Busy hands Busy days

The past two weeks have been a bit busy. I have been trying to perfect my laundry detergent and finding ways to package and label it all. The Soldier has been such a great help with that. He thought of the name and a few other really amazing things that could be done and added to it. So Dirty Joe Soaps was born and I am so proud of how it has turned out.

I placed that image on Clear stickers and they became the perfect label for the jars of Laundry detergent. Small trial size jars and bigger jars that can hold 14 loads of soap. But I am still hung up on the best packaging for mailing the soap out.

The Jars might be too heavy to make shipping a good deal with the price of the soap (which is fairly low compared to store bought soaps). So I am leaning towards Muslin bags with my logo stenciled on them, with the Detergent securely in a plastic bag inside it. Then the Muslin bag could be reused, recycled or even sent back to me for a refill. Still deciding and searching for a local source (made in USA) for the fabric.

~Happy dance happened when I was featured in TWO different Etsy Treasuries. The first was Pamper Yoruself. It featured Spa type products and my Facial Scrubbies got a spot. The other is beautiful to look at and features Lime & Coconut themed items.

The other fun thing that happened this weekend. I had my first "Open House" or "Trunk show" some may call it. A friend was having a wine tasting party and asked if I would like to be a featured seller. I was flattered and thrilled, oh and a little scared. I didn't know any of her friends and this was a first for me. Putting myself out in front of the crowd to talk and show what I make. Its very personal to show and sell something you make by hand. Felt like I was pushing baby birds out the nest for the first time.

The Host was expecting 7 confirmed guests, a few maybes and some Non-responses. Well She was a little disappointed when 6:30pm rolled around and only 2 guests arrived. I felt so bad for her. She spent a lot of time preparing food for the night and arranging for the kids and Husbands to be out someplace for dinner.

Although only two people came, it turned out to be great. I was able to talk about what I do and create in a very casual and personal setting. Answer questions and show how you can wear scarves in different ways for different functions. Plus the wine was great. Oh, and I did sell an Item. Dirty Joe Soaps a large Jar of 42 washes.

I thought I set up her table well. Made sure you could see each type of product I make from any place you may have been standing, And I brought all the Scents of Laundry Detergent that I was working on.

The Host felt bad that her guests didn't show and kept apologizing. I kept telling her it was fine, that it got me to make and finalize a lot of things that I would have procrastinated on or still be trying to make a decision about. And because I made things specific to sell at the party, that meant I now had a lot of inventory to put up on the Etsy site. I really couldn't have asked for more.

So thankful for amazing friends, a husband who thinks some of what I do is silly and the other things I do are magnificent. Encouragement is all you need sometimes.

PS. There are a lot of pictures on the FaceBook Page. Check out the albums and see what will be posted in the Shop of Lovelies Next.