awww yeaaaaah

My lavender patchouli mineral bath salts have been featured in the etsy weekend deals! If you've been meaning to order but just haven't gotten around to it, now is the time. I'm having a sale this weekend where all orders will receive a 15% discount 15% as well as a free blissful body oil sample, unless of course you order the blissful body oil, then you'll get a soap sample. Not only that, but three lucky customers will receive 50% off (via PayPal refund) when I draw three names at random on Sunday at midnight. Just write "RELAX" in the Message to Seller to receive your discount and sample. Discount will be refunded via PayPal and you never know if you might just be one of the lucky ones to get half off your order!

Also, my goal of passing 300 sales by July 1 is almost accomplished. If you're so inclined, head over to my etsy shop and grab some soaps that are on sale.

Father's Day draws nigh

As part of the Etsy weekend deals in which I was featured, I've decided to extend the free customization of my after hours man soap where I will stamp either "Dad" or the name of your choice into both sides of the soap at the top so it shows when packaged.

here is what the stamped names look like

here is the soap they will be stamped into

All you have to do when you buy the soap is let me know the name you would like imprinted into your soap in the "notes to seller" section when ordering. I ship within 24 hours of receipt of payment and usually the same day. It's not too late!

kreativ blogger award, take 2

The honor of the Kreativ Blogger Award has been bestowed upon me not once, but twice!  (wOOt)  Thank you so much to Jo of The Soap Bar and Tiggy from Future Primitive who have both named me as one of their recipients.  As if it's not already enough that these lovely ladies' blogs already send me quite a bit of traffic, they both go and brighten my day.  I think that because I received it twice, I'm allowed to include some honorable mentions.

Here are the rules of the award:
1. The winner may put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Put a link to the person you got the award from.
3. List seven things you love.
4. List seven blogs you love.
5. Leave a message for your nominees.

Seven Things that I Love:

1. all things soap
2. animals
3. hiking and camping in the mountains
4. activity, whether running, biking, walking, gyming...
5. swings of all kinds - porch swings, swingset swings, etc.
6. my family - some by blood, others by choice
7. unseasonably cool days that remind me of a northern summer

Honorable Mentions:  

• great music ( neko case, ryan adams, great lake swimmers, nick drake )
  
• riding my bike around on summer nights when it stays light out till almost 10:00
• the smell of pine needles

Seven Blogs that I Love (that I think will also do this challenge):

1. Jimiyo has long been one of my favorite blogs to read.  Not only is he ridiculously talented and creative, but also very insightful and hilarious.
2. Haunt I hope Erin will have a chance to do this award challenge.  Her blog has been mainly shipping updates lately, but I'm telling you, this woman makes the most fantastically beautiful soaps and her branding is pretty awesome.
3. Hansen Soap Co.  is one of my fellow etsy SAFE team members.  I've tried my hand at melt and pour soaps and I'll tell you, it is not an easy medium to work with.  This woman makes some absolutely gorgeous creations and has just jumped into the wonderful world of cold process soap making.
4. bloom, grow, love is the photography blog of Alicia Bock.  I've been a big fan of her photography since I first saw it on etsy about two years ago.  She's an amazing talent and her blog posts are often as soft and romantic as her images.
5. ( inside a black apple ) I discovered this blog while making an etsy treasury based on my love for neko case.  When you do a search with the word neko on etsy, you'll find a lot of cat stuff and this.  Her art is amazing.
6. Rachel's Studio Blog is another art blog.  I actually won a giveaway from her and it's a beautiful painting.  Her blog is cool because many times you get to vote on what she'll paint next.
7. miss monster.  You just have to see it for yourself.

