At Our Wick's End Home Scents

New Products

2009-03-05T18:11:00.006-06:00

i just posted some new pics of new products we are offering. we especially love how the tulip bouquet turned out! it was a door prize at our show this past weekend. and the soapy bundt cake special came out really cool too. we are thinking about using it as a hostess gift/door prize, and making other variations of it for the seasons, etc.

we also have some very cute easter basket ideas!

i will try to get them all posted to the web or esty asap, but we are hitting high spring craft show time (and we have 2 family b-days in the next 3 weeks). if i don't get to it fast enough, please email me.

2009-02-02T17:41:00.000-06:00

2009-01-31T15:11:00.002-06:00

I just have to share that i went to my 3rd dierks bentley concert last night and ended up having 5th row seats! i mean, look how close we got!
he is standing on the catwalk just above my head. we were able to high five both dierks and darius rucker.
what a great night!

Lavender Dryer Sachets

2009-01-28T16:15:00.004-06:00

Thanks to another sick child today, I got the lavender dryer sachets done. I will get them posted/listed as soon as i can.
thanks for checking them out!
i attempted a few other non-soap projects today too, and was left a bit disenchanted. they didn't turn out how i hoped. oh well, i will look at them again another day.

2009-01-16T10:33:00.002-06:00

wow! it has been almost a month since my last post. oops...didn't mean to let it go this long! so i was just re-reading my last post about all the organizing and new products coming, and i have to say i have stuck to it! all of our new molds are in and sample pictures are on the slide show below. very cool new stuff. the website and esty store are all updated. we even have a new domain name! www.atourwicksendhomescents.com. makes more sense now. so i am in the middle of changing everything over to the new name. new business cards arrived this week. we have revamped our public image too. we have gone for a bright color palate..lots of pink and brown. cupcakes and bubbles. have not been able to duplicate it to our website yet, so it remains the same. i am hoping the bright colors help us stand out this spring at our shows.

i have been following the soap queen blog about setting new goals for your business in the new year. she has been covering lots of great topics..business plans, marketing and goals. i have been taking lots of notes and love what is developing. some of my new goals for the year (besides the organization) are: a catalog, online party, catalog party, consultant program, keeping proper inventory, attending at least 1 craft show a month-toward the fall this will be at least 5 a month, but i want to get the spring going. i have 1 or more shows every month but august so far. i want to try some new shows-some that are strictly craft dedicated. i want more from the website and esty store, and to put out a monthly newsletter.

i noticed a HUGE decline in money since the craft show season ended in mid December. i got so used to all the money that i now have no money really to buy new supplies with. this sucks! and the weather here is not helping-this is the 3rd day off from work/school in a row due to snow and temps (-15 right now) my car won't start! but we are muddling along.

i was excited to see that we have our first follower too! thanks snowberry creek sample box! we will have samples to send in soon!

well, i am going to go back to praying my car will start-this is day 2 of not leaving the house and we are starting to go stir-crazy. my husband will be home tomorrow with the jumper cables, so i should be back in business by tomorrow afternoon! stay warm if you are in the midwest!

Electric Candles

2008-12-18T22:59:00.003-06:00

we have the coolest new electric candles available for sale now. i was shocked by the demand at my last show..all sold out. interested? go to our esty store and order yours today.

2008 shows are now...done!

2008-12-16T17:54:00.002-06:00

saturday was the last show of the year. i think my body finally relaxed yesterday and i fell asleep at the kitchen table reading a book! i slept so well last night! but the new year looms very near. my first show should be on February 28. and 2 more shortly after that!
in the mean time, i am busy working on organization! it will affect everything. we are also brainstorming ideas for new spring/summer products. i am sure not much will change, a few things, but i want to keep things more simple from now on. no more flip flopping from one new project to another. that is one of my resolutions for the year! my second is to purge old supplies and products. big sale coming soon! i just hope it warms up soon so i can start looking thru it all.
it is about 13 degrees right now (it was 0 this morning!) and it is snowing like crazy! they are calling for 3-6 inches of snow tonight, lots of ice and 3-6 on thursday, and 3-6 on saturday! that is not including the snow in the forecast for next week!!! i think we will have a white christmas!
i also have a rough draft of a catalog! it is amazing that i had the program all along but never tried it out. within a few short hours i had a catalog in my hands! fine tuning and pictures are all i have left to do. i think with the addition of a catalog, we will work on a party plan (hostess benefits) and perhaps a consultant program. one step at a time... i still need to finish decorating my christmas trees. we ran out of time to get and enjoy a real tree this year and have opted for my flea market find-set of 3 prim trees! so cute. they all have lights-just need to add the bulbs etc.
so while i am waiting for my husband to come home with the groceries in this storm, i am going to pull the remaining holiday items out and get them ready to go to the local flower shop were i have a small display and see how much will sell before christmas. my head is crammed with what i need to do and what i want to do that i am not sure where to start first. it may be a bit of burn out too. but i do have to say that just about everyone in the family is getting a crafty handmade christmas gift this year. i bought a lot from etsy. it is all starting to arrive and i am so impressed! can't wait to see what everyone thinks!
have a merry christmas and a happy new year!

