This brand new year

As this is the start of a new year I thought it may be a good idea to write down some of the things I hope to achieve this year. Writing it down also gives me something to go back to when I find I'm am running out of motivation!

I had been working full time for about 10 years before my health forced me to reconsider and now as I only work two days a week I have had to cut back on my spending. Last year was my first year working two days and looking back I can say that I failed to live within my budget.

Soooo this year the first thing I want to achieve is to write a budget and stick to it. It would also be nice to find some money each fortnight to put away for a rainy day but I will just start by not spending more than I receive before I worry to much about saving.

Coming a close second is reviving my soap making and restocking my online shop. It is currently empty because wholesale orders have been quite good and I have been quite lazy! I love working from home but having the motivation to get stuck into the soap is hard. I also want to start doing more Farmer's Markets so I'm hoping for a big year soap wise.

I would also like to continue with building my stockpile of necessities. I know for a lot of you this isn't a big concern but knowing I have enough produce preserved, dried and canned gives me a sense of comfort. I have always had a feeling that a stockpile will be import at some point and I want it to be ready before whatever it is happens. Cans under the bed and in the wardrobe make my family wonder about my sanity sometimes but I bet if food becomes harder to secure they will remember who has a store!

Health is also on the agenda! I have let a lot of weight creep up on me this last year and I'm starting to feel unfit in myself. I find I'm sweating and tired after doing my yard chores in the morning and this isn't good. So I will try to get a bit more exercise (I will......try lol)

I also must get my vegie garden but up and running as I haven't had one this year. I had planned to move all of my back garden around and never got it finished. The plan was to fence of the vegies from the sheep. The Sheep Paul and Kelly, who I keep for their fleece have eaten all of their grass and so I will try to get them secured in the Dog Trial Yards for at least some of this year to try and grow back some green feed for them. I will be looking into trying to find some other areas also that the can forage.

 

2010 WILL be a great year full of many blessings!

Ready for a ride????

Well I have had sometime to do some serious thinking in the last few days and I have had a brainwave! It was not so much my brain wave but a dear friend pointed out to me that the blog is my opportunity to be me, no one telling me what I can post about and I make the rules. I can't believe I had to have it pointed out lol. Sooooo, what next?
The answer is ME.
I don't mean that in a narcissistic way but I will be posting the things that I do, like, enjoy and things that bring happiness into my life.
Those of you who have read the blog for a while will know a bit about me but if you have just come across my blog I will give you a bit of an out line. I am in my mid thirties (I can't believe I just wrote that!) I live in a tiny remote town in the far side of the Wimmera on what I call a micro farm! One acre with 3 turkeys, 20-30 chooks, 3 ducks, 2 sheep, 2 adorable cats and 200 goldfish. Kitty and Harry, the cats, live inside with me to protect the native wildlife.
I work two days a week in the big town down the road and the other days I make and sell my handmade soaps. I also fill my days with tending my vegie garden which is up the back of my block nestled in and around my orchard of 15 3 year old fruit trees. I am in the process of fencing this area off from the rest of the back yard as I have big plans for it.
I also fill my days by baking bread and cooking from scratch (most of the time) Developing my new native garden and working where I can in my community.
I have produced a community newsletter and I want to continue working on this as I believe it is an important part of the community.
I also enjoy sewing and I will explore many projects I am working on here on the blog so maybe we can help keep each other motivated!
As I mentioned earlier I sell my handmade soaps online here and I will be adding further to the shop with the other things I create here. Things like head wraps, hand dyed scarves, cloth pads and other handy things.
Gosh I am really excited so lets get this party started!

New Office!

As I mentioned in my last post I am now working from home! This is great but I really need to work on the set up of the house to make it more 'work' friendly. I have two completely unused rooms at the front of my house which for years have been used to just shove things till I could think were I would put them. Judging by the photos you will see that most of the 'shoved' stuff is still there!

What I have been working on is turning one of the rooms into an office with my desk and computer and the other room as product storage and display. Sometimes people call in to have a look at the soaps and with this set up I can show them with out them coming into my part of the house. I hope that makes sense. There is going to be a lot of work needed to make this a reality but I am sure it will be worth it in the end.

Just after Christmas Harry came to live with me. Harry was a free to good home kitten in a basket at the vet's in town. When he looked at me I just couldn't say no.

