New Creations!

I wanted to post a few pics from today of my new slabs. Yesterday I went on a soaping binge and made Sweet Pea, Patchouli Lavender, Eucalyptus Lemon, Apple Cinnamon Swirl & Oatmeal. I was so excited that I'm finally getting the knack of the marbling technique! I know, I know- nerd alert!!! Anyway, I also put some pics of Cameron bagging samples and Christian doing some quality control sniff tests! Afterall, this is a family business!

Your Carolina Video Clip

Here is a link to the video clip from Your Carolina. Hopefully it will work ok, I'm still learning my way around the computer.

Peace, Love and Soap :: Your Carolina

Peace, Love & Lotion Bars!

Well, I'm pretty excited because tonight I tried something new. I made push up lotion sticks. I have been interested in doing it for a while, but wanted to focus on my soap and really get my routine down with that. So tonight I brought out all of my supplies and ingredients and went for it. It's really kind of funny because I ordered some lip balm containers from a company and they accidentally sent me push up containers. At first I was really kind of annoyed at their mistake, but then it got me thinking about expanding my product line. See, everything really does happen for a reason. This product is about a 3 oz. push stick of solid lotion. It goes on very smooth and is made up of beeswax, cocoa butter, coconut oil, and vitamin E. I scented it with a Chai Tea fragrance, however, I wanted to use patchouli. In this craft I've had to learn to be unselfish when creating my products. My favorite isn't necessarily everyone elses! The chai tea is a warm, spicy fragrance that I thought would be great for the season. Now I just need to figure out some labeling and bam, they'll be on Etsy! Check'em out!

My Hubby!

I am so thankful for my husband, Mike. He is a wonderful hubby and daddy! We are a team.

Hello Carolina!

Well today was the day that I have been talking about for months, now. We finally had our moment of local fame on the "Your Carolina" show with Jack & Kimberly. I was not nervous all morning which is odd for me. Everyone at the show was so inviting and complimentary of my soap (and my kids) that it made me feel so relaxed and right at home. Right before I went on, I felt that twinge of nerves that can either push you into motor mouth mode, or completely erase all knowledge of the subject at hand. Well, lucky enough for me I pretty much kept it all together. I think the fact that I really believe in my products and love sharing about them helped me feel calm. The only thing that I didn't do is mention my etsy account. I can't believe I forgot that! And when I watched it, I realized that they put the wrong web address up on the screen. I emailed the show when I got home, so hopefully they can fix it on their website. At first I was really bothered about it, but my ever-soothing husband helped me to not be too hard on myself- I love you, honey! I will post some pictures of our morning at the show. It is held in the Michelin building in downtown Greenville, this building is so cool (it really helped keep my boys occupied) Hope you enjoy the pics, and thanks "Your Carolina" it was a pleasure being on the show!

Peace, Love & Soap on tv!

We will be appearing on "Your Carolina" in the morning at 10am. I'm really excited and surprisingly calm about the whole thing. Say a little prayer for us that everything will go well.

Peace, Love & Soap loves Kelly Ripa!

Some of you may have noticed a couple weeks ago, that I wrote on Twitter how I was excited because Kelly Ripa had just received some of my soap. Ok, so here's the story......My beloved cousin, Jamie and her daughter, Madison were taking a much envied trip to NYC for the Macy's Thanksgiving parade. She lovingly offered to deliver some of my products to Kelly Ripa while she was at the show. I thought this was a great idea and fixed up a little goody bag of various soaps and lip balms. I packed cupcake soap for her little girl and soapsicles for her boys. Not sure if Jamie would get the chance to give them to her personally, I just hoped for the best and eagerly awaited Jamie's phone call! Guess what?!? She did it. Jamie called out to Kelly and Madison ran down the bag of Peace, Love & Soap products! She said that Kelly seemed enthusiastic about her gift. I hope she enjoys my soap. I threw in a bar for Regis, too. She seems like a cool lady, maybe she will drop us a line or two on blogspot- you never know!

Happy Holidays!

Last night I made up a batch of peppermint lip balms. I love using peppermint in my products because it is so stimulating to the senses. The aroma is still very alive in my kitchen even today. The lip balm came out wonderfully. My goal was for it to have a light tingly effect when applied, and it does. The events that I attended on Saturday were great! I made some new friends and had a really fun time at Roxana's house. She was a wonderful host and I also loved getting to know Marcy. They are very neat women! Roxana makes lovely handmade jewelry, you can check out her stuff at www.beadingmom.etsy.com I especially love the tree pendants! Marcy makes custom gift items such as monogrammed ponchos for kids, coffee mugs, and ribbon purses (which are so cool and unique!) her website is www.geocities.com/marcydurham .
My time at the Cliffs was also a lot of fun. The staff was so helpful to me in getting set up. It's always a pleasure to visit. Sales were great and I had lots of return customers. I know I go on & on about that, but anyone can buy a product once. I figure if they come back for more, that's the ultimate compliment! I'm sure things will slow down for me now, but I will be working on my etsy account ( www.peaceloveandsoap.etsy.com ) and building inventory. I can't wait for the market to start back up in the spring. I have some new ideas brewing so this break will give me time to develop my plans for the new year. I feel so Blessed to have the freedom to do what I love- be a mommy and make yummy soap!!

The Taping

Yesterday they filmed the clip for "Your Carolina". It was super easy and I do have to say that I'm glad it's over. I think the anticipation of it all was making me more nervous than the actual event. Can't wait to meet Jack & Kimberly on the 19th. The next thing on the horizon is this Saturday when I will have 2 shows. In the a.m. I will be at an event with a few other moms who specialize in handmade goods. That evening I will be at The Cliffs for a Christmas shopping event for the members. I have a pretty good stock set up so I think it will be fairly easy to prepare.

My First Customer!

This weekend went off without a hitch- almost. Besides the fact that my sister showed up at 7:30 am to her market that started at 1:00 pm, all went very well. It was such a great feeling to have two booths going at once. I had quite a few return customers which always makes me happy and had the chance to meet a few new faces. My very first customer from the market returned to purchase more soap. His name is Rod and he is a very cool guy. We had a nice time chatting while I was setting up for the day. I took a picture of him by the sign to put in my Peace, Love & Soap scrapbook. I also snapped a picture of my soap wreath that I made as a decoration for my booth. I threw it together last minute, but so many people liked it, I decided to put it on my blog. Today they are coming to tape my soapmaking for the show. At first I was nervous, but now I am excited to share about my craft. I hope I don't get tongue tied or say something stupid (which I've been known to do when I am nervous). I will just be myself and hope for the best.

In the past 2 days I have made 12 batches of soap. That is a record for me. I've tried to think of creative ways to display my soap at the market. My Etsy sales are really picking up, which I am so greatful for. I was happy to see that my new Frankincense and Myrrh bar went down so well at my last event. One lady bought some for her friend who is a priest! How cool is that?!?! I hope he enjoys it. My sister will be running a booth for me at the Blairsville market on Saturday. I'm pretty excited- I guess you can say Peace, Love and Soap is expanding! (at least for a day!) This Tuesday a film crew from the show "Your Carolina" will be at my house to film me making my soap. I have been busy getting my tree up and my decorations looking nice for them, which I'm sure won't be part of the clip- oh well! On the 19th I will be on the show talking about my business and my soap-what to wear? I will remind my local friends nearer to the time. In case you haven't noticed by this blog, my mind is all over the place- as usual!