I received an email from two sampler companies, funny enough within the same week. Basically these companies have you send in a bunch of samples of your product that they divide out amongst a bunch of boxes that they sell. This was the first company that contacted me. So of course my OCD nature has to kick in and I must order one to "check" this out before I decide to participate or not.

The box cost $20 and included postage. The other company I think is $22, but I received their email after I purchased this one.

This is the package you receive it in. I have to say I was inpressed with the initial presentation. The box is very nice and eye catching....and was filled right up.

Check out all the loot here. Most were soap, which will make me pause in thinking if I want to do this type of marketing, kind of hard to be noticed when over half the items were soap.

I will be honest here as well and say...I wasnt overly impressed with the presentation of all the samples. Some I quickly tossed to the side as they did absolutely nothing for me. But I will go over some that caught mine and my daughters attention.

How totally cute is this little soap guy!!?? This came from Lolli Luscious and is absolutely adorable!

This is a cool little box from Purrfect Gifts. It is a box that could hang like an ornament and had a york peppermint patty enclosed in it.

I think this is a melt for a tart burner, it is a cute little butterfly.

These look like tasty treats from Rhoda Rose.

This is from SBS teas and has a tea and a soap sample, and they packaged them together very nicely.

Another soap along with a lip balm from Flower Branch Essentials. My daughter loved the smell of this soap. The lip balm is real nice, but I do wish it had ingredients with it.

So all in all I thought it was a nice box and a very cool idea. I think people should think out their packaging a little better and send their very best...after all the goal is to get noticed and receive sales in return?

If I do this I havent decided which company, there is this one...Sampler Village....and the other is...Out Of The Box Sampler. Should I try it out??? Any thoughts on these companies.

***Free Shipping at www.lustercanyon.etsy.com 11/27 - 11/30***

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Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving, which is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season.

Cyber Monday refers to the Monday following Black Friday that unofficially marks the beginning of the Christmas online shopping season.

Luster Canyon Etsy.com shop is going to offer free shipping on all items purchased from Black Friday through Cyber Monday. That is 4 days to shop from the comfort of your own home. No crowds to wade through, no elbows thrown your way. Shop for your family and friends at any time within the 4 days of November 27 through November 30, and receive free shipping.

**Sending a secret Santa gift? We can ship directly to your recipient keeping you anonymous. Just be sure to specify this in the comment field or send us a message as soon as possible following your purchase.

**Something you want that isn’t listed? Send us a message and we will check our stock.

Jump start your holiday gift giving and save money!!

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

I hope everyone is surrounded by family, friends, fun, and food!!

1 Day to Thanksgiving

What are you thankful for today?


**I am thankful to have people reading my blog**

As I begin my new venture of soap and lotion making, it is a tough world to break into. There are many of us out there, so just getting noticed is hard. So to everyone coming back here each day to read my blog…….THANK YOU!!!!!

Sign up for our mailing list.

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2 Days to Thanksgiving

What are you thankful for today?


**I am thankful to have pets**

Yes I am thankful for my pets. We have 3 kitties, Simon, Charlie and Miss Lily. We also have a long haired Chihuahua Billy. They all 4 bring such enjoyment to our lives!!

During the holiday donations, don’t forget your local animal shelter. They are always in need of cat/dog food and kitty litter. Animals shouldn’t go hungry either.

Free Shipping at www.lustercanyon.etsy.com

Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving, which is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season.

Cyber Monday refers to the Monday following Black Friday that unofficially marks the beginning of the Christmas online shopping season.

Luster Canyon Etsy.com shop is going to offer free shipping on all items purchased from Black Friday through Cyber Monday. That is 4 days to shop from the comfort of your own home. No crowds to wade through, no elbows thrown your way. Shop for your family and friends at any time within the 4 days of November 27 through November 30, and receive free shipping.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/lustercanyon

3 Days to Thanksgiving

What are you thankful for today?


**I am thankful to have food on my table**

We are lucky to have food on our table and to be able to have a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. But a lot of people are not so fortunate, which is why I donate locally to our mission. They gather food to pass out to families so that they can enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving meal.

http://www.oldtownmission.org/pages.asp?pageid=78035

4 Days to Thanksgiving

What are you thankful for today?

**I am thankful to have a home**

Again this economy is tough; people are losing their homes because they are losing their jobs. We built our home ourselves, so we have a lot of emotional ties to it, and we are very thankful to have a nice home and warm bed to sleep in every night.

5 Days to Thanksgiving

What are you thankful for today?


**I am thankful to have a job**

In this economy it is tough, and I am glad to still be hanging on to my “real” job. It feels like a week to week thing of “are they laying off??” so I am thankful to keep hanging as long as I can.

6 Days to Thanksgiving

What are you thankful for today?


**I am thankful for my health**

Turning 40 this year I am feeling a change. Twinges of aches in the morning, the need to wear glasses now, but as a whole I feel great and happy to be healthy to get up and out of bed each morning.

This picture was taken July of this year on my birthday weekend getaway trip. We love to get out and hike and geocache, so I am thankful to be able to do all of this.

What are you Thankful for?

As we count down to Thanksgiving Day, we know the day is about eating a lot of turkey and stuffing, and watching football. But most important it is about giving thanks for what we are truly thankful for, so what are you thankful for?

I am most thankful for my family. Without them I truly wouldn’t be where I am.

My husband Ron is incredibly supportive of my soap and lotion venture, and without that I couldn’t do it at all. It takes team work, and we make a great team!!

My daughter Ashley is the best daughter a mom could ask for. She is also supportive of me, but is a great person I am truly proud of.

Lazy Dog

What a lazy dog we have. This is Billy when he gets to go for a ride. I think he would think the world was coming to an end if he had to be away from Grampy more than 5 minutes. No way he will sit on my lap!!

He hearts his Grampy!!

Local Craft Fair

I did a local craft fair today. I was excited to do this one even though it is my fourth tent show, it is my first local event in my own town. It is so nice when people ask if you are local, and you can reply....Yes I am!! :)

The turn out was great. I paired up with my friend. We each made the same things in different scents and had great variety nicely packaged. We did well, even after the 15% donation of sales to the church where the event was held.

This section of our booth was my favorite of the day after looking at the photos. Just look how nice these spaceball soaps look. They also sold quite well, so I will try to get more made of these this week for my next show.

First 2 Day Show

Just had my first two day show. A lot of work, but very enjoyable. We loved our booth location and had fun getting it all set up the night before. Here is my crew...on the left is my good friend Anissa who we could not have done without...me there in the middle, and on the right my grandson Joe, and also hubby who is behind the camera.

Here we are the morning of day one doing last minute touches. My girls came to help, and being Halloween Day they dressed in spirit of the day.

I had bought some new lace toppers for my tables as I try to work on my display, but since every show there has to be something I forget....well that was it. So maybe the next show I will get to try them out. But all in all I thought our set up looked great.

Here are the soaps....

Lotions....

And my beautiful helpers. :)