Let the countdown begin.

It's official!  I just received my packet with all of my show information in the mail.  Only 16 days until my first show!!  Talk about butterflies; I even had a dream about the show!

Well this past weekend, I did a mock set up of how I want my tent/display to be at the market.

What do you guys think?!  Inviting?

I got the old ladder at a garage sale, along with one of my tables.  My mom is letting me borrow the other table.  My church actually printed my banner for me so talk about cheap!  I got it done for $15.  What a steal!!

My sister also had a good idea, a bubble machine!  This will attract buyers, as well as keep kids entertained, what do you think?  I would have the machine on a small table in the front of my booth allowing the bubbles to blow out into the people walking by.  My neighbor has one that is battery-powdered, so maybe she will let me borrow it!!

My my, so many things have changed since the last time I posted a blog update!  Well firstly, I turned 19 on September 28th!  That's right, another year older.  

Last week I also had three tests, one paper, and one midterm.  Now ya know why I haven't updated in awhile?  Haha but good news, I got a 102 on my math test and an 83 on my political science test.  Not sure about my other grades, but so far so good!


I interrupt this message to bring you something totally awesome, something totally funny, and something you totally have to see!



Haha everyone needs to laugh and smile at least once a day :)


Gotta run!!  Let me hear all of your feedback about my display!  Any craft show tips or advice would be really helpful!


My next posting will be about a brand new item I am adding to Revive!  Keep a watch out!


Have a Reviving Day!!
Caitlin

Finally the weekend!

Ahhh, time to breathe!  Kennesaw State only has classes Monday through Thursday so it's weekend time for me!  However, ready for a recap of this week?!

The family diet is going good - lost 6 pounds already!  Whoooooop there it is!  But besides that, my friends and I decided it would be a good idea to take advantage of the gym on campus, so we all went to a kick boxing class.  Can you say ouch?!  I don't think my arms have ever hurt this bad!  Besides the fact my whole body felt like a noodle after the class was over, it was a great workout!  If you are like me and hate to just "run", kick boxing would be a great alternative.  You are constantly moving, punching, and kicking things...great way to relieve stress and workout at the same time.

Then the next day (remember now, soreness always kicks in about half way through the night), my fitness teacher decides that we need to go for a mile run.  No big deal or anything, but my legs kinda already felt like Jello.  But sure, I'd love to run another mile!

After we ran, my body was on shutdown mode.  I'm not even sure how my legs managed to work the gas pedals in my car!  My friend Jade and I were walking to our cars in the parking deck; we tried the stairs, but our legs seriously could not make it up them.  So yes, we did ride in the elevator to go up one flight of stairs.  That's how sore we were.

So what was I to do about this soreness?  Well, nothing is better then coming home and getting to take a nice, hot, relaxing bath!  But this was no normal bath :)  I used some Lemon Lime Bath Dust Salt Soak.  Let me tell ya, never underestimate the power of Epsom salts!

Lemon Lime Bath Dust Salt Soak - $4

I'm not exactly sure how this happened, but all of my professors decided they would have tests next week.  I literally have a test in every class either Monday or Tuesday.  Can you say STRESS?!  I'll be taking my first college exam, but I'll have to take all five of them!  What to do, what to do.

I am going up on Saturday to see Ben!

Ben has been red-shirted this year since he is a freshman.  So even though the team has an away game this weekend, he is staying at school; but it works out for me cause I get to go up and visit him!  Next weekend, Shorter will have their first home game.

My dad got my soap molds finished, so of course I made some soap!  I made my first 6 pound batch of soap, and wow, thats a lotttt of soap.

True Lavender Cold Process Vegan Soap Bar - $4

Finally, I have reached the five sales mark in my Etsy shop!  Yep, last night someone purchased the Rosewood Oatmeal Bath Powder.  Yummy stuff right there!  Keep those sales coming in.  My next show is officially in one month!

Well, I'm off the the store to buy some more Sweet Almond oil and Castor oil for soap making!

Have a Reviving day!

Caitlin

Why choose homemade soap?

Created by a chemical reaction between oils, water, and lye, soap is the oldest cleanser around.  Don’t worry though, there is no lye left after saponification (the chemical reaction that makes soap).  In fact, all soaps are made using lye.

Blue Fir Natural Coriander, Fir, and Pink Grapefruit Cold Process Vegan Soap Bar - $4

Most soaps available in stores are not really soap, but detergents.  Detergents tend to leave your skin feeling dry, itchy, and tight.   One of the biggest differences between commercial soap and handmade soap is glycerine.  Glycerine is a clear liquid that absorbs water from the air and is a key factor in keeping your skin soft and healthy.  Beacause it is a high quality by-product in the soap making process, many commercial soap manufacturers often extract the glycerine and sell it to be used in other products.  Handmade soap contains all of the natural glycerine.

Classy Oatmeal Natural No Scent Cold Process Vegan Soap Bar - $4

The skin is the largest human organ as well as the body’s first line of defense against dehydration, temperature, infection and harmful substances. Handmade soaps give your skin the care it deserves by gently cleansing and locking in moisture.

True Lavender Natural Cold Process Vegan Soap Bar - $4

Compared to a store bought bar of soap, this handmade soap is made from vegetable-based oils (oilve, coconut, organic palm, safflower, sunflower, sweet almond, and castor) and does not contain any harmful chemicals, preservatives, parabens, or synthetics found in commercial soap.  It is gentler and milder, which guarentees the softness of your skin.

