Feature Friday: Avocado and Aloe Soap

This chilly late winter weather has got me in the mood for heat, sun, and sand, and my Avocado and Aloe soap has soaked up all of this inspiration! This soap was made with fresh avocado puree and real, home grown aloe for a mild bar of soap that is fabulous for your skin.

The green of the soap is an almost perfect match to the warm aloe plant, and I topped the soap off with a swirl of blue mica for some shimmer and sparkle.

The soap is scented with a wonderful blend of cactus flower, sea salt, and moss for a warm, fresh and clean scent. It smells really divine and captures my inspiration perfectly. I've already kept a bar of this batch for myself and, hopefully, the warm weather will come back to the South soon!

Feature Friday: Grease Monkey Soap

One of the soaps that I made over winter break is one that I am most proud of: My Grease Monkey Soap! It's been tried, tested, and approved by the grease monkey guys in my life (mainly my car-loving father and my dairy farmer father in law), so I know it is good to go for you!

The soap is made with a base of freshly brewed coffee, which is also what gives the soap its rich, dark color. The soap is made with my standard oil base (olive, coconut, castor) with a little cocoa butter mixed in to help soften your skin as you use it. Coffee grounds and baking soda were added to the soap to help scrub away grease and grime.

The soap is scented with a blend of essential oils to help deodorize any stinks that may have attached themselves to you while you were hard at work. I use a blend of Anise essential oil, Orange essential oil, and Ginger essential oil, which work together to naturally deodorize your skin, as well as smelling wonderful. Anise is a licorice-type scent, which is softened and sweetened by the orange and ginger additions.

Got a grease monkey that is is desperate need of cleaning? Check out my Grease Monkey soap HERE!

Feature Friday: Cherry Almond Bath Bomb Fizzies

Happy Valentine's Day! Since it's friday, its time for my feature friday! Today the spotlight is on my cherry almond bath bomb fizzies!

Cherry almond is a classic scent that almost everyone loves! Sweet maraschino cherries melt beautifully with mild, nutty almond... I've had folks asking for this scent for ages, and it finally made its debut last fall. My bar soaps in Cherry Almond sold out at one show! Wow! Because of all of its success as a soap, I'm starting to make bath bombs in the scent as well.

As always, my bath bombs are made with baking soda and citric acid as a base. When baking soda and citric acid combine together and mix with water, it sets off a fizzing reaction which creates sodium citrate, a skin-softening byproduct. The fizzies are also jam-packed with sweet almond oil and epsom salts for extra skin-softening benefits and to help relax you as you soak. 

Wanna check out my cherry almond bath bombs? CLICK HERE!

Feature Friday: Pomegranate Sea Salt Soap

With Valentine's Day one week away, I thought I would take this last Friday before the holiday to feature my Pomegranate Sea Salt soap! This soap would be a perfect gift to give for Valentine's Day. The pink heart shaped soap fits in well with the classic theme!

The soap is made from a base of coconut oil for cleansing and moisturizing and castor oil to increase lather. Finely ground sea salts are added to soften your skin, aid with exfoliation, and helps offset the cleansing power of the coconut oil. Salt soaps are excellent for your skin and give you a wonderful healthy glow!

The soap is colored a bright pink and shaped into a large heart, making the bar of soap a little over 4 ounces in weight. The soap is scented with Pomegranate fragrance oil, a light, sweet version of the fruit. The scent comes alive when the soap is wet.

Interested in this soap? Make sure to check it out in my Etsy shop and in my Zibbet shop!

Feature Friday: All-natural Peppermint Lip Balm

My peppermint lip balm has always been a huge hit at craft shows and it is growing in popularity online! The balm is completely natural, made with waxes, butters, oils, and real peppermint oil for a delicious bite of mint!

The balm's base is made of the perfect combination of beeswax, unscented cocoa butter, and coconut oil. The three work together to make a firm balm with smooth glide, which protects and soften your lips as you use it.

The balm is flavored with peppermint essential oil, which is distilled from the herb to create this natural flavoring. As you use the balm, you will smell the peppermint and taste it, too! It even gives your lips a bit of a tingle!

