may want from my shop, good thru 12/31/09!!!