My 15 Minutes of Fame?

It's Saturday night, and I'm bored senseless, so I decide to go to Blog Catalog and search for "soap" to see where I fit in the mix. I almost passed out when my blog was listed 1 out of 164 results found! There must be some mistake surely, but I will revel in this small victory while it lasts. Now I'm off to plan next week's posts. This blogging is serious business ya know!

I haven't forgotten the giveaway. Tomorrow I'll announce the winner. Good luck to everyone who entered!

Score This Soap!

If it's Saturday, then it must be time for......

SCORE THIS SOAP!!!!

This week's score is brought to you by Fresh & Clean Soaps. It's called Blackberry Sage Dragonfly soap. I love that the soap is as simplistic as the name. It's a beautiful black soap with a hint of mica, and it's scented in an unlikely combo of blackberry and sage. I would never think to blend those two together. I love soap makers! I'm motivated and inspired by all the creative talent out there! So, check out Fresh & Clean, and go score!!!

Good Bye Winter, Hello Spring Sale!

Happy Friday-again! I've marked down so many soaps, it's ridiculous, and they're all $2.50 each or 2/$4.00 til they're gone! Check em out here.

Art Fire Artisan Spotlight: Jewelry by Desiree

Happy Friday (and I mean this literally)!!!

I'm back with the Art Fire artisan spotlight, and this week's feature is all about Desiree. She's a true Art Fire innovator. Check out her badges. Enjoy!

1. Tell us a little about yourself.

Well first, I’m an architect. That’s where I spend my working days (sometimes nights and weekends). I have been living in Georgia for almost 4 years now with my husband. We relocated down here from New Jersey. I went to college in Newark, NJ which was just a short Path ride to NYC. I miss Manhattan and the family and friends that are still there.

2. How did you discover your artistry?

By accident I think. I was at a local annual craft fair and bought a pair of handmade earrings from one of the vendors there. A few weeks later I find myself making a bracelet for myself and then a set for my cousin, earrings for a Chinese auction (tricky tray) for my sorority then BAM I was hooked.

3. Do you craft full time or do you have another full time profession?

Crafting is a part-time endeavor for me. I’m an architect with a multi-national firm.

4. What brought you to Artfire?

Google to be honest. I knew about Etsy but was not sure that I wanted to pony up all the fees.

5. What are some of your favorite materials or supplies to use?

My favorites are gemstones, Swarovski crystals, and my new addiction seed beads.

6. If you could learn to do any other craft or artistry, what would it be?

I want to learn how to knit. I want to be able to make scarves and hats and stuff like that.

7. Do you have a blog, website or other craft venue that you sell on?

Yes I do. My blog http://jewelrybydesiree.blogspot.com/ and My Shop Handmade store http://jewelrybydesiree.shophandmade.com/

8. What’s your overall impression of Artfire and would you recommend it to fellow artisans?

I really love Artfire. It is such a great community. There’s always someone around to help you out. The admin are great as well.

9. Now, for the fun!!!

a. Coffee or tea? Tea (coffee is disgusting)
b. Cat or dog? Both, I had a cat and a dog growing up.
c. NY or LA? NY (I SO miss Manhattan!)
d. Paper or plastic? Paper
e. Fame or fortune? Fame, fortune always seems to change people

Thank you Desiree! I never read the Q&A until I'm about to publish it. I like to be surprised by the responses, and I love you already-"Coffee is disgusting!" I love it! All you java freaks stop hating! Starbucks has you brainwashed:-D

Addicted To Blogs

My blog list is growing, and growing, and growing! I am seriously addicted to reading blogs now. It used to be magazines, but I've "graduated." I'm almost afraid to see who my followers and those I follow also follow. I get overwhelmed easily, and when my brain is on overload, I shut down. It's a sick obsession, I tell you! Every morning, I go to my dashboard and read all the updates. When I get home from work, I do the same thing again!

Thank you friends and followers for introducing me to all these wonderful, exciting reads!

Speaking of exciting, head over to TheLostBoys who's having a giveaway!

