Tutor Time Show

A week or so ago now, we were able to do another small show. Different kind of set-up this time and we weren't quite sure what we were going to be faced with once we got there, so prep was a little nerve-wracking, but I think it turned out nicely.

We were able to take our full line with us this time, so we had all kinds of goodies.

We had all of the aprons and bags and wall plaques from last time, plus we were able to take the bunting. I wish there had been some way to hang the banners, but they still looked neat.

The show was held inside a Tutor Time in Gilbert, and we were able to use the space as needed, so there were different size and shape tables to choose from. The big round table made a great spot for our dress form! (I think she needs a name. Suggestions?)

And we were able to take ALL of the kid and baby stuff this time!

Roadrunner Elementary Spring Fling

This past weekend, we were able to go out and do a live event - always a lot of fun! Mom and I packed everything up, including Richard and the kids, and we headed to north Phoenix for a show at Roadrunner Elementary school. It was our first school show and I didn't really have a great idea of what it was going to be like, but it was really pretty cool! The vendor fair part was set up in the cafeteria where everyone entered, and then the food and games were farther back inside the school yard. They had a bouncy house and tons of games and food vendors like Jamba Juice came in for the event.

We were supposed to have one table but, luckily!, when we got there to set up, the coordinator said there was some extra space and asked if we'd like to use a second table. REALLY glad she did! I have no idea how we'd have fit everything onto one!

We made sure we had a little bit of everything out, even the brand new stuff that hasn't hit the website yet.

Our newest shirts:

Bean bags, wooden toys (eggs, acorns, and scooping sets), quilts, potholders, tissue holders, and soaps - including the new Honey Almond Oatmeal scent:

Mei tai, bunting, diaper straps, and car seat/nursing covers:

Close up of a car seat cover, Baltic amber teething necklaces and flannel wipe sets:

Soaps, scrubs and tissue holders:

Produce bags, snap pouches, and diaper straps:

Lots and lots and lots of skirts:

It was awesome having Richard along to help.

The kids had a blast, though my little child freaked out and fell asleep about an hour before it was time to wrap up and leave.

The big kid had SO much fun on the bouncy house, painted an awesome picture and actually found snacks that he was allowed to eat.

All in all, an awesome event.

Soap Giveaway

What? Another giveaway? Already?

I know, we just did one. Well, two, actually. And now we're offering another giveaway.

I haven't gone nuts, really, but I did want to try out the Facebook-approved giveaway app, since they've put some guidelines into place. (I don't *think* I was breaking the rules before...) It's...interesting.

I will admit right up front that I don't like the look of it, and I'm not fond of the interface. It looks...cheap and kind of spammy to me. I entered the giveaway that an Etsy cohort is running and it doesn't seem to actually BE spammy, but if this app were a person, I would probably describe them as "smarmy". Does that even make any sense?

Anyway. The point was to talk about the giveaway, not bash an app. ;) So.

We're doing a giveaway! This time it's for three full-sized soap cakes (approx 3 oz each), flavor chosen by the winner from the list found at the Etsy shop. (Available flavors can he found in this listing, here.)

If you'd like to enter, visit here and follow the directions.

Contest runs through April 15, and supposedly the app will randomly choose a winner. As a bonus, if you refer your friends to the contest and one of them happens to win - you get a set of soaps, too!

Good luck and we'll announce a winner on the 16th!

More Treasuries!

It looks like frog loves monkey has been included in ELEVEN treasuries over on Etsy.  That's actually really flattering. :)

Here are a few that I missed posting on the blog.















Thanks for the inclusion, everyone!

Two Treasuries!

Check this out...widgets for Etsy treasuries! And there are TWO currently up with frog loves monkey items. Sweet. :)


(That's the Meow Skirt up there.)


(And the yummy hemp soap.)

And the Winners are...

Thank you all SO much to everyone who visited the blog (and the shops and the facebook page!) and entered to win the giveaway! 116 entries! Wow!

I especially appreciate the feedback on both the Etsy store and the dedicated webpage. There were some fantastic suggestions made, and some of them will be acted on immediately. ;) It's going to take me a little while to work through all of the comments that were made, but I'll be spending some time blogging and emailing today. :)

Now, on the part you've been waiting for... Winners!

