And the winner is...........

PUMPKIE!!! Congrats Pumpkie!! You've won a solid fragrance! Send me your address and fragrance preference to soapgirl AT southpacificbody.com!!!

Solid Fragrance Giveaway!!

What is a solid fragrance you ask? It's a solid perfume, made with natural ingredients that are actually good for your skin! A simple blend of sweet almond oil, beeswax, vitamin E and fragrance, these solid fragrances can be applied anytime without fumigating the crowd around you! My fragrances come in several fantastic scents: Hawaiian Plumeria, Jasmine Vanilla, Lavender Blooms, Pink Peony and Grace. Each one has it's own unique scent and all are absolutely fabulous and long lasting. So how do you get one? Simply post on my blog anywhere between now and October 31st and your name will be entered in a drawing. Also, all purchases made in my shop between Oct 24th and Oct 31st are automatically entered to win. The scent choice is up to me, but if you truly hate a certain fragrance, please let me know! :) Good Luck! Make sure you come back on Saturday, November 1st to see if you're the winner! The winner will ONLY be announced on my blog. Make sure you do not leave an anonymous post. Anonymous posters can't win.

Oops! When good things go bad. REALLY bad!

Sigh... It's sort of a buzz kill when you spend hours and hours making soap, and they just turn out UGLY. And my soap ugliness is quite extreme. I have no idea what happened to this one. It's supposed to be a really gorgeous bar of Bay Rum soap, but instead, it's some strange mutant version of Bay Rum soap. Fortunately for my customers I sell them at a deep discount. People LOVE to buy mistakes! But still... I hate messing up my soaps!

My shameful Bay Rum soap. What the heck did I do???

Here is my other gem of a soap. My Rosewater "Oops" soap. Let me tell you what went wrong. First and foremost, floral scents are a MAJOR pain in the a$$. The minute the fragrance is added to the raw soap batter, the batter seizes up and is like concrete in no time. Very naughty. So, I jammed the raw soap into the mold using every ounce of muscle in my body, smashing it into submission as best I could. Then I attempted to "sprinkle" rose petals onto the soap (which is completely concrete now), then I added and already finish slab of white soap to top it off. I covered it up and hoped for the best. Well, best is not what I got. The white top fell off most slices, and it has the look of a hot process soap, even though it's a cold process soap. I think I was in the worst mood of my life this day. Seriously.

Presenting.... THE SWAG BAG!!!

Please, everyone mark your calenders for October 15th! The EGCG will be offering up these bags jam packed with samples from 19 EGCG shops! These are not teeny tiny samples either. Each sample is around 2-3 ounces, plus, I'm pretty sure the lip balms are full sized!!! The post below shows my sample... an assortment of sugar scrubs, shower souffles or body butters.

Bags can be purchased here, for a limited time. Quantities are *very* limited. You will absolutely not be disappointed.

Etsy Green And Clean Guild Swag Bags!

What is the Etsy Green and Clean Guild Swag Bag? Well, first, I'll tell you a little bit about the EGCG. EGCG is short for Etsy Green And Clean Guild, a street team of Etsy sellers who specialize in soapmaking, perfume, cosmetics and herbal products. We have banded together to help educate the public about the merits of well-crafted products from small businesses who care about their customers, as well as to promote Etsy in general. We also serve as advocates for Truth in Advertising and full ingredient disclosure for bath and beauty makers.

Now, what is a Swag Bag? Nineteen of our members have come together to offer up a bag filled to the brim with samples of soaps, lotions, scrubs, perfumes, and I'm pretty sure even laundry soap! In addition to being able to purchase all of these goodies for a GREAT price, one lucky customer will also receive a coupon for $10 off any shop participating in the Swag Bag promotion!

Would you like to see some products being offered in the Swag Bag? You can check it out on our Flickr! http://www.flickr.com/groups/egcg_team/pool/

On October 15th, the bags will be available for purchase on our Etsy website. egcg.etsy.com

Here is a photo of South Pacific Body's Sugar Scrub Sample

New Scrubs for the Fall/Winter Season!

