Handmade soaps on Zibbet!

Black Crown soap available to buy here

I don't know whether it is the recent change in Etsy's status, or the relevancy search but so much is new at Etsy since last year and the lights appear to have gone out! I am going to stick with it anyway, and try and find out how to get my shop moving with the times! 

However, I have opened a second SoapyChica over at Zibbet, as there is a lot more going on over there now for the genuine handmade crafter and the community as a whole seems to be very pleasant.

 I should be receiving my new gift packaging in the next day or so, so there will be a few photos to show the new soaps in their gift wrap by the end of the week.

Handmade soap shop back open

Handmade gift soap- pink crown Shea Butter soap

I am taking over with SoapyChica again as Liz has so much going on with her pre-Christmas house move and all sorts of family stuff that she will have her hands full this holiday season. I have missed soap making so I am excited! Of course there is a lot to get my head around with the new paperwork requirements, and on reopening our Etsy Soapychica soap store, I have discovered that a lot has changed over at Etsy too! I have begun to build our own standalone store at www.soapychica.com which still needs a lot of work, so that is October taken care of! I am looking to fill both stores with plenty of handmade soap gifts and to have them available to buy ready for Christmas. Both online shops have shopping carts set up to enable UK and international shipping so that people can order from overseas.

Heavenly Goddess Soap

This is my current favourite soap that keeps tempting my naughty self back into the bath tub at funny times of the day , you know when you find yourself fancying a bath mid morning when you really should be working? That kind of soap! I really wish I could just eat this soap and have done with it :) Anyway there are plenty so I will never run out-that is the beauty of making your own!
There is clay, shea and all kinds of goodies in this silky soap to make you feel amazing and I am here to say it works!

A little blog feature!

I was delighted today to stumble upon a little feature on the Craft Gossip Bath and Body blog . Previously I was unfamiliar with the blog, but it looks good so I will be following it from now on, I am constantly amazed by all the new goodies available on the internet!

Cake boxes

We (my sister and I ) have spent the afternoon battling the light from a stormy sky to try and capture these cute boxes The results vary, but in real life the boxes are quite pretty, and they smell great as they contain tiny vanilla/honey cakes! Not real cakes, soap cakes :) We have these soaps in some sweet new colours as well-maybe more pics tomorrow weather permitting!
Some new 'flavours'

A couple of fresh delights!

I saw these today on Etsy-I was having a relaxing browse and window shopping a bit! BaconSquareFarm's colonial red Birdhouse is something I need! So lovely, and ready for use by real birdies too! Or perfect home decor I think :) Then I spotted Silvine's amazing jewellery and in particular the Spring Cuff , and fell in love all over again! That is Etsy for you- beautiful finds on a daily basis :)

Phew!

I bet all those who sell handmade items in a small way online are all breathing a sigh of relief, that everything got out on time!
Well this year Christmas was totally hectic-even with my sister Liz's sterling help. I'm glad and happy for the sales and I know now that I must be over-prepared, not under prepared! Last year seemed busy, so I organised enough soap for the same level of sales, but sold four times as much in December so Im going to bear it in mind for next year. Somehow I thought the recession would have had more effect on the sales for all of us. Of course I didn't help myself by deciding Mid November to start presenting the soaps in luxury fabric, instead of cello bags. I remember that I was low on cello bags, and needed to make an order of soaps look pretty, and so I parceled them up in the chiffon that I normally use to line the boxes. 'Ah, I thought-they look rather nice, I think that is how I would like to receive a luxury soap, if I bought one' and that was it. I have been tying bows in my sleep this week I swear!
It will be nice to catch up with life again now, and tomorrow is set aside for making our house look like someone owns it once again!

Forgotten Flowers!

I totally forgot to post about these new chrysanthemums . I think these are most likely a soap you would perhaps prefer to look at rather than use, but then I'm all about that anyway most of the time! :) These go in a cello bag with chiffon ribbon and a handmade tag, I havent found a box the right size yet, and anyway they look fine in the bags as you can see the petals more clearly. I suddenly had quite a few sales last evening, which was weird as I was just sitting here browsing away and buying my sisters pressy (* I will post about what I bought her after Christmas), and my Paypal balance kept going up instead of down. It was weird but in a good way obviously.
So I have a lot to do this morning, and yet my van's battery is flat and I am stuck till Mark gets home to 'bump' me! I have to walk to feed the horses-its only just over a mile luckily, and I cant get to the studio till this afternoon. grrrrrr, I am raring to go!

Baby Soaps

I had the idea when making baby soaps for my cousins' babies and we were looking at designs that would be cute. Murielle and Barney caught my eye and they are so sort of roundy and smooth I just love them. Murielle the Cow is furious because three people have already ordered a Barney of their own, and she hasnt had any followers of her own, but I rather think she is 'sitting pretty' and have told her so- I said 'good things come to those who wait' - its a good job I didn't name her Patience the Cow! Anyway they are delicious and I love them both :)

A milestone?

Christmas soap truffles to cheer us all up :)

100 followers, surely thats something to be celebrated? I shall do a nice dance (luckily no one can see me doing that) , what a lovely cheer-me-up on a day which I had thought ruined by my OH. Yes he has had the wise idea that I give up my soap studio as he thinks it a waste of time and money and I would be better working at home again. So I now feel flat and fed up. Thankfully I am made of quite sturdy stuff really, so shall simply listen to the comments, take them 'on board' and then carry on as before. Funnily enough you tend to spread when you have the room don't you , so my soapystuff will now never fit back into the one room in our house so thats the end of it! And I am receiving so many more orders these days than I used to, so I really feel justified in keeping my little workshop.

