I spent an incredible, serene night in a dome last week. My husband surprised me with a trip to Miracle Hot Springs near Hagerman for our anniversary. We relaxed in the hot water, visited the on-site alligator and hung out in our dome, which came equipped with a queen sized bed and heated floors. The critters were noisy at night, the stars visible through the windows in the ceiling, which added to the evening’s entertainment. While my husband read  the new comic books I gave him as an anniversary gift, I busied myself crocheting soap sacks to sell at the next flea market. True, I didn’t need to come all the way to Miracle Hot Springs to crochet, but the change of scenery was quite refreshing. No TV in the background, just crickets, frogs and owls. The act of getting back to basics, cutting out modern conveniences and spending a quiet, kid-free evening with my husband and my yarn made me realize that I’m hooked (pun intended) on both of them. Quite often, people ask me what they should make because they would like to earn a living selling their crafts, and want to know what sells well. My stock answer is to make what you love, then figure out how to make it sell. How do you know if you love it? If you can work on a project for eight hours a day and not hate it after a week, then you love it. If you take your craft along with you every time you leave the house, then guess what…you love it. If you, like me, pack up your craft and take it along on a romantic getaway with your spouse, then you’re in love and these are the crafts that you might want to consider selling. There’s no point in working for yourself if you’re going to dread it. Make it fun and exciting by figuring out what your passions are first. If you can focus on this passion for a solid year, perfecting your craft without getting bored or sick to death of it then you might consider making a business out of it. This is the dating process of creating. It begins with shopping around for the craft or hobby that you can devote your life to, and then put a ring on its finger. Of course, you won’t need to treat your hobby to a romantic anniversary getaway, but it doesn’t hurt to bring it along on one. Have you found a creative hobby that you can say “I do” to?

I’m very pleased to announce that my soaps and lip balms are now available at a cute little shop in Shoshone, Idaho called Salli’s Back Porch Fabrics. So now my products are available in two local shops!

My fourth wedding anniversary is this month. My husband has informed me that our date will be a surprise. I wonder if he knows that I love surprises, or if this was just a shot in the dark. How much does he really know about my likes and dislikes? How much do any of our spouses really know? How much do we know about them? I wonder these things because I’m faced with needing a gift for the special day. I’ve talked a lot about making handmade gifts, and how they mean the most and are special and unique. However, there is an exception to this rule. Men. They are the hardest to create for. In my four years of marriage I’ve made a handful of things for my husband, including knitted socks, crocheted socks, and a crocheted scarf that looks like a light saber. I’ve been meaning to make him a multicolored “Dr. Who” scarf, but other than that, I’m out of ideas. So, when an occasion like our anniversary looms ahead, I shop. A romantic at heart, I agonize over the perfect gift, that magic item that will tell him that after four years, I still care. However, I’m just not convinced that such sentiment can be achieved with a store-bought item. So I take advice from the book “The Love Dare,” by Alex and Stephen Kendrick: I study him. That is, I pay attention to those things that I see him eyeing at the store, I listen when he talks about things that he likes, and take note of the authors of books that he reads. Of course, I could just ask him what he would like from me.  I could even have him make a list. But how romantic would it be for him to give me a shopping list beforehand? There are times when I’ve gotten things wrong. I’ve messed up. Once I gave him a movie that he already owned and I’ve bought books that weren’t to his liking. By year four, I have made a discovery and it has eased my mind about all this gift giving: It doesn’t really matter. Once we’ve found those material things that our loved one desires, then fine. Buy them if you wish, but please know that he won’t love you any more than he does now. What matters is how we treat each other, and not just on that one day a year when we remember our wedding day. My anniversary present will be of the material nature, but it won’t end there. The true gift, is not something that I can wrap or tie a bow around. It’s continuing to study him until I not only know his worldly interests and desires, but I understand the subtleties that make him…him. So while I can’t always create a gift that he will enjoy and use, with his help I will do my part to craft a marriage worth living and dying for. That’s the greatest handmade gift there is.

I’m very excited to announce that my soaps  are now available at a cute little shop called Closet on the Corner in Shoshone Idaho! I will be adding to my stock there in the next few weeks and will be adding lip balm and laundry detergent as well. If you live in the area, check them out. The shop is on South Rail street!

