Happy New Year, Already!

Is it really the end of 2008? It seems like it was yesterday that Serah's was introduced to the world. My how time flies...when you're having FUN!

Serah's and myself have had a GREAT year thanks to EVERYONE! Thank you, thank you!  I can't mention everyone by name but you all know who you are...my customers, my bloggy friends, fellow helpful entrepreneurs, everyone who has made this year a great success.

Serah's signature Cupcake Soaps have definitely been the headliner of the year. With their yummy fragrances and unique design, they immediately stole the spotlight. Next year, you can expect to see more cupcake soap designs from Serah's that are sure to satisfy your guilty-pleasure and help keep that pesky 2009 resolution that we all seem to have trouble keeping in the face of tempting sweets.

In 2008, we hosted and/or sponsored three giveaways and hope to host and sponsor more giveaways in 2009. After all, who doesn't love a free gift...I know I do!

We also closed out 2008 with our charitable donations to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure for breast cancer research and The Global Fund for AIDS research. We will continue to support those organizations in 2009.

Some other interesting things are in the works at Serah's but I don't want to ruin all of the surprises so you'll just have to keep coming back to find out all the juicy news. You can subscribe to our feed to get the latest updates.

All in all, 2008 was a GREAT year and we are looking forward to sharing an even more fantastic 2009 with all of you!

Check out some of our favorite posts from 2008:

• Have Your Life & Eat Cake Too
• Sharing the Love
• Cupcakes and the City
• Casting Call: Crafty Island
• Tagged II: The Little Girls in Me & Their Soap
• Happy Thanksgiving
• How NOT to Get Clean During the Holidays
• 
  

A Gift For Mrs. Claus

Santa gets millions of letters every year, including one from me
Asking that he leave that special gift under the tree.

Therefore, you can imagine my surprise
And I couldn't believe my eyes
Because Santa wrote me here at Serah's
Asking for the perfect handmade gift for Mrs. Claus.

"Not to worry, Santa," I wrote.
"A request from you...I'm happy to oblige."

I created for her a Night Light Cupcake Soap.
A special gift she'll like I like.

So I left out the soap and some cookies for him
And kept on the light so the room would be dim.

On a pretty piece of paper, I left him a note.
It wasn't very long and this is what I wrote.

Santa, her's your gift for sweet Mrs. Claus
Personally handcrafted from me at Serah's
And before you leave to get back on the scene
You've been down a chimney so use the other soap to get clean
Merry Christmas to you and have a good night
Enjoy the cupcake soap with the night light

Happy Holidays everyone!

The floral arrangement in the photograph is from Elizabeth's Garden.

Santa Barbara Female Entrepreneurs

On the evening of December 17th, I had the pleasure of being in the company of the delightful members of the Santa Barbara Female Entrepreneurs at the beautiful Epiphany restaurant.

The evening began at 5pm and as I walked through the door, I immediately recognized a familiar face...the face of Lisa Braithwaite.  Lisa and I connected through MySpace and Twitter and she informed me of the group and its events and introduced me to the group's coordinator, Jennifer Bragg.

This was my first meeting with the group.  Business cards were exchanged and connections were made.  The bevy of female entreprenueurs included a realtor, a public speaking coach, a web & graphics designer, an image and design consultant, a PR specialist, & a skin therapist just to name a few.

During the course of the evening, I had very insightful conversations which included topics from business strategies on how to approach bios and company fact sheets, cultural business differences, social networking and advertising to a very in-depth conversation of dermis and epidermis.  It's amazing how one conversation leads to another but I definitely learned information that I will remember for a lifetime.

At the end of the evening, our goodbyes were expressed with hugs because as one woman so warmly  stated, "that's what we women do.  "

The Santa Barbara Female Entrepreneurs group posts their events on Facebook.

My Best Friend's Soap

While watching the Phoenix Suns play the Los Angeles Lakers, I learned that Steve Nash (my favorite basketball player) lost one of his best friends, Raja Bell, because Raja got traded to another team. I took that as a sign that I had to write this post.

