What Exactly Is That?

Do you ever go shopping for food or beauty products & being the health conscious person you are, flip the product over to look at the ingredients & think "what on earth is that"? I know I do. The product can say all-natural or organic, but I still can't read the ingredient label & even when I can, I don't know what all the ingredients are for or why they're used.

Well let me explain.

When you're selling cosmetics you're required by the FDA to include an ingredient label on your product.

You have to list your ingredients in descending order meaning the first ingredient on the list is what's mostly in the product. So for my soap, water is the first ingredient on the list because water is the main component of my soap.

You also have to list your ingredients INCI name which is the official name of the ingredient & it's usually in Latin. So when I put water on my label it has to look like this: Water {Aqua}. Now some product manufacturers only put the INCI names & so you can't really even read the ingredients unless you're familiar with cosmetic ingredients or Latin. Ummm, no.

So today, I want to take some time to explain the ingredients I use in my new formula so that you know exactly what each on is & why it's in there.

Lavender Chamomile Soap Ingredients

Aqua {Water}, Olea Europaea Fruite {Organic Olive} Oil, Cocos Nucifera {Organic Coconut} Oil, Potassium Hydroxide*, {Sodium Borate} Borax, Glycerin, Sulfated Ricinus Communis {Castor} Oil, Chamaemelum Nobile {Chamomile} Flower, Lavandula Angustifolia {Lavender} Flower, Lavandula Angustifolia {Lavender} Essential Oil


Of course the herbs & essential oils will change depending upon which soap you use. Anyway, below are what the ingredients are for.

Ingredient Breakdown

The coconut oil, olive oil & potassium hydroxide make up the actual soap. You start with the oil & when you add the potassium hydroxide {lye} to it, it turns into soap. Once the soap is made I add water to it to make it into a liquid soap. At this point it's super thin so I add in borax which is a natural thickener as well as a neutralizer. You have to use a neutralizer in soap in order to bring the pH down so that it's not too acidic or too alkaline. It needs to clean well & for my soap, it needs to be mild because it's primarily for babies. So pH matters. {I'll explain how I test my pH below.} Once the soap has thickened up, I add the glycerin & the castor oil. These two things not only make the soap more moisturizing, but they make it even milder for babies skin.

So there you have it. You now know what each ingredient is & what it's used for.

The Issue of pH

Potassium Hydroxide is a must for soap {or sodium hydroxide, it depends on the kind of soap you're making}. Anyway, you have to have it to make the actual soap. Potassium Hydroxide is alkaline & so you have to add in a neutralizer to your finished soap so that it's not so alkaline but instead balanced a bit more. Most soap makers use either citric acid, boric acid, or borax. {Find out why I use borax below.} The combination of the potassium hydroxide & the borax will bring the soap to a more neutral pH that makes it less irritating to the skin & eyes & helps it to clean better.

The way I test my soaps pH is by using a chemical called phenolphthalein. I take a small sample of my soap & mix in the right amount of borax to neutralize it. Then I add in my phenolphthalein solution & if it does what it's supposed to, then I know the pH is neutral & my soap is good to go. Now phenolphthalein is not added to the entire batch of soap. It's only used to test my sample. No chemicals are in my soap!!

Why I Use Borax

I use borax in my soap instead of citric or boric acid because it does so many great things for liquid soap. It thickens it, neutralizes it, enhances it's foaming properties, softens hard water, doesn't throw the soap out of solution since it's not an acid & also acts as a preservative... a natural one! How great is all that?

In Conclusion

So after all of this, I hope you understand why I use what I use for my soap & that you're comfortable with it & you trust it more. The next step is trying it our for yourself right here - Baby Swank Naturals Baby Wash & Shampoo. It comes in 2 oz. sample sizes & 8 oz. full sizes. Enjoy! I know we do!

New Shop Update

Pinterest

Wow! Let's talk about my new shop!

