The Juice Fountain & Facial Maker

We just recently purchased the Breville Juice Fountain Plus. Quite a cool machine. Easier to clean than the cheaper juicer I had years ago (which I ended up rarely using because clean up was such a major pain). Now I'm having so much fun learning how to mix all kinds of fruits and vegetables to make healthy, yummy juices! I like to add a little crushed ice and a touch of milk to make it like a smoothie, but I'm thinking yogurt would be really good, too. My son likes to use it, because he loves smooshing stuff up, so he ends up getting more fruit and veggies in his diet this way. I've read that fresh juice retains more of the vitamins and nutrients than store bought juice. It certainly seems to give me a natural little "pick me up". My fav is apple, carrot and orange together. I threw in a little celery a few times, too, (ramping up to more veggies) and also strawberries and raspberries. And you can use the pulp in cooking (to make soups and such) and also as facial masks! I used the leftover apple, strawberry, raspberry pulp and mixed it with a little honey, and had a great instant facial mask. Full of antioxidants and natural fruit AHA's and enzymes, it made my skin look and feel wonderful. I've used fruit masks quite a bit, but if you've never tried it, it's an odd experience the first time. I try to do it when my husband and son are not around, because they tease me incessantly. I almost took a picture of my face slathered in fruit pulp but I just couldn't bring myself to do it! I had a really good goatee look going with a long bit of strawberry hanging from my chin, too. LOL I admit it's amusing to look at, but it sure does work well. Back to the juice, someone on Twitter recommended I try some grapes in the juicer, so that's on my shopping list for this week. Any other suggestions for good juicing recipes?

Etsy Twitter Team: Shop of the Week: Tamara Garvey

Etsy Twitter Team: Shop of the Week: Tamara Garvey

Tamara Garvey, of TamaraGarvey.etsy.com, has some really cute and beautiful illustrations. Her style is quirky and fun!

“I draw fun, whimsical, pen-and-ink scenes, usually involving at least one animal and/or tree, as these are my favorite things to study and draw! I sell them as prints in different sizes, including ACEOs, as well as note card sets.

I'm really inspired by the classic pen-and-ink artists Edward Gorey and Aubrey Beardsley. My drawings are made with care in my cute home studio, usually with my dog snoozing on the floor nearby. I'm saving up for a large-format printer of my own so that I can have complete control over my prints (that sounds diabolical! mua ha ha), but in the meantime I have them done at a print shop nearby that does an awesome job. My prints have great color and are printed on nice quality card stock.

My drawings are inspired by my walk to work through Savannah, Georgia's squares, magazines, other artists/crafters on Etsy, color combinations of a stranger's outfit, tattoos, particularly cute dogs at the dog park...anything really!”
Tamara has a degree in Illustration from Savannah College of Art and Design and a B.S. in Biology from Mary Washington College. Her biology background comes through in her piece titled “Enchantment under the Sea” – it’s like looking into a microscope and seeing all sorts of neat little creatures swimming around in the pond water.

She ships everywhere and all her illustrations are shipped wrapped in a waterproof cellophane sleeve, sandwiched between pieces of thick, non-bending cardboard.

Special for the Week: Put “EtsyTwitter” into the “Messages for the Seller” box and await a revised invoice with a 15% discount off any of her items! (If you forget, just send her a convo.)

New Pedicure Sets and BOGO Sale!

New exciting products available at Soap Rehab: a new Foot Scrub and Pedicure Sets. Loaded up with scrubby sugar, mineral-rich dead sea salt, and ground apricot seeds are all combined with moisturizing oils and shea butter to create a thick and rich conditioning and exfoliating foot scrub. Perfect to help maintain that professional pedicure or for a quick do-it-yourself pedi. (Great for hands, too!) Emulsified like a cream so it won't separate, it gently polishes away dead and dry skin, leaving your feet impressively soft and sandal ready. Available in minty fresh Swiss Alps and sexy fruity Blackberry Lemon Drop. Sets include foot scrub and shea butter cream. Get Fabulous Feet!