Interested in this lip balm? Head over to my Etsy shop now and grab a tube or five! CLICK HERE!

Twitter Tuesday: #Zibbet

It's time for my Twitter Tuesday roundup, where I search Twitter for amazing handmade finds featuring the hashtag #Zibbet. Want a chance to be featured? Make sure to tweet your handmade goodies with #Zibbet for a chance to be featured! You can also tweet me at @SSpringDesigns!

First up is Sarawen's perfume, 10:

Next is TouchingThePast's hand painted plate:

and last is rickderwitsch's painting, "Haying":

Thank you so much! Come back next Tuesday when I will be featuring more goodies 
from Twitter featuring the hashtag #Etsy!

Friday Spotlight: Pearberry Mistletoe Soap

With Thanksgiving officially behind us, I am so happy that I can embrace my Christmas spirit fully without judgement! So today, as I plug up the lights on my Christmas tree and play my Glee Holiday Pandora station, I will be featuring my Pepperberry Mistletoe Soap!

I love this soap. This soap is layered, with a green bottom with embedded mint leaves, a red clay pencil line, and a white top. I even played with some soap stamps and stamped the top with two birds on a tree in green mica. I was REALLY feeling the Christmas spirit with this one!

The scent of this soap is complex and perfect for the holidays. It starts off with top notes of cedar and fir with middle notes of oranges, spice, and cranberry, and rounded off with a low note of deep musk.

Wanna grab a bar? CLICK HERE!

And remember, from now until Tuesday, 12/3, catch everything in my Zibbet shop 15% off!

Friday Spotlight: New Hand/Body Lotions

Over the past two years, I've had loads of requests for lotions along with my soaps. I've been a little resistant, starting with solid lotions, then moving on to whipped body butters (which I only sold at craft shows), and I have finally moved on to lotions!

After trying a few different lotion bases, I am really happy with the base that I have ended up with! It is perfect, a gorgeous white, and holds scent beautifully! It leaves my skin feeling really soft and smooth without any greasy or sticky feeling. It's perfect!

I am going to start off with 23 different fragrances, with three holiday scents that you can purchase separately or in a gift set. They are currently being offered exclusivly in my Zibbet shop and you can find them HERE.

Friday Spotlight: Christmas Cookie Soap

With the holiday season drawing closer and closer every day, I figured it was the perfect time for me to pull out my Christmas Cookie soap!

This soap is made using the hot process method with swirls of red and green on top. I scented the soap with the perfect mixture of buttercream scent and butter cookie, for a sweet, delicious bakery scent that's perfect for Christmas.

Wanna grab a bar of Christmas Cookie soap for the holidays? Head on over to my Zibbet shop and CLICK HERE!

Feature Friday: Elizabeth King from ElizabethKingPhotography

As we head into the holiday season, I wanted to take a moment to promote my sister in law, Elizabeth King, and her interesting nature photography. Elizabeth has been taking photos since she was a young teacher, and she has recently ventured online and now has a shop on Fine Art America.

Here are a few of my favorite images of hers:

At Rest

Black and White Barb

Appalachian Wildflowers

If you like Elizabeth's photography, please head over to her website and check her out!

Friday Spotlight: Nov. 2013 Soap - Pumpkin Cheesecake

It's time to announce my November soap of the month! I am in love with this non-traditional soap that was inspired by a cake... Pumpkin Cheesecake soap!

My little soap cakes are made with a bottom layer of dark brown with a top layer of warm, dark orange. The orange will change over time to a warm orange-brown mixture due to the fragrance. The top of the soap, or the "icing" was hand-piped, dusted with cocoa powder, and topped with a real cinnamon stick!

The scent is pumpkin cheesecake, a warm, inviting scent filled with notes of pumpkin, sweet cream cheese, graham cracker notes, and fall spices like cinnamon and clove. It has been one of my most popular scents this fall!

This soap is discounted this month, so make sure to catch it during November! Head on over to Zibbet and grab this soap quick!!

Twitter Feature Wednesday: #Knit

It turned off super cold in the Appalachian mountains this week, so I figured I would get warmed up looking at all of these wonderful #knit items from Twitter!