I told you about my plans for a new Etsy shop in my 2012 goals post a couple weeks back & about how I was going to keep you updated on it. Well here are my update plans.

I want to launch my new shop mid-March. Is that going to happen? I'm not sure. You see, I'm still trying to get into a good routine with my new little man & I haven't settled on anything yet.

As you may know, I also coach other creative business owners, moms in particular, to grab hold of their dreams & make them happen & let me tell you... I am soooo busy with that right now that between coaching & my kiddos I've not had much time to work on my new shop! It's terrible but wonderful at the same time.

I am chugging along though. My goal for January is to get my website up & lookin' all snazzy & that's getting there. My goal for February is to get a good amount of blog posts over on that site & to begin to transfer Baby Swank items to the new shop. And lastly, my goal for March is to actually launch the new shop.

Will that happen? Yes, it will definitely happen, but I'm not sure if it will happen on time or not. We'll see!

Like I said, my goal for this month is to get my website looking the way I want it too & it's getting there. I've worked with an illustrator on some graphics & I think I'm good there. Right now I'm working with a web designer on getting some things done that I can't figure out how to do myself. So, hopefully all of that will be done by the end of this month & I'll be good to go come February!

Can't wait to show it to you all!

xo, Meagan

Christmas Bibs on Sale

Peppermint Men

Christmas Marbles

Red & White

Green Santa & Trees

Blue Snowmen

2011 Christmas Bibs are now on sale... 40% off! 

That's $13.20 each! 

Stock up for next year's gifts or for yourself! 

Bib bundles not included!

Click here to buy!

2012 Giveaway Greatness

So I've decided that this year, 2012, will include some awesomely fabulous giveaways when it comes to Baby Swank. I'm limiting the amounts of giveaways I'm doing & saving them for the really big ones.

My plan is to do 4 giveaways this year. Some on blogs, one on my Facebook page, & maybe some other places I see that are a good fit.

Anyway, the first one is coming up this month & I want you to be a part of it!

If you remember the interview I did last year with Autumn from All About Cloth Diapers, then you'll know exactly where this giveaway will be held.

Autumn is reviewing my Herbal Bum Salve & my Herbal Bum Cream & then I'll be giving away 2 Baby Bums gift baskets to the giveaway winners! I can't wait & I'll keep you posted here & on Facebook. Definitely don't miss out on this. These baskets make great gifts at baby showers, not to mention to keep for yourself!

I'll post when the giveaway is live! Keep an eye out!

Why I'm Changing My Soap Making Process

Orange Vanilla Baby Wash & Shampoo

Now that 2012 is here, I've got some big changes up my sleeve. I told you about my plans to move into a new shop. It's not time for that yet, but I'll definitely keep you updated on it.

My first big change is that I'm altering the way that I make my soap.

I don't know if you know anything about soap-making or not, but making liquid soap is very different from making bar soap. I personally love both, but when it comes to baby soap & shampoo, liquid wins out every time for me.

The way I make my soap now is to take my soap & infuse the herbs into it. The problem with this is that it sometimes causes the soap to separate a bit, especially with the orange & lemon herbs. It must be the vitamin c in it. That's all I can figure because the other soaps don't really do it.

It's not really a big deal because you can just shake it & it all mixes back up, but I'm not really happy with the way it looks. Looks = sales, especially for my wholesale customers who are putting my products in their shops. It has to set on a shelf & it's not being shaken so when people look at it they're seeing the separation. Now most people probably don't think a thing about it, but others may.

So, I'm changing the way I make it by doing the herbal infusing during the actual soap-making instead of saving it for later. So it will be one of the first steps instead of one of the later steps in the process.

I've not tried it yet, but very soon. I'm hoping it turns out well! I'll definitely post new pics to my Facebook wall. If you're not following me there yet, you definitely should! There's a lot of conversation that goes on there!

Wish me luck!

Wondering What My Plans For 2012 Are?

This past year has been great. Life, business, all of it. I'm so blessed. 

