Ok for all of those who have
never made soap and think that the Etsy people either charge too much or that anyone can do it ..
think again! Cheryl and I wanted to start a new business venture that we both can do and make us money during the off season ( namely.. the summer) anyway, we both liked soap and several years years ago got hooked on the
real stuff made by a fellow crafter. Well, we stopped going to craft shows ourselves , but still buy from various sappers etc. We decided to give it a go for ourselves. Cheryl bought a book and some oil, lye, and mixing containers.
What fun! our first batch did not turn out too badly and we are currently using it. We were emboldened to try some scents and colors with mixed results. the scents are
great and combinations are
wonderful but some of the colors turned our soaps into a
muddy bla color. According to the book, we should "test" and "perfect" our skill for at least a year before selling it full time. I hate to admit it but it seems she may be right! Both of us have college degrees ( two each! Yea for advanced education!) so hopefully we will speed up the learning curve a bit.
Brother's gotta get paid! so they say...and we are in this to make money right? So...Here are a few pictures of what our soaps look like.
And here are some from the professional Etsy folks. First up
Swanmountain soaps ....They are from Alaska! ( I love Alaska but I won't go into detail here because I could write a book. This is their shop
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5595818 Here are some of their soaps.
I love the Amber beer one. i had my first legal beer in Alaska, and the Alaskan Amber is really good. Maybe it was good because of the atmosphere. Don't know, But I can tell you the Alaskan Pale Ale is kinda flat and bla. My opinion.
If you shop on Etsy you will eventually know
Dennis Anderson. His shop is here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5124873 and he sells just about every soap under the sun. He is one of the top sellers and if you visit you will see why.
Next is
Aromatic body oils. She was the featured seller on one of the Etsy front pages. ( I think anyway, at least she is a full timer like the rest of these. Find her here...
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=22745 Her shop is amazing! and intimidating for starters like Cheryl and myself. Here are some of the really great soaps she has.
There are many more but I don't have the space to list them all. You should check some out from time to time. Find your favorite flavor or color and maybe even send them as gifts. Once you try
REAL soap there really is no going back to the garbage they sell in the stores. ( my opinion) Cheryl and I have a ways to go, and the turn around time is sometimes a month or more. ( the hard part is the waiting for the stuff to be done).
I'm very excited tonight! We got our Alaskan Soaps and I just tried out the apple pie amber soap and love it! We got it in the mail today and part of the package was open so I thought we might be missing a bar. But everything was there and then some! She gave us a complimentary Spruce tip jelly. Cheryl just toasted up a slice of bread and buttered some on. Its really good! We are trying to compare it to something we have tasted before, but can't! It's like a totally new flavor. Sufficiently sweet, with not too much tart. Very smooth and jelled. Anyway, the soap was a thick block slice( perfect fit in my hands) smelled good enough to eat! It was like I was back in Alaska for a few moments. Cheryl wants to 
try the pumpkin pie one later tonight. The only thing that is an observation, not a complaint, was that we had to wait 7 days for it ( hello! It was from Alaska! 4-5 days to get a letter to and from there) But the soap was worth the wait! You can find her shop here on etsy. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15932720 It makes me miss Ak. I worked up there for two summers while in college. Then I requested to be stationed up there when I was in the Army. ( Ft Wainwright Battalion Mortars baby! YEAH!) There are soo many and yet not enough words to describe Alaska. If you look at some of my workshop photos, you will see some moose antlers and caribou head from there. ( don't worry, I never shot the moose) We sold three seats today for a total of 4 as of right now. I will most likely carve them up tomorrow. I did score three more cupboard doors from Holland MI. Resale store ( Solid oak $1 each! ) Cheryl says I have to build her her coffee table before I can carve up another one though.