New Blog Feature: Rhymes With ______________

I’m always thinking of new and exciting ways to entertain and engage you, my lovely readers! After racking what’s left of my brain, I have decided to start a new weekly feature called Rhymes With ______. The premise of this feature is to create my own personal Treasury of all the things I find wonderful and lovely. This inaugural Treasury is called Rhymes With “hollower”. Okay, I made that word up. I couldn't think of anything to rhyme with follower. I’m sure some smarty-pants will reply with an appropriate word. This week’s Treasury is dedicated to all my followers. Check out how talented you all are!

100 Soap Samples! What Was I Thinking???

Sometimes I'm too darned nice for my own good. Back in December I was contacted about providing samples for a school charity. I don't like to say no to charity, but I don't like being pressured into doing something I really don't want to do either. Thinking I could get out of it, I replied that all I'd be willing to donate was 100 samples, and to my surprise, they replied that that was okay. DAMN, DAMN, DAMN!!! Here we are almost 3 months later, and I'm just getting off my butt and putting these together. I wanted to do something different. If I'm going to be dishing out 100 ounces of soap, they'd better stand out, right?

I found these cute muslin drawstring bags that I absolutely adore. They are such a cool way to protect the soap and you can smell it right through the bag! I don't have a custom stamp with my shop name and URL on it (on the shopping list), so I took this stamp that I have that says "Handcrafted" and I stamped one side of the bag. On the other side, I stamped "Enjoy." I've inserted a little card with my product name and URL on it along with a coupon towards a future purchase. I think that I'm going to have to box these up into two large flat rate shipping boxes. I'm off to finish inserting my cards....

Oh yeah: This is the last week to enter my giveaway. Don't you want a chance to win free stuff?????

Does It Really Do That? A Product Review

I can honestly call myself a product junkie. I love to try the latest trends in beauty, and I was recently presented with an opportunity to try Smooth Away. I know you've seen the commercial. It's the one where you slip the little pad on your hand and rub all the unwanted hair away. I was really excited to try this one because I don't like waxing (it hurts like hell), I don't like shaving (not worth it if you're a Sasquatch like me), and I cannot stand Nair or Neet (stinks all to be damned!) We all know the saying, "If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is..." Well, I hate to report that in this case, that saying holds true.

The premise of Smooth Away is that you rub this pad of super-granulated crystals in a circular motion over the areas where you have unwanted hair, and the hair is magically buffed away! The process is described on its site as easy, safe & painless. I found the process to be difficult, scary, and painful. I started off small-I wanted to get rid of my moustache (which just aint sexy on a chick). I must have rubbed my skin raw trying to remove the hair on my upper lip. When that didn't work, I moved to my legs thinking a bigger area with longer, thicker hair would be more successful. I did manage to remove a few hairs, but it took maximum effort and about 10 minutes of buffing my leg to an ashy shine. I immediately used the lotion provided with the hair removal pads to soothe my chaffed, still-hairy skin. The moisturizer is key to this product because you will definitely need it after using this product.

In conclusion, I cannot recommend Smooth Away. It did not live up to the expectations it set forth in its ad. It requires maximum effort with minimal results. I do like the moisturizer though. I actually use it after I finish shaving which I've reverted back to. Check out the site and read the FAQ and make the decision for yourself.

Score This Soap!

This week's score comes from a woman I absolutely envy! Her swirl is genius, and this is true artistry at its best. Sherri's Scents & Soys (say that one real fast 3 times!) offers some of the most gorgeous looking soaps. This is her version of Lemongrass Sage. I love how soap makers can use the same scent and turn out completely different interpretations, and holy crap, she uses 8-11 different oils and butters in her soap! So check out her studio and go score because she's got some real lookers in there!

Oops!!!

Please forgive me, but there will be no artisan feature today. I straight forgot to send an e-mail to the next featured artist. I can't believe I did that! I've been so caught up trying to package 100 soap samples (I'll never do that again!) to send out that I forgot what day of the week it was!

I'll be back with tomorrow's Score This Soap though. Enjoy your Friday. I've got a couple of Mike's Hard Lemonade with my name written all over it!

This Stuff Is Crap....