This picture is actually upside down! He is such a monkey! I have had many cats over the years but Harry is like no other. He is very clingy, having to be beside me all day. This is cute but unfortunately not conducive to a productive work life. To assist in this I decided to put a door up to shut off the new office and showroom from the rest of the house and so keeping Harry out. I know he will cry at the door for a while but I hope he learns quickly that I will be back every now and again to make a coffee and have a quick cuddle!

This picture is of my partner measuring up the doorway. As you can see Harry just has to be in the middle of what ever is going on and here he is help out with the measurements. I will up-date with more pics as we get the work done. I would love to show you all whats been going on outside in the garden but the short answer is 'nothing' It has been soooooo cold and wet I bearly venture outside unless absolutely necessary. Once it warms up i will be getting stuck into that as well!

I'm Back

Well I bet you were all starting to think I was dead??? Come on now I know! Not dead just busy with life.

What has been happening? I hear you asking.

OMG so much!!!!!

I will start with the most amazing piece of news. I no longer work out side the home full time! I have built my soaps up to a place were I can reasonably make enough to survive. I will not make a fortune but I will be so much happier than I was and to me that is important. I still work in town one day a week but the rest of the time it's all soap.

I will be trying to blog more often as I feel it helps me to document my progresses (or lack of). I will be posting about the big changes about to happen in the garden and also the house so don't think it will all be about soap but that is were my head at the moment.

See you soon.....

Strawberries and Cream

Gobbler's Run Handmade Soaps is OPEN

At Last! My on-line store is back up and running! I'm so excited. I'm madly making soap to replace those selling it's like a mad house but in a really good way!

I re-opened it yesterday and already there are clear favorites...I will be making heaps more goat's milk soaps as they are flying out the door!

There are still a few little things I need to iron out in the store, strange text turns up in unexpected places but they don't effect the selling side of things and they should be sorted in a few days! I'm working really hard and I love it!!

Gobbler's Run Handmade Soaps

Strawberries and Cream

20 bars of Strawberries and Cream are on the curing rack! My house smells so yummy!

Wait till you see these pictures

I mentioned in my last post that I was excited about my soap this year. Well I really struggle with making the soaps look good in photos and I had seen this blog JoyfulHomeMaker and well her photos are amazing...everything looks good! So I tentatively asked her if she would work her wonders on my soaps. She said yes!!! I drove to her house (and got incredibly lost lol) I was so nervous but I needn't have been. The entire family made me feel so comfortable and I had a wonderful day. The best bit....well maybe the best bit was lunch...or the conversation...or the photos!

What do you think?

Coffee Lovers

I'm really excited about my soap this year. I know that I haven't blogged about my soaps for absolutely ages so I thought I better start! My on-line store will be back up and running soon so I have been busy mixing stirring and moulding! I just love how this one turned out!

I love my life!

I was just out hanging the clothes on the line and looked around. Yes I see it everyday but today it just seemed different....beautiful. I have been working flat out on the soap business and I will continue to work flat knacker for the rest of the year but working like this means you don't get time to really see whats around you. Do you know what I mean? It wasn't just what I saw but the sound track as well. The turkeys were gobbling away up the back, the sheep were talking to me over the fence and the ducks were noisily quacking away! Here are some pictures to give you and idea....and to remind myself how cool it is right out side my door! I wanted to add more photos but blogger isn't playing!

New Packaging!

Wow I told you 2008 was going to be exciting! I have been trying to find a way to package my soaps in a more 'retail situation' friendly way....(did that sentence even make sense?) So with Mum's help we have come up with this.

I think they look pretty cool! I will still use just a wrap style label for markets and face to face selling but for consignment in retail stores and online sales I will be moving to the new packaging.

That's not all the exciting news...no way. I am in the process of getting a new online store, It looks like it will be easier to use than the current one (which will be closing so I can work on setting up the new store). I'm really looking forward to setting it up and getting it happening so then I can ask you all for feed back!

One more thing! I am getting a 'real life' shopfront and storage facility here at Gobbler's Run. With Jamie's help I will be relocating and renovating a one room...um not sure what you would call it but you can fit four adults and hundreds of soaps in there easily! I won't know my self LOL

I'm so busy...aaaarrrrhhhh

I'm sorry I haven't been updating my blog very often lately, I've just been so busy. Orders for soap are coming in faster than I can make it so I'm stressed and busy and tired and happy and grumpy and did I mention busy? I will try to keep up with my blogging but if you notice it hasn't been updated for so time please think of me up to my arm pits in oil and caustic!

