Felted Hat....Love It

One of my Bunco friends just dropped off this handmade felted hat this morning. I'm thrilled. It's for my daughter's March birthday. How cool is this? I've seen these same hats on Etsy from $40 to $80. I traded off some felted wool for the cost of the hat.

Can't wait to see this on my daughter. She wears hats so well.

We Have A Winner!

Congratulations to Christina from Crossville, TN. She is the recipient of (10) 1/2 ounce fragrance oil samples of our most popular Spring scents. Our FB Giveaway asked that our Fans submit why they like to make soap. The drawing was random, but it was very interesting to read all the comments. I've posted Christina's comment as well as a few others. Thanks to everyone (and there were a good number) who entered. Look for more FB giveaways in March.


Our winner, Christina wrote....

"I first became interested in soap making at the age of 5 years. My family went to Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO before it became known as Branson, and outside there were these ladies dressed in 1800s costume making soap. I stood there watching them as long as my parents would let me. I couldn't take my eyes off them. I never forgot it and always in the back of my mind was the desire to start my business making soap. I would go into stores and would think if only this was available in this color and fragrance only it wasn't.

At our family owned and run business that is exactly what we offer. We offer all natural soap, body care, perfume, make-up, and hair care products that we make right in our kitchen. I am thrilled to see my life long dream come true. I truly love being able to personally make each customer's order. When they are allergic to a product offered we simply customize it for them using ingredients they are not allergic to.

Owning our business with my sister enables me to home school my 12 yr old daughter and spend quality time with her. It has drawn us much closer than when I was working for Employers. We look forward to seeing our business grow and my daughter is learning it."


Alison from California wrote:


"In this constant struggle against germs and dirt, One person must grab a bar of soap and say "Enough is enough!" I see myself as a hero amongst those who wish not only to be clean, but smell good and feel soft in the face of this adversary we call Body Odor! No longer will we walk around destroying others nose holes! No longer will we be ashamed to raise our arms with fear of killing those near us and ask "why can't we just smell good for once!?" That is why I Love to make soap! To help those in need of a good bathing. Not only help them, but help those around them AND RISE UP AGAINST STINK! =] "

Denise's comment: Clever~might need to hire you for marketing ;)


Tami from Utah wrote:

"I love soapmaking! As a woman, much of what I do each day... I wake up and do again the next day (laundry, dishes, cleaning, etc.). Soapmaking gives me a creative boost, and in the end I can stand back and look at the beautiful, fragrant soaps I have created and feel a touch of pride. Using them in the shower is the icing on the cake!! Having someone say their "wife asked for my soaps for Christmas" is the ultimate!!!"

Denise's comment: Yes, having someone request product or compliment you on it is a high. Keep it up!


Nikole from Michigan wrote:

"I've never thought of myself as a creative person - in fact, I pretty much thought I just ruined anything I tried to accomplish. so when I forced myself to choose a hobby, I picked soap making. Hey, why not get soft happy skin while stimulating my brain...right? It has completely changed my outlook on, well everything.

Not only is it actually fun to design and create items that are actually good for your skin, but for me it's more. Making soap gave me confidence that I've really lacked for a long time in different parts of my life, it extends further than just feeling that boost from having people compliment me on my products (and actually purchase things from me because they really do like them) but somehow it's also helped me to realize that I can't possibly suck at Everything, right? haha, That's what I'm going with anyways :) "

Denise's comment: You keep going with that girlfriend!! I've always been a creative person. Sadly, my daughter always compared herself to me and my work. She felt she lacked in her creative abilities. Today, she has far surpassed me in more creative ways than one. It's all about perservering and believing that you can "DO IT!" Thanks for sharing.

Win (10) Spring Soap Making Fragrance Oils

FB FRIDAY FREEBIE! Register to win (10) 1/2 ounce FO samples of popular Spring scents. How? Email why you enjoy soap making. Include first/last name & state with your comment. That's it!