But I'm not giving up!!! Remember that potion I made a few weeks back to use for my hair? Well, my hair looks and feels like a bale of sunburned hay. Where, o where did I go wrong? I thought this stuff would be the answer to my BBD (that's broke, busted & disgusted) prayers! Of course it would have helped if I measured everything, but I just threw everything in a pot and started cookin'. I need to wash it out and start fresh, but I do not have wash and go hair. When water touches it, my hair has to be styled. So, I'm back to the drawing board. I'm going to carefully measure my ingredients this time. I think I'll forgo the beeswax-does nothing for me! Thank goodness tomorrow is the start of the weekend and I can just let it be!

Why Do People Always Want What You Don't Have?

I make soap! Of course you know this, but I also have a few other offerings like lip balm and solid perfume. I love it when I get feedback like "I totally love your stuff." Okay, I appreciate that, but then they'll tack on a "Do you make lotion too?" The devil in me wants to say "Do you frickin see lotion in my store???" I brush it off and politely tell them that I don't offer lotion, but I have a wonderful balm that's a moisturizer. It falls on deaf ears. My brush is totally worn out! I'm in the lab working on lotion. I've been experimenting, and I'm struggling on getting the right kind of consistency. I'm torn between a more liquefied version and a thicker version that you'd have put in a jar. I'm leaning toward the thicker version, but we'll see...

Have your clients ever forced you (okay, force is a little harsh. Let's say "persuaded") you to offer something you otherwise wouldn't? I'd be interested in hearing from you.

Bitch Post #3: If You Want Me To Buy It, Take A Pretty Picture!

I know I am going to catch hell for this post, but I can't take it any longer! I have to get this off of my chest! I am a lover of most (I cannot say "all" in all honesty) things handmade. One of my biggest pet peeves of a handmade artist is the crappy pictures I see of their blood, sweat, and tears. I am no photographer by a long shot, but it pains me to see a potentially great product with really bad photos. When I say bad, I mean blurry, unfocused, and ill-lit. As online merchants, we must take every measure to ensure that our product is attractive, marketable, and sellable. This means that you can use the best materials available, but if it does not come across in your pictures, how can you expect one to want to buy it?

So, what's your advice, Miss Know-It-All? My first piece of advice is to take a chill pill and not get offended:-D. My second piece of advice is to read your camera manual (using the macro feature and not using the flash on your camera) and invest in a light box. They can be made for pennies or you can buy this one like I did. I can honestly say that my sales have greatly increased as a result. My third piece of advice is to take many pictures at various angles. I usually take up to 20 pictures for one item. Of that 20, about 12 are good. I also use a photo editor like Picasa (I'm too broke for Photoshop). Picasa can be downloaded for free here. Handmadeology has a great section called Photography 101. It is well worth the read!

So, there, I said it. I feel so much lighter. I'm jumping off my light box, and I'm going to practice what I preach!

Tammy's Soap Made A Treasury!

I call it Tammy's soap because she likes it so much. Anyway, My Neapolitan Shea Butter soap was featured in a neapolitan-themed treasury on Etsy. I need to make another batch of this. Check my ArtFire shop because I'm putting these on sale at a rock bottom price. It's still good soap, but I'm ready for a new version!

Think Color For Spring!

I am so ready for warmer weather I can hardly stand it! My sister Myia and I have been talking about our weight loss efforts and being able to wear form-fitting clothes and going somewhere that would require a DARE I SAY IT: bathing suit!

All this talk of springtime and has gotten me to start thinking about color. Spring is always associated with pastels and watercolors, but I'm thinking bold, rich, jewel tones for spring-emerald, amethyst, ruby, citrine, aquamarine, and tourmaline. I've been ordering some very unique fragrance oils for my spring soap collection, and I've chosen the scents based on the colors I envision for them. I'm going for eye-popping color like that green tea soap I made a few weeks ago. With that means I'll be offering very few vanilla-based scents because we know what happens: They all turn brown! I've already made two brown soaps, and if I can help it, that's it!

So, what are your spring plans?

Holy Crap, I'm On The President's Blog!!!

Not Barack Obama (although that would be one of the highlights of my life!), but John Jacobs, the president of ArtFire. He's written a Quick Start Guide for increasing traffic to your ArtFire shop, and I just happen to stumble across the article while reading the forums. Well imagine my surprise when I got to Tip #2-Take clean, bright pictures.. and saw a picture of my Rhapsody In Fruit Soap! How thrilling is that?! I finally got it right! Too bad he didn't link the pic to my shop, but I'll bask in this small, personal accomplishment. I'm such a stickler for detail, and I obsess over my photos. I'm going to do a little happy dance now while I eat another cupcake (I'm such a cow...)