And to help celebrate upcoming Mother's Day (May 10), this week only: BUY ONE GET ONE HALF PRICE!! (Half price item will be the equal or lesser priced item in your order. Sale does not apply to sets.)
How it works: After your purchase is completed, I will send you a refund through Paypal. Sale runs April 27--May 2.

Etsy Twitter Team: It's Etsy Day!

Today is officially unofficially a day to celebrate all that is Etsy.com! What is Etsy? It’s the best place on earth to find all things handmade. Art, woodworking, jewelry, ceramics… you name it, they have it for sale. Over two million people use Etsy everyday! Etsy has grown exponentially in the last few years. Exposure from The Martha Stewart Show and other traditional and online media has made Etsy’s numbers explode.

So how does Etsy work? Artists open their own shops with their own shop names. Shops can carry all handmade items, vintage items, craft supplies, or a mixture of all three. The individual artist runs his or her own shop. When you buy an item, you are paying the artist directly. It’s like a big craft show that you can go to anytime!

Many ways exist to interact with the artists and shops on the site.

Shop by Categories: Etsy is divided up into many categories such as jewelry, bath & body, knitting, paper goods, housewares, clothing, ceramics, weddings, glass, and many more. Subcategories are listed within the main categories to help you narrow down your search such as “necklace” under jewelry and “teapots” under ceramics.

Shop Local: If you are a fan of shopping local you can do that, too, on Etsy! Just type in your location and up pops shops listed for your region. If you are sending a gift to another place, you can also use this feature to shop local for your gift’s destination.

Shop by Color: The color interface on this part is really neat. You can get very specific shades of any color you want. Click on a color bubble and you’ll see listings tagged with that color. Shopping for someone who collects blue bowls? This feature will help you find just the right color.

Pounce: This feature lets you discover undiscovered shops that have had few sales or peruse through shops that recently had a sale. Just keep clicking “Pounce” and more items come up. It’s kind of addicting watching all this beautiful artwork pop up!

Treasuries: The Treasury feature is one of my personal favorites. Etsy users can curate a mini exhibit of items. Many are created with a theme like a specific color or style. Random selections of Treasuries eventually reach the front page of Etsy. Getting a treasury can be difficult but worth the wait.

Custom: Formerly known as “Alchemy”, the Custom section lets you place a request for a custom item. This can be anything you dream up! Maybe your sister loves angels and you want to have an angel painting created just for her. This is the place to ask for it. Artists will place bids on your request, and you get to choose who will make your item.

The Storque: This is Etsy’s blog. Find all kinds of articles here about Etsy shops, technical issues, and the handmade movement. Really worth a read as you will discover new shops and really good information about running a shop or buying handmade, vintage, or supply items.

Showcases and Gift Guides: Artists can purchase advertising spots in the Showcase. Etsy creates Gift Guides for holidays, for certain people, or for items like “A Cozy Home” and “Spring”.

Virtual Labs: This is where Etsy holds live workshops and classes. Etsy teams can hold meetings and trunk shows here. I love the Labs. I have learned so much from attending workshops.

Forums and Chat: Here is where you can pose site help questions, business topics, or look for sales and promotions. Etsy also has chat rooms.

So get on over to Etsy, sign up, and support handmade art and hardworking artists!
Today is also Arbor Day, and there just so happens to be all kinds of Earth Friendly finds on Etsy as well as things for the yard, garden, seeds, etc!

Etsy Twitter Team: It's Etsy Day!

Indie Find of the Day- BookWormz

BookWormz are so brilliant! Finally an elegant, fun, no fail way to mark the place in your book. No more scraps of paper to lose, little receipts to fall out, or embarrassing shreds marking your cool novel. Oh, and you can finally get rid of that Garfield bookmark from 1982, ok? This is much more presentable for that summer reading at the pool or beach. Available in a variety of sizes, including a one-size-fits-all and some really cute styles. These are great for gift giving, too! Perfect for the BookWorm on your list! Check them out on Etsy at http://BookWormz.etsy.com.

