Hello Crafty

Now You Can Shop From My Blog!

See over there in the sidebar? That cute little widget thingie with my Easter Bunnies Soap listed?

Yep, that's right. In addition to my awesome Etsy Shop you can now shop right here on my Blog!

Pretty nifty, eh?

I'm still working out the kinks; for instance, right now it says the little bunnies are sold out and that's not really true. I'm still trying to figure out how to get back in there and change that. Also, I'll be adding some new items that aren't available in my Etsy shop.

Hooray for technology!!

Another Step Closer to WD* and the Flu

Yep, the flu has been making its way through my office and people are dropping like flies. I had to leave work early today because someone got a little over zealous with the Lysol spray and I immediately had an asthma attack.

On closer inspection, however, I believe that I too am coming down with the flu. I have that "i'm hot, i'm cold, this side of me is hot, this side of me is cold, my head feels funny, cough cough cough" thing going on. I am not at all happy about this!

I AM happy about this, though!

The Indie Path has featured me today on their BLOG!

Check it out! They have featured, and plan to feature, some truly amazing Etsy artists!
And they're super sweet too!

*WD is the street version of World Domination

My Plan for World Domination

Soon there will be a Button Soap in every shower and an Easter Bunnies Soap in every Easter Basket! Mwahahaha!

In November 2007, I found an amazing soap mold that looks like a bar of soap covered in buttons. My first thought was that my mother, a self-professed button fiend, would love it and so would all of her little quilting friends. So I made her a bunch of them for Christmas and set the mold aside.

I wasn't sure how popular they'd be on Etsy but I went ahead and listed one. It sold in about three hours! So I listed another one; it sold by the next morning. So I was pretty sure I was on to something. I sold several more over the following week or so and was pretty happy with how things were going!

On the advice of some of my Etsy friends, I then changed my avatar to a picture of the Button Soap and whoa! It was Button Soap Mania!! I ended up having to buy several other molds in order to keep up with how quickly they were selling. By the end of January, I had given up trying to make them beforehand and listed them as "Build Your Own" so that buyers could choose not only the fragrance and color they wanted, but also the soap base. This allows those who love Goat's Milk Soap to get what they want while also offering numerous Vegan options.

The soaps have now been shipped all over the world! From Canada to Cyprus to the UK.

I was fortunate enough to have the soap included in a Treasury that made it to the front page of Etsy on February 2nd and sales went through the roof!   

And now as we approach Spring & Easter, I wanted to offer some cute alternatives for Easter Baskets that are sugar free, fat free and ADORABLE! I found a really cute Easter Egg soap mold, a Jelly Bean mold, and a "make your head explode" cute Easter Bunnies mold. The first Bunnies listing went up around mid-day on Sunday and now, a mere 36 hours later, I think I have orders totaling about 20 or so!

I'm using a delicious Cotton Candy fragrance oil in them because marshmallow FOs have a tendency to discolor slightly and I wanted them to be PINK PINK PINK!! The Cotton Candy FO smells sooo sweet and sugary! My house smells like the fair!

I'm also taking custom orders for these and will be making some in blue & yellow, scenting the yellow with Pineapple FO per a special request. I'm really excited about their popularity so far and may have to buy more than two molds by the time Easter season really rolls around!

Serious, these really are quite possibly the cutest things I've ever made!!

Well, time to head to work! Have a fabulous day!

Soap on Soap Violence Must End!

Too often I see/hear people knocking M&P soap that it's not "real soap" nor is it "handmade" because the crafter started with a soap base instead of a mixture of oils, lye and other ingredients. Here's how I look at it: Cold Process/Hot Process soapmaking is kind of like growing a plant from a seed. You take a tiny little seed, put it into special soil and wait for it to sprout. It sprouts, you tend it still in its little peat pot, watching as it grows until it is strong enough to go outside and into the ground. M&P Soap is more like going to the nursery and picking out a plant. You could go to the discount store and buy an "ok" plant, but you want the best, strongest and most beautiful plant you can find so you keep looking. Finally you find what you want, bring it home and place it in the ground. Both plants, the "home grown" one and the store bought one, need the exact same kind of care. You can't just stick it in the ground and say "there it is, it's a plant!" You have to water it, fertilize it, make sure it's getting enough sun/shade, keep the squirrels from eating it, etc. Both plants grow to be beautiful and strong because of the top quality soil/fertilizer and care you've given them. So my point is sure, you can buy some M&P base, maybe dump some cheap fragrance in it, put it in a mold and say "there it is, it's soap!" And technically, that's true. Likewise, you can use cheap oils and ingredients for CP/HP soapmaking, though most people who go to the trouble of making soap from scratch use fabulous ingredients. Or you can buy the best soap base you can find (preferably all natural), add special ingredients to it like extra oils and butters, scent it with pure essential oils or high quality fragrance oils and end up with a moisturizing bar of fabulous soap. In the end, your plant/soap is what it is because of what you've done with it. Sounds pretty handmade to me!