Honorable Mentions:

godmachine - amazing talent with a grotesque sort of style

light wading for the unadventurous - knitting, kitties

for lack of a better word - fantastic writings

Now I must deliver the awards via blog comments.

cravings

I never got those pms - chocolate craving references. I sort of always thought they had some undertones of misogyny in a Cathy Cartoon (barf) kind of way that relies on stereotypes for its humor, and I use humor loosely here. I mean, I like chocolate, but I could probably live the rest of my life without it and be okay. As it turns out, though my affinity for the kind of chocolate you eat may be lacking, it is certainly in abundance for the kind you wash with. That's right, deep, dark, chocolate soap! Seriously, would you expect anything less from me by now?

at the risk of sounding...

When Phoebe died in October of 2005, that evening a small vase on a small table in the kitchen where she spent a lot of time sitting, fell over.  My mom had been visiting and we both heard it, as we were standing about 10 feet away.  There was no movement, no breeze, no vibration; it just fell over from complete stillness.  I got goose-bumps and I knew the energy of her little spirit passed through one last time to say goodbye.  When Neko died, I was sort of expecting the same thing, one last little sign to say goodbye, never to be heard from again.  

On the night Neko died, I spent the evening with my friend and neighbor, as upon returning to my apartment with an empty cat carrier, I found that I could not bear the silence of his absence; he was a rambunctious, talkative little guy.  During those hours, I periodically checked in on Lilly to give her some petting, and I found the little fuzzy ball that Neko and I had played catch/fetch with the night before, the ball that had been sitting on the floor, now was sitting right in the middle of the couch.  I returned it to the spot on the floor where it had been earlier and returned to my neighbor's place.  When I came back a second time, there it was again, right in the middle of the couch, and once more, I returned it to the same spot on the floor.  When I came home a third time, it remained on the floor.  The next day I picked up Neko's cremated remains and upon returning home, there was the ball, one last time, sitting in the middle of the couch.  I was thankful to have one more little sign.  I know it was most likely Lilly who put it there, but that is uncharacteristic of her, which makes me think somehow the energy from his little spirit influenced her to do so.  

Three nights ago, I fell asleep around 3:30 a.m.  I've been avoiding getting into bed since that's the time that I can not avoid feeling a deep sense of loss, remembering him curled up next to my pillow every night and the last morning I woke up to him.  Around 5, I woke to the sound of a single meow; startled, my eyes shot open and I saw the black, fuzzy shadow of a cat leaping across the ceiling.  Again, it is very uncharacteristic for Lilly to meow at all, let alone one single outburst loud enough to wake me.  As I thought about it the next day, it sure seemed like a little visit from beyond.  

The day after, I went thrift store shopping for display pieces and came across a painting which at first I thought was an owl perched on a branch.  As I looked at it more carefully, I saw that it was a cat sitting atop a post.  The longer I looked at it the more undecided I became about whether I was looking at an owl or a cat, even though the nose was clearly that of a cat.  I've always said that Neko looked like an owl with his tremendous smoky scruff and big yellow eyes.  I even called him my little panther-owl.  The reason this struck me as significant is not just because of that, but about a week before Neko died, I was up late in relative silence and heard an owl hooting from outside my window and decided to look up owl folklore.  There is an endless list of what it means to hear an owl hoot, but I decided on Polish folklore as my father hails from Poland, and here is what I read:

"Poland: Polish folklore links Owls with death. Girls who die unmarried turn into doves; girls who are married when they die turn into Owls.
An owl cry heard in or near a home usually meant impending death, sickness, or other misfortune.
An old story tells how the Owl does not come out at during the day because it is too beautiful, and would be mobbed by other, jealous birds."

Reading that kind of freaked me out, but I didn't take it very seriously.  Honestly, I thought maybe my father's time was near.  A few days after Neko's death, I heard that owl hooting once again outside my window and haven't heard him since.  I grew up greatly influenced by the Native American spiritual practices of my mother, so between this and the time a couple of years ago when an owl swooped down and flew right over the windshield of my car giving me a close up view of its spotted underbelly and large wing span as it headed into a wooded area on the other side of the street; I felt like the owl had something to teach me.  When an animal presents itself a few times, with the possible exception of squirrels, or perhaps presents itself in an unusual way, I look into the lessons that animal has to teach based on what it represents.  The "owl teaches the ability to extract secrets from within, so listen carefully".  I have been feeling very lost and unable to find the answers within myself that tell me what is the right direction.  I have been listening to the superficial chatter in my head that is based on fear for far too long and it is time that I learn to listen to that deeper voice that only silence and patience can help me to hear.  

