I Found My Thrills on Garnet Hill!

I'm so excited to see my Soapylove Soapsicles on the Garnet Hill website! They are carrying Orange You Cute and Neapolitan Soapsicles. I have always loved their catalogs and they carry some brands I really admire (UglyDoll for example), so I'm sure flattered to be in there, too! Check out the full listing here or go to the Garnet Hill website and search for "soap."

Just wanted to share! :)

A Soapyscape! New Soap Design for "The Book."

For those of you who are regular readers of this blog, you are probably going to be shocked that the book writing process is still continuing! For those with writing experience you're probably not surprised at all. This is my first time, so for me it feels like an eternity but month by month, "The Book" is getting closer to reality!

Right now I am getting ready for the book's glamour shots. I need to make all of the variations (there are 25 step-by-step projects and 12 variations). This one is called the Skyline Bar. It's dedicated to my editor, Julie, who came up with this great idea!! I hope she likes it!

There are lots of soaps I'll just make and send away, so you'll have to get The Book to see them! :) Make sure to sign up for the Soapyclub for book updates!

(Can't wait for the book to start soaping? Check out Let's Get Soapy - available now!)

Vote for Best Swirl!

I love contests. So much. I just wish I had more time to enter many of them! Saponifier Magazine is having a "Best Swirl" contest right now, and you vote on the winner! Soap makers have entered their marbled beauties and this is the week for voting. Head on over to Saponifier and place your vote! The winner gets a cover spot on the magazine and some finalists will get an appearance inside. If you're a big soap making fan these entries might give you a "swirlgasm!*"

Oh, and this is not a shameless request for votes on my entry (which is not the beautiful black/white one above). I voted for someone else's, so there!

*Thank you Stephanie from Cajun Cauldron for this awesome word!

Tag! I'm it! 10 Things I Love About Being Indie.

I just got tagged by a Heather of Twin Birch Soaps as part of the Indie Beauty Blog Tag Party. I'm supposed to list 10 things I love about being indie. That's easy! Here I go, counting down...

10. Making my own hours. Although it seems like my kids are in charge of that.
9. Working with lots of friends. Since my business is online, I'm constantly chatting and networking with people online and it's so nice!
8. Not having to deal with corporate protocol or office gossip. I had 10 years of that and I'm happy to take a looooong break.
7. No rush hour! Man, that is wonderful (but I miss NPR a little).
6. Saving tons of money on lunches and cafe coffee.
5. Not stressing about being late to pick up my kids from day care. I think I got a few gray hairs from that when I was working full time. So hectic!
4. Spending so much more time with my family than I ever have before. What a luxury!
3. Not having to worry about being laid off. The pressure's all on me, and that's okay!
2. Running my business any way I want to.
1. Being able to pursue my passion. I am SO grateful to be able to do this - and it's all because of you. Thank you!!

BTW, that picture up there is what I saw when I walked in the door on my last day of work. I was going on maternity leave and I knew I was never going back. Those sunflowers symbolize a big step for me and my family. Having my husband's complete support helped me be brave enough to leave the security of a paycheck and see what Soapylove had in store. Of course, things don't always go according to plan, and things are pretty lean, but we're making it!

Thank you Heather for tagging me. It's always a good exercise to count your blessings. Maybe next year I'll be able to write the "10 Things I Love About Being Insanely Wealthy." LOL. Yeah right!

Thank You Craft Gossip for Your "Let's Get Soapy" Review!

Thank you so much Jessica for your review of "Let's Get Soapy" on Craft Gossip! I'm so glad you liked it!!

To read what Jessica thought about my first issue, click here!

Soapylove Helps Explain Methane on Mars!

This morning I was pleasantly surprised to see "Soapylove" found in a Google alert (which is an automatic search function that tells you whenever your search criteria is found on the internet). Strangely, it came from Discover Magazine's blog. I clicked right over to check it out and found my little glow-in-the-dark alien soap picture on a portapotty!

As my husband can tell you, I'm the farthest thing from a scientist you can get. But I guess the scientist who wrote this article was trying to make a point about the existence of methane on Mars and needed a visual tool. Since I made all of my non-soapsicle photos available for use under Creative Commons, he was able to use my little alien for his funny picture. And he gave me credit which is so nice!