Our Shea and Cocoa Butter Body Polish is back! Thank the Lord! These can only be sold in the fall, winter and early spring because they are made with shea and cocoa butter, and that means they melt in the heat. I guarantee you could not find a better, more luxurious scrub if you spent $60 at Sephora. Our scrubs not only exfoliate your skin to perfection, they moisturize, protect, and your body will absorb all the wonderful nutrients of the butters. You will never need a lotion or have dry skin while using these scrubs. Almost as good as the scrubs, are the wonderful scents they come in!

• Holiday Cookie: Like creaming butter and brown sugar together



• Island Love Spell: Romantic, fruity, tropical. A best seller



• Oatmeal Almond: Loaded with ground oatmeal, this almond scent is relaxing and gentle



• Caribbean Coconut: A fun, warm coconut scent. I love this one!

Click here to browse my Shea and Cocoa Butter Sugar Body Polish section!

And the winner is.....

OK, so my big plan to have my son dramatically pull a name out of a bucket failed miserably. Not only did everyone wake up late, but my oldest son called on his way to school that he had a flat tire. Of course, to make it worse, yesterday he lost his cell phone so he had to borrow some random person's phone to call me. This was probably the one and only time he ever needed his phone for an emergency. Soooo.... my husband had to go get him to take him to school, and now his car is sitting in front of someone's house.

Oh wait, the fun doesn't stop there! My youngest son realized on his way to the bus that his cross country coach gave him a girls cross country shirt. So he was spazzing out about that because he has a track meet after school.

All this and it's only 7am! So, instead, I told Luke, "Pick a number between 1 and 20!" He said "11". And number 11 is.............

HEYYOU8722!!!!!! who is a very good customer of mine! Congrats Heyyou!!! Shoot me an email at soapgirl (at) southpacificbody.com with your address so I can get your Frosted Snowflake out to you. You'll love it because it's very similar to your beloved Sugar Blossom which has been discontinued. :)

My contest has ended! Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to enter. I have 20 names, and my son Luke will decide who the winner is before he goes off to school tomorrow morning. GOOD LUCK!

Come back tomorrow at 8am EST to see if you are the lucky new owner of my Frosted Snowflake Soap!

It's almost time for a winner!

I can't stand the suspense! It's only 2 more days left to enter in my "win a free soap contest"! I have so many entries already... new customers, my regulars, and some brand new faces! Friday morning right before school, my son Lucas will pull a name out of a bucket, and that lucky girl will have a full sized Frosted Snowflake soap and a sample sent to them Monday morning. Friday can't come fast enough!

Seriously, contests can be addictive.

Why I Love Readingbunky

It's a MIRACLE! I found a seller's SNS

"secret".

A secret in someone's shop is part of the Saturday Night Special on Etsy. You have to search through shops to find it, and it's not easy! If you are lucky enough to find it, you're rewarded with a completely free item, or sometimes you just have to pay the shipping.

I stink at this. I get frustrated, my eyes glaze over, and I just never find anything. Until last weekend! I was lucky enough to find Readingbunky's adorable Hemp Bracelet! I love it! Not only is it perfect, it came packaged so sweetly! I don't know if the cuteness of it made me think it smelled of vanilla, or if it really did, but I sear, it even smells sweet!

So, I love Readingbunky because I felt like it was my birthday today.

BOO!!! Creepy Halloween Soaps!

Good grief these are awful! I generally don't make Melt and Pour soaps, but you just can't do cool things like this with cold process soaps! I don't know why I couldn't get the pictures right, but oh well.... some pictures don't turn out so well. They look much better in person. No less creepy though!

Enter to win a FREE SOAP!

Have always wanted to try a South Pacific Body olive oil soap? If so, now is your chance to try one for FREE! There are two ways to enter. Post on my blog between now and Thursday, September 11th or make any purchase from my website or my Etsy Shop and you could win a FREE bar of Frosted Snowflake Olive Oil soap!

If you don't win this time, don't worry! I'll be having another contest in mid-October.

