Under the Willow Love & The Inevitable Last Minute Halloween Crunch

How cute is Carrie~Gigi of Under the Willow? I'll tell you! She won my Feel the Love Friday Giveaway a couple of weeks ago and she sent ME a package of goodies! That just cracks me up.
I'm feeling pretty lucky and well loved! She sent these 2 adorable fabric bags, which are perfect for wrapping a gift to someone you love, or for storing your special things! They are adorable. I love the prints, too! Notice the cute dogs and the sweet prim design!

C~G also sent this brilliant idea for using that tiny bit of m&p left over from making a batch of soap! Look at these pinecones! Aren't they sooo sweet?! She says to dip them into your leftover soap 3 times, to coat them well. I'm guessing you'd let them dry for a few minutes between dips.
How sweet and perfect would these be to decorate your Tree this Christmas? Or to put in the guest bath for a lovely, natural looking decoration? It's such a great idea! I always have that little, tiny bit of leftover. I'll bet it would even work with a thin~trace CP... just have to let them cure.

Thank you so much for all of the soapy love, C~G! You're way too generous! Go visit Under the Willow and Mud Puddle Girl to read Carrie's great, fun blogs. And head over to her Under the Willow site to purchase some divine goodies!! She it too cute!! :)

So, it's the day before Halloween. Undoubtedly, I'll be charged with some "minor" tweak of the costumes or, worse, someone will decide at 4:37 tomorrow afternoon that they hate their costume and burst into tears~ lol! I remember when the boys were little and they would come to me with their adorable little faces and say, "MOMMY?! Would you make me a PIRATE COSTUME? I brought you the stuff to make it!!! " They'd look up at me with big, proud smiles and produce 3 toothpicks, 7 LEGO pieces and a tortilla. At least these days I can just go to the store like everyone else! Let me know about your favorite costume! Did you *gulp* sew it from scratch, pull it together? Feel free to link me to a picture. I just love this stuff! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Bubbles are Beautiful

I still love this little spot that I put together on animoto.com

Feel the Love Friday Giveaway on Monday

Wow! I feel like I fell off of the face of the Earth. Actually, I just got back from a super fun 3 day craft show in Essex, Vermont (outside of Burlington). Whew! That is some seriously fun, hard work! Here's a little picture... I couldn't find one where I didn't look all pooped out! :)

I had a great time. It's such a blast to meet up with fellow crafters. I even had the chance to meet twitter friend Stephanie from Honey Bee Soaps. (She's such a cutie & her lemongrass soaps smell like heaven!)

So here's the announcement for Friday's Giveaway on Monday. ;) I promise I'll be back on track this Friday! PROMISE!!!!

Congratulations to Bunny B! She is the big winner this week. The treat is a slice of Whipped Pumpkin Soap. It was a big hit at the fair and even earned me 3 great new wholesale accounts (!) As is always the case, it was an afterthought that I grabbed on my way out the door. Love that! I'll be popping it onto Etsy tomorrow. (ps... It also comes in Cocoa!)

So, Bunny! Email me your address at twinbirch(at)verizon(dot)net. I'll pop it in the mail and you can have your very own Pumpkin Party!

Featured on Little Window Shoppe

I'm blushing and happy today. I received an email from Emily Norton of Little Window Shoppe.com. Her site is the greatest spot for browsing through adorable shops & sweet products.
Anyway, she wrote a blog post about Halloween products and featured my Boo the Ghost soaps and my Hauntingly Adorable Halloween Ducks. *big smile*

Here's what Emily says about her fun sight:
"Little Window Shoppe was created to highlight sweet shoppes and charming ideas in order to promote Shoppe and Boutique owners (with thousands of viewer each week), as well as help Window Shoppers find delightful ideas. "

Delightful is the word. Click over there, click around and be ready to smile with delight! Thanks, Emily! Happy Halloween!

Feel the Love *REALLY* Friday Giveaway Week 4

I know, it's Saturday morning! I woke up, slapped myself on the forehead and said, "Oh s#@t!"
Sorry!

So, this weeks giveaway is about sharing the love with the one that you love. My Birch Bedroom
Massage Melts are such a natural, softening, yummy way to deliver *or receive* a great massage!
Let's face it, most of us are running around like maniacs with work, family & life. I'm not saying that's bad, I think it's uber fun. I also believe it makes the quiet times that much sweeter.

So, this week's winner of the Feel the Love *REALLY* (Saturday) Giveaway is......
Sherrie G. from Birch Bark Soap. Sherrie makes the prettiest soap! She's up in Nova Scotia being inspired by birch trees just like me!! Click over & peek at her soaps. You'll love them!
Hope you love the melts, Sherrie! Go ahead, rub it in! ;)

Sherrie, email me your addy~ twinbirch(at)verizon(dot)net. Yay! Happy Saturday, everyone!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like.....

CHRISTMAS!!!! This is my fav. bar of soap du jour! I'm calling it Vermont Spruce. It's a nod to the beautiful conifers that surround us here in the Northeast and also a tip of the hat to you-know-when! CHRISTMAS!!!! The idea of putting the trees on the bars came to me out of the blue and about 6 degrees from stirring time during the lye/oil cool down. I just love it, though.
And the fragrance is great. Fresh spruce on a crisp winter's day... breathe in and escape to the woods. Yum.

