Mountain Laurel Soap Featured in Etsy Treasury!

Thank you, kjmSILKS, for featuring my Mountain Laurel Soap in your Etsy Treasury!

Blog Contest #3 - Everyone Should Vote!

It is going to be another custom pair of earrings as the giveaway this time. They can be designed from any of the gemstones I have in stock with sterling silver, copper, or brass accents. We will work together to make a truly unique design, just for you!

So what do you have to do? Well, vote of course! Vote for me on Artzee once per day and post my rank as a comment here. For example, your comment can just say, "I voted, your rank was 42." This link will cast a vote for you, and then you will need to look for DLPom in the listing of sites:

Vote Here!

Person with the most posts and correct ranking numbers by the end of the contest wins...ties will be broken by random drawing...contest ends Saturday, September 6th, 2008.

Lucky winners from the past:

Blog Contest #1 Prize
Blog Contest #2 Prize

Good luck!

I've Been Featured - Again!

It is the nicest compliment for someone to feature your work! In this case, my organized, soap ingredient closet was featured. Now that's unique!

Check out Etsy Studios for a peek behind the white door.

Thanks, Kerry, from Etsy shop "the red door."

Soap, Soap, Soap - Texas Blooms Series

I'm doing a themed soap series for my Etsy shop, SoapSense. We have so many wonderful florals in Texas, I wanted to represent them in my cold process soaps.

I started off with Mountain Laurel and Bluebonnet, both blooming in the spring. Mountain Laurel has a unique, grapey scent that I just couldn't ignore. Bluebonnet, of course, is the state flower.


Then, there is Honeysuckle, Yellow Rose, & Jasmine. All are true scents, that match the real flower perfectly. The jasmine soap was even made using jasmine tea! If it is difficult to choose, just get one of each. Watch for holiday gift baskets that include these soaps, coming soon.

Or, if you don't really need the fancy packaging, purchase these soaps as "Birthday Suit Bars." Yes, they are simply undressed, at a 10% savings!

The Prize! - Blog Contest #2

Katie G. of Indiana won Blog Contest #2 and wanted a pair of simple, sophisticated, freshwater pearl earrings. I hope these clustered beauties fit the bill!

Congratulations, Katie...your earrings will be on the way!

Stay tuned for Blog Contest #3 to win your own pair of custom earrings from any of the 150 semi-precious gemstones I have in stock...

Salsa Earrings Declared a "Tuesday Treasure"

Thanks for featuring my Salsa Earrings on your Tuesday's Treasures blog feature, Simply Sentimental!

An Appreciation for Soap!

I made my castile soap recipe the other day...I had forgotten how stubborn and mean it is, but it always turns out good if you are willing to wait about 10 weeks for it to cure! Yes, I said 10 weeks!

Castile soap is considered to be the first real soap ever made, long ago in medieval times, near present day Spain in the Kingdom of Castile. Later in history, the Italians, Greeks, and French tried to take credit. I'm a purist, and still believe that castile soap should be made from 100% olive oil only.

A few days ago, during the soap making process, I stick-blendered it to death...and it FINALLY traced. Then, I waited 48 hrs. to unmold it...then another 12 hrs. so it would be hard enough to cut into bars. But look out! It was still quite alkaline to the touch, and my hands were stinging just from handling it.

Ah, but in 10 weeks, it will be some of the tamest, mildest soap on the planet! Just wait...

........The First Creative Thinking Skill........

FLUENCY

Fluency means thinking of many, many, many ideas. Your ideas do not have to be unusual, but try to get as many ideas as you can in just a few minutes. Lean in to unusual ideas and hitchhike on identified ideas. Try not to judge or make comments about ideas as they are being generated. This skill is related to brainstorming, except that it is done more quickly, and should not be a prolonged activity.

Here are two exercises to improve your creative fluency: 1) With a partner, talk for one minute without stopping about a topic you know something about. The partner cannot interrupt or comment during the one minute; 2) In one minute, jot down as many words as you can that replace the word "said." If you do this with a partner, share your words when the one minute is up.

How could you improve your crafting fluency today?