Our First Newsletter!

Our First Newsletter!

Thank you all to all that signed up for our newsletter, the first copy scheduled to come out tomorrow. I am excited to be able to reach out to you with information about new products, sales, and updates. If you have not yet signed up, feel free to do so. Newsletter Sign Up I promise not to fill up your in-box, as I don't like spam either. Look for newsletters about once a month. Now on to the important stuff, and a preview of our newsletter.

Weekend Sale!!

That is right, just in time for the holiday season, KBShimmer is having a sale! Please visit our Etsy store to enjoy 15% off everything in our store. This sale ends Sunday at Midnight, EST. No code needed, I will refund your discount via paypal. If you would like to have a revised invoice sent, or a reserved listing set up for you, just convo me! Discount does not include the cost of shipping, refund is based on item cost only.

If you would like to shop via my direct website, please use the code SAVE15 to enjoy your 15% discount.


New Holiday Items

With a chill in the air, and the leaves almost gone, I start thinking of Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year, I have brought back a few favorites, Spiced Pumpkin Soap and Sugar Scrub, and introduced a fast favorite, Peppermint Sugar Scrub! With the sweet and refreshing peppermint scent, this scrub will awaken your senses and having you dreaming of candy canes and peppermint candies. If someone on your list has been a little naughty, or you like a good joke, why not give them a lump of coal? With our Lump of Coal Soap, this is one gag gift everyone will enjoy! Keep checking our website and our Etsy, over the next week several new scents will be added, and our newest product, bubble bars will be made available. Don't worry, if your favorite product is not active on the website, it will be shortly!

Newsletter Contest

Sign up before 11/30/09 to be entered into the drawing for a gift set worth $20. From now until the end of the contest, you can earn additional entries. Forward the newsletter or link to sign up to your friends and family so they can enter. Let me know the names of who you referred, and get an additional entry for each person that signs up! It is that simple.

Many happy wishes for this upcoming holiday season,

Christy
KBShimmer
sales@KBShimmer.com

New Newsletter, Contest, and event!

With the busy season upon us, I find it hard to take time to write blog posts. I am to get better with blogging, and have decided to reach out to my customers and friends with a newsletter.

Sign up for my newsletter before 11/30/09, and you will be entered to win a gift basket full of my products, valued at $20 (maybe more, how knows what goodies I will tuck in there!).

I promise not to fill your box with spam, and seeing how much I blog, that is proof enough that I won't. The link to sign up is below.

Sign Up Here

If you are in Indiana, come see me this weekend!

Shop Handmade for the Holidays in Indiana! Our first annual Hoosier Artisan Holiday Boutique, at the Oak Hill Mansion in Carmel, IN. The event is free and will include a fantastic raffle, open bar and food for patrons.

This ev...ent will feature artisans from across the state of Indiana and is being held to benefit the Indiana chapter of the March of Dimes.

Our vendors are very diverse, and have two things in common: they operate shops on Etsy.com and have a desire to honor a fellow artisan's loss by supporting the March of Dimes.

http://www.hoosierartisanboutique.com/
Time: October 17, 2009 from 10am to 3:30pm
Location: Oak Hill Mansion
Street: 5801 E. 116th St.
City/Town: Carmel

Spread this to all your Indiana friends and family, this is a great way to ditch the flea market shows and get real handmade gifts. Never too early to shop for the holiday season!

Making my mark on the web

Over the last few weeks I have been hard at work creating my website. It is still a long way from finished, and I probably have many typos still to be discovered, but it is all mine and will be finished soon.

For those that want a sneak preview (ok, as sneaky as you can be being out on the web, lol) here it is!

http://www.kbshimmer.com

I hope that the entire site is up and running by May 22nd, so check back then!

Sometimes it is worth the wait...

I have been working on a new soap. Patchouli scented with neon colors. One batch didn't turn out as planned, and the other got dropped on the floor. But never fear, I have plans to try again!