I used Random.org to choose the winners, but I can't figure out how to post the screen shot. So I hope that you can all trust me on this.

Our first winner is #34...Cass, who will be receiving the hippo skirt of her choice. Cass, I'll be email you for specifics. :)

Our second winner is #57...Mama Gone Green, who will be receiving a selection of soaps. I'll email a listing of all available soap flavors and to get your address.

Congratulations to both of you and, again, thank you to everyone who entered the drawing!

It's Giveaway Day!

If you're here as part of the Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day - welcome!

Please have a look around, and sign up for the giveaway!

frog loves monkey is drawing for TWO winners. That's right, two winners!

Item #1 up for grabs: one of our popular hippo skirts, made to your size specifications. You can choose between green or red hippo fabric, and the skirt can be made for either a child or an adult.

Item #2: a selection of handmade soaps from the frog loves monkey shop. Pick three in your favorite flavors - you won't be disappointed!

So, what do you have to do to enter the drawing?

#1 - Be a follower of the frog loves monkey blog. Just post saying that you're a follower, and if you're hoping to win the skirt or the soaps.

Want more than one entry? You've got it! For additional entries, one more per extra thing you've done (please post for each letting me know what you've done, so there's an extra entry logged), you can...

#2 - Check out our brand new dedicated website at froglovesmonkey.com and poke around. Tell me your favorite item or what you'd hope to see in a store of this type.

#3 - "Like" the frog loves monkey facebook page.

#4, 5 and 6 - Blog, tweet or facebook about this giveaway.

Bonus #7 entry - Check out the frog loves monkey Etsy page (sad though it is at the moment) and comment on it here.

Please make sure that I have some way of contacting you! It's no good to win if I can't find you!

The legal bits... This giveaway is open from right now on May 23rd through May 25th. (I'll post here to shut it down in the wee hours of May 26th.) Two winners will be selected randomly from all entries and the winners announced on the blog. Winnings will be in the mail on or before May 30th so that you can start enjoying your goodies.

Thanks for stopping by, and good luck! (And be sure to check out the giveaway at Searching for the Good, too!)

Etsy Treasury!

Well, THIS is exciting! A frog loves monkey item has been featured in an Etsy treasury for the first time ever! Woo!

Thanks to Mariel for including our Hemp with White Tea and Lemongrass in her "HEMP the magical plant" treasury!

Hemp Oil Soaps

Keeping on the subject of soap, I'd like to talk about the soaps that I make myself for frog loves monkey.

Years ago, on a whim, I tried making soap. The glycerin-based melt-and-pour kind that you can pick up at pretty much any craft store. It was kind of fun and we ended up with a small stash of neat shaped and brightly colored soaps. Eventually, we used them up and went back to buying "regular" soap from the grocery store. I didn't really think much about it again until after our son was born. I'd been researching what was actually IN the soaps we were using and the ingredients lists were pretty horrifying. My husband suggested that I try making soap again. (I had no idea that he'd actually really liked the soaps I'd made that first time. That was a cool discovery!) Off to the craft store I went...and came home empty handed. Turns out the glycerin stuff that you can pick up at the craft store is pretty much garbage and just as full of scary stuff as the mainstream, chemical-laden soaps that we were trying to avoid.

Thus began an exhaustive search for GOOD glycerin-based soap ingredients.

Eventually, I stumbled across what we were looking for. (Yay!) Plant-based glycerin that wasn't stripped of all the good stuff. In fact, the company that I found added MORE glycerin to their soap base. This makes the finished soaps feel fabulous. Really luxurious. (Yay!) Everything was all-natural, vegan (with the exception of honey and goat's milk), hypo-allergenic, biodegradable, non-comedogenic, detergent free, surfactant free, sulfate free, and there was no SLS in sight. (YAY!)

I put in a small order to test out some soap just for us...and fell completely in love. After much testing, I've found a few soaps that I really, really enjoy - and enjoy making.

Across the board, the hemp soaps tend to be my favorite. The hemp oil soaps have a really nice amber color, a very light, naturally clean smell and lather beautifully. And every combination seems to make a finished soap that I (and my skin!) like. Of the hemp-based soaps, the Hemp with White Tea and Lemongrass are my favorite. After some friend and customer feedback, frog loves monkey carries two versions.



