Think PINK!

Good MORNING!  How's it going?  Here in my neck of the woods, I have been creating all things PINK!  Pink is such a lovely color, not all folks like it, but I personally LOVE it!  

Keeping the Day of Love aka Valentine's Day in mind I have started early this year.  Whipping up new products that is.  *grin*  My newest Lovely Pink Glycerin Heart Soaps are sweet!  I think they would be great for any tme of year.  

I had an idea to make a loaf of Valentine Fun Soap.  You may be asking yourself what is a loaf?  What is the difference between a loaf and my regular bars of soap?  The loaves contain 44 ounces of soap.  Loaf making is usually the way to go when making large batches.

Let me tell ya, it was a bit of a process.  However I am happy to say that the end results made it all so worthwhile.  I started by creating columns of hearts.   I have had the kniffty columns for over a year.  I poured each heart into the column molds then let them set, then it was time to layer and insert the columns.  It is always a bit of a rush as you never know if the columns will move during the setting up process.  I was so relieved to see that the hearts stayed put..whew!  Did I tell you that these heart soaps smell divine?  The fragrance oil that I used is called Berried Treasure, thought it was fitting for these soapies.  

Butterflies oh butterfly!  These little darlings are fragranced with my Cotton Candy, I also added a touch of iridescent glitter.  Who doesn't love sparkle?  In my humble opinion, GLITTER makes everything better!

Oh my gosh!  These Bath Fizzy Cupcakes were so much fun to make and bit of a nail biting experience.  I had been researching and planning to make these for about 3  months.  The bottom part of the cupcakes are fragranced with my Strawberry Shortcake.  These were made over a week span.  The cake had to set up before the frosting could be piped on.  The frosting was a bit tricky as I wasn't expecting it to set up so quickly.  I was squeezing the frosting out of the piping bag just as fast as I could, I was racing to get all of the cupcakes frosted.  B-)

The frosting is fragranced with one of  my personal favorites-Strawberry not jut a regular Strawberry but a Knock Your Socks of Berry!  Reminds me of Strawberry Shortcake, the cartoon.  I have a fascination with her, she's pink and smells good. and jsut so cute!  My daughter still has my Strawberry Shortcake curtains that I had as a child.  

They just look so happy and ready to eat...errr...I mean toss in your bathtub.  *grin*

The Sugar Scrub Hearts are also NEW!  I tell ya, I have been on a roll!  The adorable hearts are decadent and so easy to use. Just grab a heart, wet it a bit smoosh it in your hands, wash your body.  Is smoosh a word?  Not sure but I'm going with it.  The Shea Butter and the Glycerin soap combined with the sugar blend perfectly to create a luxurious spa soap. Before I forget, these are fragranced with my Pink Berry Mimosa...oh so sweet, yet sophisticated!

All of these lovely items can be found here or in my store front.  Back to work I go, have a Terrific Tuesday!

Craft Studio Make-Over

Good afternoon my friends!

January can be such a long month.  For me, it is filled with "To Do" lists that are aimed at keeping me on track for the entire year. 

Last weekend it snowed off and on, since I was home I thought I might as well make the most of my time away from the shop and give my Studio a good cleaning.  You would think that I love cleaning huh?  Actually it doesn't really bother me, I do feel so much better when things are in their rightful spot.  My little heart really does crave organization.  In owning my own business where things often change from day to day, organizing keeps me grounded.  

  Some folks can work in a state of chaos, while I have been know to do that, truthfully it does stress me out a bit. It leaves me feeling frazzled when I can not find what I am looking for.   My studio is one of my favorite places to be, I am grateful for the breathtaking scenery.  I like to sip my coffee while gazing out.  

This sweet little corner holds all of my curling ribbon, recipe binders, cardstock and some of my molds and containers.  I also store my extra knitting needles here.  Do you see the little plastic sword on top of the sewing table?  Don't tell anyone but sometimes I swish it in the air and pretend that I am in a sword fight..*grin*

 When my husband built my Craft Studio, I bet he had no idea what he was getting into!  A couple of years ago, I had him install the double sinks and counter top.  I must say..this makes my life so much easier!  All of my molds are organized by holiday and have a label on the front of each box.  With over 100 molds to choose from, I can get a bit distracted when trying to decide on what to make.

