Stampin Up

I recently joined Stampin Up as an independent demonstrator. One of the things I love about the company is the quality of the products, and the fact that you can make money doing what you love.

As an inveterate crafter, I have always been on the look out for versatile stamps and beautiful cards and papers. I did a lot of card making a few years ago, using embellishments because I always found the available stamps so uninspiring. I have a large box of stamps which I bought at the time but hardly used, and I had a look at them recently. There was only one which I still like, the rest will be consigned to lurk at the back of a cupboard, possibly never again to see the light of day.

What I like about Stampin Up is that everything is colour co-ordinated. Select your card and ink in a certain colour, choose your stamp, possibly some pretty paper and then finish with ribbon, brads or buttons in that colour. For those who are a little challenged, or possibly scared of colour co-ordination, this is the perfect. The only thing you need to supply is inspiration and a little time.

To celebrate 25 years, Stampin Up have announced a fabulous special offer for anyone in the UK who wants to join.

 

Instead of the normal £99 joining fee, for which you get £130 worth of products, for a limited time you can join for £25. This gets you £26.95 worth of products plus the business pack.

 

One of the great things about Stampin Up is that there is no pressure to do workshops or demonstrations. There are people who do just that, but others who are hobby crafters and have joined just for fun. Whatever the reasons for signing up, you will join a growing number of fabulous, supportive, creative crafters.

This limited offer is available until 21st October so don’t miss out.

 

If you are in the UK and do want to join, click www.moonsongdesigns.wordpress.com  and then the "Join My Team" link.

 

New Products and new packaging.

Since being made redundant I have re-found my enthusiasm for soap making. Whether that is because life is a little less stressful (as long as money is taken out of the equation), or because the weather is good, or because I have the time to play I don't know, but I am having fun.

There are two new soaps on the curing rack and another on its way. The first of the two soon to be ready, is a soap specially designed for the gardeners among you. Fragranced with a beautiful blend of Lavender and Clary Sage essential oils, it has nettle powder for a touch of colour, and poppy seeds for exfoliation. This blend is becoming a firm favourite here, not too floral or herby, but a lovely light scent.

The second soap is Bergamot and Green Tea, seen on the left in the photo. This soap set up really quickly and the depth of colour really surprised me.

 

Soap packaging has had a revamp. The boxes will be made of plain, coloured card and labels will be in a neutral colour.

 

 

 

There is a new Liquid Soap fragrance. Orange and Pettigrain has joined the party and they have all had new labels too.

 

I am very happy with the way all the packaging is finally coming together in a more co-ordinated way and hopefully it will not be long before there are new style labels for all the products.

 

Changes

I have been a little quiet of late, not without good reason.

For soap and cosmetics makers large and small, the regulations changed on 11th of this month, and we now have upload details of all our products to a Portal (otherwise known in this establishment, among other less polite things, as the black hole).

For those who think that this should be a simple task, may I remind you that this black hole was invented by someone in Europe and that it has, therefore, been made as difficult as possible. The requirements are simple enough - a photograph of the packaged item, the formulation, an image of the label and a few other small details which are effectively drop down or tick boxes.

What "the powers that be" have failed to understand is how many small soap/cosmetics manufacturers there are, and for most of the last week the system has, when working at all, puttered along so slowly that there has been a mass, Europe wide, tearing out of hair.

To add to my particular woes, I have been unable to upload a single pdf or image of my products until today, which would have meant I was unable to sell them, at least legally.

The big question now is who is going to police this, and check that the products have been correctly uploaded? I cannot see anybody trawling through the database looking at every one of the 1000s of uploaded recipes and checking that it is not harmful.

The other issue, of course, is that there are people who have never properly complied with the regulations, so why would they start now?  These are the people that "the powers that be" should be more concerned about; the people who do not have their products assessed, do not list the allergens and do not care.

The people who do care are those who are now hairless, stressed and worried that they have not uploaded their products correctly.

 

Finally

Finally, after months of development, the Scent Trail Luxury Face Oil is ready.

We have selected 6 lovely, light oils which absorb beautifully, leaving no sticky residue and added a touch of the gorgeous Neroli for its uplifting fragrance. Skin feels soft and beautifully nourished. Suitable for all skin types.

The oils we have chosen are as follows:

Organic Baobab Oil: said to improve skin elasticity. Contains Vitamins A, D, E and F.

Kukui Nut Oil: High in Omegas 3 & 6 which help prevent water loss and improve skin elasticity.

Olive Squalane: Indentical to one of the components of sebum. Helps to restore suppleness and skin flexibility.

Rasperry Seed Oil: High in vitamins A & E and antioxidents

Cranberry Oil: Contains a high percentage of Tocopherols, Tocotrienols (components of Vitamin E), phytosterols and Vitamin A. It can help protect against environmental pollutants.

Pomegranate Oil: Helps promote collegen synthesis and improve skin elasticity, strengthening the epidermis.


 

Bravery and Cowardice

Summer arrived, and went. We are now back to Autumn and I have had about enough. This is the strangest year for weather that I can remember, although Mum tells me that when we had a heatwave in the 1970's we had snow in June, so perhaps there is hope. Following on from last year with all the rain we had I have my fingers crossed that things pick up soon.

I need to start doing some decorating. The house is driving me to distraction and there is a lot to do. I spend more time than is healthy looking at Pinterest and there are some gorgeous rooms on there which make my house look very shabby. I am shortly going to be having the house re-rendered, and once the internal walls have dried out, I can finish decorating the lounge (started 12 months ago) followed by the dining room. The bathroom needs tiling as does the kitchen. I think I have decided what to do in the bathroom, but I am not the best at tiling and the tap end of the bath is shaped so it is going to be a nightmare.