My youngest son Lucas will be pulling the names out of a bucket, and a photo of your Etsy or Blog name will be posted here on Friday, Sept 12th. So make sure you return on that day to see if you are the winner!!

Thank you and good luck!

The All New EGCG

The EGCG (Etsy Green and Clean Guild) recently went through some big changes. We have a shiny new blog, a new Etsy information area, a new leader, and a new forum! The changes being made are mostly internal, but they have a fresh new feeling and it's been very exciting. We're especially revved up about our new Iron Chef Challenge and EGCG Sample boxes!

Membership is currently closed, but will be opening up again very shortly. If you make fantastic body products, and are interested in applying, you can do so here and click the "contact EGCG" link.

Check for updates about all promotions and contests on our blog!

It's the most wonderful time of the year.....

School is back in session!!! Wooo hooo!!! Am I a bad mother because I'm excited? Maybe so. I'm excited to get the house back. No more video game controllers all over the floor, no more cups of juice on the coffee tables, no more "What are we going to do today....." I'm so over it.

However, I feel DEVISTATED that my oldest is going to be a senior in HS and my youngest is going to be in 6th grade. Since my oldest has been driving since March, he kinda does his own thing now. For instance, we've had dinner and he was a no-show. This isn't something I'm accustom to. We've always been an "eat together" family. Always. I see the time coming soon that my youngest does the same thing, and I don't want that. The thought of it makes me nearly break down and cry. My little baby boys are growing up and I can't control it.

However, I'm thanking Jesus for the start of school tomorrow. Go figure.

How to give handmade and money as a gift!

So, about 1/2 my nephews and nieces are now tweens and teens. In other words, they are money hungry and definitely look forward to a wad of cash from their most favorite aunt. ME!! Haha! This was the first year I gave my niece Kayla money instead of a gift. I was a little bummed about it, since I have mountains of nephews, and barely a handful of nieces. I've always liked buying girly items. But, she's been saving for a laptop and I wanted to help her. So this year, a wonderful seamstress, JPat purses, a shop I've been eyeballing for a while, had a sale. I jumped at the chance to buy two of her cute little purses. This one was stuffed with money for my niece, and I kept this one all to myself. Perfect for my cell phone!! Kayla loved her gift. That's how to give money AND handmade to broke, money hungry teens.

Fall is almost here!!

Except I'm not exactly excited. Boohoo.... I'm a warm weather kind of girl. I hate the cold, snow, naked trees, brown grass... nothing about winter is good except Christmas. Oh, and fall scents. That is the one thing I looooove about fall! Pumpkin, chocolate, cranberry.... it makes the cooler weather bearable. So, if nothing else, I'm loving making my fall products!

BLOG SLACKER!!!

Wow.... was March really my last post?? Was my son really still 16 years old the last time I posted? Well, now that summer has finally started to wind down, I'll have more time to blow on the internet. No more slacking for me!

Black Soap??

Black you say? How could black soap possibly get you clean, let alone REALLY clean? Charcoal! Charcoal may possibly be the best ingredient I've found lately. Not is it all natural, makes a great deodorizer... it makes a beautiful soap! Amazingly, the bubbles are still white! I'm in love with my new charcoal soap!

Why I Love SoCalledMommy

SoCalledMommy makes most of the cards I buy on Etsy. She creates other things like Decorated Wooden Letters, but what I'm really interested in is the cards! They are stunning, cute, fun, and you can just tell how much work goes into each card. Everything is beautiful. So beautiful in fact, I completely trust her judgement when I order in 'bulk'. I give her just a little bit of info about why I need them, then VOILA! A few days later I have a beautiful stack of perfect cards at my door! She also offers a 15% discount on 20 or more cards... which is totally awesome and really came in handy when I ordered all my Christmas cards from her! This is why I love SoCalledMommy.

I Want To Know!

If you found my shop by reading my blog, or if you are going to buy something because you saw my blog, let me know if "message to seller" at checkout, and I'll send something extra in your package! A lip balm, soap dish, a 1/2 ounce jar of some bath goodie... something nice!

So let me know!

Saturday Night Sales!

