Bittersweet and the little soap company

bittersweet land

This week marks the beginning of what I call - Zip! Thanksgiving and then the day after, Small Business Saturday and our hand made inventory will be gone in a flash! The following weekend we host our annual Holiday Open House and this soap maker will be keeping the midnight oil burning for the next fifteen days. 

Seriously, how does the time fly by so fast? Our store is only open fifteen more days this year! Now if that doesn't sound even stranger, saying this year. 

Lots of exclamation points!

My shop camera is acting up. I haven't figured out exactly what's going on, but I believe it's the lens. I'm contemplating phones, cameras, and electronic equipment for shooting live video and creating a Bittersweet Pod, and the information I've obtained is overwhelming. My brother instructed me and I trust his advice, so I'm leaning towards his recommendations versus YouTube videos. I don't know about you, but I can only watch so many YouTube tutorials before my head begins to spin!

Anyway, I'm missing my shop camera!  

Meanwhile, at the storefront, an array of Lip Balm awaits the stockings hanging by the chimney with care. 

I shot this with my everyday camera, and it's not bad. A little out of focus and I never had that issue with the 75-300 lens. I think this shot was captured with a macro lens. I'm just learning about macros. 

I could save a lot of camera knowledge grief if I'd just take the time to attend a photography class!

This Holiday feels out of wack. It seems as though the holidays have abruptly arrived. I prefer a soft and mellow arrival. With Thanksgiving being so late it just seems that it's all jammed together. Does anyone else share those feelings?

We found the perfect tree! I'm keeping the tree simple by only hanging white balls and lights. She's sucking up the water! I have been giving her two generous drinks each day since we brought her into our home. 

We're already releasing numbers seven and eight of the Twelve Days this Friday! See, it's moving way too fast!

Where did five and six go? A few bars left and number six is flavored with Chocolate Mint! 

Keep the faith. 

Jill 

 

the art of gift-giving...

Here at Bittersweet, we believe that gift-giving is soulfully received as art. After all, your faithful friend or family member deserves to be the recipient of something as special and dear as they are to you! Our products and artisan collections are wrapped with these thoughts. The early stages of creating a new Bittersweet essential is always considerate of those feelings. We believe that a gift should be treasured and that the soulful fingerprints of a handmade item echo those merry thoughts!

Before Bittersweet ponders a new design those beliefs are always present from beginning to end and I'm proud to be able to say that's my favorite reason for creating. 

That manifesto was born twenty-two years ago when Bittersweet was a baby. It's reassuring to know that while most everything changes, some things, the important ones, stay the same.

Every holiday season I discover something new that captures my attention. This season I'm in love with these porcelain houses. When filled with a tea light candle they spread an ambiance and glow that is simple and sweet. 

Another favorite wintry favorite essential is preserved cedar. The fragrance cedar is not new to Bittersweet, but it shines brightly for many Christmas's to come as a favorite for holiday decorating. We offer bundles of the unique greenery at our store. I don't want to leave out my all-time favorite holiday decorating essential. 

Pine cones! I love pine cone garland! Seriously, no-cost decorating and with a glorious result. 

For years I've offered a Body Polish or Scrub in either Olive Oil or Coconut. They're both popular with Bittersweet customers and neither sell faster than the other. It's always interesting to find that inspiration forms from such simple ideas. It's also really cool! I've created a new polish that offers the best of both oil worlds! Introducing a new Bittersweet Polish that is formulated with both olive and coconut oil. The rich blend is one of my favorites to date. 

We're getting ready for our Holiday Open House. I'm making sugar cookies and serving a Christmas Punch. 

My posts will be short and sweet this time of year because I'm up to my ears in wrapping Holiday Soap!

Lots to share with you this time of year. My next post is all about Holiday Treats!

Keep the faith. 

Jill 

 

 

the little things...

It's hard to believe that our store is only open twenty-four more days before Christmas! I'm pinching myself as I type this post. 

I don't want to miss one moment of this beautiful time of year. We're spreading some good cheer at the shop by presenting some amazing artisan gifts and our mood is cheery and bright!  I'm dreaming about making soap at least once a week, and I'm making three large batches each week! Soon the production will come at a slower pace as we only have two more weeks of soap manufacturing this year! I can't believe I'm saying this year!

We've listed a few of our items at our web store, but we don't list The Twelve Days of Christmas Soap because we sell out so fast at our store. In fact, we just released no. 1 and two last week and it's almost gone already!

Flower of the week...

The stunning white rose shines above the preserved cedar. 

I'm enjoying the fresh flowers each week. It's fun to pick from the long list of freshness. 

We started breaking out our Christmas stockings and decorations at home. 

It's almost time for this day!

Yes, I love our Christmas Soap this much!

Keep the faith. 

Jill 

 

Novemberish!

Welcome you, the Merry month of November!  We have both frost and snow on our pumpkins! 

Our shop is decked out for the fast-approaching holidays. It seems to come in a flash! Here at Bittersweet, we try to slow it down, but it pushes on at full speed ahead. Shop life is fast-paced and each season seems to flurry by. 

Our Twelve Days of Christmas Soap starts hitting our store shelves next week! Wow! There's always a lot of excitement surrounded by the release of this unique soap. We're honored to make it, wrap it, and deliver it to you! 

Every holiday season we introduce new wrappings and this year we're honored to be packaging the Twelve Day Series in beautiful Rifle paper!

We're anxiously awaiting our shipment of these stunning papers to arrive and then we'll have a wrap party at the shop. Stay tuned. We will definitely share the progress of that wrapping!

Coal in your stocking? 

_{Grandma Lola's Homemade Noodles} 

^{Every Thanksgiving we make these and they are gobbled up long before Turkey and Dressing!}

1 beaten egg

1/2 tsp. salt

2 T. of top milk, in the olden days that meant cream!

1 cup of flour

Combine egg, salt, milk, add enough flour to make a stiff dough. Roll very thin on a floured surface. Let stand for twenty minutes. Roll up and slice 1/8 inch thick, spread out and dry for 2 hours. Once dried, place in boiling broth or water. 

As you can see by this picture we like our noodles thick. If you're cooking for a crowd, which you probably are, you'll need to double or even triple this recipe. 

The holidays and homemade noodles go together amazingly well!

In the weeks to come, we'll be sharing some favorite holiday recipes and ideas and inspiration to help your holiday shine bright. 

Keep the faith. 

Jill McDowell Lincoln