The exfoliating version has rather large chunks of dried white tea and lemongrass suspended in it as an exfoliant. I love this, but some people can find it a little off-putting. The dried leaves are somewhat large, so the soap will shed a little bit with use. It can also be a shade rough the first use. I like it. But I understand wanting the benefits of the ingredients without the exfoliants.



The non-exfoliant version tends to be somewhat lighter in color, and offers the same yummy, natural scent and rich lather without being the least bit scratchy.

These soaps are shaped to fit very nicely into the hand and weigh in between 2.6 and 3 ounces each. You can find them in the Etsy store, or order via email or our Facebook page. $3 each, or less if several soaps are ordered at once.

Ingredients: Grade A extra virgin olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil, safflower oil, kosher glycerine of vegetable origin,hemp seed oil, purified water, sodium hydroxide, sorbitol (from berries), sorbitan oleate, soybean protein, dried white tea leaves, dried lemongrass, lemon oil. This is a vegan, all natural soap.

Cold Process Soaps

I love handmade soaps. And I love to make soap, but cold process soaps are something that I'm not quite ready to tackle in my house right now. With a baby and a three year old who likes to be very hands-on with whatever I'm doing, messing around with lye just seemed like a bad idea.

Luckily, there are some very talented people out there who make some really fabulous all-natural CP soaps! Our supplier uses organic and vegan ingredients when possible (noted per type of soap) and essential oils instead of chemical alternatives. I love, love, love these soaps and had a really difficult time deciding which flavors to carry. In the end, I chose five that I felt offered a nice balance to the soaps made in-house. I'm looking forward to expanding our offerings at some point.



Unscented oatmeal goat's milk soap - Exfoliating ground oats blended with, our rich three milk soap recipe make this bar perfect for scent-sensitive skin. Ingredients: Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Water, Sodium Hydroxide, Organic Palm Oil, Soy Oil, Fresh Goat Milk, Sunflower Oil, Shea Butter, Oats. May Also Contain Tocopherols (natural vitamin e) and Stearic Acid (vegetable source). This is an all natural soap.



Chamomile neroli aloe - Sweet, floral chamomile and soft neroli essential oils will uplift you to sweet dreams of blooming hills. Sweet and complex. Ingredients: Organic Palm Oil, Water, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Shea Butter, Sodium Hydroxide, Organic Sunflower oil, (Natural) Fragrance, Chamomile Powder. This is a vegan, all natural soap.



Citrus cedar sage - This essential oil blend will have your mind racing through fields of lemongrass and oranges, with sweet petitgrain, cedar and sage in the passing wind. Made with organic vegetable based oils, this natural handmade soap contains 85% organic ingredients. Ingredients: Organic Palm Oil, Water, Organic Sunflower Oil, Organic Coconut Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Organic Olive Oil, Lemongrass Essential Oil, (Natural) Fragrance, Cedarwood Essential Oil, Clary Sage Essential Oil, Orange Essential Oil, Rosehip Powder. This is a vegan, all natural soap.



Honey almond - Rich bitter almond and sweet honey and citrus notes make this natural Essential Oil Blend a treasured classic. Natural almond blends tend to fade over time, so please expect a more mild almond scent than synthetic fragrances. Ingredients: Olive Oil, Water, Coconut Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Organic Palm Oil, Soy Oil, Sunflower Oil, Shea Butter, (Natural) Fragrance, Turmeric Powder. May Also Contain Tocopherols (natural vitamin e) and Stearic Acid (vegetable source). This is a vegan, all natural soap. (Note: This is a vegan soap despite the title. There is no honey in this product, this is just the "title" because it smells like honey and almond.)



Sandalwood - This all natural eo blend is earthy, mildly sweet and aromatic, with rich woody notes of sandalwood and frankincense with mildly exfoliating rosehip powder. Ingredients: Olive Oil, Water, Coconut Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Organic Palm Oil, Soy Oil, Sunflower Oil, Shea Butter, Fragrance. May Also Contain Tocopherols (natural vitamin e) and Stearic Acid (vegetable source). This is a vegan soap.

Currently, these soaps are available from frog loves monkey via email or message to the Facebook page. Each soap is $5 per bar, or discounted if multiple soaps are purchased at the same time.