Meet the soap artist!

The Smiling Elf

It all started with a fish. Well not a real fish. Around October of 2015, I was looking for a new homemade gift idea for my nieces and nephews for the holidays. While looking online, I saw a toy fish embedded in a bag of glycerin soap, and thought that would be a great thing to do. I kept searching and looking and getting more and more ideas. After a ton of online research, a week after I had seen the fish in the baggie of soap, I made my first batch of cold process soap.  Over the course of the next two and a half months I made 15 different cold process soaps, glycerin soaps, bath bombs, lotion, sugar scrub, foot balm, and the list goes on.  My family, friends, and co-workers received a ton of soap and bath products for the holidays!

I continued to make soap etc. in 2016. I would periodically bring new ideas into work for people to try out or I would send things to my family.  I kept trying new recipes and searching for more colors and fragrances to play with. In short, I was hooked on making soap and spa products!. The holidays for 2016 brought another round of soaps and new products like the whipped soap, emulsified sugar scrubs, scented powder, and bubble bath, to name a few. 
 
During this whole time my friends and family began to encourage me to start an actual business. I mulled the idea over for several months, and finally in February of 2017 I pulled the trigger and registered my business name. I spent the spring making more soap and product than I can remember and getting ready for my first show. My parents arrived in North Dakota at the start of summer and jumped in to help me make and pack product, in addition they also made displays and signs for my booth.  My brother set up the website, set up my square account, and designed my business cards.  I couldn’t have done this without them.
 
The first weekend of August 2017, I did my first show, and I loved every minute of it. Even in the midst of the rain that fell on the second day, where I scrambled to move soap away from the water. I still do research online, I still daydream about new colors and fragrances.  I have tried so many new techniques over the last two years, that I can’t even remember them all. However with all I have done, the one thing I have yet to do…I have yet to make a baggie of glycerin soap with a fish in it.
-- The Smiling Elf, 2017

Product Definitions

Cold Process Soap: This type of soap blends all the oils together with the lye to provide  bubbly, lotiony suds that clean and smooth the skin.  Each batch takes 6 weeks to fully cure. This soap contains: ​sweet almond oil, olive oil, coconut oil, vegetable shortening, castor oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, water, sodium hydroxide (lye), fragrance, color.  

Glycerin Soap: This type of soap provides a thicker lather that leaves the skin feeling clean and smooth.  This soap cures very quickly relative to other soaps. This soap contains: coconut oil, palm oil, safflower oil, glycerin (vegetable), water, sodium hydroxide, sorbitol, propylene glycol (vegetable), sorbitan oleate, oat protein, fragrance, color. 
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​Glycerin Facial Bar: This bar is a very mild exfoliate bar.  The rose clay absorbs excess oils, the charcoal removes impurities in the skin.  Because of the gentle, creamy, thick lather this bar was created to be a facial bar.​ This soap contains:  rose clay and activated charcoal bar made with shea butter and glycerin, titanium dioxide (natural pigment), fragrance.  
Whipped Soap: It provides a soft, luxurious, lotiony lather for your bath.  It also may be the best shaving soap you ever use as well. Whipped Soap contains: glycerin, kaolin clay, three types of oils, fragrance and color whipped into a creamy, smooth consistency.

Emulsified Sugar Scrub: A gently foaming and exfoliating scrub that leaves your skin feeling soft, clean, and refreshed.​ Made of granulated sugar, jojoba beads or natural seeds, sweet almond oil, glycerin, potassium cocoate (all natural coconut based foaming agent), phenonip (natural preservative), fragrance.  

Unicorn Dust Bath Soak:.  ​This is a lightly foaming bath soak with a gentle fragrance that will ease achy muscles and calm your soul.  It is made up of baking soda, citric acid, kaolin clay, cocamidopropyl  Betaine (fractionated coconut oil), fragrance and color.  

Policies

Return Policy: Due to the handcrafted and unique nature of our product, we are unable to accept returns or offer refunds at this time.

Payment Policy: The Smiling Elf Soap Shoppe is ONLY able to accept payments via Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express through the website. We do accept cash at our craft shows.. NO CHECKS!
Shipping Policy: The Smiling Elf Soap Shoppe charges a flat Shipping and Handling Fee of $7.95 per order.  We ship via USPS Priority Mail. Please allow 2 -3 business days for order processing before your order ships. Please keep in mind that shipping during the Holiday Season ALWAYS takes longer than expected.  Please plan accordingly. We are unable to ship Internationally at this time