The first person I found was @Ethnicdesign featuring her adorable scarf pattern!

The second amazing handmade knit product that I stumbed across was from @shop_elisemade. Her cute little pompom was shared from her instagram and her website is filled with adorable knit things!!

And last, my inner nerd squealed when I came across @Traceyknits and this absolutely killer Yoda golf club cover! Need this, my father does!

Now that I am feeling all warmed up from these great #knit products, I will be looking next week for amazing items featuring the hashtag #artfire! So, make sure to tweet me your listings using #artfire and come back next week to see if you are featured!

Friday Spotlight: Pumpkin Lager Soap with real Pumpkin Puree

My pumpkin lager soap has been a huge hit on the craft show circut... I love all things pumpkin, and this soap really brings it all together to make a wonderful bathing experience!

The soap is vegan friendly, make with olive oil for mildness, coconut oil for cleansing, and castor oil for loads of bubbles. I added fresh pumpkin puree to the soap, which gives the soap a creamy texture, a light scent, a gorgeous orange hue, and packs loads of vitamins, which are excellent for skin!

The scent is called "Pumpkin Lager", with mixes strong notes of pumpkin with hardy lager notes, as well as a low note of musk and fall spices. It is not a sharp scent, but more of a deep scent that fills the air.

Want a bar of pumpkin-packed goodness for yourself? Head over to my Zibbet shop! Click here!

Featured Seller: Rhonda Kay from PhotosbyRKDesigns

It's time for another fun Featured Seller Q and A! I am so excited to get to talk to Rhonda Kay of PhotosbyRKDesigns on Etsy! Rhonda's shop features amazing photography... Her talent is amazing! Learn more about her below and make sure to check out her Etsy shop and her Facebook and Twitter!

----- 

The Lily

1.Who are you and what do you sell? 
I am Rhonda Kay Spencer, I am a mother to 3 one of which was diagnosed with severe autism when he was 3. I sell nature, landscape, and fine art prints.

2.What inspired you to get started in your craft/start collecting vintage?
When I was young in my late teen's, early 20's a local photographer gave me photography lessons for about 3 years. Back then it was an all manual camera 35mm and we developed our own film. He started me out in Black and White film taking pictures of an old truck and I loved it. As life happens I got away from my love and life took over. We had 3 kids in 28 months and life was hard and busy. As they have grown I have been able to return to the things that give me piece on stress filled days. When the kids were really little I would travel around while they slept in the car and take pictures, the love of being creative through photography never left me.

3.What is your favorite part of your process?
My favorite part of this process is seeing if I can take what I see in my head and conveyed in the print. 

4.Handmade: What inspires you the most while you create?
I find inspiration in everything around me. I love taking an object whether it's a flower, bridge, or building and getting a view that is unique. 

5.If you could pick, what is your most favorite item in your Etsy shop?
My most favorite item is a hard choice for me. I think the Lilly would be in my top 5. I love the detail in this flower.

6.Got any social media links?
facebook www.facebook.com/photosbyrkdesigns
Twitter twitter.com/rkexpressions

7.Anything else that you want to share?
In this crazy chaotic world, it has been a blessing to be able to create unique photography that hopefully will make people smile.

Red and White Dayflowers

Friday Spotlight: Oct. 2013 Soap - Candy Corn

It's officially October and I am overjoyed! October is one of my favorite months in the year. From the changing leaves to pumpkin EVERYTHING, I love it! And best of all, it's the month for Candy Corn!

So, while me and my family gorge ourselves on this tasty treat, my Candy Corn soaps are going to be sold as the soap of the month! Catch this creamy, delicious soap discounted all month long! (Warning: soap is not delicious. Please dont eat the soap!)


Wanna grab up a bar? Head on over to my Zibbet shop and check them out! Click here!

Friday Spotlight: Halloween Soap Trio

It's getting more and more spooky around here, with Halloween coming in just over a month! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and I started making my Halloween soaps months ago, so they would be ready to go. These three spooky little soaps were just too cute to split into different listings, so I kept them together and my Halloween Soap Trio was born!

