Hi,

I wanted to tell you about Ebates, a shopping site that gives you up to 26% Cash Back every time you shop online. You can shop at over 1000 stores
including eBay, JCPenney, Macy's, Nordstrom, Overstock.com, Walmart, Kohl's and Home Depot. Plus you get additional savings with exclusive coupons,
free shipping offers, and limited-time sales!

Sign up with Ebates today and we'll each get a $5 bonus when you make your first purchase!

Happy shopping!
http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=vvkxNt0hOxzbLBw6X6N%2FvQ%3D%3D

Fish Bone Soaps

My favorite part of making soap and owning my own little shop is that I can make all kinds of funky soaps, and these funky fish bone soaps are my favorite! They smell delicious with their honey almond scent, and are super fun with their unique shape!


Find these great soaps on Handmade Sparks!

A little shout out!

I've been making soap for a while now, and I have got to say I love it more and more everyday! I wanted to share with you a fellow soap maker that has really inspired me when it comes to making soap. With this item, they truly taught me that the possibilities are endless. This "Eggs and Bacon" soap is my favorite item on sunbasilgarden's shop, however they have many great items. Thank you so much for the wonderful products and great inspiration!

Soaps and Such by Holly now offers wholesale rates!

Now that Soaps and Such by Holly is back in action, I've decided it's time offer wholesale rates alongside my already low retail prices :)

Roughly my retail prices range from $1.00 - $1.50 per ounce of soap. My wholesale price is now $.75 per ounce of soap, not including shipping. For example, a set of my pastel colored duck soaps are listed for $2.99 making them $1.495 per ounce retail, and the wholesale price for a set of the same soap is $1.50 making them $.75 an ounce wholesale. $15.00 is the minimum order amount needed to receive wholesale prices, so going back to the duck soap example that would be 10 sets or 50 individual ducks which equals 20 ounces.

Come visit my shop where you can get a little soap or a lot!

Customize your soap!

Soaps and Such by Holly now has more new shapes to choose from for customizable soaps. These soaps are great for party favors, gifts, or just to pretty up your space. We've got flowers, hearts, stars, ducks, fish, lots of others, and more to come! Click here to see all the soaps we now offer!

You can get any shaped soap in the colors: orange, blue, pink, yellow, green, and purple. Here's a sample of what the colors look like.


You also get to choose from any of these scents: Vanilla, Lavender, Honey Almond, Sweet Pea, Wild Berry, and Spicy Apple.

Soaps and Such by Holly is Back!

June 11th was the day my newest little boy was born. He is healthy, beautiful, and a wonderful addition to our family. It may takes some fine juggling skills, but now that I'm rested I'm ready to get back to work. Go ahead and stop by my shop www.soapsandsuch1.etsy.com to see all the new soaps I've added that are fully customizable. There are new heart and flower bars, and multi colored flowers and stars. I also have plans for some more great soaps soon to come so keep an eye out :)

It's been a while!

Well today is the first day in a couple weeks that I have actually had the chance to make soap. I have been so busy with homework, kids, and have had some family situations to deal with, that I had no choice but to put my hobby on the back burner. Things have slowed down a tad for me now, but the baby will be here soon so the chaos is sure to pick back up. So I've come to a conclusion... yep I'm gonna have to terminate my experiment :(. I am fully confident that it would have been a success, but only if I had the time to invest to make it work. I am however going to keep on making soap, just with less pressure. I still love the soap making process, and will continue to have my shop on etsy. I also still would like to blog here and there, so really not much has changed. Thank you everyone for understanding :).

Holly

Day 68

Well spring break is over tomorrow, so I should get back on a better blogging schedule. I'm sorry I haven't been posting as much. But I have good news, our 10 day dry spell is over. I got two orders yesterday, and a customer wanted to know my wholesale info to sell some of my items in her gift shop in New Jersey, how exciting is that? Also yesterday alone I had 125 visitors come to my shop, that is by far the most I've had in one day. Things have been slow, but that's okay since I've had so much going on lately. I have a feeling things our going to start picking up again very shorty. But for now I've gotta get.

Holly

302 days to go!