In 2011, business speaking, I've added a product line, grown my FB page to 300+ followers, met some awesome friends & biz owners, grown my coaching biz & had a great year in sales.

But, I'm not finished yet. Not because I'm not content or greedy or anything like that, but because this is business & businesses are meant to grow. I have big plans for 2012 & I want to share some of them with you.

Let's start with the biggest one. 

I'm switching gears & opening a new shop. 

Yeah, you heard me! I've been hinting around at making this big change for a while now. So I'm here today to let you in on my little secret.

My natural skin care line - Baby Swank Naturals - has done so well that I want to expand it even further, beyond babies & in order to do that, I'll be phasing the herbal products out of my shop & into a new one. 

Now don't stress. I'll be giving everyone plenty of time to get used to my new shop & the products will overlap for a while. Right now is just the beginning of this new shop. I've still got a lot of work ahead of me. I'm working on graphic design at the moment & that doesn't happen overnight. I'll be keeping you posted on this big change & I'm definitely going to launch this baby the right way!

As for Baby Swank

Baby Swank will remain for the time being. Once I'm in the new shop {name to be revealed later} I'm not sure what will happen to it. Do I move the Washcloth Bibs over to the new shop too or keep all that good stuff in Baby Swank??? I'm just not sure, but if you have an opinion, I'd love to hear it.

Other than that...no matter which shop or what products we're talking about, here are some of my big plans.

1. I'd like to get 4-5 wholesale accounts with retail stores.
2. I'd like to get one of my products featured in a magazine.
3. I'd like to triple this year's profits.
4. I'd like to launch at least 2 new product lines.

Sound good? Sound ambitious? Great! 

As long as all goes well & business is staying in perspective with my family responsibilities, you'll be hearing from me throughout 2012 as I reach these goals & then in December, you can cheer with me as I say, "I did it!!"

Thanks for sticking with me & for all your encouragement & support. I need you!

xo, Meagan

Are You Following Me on Facebook Yet?

Are you following me on Facebook yet? 

Just checkin! I'd hate for you to be missing out on all that's going on over there.

If you are, way to go! Be sure to leave me your thoughts & comments. I'll get back to you, I promise!

If you aren't, click here to "like" my page now. {Psst...you'll get a little something when you do!}

Winter Washcloth Bib Collection

If you want to keep your little guy or gal looking fashionable this season while being eco-friendly at the same time, these Washcloth Bibs are your ticket to eco-friendly fashion!

Check out the newest collection right here!

2011 Winter Collection

 Yellow & Gray

 Blue & Gray

 Red & Gray

 Pink Geo

 Blue Swirls

 Green Night

Get em' before they're gone...right here @ Baby Swank

3 Steps to a Successful Nighttime Baby Massage

There's nothing better than a baby who sleeps through the night, but as many of you know, getting your baby ready for bed begins long before bedtime comes.

I've always had babies that slept well & straight through the night early on. I would give them a nice, warm bath, followed by a good massage, some warm jammies, some snuggle time mixed with a full feeding, & off to bed they'd go. Ahhh, makes me ready for bed just thinking about it.

For me, the massage was key. Babies play all day, kicking & squirming, & by giving them a relaxing massage after a nice calming bath always helped to settle mine down quickly.

So today, I want to give you instructions on how to relax your little one with a bedtime massage.

1. Get your supplies ready

Put a blanket or towel under your baby & have your massage oil nearby. Make sure it's warm in the room. You don't want your little nudist to get too cold!

2. Start at the top & work your way down

• Start by rubbing a little oil on your finger tips & gently rubbing it over babies forehead, nose, cheeks, & chin. Work your way down to her neck next making sure to focus on the back of it especially if she's learning to hold her head up.

• Next move down to her shoulders & arms using a gentle but firm downward rub all the way to her fingertips. Make sure you have enough oil so that your hands slid across her skin.

