New Flavor for Lip Balm!

I just wanted to introduce my newest lip balm flavor - Mango Mania! This lip balm is fresh and sweet!

I designed my lip balm formula to glide on easily and protect your lips for hours - with no greasy feeling! The ingredients are as natural as possible. I use beeswax, cocoa butter, sweet almond oil, hemp oil and vitamin E. The only artificial ingredient is flavor oil, and I do have some scented with essential oils to make them all natural.

Worried about how these ship in the summer heat? I have small re-usable cooling packs that I include with my lip balm and lotion orders in the summer.

Mention this blog and get 20% off your lip balm order! Just use the code "blog20" in the message to seller box. Then wait for me to send you a revised invoice through PayPal. This offer does not expire and is good for all my different flavors. Honey Bee Mine, Peppermint, Natural (unscented), and Mango Mania.

Crafting Tips: My Favorite Suppliers

When I first started making candles and soap it was a challenge to find the right suppliers. I started out as many do by getting supplies from AC Moore and Michaels. These stores have a few great things going for them. They're generally local (easy to get to), and you can get your supplies right away instead of waiting for shipping (for us impatient types).

These places are great if you're just getting started in your craft and you're looking for a few basic supplies. Most people don't want to invest in bulk supplies when they don't even know if they'll like their new craft. However, I'm not sure how they are for other crafts, but for candles and soap I quickly outgrew these stores. They are relatively expensive, sell in small volume and have very limited selection.

I was looking for great quality bulk supplies at good prices with reasonable shipping costs. So I needed to look online. It took some trial and error but I've come up with a group of online supply stores that I'm very happy with. I know how hard it is when you're just starting out, so I thought I'd share a few of my favorites.

Many of these stores sell both candle and soap/B&B making supplies. I've also included some comments for each. And don't forget to sign up for newsletters from online supply stores. They often have monthly specials for subscribers.

Peak Candle Supplies
Very good selection, quality, shipping and customer service. Many of the fragrance oils are also safe for B&B products.

Bramble Berry
Soap Making Supplies
Wonderful products! Best prices I've found for soap-making oils.

Nature's Garden
Wholesale Candle & Soap Supplies
Good selection and reasonable prices.

Wholesale Supplies Plus
Soap and Candle Making Materials
One of my favorites for candle scents.

E&M Gold
Beekeepers and Natural Honey Advocates
Local New Jersey beekeepers where I get my beeswax. They sell a lot more than bulk beeswax. Take a look!

My Newest Soap: Green Tea with Lemon

My Green Tea with Lemon soap is back by popular demand. I tend to switch between making new soaps and old favorites to keep as much variety in my shop as possible.

This is a wonderful smelling, all natural, vegetable soap made with green tea leaves and essential oil blend. The bars are at least 5 oz each.

The combination of green tea and lemon make this a wonderful soap in so many ways. It’s perfect for your morning shower as the lemon scent refreshes and wakes you up. The green tea leaves also provide a gentle exfoliation. As with all my soaps, this has a luxurious lather and leaves you feeling clean and soft.

I use the hot processed method to make this soap. It’s made from olive oil, palm kernel oil, castor oil, cocoa butter, water, lye, sweet almond oil, grapefruit seed extract, lemon and lemongrass essential oils, and green tea leaves.

I also have samples of this soap available. Click here for details.

Craft it Forward

Yesterday I was visiting Audrey's Country Crafts blog and she has this wonderful thing going on right now. It's a crafty PIF (pay it forward) where she's giving away 5 handmade items to the first 5 people who comment. I decided I'd take her up on this fun project!

Each of the 5 people who comment then just craft it forward. If you like creating and giving as much as receiving then you'll love this!

Here are the rules:

The first five people to respond to this will get something handmade by me.
There are some restrictions, though:

~I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.
*What I create will be just for you.
~You’ll receive it this year (2009).
*You have no clue what it’s going to be. It could be ANYTHING handmade!
~And in return, all you need to do is post this text into your blog and make 5 things for 5 people.

Respond in the comments section… first 5 people win!

So leave a comment and get crafting! In your comment please include a way for me to reach you.

Crafty Projects: Crocheted Purse/Backpack

Just a few months ago I took up crocheting. I find it relaxing and fun! I've been working on pretty simple projects so far. This has been my most ambitious project. It's a drawstring style purse/backpack made from cotton yarn.

I made it because I've been wanting a small, light bag that I could use to hold things like a pair of flip flops and bottle of water. And I wanted it to be a backpack style because when I'm on an extended walk or hike I hate having a bag that smacks against my hip.

Sorry I can't pass along the pattern because I'm still not even very good at *reading* patterns, let alone writing one. To tell you the truth I wouldn't even be able to even describe the stitch I used for most of the bag. I started out trying to do a double crochet but I knew I was getting it wrong. But then I liked how it looked so I kept doing it wrong! :)

Crafting Tip: Better than Perfect!

One thing I struggle with in my crafting is trying to make everything *perfect*. Yes, I have high expectations about the quality of my recipes, but it even goes beyond that. I fret if I've cut a bar of soap just a little off square. I stress about the color if it comes out not exactly as I've planned. And don't get me started on what I do if the finish on a candle isn't flawless!

I'm sure I'm not alone in this kind of thinking. "My work has to be perfect for it to be professional." Heaven forbid someone out there thinks I'm an amateur!

We as artists and crafters need to break out of this pattern of thought. We create amazing and beautiful items. Each is unique and wonderful. If buyers want machine-accuracy and assembly-line perfect then they'll go shop elsewhere. Our buyers see the value of handmade. As a buyer of handmade, I value more the personal thought, effort, creativity (blood, sweat, and tears) that went into the item.

And so today I want to celebrate the imperfections that make our work better than perfect! Here's a spotlight of Etsy items that have been marked down because of small flaws. These are great, unique items! I made this spotlight on byhand.me and you can see it online here.