Cupcakes On My Brain!

Cupcakes should be the national food of the world! I can't get enough of them, and there are blogs all over the net dedicated to this sweet, delightful, sinful treat. I've made a new line of cupcake soaps, and I'm cranking a new one out every day until...
Two of my latest, Chocolate Cupcake and Carrot Cupcake, are now listed in my ArtFire shop. All cupcake soaps are 25% off now til Monday or until I remember to take the ad down! Now I'm going to devour the cupcakes that I snatched from the office party yesterday. Happy Valentine's Day!

Score This Soap!

This week's edition of Score This Soap comes from a local gal (well, almost local-Bristow, Va). Pegasus Soaps makes some enviable ones in my o-pin-yon. Whipped Spice Carrot Cake Streussel Cold Process Soap is on my to-buy when I get paid list. Michelle, the owner, specializes in whipped soap-the cold process way. I need to study that method. It sounds complicated, but the end process looks so worth it. I follow her blog, and I love her candor. She's so open about herself and her life. I admire that, but I admire her skills most of all. This soap is just calling for a fork. I can smell it through my screen. Enough blabbering: Go score!

The Soap Seduction Is On Mammalicious Finds!

I love that name Mammalicious! It's so....coolicious! Anyway, Amy and I follow each other's blogs, and I was looking to buy some affordable ads for The Soap Seduction. I found Mammalicous Finds on Tammy's blog Milk and Cookeez. See, it pays to have good friends and follow good blogs because you never know where it may lead you. I can never stay on track, but getting back, I received an e-mail from Amy informing me that my ad spot was featured on Mammalicious. What??? I didn't know that was one of the perks (I never read anything)!!! Check me out here.

On another note: I didn't realize it was Friday the 13th til I got to work and everybody was going, "Oooooh. It's Friday the 13th...." Cool! I wonder if AMC is going to show all the cheesy Friday the 13th movies tonight? I need a good laugh....

Art Fire Artisan Spotlight: These Loving Hands

It's Friday-the 13th!!!! You know what that means. It's time for another artisan spotlight from the wonderful community of Art Fire. Before I get to the interview, I want to just tell you how I found this shop. One of the coolest features of Art Fire is each time you list a new item or product, it makes the front page! There are no treasuries to fight over or admin favoritism (okay, that was a cheap shot), but the point is, you get your 5 minutes of fame. This particular artist caught my eye because of this item. How freakin' cute is that??? Enough of my blabbering. Here is the interview:



1. Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Jenni and I’m a yarnaholic. I live with my very supportive husband and 2 wonderful boys just outside Hamilton, Ontario Canada. My boys are my inspiration for many of my creatures.


2. How did you discover your artistry?

My mom taught my 3 sisters and me crafting from a young age. I have tried many things, mostly needle crafts. I taught myself to crochet with a Reader’s Digest Needlework Encyclopedia. My youngest sister wanted to learn to crochet so she could make an amigurumi snail. I thought the little creatures in the pattern book were so cute, I started designing some of my own. I got requests for patterns for my creatures, so I started writing patterns too.

3. Do you craft full time or do you have another full time profession?



I would love to craft full time… maybe some day soon. Besides my hooking, I am a full time domestic goddess and part time school bus driver.


4. What brought you to Artfire?

I started off selling on Etsy. I belong to the Etsyhookers Team and we were talking about the different online venues available. A fellow hooker (valeriesgallery) recommended I check out Artfire. I liked what I saw and here I am.

5. What are some of your favorite materials or supplies to use?

I love acrylic yarns. The color possibilities are endless, they are washable, easy to work with, lots of textures available, and affordable. I have recently started working with some wool and natural fiber blends (bamboo, soy, Seacell), mostly because one of my sisters spins and dyes and always gives me samples to experiment with.


6. If you could learn to do any other craft or artistry, what would it be?

I think pottery would be neat to try (with a wheel).