The soap trio features three different soaps: an orange Jack-o-Lantern soap, a white ghostie soap, and a black bat soap!

My Jack-o-Lantern soap is scented with pumpkin cheesecake, which is a sweet, delicious scent filled with pumpkin notes, cream cheese notes, and notes of graham cracker crust. The little pumpkins are colored orange with black eyes.

The little ghostie soaps are scented with Oak Barrel Cider, which has lovely notes of oak, cinnamon, cider, and just a hint of apple. The soap is dyed with titanium dioxide, making the soap white.

And last, there's my spooky bat soap. My bat soap is scented with Tibetan Black Tea, which is a rich, deep scent with lots of musk notes. The bat is a dark gray, with black for the eyes and spooky smile. 

My Halloween soap trio is only around for a limited time, and as of this blog post, there are only 4 sets left! Pick up these sweet soaps quickly, because once they are gone, they will not be back until next year! Wanna know more about them? Click here to go to my Etsy shop!

Friday Spotlight: Halloween Spider Bath Bombs

Halloween is right around the corner... just a little over a month away... and I thought I would share with you my spooky Halloween bath bomb fizzies with fun spider rings on top!

I love these bath bombs! They are made with baking soda and citric acid, which combine together to make the fun, fizzing action in your tub. I also include epsom salts and sweet almond oil. The salts help you relax and soothe any aching muscles, and the sweet almond oil softens your skin as you soak!

I made four different colored bath bombs this year for All Hallow's Eve...

First up, I have my purple bath bomb with purple spider ring topper, scented with Lavender!

Second is my orange bath bomb and spider ring, scented with Candy Corn!

Third in green is my green bath fizzie and spider buddy, scented with Green Apple!

And last but not least, it's my no-dye bath bomb in white with black spider ring, scented with Wild Grape!

 These bath bombs will be around for Halloween, but after that, you wont be able to catch them again until next year! They make great gifts, fun party favors, or great treats for your neighborhood trick-or-treaters.

Want to see more of my Halloween goodies? Click here to head to my shop!

Friday Spotlight: Wild Grape Witch Hat Soaps

Halloween is getting closer and closer, and what better way to celebrate the spooky holiday than to decorate your bathroom with some fun witch hat-shaped soaps scented with wild grape!

These witch hat soaps are perfect to give out to trick-or-treaters, use as hand soaps by the sink, or give to guests as guest soaps! The fun shape makes them great for the Halloween season.

The scent of these soaps is a sweet and fun wild grape scent. The aroma is filled with notes of juicy, sweet grape, with just a hint of musk for a low note to round off the blend.

You can find these awesome little soaps on my Etsy shop. Click here to check them out!

Friday Spotlight: Sweet Pea Bath Salts

For the first Friday in September, let's take a look at my sweet pea bath salts! I've been featuring my bath salts in craft shows, and they are finally making their way onto my etsy shop.

My bath salts are made from a mixture of epsom salts (or magnesium sulfate) and coarse sea salts. Salt baths are wonderful for pulling toxins out of the skin, softening it as you soak. Epsom salts have been praised for years for helping to soothe aching muscles by pulling excess lactic acid from muscles. I add sweet almond oil, which soften skin even further!

These salts are dyed a sweet pink color and scented with the classic sweet pea fragrance. I package the salts in a squat 8 ounce mason jar, making them a cute addition to any bathroom.

Wanna know more about my bath salts? Click here!

Friday Spotlight: Sept 2013 Soap - Green Apple Soap

Since most of us kids and college students are heading back to school (or already back to the books!), I figured that September would be a great month to have my Green Apple soap be the soap of the month for September! They make great gifts for your child's new teacher! (I've already got some set aside for my son's new teachers!)

These soaps are hot process vegan soaps, made with a bottom "peel" layer of green and a top layer of warm yellow. Each soap is topped off with two green apple-shaped soaps. The soap is also scented with "Granny's Green Apple" scent, which is sweet, tart, and juicy, just like a granny smith apple. This scent is also available in bath bombs and in my green tractors.

All throughout the month of September, you can catch this soap on sale! Wanna check it out? Click here!!