Welcome welcome to The Spotted Duck blog’s very first giveaway!
After winning giveaways from several different blogs, most notably The Bright Side Project (twice) and Yellaphant, I decided to do a giveaway of my own! When I thought about it, it was totally a win-win: I get to give some of my favorite Etsy artists the opportunity for greater exposure, and my readers the chance to win some fun stuff, just like I did.
For now, I can’t say how regular the giveaways will be. Think of them like the care packages you got from your grandma at camp, the ones with the waaay better homemade cookies than anyone else had (ha, suckers). You never knew if she’d remember to send them but when she did, oh man, were you in luck.
(Okay maybe that analogy doesn’t quite work but it’s summer and I have cookies and camp on the brain. Lay off me.)
Anyways, I’m so excited that our first giveaway is from Boston-based soapmaker, DeShawn Marie!
One of the first purchases I ever made on Etsy was from DeShawn’s shop. I think I found her through Etsy’s Shop Local feature, and was of course psyched to support a local Boston craftsperson. My soap arrived super fast (granted it didn’t have far to go, but I was still impressed) and was yummy beyond words.
Three reasons why DeShawn (and her soap) totally rock:
-The choices, my god, the choices! Like grapefruit and orange with coconut milk and oatmeal. Or cool cucumber with mint. I get hungry just browsing her shop.
-All-natural, vegan-friendly. Her soaps, not her. Although she may be all-natural and vegan-friendly as well, I’m not sure.
-Passion. Soap is DeShawn’s life. She travels the world looking for the finest ingredients. She tells a story on her Etsy profile about finding inspiration for her Limoncello soap when she had the drink for the first time on the Amalfi Coast in Italy. Sigh.
Okay, now that I have you drooling…
Here’s how this works:
1. If you haven’t already, take a spin around DeShawn’s Etsy shop here and pick out a soap you’d love to lather up with. You can choose from either her handmade bar soaps or her unique handrolled soaps (a special design she invented that you can’t get anywhere else).
2. To enter the giveaway: In the comments, tell us which soap you’d like to receive and, if you have a particular reason, why you chose that soap. If you don’t have a particular reason, make one up. If you can’t make one up, just tell us your favorite soap and we’ll probably let you slide. 
Next Monday, June 8th, one lucky winner will be randomly chosen from the comments. If it’s you (and I’m really hoping it will be because you’re my favorite reader, you know that right?), you’ll get an email from me (!) letting you know you’ve won and asking for your address so DeShawn can get you your soap.
And that’s it! So easy. The contest closes at 12 midnight on Sunday, June 7th, so be sure to enter before then.
Good luck!
Without a doubt the hand rolled Lavender Cloud.
Soothing lavender is great to start and end a day. With a nice glass of wine as added touch in the evening.
I pick grapefruit orange! I just love the smell of grapefruit and it’s a great pick-me-up in the AM. Plus that is a gorgeous block of soap! Second in line would be the rolled limoncello, because it just looks (and sounds) so fun!
I’ve never tried artisan soaps before, really, because I have sensitive skin. These would make delicious special hand soaps, though!
Hi Shelley!
What a great idea. I had never thought of a giveaway blog post.
My favourite has to be The Peppermint Rosemary Soap.
We have a shop here that makes hand made fresh produce with the same ideas and principles behind DeShawn’s soaps and they used to do an amazing Rosemary Soap that make my skin smell gorgeous.
I would have a bath, get into bed with a warm hot water bottle and read in the dark of the night.
Unfortunately they discontinued it a few months ago!
Mia x
What a great giveaway idea!! I would definitely go with the Limoncello soap YUM! Who wouldn’t want to be transported to the Amalfi Coast even for a brief visit
Without a doubt I’ll rally around “~Hippy Girl~ what a wonderful blend
-Coconut Milk, Patchouli, Orange and Cinnamon- time to kick back.
This is an amazing idea. I am totally prepared to make a case as to why I should win.
Ready? Here we go.
I would really like to win a hand-rolled soap. In particular I would like the “Mint Julep” flavored (is that the right word) soap.
I think I deserve to win because first of all, I am the first guy entering into this contest. I feel that if I win, I would do my small part in making sure that men everywhere (and I mean everywhere, I travel a fair bit) know, understand and appreciate that it is OK to wash their hands. It is embarrassing how many times I have witnessed the “shake and go” — don’t make me explain it anymore than that.
GUYS, WASH YOUR HANDS.
I think that if the guys knew that the soap they were using was in such delicate harmony with the world that they exist in, it would make them all a bit more sensitive. Wouldn’t you appreciate that?
I also think that when catering to guys, it is important to make sure that the transition to “washing their hands” with something that has a stereotype of being “girly soap” is not too extreme. This is the reason I have chosen the Mint Julep soap.
THIS IS NOT YOUR GRANDMOTHER’S KENTUCKY DERBY.
I want guys to be proud of it.
What’s that smell? OH. THAT? it’s my mint julep totally awesome eco-friendly vegan MANLY soap.
I would like to win a bar of soap so I can clean out Mike’s (see above) “potty” mouth.
I have never seen so much discussion of men’s bathroom habits, but since I’ve personally had Mike deliver that same rant to me several times, I know it’s fully in character.
Love you, Mike!
(Note from Shelley: For the record, Meg tells me she’d like a bar of the lemon slice soap!)
If I win, give it to Meg. That shit’s funny.
I do love me some Meg Fowler. You are awesome!
Man that was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. At the same moment I was reading your post, I happened to be drinking some delicious ginger lemonade, so the universe is telling me I must go with the ginger lemongrass!
OOH OOH OOH. Orange vanilla. Because I want to eat it. Actually, I want to eat all of them. And then burp bubbles.
Easy. Lavender Rosemary Handmade Soap.
Lavender being my favorite scent. And rosemary one of my favorite herbs.
I would love to try the Green Tea hand rolled soap.
I love the scent of Green Tea and to be honest with you the hand rolled idea is really different.
I am slightly obsessed with what I like to call “interesting soaps.” I want to know what sorts of ingredients went into making it, and I want the scent and feel of it to seem like it was made just for me. (Diva in the shower? Maybe.) From spending 30 seconds on DeShawnMarie’s site, I know I’m going to be trying my fair share of her products – they all look heavenly and made from the heart.
If I had to pick a No. 1 to win, I’d go with the Grapefruit Orange bar – grapefruit is one of my all-time favorite scents, especially for spring/summer. Citrus on skin is just amazing.
(as long as I did not miss the fine print saying that members of the family were not eligible for this promotion)
I want limoncello! And a trip to Tuscany too!
I would like to win the Mint Julep handrolled soap. I think that one of the best scents to wake up to is a peppermint smell; it is very invigorating.
Oooh! Oooh!
I hope to win the green tea handrolled soap. It has coconut! And I think it’s awesome that she created this new soap type herself.
Soap is luxurious and delicious. Perfect for you first giveaway!
Your post convinced me that I would love to win the Grapefruit Orange Handmade Soap made with Coconut Milk, Grapefruit Oil and Oatmeal. Not only does this sound delicious, but I’m sure it offers bathers a burst of aromatherapy with a great moisturizing effect.
[...] always elegant Shelley Greenberg, perhaps better known as @thespottedduck, recently did a giveaway on her blog that got me pretty excited. To a commenter chosen at random, she was giving away a [...]