Esty & celebrations

2008-11-24T21:43:00.002-06:00

i just finally added a few new items to our etsy store. please check them out. there are more to come in the very near future!
off to celebrate my birthday tomorrow, my son' s on wednesday and then thanksgiving. will try to get more done during our holiday, but i also have a show at the Eagles Club in Freeport on Friday, the 28th. Come on out. we have a large family and celebrate with a different branch each day of the weekend. things will be crazy!
want to send wishes out to my gpa who is also having a birthday tomorrow and will be 89 years strong!
have a great thanksgiving and i will talk to you soon!

salt dough, pictures and more

2008-11-10T07:50:00.001-06:00

well, in the craziness that has been going on lately, we accidentally slightly burned the batch of stars i was telling you about in the previous post. so we had to scrap that batch. but now we have been so darn busy, i am not sure when we will have time to try them again.
other news, i did get some pictures taken, but couldn't find the cord to download them to the computer! problem has been solved, it was still at work with my husband. look for new pics coming soon.
tomorrow there is no school here in honor of veterans day, so i plan on an all day crafting fest in order to get prepared for our biggest show of the fall-lena's ladies day out! yeah. sales were great this past weekend, which means we are in need of more products. had a small snafu with an order i placed for quick supplies, but i am still hoping it will be here on time to finish up on friday.
lots of work to do, so i am off to finish house work that needs to be done before i can get down and dirty.
talk to you soon!

Salt Dough Ornies

2008-11-04T17:33:00.002-06:00

i found a cool recipe for some cinnamon salt dough ornies. i have 3 trays of star shapes in the oven now to test them out. thought they would be great christmas decorations, and they are so darn popular! i bought a ton at the last show i was at in October. i have so many ideas floating in my head right now...will post pics as soon as i get some decorated.

So much going on...

2008-11-02T18:01:00.003-06:00

so the craft show this weekend was a flop. and i hate saying that. it was so sad, because there was a huge turn out of vendors/crafters. i was so excited when i showed up at the amount of cars i saw being unloaded. but i only made 2 sales!! and some didn't sell a thing. i couldn't believe that for all the advertising i saw and the amount of crafters there that the attendance was so low. but it was a fun chance to chat with the regular girls, and meet some new faces. i am hoping it isn't an indicator of shows to come! i have 2 this week.
i got the cupcake soaps done that we had spent the entire week creating, and debuted them at this show. everyone thought they were cute, but walked on by! i was frustruated yet relieved that they didn't sell so it didn't mess up my arrangement on the cute cupcake stand i had found. i only made enough to fill it, so there would have been holes and it would have driven me crazy. i am ordering more soap as we speak to start back logging some cupcakes to fill in holes if needed in the future!
So my horoscope this morning told me to go out, spend money, and buy those things i wanted but didn't really need-i swear to you. so, while i was at the mall to run into bath & body works, i met an incredible crafter, Aubrey of Aubrey's Candles and Crafts! she had great wax dipped snowman that appeared to be melting, electric snowman candles, flicker snowman candles, and wax dipped toilet paper just to name a few items. her creations were right up my alley, so i bought a melting snowman. she said she had done really well there at the mall with their craft show. so i am going to contact the mall to see about participating in future events!!! and she gave me some insight about having a website. she was having the same issues that i am. so it is making me think harder on canceling the website. this was an exciting find today! i love my snowman, met someone new, and found a possible show!! that makes 2 news shows for the weekend! all in all, wasn't so bad!
i know i need to post some pics-i will be working on this this week. not such a crazy week with creating, so i will have some time to start taking new pics. i can't wait to show you what we have been creating for the holidays!
remember to get out to vote on tuesday-thank goodness it is almost over! this will be my first year voting so i am excited yet a bit nervous on how it works. i'll be taking to you soon!

2008-10-21T17:59:00.005-05:00

Well, I suppose I should finally post something on our blog. After signing up for one, I wasn't sure what to do with it. So I have done some research, and did some thinking about it all. I had to figure out the main reason I wanted a blog. And, I think it is to showcase products, update customers (or potential) on sales, new products and our show schedules. And maybe for ramblings on how there is never enough time in a day to get done what I want, what new projects we may be thinking about, and for a collective way to gather input, comments or suggestions from you. For example, we need help in deciding on keeping the website or not. We also sell on Etsy.com-which is for handmade goods only-it is easy to set up and maintain. The website takes So much! So I apologize for it being so out of date. I am going to work on that this weekend-if my husband brings the camera home from work! I would like to focus on just one if possible. I would love your suggestions on this matter. Please add your comments.
New changes happening now are: New graphics! The graphic embodies Alisha and I. So perfect. I am in the green dress, and Alisha in the blue. I am looking for a more "crafter" feel. That is what we are...crafters. May not be what we started as, but it is what we have become. I want to showcase that.
Juried Craft Shows! We have our first application! This is a huge step. We will be "judged" on if our crafts are crafty enough! But planning for a year ahead is so complicated!
So, stay tuned for the new things to come! Check out our show schedule for the remainder of the year. 9 shows left...