Sara – Page 14 – Coastal Carolina Soap Blog

The Village

MarysThoughts

Hi! This month I am writing a series about our Christmas decorating. I am doing one blog post per week, each getting sent out on Fridays, with the last one coming the Friday before Christmas. Now we set up our village. It is magical! And it’s such a size that fairies could live in it. Our elf-on-the-shelf (Elfie) even sat on the Chapel on the hill.

Our elf on the shelf — Elfie on our Chapel

Filled with excitement and fun, it seems like a simple night with a few people around. It is sooo calm and soothing. There are some folks deciding to have a midnight skate under a clear sky, while others decide to go for a stroll or sled down the hill.

We have a lot of decorating still to go, but we should still remember what Christmas is all about, too. I hope you don’t catch a cold! Bye for now!

Lessons for a Stressed Out Kid Entrepreneur

Sometimes, life is feast or famine. A couple of months of ease have given way to a week of total insanity, as a wholesale order, a private label order, and a major show have all come together at one time. Mary has had to make a bunch of Reindeer Poo soaps and bags for the wholesale order and the event, and she’s feeling the stress. On

top of that, she needs to make a couple of more gift sets. And do school. And her chores. Yes, my sweet 11-year-old girl is in agony right now!

Well, guess what? I’m stressed, too. Can you imagine how awful and unproductive it’d be if both of us were stressed at the same time? So, I’ve decided to create teachable moments from the stressful moments. I can’t take the stress away from her. Oh, if only I could! The best I can do is give her tools to manage her stress.

As I type this, we’re both benefiting from one of my favorite ways to ease stress: We’re listening to classical music. She has heard me say dozens of times that I prefer classical when I’m strung, and this morning, Mary actually asked me to play classical today. This is the same child who cries, “Oh, no! Not classical again!” every time we’re in the car. It’s working; she told me not long ago that she’s feeling much less stressed this afternoon.

This morning she asked me why I’m don’t seem very stressed. I started to tell her, “I formulated a plan that I’m using to guide me,” but that just led to eye-rolling. So I said, “You’re already stressed. We can’t both be stressed. That’d just be disastrous, so I’m going to be zen.” My youngest piped up and said, “And if you get stressed, then I’ll be zen! And if I’m not zen, then Daddy can be zen. And if Daddy isn’t zen, then Grandpa can be. And if Grandpa…” I cut her off there with a smile and said, “Your Grandpa is always zen.”

Today, like every day this week, we’ve planned and executed. The trite but true response to “How will we get this all done?” is simply, “We just do it.” As we entered the last of the wrapping/labeling phase this morning, we have been able to see the fruits of our labors coming together as soaps have stacked up on the table to be transferred to bins for transporting or boxes for shipping. Just that – seeing all this work moving from the production stage into the pre-selling stage – has been more motivating than anything else so far this week.

Earlier in the week, Mary was making bags for the Reindeer Poo soaps using my sewing machine when it started to make this really unpleasant noise. We figured it was just struggling from lack of use. But then, the next afternoon, the noise got louder, and the machine stopped working altogether. Whee! Let’s shoot that stress level up another notch or two or twelve! Mary dug out her sewing machine, and as it fired up, a collective sigh of relief blew through the house – until that night, when it was being temperamental. She was in tears of fatigue and frustration. “It’ll be OK,” I told her. “Go to bed, and we’ll attack it fresh in the morning.” Sure enough, her sewing machine worked great the next day.

Along with all this, my youngest has been feeling left out. She’s used to having more attention from Mommy and big sister through the day than she’s been getting this week. There are some things she can do, but not many. This morning, she admitted that she has been misbehaving more to get more attention. I’ve had to be more attuned to her needs and wants, even when I’m labeling lip balms and wrapping soap and bottling Tahiti Kiss all at the same time. Today at nap time, she said, “I’ve tried to behave better.” She has.

While I’m used to this level of work and having to meet deadlines, Mary isn’t, so this has been a tremendous learning experience for her. She’s had to learn time management, stress management, and the importance of working smarter instead of harder. Those are all great lessons which will serve her well in life and business.

Holidays and Christmas

As we navigate through the coming months, you’re going to see and hear me use different words to refer to this time of the year. Already you’ve seen references to “holiday event” and “Holiday Shoppe.” Yet, those who know me know I’m a Christ-follower (it’s pretty much everywhere on my social media profiles) and are probably wondering why in the world I’m not referring to everything red and green as “Christmas this” and “Christmas that.”

Christmas is a holiday, a holy day. It’s a day when we celebrate the birth of Jesus with family and friends. This is a beautiful thing. We observe our traditions, like attending a flotilla each year and watching Christmas specials together. We bake Christmas cookies, and we spend time with family and friends. The girls help me make the traditional family coconut cake for Christmas dinner with my family, and we attend a Christmas Eve Lovefeast service each year before driving around and looking at lights.