Byhand.Me

Byhand.Me is a community for artisans. It's free to join, and it is not a selling venue. It's a group of artisans coming together for networking, support, and promotion. As a participating artisan, you have your own profile with links to your shop(s) and blogs. There is an artisan directory to help others find you or for you to find others. There are Clubhouses to help you get together with other artisans bound by some kind of common ground to discuss anything and everything. I *love* the wishlist feature! You can put together your own wishlists of handmade goods from a long list of selling venues. So all in one place you can have your favorites from Etsy, Artfire, 1000 Markets, etc. Never forget which site you saw that "must have" bag! Another fun feature is the Spotlight. Create galleries of your own work, or others, in any theme or non-theme you'd like from a combination of selling venues. To me it's like creating a treasury on Etsy but without the endless waiting and competition for a treasury spot to open. There is also a very supportive Forum where you can ask questions, comment, wax poetic, all in a comfortable environment. Because it isn't a selling venue, it has much more of a community feel, like we are all in this together. Check it out at http://www.byhand.me/

Back it Up--Lessons Learned

I've read on occasion about the importance of backing up your computer's hard drive, and always thought, yes I need to do that. But other things seemed more important and I kept putting that on the back burner...some other time...when I get around to it. It doesn't have to be done right this minute, does it? Well, yesterday, as my laptop went crashing to the ground and my "computer life" flashed before my eyes, the importance of backing up my data suddenly seemed like a *Now* kind of priority. I think I managed to retrieve most of my "life" and took it to the Apple ER. While it's being resuscitated, I've had the chance to reflect on my laptop dependency. Perhaps I've become too attached to this electronic device that occupies the better part of my days, and quite frankly this provided a number of good lessons for me. I'm now committed to using that helpful little thing called Time Machine. Useful indeed!
I am also going to make sure I spend a little more time detached from my electronic appendages. Guessing this will be a little easier now as the weather is improving. And finally, the realization that it's not really a tragedy. No human being was physically hurt in the computer "disaster". The Genius in the Apple Store suggested they keep tissues behind the counter for use during such lost data catastrophes. Maybe I've made this thing a little too dear to me. And maybe I have helped someone else in these discoveries. Go forth and Back that thing Up!

Wordless Wednesday

Me and my Neti Pot

Sinus Rinsing--Ahhh sounds lovely doesn't it? Not that pretty to watch, either, but effective in my experience. With our home remodeling season fully in swing, we have paint fumes, carpet dust, and hardwood floor shavings all around. Having read here and there about the benefits of irrigating the ol' nasal passages and how it can help with chronic congestion, I decided to give it a go. So, I rinsed every day with the Neti Pot for a couple of weeks and did find relief from my morning chronic plugged up nostrils. However, it was, I admit, difficult to get used to...that feeling of having water up your nose. I stopped. Couldn't bring myself to do it anymore. Then I changed from the neti pot method to the bottle method. This did make a difference for me...less uncomfortable, less of that "water up the nose" feeling, and faster to use. I've been using the pre-mixed saline packets that come with the Neil Med bottle. There's a good instructional video on their website: http://www.neilmed.com/usa/products.php#sinusrinse. I find that soon after rinsing, my sinuses clear up and stay clear throughout the day. I also wake up a bit less congested, so I'm guessing that I might be sleeping better as well, though I haven't noticed that specifically. I like that it's natural, drug free, and seems to do just as much as the Claritin did for me. Anyone else have experience with this sinus rinsing? I recommend giving it a shot if you have issues with sinus congestion.

Indie Find of the Day--Curious Mess

Also the Etsy Twitter Team shop of the week for this week, and fellow UWIB member, Starla Petersen’s Etsy shop, CuriousMess.etsy.com, is anything but a mess. It’s a shop filled with curiously wonderful and lovely items! And the item photography is delicious!

