Handmade Soap!

I thought it was about time I posted a new post - sorry its been so long.

I've been thinking lately how wonderful handmade soap is compared to store bought soap. Store bought soap usually dries my skin out, has who knows what in it, doesn't smell as pretty, and isn't made with love by a wonderful crafter! I have purchased from a few sellers on Etsy: Anderson Soap Company, Goddess Naturals, and Bohemian Rose Bath & Soap. I have also used soap from a local San Luis Obispo soap maker So-Ap-Petit. All are fabulous soaps, and fabulous sellers! Here is a little about each of them.

I am currently selling a few of my art items in a local shop here in San Luis Obispo, CA. Soap dishes is one of those items - which goes great with a good old bar of soap! So-Ap-Petit is an adorable shop located in downtown SLO. It is in a cute little garden spot off of an alley that leads from Garden street! It is decorated so beautifully with plants everywhere and of course wonderful artsy items. The owner, Jillian, is also a bath and body product creator. She let me try her cucumber melon soap. It smells lovely and gives off a good lather too!


I purchased the Beer Olive Oil Soap Barby Anderson Soap Company. Me and my husband love beer and I was immediately drawn to a beer bar of soap! The soap itself had a great lather - the olive oil added a good moisturizing effect and the smell was pretty darn nice - not overpowering and not feminine at all (which I like).


One of my favorite soaps is the Patchouli soap with Pumice and Midnight Black Clay made by Goddess Naturals. It has a vegan base and it smells so earthy and divine! The Pumice and Midnight Black Clay add a exfoliating experience. I have tried many of the other soaps by her, as well as her Peppermint Shea Butter for cracked heels - and let me say, that stuff is AMAZING! It healed mine and my mother's horrid cracked heels in a weak! Plus it smells really good, and you know it comes from good stuff.


Just recently I purchased a couple bars from Bohemian Rose Bath & Soap. The smells and the feel of her soaps is wonderful! My favorite was the Cranberry Fig. The smell of it was very nice - and not overwhelming at all - then there were cranberry seeds in there to add an exfoliating effect - it was all around amazing, I was sad when the bar was gone. I also tried the Hecate scent, which is a mix of lavender, cedarwood, and patchouli. I just finished that one - it was such a lovely earthy scent - and a super soft lather too.

As you can see, I am big on earthy, natural scents. I enjoy fruity scents too, nothing too sweet or overpowering. I highly encourage you to seek out these 3 Etsy shops and try out their fantastic products, and try others as well. I know I have a list of other soaps I want to try - from many different creators. I just have to take my soap adventures one day at a time!

Help Three Beautiful Cows

Last night on Facebook I read that a friend is trying to raise money to help save 3 cow friends from slaughter. They are only 2 years old and have lots of happy years to live. They have been named Pooka Cow (the brown one), Spotty Friend, and Less Spotty Friend. Jodi of This is It! Creations enjoys the company of them and hopes to raise enough money to purchase them from the owner and let them live on their 11 acre land, at least for a short while. She stated they are planning on starting a new line of products where all the profits will go to their care. They are also open to adopting the cows out to a loving family. We only have until February 13th to raise $3600. Please help get the word out! See here for more details and updates from Jodi.

You can donate here:



Or if you'd prefer to send in a check, you can mail it to:

This Is IT! Creations
P.O. Box 1252
Jacksonville, OR 97530

Lean Dog Pottery and Jewelry is going to donate 20% of proceeds to the cows.
Thanks to all in advance for your help! ♥

And the winner is......

Congratulations to the wonderful Amy of Red Maple Studio! She is the winner of my 1st Blog Giveaway. Thanks to all who entered! I hope you'll enter the next one I have! I'll keep you all posted on when that is! :)

Weather and Work

Last week was a week full of rain, thunder, lightening and tons of wind! That picture there is of me in Shell Beach, California in Dinosaur Caves park area... we went for a little drive because we heard the waves were getting up to 25 feet!! Yeah, they were huge! The water was an ugly brown too! YUCK!
I like the rain because it is good for the earth and all but its not good for my work! No, No, No! It gets in the way of me working. Partially because my studio is a disaster and its hard to work inside, and my outside area is covered - but, because of the wind, it still gets wet inside. It was kind of a pain. So anyway, I am looking forward to SPRING!

A Special Gift

Last month I was involved in EtsyVeg's secret santa gift exchange. Everyone was paired with another EtsyVeg member.... I was paired with the wonderful Rachel of Ravissant! She sent me one of the most divine pieces... it was like she had known me forever! She picked something out that fit me pretty much exactly. We did give a little info about ourselves before the gift exchange, but still, she did a great job! We could either give them something we made or something we bought. Lucky me - she gave me a beautiful tote that she made! It is pictured above - beautifully crafted and just super cool. I love it. Thanks so much Ravissant!

This is quoted from her Etsy Shop:"ravissant is a boutique full of one-of-a-kind creations made with love and with quality materials: most sustainable, some organic, some up-cycled, some vintage, all beautiful! :o) " I love what she stands for. Enjoy these photos of more of her work and visit her shop if you get a chance: Ravissant!

its that time again... Blog Time!

Just wanted to post a little something about my friend Cher... she is the fabulous designer of my blog. She created the tree above.... makes me smile. I love it. She is also a HUGE Lean Dog fan.... no seriously, HUGE! GIANT! The best! She probably owns more pieces of Lean Dog stuff than I do... haha! She started this new thing called "Lean Dog Traveling Pendant". She takes photos of herself wearing a Lean Dog pendant... its fantastic! She really is great! See the post here. Anyway. She is also a great designer.... as you can see above. She read me perfectly and designed it.

Other than that, Lean Dog is currently creating tons of new stuff... we just got to get that kiln working again. I'm looking for a kiln technician in the Central Coast area of California!! I only know of one who is probably 4 hours away! That might be costly! We will see... until then, creating is what I do, and listing some stuff that just hasn't been listed yet.... surprises that will arrive daily! Keep Checking Back!

Oh and from today until Thursday I am having a 20% off sale!! WOOHOO! Just because I think my customers are great and I decided to have a little fun sale!

1st Blog Giveaway!!

Since its the beginning of a new year, and I am excited about it, I'd like to announce my first blog giveaway!! The winner will receive the ring pictured to the right. It's made with ceramic and turquoise glass. And it has an adjustable ring base. It measures about 1" across and almost 1/2" thick. It's chunky, but not as chunky as most of my jewelry!

To get a spot in the drawing all you have to do is:
1. become a follower of my blog.
2. fill out this form.

BUT WAIT!! There are also ways to get multiple entries into this contest.

~You will get 2 extra entries for doing one of the following:
1. Follow Lean Dog on Twitter
and tweet about this giveaway with a link to it on your twitter!
2. Become a fan on Facebook and post a link on your facebook about this giveaway!

~You will get 5 extra entries for posting a link to this blog post on your own blog!

~AND if you purchase an item from now until January 31st you will also be automatically entered with 10 more entries!!

*For each of these please send me a comment on here with links to where you posted or what item you bought.

Contest ends the 31st and on Feb 1st I will draw a random winner using random.org.

If you have any questions, please email me at kelly@leandogpottery.com

Thanks, have fun and pass the word along!! :)