Image credit: Modern Soapmaking

It’s been a busy week on Emmet Street. Christine has been busy in her soap lab mixing up new Creations, we’ve both been reading until our eyes were about to fall out and Daylight Saving Time has taken an hour of sleep (but I’ll sacrifice it to have daylight when I leave work). We’ve been skulking around the internet, looking for inspiration. Take a peek as some of the neat stuff we found.

Handmade soap

There are so many creative soap makers we are inspired by, check out some of our favorite finds on Pinterest! (Are we pinning buddies there? We should be.)

• Blue Bird of Happiness – I’m ready for spring to arrive, this cute little bird soap from SoapGarden has me thinking thoughts of being outdoors and hearing the birds chirping their happy spring songs.
• Rainbow Mantra – Surely there will be some rainbows after some spring showers. Modern Soapmaking shows how to recreate your own.
• Negative “Space” – Thinking about the seasons has me thinking about the sun… and the universe. This soap from Handmade in Florida is out of this world!

Good, clean fun

If you’re not following us on Facebook, here’s some of the fun you missed last week:

• DIY seed starting – I can’t wait to get my hands dirty in my garden! I’m thinking about trying starting my own seeds, instead of buying from a commercial greenhouse. These DIY seed starting tips from Farm and Dairy actually look doable.
• Proposed changes to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation threatens handcrafted soapmakers – The Soap Queen, an inspiration to Emmet Street residents, has started a coalition of handcrafted entrepreneurs to lobby the FDA to make smart legislative decisions that will protect consumers and small business owners. Are you a handcrafted business owner? You can join her in her cause (or simply stay informed about legislative changes that could affect your business) here.
• Cleveland is going bonkers for the new full-service grocery store to open downtown – Cleveland continues its revival and Heinen’s is confident it will continue for years to come. Heinen’s spent $10 million to renovate and restore the abandoned Cleveland Trust Building to its 1908 glory and Cleveland residents are thrilled.

Previous musings from Emmet Street you might have missed

According to the Centers for Disease control, and the current state of my nose,  flu season is still going strong in the U.S. Here’s what you can do to try stay healthy and avoid the flu and how to stay happy if you succumb to the nasty virus.