Christmas Savings and Holiday Coupons!

Its already October and its time to get into the holiday swing! 

Are you already thinking of gifts for your friends and loved ones for Christmas?

This year, only on my Etsy shop, I am doing a Super Awesome Mega coupon, just for the holidays!

Yep! For the rest of the year, all orders over $30.00 can get 

Free Shipping using the coupon code "SHIPFREE"! 

Just head over to my Etsy shop, spend $30 or more and get all of your goodies in the mail for free! This coupon will be valid for the rest of 2014, but dont wait too long, or your favorite soaps and things may be gone!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Johnson City Folk Festival, 2014

It's official! My craft show season is getting started this weekend with the Johnson City Folk Festival!

The JC Folk Festival will run from Thursday, Sept. 25 through Sunday, Sept. 28! I am so stoked because, beyond just a normal craft show, this is going to be a music festival as well! I love shows with live music, and some of my favorite local bands will be playing here, like Demon Waffle, Kryss Dula and Friends, and Cutthroat Shamrock!

It's going to be a fabulous show, so if you are in the area, stop by and see me and Heather Applegate of Heather Applegate Photography! I will be debuting my handmade liquid soap and body wash, too, so grab a bottle while you can!

Friday Roundup: Week of Sept. 19

September has absolutely flown by! And I suppose that its flown since I've been working nonstop in both school and soaping, preparing for craft shows and tests! Time flies when you are having fun!

On to this week's new goodies:

In soap, I've debuted my new Scrappy Soap, made from scraps of previous batches! Kind of looks out of this world, doesnt it?

Scrappy Soap, scented with Black Currant!

I've also got a new lip balm flavor making waves. Get natural and juicy with my new Tangerine Lip Balm, flavored with Tangerine Essential Oil!

Tangerine Lip Balm

And two new wax tart scents are here, both are year round favorites!

Peppermint Wax Tarts

Birthday Cake Wax Tarts

I have loads of new soaps to photograph and wrap, so keep your eyes peeled for the new goodies showing up! And make sure to check back on October 1st when I announce my awesome holiday sale! Are you excited for... well, I dont want to spoil the surprise, but its my best sale yet!

Second Spring Soaps Fall Craft Schedule 2014

It's time to start announcing my Fall Craft Show line-up! I am so excited... my first three shows this year will be with one of my best friend, Heather Applegate at Heather Applegate Photography! We will be at these shows:
-- Johnson City Folk Festival in Unicoi County, TN, September 25-28
-- Apple Fest in Erwin, TN, October 3-4
-- Heritage Days in Rogersville, TN, October 11-12

I will also be at Mountain View Bulk Foods for their Fall Craft Show, which should be on the last Saturday in October.

For November, I will be at Hal Henard Elementary for the Greeneville Women's Club Craft Bazaar on November 1-2! This will be my third year at the Bazaar and I love attending this one!

And finally, for the last four weekends before Christmas, you can find me and other awesome artists at the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, TN! Check us out every Saturday before the Christmas holidays, starting on November 29th!

Some fun things you will find in my booth: check out gift baskets, handmade liquid soap and liquid body wash, soapy decor for your bathrooms, and more!

Friday Roundup: Week of September 12

The last time I updated my blog, I promised to be more consistent in posting.

Yeah... about that... :o)

Sorry for the lack of updates. My fall is turning out to be fairly chaotic, which was not what I was expecting. My classes are starting off strong and fast. I've already got one paper and one test under my belt and its only week 3! Kiddo had his 4 year checkup this week, complete with his last round of immunizations and he was down for the count for about 2 days afterward, which slowed things down. I have also recently started seeing a therapist to help me get through grieving for my twins. It's a huge step forward for me and I am so thankful that I happened to stumble into the ETSU Counseling Center.

So, this week's roundup is kind of slow, but bear with me!

This week, my Clubs are back! 

Sign up for the Soap of the Month Club or the Bath Bomb of the Month Club and get sweet packages in the mail each month! These are fantastic gifts to give a friend or loved one, or they are a fun treat for yourself! Both the Soap Club and the Bath Bomb Club have different subscription options: 3 months, 6 months or 12 months! 

