Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to all of you spooks and ghouls!

I went to Blues BBQ in downtown Roanoke last night for their Halloween bash and won 2nd place in the costume contest! $25 in free BBQ goodness - score!

Click here to view all of my photos from this event on facebook.

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New scenes from the sketchbook.

Today I dragged out my old box of chalk pastels. There were a lot of tiny nubs to contend with and it was messy as can be, but I had simply forgotten how much I LOVE drawing with these things. My favorites are PrismaColor NUPASTEL. They are just amazing. The effect is very much like a painting but without the drying time. I threw together two sketches this evening before I went out spent my last couple of bucks on a new box of pastels and some workable fixatif. I was using hairspray - which is way cheaper and probably just as effective - but I'm not thinking my mom would be happy if I used up all of her hairspray on drawings. 

 

First up I drew this awesome little hamster. My brother had hamsters as a kid. I had gerbils. At one point my gerbils had so many babies I was selling them as snake food. My brother on the other hand had to experience the tragedy of  one of his hamsters eating his hamster roomie's head off. This is that fearful hamster before the attack... Okay. Maybe not. But I will never forget that crazy, evil hamster that scared me off those things for good.

Next up I drew this baby Cockatiel. I had one of these for many years and raised it from a baby. It was so young in the beginning I had to hand feed it.

So anyway, now that I have new chalk I imagine I'll be wasting a lot of time drawing tonight. I really should be making more lotions, but... Sometimes you just have to play!

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Excercising my pencil.

I've been in the need of a little creativity lately to keep me occupied. So when I found the book Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists: 52 Creative Exercises to Make Drawing Fun (Lab Series) by Carla Sonheim, it was like fate. It has a year's worth of awesome, mostly non-traditional drawing exercises to inspire creativity and make drawing fun. Here are a few of the exercises I've done so far.

  Draw 30 cats. Take it further and paint your favorite. Media: Watercolor pencils.

Sad kitty. Media: Watercolor pencils.

Alley cat. Media: Watercolor pencils.

(Left) Blind contour giraffe. Draw a giraffe without looking at the page you are drawing it on. Media: Marker, Watercolor pencils. (Right) Imaginary creature. Turn paint splotches into an animal shape. Media: Watercolor pencils.

Draw with India Ink straight from the dropper. Blot then color. Media: India Ink, Marker.

Draw a dog. Media: Watercolor pencils.

You can follow my future sketching exercises on my facebook album.

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Holiday entertaining, handmade style.

Make entertaining this holiday season extra special with these fabulous and fun, handmade entertaining housewares.

1. Tres Chic Silver Chalk and Magnetic Board, $10.50 from Her Majesty's Pug
2. Naughty Schoolgirl, $100 from Sweet and Sassy Couture
3. Set of Four Mini Star Urchin Ornament Place Card Holders, $64 from kissa design
4. Cranberry and Fig All Natural Soy Candle, $10 from Ophelia's Apothecary
5. Reusable Wine Bag, $8 from Tuka
6. Citrus Stay on Coasters in Teal and Green, $26 from Dimmalimm
7. Origami Lotus Flower Decoration or Favor, $6.50 from Fish & Lotus
8. Alice in Wonderland Eat Me Party Picks, $11.95 from pinkcherrymama
9. Snowflake Linen Placemat - Set of 4, $32 from Kain Kain

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Holiday gift ideas for her!

A few lovely and romantic handmade finds that are perfect for gift giving this holiday season. These exquisite gift ideas are sure to satisfy the woman in your life!

1. Golightly - 9 Piece Enameled Bangle Set, $175 from Bullfinch and Barbury

2. Amuse (tm) Perfume Oil Roll On, $15 from Theme Fragrance

3. Crocheted Romantic Blossom Pink Scarf, $68 from VitalTempatation Design

4. Sea Salted Blackberry Basil Caramels, $9 from La Bella Caramella

5. Aqua Damask Cosmetic Makeup Bag, $16 from The Sweet Life by Design

6. Green and Coral Vintage Cluster Collage Necklace, $65 from Alona Freeman

7. Cambridge Hand Appliqued Polymer Clay Pendant, $48 from Margrietje Jewelry

8. Frosted Branches Earrings, $17 from Julie Garland Jewelry

9. Addison Vintage Inspired Handmade Garden Flower Headband, $38.95 from Chloe and Maddie

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Crafting your way into Christmas.