Holiday refers to this time of year marked by commercialism, secular trappings, sales, promotions, and Christmas-theme products. This doesn’t really have a whole lot to do with the true meaning of Christmas. Now, I know I’m a business owner, and I make and sell Christmas-themed products. I love these products because they’re fun products to make and sell.

But you want to know something? While I like making money from my business (otherwise, what’d be the point, ya know?), that’s not what drives me this time of year. My absolute favorite part of selling during the holiday season is sending smiles. It goes like this. I pull orders off my site’s admin section, then I start pulling products, usually with the help of someone in my family. We spread all these orders out on the table, I print off the packing slips, and we start packing these to ship.

My favorite thing is when I see the shipping address and billing address are different. That usually means someone is getting a gift. So I wrap their products in tissue, tie them with a bow, and attach a gift tag (this is just something we do). The person on the receiving end of the package gets a surprise, and who doesn’t love knowing that someone else is thinking of them? Or, if the buyer has me ship the package to them, then there’s the chance that they’re going to be wrapping those lovely goodies themselves to tuck under the tree or into stockings. Or, perhaps a soap and a lotion will grace a powder or guest room, all ready for visiting family and friends to enjoy.

Peppermint Twist Bundle — Zippy peppermint oil makes these products smell just like peppermint candy. Yum!

Do you see where I’m going with this? It’s all about the giving. I might be the middle man in this lovely gift-fest, but I have the privilege every year of helping send smiles. And love. And fabulous soaps. And that’s just really several layers of awesome.

Joyful Scribbles by Sharon Harnist

Pretty In Pink

As I continue to poke around through my fragrance remnants and rejects, I tripped across a duplicate of Pink Sugar. So many of my fellow soapmakers have used it and love it, talking about what a great seller it is for them. I took one whiff, and deemed it way too sweet for my personal taste, but I don’t love everything I make, and neither do my customers. Everyone has their own preferences, so, with that in mind, I went ahead and soaped it.

Sweet and pink, Pretty in Pink emerged as the ultimate feminine treat. Perfectly suitable for both big and little girls alike, the scent is a blend of cotton candy, lemon drops, caramel, and raspberries with base notes of warm musk. What a lovely combination! Tart and sweet, cool and warm, light and heavy. It all comes together in a beautifully blended whole.

Pretty In Pink Soap — Pretty In Pink soap is all feminine bathing enjoyment

Don’t you just LOVE that? I expected this soap to turn chocolate brown where it wasn’t pink or white, and instead it stayed a creamy tan. The pink swirls are bright and sparkly from mica, and the top is a blend of my own liquid soap and melt & pour base, whipped with mica and topped with Himalayan pink salt. The soap itself is a total skin treat containing rich coconut milk for a creamy, silky lather that will leave your skin feeling soft and supple, never tight and dry. (I pilfered a bar for my own shower, so I know first-hand just how awesome this soap is.) While this fragrance will likely never become a personal favorite of mine, I do enjoy how the scent mellowed and warmed in the soapmaking process; the musk came out more. You can pick up your own bar of this special edition soap by clicking here, but quantities are very limited.

What sorts of scents do you like to use? Would you use something so feminine, or do you prefer a different genre of fragrance?

Brunswick Stew – My Weekend Creation

For a while, I’ve been wanting to make some homemade Brunswick stew. I love this stuff, and when I was growing up, I would get it every time we went to O.T.’s, this awesome barbeque joint. It was sooo good! That restaurant has long since gone out of business, and OT died several years ago, so imagine my total happiness when one of his sons brought a big ol’ pot of Brunswick stew to homecoming at my home church one year! I’ve found some really good Brunswick stew at a restaurant down here, but at over half an hour away, acquiring it for myself requires some forethought, determination, and money. At any given time, I’m lacking one of those.

So, it was time to try making it for myself. I didn’t want to freeze a bunch, so I decided it’d be a great time to experiment with pressure canning again. First, I found a recipe to try and opted for this one. (I have a couple more recipes I want to try.) Then I found out how to can this. I knew I’d have to pressure can it, but I had to figure out the time and pressure.

I made up a big, tasty batch of Brunswick stew in my stock pot (and dried some apple slices at the same time). Oh, my gosh, did our house smell amazing!!! Then came time to pour the stew into jars and start the canning process. These are the jars after they’d finished processing and resting for a little while. Check out these closed systems of delicious awesomeness! It was so fascinating watching the vegetables and broth simmering and moving about in the jars!