For Halloween, you can now grab four candy-flavored lip balms in a discounted set! I'm making up a few sets for my nieces for trick-or-treat treat bags! This set includes Marshmallow, Bubble Gum, Caramel, and Candy Corn! Yummm! 

And my shop now features wooden soap dishes! These dishes are made from pressed pine and are cut and sanded before shipping (thanks, Dad! I'm a klutz with a saw!). I leave these dishes natural so you can stain, paint, and finish these yourself to match your house's decor! These dishes help keep your soap dry between uses, making the bars last longer!

Updates, Round Up, and More!

My poor little blog has gotten neglected throughout the month of August. With me picking up a small summer job, participating in a week-long show, and getting soaps together for our local county fairs, I have been really busy. With school starting back, it's just added to my load. So, my blog had to take a back seat while I focused on getting through all of my fun, but time-consuming activities.

So... what have I been up to?

well, I started off my August by taking some new, flashy photos of my wax tarts. I like the tarts with color, but since I am rocking soy wax, I ended up deciding to remove the color option from my tarts and go with a more natural look. What do you think of the new photos?

I also got a job working at the Appalachian Fair, our local county fair! It was fun, but very hard work. I really enjoyed my time at the Farm and Home building, working with the cooking competitions and decorating the building.

I also put some of my goodies in the Appalachian Fair and the Greene County Fair. I'm pleased to announce that my soap at the Greene County Fair won second place and my new Lip Butter won second place in the "made from beeswax" honey competition at the Appalachian fair! Yay! Two more red ribbons to add to my ever-growing collection!

I also got to sell my soaps during the Appalachian Fair with some of my wonderful local buddies! It was my first craft show since last December and my first since my twins passed away, so it took some time getting me back in the swing of selling. I think my new shelving is going to look amazing in a booth! Bonus: these shelves fold down FLAT, which is great for my limited trunk space!

I also celebrated my 500th sale in my Etsy shop! I am so proud and excited to hit this milestone! It's been almost 3 years since I started my Etsy shop. I've taken time off here and there during its run, but I am so proud of this achievement. This one was hard-earned! To celebrate, I am running a 10% off coupon on everything in the shop. The code is "SALE500" and it is good from now until September 30th!

I think I am all caught up on my August shenanigans. School started for me and kiddo this past Tuesday, so things like my blog and social media accounts may start slowing down as classes really gear up. I am going to aim for 1-2 posts a week, so hopefully you will be able to catch new posts on Mondays and Fridays.

So long, August! September, here we come!!

Friday Roundup: Week of August 8th

Whoa, its August already?!? This summer has flown by! I'm currently the busiest I have been in months, working towards getting all stocked up for the Appalachian Fair in two weeks, school starting up for me and Kiddo in three weeks, and show season and holiday shopping season kicking into high gear!

And now, on with the show!!

Two of my lip balms came back with brand new pictures:

Lemon Lip Balm

Pumpkin Cheesecake Lip Balm

A new bath bomb has arrived, scented with an old favorite:

Marigold Mint Bath Bomb

And my Winter's Aroma tarts are here, and are already getting picked up by snow-loving customers:

Winter-themed wax tart sample set

Treasury Wednesday: Back to School

Candy Corn Season is Coming...

Now that we are officially in August, it is time to get geared up for Halloween, one of my favorite times of the year! I love the fall, when the leaves and mountains turn gorgeous colors, the wind blows a bit cooler and the air just *smells* different! Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays and I love making all of the wonderful goodies for the season!

This year, I brought back my three Candy Corn treats, including my soap (my husband's favorite)...

Candy Corn Soap

and my lip balm...

Candy Corn Lip Balm

and my wax tarts...

Candy Corn Soy Wax Tarts

and I have decided to feature all three in a set called the "Candy Corn Collection"...

My new Candy Corn Collection

So, grab these bad boys up while you can, because once the spooks leave for the year, these will be gone as well!

Treasury Wednesday: Amazing Etsians July Scavenger Hunt

Clay Soap: Kaolin Clay

Kaolin clay is a newer clay to me. When planning my clay soaps, I chose Kaolin to round out my line, but once I took a look at all of the benefits that Kaolin clay provides, I was so glad that I chose this clay to be my fourth clay soap!