A couple days ago we made it past the 2 month mark and we're going strong. The last few days have been kind of slow though. I've been super busy with sick kids, and with my new classes that started yesterday. It is also spring break which means no school for the kiddos. I'm gonna try and get some soaps listed today because we haven't had a sale since the 10th which was six days ago. That just goes to show if you want to be successful no slacking is allowed :). Another bummer is a big custom order I sent out over 2 weeks ago still hasn't been received. I have to get on the phone with the post office to try and find it. Thankfully I have the receipt! I think on all large orders I better get tracking numbers, because that could be costly.

Please Help

It's day 59, and until April 4th 2010 all proceeds will be donated to a very special cause! I just found out that my second cousin, a very special little girl's mother is in desperate need of kidney surgery. If she doesn't get the surgery she only has about 6 months to live. I have never met this woman, but her daughter I have, and she has the greatest spirited I have ever known and I would hate for something so devastating to happen to her. If you want to read her story you can go to http://www.giveforward.org/justtosavealife/. Thank you so much!

Holly

Day 58

Wow it's been 58 days so far and things are going so great! I have been averaging a sale every other day which is amazing, and I've had 2 international sales! As far as my registry goes I haven't earned more than the $100 I've spent, but my husband says I've already made a profit if you count my inventory, and the value of all my tools and molds.

What's been really exciting is all the custom orders I've been getting. A couple of weeks ago I made a custom order of 30 little ducks that were just pink and yellow, and the day before yesterday that customers party grew and she needed another 30 in a hurry. I was having a great time making them, especially for an already satisfied customer. I was also glad that I could hurry up and get them to her in time for her party.

All day today I have been working on reorganizing my house getting ready for the new baby, and I've still got lots to do tomorrow. I did make these great massage soap bars last night and got two listed this afternoon. I'm really excited to use one myself because my back has been killing me. You can see them here Well it's getting to be my bed time but I will check in soon, have a good night everyone!

Holly

Day 55

Today I was working all day on a custom order of 80 tea bags, but this wasn't just any custom order, this was an advertising opportunity! Sampler Village was the one to place the order and use my tea soaps as thank yous, they also agreed to send along a little coupon that I made up to each recipient. The coupon is good for 10% off any item, and there is a coupon code on it so I can see how many come from the Sampler Village's fans and friends. Just another exciting experiment with in the experiment! I'll keep you posted on how this goes. The coupon expires July 31st so we'll have all the info then. In the meantime you should definitely check out the Samplers Village's blog at www.samplervillage.blogspot.com, they were nice enough to mention my soap and my shop in it today :)

Well I was planning on going to register for two more classes tomorrow, but that looks like it might be postponed for another day. My oldest daughter has a little fever tonight, and I'll probably keep her home with me tomorrow. I do need to register for these classes this week though. I only have 13 weeks till my baby is due, and the classes are 8 weeks long. I guess tomorrow will be a good day to get my house straightened up and take care of my babies.

I do have a idea for a tutorial I want to get working on tomorrow too! I finally got all the supplies I need, and I'm super excited! I fill you in on more details after I get it started.

Holly

Now on Youtube!

It's day 54 and I finally put a video up! Make sure you check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_1Y7J3fiQ8 The song is by one of my favorites by Amos Lee. Every time I hear it I can't help but smile, and realize how great life is! I hope you all enjoy it!

Holly

Tea Time Day 51

I finished up making the most adorable soaps, well actually it's the most adorable wrapping! It's peppermint tea soap wrapped in a faux tea bag. They smell so good, you almost think you could really steep and drink it.

So my husband and I were looking over my sales today, and we've come to a conclusion that simplicity seems to sell the best. The soaps I try to make look fancy kind of just sit on the shelf, but my hearts and ducks are my most popular sellers. So I think today I'm going to try and promote custom orders more. Show my customers the different colors and scents they can choose from for soaps like the hearts, flowers, ducks, etc.

Other than making soap and taking pictures, I need get studying! I have my math final coming up on Saturday, and my final English Paper due Monday. I better get to work!

Holly

316 days to go!

February was a GREAT month for sales! All together I sold $153.70! That is amazing, but my budget allowance is still pretty low at $13.38. I was on a roll get a couple sales or a sale everyday, but now it's going on day four since we've got a sale so lets cross our fingers we get one today.

I came across another tutorial of another soap I can't wait to make, it is made with tea. I saw these really cute tea cup planters at the hobby lobby that I would just love to display them in at a craft show. I also have a great idea on making a display rack. As soon as I get enough funds for the materials I going to make it and turn my idea into a tutorial.