7. Do you have a blog, website or other craft venue that you sell on?



I also have a store on Etsy under theselovinghands.etsy.com

8. What’s your overall impression of Artfire and would you recommend it to fellow artisans?

I love it. Very easy one page listing process, the low monthly fee with no commissions. My fellow artists are great. I’ve found quite a few familiar faces. Artfire staff seems quick to respond to questions/problems. I like the admin announcements on the My Artfire page, it’s an easy way to keep up with changes. I can’t wait to see what comes next.


9. Now, for the fun!!!

a. Coffee or tea? Coffee….double-double please
b. Cat or dog? I like both, own neither. Dog has a few more votes, but it has to be a big one.
c. NY or LA? Not sure…either would be a vacation for me.
d. Paper or plastic? - paper
e. Fame or fortune? Fortune….Enough to give my family whatever they need

The Copper Cauldron: Best Damn $2.00 I've Spent In Ages!

Project Wonderful really is wonderful. It's introduced me to some new shops and followers, and it's starting to off-set some of my own advertising expenses. One of my regular bidders is someone I just only discovered, The Copper Cauldron. Where have I been that I've never heard of her? Glenda The Good (I don't know her real name) has a wonderful blog and an Etsy shop. We're now following each other's blogs, and last week something caught my eye: $2.00 Grab Bags!! I am a sucker for a bargain. I don't care if it's ugly or imperfect. For $2.00 who the heck cares??? What I got was over a pound of handmade soap. I don't know what the scents are or what the main ingredients are (besides the main soaping oils), but what I do know is it's really good soap. I took a shower this morning with that big bar on the right, and I barely had to work a lather. It was that bubbly!

I like discovering new finds. I highly recommend The Copper Cauldron. One thing though: She's in the process of moving, so her shop is temporarily closed. Good stuff...Nice!!!!

The Soap Seduction Is On jinx1764

Okay, "Toot. Toot." If I aint gonna do it, who will? I love being the center of attention if only for a day, or an hour, or a paragraph....

Thanks to Heather at jinx1764 for featuring me as a "great ArtFire shop." She hotlisted my Strawberry Shortcake Sugar Bubbles today too:-D. Nice!

Black Raspberry Vanilla Soap-Part Deux!

I am so smitten with this scent that I had to make another batch, but this time with a twist. I put some glycerin raspberry soaps on top once it started to gel. I think I waited too long because I've got all this soda ash on top. I also didn't mean for my colors to "spot" all throughout, but I'm kinda feeling it. It's very different. It smells great. We'll see....

I'm back on solid foods now that my raggedy mouth is 95% healed. Let's see how long it'll take me to gain back the 5 pounds I lost since my toothache!

I'm Ready For Spring: Green Tea & Lemongrass Soap!

Thanks again for all your great comments on my giveaway. I've never done one before, so I'm a little nervous about it. You want people to like your stuff-whether they pay for it or it's free, and I'm just a pleaser by nature. Anyway, I've been home for the last 5 days with this toothache from HELL (I finally got it pulled yesterday. It was an evil wisdom tooth), so I took my mind off the pain by making soap! First up is Green Tea & Lemongrass. I wasn't crazy about this soap at first. As you know, I'm a foodie, so I tend to stick with food-based scents. Green tea is edible, but I'm no fan of it. I took a chance with this one. I'm trying to get out of my comfort zone and take some risks, and I kinda like this one. It's clean. It's fresh, and it's green-my favorite color. The scent and color reminds me of spring. I'm ready for warm weather. That also means I need to start working out now-boo!!!!

Happy Blogiversary To Me-Giveaway!!!!

It's been exactly one year to the day that I wrote my first post, and I have come a long way! I've met many wonderful people. I've made many new friends, and I'm happy again!

To celebrate this momentous occasion, I'm doing my very first giveaway!! One lucky winner will receive 3 Cold Process soaps, 1 Skin Quencher, 1 Perfume Solid, and 1 Lip Lush. Your goodies will be packaged up all pretty and shipped to you US Priority Mail. Just visit my ArtFire studio for scent choices. You choose the scents you want. To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment saying why you love handmade bath and body products, and poof-you're qualified. The winner will be randomly chosen using that random number picker thingy, and the contest will run til Feb 28th. The winner will be chosen on March 1st. Encourage all your friends and blog followers to enter, and good luck!