There is magic everywhere in the universe, it's just difficult to find sometimes, especially in times of death and loss.  I have some lessons to learn that I had been avoiding and Neko's death has forced me to face them.  I think it's normal for people to look for meaning in the untimely death of a loved one, whether it be a human or furry companion.  For me, in the silence of Neko's absence, it's now time for me to listen.   

a little better than before

When I found out that Brazilian Rosewood was endangered due to its key role in the perfume industry and farming, I decided not to use it.  The sad thing is, I'd gone through about 16 ounces of it before I happened upon this discovery, as it was not my suppliers who made this information available.  None of my suppliers made it known and they still carried it and one still does.  *email sent*   This species has been on the CITES endangered list since 1992, yet "finished goods" from the Rosewood tree are completely legal even if obtained outside the law, based on what I've read.  I have found sustainable Rosewood, but am sad that irresponsible harvesting is still supported.  There is just no substitute for this amazing oil and I can't imagine never being able to smell it again.  From Herbal Gram - The Journal of the American Botanical Council:

"There have been numerous efforts to find alternative sources of linalool. Many have been found which are suitable for various consumer products; however, the linalool from rosewood is irreplaceable for perfumery, at least with respect to efforts to maintain the original formula for some market leaders like Chanel No. 5. This is due to the unique combination of percentages of (+) and (-) linalool. A major part of linalool used commercially for various purposes (home products, some lower-cost perfumes) is synthetic, and a racemic mixture of (+) and (-) isomers. What gives rosewood essential oil its unique smell is the unique combination of the percentages of the (+) and (–) isomers, which are difficult to obtain via commercial synthesis or from alternative plant sources. This means that in terms of conservation, major commercial users need to use the synthetic and alternative natural sources, while those that for whatever reason still must use the original essential oil must invest in sustainable management of existing rosewood trees as well as reforestation of new trees. (E. Elisabetsky, e-mail, July 7, 2006.)"

"Some scientists, meanwhile, have noted that natural rosewood oil can be obtained through sustainable means. Stems and leaves of rosewood trees also produce an oil rich in linalool, meaning that distillation of these regenerative tree parts can derive the fragrant oil previously extracted only from the destruction of full rosewood trees.³ AVIVE plans to employ just such methods in the production of its own rosewood-scented products (B. Schmal, e-mail, March 13, 2006). For this purpose, the women of AVIVE have planted and are tending a plantation of 2,000 young rosewoods. They have further engaged in partnerships with Precious Woods Amazon, a supplier of sustainably sourced exotic wood, and with land owners in their district, which has resulted in cooperative management of forest areas and has enabled AVIVE’s sustainable use of those areas’ non-wood forest products."

On a related note, I'm also happy to report that I get my Palm Oil from a supplier who sells RSPO certified Palm.  You can read more here. 

All the problems are not solved, but with each step, we get closer and closer to leaving a smaller footprint.  Now that you're conscious and aware, I'd like to introduce the new organic carrot juice & fair trade shea butter facial bar with sustainable Rosewood, Patchouli and Tea Tree.

sweeeeet!

I was on a sugar kick earlier this month.  I made blue sugar with too much water mixed into my kaolin clay, giving it that old paint crackle look that reminds me of an old country home,

then I made brown sugar which moved so fast on me that I had to hot process it, and it just happened to come out looking like a big, glorious hunk of yummy, sweet brown sugar crystals,




then I made pink sugar which came out pretty much as planned. 

 

Yow, I have a sweet tooth and since I try to avoid the kind you eat, I make the kind you can smell and slather all over your body...

next post:  carrot juice, shea butter facial bar