All in the Family or I found Some Great New Jewelry!

If Etsy was a book, I would say that I was leafing through Etsy the other day and got very lucky. But Etsy is not a book but I still am very lucky because while looking through Etsy I found a pair of (yes, a pair) of talented jewelry makers. You can check out their shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/bythecreek and tell them where you heard about their shop.

Monika, does beautiful polymer clay cane work along with her other talents. This is the first time I had seen such fine and delicate work with the acrylics and the added Swarovski Crystals.

Then I looked further and I saw my favorite! Her husband makes beautiful and unusual copper jewelry.

Is this not a delightful piece of jewelry. Per their listing ""Naja" - Crescent shaped pendant hanging from the end of a squash blossom necklace. The crescent "Najah" is believed to go back into Moorish designs".

I would have a fight on my hands if I owned this. I would have to fight my husband over who would get to wear it. Monika's husband has a great eye and the vision to carry it through.

A very simple but beautiful piece.

The only problem I can see with this web shop is that when they are truly discovered they are going to have a very difficult time keeping items in their shop. So Monika and husband, you might want to work some more because your work is great!

Our Skin and A Simple Daily Regimen to Care For It

I was in the doctor's office the other day and had a conversation with a lady who was not quite as old as I am. In our conversation we discovered that we both had Type 2 Diabetes. She told me that she was amazed that with the diabetes my skin looked so normal. Now to be honest the word normal was not the one she used but I am trying to be humble here. Of course this was an opening to tell her what I make and sell and to extol the benefits of using handcrafted soaps. But further into the conversation I found out that she bathed twice a day in hot water and she used a commercially made deodorant soap.  After thinking about her I decided that maybe some information might help my readers. We lead such full and busy lives that we can't be expected to know everything.
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Our skin is our body’s largest organ and our protective barrier against the environment that we live in. It actually breaths and can absorb many things through it. We often take it for granted and fail to realize that it needs daily care just as brushing our teeth. If our skin is not taken care of properly it can become dry, flaky, cracked and inflamed. This can make it vulnerable to infections, fungi and even wart viruses. We should all practice a daily skin care regimen.


We all have a natural oil covering our skin. This oil, called sebum is created by tiny glands in the skin. When we remove this oil by using harsh drying agents such as most modern commercial soaps, frequent hot showers or baths, the skin becomes very dry which can lead to flaking and cracking. This can bring inflammation and itching.


Daily Skin Care

1. Each day that you take your bath or shower use warm water, not hot water. If you are sore and achy by all means have a hot bath but do not do it daily. Lukewarm or body temperature is actually best. Hot water dries out your skin. Limiting your bath or shower to 10-15 min. is best. You should only bathe once a day or risk removing your skins natural oils.

2. Avoid using harsh soaps that dry the skin. Naturally, I would recommend handcrafted soaps since all the natural glycerin is left in the bar and most are superfatted to help condition and moisturize your skin. If you must use a commercially made soap we recommend using Dove or Basis. We do NOT recommend the use of deodorant soaps as they are very harsh and drying as well as having chemical ingredients.

3. When drying off always blot or pat dry with the towel rather than rubbing the skin. It is best to leave your skin slightly damp.

4. Next, while your skin is slightly damp, apply a good moisturizer. If you have oily skin you can safely skip this step. A good commercially made moisturizer for normal skin is Lubriderm.

5. This is a very important step! All areas that are exposed to the sun, hands, neck, face, ears, arms or any exposed area of skin should have sun block with a moisturizer or a sunscreen of SPF 15 applied daily. Sun screens and sun blocks prevent UV damage to the skin. With UV damage you can have wrinkles, age spots and most importantly skin cancer.

New Pairs and Trio Listings and General Musings

I have to apologize for being so remiss in  writing regularly. I guess it may have to do with this Winter weather. Now I love a good snow because there is nothing more beautiful than a bright winters' sun reflecting off of snow drift. I also love to watch the birds greedily feeding on the black sunflower seeds that they have knocked off of the feeder onto the packed snow underneath. As you can see from the photo above I have a fairly nice view from my office window. I share it with T-Bone now. He has a chair that sits in front of the window where he lays his head on the window sill to watch for the deer that often come out of the woods to feed.

But that is not what we have had for the last few weeks. We had 2 short days of wonderful snow and the rest have been gloomy, dreary rainy days. Not a glorious storm that shows us the great power of Mother Nature. Not the rainy days of Spring that precede the early blooms of crocus and early spring flowers, just dreary and cold enough to remind us that we have a long time before we can expect those blooms and buds.

O.K. now back to business! I have started some new listings in the Etsy shop. I am listing pairs of products that go together and giving a discount for purchasing both items together.

The first pair (which I have already listed) is the Hair Pair. You have your choice of Herbal Vinegar Rinses and your choice of Shampoo Bars. Normally by themselves they cost $8.95 for Vinegar Rinse and $7.95 for the Shampoo Bar. I am knocking off a $1 off the price of the pair together.
You can find this listing at 
http://www.etsy.com/listing/44918149/hair-pair-handcrafted-shampoo-bar-and

Later today I will be listing at least one other pair and one trio. This will be for our Bug Off and Bite Be Gone and the Trio will add our Jewelweed Balm to that Duo. Check it out. Remember that Spring and Summer will come and bring mosquitos and chiggers with them.

