New Items @ Soaps, Stitches & Such

Soaps, Stitches & Such is a favorite Etsy shop of mine. The soaps, body butters, and other items are made from skin-friendly and safe ingredients.
I chose a variety of soaps for Christmas gifts and had a fun time deciding who would get which scent. I really wanted to keep the lemongrass soap but I resisted! And I was also tempted to eat the chocolate mint soap because it looked so fudgy. And my niece actually did lick the cupcake soap (currently unavailable, but more cupcake soaps are coming soon).

One of the new products that I would love to smell is the grapefruit body butter. Our family just finished eating our way through a case of yummy grapefruits and I am missing the smell already.

The soaps and body butters look like great gift ideas for end of the school year teacher appreciation, Mother's Day, or Earth Day. If you are in the Tri-Cities, WA you can arrange for local pickup to save on shipping.

If you would like to be alerted to special offers from this shop, you can sign up for their mailing list and get a coupon for $5 off a purchase of $10 or more. In case you are just skimming at this point, I re-awaken you with the word COUPON. Enjoy!

New Items @ Hammer & Thread

I hope you aren't actually Christmas shopping yet, but if you are tucking away ideas in the back of your head I guess I will forgive you. And give you some brainstorms!

Today I noticed the wall hanging tile letters at Hammer & Thread thread. I had heard about them but hadn't seen the pictures yet. I think they would look great hanging in a classroom, living room, or almost anywhere. If I had a staircase I would want to hang our family's names in Scrabble tiles with family pictures arranged around it on the wall.

We enjoy our growth chart wall ruler, Heartland Strategy game (when the kids let us play games other than Busytown), and other personalized items made by Gregg (my Dad!). 

The reviews confirm what I've known for a long time: these are beautiful and special pieces that will stand out in any home.

Hammer & Thread

I'm guessing most of your Christmas 2011 shopping is done by now. But if you're looking ahead to Christmas 2012, birthdays coming up, or if you got money at Christmas that you "need" to spend on something nice, check out Hammer & Thread, my parents' new store on Etsy.

They have a variety of unique items for sale, including a Dutch shuffleboard set (Sjoelbak). Shuffleboard is a noisy, fun game that is good for all ages!

We were given one of the growth chart rulers for Christmas for our family and we plan on taking a picture of our kids on their birthdays by the ruler. Here is our 3 ft. tall 2 and a half year old!

We also own a Corian cutting board that we've used for years. It is still in great shape and is one of my favorite to use because it is large, nice-looking, and has a groove around the edge to catch juice.

Have fun looking around their shop! If you live in Northwest Iowa and would like to pick up an item instead of paying to have it shipped to you, they are more than happy to arrange that!