Here is a preview of what I plan for it to look like on the tops.

Batch 1

Batch 2

Here is the inside of batch one. Cool, but not the popping neons I had hoped for, more of a muted version.

Lets Celebrate my new products! Sale at my ArtFire Shop!!

Happy Birthday Wishes Bath Bomb

SALE SALE SALE, from now until Sunday at midnight EST, 20% off all orders and free shipping for orders or $75. I will refund via paypal or send revised invoices, but add a note to me when checking out!

Bad Boy Soap

Whipped Shea Butter w/Jojoba Oil

Very Berry Vanilla Sugar Scrub

Vaild at my ArtFire Shop!

Bath Bomb Bonanza!

Been making bath bombs all weekend. A few new scents coming, so keep watching my shop!

Sale @ my Etsy Shop! And, an Interview with the Soap Queen!

As seen on the Storque Article on Etsy, I am having a sale!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Celebrating love this weekend! Enter "VDAY" in the message to seller/buyers notes during checkout and receive 25% off your order total (before shipping)! All orders over $30 (before shipping) will ship for free! Ends am EST Monday Feb 16th, discounts will be refunded after payment, convo me if you perfer a revised invoice ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5895628

Also, this week, I was featured on The Soap Queen's blog. The Soap Queen is Anne-Marie, the owner of Bramble Berry.

I thank her for presenting my interview and invite you to go read it. Interview

Bath Bombs, fizzing fun in the tub

Bath Bombs are one of my favorite bath and body items. Plop one in the tub, and watch it fizz, releasing scent and oils for you to enjoy while soaking. My bath bombs contain cocoa and shea butter along with jojoba, olive, and sweet almond oil, a true treat for your skin!

I am in the process of expanding my bath bomb line, and would love to hear comments on what scents you enjoy while relaxing in the tub. Love Lavender? Looking for the perfect plum? Florals what you fancy? Let me know what you like in the comments below!

Explore my current line at either my ArtFire or my Etsy Shops: Frosted Mint, Lavender, Relax Man, Sparkling Cranberry, Rock the Bath Bomb, and Good Morning Citrus.

CPSIA and the threat to handmade

As parents and concerned citizens I’m sure most of us at one time or another have been confronted with the question of lead poisoning. But have you asked yourself what your government is doing to protect your children from lead contained in toys? The answer? They're banning toys, taking books from schools and libraries, hurting low income families, killing entrepreneurial spirit and risking putting the economy in an even greater depression than we've seen in decades. I'd like to introduce you to their solution: the CPSIA.

Do you know about the CPSIA? No? Then I ask you to take a few minutes to find out about it.The CPSIA stands for Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a new set of laws that will come into effect on 10 February, 2009 and will impact many, many people in a negative way. Make no mistake, this is very real. View it for yourself. If Forbes, the American Library Association and numerous other media are paying attention, perhaps you should too.

How will these new laws affect you? Well, here are a few examples:

To the Parents of Young Students:Due to the new law, expect to see the cost of school supplies sky rocket. While those paper clips weren't originally intended for your student to use, they will need to be tested now that your 11-year-old needs them for his school project. This law applies to any and all school supplies (textbooks, pencils, crayons, paper, etc.) being used by children under 12.

To the Avid Reader:Due to the new law, all children's books will be pulled from library and school shelves, as there is no exemption for them. That’s okay though, there's always television. Our children don’t need to learn the love of reading after all.Article from the American Library Association http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=1322

To the Lover of All Things Handmade:Due to the new law, you will now be given a cotton ball and an instruction manual so you can make it yourself since that blanket you originally had your eye on for $50 will now cost you around $1,000 after it's passed testing. It won't even be the one-of-a-kind blanket you were hoping for. Items are destroyed in the testing process making one-of-a-kind items virtually impossible. So that gorgeous hand-knit hat you bought your child this past winter won’t be available next winter.

