Crazy, Crafty, Cool ~ Meet Patrice Harrison of The Soap Seduction

My passions are soap and candle making. I also love to dabble in jewelry and paper crafts. I am a banker by trade, but a crafter at heart. I developed my passion for everything handmade from my late mother who believed that if it's made by hand, it's made from the heart. I never appreciated that sentiment when I was younger because I always associated something handmade with being "poor." I spend all of my free time making soaps and candles, not only to develop my craft and potentially make a living off of it, but to relax. For fun, I like to make jewelry. It's wearable, but I hardly think it's sellable. I run two blogs right now: Crazy, Crafty, Cool which is all about my craft addiction, and Fat, Black & Losin It with my sister Myia.

I've been crafting seriously for about a year now. It started as a joint venture with me and my late fiance Spencer. I was the creative mind, and he was the marketing guru. Together we started to create some buzz surrounding our soaps and candles, but now that he's gone, I've become the crafter and the seller. Selling is not my strongest point, so I rely on social networks and forums to get the word out about my crafts. I decided to sell because I made some homemade body scrubs for co-workers, and they were so impressed with them, that they asked me to make them more. I knew at that moment that I was on to something, and it just naturally evolved into soaps and then candles.

I get my inspiration to create from the fragrance oils I buy. My soap specialty is MP (melt and pour) crafting, but I also make CP (cold processed ) soap as well. I love FO's, and I'm always buying them. I then search for molds that I think would best suit that fragrance. Also the FO helps me decide if the soap is actually going to be MP or CP. It's weird, but it works for me.

Right now, my biggest challenge is organization. My head is constantly flooded with ideas, so I make sure that I keep my trusty notepad with me at all times so I can take notes, jot down a thought, or just make to-do lists.

Right now I promote on my own website, The Soap Seduction, my blog, Twitter, and Etsy. Etsy has been wonderful because it has a built-in audience. The traffic is already there. I make sure to actively participate in forums at least once daily. I also try to blog at least 3-4 days a week. Twitter right now has become an obsession. It's quicker and easier than blogging. You can just drop a line or two at any time. You can announce sales, giveaways, new products, new blog posts, whatever. I also buy select ads on blogs where I know there's a solid readership that will attract site visits.

My plans for the rest of 2008 is to are to close out strong. Right now I'm preparing for the holidays-packaging, products, website layout, promotions, everything. I haven't decided if I'll do any holiday craft shows this year. They're way too stressful for me.

Blog link: http://bubblesandflames.blogspot.com

Thank you Patrice for taking the time out for this feature!

TGIF

Ahh, yes, Friday! This has been one hectic week and it seems that, with the exception of a post office visit and trip to the grocer, I'll be able to sit back and relax. Maybe watch a movie or two, read a book, pick my crochet project back up. With the massive cleaning I've been doing, I also had a major appliance that had to be serviced. And yesterday, as I was leaving to run an errand I went outside to my car only to be told I forgot to turn the home alarm off before my exit. Sigh. It was a cool, crisp morning. Dew covering the grass, giving it a very pretty glistening effect but also causing my shoes to be a bit slippery when I walked across a patch to get to the car. As I attempted to run back in the house my foot slipped off the porch step and I tumbled forward. I have a nice bruise on my knee and a scrape on my hand. My ego was hurt more than anything else, even though I can't be sure anyone saw me lol. And last night/this morning I had a very strange and intense dream, that I can recall only bits and pieces. It was enough, though, that I woke up with a pounding headache.

On the flip side I have received several lovely items in the mail that can't wait to dig into.

Yes, I'm looking forward to a very lazy day, if not entire weekend.

Running On E (Stuff and Things...The Sequel)

I started pulling out boxes and bags and baskets of "stuff". So far I've been able to clean out a lot of space. I have taken a tip from...what's that organizing show on DIY network? The one where the host has the family divide their "stuff and things" into separate piles of "keep" and "toss". Well that's what I've been doing and I must say my "keep" pile is really small. I have clothes to donate to Salvation Army, magazines to go to the recycle center, papers to shred and books to donate to my local library. The best thing of all is I have SPACE (happy, happy, joy, joy)! I was up late going through my "stuff" and cleaning my kitchen. My refrigerator needed servicing so I had to clean it out. I didn't finish until around 2:00 am and the repairman was to arrive today between 8am & 12noon. So I was back up at 7am to begin cleaning again. I've also been to the bank, grocery store, post office. I don't know how I've kept going. Excitement, I guess, about freeing myself of clutter lol. I knew it wouldn't last long though.

I'm rambling...I need a nap.:)

Stuff And Things!!!

Do you ever look around and see too much "stuff"? I don't mean crafting supplies, collectibles or decorative accessories, just "stuff". Things that never actually have a place or never made it out to the trash bin. I have "stuff", lots of "stuff" and I'm not a "stuff" collector, so all this "stuff" is really bothering me. I think about the commercial with the garbage bags that stretch to accommodate any and everything. You know the one. That's what I want. A giant stretchy garbage bag to throw all this "stuff" in and send it on it's merry way. Thing is this "stuff" isn't all trash. Most is pretty usable. I just don't want it. And seeing it daily seems to help clutter my mind. I don't need a cluttered mind lol. I don't consider myself a (generally speaking) minimalist. I have "things", I want "things", but those "things" must have a place. And when the place is full, no more "things" until I have room. And I like change (as evidenced by the new blog template lol). If I don't occasionally change the scenery I feel complacent, stifled. So today, with the change of season, I feel the need to clean house of all unnecessary "stuff". Autumn is a time of inspiration for me. Removing items I don't need will definitely help stop this preoccupation I have with worrying about "stuff".

