Exciting new additions to my shop!

If you look to the right at my Morning Valley Soaps Etsy Mini, you'll see that I've added a new solid perfume as well as my first bath salts!

The new perfume fragrance is called "Love" (not very creative, but it's supposed to be a counterpoint to my scent "Lust"). The fragrance consists of juicy, tangy blood orange, with a sweet and creamy layer of vanilla, and a gentle hint of floral lavender. I adore it and have been wearing this scent myself.

My bath salts (pictured above) are from one of two recent batches. I recently made one Eucalyptus batch and one Tea Tree batch. The Eucalyptus are the ones I just listed. I've decided to pack them in some of the small cloth pouches I make that don't seem to be selling well on their own in my other shop. It seems like a great way to gift them to someone, even after the salts are gone, they'll have a reusable pouch.

I've also recently created a batch of lavender mint whipped sugar scrub with lemon verbena. It's so creamy and moisturizing on top of the obvious values of exfoliation it provides. The lavender and mint essential oils smell great and the lemon verbena herbal steep I used in it doesn't add much scent, but it very good for your skin. It also has shea butter and sweet almond oil in it, so it's quality all around. I just have to get some jars to put it in and it will be joining the menagerie of my shop as well.

Lip Balm Experiments

I have several recipes I've been toying with- an attempt I made the other day is close. A little too waxy, I need to increase the amount of the oils and tone down the beeswax.
I'm optimistic that I'll be able to have some in my shop by the new year! I'm having friends test my bath salts so they can join the inventory in January as well.
Now I'm trying to decide on packaging for both of these items. I like balms to be in tubes instead of tins because it doesn't get your hands messy, nor does it put your germy hands in your mouth. I really like the oval tubes, they are better shaped for the natural curve of the lip, but they also tend to be about twice as expensive, so I don't know if it's worth it.
The salts could either go in some sort of jar or bag- again, I'll see what is both classy and economical.
Recently I've also had the random idea to make a set of Sherlock Holmes dolls. I'm a big fan and have been working my way through the canon for a while now. I checked, there doesn't really seemed to be much in the way of Holmes/Watson dolls out there. Though, if I do make them it might not be for selling... I might not be able to part with them.

My First Alchemy Creation

I occasionally apply to alchemy requests without much hope, but someone accepted my bid and I have just completed the order-I'll be sending it tomorrow.

The order was for a set of mini versions of several of my soap scents. It turned out well and I think the way I packaged it is adorable, very homey, very much in tune with the sort of image I'm trying to present of my business. In fact, I'm so fond of it I'm posting a picture below:

It's a simple cardboard backing (recycled from some boxes) wrapped in unbleached muslin with a hand-written card listing the scents in the package and all tied up with a silky brown ribbon. I think that might be the standard for all my multi-soap sets.

Soap Pictures!

Above: Eucalyptus and Exfoliation Soap Brittle

Above: Winterberry Soap Brittle

Next project is to make some really great unisex soaps and to make some solid perfumes that match some of my soap scents. That way, you can layer scents from the shower in a more long lasting way.

Bath Teas

I'm working on a new line of bath products called "Bath Teas." They are comprised of dried herbs and spices along with dried tea leaves. I saw a vendor at a recent festival I visited selling something similar and it inspired me. The idea is to pour a few spoonfuls under hot bath water and let it turn your tub into a soothing, fragrant place where you can steep yourself.
I think it's fairly unique- not a soap or a salt, but will be equally healthful for skin and pleasing to the senses.
I'm making a few small batches so that I can debut the teas at the crafts fair I'm organizing in mid-October, we're still not 100% sure about the date yet, we have it narrowed down to two days. I'm working on advertising and finding vendors.
Tomorrow I have to go into town to the home and garden shop to buy some more terracotta pots for my indoor winter herb garden.

Soap Glamour Photos

I've been toying with the idea of starting an Etsy shop just for my soaps, I'm not sure if I will just yet, but I took some glamour shots (as glamorous as possible with my camera) of some of my soaps. Here they are:

Above: Some of the botanicals that are used in my soaps such as lavender, aloe, mint, cinnamon, oatmeal displayed in and around my mortar from my pestle and mortar set.

Above: Sweet Mint soap with a cutting of mint from the garden.

Above: Espresso Soap nested in the same fresh ground coffee used in making it.

Above: Cinnamon Spice soap with some cinnamon sticks, there are some pieces of stick in the soap as well.

New Projects

Unfortunately I haven't had time to finish my new blouse yet, "real" jobs you know. Next though, I'd like to make a gypsy skirt. I've decided I'd like to focus more on bigger items for a while since I already have a fairly good stock of accessories. Bigger items seem more likely to bring people in and then they might stay and buy accessories as well.

For selling live I have to make a sort of collapsable costume rack to display apparal and such. My father is always eager to make things so we have a daddy-daughter trip to the hardware store in our future as he has put himself in charge of my displaying needs. It's very sweet.

I am still decent camera-less at this point, so here is the best photo I could take of my new necklaces. Very depressing, I know. Jewelry is very hard to photograph I've found. Harder to light and hang attractively.

I've been trying to use up the store of beads I've accumulated and I found some lovely metal pieces to use as the main pendant. I think these may appeal to young women and also those that likes something more colorful and feminine than many of my usual styles with chain maille and such.