If you would like to see the original photo of this alien soap (which has cool glow-in-the-dark eyes), or learn how to make it, check out the original tutorial on The Soap Queen Blog. Have fun!

(For more super fun soap projects, make sure to check out Let's Get Soapy - the first eZine dedicated exclusively to melt and pour soap crafting!)

Have a Sweet Weekend!

Just a quick post to say have a wonderful weekend! I know many of you are in very cold weather right now, so snuggle up and have a sweet something. For those of you in the unusually warm weather, enjoy your chance to wear a tank top before it gets cool again - and maybe even enjoy a popsicle! ;)

(Looking for some fun projects to do with your kids or teenagers? Check out Let's Get Soapy for lots of great ideas!)

Pictured above: The Clearly Lovely Soapsicle and the Peace, Love, and Soapiness.

Insane Sale Going on at My Chic Things!

I got an email today letting me know that one of the shop owners I have been working with for quite a while is moving on to greener pastures. She owns My Chic Things, a great shop that has a huge variety of very cool (chic!) things! She has marked her merchandise down by as much as 70%, including some Soapsicles! So get on over there before everyone snaps up these amazing deals - and don't forget - Valentine's Day is coming up so this is a good chance to get ahead.

If you like the site, she's selling that, too, so this could be a great way to start that online boutique you've been dreaming of!

Soapylove is on Indie Shopping TV!

On Wednesday I was so delighted to get a phone call from Donna Maria, President of the Indie Beauty Network, letting me know that she had chosen Soapylove for a special feature on her new online shopping concept, "Indie Shopping TV." She said that in a few days it would be ready to view, and voila! Today it's ready!

Donna Maria is the host and I couldn't be happier with how she presented my soaps. I have seen her feature other indie brands such as Cactus & Ivy, miSpa, and EC Stewart Designs. She also has a great networking opportunity called Indie Cafe, which is a live chat session on Monday nights at 10:00pm EST. It's a great chance to meet folks and share business tips!

I'm sure it will be a great piece for potential buyers to watch. Showing the packaging and unwrapped soaps is very helpful and clear. There's no hiding anything on that video! It's a very trustworthy way of showing items.

Thanks again, Donna, for the feature. I'm so excited to share it with everyone I know! :) And for Daily Ditties readers, I hope to see you at Indie Cafe!

Looking Back and Moving Forward

2008 was a very intense year for me.

First, it was my debut year as a WAHM. I pride myself on being very independent and the transition to being home and at my 2 kids' service was pretty hard to get used to. Also, I had a baby girl in October of 2007, so 2008 was all about raising her and learning how to keep my 3 year old son occupied at the same time. Since I struggle with PPD (post-partum depression), trying to stay level-headed through newborn trials and toddler tribulations was challenging beyond belief.

Business-wise, the year started out extremely promising. I got a call from one of my buyers saying that O Magazine wanted to include my soaps in the July issue. I overnighted the photographer dozens of soaps, and over the next few months I got emails from the associate editor saying, "you're going to have a full page feature!" and "I hope you understand what this will mean for your business!" and "the beauty editor wants to call you personally to make sure you are ready for the impact of this feature!" My husband and I were planning on borrowing against our house to open a workshop and start production. Literally the minute I walked in the house after choosing a location, I checked my email quickly before calling the landlord and read, "we are so sorry - but your feature has been dropped. This is highly unusual and we're so sorry."

It was like someone died. I grieved for weeks. That sounds melodramatic now, but it was devastating.

The last half of the year was dominated by legal junk. Trademarks, copyrights, cease and desist letters, lawyers... ugh! It was no party. Things have calmed down now, but - yuck.

I think about it now and I chalk it up to "taking my lumps." It was my first year truly committing myself to Soapylove and I learned A LOT. My skin is much thicker when it comes to press opportunities, and I learned a lot about the law, too (I'm a bit cynical but I think that's healthy). Now that my daughter is 14 months old, I'm feeling much more like myself, too.

With 2009 here, I'm very optimistic. "Let's Get Soapy" is much more successful and well received than I expected, I have some exciting developments to announce soon, and my book will finally be published in the fall! I'll be teaching some more and doing some travelling. Things are looking really good.

Thanks for reading my post and for your support of Soapylove. I feel like I am truly following my passion and your participation makes it possible.

Have a fabulous New Year!

Big love,
Debbie