After the jars had cooled down, it was time to label them. I’d created this label design a few years ago when I first started canning salsa. I guess I’m just used to labeling everything I make.

Jars of Brunswick stew — The jars of Brunswick stew labeled and ready for storing, sharing, and eating

Our youngest daughter asked if we could have chicken salad sandwiches for dinner. Our oldest asked if we could have Brunswick stew, so we broke open a jar. Some of our jars had more broth than “stuff” – meat, veggies – so I had decided we’d use those so I could pump them up with extra chicken and vegetables. I opted to add extra lima beans and potato, as well as a handful of peas. Doesn’t that look totally delish?

Brunswick stew in the bowl — Tonight’s Brunswick stew ready to eat. Yum!

I’m all hyped about canning some great foods this fall – pie fillings, spaghetti sauce, chili, applesauce, and apple butter. I think every weekend will see one new batch of something going through the cooker; this will enable me to dedicate the kitchen to different things at different times, because I’ve got a BUNCH of soap to make, too. There is so much joy in making something by hand that I can share! You see, I make soaps to use and sell, but canning stuff is for us and others. I can use it to barter for local farm goods, as gifts, and for us.

Have you ever done any home canning? What’s your favorite thing to put up?

How Indies Beat Stress

I am a member of a great organization called the Indie Business Network. There are oodles of benefits to being an Indie, but I would have to say that our Facebook group jumps up to the number one reason for me. It’s like having a support group at my fingertips 24/7 for anything – questions about business; rants about the increased cost of shipping; or support when home, school, and business all overwhelm me. It’s also a great place to celebrate that huge stack of wholesale orders and to laugh with other business people. I know from experience that, when one member is just totally sinking, the leader of the organization, Donna Maria, will reach out to that member by email and/or phone to lend personal, one-on-one support and guidance. Been there, done that, still enjoy putting that guidance into practice. (“Mom, can you wash my clothes after my sister’s?” “I’m not in charge of laundry. You’ll need to ask your dad.” Oh my gosh, that felt soooo good to say yesterday!!!)

There comes a time in every Indie’s life and business, though, when the stresses get to be too much. Money is tight, supplies are low, and when you go to look for your customers, you hear crickets instead of cash registers. On top of that, one of the kids is sick, the cat has to go to the vet, and the septic tank is backing up. What’s a business owner to do?

This came up for discussion this week in our group, and I offered to compile all the suggestions, including some of my own, into a blog post to share with everyone. We all have our own unique ways of handling stress, and you hopefully can find inspiration from our ideas. I promised anonymity, so there will be no names attached to these.

Drunk elephant riding

(1) “Get drunk and ride an elephant.” One member did this as part of her personal retreat to re-evaluate her business. It’s come to represent to me doing something so totally different from your personal norm that it shakes up how you view things. Closely related to this is…

(2) “If there’s no elephant available, get drunk and ride a hot guy.” Because, seriously, unless you’re in Asia, Africa or a zoo, elephants are hard to come by. Sex is great stress relief! (My husband suggested making the UPS guy verrrry happy. Hmmm… “What can Brown do for you?” just takes on a whole new meaning when you put it that way, doesn’t it?)

(3) Spend time taking care of you first. I love this message about taking care of yourself for 24 hours. Do things just for you. Call it being selfish, if you will, but that time can make you such a better parent or business owner.

(4) Cuss. A lot. Loudly. To hell with acting and sounding like a lady! If a man building a house were to hit his finger with a hammer, he’d be cussing up a storm. A woman building a business takes her hits, too. She should feel free to express her anger, hurt, and frustration in crude, primal ways.

(5) Be in the moment. Do what feels right for you in that moment. Cry. Laugh like a maniac. Whine. Gripe. Scream. Experience the catharsis.

(6) Enjoy some chocolate and wine. Dark, milk, or white. Liquor-filled or basic Doves. Chardonnay, Merlot, Riesling, or Sweet Muscadine. Indulge responsibly. I have found that a glass of dry white accompanied by some dark chocolate m&m’s can greatly improve my outlook on life.

(7) Get yourself into some hot water. Whether your prefer a milk soak, bubble bath, or bath salts, grab a book, maybe some wine or chocolate, possibly even the guy from point #2, and sit back in peacefulness. Leave your stress in the tub and watch it go down the drain.

(8) Escape. Take 15 minutes to yourself. Take half a day for a trip to a day spa. Take a night away in a B&B. Take two nights. Or three. Or a week! Unplug. The world will survive without you for a few days. Close the doors on the business for a while and come back refreshed and recharged. I try to take 15 minutes to myself each evening and an overnighter at least every other month. These times away from my business and family make me a happier mom and a more productive owner. As I said in our group, I love my girls, and I love them even more after some healthy separation.