I have made a lot of soap in the last couple days, hearts, butterflies, and I finally got those darn eggs out of the mold. That was so difficult that they might just be one of a kind! Here's a pic though, because they did turn out great.


This weekend I learned a new technique on blending colors, that is turning out pretty cool. I'm gonna mess around with this technique a little today and I'll try and get some pics soon. I better get going for now.

Holly

Day 45

Hello everyone,

I must say the mini duck soaps are quite the success! So far I've sold 88 little ducks this month, that is sooo exciting. Also my first thought was that they would be great for Easter, but a lot of people are using them for baby showers. That is a great idea, especially if you don't know the sex of the baby.

I have sold a lot of stuff this month, in fact we are up to $106.41 in sales. Since I've been reinvesting the money in molds and soaps and shipping cost unfortunately are bottom line number is staying low. Right now it's at $2.79 :(. But on the bright side, I have tons of inventory! Just posted on my shop alone is $85 dollars worth of products, and I have tons more in my cupboard. I think maybe Caradoc and I should do inventory again. That always makes me feel better when my budget is low.

I made a ton of soap yesterday, and even got a few listed today. I made these really great egg soaps but I can't for the life of me figure out how to get them out of the mold. Caradoc put them in the freezer hoping they would shrink a little and fall out. Here are some pics of the new soaps I made. They are my new Two-Tone Heart Collection! For now I better get, my kitchen is in dire need of my attention.

Bye,
Holly

Day 43

I'm sorry there was no blog update yesterday, it's just that my littlest girl isn't to fond of my new found hobby, so yesterday was spent as Mommy Maddie day. I think from now on unless I have something really exciting, my post will be every other day or so. I'm just sooo busy. Today alone I have a math test and I haven't even glanced at the material yet, and a English assignment. I finished taking photos of my lip colors and want to get them posted today, but I still need to write a description. Also I just got a custom order for 40 teddy bears today. That is awesome, but I need to run to the store for more soap and bags. So I'm busy busy busy, but at least everything I've got going on is fun, and I enjoy every minute of it.

Caradoc was funny this morning. He figured out that I take up 15 square feet of our house strictly for my business, so my rent should be $8/month, and $5 - 8 dollars for utilities. Not a bad overhead if I do say so myself. I think he was hoping for more so there could be a possible write off :). I will let you know when my lip colors are posting, but for now I have got to get to work!

Bye,
Holly

Day 41

I can just not get over how cool it is to be able to make lipstick out of crayons! There are so many colors to choose from and that is great because they are fun for face or body paint too. They will be great for Halloween, or sporting events, and there are great shades for everyday use. I can't wait to get some labels made up!
I'm gonna try and get the labels designed today then printed up tomorrow. I have an ink jet printer, so I need to go somewhere that has a laser printer. I read that the ink jet will just smear with the oil in the lipstick.

Today I've had two sales, one on my etsy shop for a set of colored ducks, and then my mom in law bought some more lavender flower soap squares and some pink and black hearts. It's the first time I've had more than one sale in a day, maybe they'll keep coming in. I think the funnest part of starting this little business is breaking my own little records.

Today, however is also a bit stressful! My husband is taking the 2nd part of his CPA exam. It's always a bummer because you have to wait at least six weeks to find out the results. He has been studying a lot so I think he'll do great!

I better get going, lunch time is rolling around again.

Holly

Crayon Lipstick Success!

Okay, so I haven't made any soap yet today, but I did finally get all the ingredients needed for the crayon lip color. It turned out so good, all I need now is a cute label. Here is a picture of me wearing Crayola Red!

Wow, we've made it to day 40!

It is a rainy day outside, all the more perfect to make soap inside, but first I need to clean my kitchen up a little. I'm getting kind of a late start today, I had to run some errands, then I went to visit a friend I haven't seen in a long time.
Now I'm back home, and ready to get to work. First task is make lunch, second clean kitchen while kids eat, third make soap. I don't really have to much to update today, no new sales, but our shop got like 38 views yesterday! I think I need to go through my listings and write better descriptions, they are just pretty basic and I think I would like them to be more interesting. The kids are telling me they're hungry so I better get. Oh I almost forgot, here is some pics of the bath salts I made yesterday. Since they are wild berry scent I thought t would be fun to make their container a little wild and added a little boa to the lid. Very fun!

Holly