Peace, Love, Loofah!

Why should you use Be Greaful's loofah soaps?  Well, besides the fact that they are super cute and unique, they smell amazing and are great for your skin!  In addition to using our quality soap, one of the best things you can do for your skin is to exfoliate.  Exfoliation is the removal of older dead skin cells that cling to the skin's outer surface.  Exfoliating your skin is an important part of face and body treatments because it helps rid your skin of dead cells and promotes the growth of new ones.  When done properly, exfoliation leaves the skin feeling smoother and fresher looking.  One of the easiest and most popular exfoliants to use is loofah.  We use Loofah in both our cold process soap and our vegetable glycerin (“melt and pour”) soap.  The thing I like best about using loofah in our soaps is that the possibilities are endless!  You can use it in many different ways;  you can use it in slices, you can grind it up, or you can use it whole.  Whole loofah can be easily shaped and molded and made into many different and unique soaps.  I have done them in peace sign, heart, flower and even Mickey Mouse shapes.  Our loofah soaps also come in countless different scents!  Some of our most popular scents are White Zinfandel, Peach Bellini, Key Lime, Orange Burst, and Mocha Frappuccino.  They are one of the most popular favor and wholesale orders that we get in our shop.  We are always happy to do special labels and packaging for favors so please contact us for pricing or if you have any questions or ideas!

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/102828675/purple-peace-sign-loofah-soap

https://www.etsy.com/listing/102830016/red-mickey-mouse-inspired-loofah-soap

A little help for the new guy...



 

Autumn Wreath Cupcake Bath Bomb



I am still such a newbie and I continue to learn new things every single day. I found that one of the hardest things about getting started is learning where to start, where to buy my ingredients, and where to learn how to create all of the ideas that I had in my head. Through my many many days of searching the web trying to learn as much as I can, I have found that there are so many good places and so many good people who love to help newbie’s like me. I decided I would put a collection of the wonderful things I have found here with the links for any other newbie’s who may want to learn a few things or even to get some inspirations from some really amazing artists.

 

My favorites places to by my supplies:

 

Wholesale Supplies Plus:  http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/

Bramble Berry:  http://www.brambleberry.com/

Nature's Garden:  http://www.naturesgardencandles.com/

TKB Trading:  http://www.tkbtrading.com/

Elements Bath and Body:  http://www.elementsbathandbody.com/
Go Planet Earth:  http://www.goplanetearth.com/

 

My favorite places to learn:

 

Hancrafted Soapmakers Guild:  http://www.soapguild.org/

The Soap Queen:  http://www.soapqueen.com/

Soap Queen T.V: http://www.youtube.com/user/soapqueentv

Soaping 101 on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/user/soaping101

Teach Soap:  http://teachsoap.com/

Youtube is such a great place to watch tutorials on products and learn what people have to teach. It is an endless pit of knowledge if you want to explore!

 

My favorite places to be inspired:  These are some of the most creative, knowledgable people I have ever seen.  I am literally in awe of them! 

 

Edens Secret:  http://www.youtube.com/user/edenssecret1

Beautiful Creations:  http://www.youtube.com/user/omayrarivera1

Soap Queen T.V:  http://www.youtube.com/user/soapqueentv

Soaping 101 on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/soaping101

 

I have just listed a few places.  There are just too many to name them all here but this is a start!   Good luck!





           

Mocha Frappuccino        

         

              Candy Cane Cold Processed Soap

 

About Be Greatful...

Remember your favorite candy shop? Now remember how it felt when you walked into that shop, eyes wide open, the beauty of it all, impossible to decide what you wanted to get. The scent of peppermint candies, ice cream sundaes, candy sticks in root beer and cherry flavors, butterscotch, cotton candy…
 

    

Through our unique product line, packaging, and presentation, we have designed our shop to evoke all of that same nostalgia that you felt in your favorite candy shop (only without the calories). Whether you are just starting your day or just ending it, make Be Greatful your home for bath and body products that will bring a smile to your face while bringing nourishment to your skin! All of our products are made by hand using little or no preservatives so you know they are fresh and good for your body so draw a hot bath, light some candles, and try our Jolly Rancher soap, Cotton candy bath bombs, or a scoop or two of our ice cream sugar scrub and watch the stress fade away . 

    

 

People always ask me how I got started making bath and body products and really it all started in 2010 when I went into an amazing shop that carried some of the most wonderful bath and body products. I was so inspired by them and literally wanted to buy everything in sight! These products however weren't cheap and I do have kids to feed so I settled on a salt scrub. The most wonderful salt scrub I'd ever used. I remember looking at the ingredients and saying I bet I could make that! And so it began.... I did some research online and educated myself as much as I could and made my first sugar scrub. It was not as good as the salt scrub I had purchased at that amazing bath and body shop but it was something I was proud of for sure, simply because I had tried! Then I tried my hand at some lip balm, and then my first batch of cold processed soap. They didn't all go very well but I kept at it and little by little and with each and every thing I make, it gets easier and easier and the products get better and better. There is just so much satisfaction in setting your mind to something and making it happen, even when it doesn't always turn out how you'd hoped (and I learned quickly that many many times things do not turn out the way that you had hoped).
 

    

 

And so it begins...

For my very first blog post, I thought I would introduce myself...

I am a wife, mother, daughter, and sister, to the most amazing family anyone could ever ask for. I am a self proclaimed craft nerd living in Northern Virginia where I have lived all of my life.  I guess you might say I’ve got an addiction to pretty much all things crafty.   I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by a very creative and talented family and they all inspire me each and every day. I love to create new things whether they are brand new and created from scratch, or upcycled, recylced, or any kind of cycled ;) I have been fortunate to have three shops on Etsy that have given me an outlet to create and share my creations with others. My twin sister is my partner in crime and together we own The Greatful Thread www.greatfulthread.etsy.com and Here There and Everywhere www.HereThereEverywhere.etsy.com. In these shops we sell "fun and funky stuff that you can't find anywhere else!"   Think Star Wars, Rainbow Brite, Harley Davidson, and Grateful Dead inspired shower curtains, upcycled christmas ornaments, and baby items with all of your favorite characters. My third shop is Be Greatful www.begreatfulshop.etsy.com and together with the help of my super awesome husband we create handmade bath and body products.  I started making handmade bath and body products a very short time ago in 2010 as another in a long line of crafty endeavors.  Since then I have gone from whipping up quick melt-and-pour soap gifts for my friends and family to designing and selling my own creations like cold process soaps, body scrubs, lotions, bath bombs and fizzies, (and pretty much anything else) online through my company, Be Greatful.  If you had told me in high school that I would be using art and chemistry in my adult life, I would have said you were crazy!  I think that soap making is the perfect blend of both.  In the past couple of years I have spent countless hours learning all that I can about making bath and body products and experimenting with the things that I have learned.  This blog is meant to share these things with you so thanks for stopping by as I share my many adventures in crafting and creating!  May all of your days be filled with lots of "Peace, Love, and Handmade Stuff".

 



          

 

        

                    The Greatful Thread                    

 

Here, There, and Everywhere
 

Be Greatful Bath and Body