• Now go back to her chest & work your way down to her belly using small circles. Roll her over onto her tummy if she'll tolerate it & do the same thing to her back before rolling her back over. If she doesn't like being on her belly, now is not the time for tummy training. The point of the massage is to relax her.

• Lastly you're going to start at the top of her legs & work your way down to her toes using the same downward rub you used on her arms. If you want you can stop & focus on her feet using small circles on her soles, it's totally up to her.

3. Finishing touches

Now all that's left is to get her dressed & finish up her bedtime routine.

Not only will this massage help relax your baby, but using the oil will be beneficial to her skin by providing it with nutrients & making it super soft.

So I hope you give this a try with your baby. These are the instructions that come with my Herbal Baby Oil in my shop & it would make a great baby shower gift or stocking stuffer!

Quick Updates

Three things quickly...I won't keep you here all day.

1) Did you see that I added gift wrap to my shop?

I did & I love it! It's so simple yet looks nice. It's perfect for my products & it will look great under your tree! Click here to go check it out now!

2) I'm getting busy

It's not even what I consider the full time holiday season yet & I'm already starting to see the beginning of holiday shopping. Orders are coming in & I'm staying busy {besides being pregnant & keeping up with my hubbie & two little guys}!

Just to let you know, since you're wondering, I'm only taking custom orders for my Personalized Washcloth Bibs until December 14th & the closer it gets to Christmas the busier I will be so if that's something you've been thinking about doing I'd suggest doing it now before it gets too close to that time!

3) Upcoming Giveaway

Did you see the most recent review of my Baby Swank Naturals products on my press page? Well, Brandi from Life As A Cajun Bombshell is going to be hosting a giveaway soon for a set of my Herbal Bath Bombs so if that's something you're interested in, be sure to keep up with her blog. I'll also be posting the giveaway & details to Facebook. Click here to come like my page & hang out with me!

Come Vote in the Color Palette Challenge

I told you a little while ago that I was participating in the EtsyMom Fall Event - The Color Palette Challenge! Well now's the time to come & vote for your favorite entry & I want to personally invite you to come on over & participate!

Click here to visit the EtsyMom blog to see all of the event entries & get info on how to vote. It's fun, it's quick, & you'd be doing me a favor.

Now I'm not asking you to vote for me in particular! Only if one of my entries is your favorite & you think I stuck to one of the color palettes. Voting is anonymous so no worries there. Again this won't take much of your time so please come vote! I'd appreciate it!

Oh, just for the record...I created some super cute additions to my Washcloth Bib collection. They're up for grabs in my shop & they in this season's fashion color report from Pantone! Here they are!

    

Cedar Flowers & Deep Teal Swirl

Bib of the Month: October

I'm so excited about my new BIB of the MONTH CLUB! It's so fun for me to be able to pick out a bib design that I think you all would like & be able to surprise you with it each month! For October's bibs, I've chosen some seasonal colors that will look great on your little ones & you can keep wearing them throughout the year!

This months bib is either...

Orange Demask - Girls

Green Circles - Boys

Both bibs come with a chocolate brown washcloth bib bottom & are stitched with chocolate brown top stitching for reinforcement. All bibs come with 2 part adjustable snaps so they'll fit babies or toddlers! These bibs will not be fore sale in my shop. You have to be in the membership club to get them. Again...they are not available to everyone!

For those of you who've already purchased your membership - these bibs will ship on the 15th of October. 

For those of you who'd like to join the BIB of the MONTH CLUB, please follow the link to purchase your membership from my shop. You're bib will then ship in 7-10 days!

xo, Meagan

Are You Signed Up For My Newsletter?

image by Tanel Teemusk on Flickr

Look over to the right side of my blog. Do you see that big white box that says "Get Monthly Updates, Promotions, & Discounts...Plus A Free Goodie Just For Signing Up". That's the opt-in box for my newsletter.

Yes! I want you to sign up for it, but first let me tell you about it.

Here's how it works. 