I bet you are asking yourself,  "why does she use postal boxes?"  A few years ago I placed an order online for Medium Flat Rate Boxes, little did I know that I had ordered 25 cases of boxes! I had thought I was ordering 25 boxes...can you imagine how surprised I was so see the boxes and boxes of boxes?  Can you say that three times fast?  hehe

I have been using them for years to ship out packages and have given as many as I could away.  However they are the perfect fit for my molds.  At one time I had covered some with contact paper, I would like to cover the rest but for now I am happy to just have the molds contained.  

I am fairly certain that the molds have taken over!  This area is right next to my desk.  All of the paperwork stuffed into my wall caddy has been filed.  That was another HUGE task!  I am the household accountant, with it comes lots and lots of paperwork.  Secretly I do enjoy being the Accounting Lady of the Cisneros Clan.  

At the end of the day, I am so very happy to have my little spot in the world.  My Studio is much more than a room, it is a place where I can dream, create and just be myself.  I hope that each and everyone of you reading this has a special place to just "be."

Re-orgazing and Re-strategzing

Good morning my friends!

I hope that each and every one of you are doing well and that 2017 is bringing you joy and happiness.  Here in my little world, I have been re-orgazing and re-strategzing. It has been a whirlwind of activity, mostly behid the scenes.

The holidays were so busy that afterward I felt like I needed a vacation just to recuperate.  My body was telling me to take a few days to rest and slow down.  For what felt like forever I closed down the online shop for a week and focused on the store front.  It was a nice break but I sure missed all of my online friends.  It is amazing how some things become so much a part of our lives.  I have made the most awesome friends online.  We chat every day, it is always wonderful to find an email from a friend.

One morning as I was getting ready for a day filled with soapy fun, I peeked outside to the most amazing view!  I really do live in such a beautiful place.  We have had quite a bit of snow this winter, it is all so lovely and cold..did I mention Cold?  One night is was -36 °F..that is NEGATIVE 36!  Whoa!  brrrrrr...

Back to organzing.  I knew that I wanated to start 2017 with a clean slate.  One Monday the family and I came into the shop to clean.  My daughter really was a driving force, together we moved everything out of my small shop.  We gave the walls a good scrubbing along with the floors and all of the shelves. 

 While I always have good intentions regarding re-arranging, truthfully it stresses me out.  Everything in disarray!  Oh my gosh, my little heart can not handle the mess!

Right about here, I was starting to have doubts..why oh why did I do this to myself?  Why didn't I just clean and leave everything the way it was?  

I knew that I needed to have some sort of order if I was to open the shop on that Sunny Tuesday morning.  I came into the shop at 7:30 a.m. work work work..clean clean clean.  I wish I could say that it all happened quickly but it took 3 long days of coming in early and staying late to get the shop in tip top shape!

Boy oh boy!  The results are so worth it!  Shall we have a looksie?  Here on the left is all of my Bath & Beauty products, I have since added Valentine Goodies but it is mostly the same.

To the right of the shop is the yarn.  Lots and lots of yarn!  Now that it is nice and orgaized I can see at a glance what color/s I need to order.  Stocking the shelves with yarn is one of the funnest parts of my job.  

It feels so good to start the New Year in the shop with a clean slate.  :-)  The next thing that I have been working on is Re-Strategizing..now what exactly does that mean?  I have been taking notes as to what products I will continue creating and what products will fall to the wayside.  So far I will continue to make:

Soaps

Novelty Soaps

Bubble Bath

Bath Salts

Sugar Scrubs

Lotion Bars

Goats Milk & Honey Lotion

Foot Scrub/Foot Soak

Bath Fizzies

Lip Balms/Lip Scrubs

All Natural Deodorant

Body Spray

Face Cream

Men's products-Mechanic Scrub, Soaps, Beard Oil, Body Wash

The products that have been discontinued are:

Soy Candles

Soy Tarts

Under Eye Oil

Face Masks

Face Cleanser

Whipped Soap

I would like to focus more on what my fabulous customers want/need.  Downsizing will ensure that I am making exactly what you want.

The Craft Studio has also undergone a make-over!  Stay tuned for details and photo's.  Until next time, wishing you the very best not only today but every day!