Two Generations of Craftiness

Whew!

A whirlwind of activity has swept through the Crafty Household leaving loads of soaps, magnets and thumbtacks in its wake!

My mother--my creative gene giver--was visiting from NJ this weekend so I put her to work! While I made soap, she carefully wrapped and labeled each one.

I had several orders to get shipped out this weekend including several international orders! One of these days I am going to master International Shipping at the automated machine in the lobby--mark my words!

When we got tired of soap, we began gluing stuff to other stuff! We made lots of magnets  and thumbtacks! Here are some of the magnets we made on Saturday night:

We made these by gluing small gingham print buttons inside a larger, brightly colored button and then a super strong magnet on the back. I'm pretty pleased with them!

The thumbtacks were also fun to make! I will be unveiling those in the next day or so, so please stand by for more crafty goodness!

In the meantime, my accountant Langston would like to remind you to get crackin' on your taxes!

This is Where the Magic Happens

Ok, so I'm not the best blogger and it's been  a while since my first post.  I've been busy, as you can see from these photographs!

When it comes to organization, I am a total disaster! Always have been. I can't remember a time in my childhood/adolescence when I wasn't in trouble for having a messy room. I'm great at taking things out and using them but I seem to really drop the ball with the putting stuff away thing.

I'm too embarrassed to even show you what my craft room looked like before these "Before" shots! I hired a professional organizer to help me get things organized (duh) in such a way that I think I can maintain. That's the other thing--I really like getting organized, it's the staying there that is so difficult for me.

So here is most of my stuff, which I've put in boxes completely randomly in anticipation of the Pro's visit. I bought a bunch of fashionable boxes/baskets  'cause I want things to look good since this room 's initial purpose was as our office  and guests can still mosey through.

And below is a small bookcase where I've crammed a bunch of soap supplies, paper, magnets, catalogs for making marble magnets, tiles, art supplies, etc.

And finally, here is the Rubbermaid rolly cart thingie where I keep my soap bases. You will notice that it is carefully guarded by Stuart the Super Cat.

And now the moment you've been waiting for--the "After" pictures!  Amy and I worked for three hours putting "like with like" and organizing the boxes of supplies in such a way that I don't have to fumble with putting a lid back on the box, which sounds minor but it's just one less step I have to take to put something back where it came from! I think we did a damn fine job and so far (three days later) it still looks just as good!

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Hello Crafty!

Hello Crafty is a one woman, two cat, 1/2 time man business located in the heart of North Carolina, surrounded by Tar Heels and Blue Devils, and oblivious to both. At Hello Crafty, the focus is on creating high quality handmade soaps, upcycled clocks made from CDs and cigar boxes, groovy magnets, stunning pendants and whatever else strikes my fancy!

The one woman is me, Bonnie, and this is my second craft business. The first soap business, Lunar Lather, was begun in 1999 and lasted until 2004. I made cold process (CP) soaps, all natural lip balms, lotion bars, and eventually got into other crafts like beading, card making, and magnets. Lunar Lather products were sold through various stores located throughout the Triangle area as well as online, at the Hillsboro Farmer's Market, my apartment and frequently the break room at work.

In 2004, I shifted my attention to my career (RN) and worked in the drug safety industry while studying to become a Legal Nurse Consultant. In 2006, this dream was realized and I was "free" again to  pursue  some creative outlets. In the summer of 2007, I was inspired with all kinds of home improvement and decorating ideas, all of which I've forgotten about because that surge of creativity brought about my new business on Etsy! 

So here we are in 2008, Hello Crafty has been in business for six months and going strong! I've "met" so many awesome and talented people on Etsy and have been lucky enough to have also met a bunch of them in real life. This year promises lots of fun new projects and crafts to explore and I'm excited about the future of the business.

Stay tuned for more inspiring and exciting posts such as "My Soap Can Kick Your Soap's Butt", "Why I Like Gluing Things to Other Things" and "How I Became So Obsessed With Making Clocks That I Missed My Exit More Than Once".