I love these jar openers! These are great for gripping stuck on jar lids. These are rubbery grippers with crocheted borders. I have these in a variety of different colors and also sell them singly, as well as in sets of 2 and 3. If you are interested in these, but would like more of them, let me know! Make sure to check these out on etsy!

I remember telling a friend of mine years ago that I never intended to sell my crafts. I told that friend that I liked to give my items away as gifts and I felt it a poor use of God-given talent to sell them for profit. Now, here I am with two online shops and selling at craft fairs and flea markets. Have I really sunk to that low of selling for profit? Is profit a bad thing? I reached my decision to sell in 2009. I was creating a lot back then, mostly knitted and crocheted scarves and I reached a dilemma. I personally owned more than ten handmade scarves and only a few of my friends and relatives enjoyed wearing them. So then, what was I supposed to do with the scarves that I was producing? I hated the idea of not creating and knew for me, putting down the needles wasn’t an option. I ran into the same issue with jewelry. After giving handmade earrings and necklaces to my mom for several birthdays and Christmases I knew she probably had enough to last a lifetime. As much as “selling out” scared me at the time, I knew I needed to branch out, to get my creations in the hands of others. My selling venture began online and it began slowly. My first ten items in my shop sat around for awhile, not getting many views. I felt invisible in a huge internet universe filled with similar items as mine, some higher quality or with more detail. My mother-in-law was my first customer and purchased a fuzzy blue neck warmer. This proved to be the confidence booster that I needed and I looked forward to that first “real” sale to someone I had never met before. A year later, I did my first craft fair, splitting a booth with a few of my church friends. I hardly made any money, but I enjoyed the experience and have since done several shows and am always keeping an eye out for new ones. It’s not so much the income that I love about these gatherings.  It’s the people, the chance to discuss my passion for crafts with others. Of course, the extra cash isn’t horrible, either. Six months later, I opened a second online shop selling soap and found success much quicker with this venture. I always thought that if I sought to make money doing something that I loved, that I would very quickly begin to hate it. However, in my case that simply wasn’t true. I love crafting more now than ever, and though I don’t have money rolling in by the truck load I am able to pay for more craft supplies, which keeps this whole thing going. I still give handmade gifts, only now I’m able to pay for the supplies by also selling handmade to others. It’s a self sustaining hobby that will someday be a successful business. So, whether you craft for the sheer love of it, or hope to make a little extra income, I say go for it  As Thomas Edison once said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” So decide what you’d like to make of your hobby and set to it. Chances are, you won’t be an instant financial success, but getting your items in the hands of strangers, for me, is payment enough.

You’ve seen the pink baskets and the yellow baskets, now here’s an example of the green Mother’s Day gift baskets. I’ll be selling these at the Magic Valley Flea Market in Shoshone Idaho on April 28th, but if you’d like one, but won’t be in the area just let me know! These are 15 dollars and include a scented candle (not handmade), a bar of soap, crocheted washcloth, soap sack, face scrubbie and decorative flower.

I also shared some pictures of my wire knot rings a week or so ago and have since made a ring display box to show them off at the flea market and future craft fairs. I had to get really creative with this box! The little pillows are crocheted with gray acrylic yarn and as stuffing for them I used some nursing pads that I had left over…I’m a big believer in using what you have on hand! Here’s a picture of the box, fully stocked with rings.

I then attached the little pillow to the box with hot glue. I think this will work perfectly!

I also found out about a benefit auction that will be taking place for a friend of a friend of mine who has breast cancer. As some of you know, my mom struggled with breast cancer a few years ago, so this is a topic that hits close to home for me. I put together a little gift set to donate for this auction. I love the can that this set comes in! This was something I painted months ago and planned on pouring a candle into it, but never got around to it…it makes a great container for a gift set! This includes 2 bars of soap as well as a crocheted washcloth, soap sack, face scrubbie and flower.

I’m also working on some really neat jar openers…I will get some pictures of them soon and share!