I’m losing one of my best friends to another state…all the way across the country! I am deeply saddened that she’s leaving but will always have the crazy, fun memories of us hanging out and her two-year old daughter. Not only is she my best friend, she’s also one of my funniest customers because she is my most interesting living advertisement and the person who the Almond Lover's soap was created for.
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MySpace Comments

One day she called me and said, “Lisa, I’ve given your business cards to everybody on the train and the bus today so I need you to send me some more business cards when you get a chance.”

I asked if she knew these people and she said, “No, I was just talking to all of them.” That didn’t surprise me because she and I are a lot alike in this way. We talk to everybody! That’s actually how we met. We both just started talking to each other.

Another time she called me and said, “Lisa, everyone has smelled your soap and now Destiny [her daughter] is copying me.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I keep taking it out of my bathroom for everyone to smell it. Every time someone comes over to my place, I let them smell it and now Destiny does the same thing. It’s so cute.”

While visiting with her a week later at her apartment, her daughter disappeared into another room for a minute and then returned with the Almond Lover’s soap to her nose, walked over to me, took a big sniff, put it to my nose and said, “Smell.”

Then this weekend when I was helping her pack would have been the perfect opportunity for me to get a commercial for my cupcake soaps. Her daughter yelled “CUPCAKE!” while jumping up and down almost every five minutes. Unfortunately, she wasn’t talking about my soaps…she just wanted me to watch Strawberry Shortcake with her and sing the friendship club song. I think I know that DVD by heart now.

Before she left, she bought enough soap from me to last her at least a year and I told her that I’m going to have to put her on a subscription plan. Haha

I know she’s going to smile when she reads this. She’s been a truly great friend to me and I wish her all the best in her new state. If she changes her mind, she knows she can come back to California (although I’m not pressuring her too much, yet).

Please share a memory of you and your best friend in the comments.

How NOT to Get Clean During the Holidays

Yesterday, I was brainstorming ideas for a blog post relevant to the holidays. Tossing around the words holidays, Christmas, clean, and soaps in the ole noggin recalled a childhood event I thought would be great to share.  My company's tag line is Getting Clean Never Looked So Good but I am going to explain how one day getting clean never looked so BAD.

One year, my parents decided to have Christmas dinner at our house and Christmas fell on my week to wash the dishes. Not a good thing at all since I have a really big family. I begged and pleaded with my parents to let me use the dishwasher which we NEVER used ever. In our house, the children were the dishwashers and the appliance itself was purely for decoration. Although they said no several times at first, they finally gave in after our family left that evening leaving dirty dishes in the sink, the family room, and the dining room.

I was as thrilled as I could be until I realized, I didn't know how to use the dishwasher! Upon figuring out what buttons to press, I loaded the dishwasher with all the dirty dishes that would fit, poured Joy dishwashing liquid into the dispenser, closed the dishwasher door, and turned it on.

I skipped away to my bedroom when all of a sudden I heard, "Lisa!" in only the tone of voice you knew meant trouble.  I ran back to the kitchen with my sisters following to find my father standing in the kitchen with soap suds pouring out of the dishwasher all across the kitchen floor.



That day I learned there IS a difference between dishwashing liquid for the sink and dishwashing detergent for the dishwasher. My work load TRIPLED. Since we could not figure out how to stop the dishwasher, the entire time it was running, I had to stay in the kitchen with a mop to soak up the suds and water to keep the water and suds from reaching the carpeted rooms surrounding the kitchen. Basically, the kitchen floor ended up being mopped for about 3-4 hours until I got it completely dry.

And that ladies and gentleman is how NOT to get clean during the holidays.

Do you have a funny holiday story?  We'd love to hear it.  Please share in the comments.  Thanks!

Join the Club! The Cupcakes Club

Oh to be a little girl again! I have always been a baker and my favorite things to bake were muffins and cupcakes. For school bake sales…chocolate chip muffins, blueberry muffins, or cupcakes. For Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas dinner, once again, I was making cupcakes. Now as an adult, I’m making cupcake soaps.