Besides I need room for more "things" from my Etsy wish list. ;-)

This Little Piggy Went To Market

I visited my local farmers market today and netted all this homegrown goodness! Not pictured are the green beans and potatoes we had for dinner. Yum!

And remember those peaches I never knew grew in Michigan? Here you go. :)

Congratulations to Brandon of Things 'N Stuff

The winner of my Botanical Facial Cream offered on Tisa's Creations blog.
Thank you for participating in this giveaway.

Things 'n Stuff

Tisa has another giveaway going on today so stop by for your chance to win. Today's giveaway is sponsored by My of Springcart Designs.

I Joined Face Book

Today's rambling:

I finally broke down and signed up. Really, it was only because my aunt sent me an invite. Being an independent crafter I guess it is all about networking as much as possible. But there are so many of these spots popping up one just can't keep up. I'm on Ning and LinkedIn. Now with Facebook added that's about all I can manage at the moment.

Still no desire to join Myspace or Twitter.

Vanilla, Orange and Clove Soap

Freshly cut!

Made with organic ev olive & coconut oils, wheat germ oil & cocoa butter, activated charcoal & Australian black clay and titanium dioxide. Scented with essential oils of folded orange, vanilla and clove. Man, it smells good!

Today's The Last Day

See the post below for a chance to win one of my products offered at Tisa's Creations blog. This product has not been listed in my Etsy shop yet. If you're the winner you'll be the first to receive it.

And don't forget to go back for more. Tisa is offering giveaways every other day for the next 2 weeks. Plus you get to browse around and see the wonderful cards & invitations she makes!

Swing By Tisa's Place Today

Come by Tisa's Creations blog to help celebrate her blogiversary! Yours truly is featured today. She's having a giveaway and you could be the winner of one of my.........

Guess you better get on over there to find out. ;-)

New Treasury

For My Blogging Friends

Eat Local Project Update

My how time flies! It doesn't seem as though a month has passed since I started this project. It's been very interesting. I certainly didn't get out of it all I'd hoped but I believe my goals were set a bit high for such a short test run. I plan on continuing and taking more notes on what I've learned and how I've adjusted.

What surprised me the most was the produce I hadn't expected to see grown in Michigan. Peaches? In Michigan? Sure is!!! I never knew this. What I did know about was the abundance of cherries, grapes and berries grown here. As a matter of fact, in the city where I live there is a big Strawberry festival every year. I've come across squash, peppers, green beans, potatoes, green leaf vegetables, lettuce, carrots, corn, egg plant, broccoli, cauliflower, green onions, cucumbers, melons and a host of herbs. This is all from just ONE produce market. And there are so many other markets to choose from.

One thing I did notice is that I enjoy coming up with or trying new recipes. I'd fallen into a slump when it came to preparing daily meals. Having this fresh produce was kind of a motivator to make meals that were different but that everyone would still enjoy. If I remember I'll take pics and post them here. Next stop...canning...LOL!

Since fall is approaching I am readying my family for a trip to an apple orchard. I have such fond memories of going apple picking, climbing the trees and pulling a juicy red delicious right from the branch, polishing it off & taking a bite (hey I was a kid and dirt didn't matter lol), drinking cider and eating warm fresh donuts, then falling asleep on the ride home happy and full.

For anyone interested:

Block's Stand & Greenhouse, LLC

29160 Eureka Rd, Romulus, MI 48174

Detroit Eastern Market

2934 Russell, Detroit, MI 48207

Ann Arbor Farmers Market

315 Detroit Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104

People's Food Co-op

216 N. Fourth Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48104

http://www.peoplesfood.coop

10 Reasons To Eat Locally Grown Food (pdf file)

And so I continue...:)

Dear Rosebud Collection...Thank You!

I've never been one to keep up with journaling in general (although I've tried many times), probably because I'm not very good at writing interesting thoughts or stories, especially on my blog. I try to make my post short and sweet and as interesting as possible. So it is always a humbling surprise when visitors stop by and comment. And an even greater surprise was handed me yesterday by Rosebud Collection. An I ♥ Your Blog award.

Thank you Rosebud Collection for your very generous gesture!

These are the rules (if you choose to play along)...
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog;
2. Link the person you received your award from;
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs;
4. Put links of those blogs on yours; and
5. Leave a message on the blogs that you’ve nominate

And now I nominate:
Tea & Honey Bread
Liebling
Travel Turtle
Cinnamon and Honey
Grooveycrafts
What I Made Today
Katelynjane's Notebook

A Work In Progress

This is a new blend I started. It's still in the early stages but so far so good. It contains folded orange, black pepper, blood cedarwood, frankincense and sandalwood essential oils.

No name yet...