All you have to do is enter the email address that you want my newsletter sent to along with your name & how you'd like to receive the newsletter. 

HTML is the pretty one that includes my graphics & pictures. Text is just that...straight up text, no images at all. Mobil is if you'd like to get it on your smart phones. 

Once you've entered your info, just click "Subscribe" & you're done.

What to expect.

Right off the bat you should receive a confirmation email. You'll click a link that confirms you want my newsletters sent to that email address. 

After that you can expect 4 emails from me during the first week. This is the ONLY time you will get that many emails from me. These newsletters are going to let you get to know me & my business a bit more. I think you'll really enjoy them & I'd love to hear back from you too!

You'll also get a goodie, just for signing up, but that's in the last of the first 4 newsletters! You have to get to know me first!

After that you can expect to receive one newsletter from me per month that will consist of shop updates, new products, sales/promotions/discounts, giveaways I'm involved in, & even some great info I think you'll enjoy. The only time you'll receive more than one email a month is if I've got something I want you to know right away, but again, don't worry because that doesn't happen often.

Here's why you should sign-up.

• You'll be the first to know everything new that's going on with me or my business
• You'll get first choice, first pick, & first opportunities that blog readers, past customers, & Facebook fans have to wait on
• You'll like my goodie
• You'll get to know a bit about me & make a new friend
• You'll get valuable information that you can learn from & will be useful to your family
• It's only once a month - no spam
• If you're unhappy, you can always unsubscribe easily. I'd hate to see you go, but I'd understand.

Are you ready? Go sign-up now! You won't be disappointed!

You Should Spending The Holidays With Baby Swank Because You Want To Be Voted #1 Gift Giver This Season

That's right! It's time for Etsy's annual Holiday Boot Camp to start up & I'm kickin' it into gear this year to bring you the best products & the best customer service so that you can be the best gift giver to your friends & family this season!

I'm starting now getting my shop & products in order so that I can provide you with the best of the best this year.

• I'll be working on new products as well as current ones. 
• I'll be double checking all my policies & adding additional ones just for the holidays.
• I'll be working on offering custom product gift wrapping for those who'd like it.
• I'll be spiffing up my photos.
• I'll be marketing & promoting like crazy.
• And much, much more!

Now I can only do my part. You have some work to do to. I can't pull this awesome holiday season off without you! I need your support, okay? Great! I knew I could count on you!

Have You Raised Your Prices?

I thought that this would be a great question to answer because I'm sure many of you, especially if you've been a past customer, have been wondering this yourself & you deserve an answer.

Yes! I have raised my prices.

So now you're probably wondering why. There are a few reasons.

The first reason
I've had my Etsy shop for a year now & although it's making money, it's only sustaining itself. I want to take this shop, this business, to the next level in the next year & that would be for it to make money & grow from there. So that meant I had to take a long hard look at some of the ways I was running my shop...including pricing my products.

The next reason 
I had to get clear on who I was selling too. All businesses are marketing to a certain people group. You can't necessarily have a business that has something for everyone. So again, over the past year, I've decided what I want my shop to be about & who my products are for. I understand who my ideal customer is & that's who I'm marketing my products too. That too caused an issue with my prices.

The last reason
I wanted to get into dealing with boutiques & that meant getting wholesale accounts. Again, with my prices the way they were, because I'd priced my products toward the low end, I wasn't able to get any wholesale accounts because I was already practically selling my products at wholesale prices. I would be contacted by boutiques who'd want to know my wholesale pricing & the response, "it is at wholesale price" or giving them a quote for a couple dollars off each product, was not appealing. Like I said earlier, I want my business to grow & to do that, I want to get my products into local boutiques. So, again, I had to look at my prices.

So over the past year, I've grown & learned A LOT about running a business. Pricing is definitely one of the things I've learned a bit more about. If you've followed Baby Swank from the very beginning you'll know that I've upped my prices a few times when I realized I was loosing money selling my product at the price it was marked. If you have a shop & it's a hobby, all you have to do is make ends meet. If you have a business & you want it to grow, you have to make money.

