Great Cakes Soapworks

As of this evening, I have bottled the Stress Relief, Lavender Meadows, Almond Milk, and Caribbean Diva Jojoba-Shea lotions. There are five or six of the 8 oz. pumps, and anywhere from four to seven of the smaller purse-sized tubes in each scent. Yesterday, I printed labels for the Stress Relief lotion. HOWEVER, today, every time I attempt to print the labels for the other three lotions, my printer jams.

I have made more lotion today which I plan to scent with Black Raspberry Creme and Pink Grapefruit & Sugar Cane tomorrow. At this point, I am just hoping and praying that my lovely printer will behave itself – SOON. Without labels, I can’t sell this lotion, or take photos for the website. I feel like I need that photo of the lady pulling her hair out. (By the way, I still have no idea what the shipping calculator problem is/was. No one else had any problems with it!)

Signed,

Frustrated in Kansas

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Tags: printer problems | Category: Rants | No Comments »

Finally, a brand new soap for the guys! Red Rock Canyon is made with fresh goat’s milk and the distinctive scent of aftershave in a fragrant blend of lavender, oak moss, lime and black pepper. Fresh, clean scent in a super moisturizing bar. Gotta love it!

Red Rock Canyon will be available on April 1st – no foolin’!

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Category: Currently Curing | 6 Comments »

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the Lotion Fragrance Survey! I received 59 responses, and felt that it was a huge success! Random.org picked participant #53 as the winner of an 8 oz. Jojoba-Shea Lotion, which just happens to be Angie P.! Congratulations!!

And now, the results you’ve all been waiting for. There were two ways I could interpret the data I received. I can tell you which fragrances received the most 1st place votes, and I can tell you which fragrances received the most overall votes. So I will do both. And then tell you which fragrances I plan to make into lotion.

Here they are in the order of the MOST 1ST PLACE VOTES:
Almond Milk – 12
Lavender Meadows – 10
Pink Grapefruit & Sugar Cane – 8
Caribbean Diva, Patchouli, Stress Relief – 6
Black Raspberry Creme, Sweet & Sassy – 5
Lavender Lemon, Sandalwood – 4
Antique Lilac, Fragrance Free, Lily of the Valley – 2
Cucumber Mint, Strawberry Lemonade – 1
Green Apple – 0

And this is the order of the most OVERALL VOTES:
Almond Milk – 39
Caribbean Diva – 30
Stress Relief – 29
Black Raspberry Creme, Pink Grapefruit & Sugar Cane – 25
Lavender Meadows – 24
Lavender Lemon – 23
Sweet & Sassy – 21
Cucumber Mint, Patchouli – 17
Sandalwood – 16
Strawberry Lemonade – 15
Green Apple, Fragrance Free, Lily of the Valley – 12
Antique Lilac – 11

Clearly, Almond Milk came out the overall winner in both categories. It has been a well received scent in the past. In fact, I received a peppy cheer in the comment section from one of the Almond Milk fans: “Almond Milk, that’s the way. It’s my favorite any day!”

Based on the overall totals, I will be stocking the following scents in both the larger 8 oz. pumps and the smaller 2.5 oz. purse sized tubes in the next few days:
Almond Milk
Caribbean Diva
Stress Relief
Lavender Meadows
Black Raspberry Creme
Pink Grapefruit & Sugar Cane

It’s very difficult for me NOT to offer all the scents that have been requested. However, I’ve learned that unfortunately you can’t please everyone all the time. I received some really great ideas for other scents to consider for the future in the comments section. Thanks again for all your feedback – it is very much appreciated!

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Tags: lotion fragrance survey results | Category: Customer Feedback, Giveaways | 1 Comment »

The Lotion Fragrance Survey closes tomorrow night! Last chance to make your preferences known and be entered in the drawing for a FREE 8 oz. Jojoba-Shea Lotion of your choice. And I do mean – if I have the fragrance, I will make it for you! Pretty sweet deal, I’d say, for about 20 seconds of your time.

Click Here to Take the Survey

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Category: Giveaways | No Comments »

Get more bang for your buck! The Grapefruit & Peppermint Foot Scrubs are now packaged in square, wide-mouthed jars that hold twice as much as the previous tubes for just $1.50 more. These super stylish jars will make it easier to scoop out the amount of scrub that you need, and be able to use every last little bit. The silver lids match the other silver-accented packaging that I’ve been using for the Skin Glow Facial Moisturizer treatment pumps, as well as the Jojoba-Shea Lotions.

I was inspired to make these Foot Scrubs today when one of my customers (who also happens to be a room mom at my kids’ school) contacted me about making a gift basket for her sons’ kindergarten teacher. They were celebrating her birthday today and she had already purchased a gift certificate for a pedicure. She told me that I didn’t need to make up the foot scrubs just for the gift basket, but it seemed like the perfect fit for a foot care themed gift and I knew it was time to make more anyway!

You can get these new Grapefruit & Peppermint Foot Scrubs here, and pair it up with some Whipped Shea Butter for an extra special treat for your feet!

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Tags: foot scrubs, gift basket | Category: New Products | 3 Comments »

I have had two of my regular customers contact me recently saying that they’re having problems ordering from my website. The problem seems to be with the shipping calculator. Here’s where I need your help. If you could go to Greatcakessoapworks.com, put an item in the cart, then click on the “calculate shipping” button and tell me if it opens for you or not. Then report back here with these two bits of information:

1. YES, it works fine for me, or NO, it wouldn’t open

AND

2. Which browser (usually either Internet Explorer or Firefox) and version you are using (you can find out the version by opening up the browser, go to the menus across the top, click on Help, and then “About Internet Explorer/Firefox”. The window that opens should say which version you have.)

I appreciate your help in tracking down this issue!!

