Check this out!

Shell's Soaps is having a "Summer Essentials Giveaway!"

It's super easy to get entered....here's how:

Just LIKE Shell's Soaps Giveaway Page on Facebook HERE! Then, SHARE the GIVEAWAY post/photo on your wall on Facebook! Lastly, COMMENT on the giveaway post, ON FACEBOOK, with what you will use your summer essentials for. After you have done all three of these things, you will be entered to win!

Retail Value:  $21.00

Giveaway End Date:  August 23, 2014

Number Of Winners:  1

Open To:  US Residents

GOOD LUCK!

*This giveaway is the sole responsibility of Shell's Soaps and is not affiliated, in any way, with Out Of The Box Sampler or Facebook.

Gammas Soap And Stuff Spotlight

Gammas Soap And Stuff is in our Spotlight here at OOTBS!

Terri, is the owner of Gammas Soap And Stuff and prides herself on creating products for sensitive and problem skin.  

You'll find soaps, exfoliating masks, beauty oils, facial cleansers, body frosting, shower gels and more...all made with premium ingredients!  

You'll find items that are fragrance and color free, and others that have essential oils.

There's a special going on at Gammas Soap And Stuff right now, for a limited time...

Special 6 bars of soap for $20 with $5 shipping......mix and match!

Run, don't walk to Gammas Soap And Stuff to grab Terri's special and some fabulous products!

PS.  You'll find her samples in the Out Of The Box Sampler for March (available March 3rd)

Ruths Fun Shop Giveaway

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED...

THE WINNER'S ARE...

# 11 Tammy

#22 Donna

# 91 Its Just Me

Thanks to everyone who entered!

This giveaway is brought to you by Ruth's Fun Shop!

I've had the cutest candy apple soaps from Ruth's Fun Shop that I've been saving to do a giveaway with for the last month!  I'm sorry to say that Ruth's Fun Shop is currently closed due to her breaking her hand and she's also expecting her third child.  I can't imagine not having the use of both of my hands and being pregnant at the same time!  So I wish her a speedy recovery and all the blessings the world has to offer when the newest addition to their family arrives!

But, there's still 3 candy apple soaps I'll be giving away a little later down the post. 

Check out these adorable holiday soaps from Ruth's Fun Shop...

The giveaway apple soaps look like the ones pictured above except they are red for candy apples!

Are you ready to win?  Let's get to it then...

Here's how to enter:

(Please leave a seperate comment for each entry)

Mandatory entry:

Tell me your favorite thing about "handpoured" soaps.

Additional entries:

1 Entry if you join Ruth's Fun Shop's Facebook Fanpage

1 Entry if you list the name of another "handpoured" soap business that you would like to see in the Out Of The Box Sampler

 1 Entry if you sign up for the Out Of The Box Sampler Newsletter (must verify signup to count)

1 Entry if you add Ruth's Fun Shop to your favorite's on Etsy.

1 Extra Entry (per giveaway entered) - Enter any (or all) of the giveaways running on Out Of The Box Sampler for the duration of this giveaway.

1 Extra Entry if you follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting the tweet below and leaving me the link. Tweet daily for an extra entry every day!

#GIVEAWAY Ruth's Fun Shop candy apple soaps @samplerboxes http://tinyurl.com/2afjeop #giveaway #handmade #etsybot #etsy

1 Extra Entry if you subscribe to our  You Tube Channel

1 Extra Entry if you join our Blog Frog Community

2 Extra Entries if you put my Out Of The Box Sampler button up on your blog (on left sidebar of blog). Please leave an address where it can be found.

If you have done any of these items in previous giveaways, just post a separate comment for each to let me know. You still must do the mandatory entry first.

Giveaway will end on December 1st at 11:59pm EST. Please be sure to leave an email address or make absolutely certain your email address is visible in your blogger profile, I have to have a way to contact the winners. Three winners will be chosen by random.org and announced here as well as emailed and will have 24 hours to contact me or respond to notification or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is for U.S. residents only.

A special thank you to Ruth's Fun Shop for providing these cool candy apple soaps for this giveaway. Any opinions in this post are my own. Out Of The Box Sampler is just hosting this giveaway and accepts no responsibility for any products received from the giveaway. We reserve the right to delete negative or unrelated comments. There was no compensation received for this giveaway.

The homepage says it all!

