. crisp . snowy . clean . white on white compositions .

When time allows I venture back into my art and design background to dig up inspiration for new soap designs. Here are custom one piece molds that I made inspired by nature and letterpress design, its own little canvas. I am not sure what I am going to do with them yet, but for now I wanted to share.

bird . on . branch - UPDATE: now available at Brambleberry!

pussywillow

New sugar scrub results in...

...with the tie breaker vote by me. Cream Cheese Frosting and Pumpkin Cake came out dead even so I decided, considering the season, that Pumpkin (Crumb) Cake is the winner. Sorry to the Key Lime, Lavender Buttercréme and Cream Cheese Frosting folk. The good news, Pumpkin Crumb Cake is mouthwatering and is sure to please any sweet tooth!

Buttery yellow cake with creamy pumpkin, cinnamon brown sugar and pecans! Now available in the Seasonal section of my Etsy shop, 10.5 oz jar for $13.50 plus shipping!

Other seasonal items now available:

 

Chocolate Pumpkin Spice cake soap

 

Mulled Cider Soap

Tea and butterflies - an Etsy Day

Sitting on this hot Southern California October evening, dreaming of cooler weather, a crisp Autumn walk through the woods while sipping tea perhaps? Add some butterflies for Romance and whimsy. These lovely Etsy finds arouse my love of all things tea!

 Black Tea Lip Balm by FlourishBathBody

Set of 4 Teas, all 15-20 cups each, beautiful blends by thelooseleaf

 

Butterflies, Tea and Coffee Tags - Set of 3 by creativevisions

 

Butterfly Teapot and Teacups/Handmade Wheel Thrown Stoneware pottery by patspottery

Tea Time Necklace by wickedpen

Stamp Happy

I did say I wasn't going to do any work Sunday. Oh, come on, I just got this new custom soap stamp from Soap Impressions, I had a box of soap fresh off of cure, how could I not do any work on Sunday!

Soap stamps are a great way to let your customer know where they got the soap they love so much (or hate so much I suppose) after they have recycled the packaging. Your stamped soap will show for a few washes giving the customer time to remember your company name. Also, I think they make the soap look professional and complete. (and the more stuff that has my logo on it the better! I swear I stamped everything yesterday - anything malleable)

Joanna at the Soap Bar has a great post about this with some beautiful pictures of stamped soap:

Personalized + Stamped.

Soap Impressions sell already made soap stamps, ph strips, and also make custom soap stamps to your specifications! Mine is a 2 inch stamp and it cost $79 with shipping (you get a discount if you provide high resolution artwork!) There is a 4-6 week turn around - mine shipped in exactly 4 weeks and was at my door three days later!

 

 The ordering process was easy - email them your artwork, they email back with a price, and payment option, you pay and the soap stamp shows up 4-6 weeks later!

Vacation on my Mind: An Etsy Day

Am I going to finish the weeks work early? Probably not but I am still in a vacation state of mind. Sometimes, sitting in my back yard, the weather is just perfect and I can smell the lake, hear water gently lapping on the rocky beach, and the wind will blow through the trees in just the right way, sounding like the breeze blowing through the cotton wood trees lining the shore. Waking up to pancakes, bacon and Vermont maple syrup for breakfast; taking a long bike ride down Poor Farm Road to the general store for some ice cream, passing the fields of freshly bailed hay and chirping birds; fresh perch for dinner, just caught that afternoon with Grandpa and Grandma, and an after dinner tournament of Pikor versus Denzer pinochle into the late evening... I love you South Alburg Vermont.

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

1) theboldbanana - A Bicycle History Tote Bag
2) ChatterBoxArt - Three Amigos - Copyright Cheri Wollenberg 2009
3) chicalookate - Hay is for Horses © 2008 Chicaloo Photography & More
4) aandvdesigns - A-Line Bag in Organic Cotton - Large Tote- Adjustable Strap - Messenger Style - Shoulder Bag in Green with Beige Vintage Lace
5) humblebeads - Two Tiny Birds Beads
6) VermontMaple - 100 Percent Pure Vermont Maple Syrup Pint with FREE SHIPPING

Checked off the list

1) I just sent out 110 samples of my Milk and Honey soap to Out Of The Box Sampler. Hidden in two of the sample boxes is a gift certificate for $15.00 to my Etsy shop!

I will certainly let everyone know when they go on sale!

 

2) Tea Tree Facial soap is back, bigger and better than ever! With 30% more essential oils of Tea Tree, lavender, Rosemary and may Chang,  and the bar is 20% bigger! Now listed on my Etsy Shop!

3) Sticky Fig Soap (formerly known as Brown Sugar and Fig) photographed and ready to be packaged!

"copyright infringement"

THAT is the title of an Etsy convo I received from a Peggy Amond.

I recently took my new Absinthe Soap off cure and after taking pics, I did some research about Absinthe and the people who drank it in order to get a better knowledge of the spirit, and to have something interesting to write up in my product description. While searching on a site called absinthefeaver.com I came across an excerpt of text credited to the 19th Century poet Arthur Rimbaud. I loved it and thought it would be a great introduction to the soap, AND it would be fair use due to the date of the work! Score!

Six days after posting the soap I got the message from the actual author of the poem, Peggy Amond. I was sweating bullets but luckily she was extremely nice and very understanding about the whole thing, and has since given me permission to use the poem in it’s entirety!

It was copyrighted in 2001 by Poetworks Press and published in two books: "Green Eyes the Greenest Fields" by Andre Crump and "Widow Moon" by Peggy Amond. You can see the work and another poem “Love's Symphony”, on her site Peggy Amond. Her book “Widow Moon” is also for sale!

Rimbaud's Poison

The emerald hour--
when the poet's pain is soothed
by a liquid jewel
held in the sacred chalice,
upon which rests
the pierced spoon,
the crystal sweetness--
Icy streams trickle down.
The darkest forest
melts into an open meadow
as waves of green seduce.
Sanity surrendered--
the soul spirals toward
the murky depths,
wherein lies
the beautiful madness--
Absinthe.

Peggy Amond
Copyrighted 2001

Now, if you google this text you will find a bazillion websites giving credit to Arthur Rimbaud, which is why the mistake was so easy to make. They all leave off the title and first line, just like I did. Let’s give credit where credit is due!

Make sure any text, pictures, music or other artwork you snag off of the internet is fair use, or you have permission in writing from the author/artist to use the work. I have certainly learned my lesson, and as someone who has had photos used without permission, I am ashamed of myself. It won't happen again.

Etsy Treasury by * jelisedesigns.etsy.com

 I just saw that I am in this gorgeous treasury picked by jelisedesigns, you can see her shop at jelisedesigns.etsy.com

What is an Etsy treasury?
 It is a gallery of items handpicked by Etsy members and a great way to shop by theme and color. Are you an Etsy member? Try and snag one!
How to make an Etsy treasury