Last week I blogged about a printable Christmas planner and several handmade gift ideas you can make yourself. Here are a few more I found that I wanted to add to the list.

1. Here's a recipe for no fail caramels and printable Christmas candy boxes. Who won't appreciate a tasty treat in their stocking on Christmas day?

2. This pleated purse is made from fabric scrap samples. Combine your own fabric scraps to create a stylish tote in your recipients favorite colors.

3. Perfect for a young girl or a woman young at heart, this ruffled flower headband is both stylish and fun!

4. Create a gift that keeps on giving year after year! Handcraft these Japanese Kusudama paper flower balls to use as Christmas tree decorations. 

5. Do you have a son or daughter in college? This giant pouf pillow makes a great gift for brightening up a dorm room and making a cozy area for reading. 

6. These cute bloomers are perfect for any teen. They're cozy to wear and double perfectly as pajama bottoms.

7. An adorable turtle pin cushion pair for your favorite sewer.

8. This adorable ruffle t-shirt can be made from any old t-shirt - even if it has a print!

9. Roses and ruffles are huge right now! Easily craft a rolled rose bracelet and go from casual to fabulous with one simple accessory.

10. Plant succulents in a vintage teacup to gift a little color during the winter season.

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Send it in a letter.

Just because you can send a letter or invitation electronically nowadays doesn't mean you have to send it that way. A simple way to acknowledge and share the artistic endeavors of others is to send a handmade card or invitation. Here are a few of my favorites.

12 Black Cat Invites - Halloween Party, $15 from le french circus

1. Beautiful Day Postcards - Set of 6, $13 from Little Mo and Friends

2. Baggie to Fishbowl - Just Moved - Pack of 20, $30 from five dot design

3. Dancing Bear Postcard Pack, $10 from The Black Apple

4. Set of 5 double blanc cards, $12 from House of Harriet

A Nightmare before Christmas Postcard, $3.30 from The Nebulous Kingdom

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Handmade Day of the Dead Contest

Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday celebrated on November 2nd, for family and friends to get together and remember friends and family members who have died. This holiday is often characterized by private alters that honor the deceased through the use of sugar skulls, marigolds, and favorite food and drink. To celebrate this holiday, I'm throwing a Day of the Dead Contest!

The prize for this contest consists of: 2 Sugar Skull Patches, a Sugar Skull and Rose Hair Clip, 2 Boxes of Sugar Skull Glycerin Soaps, a Skull Embedded in Heart Glycerin Cocoa Butter Soap, and a Mini Pocket Mirror. The winner will also receive a free bar of soap of his or her choice from Rebecca's Soap Delicatessen. All of these items are handmade by various artists. The total retail value of this prize is $57.75.

If you'd like to enter to this contest, you'll just need to visit Rebecca's Soap Delicatessen and choose the soap from from Rebecca's shop that you'd like to receive if you win.  Then leave a comment with your favorite item. This contest will end on October 31, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. Limit one entry per person per entry method. Open within the United States of America to those ages 18+. The winner will be chosen at random from among all eligible entries using random.org. Your information will not be shared or sold. 

The first method of entry is required to enter this contest. If you'd like additional entries into this contest, you may complete each of the following tasks for one additional entry each.

1. Fan Rebecca's Soap Delicatessen on Facebook. Leave a comment with your Facebook name stating that you've become a fan.

2. Follow Rebecca's Soap Delicatessen on Twitter. Leave a comment with your twitter username.

3. Follow Soap Deli New Blog. Leave a comment stating that you're a follower.

4. Tweet this contest on Twitter. Include @soapdeli in your tweet so I know you've done so. Leave a comment stated that you've tweeted this contest.

5. Blog about this contest. Leave a comment with the link back to the blog post.

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Host an Online Spa Party with Rebecca's Soap Delicatessen and Earn Cash!