In the paper today!

The Daily Express have featured one of my soaps in an article full of British goodies. Union flags and Crowns galore! This pink roses scented Royal Crown soap has been a bit of a best seller this year and its one of my favourites as well.

Soapy Giveaway!

Pretty Knit Effect Embellished Soap 120g approx

I have decided to celebrate my new soap workshop with another blog giveaway. Its so simple to enter- just leave a comment here saying what tempts you into buying handcrafted soap. Easy as that -and a winner picked at random will win one of my newest designs-the heart shaped soap shown above, in Vanilla Cream wrapped in a pretty gift bag( as with all my soaps). This giveway is open to all as I ship worldwide.
Good luck and thanks for visiting my SoapyChica blog!

Slowly getting there.......

I have had a lovely thursday and friday off from grooming to move into the new soap place- I am glad because although I love the hot weather, its very itchy when the dogs' clipped hairs stick to your glowing hot face, and when you try and itch you just transfer more over! Of course having two days off in a row fills me with guilt, as people are suddenly desperate to have their dogs clipped because of the heat, and the phone has just not stopped ringing. The last extra time I had off was Christmas week though so I must take this time before I explode!

I have collected a couple of tables kindly donated to me through freecycle, so I have surfaces to work on, and I am collecting another today-my little van has never seen so much action! As I am waiting in for my supplies and labels though this morning I have found time to update my website with a few more soaps-guest ones this time. My site looks full-although several products overlap categories really so they show up more than once! Now I am going to start making a few other product types I will not know where to put them! here is my link to my new page if anyone fancies paying me a visit! SoapyChica

Wedding Favours

I seem to be getting more orders for wedding favours and I am pleased to think of my soaps gracing someones table on their big day-what an honour that is! Now that I am not offering my soaps wholesale to anyone else, I am left with more free time to concentrate on wedding orders and other pleasurable projects, so I am pleased that I chose this route. Some of the soaps seem to be geared right towards weddings and bridal showers. One lady chose some as bridesmaid gifts and for her 'hen party' - which I think is a classy idea. The most popular ones this month have been the royal crown soaps in Rose and in Vanilla which I have posted pics of. I am trying to despatch the favours early in plenty of time for their deadlines!

Gourmet Chocolate Soaps

http://www.soapychica.co.uk/gourmet_chocolate_soaps

This week I have given myself two days off from my salon, so I can catch up on the things of life. I have spent some of that time updating my website with the soaps that I have made recently and taking pictures. Of course its cloudy overhead this week so they are not the best ever pictures. I have tried top divide the shop into sections to make it easier to find the right soap. I have placed the chocolated truffles and chocolate fragranced soaps all together in a gourmet chocolate soaps section. I have many more items to add to that page, its just I haven't got the pictures ready yet. It is a trial to invite guests to a website, as I remember from the early days of setting up the Mutley Makeovers site, but with an allocated budget of £0 I will simply work hard myself and hope for the best :)

Where the bee sucks

I have added a few new soaps this week, but to the same luxury recipe and fragrances as the others. I like the detailed ones- I am a sucker for them!! I especially like the little bee detail on the heart shaped cake, he is drinking nectar from a tiny flower! I have updated my website with many new soaps, the only trouble I am having is the international shipping calculator-it continues to insist that everyone lives in the UK. Here is the link again for anyone who wants a look-any critiques welcome (its a work in progress for sure)!

Dita SoapyChica!

Hey look what my friend Les has made up- how cool is that? He sent me the spoof ad as follows:

"Here, world famous Vintage/retro model Dita Von Teese wears Soapy Chica's new Bustier soap design for Fall '09 ... 'You Can Actually Wash It Off!' ..........."

I dont know how he did such a clever thing but I love it! Oh see my writing has gone all blue with the excitement of it all!

200 Sales on Etsy

I am delighted this morning - my store has been at 199 sales for days and days ( and it was so tempting to make a target of 200 all those months ago) , so when I woke up to a sale this morning I am full of joy! Also the items are a thank you gift for someone-how lovely, I am excited to get them in the post asap. They are going to Belgium. One of them is a vanilla cake in a small gift box wrapped with ribbon, and this is the first I have sold of those, so I am pleased. I am making some more in Chocolate 'flavour' but probably not till next week now.

Sunny

What a great day for taking pictures of things! I have been working in the salon for the past week and this is my day off so I am loving it very much! I need to take soap pictures so I am using the herb garden, which is a bit overgrown but still....
Here are Alegria and Beach Cafe bathing in the sun, my hands smell of rosemary and sage now.

Almond Coffee

When I was pouring this soap, the whole house smelt like a coffee shop. The fragrance is almond milk but I coloured the soap with coffee which means there is a goodish coffee smell about the soap. I made three colours of soap and then poured them all together to make the soap a little bit swirly. There is Rhassoul clay in there, which is one of my favourite soap ingredients, shea butter and avocado butter and a little copper mica. The finished soap reminds me of an appaloosa pony!
I am planning to make another couple of soaps next week with this plain mould, and then hopefully by the second week in June my new moulds will have arrived from America and I can get busy with those!