So that's where I'm at. I want you all to know the reasons behind the price increase. I want to be able to offer discounts, coupons, & sells. I want to participate in giveaways & contests too. If my prices are at rock bottom & can't do that. That's no good.

Thanks for understanding!
Meagan

Holiday Gift Certificates Now Available

Want to get someone a handmade gift this holiday season, but just don't know what they'd like? Let them choose themselves!

Holiday gift certificates are now available in my shop. Click here to learn more!

Amounts: $10, $25, $50
Expire: January 31, 2012
To Redeem: Go to http://babyswank.etsy.com & select the items you wish to purchase. Type your Certificate # into the “Note to Baby Swank” section at checkout & select “Other” as your payment method. Click the green “Checkout” button. I will email a PayPal invoice to the email address on file with Etsy.

Today's My Birthday!

If you didn't know it, this month - September 17th - is my shops birthday! Yes! I'm 1!! So exciting. I told myself when I started that I'd give it a year & if I wasn't enjoying it or making any progress by then I'd know this wasn't for me.

Well it's been a year, I'm loving every minute of it & yes, I am making progress. It may be slow progress at times, but that's due to having little ones that need my attention, homeschooling, & being a wife. And you know what? I'm okay with that! I understand that I don't have as much time as some folks do to invest in my business. I'm okay not having something that booms overnight. It helps me to work my way into things, to get used to it a bit at a time.

Over the past year I've learned & grown from so many different things. I don't have a degree in business so I'm learning as I go & through the help of others. And no, I don't think you have to go to school & get a degree in order to do something successful in that field! My business has changed & grown for the better, & I'm sure it will continue to change & grow as I continue to learn what works & what doesn't.

So thank you to all of you who've been here to watch my first year. I do hope you'll be here for more to come. Thank you to those of you, my customers, for your orders, awesome feedback & suggestions, & for being so kind!

Have You Heard Of The BIB OF THE MONTH CLUB Yet?

I've started a fun new members only club in my shop & I want to tell you a bit about it!

If you like my Washcloth Bibs & you like surprises, then you should most certainly get in on the action!

It's called the Bib Of The Month Club!

The listing is for a 3 month membership to my club & when you join you'll get a new surprise Washcloth Bib of my choosing every month for 3 months. These bibs are cheaper than buying them individually or in a Bib Bundle since I get to choose the bib. All bibs will coordinate with the current season or holiday & sometimes they'll even be new designs that I'd like to test out. You won't be sorry!

I'll be posting each months bib right here to my blog & over on my Facebook page so you'll be able to see it before receiving it each month. All you have to do is let me know if you want girl bibs or boy bibs & your little one{s} name.

Sound good? Sound like fun? Click here to check it out now & get in on the action! I'm not sure how long I'll keep this membership open.

Meagan

I'm In, Are You?

One of the Etsy teams that I'm on...EtsyMom...is having a fun event coming up in October.

It's a color palette challenge. You choose one of the specified color palettes & you create items for your shop using those colors. Then all of the items will be voted on & the winners get to choose a prize from one of the sponsor shops! I'm definitely in & can't wait to see what everyone is making!

Once all the participants products are up on the team website, voting will begin & last for 1 week. Here's where you come in! I need you to go & vote for me! I'll be entering two products & you can vote for either one of them. If I get the most votes I'll be a winner!!

I'll be posting the link to vote when the time comes. Again, it won't be until October, but I wanted to give you a heads up! Thanks so much & wish me luck!

Hugs, Meagan

Summer Sale!

I'm having a sale!

All summer Washcloth Bibs are marked down 25% & Bib Bundles are marked down 15% with summer bibs!

What a deal!

Here are some of the discounted bibs...

This sale is for a limited time only so stock up for gifts or for your own little one now! Click here to head on over to my shop to check out the selection!