you take the dark and carve me out a home

Waa I keep wanting to make posts but I get so busy and all my ideas seem so long! December is such a busy month, haha. It's been raining a lot and it's cold! Mostly been trying to do requests but I did also put some time into making a novelty Hassy mug for myself lol. I'll have to post some pictures when it actually gets here. I've been lazy about replying to comments I'm sorryyyy

I've been considering getting a laser cutting type machine and a nice Ecotank printer to make some of my own stickers at points, but I haven't pulled the trigger on it. Would I really use them enough to justify getting them...? It'd be kind of fun to do little limited run stickers but I dunno! I don't know how in demand stickers are, haha. In my little store they don't move very quickly but maybe the designs I have just aren't grabbing people. :B I know some people don't like stickers because it's such a big decision to decide where to stick them which I can relate to lol. It could also just be fun to make stupid one-shot stickers for my own amusement. I dunno! It's an investment... a new printer would be a good idea though, the one I have right now is a mess. Even when I replace the ink tanks it still prints terribly. :/ Although I don't print things too often anyway... but maybe I would if it worked better.

I ordered a bunch of little things but they haven't come yet - another set of Papyrus shaker keychains, some little Gaster pillow keychains, some pins, a set of the connecting charms... I'm excited to get them but I'm worried about getting swamped when I put them up and they go live! The 15 shaker charms before sold out in like 2 minutes, haha. The next batch will have 50 shaker keychains... can I keep on top of it? Is there a way to streamline shipping a bit more? All questions I've never really had to think about before, haha. Sending people prints and stickers is easy, I can just stick them in an envelope with some forever stamps (in the US), but bigger objects are more complicated. :O I dunno! Just gotta see what happens when they get here.
(Incidentally, I did add some new prints to the store and restocked some sold out ones if you're looking for some, haha)

Anyway that's all boring I assume, what I actually wanted to post about is SOAP!! One of my lesser known hobbies is that I like getting soaps from small indie companies to try out, I like supporting small businesses and trying new scents. |D I have a few little bits of perfume here and there too I like playing with (from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, the classic that's still kicking, and Conjure Oils which sadly seems to have died), but mostly nowadays I like trying out unique soaps. So here are some of my recommendations! I dunno if any of you out there are interested in this kind of thing but maybe it'll be helpful. It's fun to get new soaps! It's nice to smell nice. :B

Generally I like foody or sweet scents more so than florals or incense, so those are the ones I'm usually looking for. But each site usually has a nice variety!

Mystic Water Soap - I LOVE the web 1.0 look of this site, it might seem abandoned at first but I JUST ordered a blackberry vanilla soap like five days ago and it came right away! So they're still out there, haha. I've ordered from them a few times, they're good! They also do manly soaps if you're more into that kind of thing.

Cat and Raven Designs - Really pretty bars and fun silly themeing for their soaps. Has a queer-themed collection that makes for good gifts for the other gays in your life! They have a Fresno Nightcrawler themed soap right now, how can you resist, haha. I've ordered from them a few times and the scents were very nice!

Contact Caffeine - Furry themed soaps, some of which have caffeine added for a pick me up! Well supposedly, I tried one or two of them with it and didn't really notice a difference. I've gotten some cheerful scents from here before, although I've never found a use for the stickers.

Royalty Soaps - Fancy bars, some of them with frosted tops! Which admittedly I find a bit intimidating, I assume the frosting also works as a soap... I've never ordered one, haha. But I have ordered some non-frosted ones and they were nice! They have a club too that lets you know about monthly themed soaps, I think, I'm not a member lol.

Shea Makery - Food themed soaps and candles and such that look super accurate to the foods in question! Like at a glance you'd really think they were cookies or pound cake. Smell just like them too, haha. I've gotten a few things from them that smelled delicious, although I will say I did order a grilled cheese soap at one point that got lost in the shuffle, although when I emailed them about it they sent it right away. These things happen! It was so pretty and smelled good too. :O

Haus of Gloi - Mostly whipped soaps with seasonal themes! I just got one from them (Ghost Puffs, from the Fall collection) that I haven't had a chance to try out yet but it smells delicious. They included a free tubelet of their Turkish Delight fragrance which was nice of them!

Lincoln Street Soap - Plain looking bars, but the one I just ordered (Apple/Oak) has a complex fragrance to it. :O Looking forward to trying it, haha. They included a free lotion bar of the Apple/Oak scent too. :O I like soaps but I've never been into lotion but I might give it a try.

Paintbox Soapworks - Pretty bars and glycerin soap! I just tried one tonight and it was very moisturizing, haha. It was a rose/lemon/vanilla one, although to my nose it smelled more rose than the others, but it could just be me. Still nice though! They also gave me a free whipped soap to go with it which was very kind. :O It was for a scent called Stretched on Your Grave (frozen loam, dessicated flowers, tears) that I'm not really into though sadly lol. I appreciate the generosity though!

Chikyu - Whipped soap with a HUGE scent list to choose from! I put in an order but it's still on its way, excited to see what it's like. I have heard the scents are strong but we'll see!

Witch Baby Soap - Very witchy as you can probably guess, haha. Very pretty bars with interesting scents! I ordered a few but they're also still on their way. Looking forward to it though!

Bath Sabbath - Very metal soaps, absolutely beautiful bars! Sculpted and painted and everything, they look incredible. :O I'd feel guilty using one even, haha. I haven't picked up a bar from here yet but I'm keeping an eye out for a good scent to try.

Ophelia's Soapery - Very pretty bars, although none of the current scents grabbed me. They might grab you though!

Studio Beige - Straight-forward bars, some with charcoal and clay and such if you feel fancy. I'm tempted by the lemongrass one but haven't committed yet, haha.

Itty Bitty Soap Company - Small selection but fun! Also set up on blogspot which is a first lol. I haven't picked one from here but I am thinking about it.

Nat Botanicals - Very minimalist looking soap, looks very clean! None of the scents here grabbed me just yet but I'm keeping an eye out.

Unearth Malee - Soaps with no palm oil! I was very tempted by the Lemon Drop one but refrained since I'd gone on a soap buying frenzy that night lol. I might come back to it later though.

Tree Marie Soapworks - Stunningly beautiful bars, but a very limited choice of scents. They're so pretty though!

The Indigenous Soap Company - A Hawaii based company, most of their soaps are themed around the islands. I'd like to pick one up someday but none of the scents quite grabbed me.

Little and Grim - More so perfume than soaps, although they do have some liquid soaps available! Not a lot of scent options though (for the soap, there's a ton for the fragrances).

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Cattails Blvd - I'm including this more as a cautionary tale - I ordered a soap rock and never got it. :/ I tried emailing customer service and support several times to no avail. Sometimes that's just how it goes, but I'm not about to try again. Maybe some of you out there are willing to take the risk and see what the soaps are like.


Anyway if there are any other indie places you get soaps let me know, I like trying new ones. |D

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