Holiday Shipping Dates

The holidays are fast, fast approaching! I wonder if you all are getting into the holiday spirit, too!

My holiday shipping deadlines have been announced:

• Domestic(US) Shipping Deadline: December 20
• Military Mail: December 10
• International Shipping Deadline: December 2

Make sure to place your order before these dates in order to receive your packages on time. These  dates are guaranteed by the United States Post Office.

To order on Zibbet, Click Here!

To order on Etsy, Click Here!

To order directly from me, Click Here!

Apple Festival 2013 with Heather Applegate Photography and DynamiteFibers

I had an amazing weekend at Apple festival 2013 in Erwin, TN! This was my first year selling at Apple Festival, but not my first year shopping there! I was lucky to get to split a booth with two if my really great friends: Michelle from Dynamite Fibers and Heather from Heather Applegate Photography. 

I brought along my soaps, lip balms, bath bombs, and soy wax tarts. They filled the booth wonderfully with Michelle's marbled paper and dyed scarves and Heather's photography, both serious and fun marshmallow microcosm. 

I was so happy that my soaps were a big hit! I sold out of a few of my soaps and loads of my tarts. I've already started restocking the big favorites, getting ready for Heritage Days next weekend. 

I also held a #TweetUp during the festival, but I am not sure that remote Erwin, TN was the best place for this... I'm going to give it a go next week at Heritage Days and see if I get any bites. 

I had a blast Friday and Saturday, and I was a little sad to see our fun weekend end. But now I get to look forward to Heritage Days next weekend, and it is the craft show that I have been attending since I was a toddler! I hope the weather is beautiful and clear, the food is great, and the folks are ready to get clean!! 

Tennessee Soap and Candle Social 2013

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Tennessee Soap and Candle Social in Nashville, TN! I got to rub elbows with some amazingly talented soap makers and candle makers, I got some amazing swag, and I learned loads from the guest speakers!

I thought I would take a few minutes and talk about the amazing speakers, and later this week, I am going to make a YouTube video of all of my swag and goodies from the social.

So... On to the lectures!

We started off our day with Lela Barker of Lucky Break Consulting and her "Dont lose your ass donkey" talk! Barker talked to us from a business standpoint, talking about pricing our products and not forgetting things like labor costs and overhead. She broke down Cost of Goods Sold for us, and gave us simple equations to use to make sure that we dont lose our asses donkeys! ;o)

Our second talk of the day was led by Kayla Fioravanti, and Kayla spoke to us about self publishing, which is something that I have been interested in for AGES! I have been a writer all my life, from poetry to fiction, and I've recently been inspired to start writing some nonfiction. I began researching self publishing back in March during my Spring Break, and I started on my first "How to" book shortly after... But Kayla really inspired me to kick that project into high gear! I purchased Kayla's book, How to Self-Publish: An Author-preneur's Guide to Publishing while at the Social, and I've already learned so much!! I highly recommend her book... Amazing information!!

And our third talk of the day was led by Donna Maria of the Indie Business Network, and Donna spoke to us about "The 5 Best Business Models for Handmade Entrepreneurs."Two that really spoke to me were "clubs and subscription boxes" and "teaching and information sharing." I've already got a soap of the month club, with a three month subscription and a six month subscription, but I have already been inspired to work with my local Etsy team on something bigger and better! And with teaching, I have always wanted to teach classes on soap making... Maybe that is something that I can work on in the future!

We also had some demonstrations by local artisans. The group was taught how to make Massage Candles, Felted Soap, and Shower Tarts, so there are loads of goodies that I cannot wait to try my hand at! :oD

I had such a wonderful time at this year's social! I cannot wait for next year!

I will try to have my YouTube video of my swag bag, my garage sale goodies, and the door prizes that I won this week. Keep an eye out for it!

Supplies are in!

My great new LabColors!

To kick off 2013, I placed some pretty large orders with my suppliers, and I was so excited to pick up my boxes this past weekend! I was so happy with my supplies and so inspired to create new, beautiful soaps and products that I just HAD to share my goodies with you!

I bought lots of goodies from Brambleberry.com, including citric acid for my bath bomb base, deodorized cocoa butter for my lip balms and lotion bars, rose clay to be added to soaps, and castor oil for my soaps, which adds big bubbles to the lather.


My favorite products from Bramble Berry are their LabColors. Their high ph colors are fantastic in cold process soap, and I decided to get the classic 6 colors: Brick red, Vibrant orange, marigold yellow, azure blue, grape, and soft jade (green). I am so excited to start working with these gorgeous colors, and I am beyond excited to have a great, stable blue and purple in cold process soap!

Supplies from Bramble Berry!

I also got some fantastic fragrance oils from AromaHaven.com. I sadly found out that my most popular fragrance, Granny's Green Apples, is being discontinued, so I ordered 3 16oz. bottles of it in order to stock up as much as I could. I also bought the following fragrances:
Fig and Sweet Almond
Marigold Mint
Love Spell
Pink Hydranga
Cinnamon Buns
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Sea Kelp
White Jasmine
Lime and Coconut
Green Tea and Cucumber
Tibetan Black Tea

Loads of fragrance oils!

I made one last order to a new supplier, NaturesGardenCandles.com. I was in need of a plain Cheesecake fragrance oil, and they fit the bill! I also grabbed some great new 4 ounce jars and lids, so I am looking forward to making and listing some brand new salt scrubs in my Etsy shop!

2013 is going to be a great year! I am going to start working with my new fragrances tomorrow, and I will be diluting my new colors and testing them in cold process soap. I cannot wait! Keep an eye out on my Etsy shop to see all the newness coming your way!

New Year's Resolution: 2013

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope that everyone had a safe, happy, and healthy new year! I rang in 2013 with my husband and son, watching my son play trains and munching on popcorn. Simple, easy, wonderful!

My husband and I discussed whether or not we would be making any new years resolutions this year. I have tried to make resolutions in the past, but they always fell flat after a few weeks. However, this year, we are determined to make our resolution stick!

My new foodie blog!

We have resolved to stop eating so much take-out and fast food, and we have resolved to cooking most, if not all, of our meals from scratch!

I've already got a few resources under my belt for some great looking recipes from Pintrest. You call check out my food board here. But, I know that I have to keep myself accountable somehow, and I am hoping that the blogging world can help me do it!

So, I have officially started a blog to track my family's eating habits! Fellowship of the Dinner Plate was born at 2am on January 1, 2013! Make sure to go and check out out daily. I'll be updating with photos and recipes and musings on the day. And make sure to leave me feedback! Feedback is crucial, and I want to hear what everyone has to say!

I am really looking forward to this resolution/project that my family has decided to venture into. I want to get healthy for myself, and I want my son to grow up with healthy eating habits and a healthy lifestyle that he can take into adulthood.

Happy 2013, everyone!