I was going to write up a nice lil ditty on Rocky Corner Soapworks, but after going to thier site
http://www.rockycornersoapworks.com/ I think their homepage says it all. I sat there reading it while sniffing my brand new bar of Coconut and Lemongrass Soap that was in my Think Pink Sampler box ....ahhhhhh



From Rocky Corner Soapworks~




Natural skin care is a choice more and more people are making in today's "Going Green" world. Living a healthier lifestyle includes the products you choose daily for your skin. We believe in skin care without harsh detergents, unnecessary fillers and harmful chemicals.


Welcome to Rocky Corner Soapworks, located in beautiful southern New Hampshire. We ensure a quality product by producing small batches of cold process soaps and all natural lip balms from exceptional raw materials. Coconut & palm oils and olive oil sourced from the Mediterranean produce a wonderfully rich skin-pampering experience for our customers. Our products are vegetable-based (VEGAN). We use NO animal products (except beeswax and lanolin) and our products are NOT tested on animals.

Rocky Corner Soapworks also embraces eco-friendly materials and methods. Our packaging was carefully chosen for its' ability to be recycled and is 100% biodegradable. As a customer, you may see reused packing materials in your soap order, too. All natural skin care at a reasonable cost...it's an investment that will pay dividends for years to come. Thank you for dropping by our website.

We're confident once you try Rocky Corner's handmade soaps, you'll never go back!
Make Your Skin Smile :)

Halloween Fun

I know I'm a little early for Halloween, but it's one of my favorite holidays.  So while I was scouring Etsy for new businesses to join us here at the Out Of The Box Sampler, I ran across some cool soap finds I thought I'd share with you...

AJ Sweet Soap

Love Lee Soaps

Pepper Apothecary

The Soap Basket

Doesn't that put you in the mood for some ghoulish fun?  Halloween will be here before you know it.  Go visit your favorite shoppes or check out these ones listed here and order your fiendish finds today!

Mark the date for our Boo-licious Halloween sampler boxes too ~ October 5th!

Monday, Monday, Monday

the first of a busy week

what to do what to do

a fresh start

a new outlook

when we start the day, 

we need a little something to help get us going

a little jolt in the am

OUR DAILY DOSE OF HEAVEN

JAVA HEAVEN

 

Lolli Luscious

now all i need to decide on is

will this weeks feature be 

coffee?

or handmade soaps?

...you decide...

Lavandedebois...

Are you a girly girl? Do you love to pamper yourself with bath n body goodies? I can't even think about slipping into a hot bath without my favorite bath bomb, sugar scrub, soap and of course, some candles to set the mood. It's not very often that I get to enjoy such luxury (having 4 boys explains that), but when I do, I always hunt down my favorite shoppes to order from.

Lavandedebois could definitely be a favorite on my list! You will find all your needs all in one stop. They have handcrafted soaps, salt scrubs, lip balms, hand salves, and bath salts too.

You'll find cocoa mint and vanilla lip balms for super soft, kissable lips. And check out their lemon drop and lavendar hand salves. You know when old man winter arrives, you'll need all the help you can get for cracked, dry hands.

Here's what they say about their soaps..."Our natural handcrafted soaps are created using the cold process method. Because all the naturally good for you additives are added after the lye and vegetable oils have cooled we are able to incorporate a wide variety of essential oils, herbs, and botanicals without exposing them to damaging heat. Also the naturally occurring glycerin is not removed as it often is in commercial soapmaking. All our soaps are superfatted, which means about 5% of the oil is intentionally left in the soap after the process of saponification is complete yielding more emollient gentle bars of soap than manufactured methods."

They are also a member of the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild.

Here's a few soap scents you won't be able to resist...

Coconut Mojito

La Vader

Lemon Dill

Mint Chocolate Chip

Lavender Vanilla

Orange Spice

Lemongrass Poppy Seed

and Idaho Mossmint.

They also offer gift packaging and gift sets, if you'd like to send your purchase to a friend. Or, you can just do one stop shopping for your whole Christmas list this year at Lavandedebois and be done in time to enjoy the holidays this year.

So either way, make sure you head over and pamper yourself!

A Big Thank You Gift for you...

I just loved what Thank You Gifts
sent in for the Out Of The Box Sampler this month and wanted to blog about them a little!

Jamie, the owner started this business with a goal in mind...

"Our specialty and goal as a company is to create beautiful gifts and favors in bulk for reasonable prices. Weddings, receptions, anniversaries, parties, baby and bridal showers are the reason we started."