To the Environmentalist:Due to the new law, all items in non-compliance will now be dumped into our already overflowing landfills. Imagine not just products from the small business owners, but the Big Box Stores as well. You can't sell it so you must toss it. Or be potentially sued for selling it. You can't even give them away. If you are caught, it is still a violation.

To the Second-Hand Shopper:Due to the new law, you will now need to spend $20 for that brand new pair of jeans for your 2-year old, rather than shop at the Goodwill for second hand. Many resale shops are eliminating children's items all together to avoid future lawsuits.

To the Entrepreneur:Due to this new law, you will be forced to adhere to strict testing of your unique products or discontinue to make and/or sell them. Small businesses will be likely to be unable to afford the cost of testing and be forced to close up shop. Due to the current economic state, you'll have to hope for the best when it comes to finding a new job in Corporate America.

To the Antique Toy Collector:Due to the new law, you'd better start buying now because it's all going to private collection and will no longer be available to purchase. “Because the new rules apply retroactively, toys and clothes already on the shelf will have to be thrown out if they aren't certified as safe.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123189645948879745.html

To the American Economy:Already struggling under an economy that hasn’t been this weak in decades, the American economy will be hit harder with the inevitable loss of jobs and revenues from suppliers, small businesses and consumers. The required testing is far too costly and restrictive for small businesses or individuals to undertake.

To the Worldwide Economy: Due to this new law, many foreign manufacturers have already pulled out of the US market. You can imagine the impact of this on their businesses. If you think this is exaggerating, here is a recent article from Forbes

http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/16/cpsia-safety-toys-oped-cx_wo_0116olson.html

And for those of you prepared to be stupefied and boggled, The New Law

http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html

Did you know? If this upsets or alarms you, please react.

Voting is open

Get out there and support soapers. Vote for the best swirl.

http://saponifier.com/?p=808

6 Color Swirl, In The Pot Method, with Log Mold Tutorial

So I when needed to get another 6 color swirl batch in stock, so I thought I would take pics for a tutorial. With the swirl contest upon us, I wanted to share this with other soapers.

THIS TUTORIAL IS SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT LAW AND SHOULD NOT BE REPOSTED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION.

For those that can not see pics here is a link to my photo bucket.

http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a225/john3183/

WARNING: I know this works with my recipe, and this scent. Each formula is different, as is scent, so try this at your own risk.

For this, set up is the most important. I have all my containers for colors set up ahead of time. I am making a 64 oz (of oils) batch. Approx 1 tsp of mica is in each cup. I have my oils melted, my lye cool, and my mold all ready. My Fragrance is already mixed into my oils.

For this soap, I have used the pop micas from TKB Trading. My base is uncolored.

I then mix my lye into my oils. I mix until everything is just emulsified. I do move quickly, and start separating just after emulsified. Maybe the lightest trace. If you are not confident with your fragrance, or recipe, I can not guarantee you will not experience separation.



I quickly pour off my base color into each of the cups with the waiting mica. For this soap, I am pouring about 1.5 cups of raw soap into each cup.


I stick blend each color to combine. Yellow then orange. Then rinse. Then the pink. Rinse. Etc. After mixing, I am still at a light to medium trace.













I then get ready for the In-The-Pot Swirl. For 6 colors, I will pour each color around the bucket, clockwise in rainbow order. If using similar colors, like reds, oranges, and yellows, have each color next to a contrasting one so the colors don't blend. Here I start with the pink, pouring from about -8 inches above the top of the bucket so that the color sinks all the way to the bottom. At this point, I pour about two thirds in the pot, setting the rest aside.


Here you can see the pink, orange, yellow, and green. I am pouring the blue:
After pouring the purple (between the blue and red), I then go back and pour about half of what is left of each color in the center:

To get the colors to actually swirl, you will need to stir the pot. Taking my spatula, I put it in the pot near the red, and go around the pot clockwise 1-2 times. I follow the same path, about 1.5 inches from the side of the pot, right where the color is. I don't head to the center. But, since I am using a larger spatula to stir, it does move the colors more then going through them, so I probably do catch soap toward the middle.The more you stir, the finer the swirls will be. Too much swirling and you risk mixing the colors too much, getting grey.