Peanut Butter Soap Revisited

Okay, it's not really peanut butter soap. Remember the Black Currant & Nectarine soap a few posts back? Well here it is a few weeks later-almost cured! It browned up. I have enough brown soap already! It smell really nice, and I love the textured peaks at the top. I have yet to be able to duplicate that again. I'm going to have to let my trace thicken a little more before pouring it.

Come back tomorrow for a big announcement!!

Thank You and Welcome!

I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge my new followers! I have somehow managed to double my followers in a week (how the heck did I do that???) Thank you so much for sticking with me. I hope you find this blog enlightening, entertaining, and insightful. And lastly, thank you for introducing me to your blogs and websites. I'm constantly looking for new stuff to read!

Score This Soap!

I'm half dead with pain (I'm going to the dentist Monday, but I swear I'm ready to dig this sucker out with a steak knife!), but I'm ready for everyone to SCORE THIS SOAP!

This week's score comes from Bubbles Up By Bethie B (try saying that three times really fast!)
This Blueberry Cobbler Sugar Scrub Soap literally looks good enough to eat. The texture is so authentic. I can smell this soap through my laptop. It's made with goat's milk, blueberry yogurt, and bits of blueberry. Bonus: This soap is sulfate and surfactant-free!

I'm hungry for blueberry muffins now, so go score this soap!

Art Fire Artisan Spotlight: Bijoux Designs For You

It's Friday, so it's Art Fire artisan spotlight time!!!! This week's feature is all about Bijoux Designs For You. Enjoy!

1. Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is April and together with my mom we make up Bijoux Designs For You. I am mommy to a wonderful 6 month old baby boy, I drink too much coffee and am addicted to beads!

2. How did you discover your artistry?
My mother has been creating my entire life and I inherited the “fever” from her. Her original love was sewing and quilting and she taught me how to sew when I was still just a wee thing. I never had much patience for quilting though! About four years ago we went to a jewelry making class for her birthday and were immediately addicted! The rest, as they say, is history!

3. Do you craft full time or do you have another full time profession?
Other than being a full time mommy this is my full time job, as well as my mother’s. I do waitress two nights a week as well.

4. What brought you to Artfire?
We have had a shop on Etsy since May of 2008. I had heard some buzz on twitter and in the forums about Artfire and decided to check it out. We figured that it was worth a try and have found an extremely supportive community there.

5. What are some of your favorite materials or supplies to use?
I am addicted to shells and mother of pearl. I also love to find cute charms!

6. If you could learn to do any other craft or artistry, what would it be?
I am totally envious of the polymer clay artists! If I ever have some free time (yeah right) I’d love to take a class, even if just to make some things for myself!

7. Do you have a blog, website or other craft venue that you sell on?
I have two blogs, http://bijouxdesignsforyou.blogspot.com/ and http://rougeriverbeads.blogspot.com/. We also have a store on Etsy http://www.bijouxdesignsforyou.etsy.com/ and supply shops on both Etsy and Artfire http://www.rougeriverbeads.artfire.com/ and http://www.rougeriverbeads.etsy.com/.

8. What’s your overall impression of Artfire and would you recommend it to fellow artisans?
I have had a fantastic experience at Artfire thus far. I have found the admin and the fellow artisans to be extremely supportive. Some bugs, but that is to be expected with such a new site. I’m so excited to see where this journey takes us!

9. Now, for the fun!!!
a. Coffee or tea? COFFEE!!!!!
b. Cat or dog? Both. Currently we only have a dog though, a beautiful black lab named Lily.
c. NY or LA? Depends on the time of year…right now LA!
d. Paper or plastic? Paper
e. Fame or fortune? Tough one. I don’t really need fortune but enough not to ever worry again would be nice!

Thanks for a wonderful read April! Your bead addiction certainly mimics my soap making one! Check out her wonderful shops and blogs today!

