$50 & Under Holiday Gift Guide for Her

$25 & Under Holiday Gift Guide for Her

Head over here and check out all of this handmade awesomeness!

We're Open!

Three of our shops are now open and ready for business! I'll be adding lots of new items in the next couple of weeks so be sure to check back!

Summer Dreamin & Young at Heart

My Juicy Summer Watermelon soap made it in to not one but two treasuries yesterday. Woo! Mariah over at the Realist Mermaid (see post below) created this yummy treasury above. Makes me wanna pack a bag and hop a flight to somewhere warm. And look at all of those great items!!! I might have to secretly buy some of those citrus cookies. (Shhhh, don't tell my diet!)

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Moon River Photo created the Young at Heart Treasury below. All of these items are gorgeous! And once again, more sweets.

Damn you, diet!

(Click on the photo for a larger view)

It's a Love Chain!

Earlier this week, Upcycle Island was kind enough to invite me to the Night Owls of Etsy Team. Right now we're playing a little game called Share the Love Chain Game. Therefore, I'd like to introduce you to The Realist Mermaid. I kinda have a love/hate thing going on with her shop right now. Mostly because I'm participating in the Biggest Loser challenge at work and are unable to eat any of her yummy concoctions. Bummer.

Anywho, head over to her Etsy shop and check out all of the goodies.

(i.e., handcrafted marshmallows, and Mexican hot chocolate!)

Goodies In Shades of Brown

Pnina over at Room of Your Own created this beautiful treasury, Goodies in Shades of Brown. I am in love with pretty much every single item in here shop! Like this, this and this.

Check out the treasury here!

Good Girl Bad Girl

Stay in your comfort zone. Or live a little.

Good Girl Bad Girl

(click the photo to see a larger image)

The Wishlist

All I want for Christmas.

(View the treasury here.)

Golden Leaf Giveaway!!!

*NEW*

Score another chance to win over at Golden Leaf!

What better way to celebrate my Etsy shop opening than with a giveaway?

Up for grabs:

Any cold process bar of your choice from Golden Leaf.

Currently, I have Oatmeal, Milk & Honey and Juicy Summer Watermelon. More bars will be added throughout the rest of this month and the month of January as well. Here is a partial list of fragrances to choose from:

Oatmeal, Milk & Honey

Juicy Summer Watermelon

Ginger Lime

Applemint

Lemon Verbena

Peppermint Awake

Lavender

Celestial Waters

Dragonsblood

Pineapple Coconut

And now for the fun stuff...

The contest starts today December 14th and closes at midnight on January 31st. To be entered, leave a comment stating which soap you would like, or an idea for a soap not listed. Also, please do not leave your email address. Part of this giveaway includes checking back in on February 1st to see if you've won.

For extra entries:

Tweet about this giveaway

(1 extra entry, leave one extra comment)

Follow us on Twitter

(_ThisGirlsLife_)

(1 extra entry, leave one extra comment)

Follow this blog

(1 extra entry, leave one extra comment)

Add our shop to your Favorites on Etsy

(1 extra entry, leave one extra comment)

Blog about this giveaway

(2 extra entries, leave 2 extra comments)

If you choose to Tweet or blog, please post the url in your comments.

Winner will be announced on this blog on February 1st so please check back in! This giveaway is open to international addresses as well!!!

Juicy Summer Watermelon

Fresh out of the mold!

These hefty bars weigh in at 5oz. each.

The color "waves" were an unexpected surprise :)

They'll be completely cured in 4-6 weeks and will be available in my Etsy shop.

Bag Lady

I couldn't help myself. I started looking at bags on Etsy and just kinda got carried away.

(Click here to view the treasury)

Giveaways!

