Handmade Lip Butters by Great Cakes Soapworks

If that wasn’t enough, I also spent the better part of the day updating my welcome page on Facebook! Apparently the size requirements for the welcome photo have narrowed considerably, so my welcome page has been sitting there blank for quite some time. If you’re already a fan, you can visit the direct link here. If you are NOT yet a fan, please go here and tell me how it looks! You can also sign up to be a Preferred Customer from the welcome page.

First up, is the Soap of the Week: Orange Eucalyptus. I had lots of people grab this one up at the farmer’s market on Saturday, but I still have just two left. It’s 100% natural, and made with three kinds of clay: white kaolin, French green, and Australian red.

Orange Eucalyptus Soap

Second, we have last week’s Soap of the Week: Pink Grapefruit & Sugar Cane. It’s such a refreshing scent for summer, and I just love the way the swirl turned out! Only two of these left as well:

Pink Grapefruit & Sugar Cane Soap

Third, we have the last two Sweet & Sassy soaps! Sweet & Sassy has top notes of sweet fruits, as well as jasmine and violets, and bottom notes of caramelized vanilla, sandalwood and pink pepper. Very feminine scented soap, “frosted” with white and pink.

Sweet & Sassy Soap

Finally, you won’t want to miss the last few bars of Pink Papaya. Full of tropical goodness such as mango leaf, passion fruit, green fig, and star fruit. Solid pink on the bottom, then a swirled layer of pink in the creamy white, and topped off with more creamy white.

Pink Papaya Soap

I hope you enjoy the soapy deals!

Banana Honey Soap by Great Cakes Soapworks

The bottom layer is the one with the bananas, honey and fragrance in it. The top two layers are just for show! Hopefully I didn’t use too much banana – the soap is still pretty soft. As expected, the honey heated things up and caused the top layer to have that crackle effect which is known to happen when soap is whitened with titanium dioxide and then heats up. There is one small crack (and an air bubble!) on the top of the soap that was in the middle of the mold as well:

Enlarged to show small crack on top

Otherwise, it is absolutely PERFECT. The fragrance I used is very mild, and smells like real bananas – not fake banana candy. There is a hint of the honey almond essential oil blend as well. One of my Facebook fans mentioned that banana is great for facial soap, which was news to me! I wouldn’t use this particular soap on my face because of the added fragrance, but it does give me some ideas…

I wish I could re-create the design of this particular soap, but I have a feeling any subsequent attempts will be less than worthy! The Banana Honey soap will be a Soap of the Week after it has had a chance to fully cure.

In the meantime, go check out the Bye Bye Bugs products! I put them on sale for the weekend.

Yippee!! We have a new web store! The best news: our Grand Opening Sale is now in effect! Get 10% off your entire order through the entire month of April! The shopping cart will automatically figure your discount.

Here are some of the other wonderful features of our new web store:

1. It’s a streamlined, cleaner look. Easier to find what you are looking for!
2. You can create an account which will enable you to see your order history, and the best part:
3. Write reviews on individual products – or general customer service reviews. I would love to hear your feedback!
4. You can see what is in your shopping cart at all times. Just look in the left sidebar!
5. Quantity discounts are automatically applied once you reach a certain number. For example, the 4 for $20 Handmade Soap Deal will still apply, but now when you order 4 or more soaps, the price is still just $5. You don’t have to order in quantities of four! I’ve added new quantity discounts for lotions and lip butters as well.
6. Best sellers will be listed along the right side – up to 10 different products! As more people place orders, that information will be more and more accurate.
7. We are now able to accept your credit or debit cards directly. This is huge! And we have a secure certificate so you know your information will be safe. Paypal is still an option as well.
8. I will also be able to add slideshows to showcase product photos – this will be coming soon!

What’s missing:

1. I am no longer able to sell gift certificates. Not a huge loss since I think I’ve only sold 2 or 3 in the last five years!
2. I will no longer have a wholesale program. I believe this only affects one customer, and we are talking about working out a new arrangement.
3. Local customers no longer have the option to pay upon pick-up of their order. The cart just won’t allow it – sorry!

So you see, the benefits are tremendous! I am very excited about this change, and hope you are too! Click on the header photo above or HERE to enter the new web store. If you have any problems, please let me know on the contact page.

Example of a Soap Grab Bag

Click Here to Get Your Grab Bags

What you might get in your grab bag:

Soap Grab Bag example

Order as many as you like, but there are only 20 of these available! A great way to sample our soaps, stock up on some travel soap, or just get a fun surprise in the mail.

Click Here to Buy Soap Grab Bags!

Stress Relief Soap - 100% natural mint & eucalyptus

13 different soaps to choose from!

Click Here for the 4 for $18 Soap Combo Deal

Handmade Lip Butters by Great Cakes Soapworks

In case you are wondering, Peppermint Ice is definitely the most popular flavor right now. I’m having a hard time keeping it in stock! Just made another batch last night, so we are good to go! Watermelon is also back! Other flavors include: Butterscotch, Lavender, Orange Creamsicle, Root Beer, Strawberry, Vanilla Latte, and unflavored Nourishing.

Click Here to Buy Lip Butter!

Whipped Shea Butter - large jar

After many, many batches of trial and error, this is finally the BEST Whipped Shea Butter ever! Super light and fluffy – in fact it’s even fluffier now than the picture you see above! It’s made with mostly shea butter, along with some jojoba oil, vitamin E, (and fragrance in the Vanilla Hazelnut version) whipped into a mousse-like texture. Works a dream on super dry skin, rough heels and elbows – and this time of year I put it on my hands every night. A little goes a long way!

Click Here to Buy Whipped Shea Butter

Dead Sea Mud Facial Masks

My fabulous hair stylist was just telling me the last time I was in to get my hair done that the Dead Sea Mud Masks did more for her face in just two applications than a WAY more expensive mask she was using from a well-known cosmetic company. Her request was that I package the mask in a jar instead of a packet. The reason I use the packet is that the mud will dry out pretty quickly, so a small container works best – and packets are less expensive than jars, so I can pass that savings on to my customers.

However, I may be changing my mind soon. One of the reasons I don’t keep these in stock very well is because A. they sell well, and B. I hate packaging them! So, starting with the next batch, you will probably see these in small jars instead of packets, and a small price increase as well. Bottom line: stock up on these now!!

Click Here to Buy Dead Sea Mud Facial Masks!