They have the most adorable soap favors that I have seen anywhere. They smell just incredible and are truly unique.

These cool little duck soaps would be perfect for an upcoming baby shower. Just way too cute, and you can get them in little organza bags too.

Or, check out these sea themed favors...

But, if your into a more traditional look, you can always go with tealight favors. You can't go wrong with those!

So the next time your planning a shower for someone or just need some cute and functional favors for a party your hosting, stop on in at Thank You Gifts and pick up your favors. Be sure to tell them WE sent you!

Got Yours?

Did you get your's yet?

You know you don't want to miss it

When their gone, their gone!

Not everyone will get one either.

You had better hurray!

It may already be too late.

They go so quickly.

They are so worth it!

Are you gonna get it?

What are you waiting for?

You know what I'm talking about?

Of course you do!

It's the

OUT OF THE BOX SAMPLER!

Their on sale now so run over and see what all the fuss about.

January Boxes Up For Grabs...

Just a quick note to let you know to run over to the Out Of The Box Sampler to get your January sampler box! They are on sale now and you can buy one HERE!

You gotta hurry though, they all sold out in just hours last month!!! You'll find 18-20 scumptiously delicious samples in each box this month. Candles, lotions, catnip toys, cookies, coffee, tarts, soaps, scrapbooking goodies, and much much more.

NOW GO...I'LL SEE YOU THERE!

A Little Magick...

d

Dana from Magick Moon Soap Wurks
created our Featured Business in 2002. You will just love her lucious soaps and her creativity with the products names as well. I found Magick Moon Soap Wurks
while I was searching the web for the best businesses to contribute to the Out Of The Box Sampler.
I emailed Dana and of course, she joined us for our December boxes. But, don't fear, she's back again in our January boxes that go on sale January 16th. So mark the date and don't miss out on her scrumptious samples!

All the soaps at Magick Moon Soap Wurks are made with Goat's Milk. They use only 100% farm fresh whole Goats' Milk. The French and American Alpine goats that provide the milk are raised in a clean and all-natural environment, using only the finest feed ingredients and no artificial hormones or rBST (Bovine Growth Hormone).

Goats milk is naturally ultra-moisturizing. It contains capric, caprylic and capronic acids and natural occurring triglycerides. Otherwise known as good fats. The result is a pH level that is good for healthy skin, while commercial soap can dry out the skin to the point at which it feels taut and itchy. But not Magick Moon Soap Wurks. The soaps themselves contain no animal fats or oils. The plant and nut based oils that are used are especially chosen to renew and condition the skin without problems of dryness or irritation. Absolutely NO Peanut Oil is used in the making of any of their products either.

Here's what really caught my eye:

All Hallows Eve

Be-Wicked

Immortality

Pandora's Box

The Witching Hour

Persephones Desire

Bella Donna

Witches Brew

These are some of the unique names Dana has come up with for her soaps. Isn't that just too cute! Some of the gentle herbal soaps that you'll find are:

Chocolate Covered Strawberry, Perfect Patchouli, Vanilla Lavender Citrus, White Chocoatle Dipped Raspberries, Succulent Pomegranate, Dark Chocolate Peppermint and more! With scents like that, they may need to come with a warning that says...DO NOT EAT THE SOAP!

Another great feature I thought this business had is the ability to pick your bar size when you order. You can now purchase either full size, personal size or sample size soaps. If your like me, I get bored easily and like to try many different things. The sample size is perfect for that. You can buy up to 3 different sample sizes AND get free shipping too. Or, join their "Soap of the Month" Club. Here's what you get...

Receive their periodic Blog - the 'Magick Moon's Insiders Edition'
where they will make the following club announcements!

Announcement for "Soap of the Month" - 3 weeks in advance of the announcement going live on their eShop website.

Hear about Clearances and sales prior to live eShop announcements.
Hear about New Products first!

Access to Holiday and special occasion Sales, Secret Pal and Secret Santa specials NOT released to their general eShop consumers.

And last- BUT certainly NOT least!!!!...
Free Shipping for all your orders during your enrollment period after paying just $5 for your first Soap of the Month Shipment!!!

Now how can you pass that up? Run over to Magick Moon Soap Wurks to sign up. Make sure to let Dana know that the Out Of The Box Sampler sent you!

Do You Smoodz?