Any pouch from Lilly Ella

(View the giveaway details here)

Your choice of any Square Zipper pouch bag with clip from Charm Design

(View the giveaway details here)

Domino pendant from In My Head Studios

(View the giveaway details here)

Super sweet gift basket full of handmade goodies from the EtsyMom Street Team

(View the giveaway details here)

$50 gift certificate from Wheat & Wildflowers

(View the giveaway details here)

Golden Leaf Bath & Body

Introducing my new venture, Golden Leaf Bath & Body. The Etsy shop is up, although there's nothing in it as of yet. And you can find my Facebook profile here. Here's what you can find at Golden Leaf:

Cold process soap: Made the old fashioned way with quality oils, fragrance, and lye. I hope to have between 15-20 different bars to choose from. (See the list in between the photos.) These photos are of my first batch - Oatmeal, Milk & Honey. They smell absolutely wonderful. These bars weigh between 4.5 - 5 oz. each and will be available in 4-6 weeks once they finish curing.

Lip Balm: I'm still tweaking the recipe for these. I hope to have it perfected by this weekend. I'll be making them in flavors such as Juicy Watermelon, Island Coconut and Peppermint, just to name a few.

Lotion: Who doesn't love a good quality lotion? These will be available in a 4 oz. travel size and a larger 8 oz. bottle. You'll be able to get just about every fragrance that the soaps come in.

Soy Tarts: I chose soy because it burns cleaner, lasts longer and gives off a better scent throw. These will be available in 3.5 oz. clamshells which house 6 1"x1" soy cubes. Also available in a wide variety of scents!

Soap Scents:

Applemint, Arabian Spice, Celestial Waters, Cranberry, Cranberry Walnut, Dragonsblood, Ginger Lime, Juicy Summer Watermelon, Lavender, Lavender Oatmeal, Lemon Verbena, Lemon Poppy, Oatmeal Milk & Honey, Peppermint Awake and an Unscented Shaving Bar

Look at all of those oats! Great for exfoliating.

All cut and waiting to be cured.

I'm setting up a separate blog for Golden Leaf which you can find here.

Minty Treasury

You can almost smell the peppermint wafting through, right? Eclectically over at Etsy created this wonderful holiday treasury which includes my Candycane note card. Thanks Eclectically!

You can view the treasury here.

Simple Gifts Treasury

Jennifer over at LizzieJoeDesigns was nice enough to include my Button Heart Card in her Simple Gifts treasury. Thanks, Jennifer! I love your cork wreaths!

Head over here to see it and check out all of the great items!

Click on the photo for a larger image.

Makin' A List...

And checkin' it twice.

As part of the Etsy Holiday Boot Camp, I'm making my list of things to help me get ready for the holiday season. And away we go...

• Order new business cards
• Order cellophane envelopes for my cards
• Finally get around to photographing new items
• Edit photos
• List new products
• Get the word out

I'm also looking for a boot camp buddy, or two, or three so if you're interested, drop me a line!

Etsy's Holiday Boot Camp!

Have you signed up for Etsy's Holiday Boot Camp yet?

Well what are you waiting for?

Click here to learn more, then post your pledge on your blog.

Want some free advertising? Post your Etsy store web addy in the comment section below!

I, IssueGirl/StrangeCandy/Venenzia, pledge to participate in the Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp to the best of my abilities. I vow to check in every week, do my homework and support my fellow Holiday Boot Campers. I will read the weekly newsletters and blog posts, check in on the weekly forum thread, read the weekly blog post, check off the checklists and salute the mascot. I promise to share what I've learned with those who need it, support my fellow Etsy indiepreneurs and, most of all, have a positive and persistent attitude. I understand that together we can spread the word about our handmade and vintage goods, making this holiday season a more unique and meaningful one to gift givers and give-ees everywhere!

The One Day Only September Sale at Venenzia!

This Friday, for one day only take 50% off all necklaces and bracelets at Venenzia! This sale starts at midnight Thursday and runs through midnight Friday so you get 24 full hours to take advantage of this offer. Click on any of the items below to head over to the shop. Browse today and buy on Friday! And I'll be adding all new items throughout the rest of the week!

Soup of Colors Treasury

Kimonos over at Etsy was kind enough to add my teal glass donuts as part of her Soup of Colors treasury! Thank you Kimonos!

Click here to view the treasury and check out all of the other great Etsy artists :)

New Line of Cards at IssueGirl!

Sorry for all the photos. I'm just really happy with the ways these turned out. They'll be in the shop at some point tonight.