Kaolin clay is a white to off-white clay, also known as China clay. It is known in the soap making community for proving amazing "razor slip" in shaving soaps, but it has wonderful benefits for the skin underneath the hair! Kaolin clay is wonderful for all skin types, helps promote circulation to the skin, removes dead skin cells, and helps balance sebum activity. Too much sebum leads to blackheads (sebum collecting at the surface of the skin) or whiteheads (sebum collecting underneath the skin). This leads Kaolin clay to be the most recommended clay to use on skin!

I love the essential oil that I used with my Kaolin clay soap: Bay essential oil! Bay is one of my favorite essential oils to use. I love the spicy, herbaceous notes!

Watch me make this soap here:

Best part is... this soap, as well as my Cedar/Chamomile Bentonite Clay soap, doubles as a shaving soap!

And with that, my clay soap experiments come to a close! I hope you have enjoyed a month's worth of clay information and soapy goodness!

Friday Roundup: Week of July 25th

Even though it has been all quiet on the home front, the Etsy front has been booming! I've been very busy for the past week, drafting new listings, posting new products, and even rearranging my soaping and desk space! Everyone loves a good summer deep cleaning week!

So, on with the show!

This week, my clay soaps from my Clay Soap Project have been making their debuts (Look out for my Bentonite soap next week and my Kaolin soap in two weeks!):

French Green Clay Soap, scented with Lemongrass and Mint

Red Moroccan Clay Soap, scented with Patchouli and Cinnamon

Two new bath bombs are finally here:

Sandalwood Bath Bombs

Fig and Almond Bath Bombs

My Red Velvet lip balm got a makeover:

Red Velvet Cake Lip Balm

and my new wax tart sampler sets are popping up as well:

Autumn and Fall-themed soy wax tarts

Summer-themed soy wax tarts

I am so excited and proud to show off all of these new goodies! Just a sneak peek at next week: my Bentonite clay soap will become available, new designs of my french green clay and red moroccan clay will be popping up, new bath bombs are coming, and my wax tarts in clamshell molds will be getting a makeover!

Clay Soap: Moroccan Red Clay

My sister's favorite clay for her "normal" skin type is Moroccan Red Clay, also known as Rhassoul clay. This wonderful, earthy clay works beautifully in soap and gives amazing, natural color to soap bars.

Moroccan red clay is a special clay, coming only from the Atlas Mountains of northern Africa. This reddish-brown clay is good for combination skin, normal skin, or dry skin and is well known for its mineral-rich qualities. It's smooth and creamy texture fluffs when water is added and the clay works to rebalance dry skin and help with flakiness. It's also been known to sooth skin irritations.

For this soap, I was inspired by the red-brown color of the Moroccan clay and I wanted to use a "hot", earthy essential oil combination to round out the soap. I love the blend I used: Patchouli and Cinnamon leaf. The patchouli essential oil lends a strong, earthy aroma and the cinnamon leaf essential oil brings the "heat" of warm, rich cinnamon. The two balance each other and round each other out wonderfully.

This soap is now available on my Etsy shop! Click here to check it out!

Friday Roundup: Week of July 18th

Wow, where did this week go?!? With my Kiddo turning 4 yesterday and my husband being home on a mini-vacation, this week has just flown by! Kiddo's birthday was so much fun yesterday! We spent the day with my parents and sister and Kiddo got his first big boy bike!

Look out! Here comes the Spider Man!

But anywho, enough with my Mommy bragging, on to the Roundup!

My Candy Corn soap has returned this year, and due to some discoloration, it is on sale:

Candy Corn Soap on Sale!

Some new bath bombs are making the rounds:

Honey Almond Bath Bombs

Sandalwood Bath bombs

And my soy wax tart sampler packs are making their way online! You get to try out six different scents in a theme, like "Lazy Summer", "Winter's Aroma" or "Whatcha Cookin'?" Take a look:

My Lazy Summer set, click to see the scents!

I also was able to film the last soap in my Clay Soap Series! Wanna sneak peek at my Kaolin clay soap and see how funky my Bay essential oil acted? Check it out:

Can't see the video? Click Here to head to YouTube!

Until next time, ladies and gents!