In the old days, women were super heroes. They crafted everything–from their family’s wardrobe, meals, blankets and toys, down to their bath and beauty products, such as soap. Sadly, many of these skills have gone the way of the washboard, leaving us with only the store-bought versions of these products. Sometimes, the mass-produced varieties are a far cry from their old-fashioned counter parts.
A friend of mine taught me to make soap one November day in 2010. I had never given soap much thought, and detested harsh bar soaps. My friend’s lesson changed that for me and I discovered the joy of crafting this cleansing wonder on my own.
The Babylonians were the first to make soap, around 2800 B.C. They made soap from fats boiled with ashes. It is very likely that the first soap was created by accident and was discovered after rituals involving animal sacrifice. Rain from frequent storms mingled with the fats and ashes from the fire pits, making a foamy, frothy substance. When the local women figured out that this stuff helped make their clothes cleaner, soap making on purpose began.
The Romans made their soap with urine, while the Celts made theirs from plant ashes and animal fat. They called this product “saipo”, which is where the word soap comes from.
The point is that all of these soaps–as weird as they sound–were the real thing. They contained equal parts soap and glycerin, a qualification all soaps must meet in order to truly be soap. The nicely packaged bars we find in the grocery stores today do not contain glycerin, as this substance has been removed and replaced with detergents and chemicals. Sure, this makes the soap last longer, but it also means that this stuff is not actually soap. Its drying qualities were also the reason I’d always detested the stuff. As it turned out I had never used the real thing until I started making it myself.
I’m sure we’re all familiar with the phrase: “grandma’s lye soap.” If you’re of a certain age, this might strike fear into you still. At the craft fairs I sell at, I hear it often. “Your soaps have lye in them?” My response: Yes. Because it has to. Soap without lye isn’t soap, it’s oil and fat. What made grandma’s soaps so wretched were the kinds of oils used (typically lard), and the fact that sometimes not enough fat was used to give the soap moisturizing qualities. Before you accuse dear Granny of abuse, remember that yesterday’s soaps were used for everything, which meant that one bar had to be used for bathing as well as laundry. While her soaps may have been dreadful in the bath, they were great for laundry and household cleaning.
Today’s soaps contain a wide variety of oils, the most popular being olive, coconut and palm, making them great for the skin, but not so great anywhere else. To add to the luxury, fragrance oils can be added making any shower experience a great one!
So don’t let soaps made the traditional way scare you. The techniques have been perfected over the years, making the handmade stuff the cream of the crop. You don’t have to be a pioneering lady super hero to enjoy the real deal, as more and more people are learning this craft, bringing it back from extinction for all to enjoy, no cape required.

I’ve been busy!!!

I finally got some lavender soap made, and I used my new palm oil in it instead of lard. I really like the results! I think I’ll be buying palm oil more often! I also used lavender flower petals in the soap. I’ve already sold two bars of it!

I also followed a tutorial on making wire knot rings. I had a blast working with the wire and coming up with new creations! I’ve made several of the knotted ones, as well as some with beads and buttons. Here they are:

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I made 10 new rings this morning as well and hope to get pictures of them soon! Not sure exactly what I’ll do with them, but they’re so fun to make I can’t seem to stop myself!

I also put together a yellow Mother’s Day basket to give you all an idea of what the other colors will look like. I will get some more colors made up soon as well. I also have green, blue and black. If anyone is interested in purchasing one of these baskets, they cost 15 dollars. Just let me know if you’re interested!

I am making these super cute gift baskets for Mother’s Day. They include a scented candle as well as handmade soap, a crocheted wash cloth, soap sack and facial scrubbie. A decorative flower is included for an extra dose of awesome. The picture shows an example of the pink basket, but I also have yellow, blue, black and green. I also have a variety of scented candles. These baskets are only $15.00. These can also be customized, so anything can be added to the baskets as long as it’s something I currently offer. Prices may vary, depending on your choices.

The following are examples of different items that can be added to a basket:

Jewelry

fridge magnets

lip balm

multiple bars of soap

Maybe you want more wash cloths, but no soap sacks or face scrubbies. I can do that!

If you’re interested in purchasing a basket, just let me know! These are mainly intended for my local customers, but I will ship these if necessary. I will charge $10.00 to ship these in a medium flat rate priority box. If you need your basket shipped, you’ll need to have a paypal account and purchase through paypal. Local customers can pay by cash or check.

I’m excited to make a basket just for you!