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Category: Call for Help | 10 Comments »

Here it is! The Amber Fig soap has been stamped and cured and is now ready for your bathing pleasure. Surprisingly, the darker layers didn’t turn as dark as I thought they might, but still make a great contrast. In case you’ve forgotten what this one smells like, the darker layers are scented with a romantic, yet daring blend of intriguing notes including pineapple, berries, honey, patchouli, and jasmine. Bottom notes of musk sweetened by precious amber and hints of soft vanilla. Lighter layers have a subtle brown sugar and fig scent with poppy seeds for light exfoliation.

You can buy individual Amber Fig soaps here, or you can take advantage of the Handmade Soap Combo Deal (any four soaps for $20) here. That handy dandy wooden soap dish is also available here.

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Tags: amber fig handmade soap, amber handmade soap, Great Cakes Soapworks | Category: New Products | 1 Comment »

It’s time to start thinking about which lotion fragrances you would like to see offered at Great Cakes Soapworks! I have been making Jojoba-Shea Lotions for three years now, but my inventory was completely depleted over the holidays, and it’s time to re-stock for this year.

You won’t find many lotions that don’t contain some form of petrolatum on the ingredient label at most retail stores. The Jojoba-Shea Lotion has natural ingredients you can pronounce (if you know that “jojoba” is pronounced “ho-ho-bah”), and a made fresh date on the back of each bottle. It’s a highly moisturizing lotion without feeling greasy, and works well in the winter, or even as a soothing after-sun lotion in the summer because of the high aloe content.

This year I have decided to switch back to the 8 ounce pumps instead of the 6 ounce malibu tubes that you see in the photo, and make the 2.5 oz. malibus that were available at Christmastime available all year.

However, I need your help to decide which fragrances to offer! Therefore, I am opening up a survey for you to choose your top five lotion fragrances. There is also space for you to write in a favorite if you don’t see it on the list. Your completed survey will be your entry in a drawing for one FREE 8 ounce Jojoba-Shea Lotion of your choice from Great Cakes Soapworks. Winner will be announced Monday, March 8th. It’s a pretty simple survey, and it will probably take you longer to read this blog post than to fill out the survey, so without further ado:

Click here to take our Online Survey

(If you are using a Reader, you will need to click over to the post to get to the live link. I don’t know why this is.)

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Tags: lotion survey | Category: Customer Feedback, Giveaways | 3 Comments »

I’ve been taking a break from soap for a few days and working on putting together the finishing touches for our half bathroom. You can see where I started here, and the sneak peek here. Yesterday, I went to Hobby Lobby and the Goodwill to pick up some items to decorate with. I’ll start with my finds at the Goodwill. I had been looking for an inexpensive wastebasket at Walmart and they have been clearancing out most of their bathroom accessories lately, so no luck there. I was so excited to find this white wastebasket at the Goodwill for just $4.00. It appeared to be practically new, except for the sticky residue from labels or tape, I’m not sure which. Enter my new best friend: WD-40. Not only does it lubricate locks, it removes sticky residue! Without much scrubbing on my part, the wastebasket now looks like brand new:

Second find of the day: a greenish glass jug filled with very ugly pink and blue decorations – probably from the early 80’s? I knew if I could remove said decorations, I would have a very nice jug to put my decorative branches in from Hobby Lobby. Turns out those decorations had been permanently bonded to the bottom of the jug.

My husband suggested gently warming it in a pan of water on the stove. I tried that – then discovered how the decorations had actually been installed. Once the jug got warm enough, it magically separated at the bottom and whatever the nasty bonding material was came right out. The final photo shows the branches displayed in the jug, but I haven’t figured out how to glue it back together yet:

I made a wall decoration with some fun items from Hobby Lobby yesterday, but after I put it in the bathroom, it didn’t really go. Scratched that. Picked up a few more goodies at Marshall’s, Pier One, Michael’s and Target today, then dug out the seashells I collected from our trip to the Bahamas a couple years ago. Here’s the final reveal:

And because I know you are dying to see my work of art that got nixed:

I’m so relieved to be done! Now I can get back to soap – Amber Fig will be ready next week. I’m getting ready to stamp that one and the Pineapple Blossom. I promise to let you know when the Pineapple Blossom is fully cured. Have a great weekend!

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Category: Just for Fun, Project Week | 10 Comments »

The bathroom project is coming along nicely! It looks totally different, and I love it! Just need to add the finishing touches. Here’s a sneak peek:

As you can see, I’ve chosen a light turquoise for the walls. I don’t think my camera captured the true color, but you get the idea. I changed my mind about the towel bar and toilet paper holder that matched the faucet. They were chrome and porcelain, and to make all the other hardware in the bathroom match, we would have had to use a lot of chrome. Blech. So brushed nickel is the finish we chose instead. And while we were at it, the builder-grade, super-ugly brass light bar over the mirror also got replaced – hoo-ray! You can see part of the new fixture in this picture, and I’ll be sure to show you a better picture in the final reveal.

I’ve been looking around my normal stores (Walmart, Target, Marshall’s, Pier One) for the finishing touches, and not having a lot of luck finding what I want. Today, I spent over an hour at Hobby Lobby and finally picked out some fun fabric, ribbon, iron-on rhinestones and a canvas for a wall decoration. They also had all their dried naturals half price, so I picked up some great accents as well. I bought a candle at Walmart the other day that should go nicely, and also went to the Goodwill (since it’s next to Hobby Lobby) and scored a few deals. I still have another surprise for the walls, but it’s going to be custom made, so I’m not sure when it will be done! Next post will be about how I put all my finishing touches together – can’t wait! Anyone else have a room with turquoise walls?

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Category: Just for Fun, Project Week | 2 Comments »