And the perfect thing for me would have been a cupcakes club but since there wasn’t one when I was growing up. Fortunately, for those little bakers and all the little girls with all the right ingredients, there’s The Cupcakes Club!

The Cupcakes Club 

The Cupcakes Club was created by a mother daughter team Donna Benson and Audrey Benson Dunlop. Want to find out what makes a Cupcake girl extra special? Visit The Cupcakes Club to find out.

Serah's Cupcake Soaps on Your Carolina TV

Serah's Cupcake Soaps (the Pink Cupcake Soap and the Pink Mini Cupcake Soap) were featured on Your Carolina with Jack and Kimberly today in the Holiday Gifts Under $40. Thank you Taryn!

Here's a link to view the video clip hosted on Your Carolina's website:
http://www.yourcarolina.tv/ycvideo/entry/holiday_gifts1/

The clip is about 7 minutes long and it counts down backwards so if you want to skip to the segment of the show where Serah's cupcakes are shown, advance forward to 1:26.

If there is some delay, the video is buffering.

Your Carolina with Jack and Kimberly, December 5th

Serah's Cupcake Soaps will be featured in the holiday gift segment on WSPA (CBS Greenville/Spartanburg) Your Carolina with Jack and Kimberly.

The show will air on Friday, December 5th between 10 am and 11 am EST in my Everything Under $40 Guide.

Your Carolina TV

Christmas Delivery Guarantee 2008

Guaranteed delivery before Christmas is an essential part in keeping Christmas running smoothly and stress free which is why Serah’s is offering guaranteed Christmas delivery to help you achieve this with enough time left over to put the gift under the tree or in a Christmas stocking and leave some cookies out for Santa.

To guarantee delivery in time for Christmas....

• Your order must be placed on or before Wednesday December 17th 2008, before 5pm PST
• Applies to US mainland delivery addresses only (including APO/FPO addresses).
• Only valid on online orders placed at www.serahsonline.com.
• If paying by check/money order, payment must be received before December 17th 2008.

Looking for Christmas ideas?

Give sweets to your sweets. Serah's Cupcake Soaps & Mini Cupcake Soaps are perfect for the women and children on your list. Give the gift of relaxation with our Massage Bars. Let your gift help fight the battle against AIDS by purchasing select items that will benefit The Global Fund.

Get this at AllLayedOut.com

All packages from Serah’s are shipped through the United States Postal Service with delivery confirmation. Delivery will be confirmed using the delivery confirmation. If your package is lost in the mail, please contact your local US Post Office. Due to high postal volumes over the Christmas holiday season, we recommend you send your gifts as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

World AIDS Day 2008

December 1st is World AIDS Day. This is a day when individuals and organizations from around the world come together to bring attention to the global AIDS epidemic. 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and AIDS.gov are working with Bloggers Unite to multiply the power of the voice by thousands to share the knowledge about the AIDS epidemic and encourage participation in the fight against AIDS.

In the countries most heavily affected, HIV has reduced life expectancy by more than 20 years, slowed economic growth, and deepened household poverty. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, the epidemic has orphaned nearly 12 million children aged under 18 years. ¹

The latest estimates indicate that at the end of 2003, HIV prevalence— the total number of persons with HIV—was roughly 1 million (estimated range between 1,039,000–1,185,000) [1]. Approximately one-fourth (24% –27%) of HIV-infected persons are believed to be unaware of their infection, underscoring the need to expand opportunities for HIV testing.²

There is much to be done to combat the spread of AIDS starting with HIV/AIDS prevention.

As some of you may know, Serah's is committed to helping in the fight against AIDS. Serah's hopes to donate $1000 to The Global Fund. One dollar from the purchase of select items will go towards this contribution. To view the select items, please click here.


I WANT TO READ MORE...
Learn more about the AIDS epidemic.
Read the 2008 Report on the global AIDS epidemic.
Related Serah's blog posts:The Fight Against AIDS

References:
1. UNAIDS (2008) ‘Report on the global AIDS epidemic’.
2. Center for Disease Control and Prevention HIV and AIDS in the United States: A Picture of Today’s Epidemic