Most Saturdays, I have a great sale! Check out tonight's sale! CLICK ME

Sale Ends Sunday, 9am EST.

All FULL SIZED Sugar scrubs are 20% off! FREE Gift with purchase! Spend $20 (pre shipping) and pick out a gift! Choose from: Lip Balm, Soap Dish, 1/2 ounce jar of lotion, 1/2 ounce jar of Shower Souffle (choices limited, let me know your preference)

Spend $40 (pre-shipping) and receive a 1.5 ounce jar of Whipped Shea Butter, PLUS a gift listed above! Make sure you let me know your choices in "message to seller" during checkout

Why I Love SeeJayneKnitYarns

Why do I love SeeJayneKnitYarns? I do not knit, sew, crochet or anything similar. I once crocheted a straight line that was a mile long, and that's as far as I got. Humiliating.

SeeJayneKnitYarns is an Etsy SUPERSTAR for many reasons. First off, how cool is it to spin your own yarn?? That's so hot. Second, her sales are off the charts fantastic (2,043 items sold as of today, 7pm EST! )Her hard work has definitely paid off and she is an inspiration to anyone wanting to start up a small business. Third, she's a wonderful person, helpful, supportive, nice and funny. A few weeks ago when I hit my 1,000th sale, she started a a super nice "congratulations" thread for me in the forums! It was just so nice that someone wanted to support me like that! So many wonderful sellers helped me reach my 1,000th sale that night... it was a community party for me! Fourth, she's my customer, and my sugar scrub was the first one she's ever used! This is why I love Jayne.

If you had 3,000 soaps, what would be in your shower?

What does a designer wear? What jewels are dangling from the ears of a jewelry maker? What does a carpenter's kitchen table look like? Well, here are some awful photos of what is in a soapmaker's bathroom! And I did not take a pic of the little sliver of Mixed Berry I have left! It's way too slivery! Haha!

Seaweed Facial Soap

Tea Tree & Clay and Lemongrass Soaps

Mango Tangerine and Mocha Shower Souffles

So, they aren't the best pics in the world. I was wet, in a towel, taking photos in a steamy bathroom. But this is what's in my shower at the moment.

Etsy is #1

Well, #5 is just as good! :)

How to turn Flop Into Fabulous!

How cute, right? Well let me tell ya... not so easy to make! First off, I had to mess up one whole brick of soap! Haha! Not so much that I messed it up, I just wasn't happy with it. So, I let it cure nice and hard, then I shaved off swirls with a a zester. It only took me all day. When I was done I had a 45 ft high mountain of soap swirls. So, I used them to make hand soap too. I don't sell it, although I should, being that I now have a gallon of foaming hand soap! :) Anyway, the picture you see to the left is the end result of saving a hideous brick of soap. It's now a pretty, swirly, hot pink fruit soap!!

SUPPLIES!!!

I do not like ordering supplies. I'm not talking about the fun stuff like fragrances. I'm talking about the boring stuff like paper and labels. Blah.... ! I'm totally dozing off while putting labels in my shopping cart.

However... I did have quite the glow while I was ordering new ribbons and gift boxes! I must give a shout out to Nashville Wraps! What a gorgeous selection of everything! I really could have spent a fortune in there, but I was good. Except for the giant roll of white shiny paper I don't need. I figure it's useful for everything, and a different color bow will make it special. This is the best part about white paper!

Beautiful Charcoal Soap

I love this soap! It will be fully cured soon... I can't wait!

Sooo Lazy

Ya know, I'm normally never lazy. EVER. But today, I could just nap non-stop. I had originally set aside today for some soap room organization, house cleaning and laundry. However, 4 rooms away I can faintly here my bed calling my name. Geez, I wish I had a cold or something, that's a good excuse to lay down. Blatant laziness just isn't. I tried coffee, and that just made it worse. Sitting here typing is only keeping me awake, and not busy. So, I feel like at least if I lay down I'm getting something done. Maybe I should look at the Pottery Barn website. For some reason all those nice, clean rooms motivate me to do stuff.

Let The Games Begin!