Take a look at this bath n body, candle company I'm blogging about today! The name is Smoodz! When they first contacted me to be in the Out Of The Box Sampler I had no idea what their product was by the name. But I was pleasantly surprised when I visited their website and find an awesome array of bath n body products and candles too. Of course, the first item that caught my eye was the adorable Steeler Bear!

Being from Pittsburgh and a huge Steeler fan (we "bearly" won yesterday's game ~ no pun intended)I'm always looking for new ways to show off my Steeler pride and this cute little bear would be a great way to do that!

But, if your lacking in Steelers pride, I'll forgive you and just let you know about all the other goodies I found!

These shea & mango butter Lip Balms look simply delicious! The come in cute 1 oz containers and in flavors your sure to love like:

Strawberry

Watermelon

Latte

Grape

Cucumber Melon

& Spearmint Niaouli Oil.

You'll also find great bath n body products from Lotions, Body Butter, Hand & Body Cream, to Sea Salt Scrubs and Handmade Soaps!

I really liked the scented Sachets that Smoodz has available.

They are made from dried flowers and plants and come in Lavender Petals, Patchoui Leaves, and Rose Buds & Petals! They are wonderful for hanging in your closet, putting in your lingerie drawer or even your car.

By now, your probably wanting a little of everything Smoodz has to offer. They can help you out with that too. They have a selection of Gift Sets for any price range.

Pictured here is their largest gift set that includes a 7 oz. Shea Butter Soap, an 8 oz. Shea & Mango Butter Lotion, 8 oz. Bodywash, 8 oz. Fresh Mist, 6 oz. Salt Scrub, Votive 2-Pack, nail brush and a bath puff. It sells for just $32.99. That's a great price and would make a wonderful gift this holiday season.

Finally, if you haven't decided what to get by now, then just buy a gift certificate!

They are available in $10, $25, $50 and $100 dollar increments. I love to give gift certificates to my family and friends because it gives them the option of purchasing what they'd really want from the company!

Smoodz has sent in samples for our November Holiday Sampler Boxes which go on sale this Friday, Nov. 21st. So some of you will get to sample their products! So try them and then run back to buy more!

Wonderful Stocking Stuffers!

Today's featured business is Sara's Soaps n Such! I just love this shop. You'll find all your soap needs and a few more wants while your at it in this shoppe. Sara invites you to discover the finest, most nourishing handcrafted soaps and homemade, as-natural-as-possible, luxurious body products. She carries some deliciously scented soaps like:

Mint Mania

White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle

Coffee Mocha

Lemon Verbena

Patchouli

and ginger bergamot among others...

And if your like me and want to impress your guests this holiday season, you'll need to get these adorable soaps to brighten up your bathroom and make a great impression!

You can also find some other goodies to use as great stocking stuffers! Sara carries lotions, lip balm, body butters, bath bombs, body polish, and cool Tub Teas with ridiculously cute names like:
Bath Diva

Pampered Princess

and Ooh La La Lavender!

Now how can you pass that up?

Lastly, you might think that summer is over and we're heading into that dreaded cold winter season. We'll you can just accept that, or get this little reminder that summer will be here again before we know it!

So stop in today at Sara's Soaps n Such and make sure your ready for the holidays, they WILL be here before you know it!

Have you been Tickled Pink Yet?

Today I'm featuring another one of the businesses in our upcoming November Holiday Sampler Boxes.  Remember the boxes go on sale November 21st!  You aren't going to want to miss this one!

       

Tickled Pink Scentsations is definitely a girly girl shoppe!  You'll find everything you will need to pamper yourself and I'm sure you'll agree with me, we all are entitled to some pampering once in awhile!  The great news is at Tickled Pink Scentsations, the prices are so good, you can afford to pamper yourself everyday!

Here's a little of what you'll find waiting for you...Body splash, polish, wash, lotion, shimmering gel, souffle, soaps, lip balm, shampoo, conditioner, hairspray, lip balm and if that's not enough, you can even find an awesome candle tart to relax by while your soaking in that hot bath with all your new goodies from Tickled Pink Scentsations!

       

Their going to be in our November Holiday boxes, so alot of you will get to try their wares!  But why wait?  Order now and beat the holiday rush.  I'm sure there's a girlfriend or two needing some pampering and they'll love you for it!

That's So French!

I'm going to try to feature a different contributor to the boxes here everyday for the upcoming November Holiday Boxes! So I'm starting with Chabot Savonnerie.