Drawing held March 1, 2011 at 8 AM (ET). Winner notified by email. We'll post winner's first name & State on the GPE blog & FB page. If you live outside USA, and win, you'll be emailed a coupon to claim your prize when placing a future order.

All fragrance oils are suitable for CP, HP and MP soap making as well as candles.... yes, soy candles included.

Not yet a FB friend? Click here.

VENTING: USPS Service STINKS!

Ok. For months, even years, I have withheld my opinion of the US Postal service. We ship a good number of international orders and if there was another shipping option, that was reasonable, we would be using it.

On a scale of 1 to 5:

Overall service= 2

Phone service= 1 (even had someone hang up on me today because they had NO IDEA how to assist)

The fact that I am paying tax dollars for this service gets a 2, and their web site service is sporadic. I spent over two hours today trying to print two international custom forms to Russia.
Forms never did print and the person on the phone line treated me like I had never navigated the Internet... that person gets a "0". I so wish I knew their name. Funny how the US Government doesn't require employees to give name/badge numbers.

Tax dollars at work!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let me mention that we ship to Russia several times a month. This is not anything new to us and the person I spoke to was more than insulting. I can only guess she has never seen anything outside of the rural area she lives. Yes, that sounds ugly, but it's probably VERY TRUE. MY POINT: don't put people in phone positions who are clueless about the region, international area, or company types with which they are working. HELLO.... you are the US governement... is your employee pool that limited???

OK... I will take your feedback, but don't expect any kindness on my end.


For those of you working for the US Post... sorry. But, this is a government agency that needs reorganization. Sometimes there are just not good things to say about a company (it this really a company, or a monoply?). Sling your good and bad comments my way, but I will never be a fan of the USPS. It should be privatized and taken out of the hands of the US Government.

What are your thoughts?

HELLOOOO, Winter! Good-by Sun!

We went from this lovely view from our room in Chile .....

to 12 inches of the white stuff!
You can see why we didn't want to return from our trip.

The only white stuff I would like to see right now is the snow capped Andes. This is a picture I took on our plane ride from Santiago to Mendoza. We flew directly over the Andes Mountains. It was pretty awesome. It's much nicer to fly over the white stuff as opposed to driving in it.


Needless to say, I'm not sure who will be working today. The roads are still unplowed and treacherous. Everything is cancelled, including the University. You know it's bad when a major University closes its doors. Please be patient with us for the next two days. We are working the best we can under these winter conditions and UPS pickups in our area could be delayed.

Earthquake in Chile

As many of my followers know, I have been in Santiago, Chile and Mendoza, Argentina for the past week. Our group will be leaving Mendoza this afternoon to fly back to Santiago where we will catch our flight home. During our stay in Argentina we received news of the earthquake that hit 100 miles outside of Santiago. Several beachfront resorts were evacuated, one being in the same area that we stayed upon arrival to Chile. Spending time with the Chileans made our group very aware of the damages caused during the February 2010 earthquake in Chile. They are still repairing the damages and lifes were lost.

I prayer for a safe trip home today as it will be a very long day of travel (not to mention a time difference of two hours). I want to give a shout out to my staff who managed to process orders and take care of business while I was away. Monday morning will be a very busy day for me as I catch up on those items and affairs of business that I couldn't handle last week. I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend!

Arrived in Chile

it was a long flight (9 1/2 hours) but the sunny, 97 degree weather was worthy of the journey. I am sitting poolside answering emails and attending to what business I can from afar. It never ceases to amaze me how one can stay so connected via electronic devices. maybe too connected when you're on vacation. I am limiting work to a couple of hours in the morning. Then, the balance of the day is for "vacation" time with my husband.

My assistant, Kristy, will be taking care of business while I am away. Orders will process as usual with the exception of international postal orders which will not be processed until February 14. Email is the best way to communicate with me while I am out of the country. Either Kristy or myself will reply as soon as possible.