(9) Exercise. Yoga, running, walking, lifting weights or whatever works for you. Just do it. Get those endorphins going and cleanse your mind as your sweat out the stress.

(10) Finally, reassess. After going through any or all of these de-stressing routines, determine what you are gaining from your business. Is it spending money? Is it extra income for your family? Is it the reward of being your own boss? Your business should be benefiting you in some way. If it’s not, then it’s time to assess whether this is the best choice for you. Stepping aside and looking at your business from a new angle can help put things in the right perspective.

I’m sure you have your own ways of beating back stress, frustration, and hopelessness. What works best for you? Share them so we can learn from each other.

Flip Flops Featured in My Maker Box

Back in June, I received an email from my business mentor, Donna Maria, asking if I would sell her some flip flop soaps at wholesale. It was a large order, so I agreed. These flip flop soaps were part of a 90-bar production series the girls and I tackled in a mere 3 weeks. Oh my gosh, was that a lot of work, and did we get sick of pouring these soaps! It was too much of a good thing.

Those soaps were for the premiere My Maker Box, a fabulous box loaded with at least $150.00 worth of products, which shipped out in August. My Maker Box is made by makers, for makers. You can hear dM herself tell you all about the August box here. You can see my soap at around the 3:40 mark.

To celebrate the end of summer and the fact it’s still flip flop weather here, these flip flop soaps will be 40% off all week.

Don’t those treats look like so much fun?! I’m personally lovin’ that earcuff. Which of these treats would you love to have?

Tiger Lily Revisited

Once upon a time, I received a free bottle of Tiger Lily fragrance oil. I used this fragrance in an early batch of cold process soap, adding orange and pink swirls. It smelled wonderful and looked lovely. I hadn’t thought a whole lot about that fragrance, but I am at that point in my business life where I want to get rid of unwanted or remnants of fragrances, and I knew I had a sniglet of that scent left. Then one day, these showed up at my door via FedEx.

Pictures of lilies arrangement — A beautiful bouquet of white, pink, and orange lilies

Aren’t they gorgeous? And they got even prettier as the days progressed and more of the buds opened. My best friend sent these to me to celebrate the beginning of our school year and his final liberation from a hellish marriage. Looking at this arrangement three times a day reminded me of that Tiger Lily fragrance, and I just had to find it and make a batch of soap with it. It wasn’t a big batch, since I didn’t have much oil, but I managed to get six bars out of it.

That means that there are five of these glorious chunky bars available for your bathing pleasure (I’m keeping one for myself, thank you very much). Specially formulated to last and to produce a rich lather, these soaps are a true skin and nose treat as we hang on to summer just a tad bit longer. Their nubby tops were a happy accident and will feel fabulous next to your skin.

What’s your favorite flower that you’d love to sink into as you bathe?

Punky Patchouli

This is the coolest, most prettiest soap I have in this house. It has a flaming swirl that could probably take your breath away. My Mom, my sister and I made this. My Mom makes the soap. My sister stirs the colors into the oil, and I stir the colors into the soap and I hold the funnel. This was so cool to make and plenty cool to design. Mom wanted to leave the blue and gold. I wanted a swirl, so I suggested to do a tiny swirl in the center but just to the edge of the blue and gold. The funnel holding is not so fun because it gets boring. Here is a picture of the soap.

Patchouli soap swirl — The center of our amazing Patchouli swirl.

I am also including a picture of what the funnel looks like, too. Isn’t it beautiful? That is what it looked like when we got done pouring all of the soap into the mould.

Funnel with soap in it — The funnel after we finish pouring all the colors for this soap.

I love seeing the final product.

Pink Sugar – a New Special Edition Soap

Just gotta soap. That’s my personal justification for making a new soap out of a fragrance that simply doesn’t rock my world when I have a whole slew of “must-makes” on my dry-erase board. Sure, sometimes I get tired of soaping the same ol’ things, so I succumb to the urge to whip up something different and fun. From that urge came my newest special edition soap, Pink Sugar. This delightfully, totally girly soap is bathing bliss with a blend of some of the greatest soapmaking oils and lusciously rich coconut milk. I topped it with sparkly soap frosting and Himalayan pink salt.

Pink Sugar Soap Loaf — My Pink Sugar Soap freshly poured into the mould

This is that same wonderful girly goodness sliced. Unfortunately, some of the salt fell off, but the inside is so pretty. I expect the white parts to turn very brown because of the vanillin content in the fragrance, which will leave me with a brown and sparkly, hot pink swirled soap. How pretty will that be!

Eight delightful little bars of Pink Sugar Soap

These will be all ready for your blissful bathing enjoyment in around three weeks. I bet you know someone who would appreciate such a girly, fun soap.

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