Need some extra cash for your upcoming holiday gift giving? Looking for a simple way to earn extra funds for those unexpected bills? Earn money from Rebecca's Soap Delicatessen by hosting an online spa party with me! To get started, simply contact me to set a date for your spa party to occur. I will then email you a special code. Pass around the date for your party along with the code to all your family and friends (and anyone else you'd like to 'invite'). When they make their online purchases and use the code you give them, you'll earn a percentage from every sale and they'll receive a discount!

Earn the following percentages in cash from your online spa party (not to include shipping/tax charges):

$100 (minimum) sales = 10%

$175 sales = 20%

$250 sales = 30%

$300 sales (or more) = 35%

In addition, each of your 'invitees' will be entered to win a FREE bar of soap in the scent of his or her choice to be shipped with their order. You may chose to be paid via paypal OR check. Your paypal payment (or check in the mail ) will be deposited within 48 hours after your online spa party is complete.

This is a fun and easy way to earn money without ever having to leave your house!

Please contact me at rebeccassoapdeli [@] gmail dot com to register your own online spa party!

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Preparing for the upcoming holiday season: Christmas planner and handmade gift ideas.

With the Christmas season just around the corner, now is the time to start planning for the parties, gifts and food! Organizing Your Way Blog has a wonderful, free Christmas Planner that you can download and print.

This free ebook contains an address book, baking planner, budget worksheet, calendar, cards worksheet, decor inventory, family traditions, gift ideas, gift list, handmade gifts, master-to-do list, order tracking and shopping list. 

Following are a few ideas for making your own handmade gifts for a handmade Christmas. These gifts are fabulous yet inexpensive to make.

Tidy Mom Blog has recipes for making spicy, holiday sugar scrubs and a Christmas CD. There are recipes for a Cinnamon Vanilla Sugar Scrub and Sweet N' Spicy Brown Sugar Scrub. You'll also find a CD cover download! You can find those recipes here.

Personalized jewelry is both beautiful and fun! Follow this easy step by step tutorial from The Crafting Chicks for making industrial strength jewelry. This is definitely a gift that will be treasured forever.

Everyone can use an address book! This book can be personalized any way you like and is easy to make with free downloadable address book pages. Find the instructions for making this book at I Love It All Blog.

Personalize liquid soap and hand sanitizer containers for inexpensive teacher gifts! Find this craft project and downloads at The Idea Room.

Personalize a dessert dish using simple etching techniques. Then gift with the recipient's favorite dessert inside the container! You'll find the how to for making your own etched glass trifle bowl at Tidy Mom Blog.

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Mad about plaid.

Plaid is hot this holiday season and justly so! There are so many fun ways to wear or accessorize with plaid that there's no reason not to add a few pieces to your wardrobe. Following are some of my favorites.

Recycled Tin Mini Dress Earrings - Pastel Plaid, $26 from shixie

1. Dog Personalized Playcoat - Lightweight Cover Up in Fall Plaid, $12 from Terrier Trousers
2. Prepster - Kanzashit Flower Hair Clip, $29 from Petal Mix
3. Janis - Turquoise and Brown Plaid Wool Newsboy Hat, $64 from Rocks and Salt
4. Plaid Flask - 6oz., $18 from dulcet
5. Dusk - Repurposed Fabric Necklace, $42 from Christine Kangas
6. Aviator Flight Shirt - Brown Jersey Scarf Cowl, $75 from Minx Shop
7. Lilac Recycled Wool Satchel, $98 from Wooly Bison

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Unique Office Supplies

Who says your cubicle has to be dull? Liven it up and make your work day more fun with these unique office supply products!

Unique Dry Erase Board Decal/Wall Calendar/Vinyl Wall Sticker, $35

1. Apple Note Pad, $5
2. Red Lipstick Pen, $4
3. Mini To-Do Book, $8
4. Butt Station Desk Organizer, $22
5. Saw Letter Opener, $15
6. Cassette Tape Dispenser, $25
7. Ginger Cats Magnet Set, $12

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