When this business signed up to participate in the sampler boxes, I was so excited! Their products look incredible on the website! They are so professional done and presented. Here's their motto:

Our bath and body products are handcrafted in small batches to ensure quality. Loaded with skin moisturizing oils and butters and richly scented, our soaps and lotions will leave your skin soft and smooth - the way nature intended!

They make all their own products and carry shower gels, hand washing soap and just plain old bar soap. Although, I wouldn't call their bar soaps plain at all!

They have incredible scents available like:

Sugarplum

Peppermint Candy Cane

Pumpkin Pie

Rum Cake

Lemon Poppyseed

Cranberry

Almond

Spicy Chai

and Vanilla Mocha

I can't wait till their samples arrive! And if your lucky enough and buy a November holiday sampler box from Out Of The Box Sampler, you may get one of Chabot Savonnerie's samples!!

Also, remember that if you post comments on our blogs, you'll be entered into the drawings to win full size products from our contributors!

Gourmet All The Way!

The Gourmet Bath Shoppe was is one of our box sponsors for the October fall/Halloween sampler boxes. They sent us 80 big soap samples and 2 full size bars to give away! There are still a couple Oct. boxes left if you'd like to try their wonderful samples! You can buy a box by clicking on the link to the right of this blog!

I wanted to share with you the awesome interview I had with Michelle from The Gourmet Bath Shoppe...

1. How long have you been in business?

16 years



2. Tell us a little about your products that you sell.


I make a little bit of everything! I don't get to take a bath often, mainly showers so I try to make luxury products for those of us always in a hurry. So I created shower smoothies (scrub bars) and shower butters. I also make shampoo bars and now solid conditioners for your hair. I am also working on a liquid conditioner for your hair. I love R&D, that is my favorite as I can really get my creative juices flowing.



3. what is your best selling item?


My Frosted Sugar Soap!



4. Do you have a brick and morter store or an online business?


I would love to have a brick and morter store, but for now I am online.



5. Do you wholesale your products?


Yes, I do!



6. Are your products available anywhere else. (retails shoppes, etsy, ebay etc.)


I am on Etsy, and have only recently made my products available for wholesale, so hopefully I can get some retail shoppes!



7. How did you decide on the name for your business?


I love handmade luxurious bath items, so the word gourmet just seem to fit the picture. I don't make just soap, so I incorporated the word bath to hopefully let people know that it includes everything for a relaxing bath. I also use things like Mango butter, shea butter and things of that nature so I felt that it leant to the Gourmet Bath name.



8. What do you want others to know about your company?


We are a family company! My husband helps as do my daughters and now my 8 year old step-daughter in getting into it. She likes to come up with new ideas for soap designs. Also things do not site on my shelves for any length of time, except for soap which ages for 6 weeks before I ship anything out. But everything is made to order and tends to take time.



9. Where do you see your business going in 5 years?


I hope to be doing this full time or close to full time in the next 5 years. Things have really started to take off for me this past year. Not sure if I will have a brick and morter store by then. but we will see.



10. Tell us a little about yourself?


I am 40 years old, and I have 6 kids between mine and my husbands (we each have 3 each). I work full time outside of the house as well as do my soap business. I love to read, when I get the chance, and I like I said before I love the R&D process. It is very easy to get burned out with anything life, and you need to keep the sparks flying!

November Holiday Box Lineup

Here's the lineup for the upcoming NOVEMBER HOLIDAY BOXES! They are filled with tons of new businesses and outstanding samples. You won't wanna miss this box! Save your pennies for sure. Also look for cool additions to the boxes from us at Ugly Duckling Designs just to say "thanks" for being a box buyer in the upcoming boxes!

Six Peas In A Pod
Angel Made Scents
Mineral Perfect
Ugly Duckling Designs
Blue Rose Candles
Tickled Pink Scentsations
Sarahs Scentsations
SBS Teas
Meet Mark Beauty
MeTime
The Sassy Girl
Saras Soaps n Such
Smoodz
One Of The Flock
Oregon Candlegels
Fickle Faerie
Simply Seasonal
Kuntry Kreations
Soy By Jen
Wondrous Land of Cookies
Lazybone Creaions
MeMa Cold Process Soaps
Twist Of Taste
Natural Wonders & More
SopSop88
Natural Goodies
Chabot Savonnerie
The Couture Baby
Zosimos Botanicals LLC