I'm bringing these to the Essex Craft Fair next weekend, but I'll have several batches for sale on etsy in the next few weeks. If you're interested, leave me a comment and I'll reserve your bars.
Ho, ho, ho! :)

.... And, Action! Twin Birch's Made In Vermont TV Debut

I was reminded yesterday how fun it is to challenge yourself and step out of your comfort zone! It's damn fun! I got a message from Jack Thurston, a reporter from WCAX our CBS station in Burlington. Jack does a great weekly feature called "Made in Vermont". He had happened upon my Boo the Ghost soaps and wanted to come to the Bubble Lab on Friday morning to do a piece on Twin Birch. Here's what went through my head for the first 3 seconds: "OMG!" "ME?!" "I'm not ready for that" "I'm not sure about this" "Are you kidding?" I very quickly switched to, "YAY!!!!" "This is going to be so fun!" "Waaaaah Hooooooo!"

I was a little nervous, but my sweet girlfriends, Ramsey & Beth and her daughter Emiline were all here to offer support. Gerry also came home from work. Seeing him here was instantly calming. *big smile* Plus, my other sweet girlfriend, Jennifer showed up on Thursday and whipped this place into a "camera~ready" work area. I also got phone calls & emails galore from even more sweet girlfriends (I am a lucky girl!)

Jack and his camera woman, Robin, were really fun to work with. They were great to have here and the morning included plenty of laughter. In the end, it was pretty easy and a total blast!!

Here's a look: (please forgive the commercial!)


I LOVED seeing my soap on TV! That was the best part! So, bye~bye comfort zone... I'm ready for more adventure! Thanks to Jack & Robin, you guys are the greatest!

Feel the Love Friday Giveaway Week 3

Whew! This has been a crazy day. I did have my TV interview! It's going to air in about 1/2 hour so I've got to go get into my pj's to watch! (It's a comfort thing!)

Before I go... Congratulations to Carrie~Gigi of Under the Willow & Mud Puddle Girl!!! She wins a box of goodies including Shake! (for Bella her gorgeous Lab & her other pups), Perfect Pumpkin & Cranberry Cheer Foaming Hand Wash. I can close my eyes and imagine her beautiful kitchen with my soap in it!! *Sigh!* So, C~G, please email me your addy and I'll send your goodies out!!
(twinbirch (at) verizon (dot) net.)

I love your comments, everyone!! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your great thoughts! I always have a big smile on my face when I read them. If you love something you read~ please share One Bubble with your friends. It's so fun to meet people this way! By the same token, if you have a blog that you love~ drop me a link. I love discovering new blogs as much as visiting my favs!

Next up: a post about my TV debut. What a blast!!

Bombs Away!

I'm getting ready to set up my tent at the 28th Annual Craft & Fine Art Show in Essex Junction, VT. It's by far the largest show I've done. Three days and (last year) 35,000 people in attendance. YAY! I'm looking forward to meeting up with lots of fellow soapers from the area.

One of my favorite bath & body products is the bath bomb. I love them because they touch 4 of the 5 senses and because I LOVE a great soak. All of you who make these puppies know that they are fickle and frustrating to make at first. I'm so psyched because I finally have my bath bomb groove on! I made them in Champagne Chic, Cranberry Cheer, Ginger Lime, Love You Lavender, Peppermint Party, Holly Berry, Warm Vanilla, Perfect Pumpkin and Bella Luna.

I haven't listed them on etsy yet, but I will... promise! And they'll be piled high at the craft show. If you're around PLEASE come say hi to me! I'll be there for all three days.


ps. Shhhhhh! I'm afraid to jinx myself, but I have a date with a super nice reporter from our Burlington station to do a spot about Twin Birch tomorrow. Fingers crossed that it will all pan out! stay tuned!

GO SOX!!!!!!!

What an awesome game against the Angels last night!! I'm so psyched. Wish I was at Fenway singing "Dirty Water" with all of the peeps. Well, I'm enjoying it back on the playlist. Feel free to sing along!

Can't wait 'til Friday! My uncle lives in St. Petersburg! *big, cheesy grin* GO SOX!!!!!!!

Mama's Magic Studio... You'll Love It!

October is flying by! The EstyBloggers Street Team Featured Artist for this month is Mama's Magic Studio. Jen is the Mama and she has an AMAZING way with beads. She also has 2 (TWO) stores on Etsy. One is Baby Friendly Beads which offers breast feeding bead jewelry. The idea is that Mom wears a cute bead necklace that's safe for baby to play with. I have done my fair share of breastfeeding in this life (x 4 kids) and I have had my hair pulled and skin pinched at least a few times. I wish I had seen these back then! Oh! AND these pieces are REALLY PRETTY. (see above) So, don't think you have to be breastfeeding to wear them. They'd be great for DATE NIGHT, too! ;)


Jen also owns Mama's Magic Studio which has the most adorable, attractive, delightful jewelry. Just look at these earrings:







I'm pretty sure I'm going to own them very soon!

Jump over and read Jen's blog Mama's Magic Studio. She features different Etsy Shops every Friday. Very cute! Congrats to you, Jen! You are one super crafty girl!!

Feel the Love Friday Giveaway week 2.

Hey everyone! So, it's Friday. We're having friends over for a little Mexican food and a full contact darts tourney. Fun times ahead!

Speaking of fun, it's the second Feel the Love Friday~ time to announce the giveaway winner.......

It's TRISHA from Suds to Love! Go check our her very cute pups & great soaps!
She wins:
Grapefruit Lily & Cranberry Cheer!

Congrats, Trisha! Thanks to all of you for your fun comments. More giveaway next Friday!!!

Happy Weekend! :)

Autumn in Vermont

"Every leaf speaks

bliss to me,
fluttering from the
autumn tree."

~Emily Bronte

I'm so lucky to have such a beautiful view from my kitchen window. It's just gorgeous during the fall! I need to remember these days when I'm having a day like this.Now you all can enjoy it, too!!

Don't forget.. tomorrow is Feel the Love Friday! Leave a comment & I'll pull a name to giveway something for free!