Next, you will pour into the mold. Try to pour from one end of the mold to the other, you will probably need to do more then one pass, but again, if you pour in too many passes, you risk overmixing:
After pouring: You can leave the soap at this point, but I like to swirl on the top too. So, sow, I take the rest of the soap we saved from the swirl colors and pour on the top. By now, you are probably at a thicker trace with the left over soap, so you may have to spoon it on, or if you can, pour on the top from 3-4 inches away, so the color does not sink down and ruin the swirls below. Here I start with the pink:
And continue with other colors: When done with the pouring, before swirling, it will look like this:

I like to use a thin wooden stick with pointed end to swirl the top. Here you can do lines, circles, what ever your style is:

And when done:
Here is what it looks like cut:

I hope this inspires a lot of soapers to push with log mold swirls using the In The Pot method. I love it!

‘Best Swirl’ Photo Contest

For soapers out there, you know that swirling is truly an art form that takes practice, and takes many forms. That is why I was so excited to see a contest for the best swirl!



Saponifier Magazine is holding a contest for the best soap swirl. Please check out the entries to drool over beautiful soap, or click here to enter!

Stay tuned, I will be posting the tutorial on how I did my swirled soap later this evening.

Twitter

What a crzy world we are in when we want to read updates from people. Updates about nothing sometimes, but I tell you, it is fun.

Check out Twitter and follow me :) http://twitter.com/kbshimmer

Two new soaps and a restock

I love making new soaps, deciding what scent to soap, what colors to use, how I want the colors to interact in the soap, that is what makes this fun for me. But, even better, is having to restock a scent, as that shows I got it right! Here are three soaps I have been working on.

Sweet Lust is a sweet floral scent I blended to celebrate the season of love. Reds and pinks accent the scent. Green notes and a slight fruitty note complete this fun, lushish soap. Still on the curing rack, look for this soap in a few weeks.

Right now the scent of citrus fills the air at my house. First from my newest soap, a great combo of lemon and lime. Show here in full gel, I can't wait to cut this soap!!



Molten Lavender is my restock. Lemon accents the sexy scent of lavender while swirls of dark purple and lemon yellow pop against the light purple background. Shown here in full gel, this soap should be ready to cut tomorrow! I can not wait!

Whew, long time, no posts!

I am a bad blogger, I admit it! I have good intentions to post, but them something always gets in the way.

Some of those things have been new soaps! I want to share a few of them with you, kind of a sneak peak before the hit etsy.

This soap is scented with a wonderful lilac scent. It is colored with 6 different shades of purple, blue, and pink, colors that I remember from the lilac bushed outside my childhood home. This is really one of my favorite scents so far, so fresh and spring like!

This next soap is Very Berry Vanilla. A dupe of a popular Raspberry scent found at mall Bath and Body stores, this scent is sweet, fruity, without being overpowering. This scent is a best seller both in my soaps and in my sugar scrub.

One of my best sellers is my 6 color swirl. To me it smells like a tropical vaction, sitting on the beach, fruity drink in hand, the sweet smell of mango, banana, pineapple. This is a restock batch, the colors are a bit brighter this time, but still lovely I think.

Be on the look out, soon I will share my tutorial on how I created this soap!

Christmas has come and gone, and the last soap I am going to share was the special batch made just for gift giving. But, it was so well liked, I think it will join my holiday line up next year! Frosted Mint, a fresh blend of peppermint, spearmint, and other mints, this is a cool scent that just screams holiday! I enjoy this scent in my matching bath bombs and mint foot scrub. Both are a great way to cool down during the hot summer days.

Stay tuned. I have a few more soap I will share, a tutorial to post about swirling, and some sales coming up that my blog readers will get to enjoy early!