Some lucky girl (or guy!) will soon be walking away with a MEGA HUGE basket of bath goodies from various Etsy Green and Clean Guild shops! If you'd like to play the game, read the rules and keep up to date in this thread CLICK ME

See ya, stinky pits!

OoohLaLa! We are so super excited about our new deodorants!!! Seriously, I did not have high hopes for them. I honestly thought it would be a flop. I was completely wrong, and pleasantly surprised! I've always been one to load up on the aluminum deodorants... heck, if I could have pumped the stuff into my veins with an I.V., I would have. Nothing (and I mean NOTHING) bothers me more than a stinky person. Gross! And I can smell B.O. a mile away. I'm a bloodhound. So, obviously hygiene has always been on the top of my priority list.

Anyway... I'm getting sidetracked. My point is, these deodorants ROCK, and you will not have stinky pits! You will sweat if you get hot, which is fine... your body needs to sweat! Sweat is not stinky. It's the yucky bacteria that stinks! But these deodorants turn the yucky bacteria into a simple salt, and VOILA! No B.O!

BIG Contest! Win a whole lotta bath goodies!

The Etsy Green and Clean Guild (EGCG) has been working hard (especially Domaly) to organize this great contest! 13 EGCG members have donated random goodies for the lucky winner!

How does it work? Look through the shops of the 13 EGCG participants to find the "Mystery Letters". Write down each letter you find. After you've found all of the letters (rumor has it there are more than 13 letters - some shops doubled up letters) unscramble the letters to reveal the word or phrase. The best part is, only Domaly knows the answer! We don't even know!

So, starting midnight tonight and ending on the 16th, start looking! Convo Domaly with your answer. Winner will be chosen randomly. You MUST have the correct word or phrase to qualify.

Video not coming Monday

I haven't made any soap, so no video on Monday. I'm sooooo lazy. But it's my next order for business!

Coming soon.. soap making video!

I've decided I'm going to make a video of soap making, from begining to end. I suppose I'll do it high speed, since who in their right mind is going to sit and wait with me for the lye to cool? If you are willing to do that, here is a long list of hobbies to choose from. Should I dress nice? Maybe I'll wear my new bright red patent leather heels for the video? Red heels and skinny jeans! Yes! Or a red dress? I don't have a red dress. Jeans it is. What top though? I'll have to ponder.

Video coming Monday.

A few Soap Lab photos

OK, so it hardly looks like the lab of a mad scientist... but it's mine. And it works well for the most part. Everything is made in a kitchen, but right after, everything is moved here. If it has to do with soap, it's in this room.

Now... if you look *REALLY* closely at my computer area, you will see a Chazz Michael Michaels Bobble Head.

New Stuff!

Woo hoo!!! I' LOVE making scrubs, and today I made foot scrubs, and A LOT of them! I also made a really nifty cuticle butter! My husband didn't think it was so nifty when he had to clean out the butter melting pots though.

Anway, I think lemon and orange pepermint is the best scent for hand and foot products, so that's what I made.

I have to admit, the scrubs aren't the prettiest things in the world, but that's because they are made with pumice, which is gray. But they are the best darn scrubs for your feet!

OK to say Reefer?

So, I said a DIRTY WORD in one of my listings!!! Reefer! AKA: pot, weed, mary jane, fatty, and probably more names I'm not aware of. Drugs are BAD, but darnit, the word reefer just fit in that listing! http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8794967

FAR OUT!!!

This is my latest creation... Groovy Patchouli. Patchouli isn't for everyone, especially the faint of heart. It's very hippy-ish, woodsy, earthy.... everything a proper Dead Head wants! Patchouli was popular in to 1970's because of it's uncanny ability to completely mask the scent of reefer! Haha!!! Gotta love Patchouli even if you don't.

My first blog. Ever.

For the love of all things bubbly, I hope I don't ever sound stupid for the world to see. I don't know where to start? I'm Bethany, and I make soap. A LOT OF SOAP! And scrubs, lotions, butters, you name it, I make it. And that's about all I'm going to say until I get a feel for blogging. :)