“When I first opened my shop, I was only making the wood paintings. But as things have progressed, I've begun to work my love of fabric into it as well, with the newest items being fabric bowls and fabric brooches/pendants. I love fun and whimsical.”

And it shows in her work. Her fabric bowls are stunning in their design and detail. You can really see the fine craftsmanship in her new line of embroidered brooches, too.

“Everything you see in my shop, I truly enjoyed making. It makes me so happy to be able to express myself creatively, and I hope that comes through in my artwork. I want my work to make people smile.”
What inspires her to create? “The whole entire process inspires me. From start to finish... sketching out ideas... playing around with fabric... picking colors. My absolute favorite part of it all is that first spark of a new idea or design. I get giddy. Unfortunately, my ideas usually come to me as I'm lying in bed about to doze off. It's very hard to get to sleep once I've got a new idea bouncing around in my head.”

When asked about her Twitter habits: “I like to make sure I keep my Twittering fresh. I want people to see not only the shop updates and the things I create, but get a good glimpse of my personality as well. You want to be memorable in a good way. Reply to what others are saying. Make connections. Yes, I just added a new bowl to the shop. But I also LOVE 80's movies!”

Free shipping worldwide April 6th - 12th. Just mention “EtsyTwitter” in your message to seller and shipping will be refunded.

New Product! Sugar Polish

An Exfoliating Skin Conditioner for your body, this NEW Sugar Polish by Soap Rehab has lots of moisturizing shea butter, with sugar to exfoliate. This formula is emulsified like a cream so it will not separate or leak. Just scoop out a bit into your hands during your shower or bath and gently scrub--especially focusing on dry flaky spots like elbows, feet, and knees. Then rinse. It will leave your skin feeling satiny smooth and lightly moisturized, without any greasy or oily feel.

As I mentioned in an earlier post on my scrubby soaps, exfoliating your skin is actually an important process to help your skin stay moisturized. If your skin is coated with a heavy layer of dead skin cells, your moisturizer can't do its job. It won't be able to penetrate that layer of dead skin cells and you'll still feel dry and flaky even after multiple applications of lotion. Gentle exfoliation also helps prevent ingrown hairs and body acne, in addition to moisture retention. Also great as a pre-self tanning treatment for the most natural looking, even tan. I've worked for months to perfect this formula and create a scrub that I love, and I hope you will enjoy it, too. Currently available in the super yummy Brown Sugar Pecan scent at http://soaprehab.etsy.com.

Time for a Lip Balm Giveaway!

Check out the lovely review AND a Lip Rehab lip balm giveaway at La Dolce Vita: http://kristenandrewsonline.blogspot.com/. While you're there, be sure to check out Kristen's Custom Creations...she has great hand-stamped jewelry! I have several of her items on my wish list, and especially like this lotus necklace. Lovely accessory for Spring!

Ingredient Spotlight- Sweet Almond Oil

Obtained from the dried kernels of the almond tree, sweet almond oil has a long historical use around the world that includes repairing itchy, dry and inflamed skin as well as being an excellent moisturizer suitable for all skin types. It is a mild, lightweight oil, rich in unsaturated fats and essential fatty acids (omega 3), Vitamins A, several B vitamins and vitamin E. It is considered, in general, to be a non-irritating oil, and helps to leave the skin soft and smooth yet it's non-greasy and easily absorbed into the skin. This makes it great for use in lotions and massage oils. I love it in my body butter formulation because it's not heavy at all, yet very soothing. Sweet almond oil is also used as a wood conditioner of certain woodwind instruments such as the oboe and clarinet. You can lube up your reed and skin with the same oil! ;) With the high concentration of specifically the Vitamin E, it's also said to be great for your hair...try a scalp massage with sweet almond oil to add luster, shine, and strength.