You can find these listed on Etsy at  http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=39172470

and http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=39172014 .

The Family

I had written a comment on someone elses blog when it  just occured to me that I had not posted any pictures of my family on the blog. So I am going to put some up here. I don't have many of my children (digitally that is). I have many of them as regular photographs. I guess that might tell you they are not "youngsters". Sorry, Cheri. I have many of the some of the grandkids though.The ones that live within a thousand miles of home. Of course, what self-respecting grandparent wouldn't? I have a couple of grandkids that haven't got their pictures up here yet. I can't find the files, but I will put them up here when I do.

Chaos or My First New Year's Resolution in Ten Years

Okay, so it’s 4 p.m. on Jan. 11 in Southern Indiana. Is that to late? I usually don’t make New Years resolutions because I never end up keeping them. This year I decided to make one, and for me it is a doozey. For you non-Hoosiers a doozey is something big. I have decided to bring order from Chaos. Alright you say, what the devil does that mean? Chaos is the name we have given my office/ soap room/ craft room. About 2 to 3 times a year I decide that I am going to go into this room and throw absolutely everything away that I have not used or looked for or thought about using for at least 6 months. Then reality sets in and I end up playing Scarlett O’Hara, “I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow.” As the old proverb goes “Tomorrow never comes.”





It constantly amazes me how much space a very small business can occupy, especially when I had more or less closed everything down with the intention of going out of business less than a year ago because of some health issues. I had been attending the weekly Farmer's Markets and doing many shows but it became to much for me to handle with the back problems and uncontrolled blood sugars. With the help of good doctors, some rest and an Etsy shop that pretty much took care of itself instead of closing the business we have jumped back in full force. This brings me back to the Chaos Theory or how do I find anything in here.

We live in a 2 story 3 bedroom triplex with very little excess space. The extra bedroom has become a combination office and soap room. Most everything with the exception of the carrier oils, butters, stainless steel pans and actual soapmaking equipment is stored up here. Then the other crafts that sneak in the door like the duvets and pillows I like to make, my photography equipment, fabrics, boxes of fabric trims, sewing machine,sculpey clay, etc. are also stored here. Then we have the shelving units to hold the drying soaps and the finished soaps, the completed toiletries and not to mention the desk with the computer, printer & everything that goes with that is stored in here.

I have seen beautiful and fantastic neat craft rooms with everything having a place and everything in that place that I truly envy. Many have shelves completely lined with matching containers and color coordinated and neatly labeled boxes to store each and every item that their craft requires. All of their shelf units match the perfectly coordinated office furniture making an absolutely gorgeous and perfect room.

I have to admit that color matched, perfectly coordinated furniture and containers would be great, but expensive. I just wonder how much time I would have to spend keeping it perfectly neat and arranged.  What would I have to give up to be able to afford just one of those beautiful wicker file baskets. Would I have time to do my work for the business and have play time left over to do the "fun" things I like to slip in and do when the soap biz and my schedule allows?

Would I have time to make things for myself that I could not afford to buy like the matelasse and toile duvet I made or the lampshade that I made to go one the $.75 yard sale lamp that I found? Or the Christmas wreath  with cinnamon and flour gingerbread ornaments & dried oranges that I saw on one of the other handmade sales sites (not Etsy) that sold for $95.00. Would I have time to strip and paint an ugly pressed wood chest of drawers that sat out on a curb to be picked up by the trashman later that day. I think I have changed my mind and will permanently give up on New Year’s Resolutions. In the course of about 20 minutes I have managed to screw up my first New Year’s resolution in 10 years. I will have to pretend to be brilliant and learned and will quote NIETZSCHE. “You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star.”

Win a Scabble Tile Pendant and Check Out a Great Blog

I found a great blog with a contest with a prize of a great Scrabble Tile Pendant. You will have to move fast because this contest will be over and the drawing held Monday morning. Sorry guys, I wish I would have found it faster for you. If you knit or you like great knit items you should check out her Etsy shop also. She has great knit items, knit pattern kits, knitting specialty items (beautiful I might add) and all kinds of goodies. Check out her blog at  http://jlyarnworks.blogspot.com/
Then check out her etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/jlyarnworks

Just a Few Words

It's been a long week and an even longer night but I promised myself I was going to add a few pictures of my newest soaps to the blog.

My favorite of the earlier bunch I listed this week was Damask Rose. It is my all time favorite rose scent that I have managed to create. Made with Rose Water, Rose Otto and a bit of Rose Attar along with loads of Shea Butter and Avocado Oil, this is a winner and just in time  for Valentines Day.  You can find it at http://www.etsy.com/listing/37808094/damask-rose-shea-butter-soap

Hazelnut Cappuchino-Absolutely to die for fragrance with scads of Shea and Avocado also.

Here is the listing for this bar
http://www.etsy.com/listing/37808440/cold-processed-hazelnut-cappuchino-shea