my favorite Bramble Berry product

So remember back when I won some Bramble Berry loot from The Soap Queen?

Well that loot package actually started my journey into making glycerin soap. I got a free sample of the glycerin soap and after I poured that one sample I was hooked and had to buy a bunch! Well also in the same package was what has become my favorite scent Lychee Red Tea.

When this scent gets picked up at the craft shows it always gets a double smell I think it catches people off guard on how nice it is plus it is very strong which I love. I happen to have eaten the lychee fruit before as they are very popular in the Los Angeles frozen yogurt shops. So I am able to describe to people what a lychee actually is which is a nice bonus. It is a very complex scent that really grows on you and one you should try out at least once!

I would love to be on the Bramble Berry S.O.A.P. Panel to check out the new scents being tested for 2011 but since I have won other loot from Bramble Berry I am sure others would enjoy the samples even more then me so I wish the best to those who are lucky enough to enjoy the samples! :)

so much soap

I have made a ton of soap and now I am running out of room on the rack! Still lots to go! The list never seems to end of soaps I need to make and I haven't even started into the glycerin soaps. Also really not looking forward to putting labels on all these soaps. Will have nice pictures of the newest scents I am making in a few more days.

Side note almost got the downstairs work area ready. Got my new double burner so I can make candles and have a mini oven top down there. The goal is to get the crafting out of my kitchen so I can have a normal kitchen again. Some how the soap making takes over the entire kitchen and leaves no room for food prep. I also scored a great big work desk at the goodwill for $20 loving all the space that thing will give me to work on.

lavender

Well I can't seem to keep Lavender or Stonehenge soaps in stock. I have a really big show at the end of September so my new goal is to make 3 batches a night so I can attempt to be ready for it. First up was Lavender and I actually ended up making 4 batches of this one and I am still worried that won't be enough!

Up tonight will be the Stonehenge then I will work my way out from those two scents. I also have some new scents I would like to make in cold process soap such as fresh laundry, coconut, eucalyptus, and patchouli and more I am sure I can't remember off the top of my head. A few of those scents I carried in glycerin but I have decided to change them to cold process since they sell pretty good overall.

well off to soap making I go!

Picture is the new look for the Lavender soap

new soaps/colors

Storm Watch

Stonehenge type

Blue Sugar type

Mulberry

Fresh Bamboo

Few updated soaps changed colors some on the Stonehenge and the Blue Sugar soaps. Also 3 brand new soaps Mulberry, Fresh Bamboo and Storm Watch.

Loving the Bamboo one I used translucent green so sometimes the bar is white or green depending on how you catch the light.

tent 2.0 & double rainbow

Well back from the craft show and I have to say it was fair. I am slowly learning the things that make a great show.

#1 some sort of event to draw people other then the craft show its self
#2 having the tents pretty close to each other and having good flow of the traffic

This weekends show the booths had too much space between each booth and too much space to the booth across. In the picture the row you see left side is actually the back of the tents not an actual row.

People would cut between booths or go up one side of a row and not even pay attention to the other because they were so far apart. All of that = not enough traffic hitting the booth. Also this show had nothing else going on to attract people so there wasn't the crowds I see at shows with more going on then just the craft show.

This first summer of craft shows is a learning curve for sure I am slowly making a list of ones that are a waste of time and ones that are really good.

I also had to buy a new tent as there always seemed to be super strong winds at most of the shows and my tent frame was barley holding on then to top it off at the last show the zipper broke on the main curtain and when it rains that is a bad thing! So these pictures show my new tent which has a super duty frame and comes with vents in the roof which will be nice as it can get hot sitting in the tent all day!

Cool thing I saw a double rainbow on the way home and the bottom rainbow towards the top of it the colors started repeating again. Never seen anything like that before.

Oh almost forgot I ended up getting a free plug on the radio. They had a country music station broadcasting live from there and the guy happened to be out walking around at one point when he went live. Well he was standing near my booth and because I have a banner(no one else did) that he could read he mentioned my company name and even chatted about my soap for men(another sign he could read). Can't beat free advertising right?!!?

easter island guys are back!

I finally got the photo area set up(see bottom picture) so I had a million pictures I have been behind on taking. Here is round 3 of the Easter Island creepy soap guys :)

Lots of other new soap pictures coming I just have to get around to downsizing them and such so check back.

I have craft shows the next two weekends. First up is in Beulah, CO and that show should be interesting as the name of my company is the road in that area. When I lived in CA no one knew what the name was but here even when I am 2 hours away from that road people ask me about the name Burnt Mill and if it is after Burnt Mill Rd which by the way is a little country road in the middle of no where!

I can only imagine how many times I will be asked this weekend and how many times I will say my Grandma has a ranch on Burnt Mill Rd and that is how I came up with my company name :)

rain & soap=pack in a hurry

Back from the craft show for the Fairplay Burro Days. Sales were really really good in fact I am super low or out of a number of soaps and I had one customer buy every bath bomb I had with me so out of those too! So needless to say I will be making soap every free minute I have which hasn't been much lately.

Top picture was earlier in the day then all of a sudden it started a blowing rain right into my booth and as you can guess rain and soap isn't a good mix. But I am prepared for that with a fast grab of a large tarp I can cover all the soaps. So how fast can you get packed up right!?!?! Bottom picture has my dad in it as we worked to get packed up before the rain really started coming down.

Also I was pretty much stuck with another soap maker one booth over again. Not sure what it is with these shows 165 booths 3 soap makers and they have to put 2 next to each other. Guess I will never understand that. I still do pretty good because mine are different but sometimes you get the buyers who see the other booth before mine and buy there then get to my booth and say they wish they saw mine first but they already bought. What can you do right!?!?

Well off to cut a batch of Stonehenge soap which reminds me I would say 85% of the customers where guys or buying male friendly scents this weekend it was crazy! I think it has to do with the sign I now put up to highlight I carry scents for guys it must be working. I am thinking tonight I will be making a fresh batch of lavender soap as that was another hot seller this weekend.