Sweet Citrus Natural Lime, Tangerine, Orange, and Thyme Cold Process Vegan Soap Bar - $4

At Revive, we strive to provide our customers with the best quality products available.  All of our homemade soap is made in small batches using the cold process method.  100% pure essential oils are used to scent the soap – never any synthetic scents.

Lemontini Natural Lemon Cold Process Vegan Soap Bar - $4

Visit our Etsy store for other great skin care products!
www.ReviveYourBath.etsy.com

Have a Reviving Day!
Caitlin

Life as we know it.

Yeah... so that diet you are starting tomorrow?  Well it started for me today.  That's right folks, my family is going on the Quick Weight Loss Program!  We have done it before, and we were successful.  However, we gained every last bit of weight back (and maybe a little more!) soooo it's diet time again!  So my life: school + homework + part-time job + diet + Revive + more homework = stressful!

Luckily, I have this great soak to help me relax when the goings get though.  You should try some!

Euphoria Soothing Jasmine, Rose, and Sandalwood Bath Dust Salt Soak - $4

Anyways, I hope everyones Labor Day was fantabulous!  I know mine was; I stayed in my pj's the entire day!  I also got a few things done for Revive; new product on the way!  Solid Sugar Cube Scrubs.  I've seen several different bath and body shops on etsy that carries these, so I thought I would take a shot at it.  Well what do you know, my sister alreadyyy offered to buy some!  So that is a good sign :) Lucky for her, I needed some human testers, so she gladly tested everything out for me.

My fabulous father knew that I had been stressing out about my upcoming show (AHHHH!) so he decided he would make me two more soap molds so I can like quadrapole my output of bars!  So he spent his Labor Day making me two more soap molds, that are both bigger than my regular sized one!  These new ones will be able to hold a 6lb. batch of soap each versus just the 3lb. mold I was using.  When I said quadrapole, I meant it!

 

If you haven't noticed quite yet, my family likes to make stuff.  My dad likes wood working, and man is he good at it!  And my mom has a new found hobby of upholstery.  For her birthday last year, my dad got here this sewing machine she had been wanting.  After that, if you needed something fixed, mom was the one to sew it back together!  She hemmed jeans, made pillows, and even made my bed a new bed skirt!  Her most recent project is giving an old chair a makeover.  She bought this chair off craigslist (it was so sad looking!) but now she has taken all of the fabric off and is in the process of painting the wood.  So here is my mom's project for Labor Day!

 

She still has to do the fabric part, but it's looking good (compared to the yellowish green color is used to be)!

Remember that blue and gray soap I showed everyone how to make in the tutorial?!  Well it is now on sale in my Etsy shop!  I decided to go with the name Blue Fir.  It smells just wonderful!  I gave away a bar to a friend this past weekend for her birthday, she loved it!  Make sure to stop by and grab your bar before they are all gone!

Blue Fir Natural Coriander, Fir, and Pink Grapefruit Cold Process Vegan Soap Bar - $4

Tomorrow I will be posting about the differences of handmade soap versus store bought, so make sure to check that out!  Remember, if you want to make sure you don't miss a blog posting, subscribe by email!  You can do that over on the top right of the page.

Have a Reviving day!

Caitlin

Congratulations!

I went to a random number generator, and lucky comment number 13 is the winner of Revive's first giveaway!

Traci helps out on this great website called Sampler Village.  SV is a place where artists can submit some "samples" of their craft, and the website will organize all of the samples into different boxes.  The website has these boxes for sale, and every month they sell these boxes.  Each buyer receives a sample from each of the contributing artists.  This is a great way to get your name out and a great way to get lots of different knick knacks!  Annndddd, if you submit 100 samples, you get a free box!  Free advertising and free samples?!  Who doesn't love that.

Congratulations Traci, lucky number 13!

Lemon Lime Bath Dust - $4

Can you believe that it is ALREADY September?!?!  I have officially been a college student for 20 days.  Oh how the time flies!  Most of my classes are going great!  This semester I am taking college algebra, anthropology, English, fitness, and political science.  No tests quite yet, but I am getting nervous because I do have tests coming up!  But let me tell you, the amount of work compared to high school is unreal!  I would almost never have any homework in high school, and now I am having 2-3 hours of homework a night.  Speaking of which... I should probably get started on my English paper rough draft after this....I am so thankful to have a long weekend!  Besides the fact I have one extra day to catch up on all of my assignments, thank you for Labor Day!  

So what exactly is Labor Day anyways?  According the the United States Department of Labor, "Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country."  So Labor Day is exactly the opposite of what the name says, its a day for no labor!  :)

True Lavender Colloidal Oatmeal Bath Powder - $3

A fellow etsian, Stephanie, has recently featured my shop on her blog, WeirdandWoolyDesigns.  How blessed I am to have people like her who encourage me to move forward with my goals!!  Make sure to check out the super nice blog entry she posted.  Ah, all of you guys are making me blush out there!  I'm so happy to have people encourage me daily to keep going.

Lastly, (you can tell I haven't blogged in awhile, I have so much to tell you about!) I am going to be selling in my 2nd craft show ever on October 16th.  It's more than a month away, but I've already had a dream/nightmare about it!  I'm so so nervous.  But I know everything will be okay, deep breaths now!

Well I'm heading over to my boyfriend Ben's house.  He came home this weekend from college since they didn't have a football game.  He took his momma out to dinner tonight :)  How cute is he!  Anyways, he leaves tomorrow morning to go back to school.  So until next weekend... :)

Lemontini Cold Process Soap - $4

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou

Have a Reviving Day!

Caitlin