I have a week off shortly, and there is a long list of things I need to do, including re-stocking soap for a fair, or series of fairs depending on how the first one goes. It will be at a new venue about which I have heard good reports so I am hopeful that I do well. All I know is that something has to change, and I need to sell more. I am thinking about soap styles and whether or not mine is working. I suppose that it take a while to create an identifiable style and I don't think that I am that creative.

Last week saw the shocking death in Woolwich of Drummer Lee Rigby who was murdered in broad daylight by two, British born Islamic fundamentalists. Rigby served in the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and was a brave young man, who by all accounts served his country well and deserved far better than this.

What has struck me, apart from the brutality of this senseless act, was the bravery of three women who tried to help him. One of them talked to one of the attackers and tried to persuade him to hand over his weapon, whilst two others tried to get between the men and their victim.

This bravery, contrasts wildly with the cowardice of the men who killed Lee Rigby, for cowards they are. What their motives might be who knows, but if it is to strike fear into the hearts of the people of this country then they have failed. It has brought the English Defense League out from under their large rock, but it has also brought hundreds of normal, well balanced people to Woolwich to pay tribute and lay flowers. People of all colours and religious persuasions have united to condem the attack which has also been roundly denounced by Imams all over the country.

What this attack has served to do is unite the country, increase support for our armed services and to show the world the true spirit of the British people.
 

Focus on Essential Oils - part 1

When they first start out, soap makers have to decide if they are going to use fragrance oils, or essential oils? I suppose that it all depends on how "natural" you want your product to be.

It is true, that fragrance oils are cheaper than essential oils, but many essential oils are of a reasonable price, and you don't need to use a huge amount, so you can easily use them to fragrance your products. If, like me, you have horribly expensive taste, a blend using a combination of cheaper and more expensive oils is the perfect solution.

Essential oils are volatile oils obtained from various parts of plants and they have been used for healing and fragrancing for centuries. There are floral ones, woody ones, citrus ones, smokey ones the list goes on. Take a walk through a fragrant garden, a park, and orange grove and much of what you smell will have an essential oil.

Rose Otto: One of the most expensive, the oil is distilled from the petals. When I think of Rose, I think of the Mughal Gardens of Hyderabad, or the harems of the Royal Household where Attar of Roses was used to fragrance the air. The ultimate romantic fragrance it is used in many high end fragrances.  

Rosewater is a by-product of the production of essential oils and is  used in cooking, mainly of the Middle East, and can by used as a facial toner.

A suitable alternative to Rose essential oil, is Rose absolute which is a good deal cheaper.

Violet Leaf: One of my current favourites,and another expensive oil. Violet Leaf absolute (Viola Odorata) is a very complex essential oil with strong green notes and a beautiful, floral violet undertone. It is extracted from the leaves of the plant and the absolute has a dark green colour. It is absolutely beautiful on its own or in a blend.

Distractions and new things

What a day! I decided to dig out the sewing machine. Not difficult, I have used it before when I was in my clothes making phase, so what could go wrong? Well, plenty as it turns out.

A lady I know, Polly from Miss Polly Designs, has been making some beautiful tote bags recently, which made me think that it would be nice for me to do the same as a Mother's Day present. Simple, I thought. Well, no.

I popped into Mum's this morning to collect the sewing machine. I gathered all the bits together, all except the idiot guide, which appears to have gone astray, and came home to the two pretty bundles of fabric that were waiting for me. I cut out the bits I needed and started to sew. At least I would have done except that I could not get the blasted machine to work. I have spent all afternoon, and into this evening cursing the stupid white machine which I swear just sat there laughing at me. Finally it started to work (no, I have no idea what I did, but I am guessing that all the threats finally did their job) and now, I am almost out of thread.

I do not see how anyone could make a living making these bags. I think that it will be rather nice when it is finished. It is a quilted (yes, I know, make it complicated) and I think it will be quite roomy. It has different fabric front and back, in a tiny print design, with a floral lining. Or at least it will be, sometime.

Product Research

I am in the throes of developing new products. The problem with this is that there are so many options when it comes to ingredients it is hard to know when to stop looking.

Working out how oils will work together, or if indeed they will, is all part of a somewhat complicated process, and takes a certain amount of trial and error. Luckily, this also means a great deal of testing, a perk of the "job."

Products currently under development are bath oils (essential oil blends sorted, but a decision needs to be made about base oils); eye gel, again a decision about oils needs making; and face serum(s), ditto.

There is also the thorny question of packaging. I have found some fabulously gorgeous bottles for the bath oils, but they are not cheap, so I will have to think carefully about my pricing structure. These will be aimed at the luxury end of the market, so the packaging has to be perfect, and the bottles are absolutely drool worthy.

 

Teaching

I had a telephone call late last week asking me to go to a local girls Grammar School to assist in a Design Technology project. The girls will research Scent Trail and work at designing a soap, plus packaging and point of sale that would fit comfortably in the existing range. There will be two visits involved, starting with this Thursday and culminating with a soap-making day in May. The middle visit is to see how the ideas are developing and commenting on them.

I am really looking forward to it. As any soapmaker knows, packaging is a nightmare. If you can find what you want, it is too expensive, or out of stock, or not quite suitable and if these students can come up with some lovely, innovative ideas, who am I to say "no."

The Silk Route colleciton is coming along nicely. Indigo arrived this week for use as a colour in one of the soaps, and a decicision has been reached for colour in the last one. Hopefully, before long the full collection will be available, and assuming that I can get hold of someone at the company which sells the bottles I want (and so far they have not replied to me) the bath oils will follow shortly.