Last night was the local Nhill Show. I had been very nervous about it as I think nearly everyone from the district comes in for a look. My soaps were in a great spot, in a pavilion that also contained all the school kids art work. This meant that all the parents and grandparents came in for a look! I was run off my feet at times. Jamie was great, he came in after work to bring me something to eat and drink and even watched the stall while I ran to the loo! He wouldn't put on the apron though LOL.

I thought I had made more than enough soap but I think I could have sold twice as much. I sold out of the lemongrass, aniseed, chocolate and all the little Chrissy pudding soaps (I had 30!) I have only 2 or 3 bars of everything else so I have to get back into the kitchen and make more. ...aaarrrhhh I need a 'lye' down!

Gobbler's Run appears Live!

On Friday I had my first market stall. It was a great learning experience and I had a ball! I almost sold out which was a bit of a surprise. I will need to have a lot more product with me for these events!

It wasn't all great though. All the other stalls were in a separate room, I was placed in the corner of the dining room where everyone was eating. If you looked in the door from the other room where the stalls were all you could see were people eating, but I was still happy with the evening. Jamie bought his mum in to have a look which really made my night. I can't wait to do it again!

My New Apron!

My new apron came in the mail today, I just love it. I was looking on OZtion for an apron thinking I would then have to get it embroidered but then I found Countrywide Embroidery. They did it all for me I just emailed what I wanted on there and they sent back a jpeg of what it would look like and ....Tada! Done. I'm going to look quite the professional at the markets now.

Ho Ho Ho

Christmas is my favorite time of the year, I always start to get ready early. I've finished my shopping at last! Well, I've still got to get two little things but they are on back order so I just have to wait. I finished off these little Chrissy puds this afternoon. They smell so yummy with vanilla and cinnamon, just like a pudding should smell. The best thing about these puddings is no calories! The only part that isn't soap is the holly sprig on top.

My Mum!

Today my Mum came to visit. What a great day we had together! We cooked lunch together and boy it was yummy! A big omelette with heaps of eggs fresh from the girls and parsley and chives from the garden. Yum!!!

Mum is amazing when it comes to anything crafty . She is currently studying Dip. Textiles and Design so when I wanted to know how to encase a soap in felt I knew Mum would be the one to ask! Her instructions where easy to follow and I'm sure I'll be doing it by myself in no time at all.
While I was making another batch of soap my Mum took an opportunity to meet the neighbours. There is an Arabian stud next door.
Well we had a great time wandering around Yanac and catching up. and I'm sure we will do more of both tomorrow!

My First Gift Basket

Wish Me Luck!

Well today Gobbler's Run became a registered business.
I'm a bit scared but orders keep coming in and I'm really enjoying myself. I thought I would answer some of the questions I have been asked lately:

-No, I don't expect to make a fortune.
-No, your right, I don't know what I'm getting myself into.
-No, I don't expect to be able to give up my day job.
-Yes, I know it's a lot to take on.

Here are some points I wish I had added:

-I have confidence in myself.
-I believe in myself and the product.
-I am enjoying the challenge.
-I am blessed.
-What do I have to lose?

It's sad that some people are so negative. I'm going to try and let their comments wash over me and not get bogged down with 'their' negativity. The last point is the most important. What do I have to lose?

A Simple Day

What a great day I had today! It started when I used my new soap cutter. It's a cheese slicer, I took it apart and put a heavy duty wire in it. It works a dream!

Then I put together my brand spanking new pasta maker. I've always wanted one of these. How much fun! I really enjoyed taking the time to prepare the dough and Jamie and I had a ball rolling out the pasta.
I was really pleased with how it turned out. So yummy! It's just flour, oil, salt and eggs. I had it with pesto my favourite!

More Soap!

Well Here are the bar soaps! The round tags have the fragrance written on the back. Thinking of getting a Gobbler's Run stamp made! Thanks for all the feedback on the last post, I really appreciate it. So what do you think of this? You can feel and smell the soap this way.


The colouring I got looks really pale when I added it at trace but when it hardened up it got a whole lot darker LOL. I made some pink ones too but Im to embarrased to show you those ones as I didn't mix it very well and it has deep purple spots all through it...looks very scary LOL.