Oh Yeah, I Have a 1000 Markets Account

I have officially dissolved my personal website, The Soap Seduction, and have decided to concentrate my efforts on community venues like Art Fire, Etsy, and...1000 Markets! I posted a few months ago that I was going to do the opposite-focus on my personal website. Well, I changed my mind! I personally found it very challenging to promote a personal website in the dawn of these community venues. Driving traffic to my site was my biggest challenge and my greatest defeat. I did everything-I blogged. I linked. I advertised. In the one year I had my website up and running, I only garnered six, count em six sales! I was spending $7.00 a month for web hosting plus the $10.00 annual fee for my domain. My sales couldn't even pay for my site!

1000 Markets is still relatively unknown. I haven't had any sales in the 4 months I've been there, but I haven't marketed my shop either. That all changed when I received an e-mail today saying my shop was added to Dream Mist Land. I'm a little embarrassed because I hadn't updated my shop since before Christmas. My banner and photos all still had holiday themes on them. So I did a little sprucing up! Check out 1000 Markets. It's free to list, but they do collect a fee of 5.5% + $.50 for every sale made. Kinda steep, aint it?

Chai Tea Soap

I actually made this soap about two weeks ago, and it has yet to grow on me. I actually went out of my comfort zone when I made this. One, I used a non-food or sweet-smelling scent. Chai Tea is very earthy and herbal and deep. It's the total opposite of what I'm used to working with. Secondly, I used a straight cutter which is not my usual way of slicing soap. The wavy cutter has become my trademark, but I wanted to highlight the tea leaves that I used, but you can't see them because I didn't use enough of them. I actually brewed the tea leaves in my lye mixture before adding it to my oils. It stank something terrible, but I was hoping for a bigger effect. I still don't know what I'm going to do with this soap. I personally believe in not selling something I don't absolutely love. I'm going to give it a few more weeks to see how I feel. If I don't love it, I'll probably chop it up and use it for sample boxes. We'll see....

Kill Me Now!!

Ever had a toothache so freakin bad that you just want to be put out of your misery? Those suckers are worse than menstrual cramps! My wisdom tooth is back to wreak havoc on my happiness. The throbbing, pulsating beat of pain! Just KILL ME NOW!!! I'm gonna pop two Tylenol PM's and call it a day. Blog to ya'll tomorrow...

Follow up:

I went to the dentist, and I have to have oral surgery!!!! I have a curved root that's slightly impacted. Like I said: Kill me now!!!

My left cheek feels like I've gone 12 rounds with Laila Ali!

I Made Another Treasury: Whooptee-Freakin-Do!

This orange bowl that I sell in my oft neglected shop, The Decadent Flame, has been featured in five, count em 5 Treasuries on Etsy, but it has yet to sell! Am I overpricing it? Am I underpricing it? What the deal, yo? I'm not angry or hurt, just a little confused. My views haven't even increased as a result of being in a Treasury. I've been thinking about extinguishing the Flame because I just don't give it the love that it needs, but I'm glad someone finds joy in what I do!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=37324

Sunday Supper: Vegetarian Chili Even A Doofus Could Make!

And when I say doofus, I'm referring to myself! I am no gourmet by any means, but I do make a mean spaghetti, a decent lasagna, an edible macaroni & beef bake (I'll do a little post on that one soon). Do you see a trend here? It's all pasta! Who can mess up pasta, right?

So, I scour all my favorite blogs daily to see what my blog idols are up to, and I happen across this entry from Door Sixteen called Soup For Lunches. I love Door Sixteen. It's classified as a design or home design blog, but I consider it more of a lifestyle blog. Anyway, one of the "soups" was this mouth-watering recipe for Vegetarian Chili. I am probably one of the biggest carnivores on the planet-the kind that has to have some kind of meat with just about every meal. I was very skeptical and intimidated by the ingredients. There weren't any complicated ingredients, but there were a lot of ingredients! I had about 3/4ths of them surprisingly. I did have to go to the Giant to pick up a few things, but my cousin Kellie and I were determined to make this chili because the chili looked so delicious, and we wanted to try at least one completely meatless dish.

My assessment: LOVES IT!!! It's the best chili I can remember having in a very long time. This recipe yields a huge pot!! You can easily have lunch for the entire week with this recipe. Pictured is my finished version. Does it not look delicious? Oh, the original recipe calls for Bulgar wheat which I could not find at the grocery store, but I substituted it with pearled barley, and let me tell you-absolutely scrumptious! Try it. You will love it! Take it from a gal who lives by the cow!