Making Lip Balm Using Nature's Garden Kit!

Last week I received a Lip Balm Kit from Nature's Garden. Deb is considering offering bath and body kits to her site and wanted a selected few to try out the kits. I received the Crazy For Coconuts Lip Balm Kit. This is not available on their website right now, but I hope they add it soon!

 Here is what the cute kit looked like (this is after I pulled everything out to see and smell...lol). It came in a cute, reusable vinyl pouch. Perfect for gift giving!





The kit came with full instructions and ingredients:
Coconut oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, beeswax, coconut flavor, vitamin e capsule, lip tint, stevia (for sweetening), 25 white lip balm tubes, and 4 pipettes.

 Before I started, I sanitized my area, pulled back my hair, put on a face mask (which can be bought at any pharmacy) and put on my disposable gloves.
I placed my glass measuring cup on the scale and set it on grams and tared the weight.

 The instructions were to add all the materials (except fragrance and tint and sweetener) and melt in a double boiler. I followed the instructions but melted mine in a different order. I have found that beeswax takes a really long time to melt, so I melted my beeswax first.

 When the beeswax  melted half way, I added my cocoa butter and continued to melt this mixture. After they were both melted, I add my coconut oil, and shea butter. The heat from the other oils usually melts the shea butter, although sometimes I have to put the lip balm base back on the heat to warm up. I find that the shea butter does not turn "grainy" when it is melted gently.

I then added my 20 drops of coconut flavor. I didn't add the stevia since I do not like sweetened lip balm.

This is my first time  using tint in a lip balm! I only added a few drops.

 Look at the beautiful color!

I mixed the color in and used the available pipette to fill in the lip balm tubes.

 After filling, and letting the lip balm cool, I used a clean paper towel and spritzed it with rubbing alcohol. I used the paper towel to rub off any residue that was on the outside of the tubes. I dribbled a little on the outside and cleaning off the tubes was a breeze!

 Ta da! here is what they looked like after I filled the tubes.

 Here is a close up.

 I made a label using the program on Onlinelabels. They have a very simple program that is free to use when you order their labels. I have found Onlinelabels the easiest to work with and purchase all my labels from them.

What do you think? I think they turned out great, and I hope Nature's Garden decides to sell their kits!

Candle Making In St. Louis

 Today was candle making day and while the last batch is cooling, before pouring, I thought I would post a few pictures. Most of the candles will be going to a new shop next week. The rest will be on Etsy and a local St. Louis shop called Le Shoe (yes they sell shoes, but I have a whole section just for my bath and body products!) Today I made:
Blackberry Fizz
Green Apple Candy
Sugar Cookies
Seaside
Georgia Peach

 Most of the scents are blends I put together. To say my basement smells interesting is an understatement!

The little red pitcher I purchased at Hobby Lobby last year. I am pouring (last batch) Green Candy Apple in them.

The little votive jars were bought to hold my votive candles, but my candles are too big for the container, so I am pouring the wax directly in the holders.

The last picture is the Green Apple Candy all melted and ready to pour. I am going to sprinkle candy sprinkles on the top.

Whew....I am almost done, and my feet need are killing me!

Flowers, Birds, and Mother Nature in St. Louis

 Spring has sprung at our house in the past few weeks. We have had unusually warm weather (actually hot - close to 90 degrees!). Our grass is green, the weeds are going full force, and plants are blooming. The first picture is my Clematis. I don't remember the name, but I do know that the tag said they were red. Since our front door is red, I planted this close to the front porch. Oh well, it sure is pretty!


 I believe this vine is a Vinca vine. It started in a hanging plant and now it's all over my beds. This one is under my Butterfly Bushes, so I am going to leave it. The others will meet their timely death with Round Up.

 I found this nest a few weeks ago. I was so happy to see that the birds planted a nest in my tree instead of my door wreath (baby bird poo is hard to clean up!). The eggs were really this color! Note I said "were".

A few days later, I wanted to see how the eggs/birds were doing and I found this. :(
I don't know if eggs can hatch/birds fly away this quickly, but I doubt it. It looks like Mother Nature had a plan for the eggs. Boo.
When the kids were little, we had a hanging basket by our front door. Every year a bird would lay their eggs and we watched as the eggs grew, birds hatched, and learned how to fly away. Since our front door had a glass insert, the kids could watch the entire cycle without disturbing the eggs (although they had to tolerate the door being opened to come and go).

Any guess as to what happened to the eggs?

Summer Sugar Scrubs

I haven't make sugar scrub in ages and now is a great time to get our legs and feet ready for the summer!

Today I made Mango Papaya (orange) and Jamaica Me Crazy (green) In the first two pictures I have already melted the butters and oils, and added color and preservatives.

 

Here is am mixing the oils with a hand mixer. It's best to cool the mixture before mixing or you will be mixing forever. Ask me how I know!

You can see that the mixture is getting thicker and the color has muted some.

I have just added the sugar. I took a quick picture and then mixed and poured quickly.

Here is the final product of my Mango Papaya (the pictures of the Jamaica Me Crazy did not turn out)

I added poppy seeds to the mixture and sprinkled some on top for visual appeal.

I let the mixture set over night. You can see the difference between this picture and the one below. If I held this container upside down, the scrub would drop out. After sitting for a few hours, you can hold the jar upside down and shake it, and the scrub will not move!

Here is the Peach sugar scrub I made the other day. It smells delicious!


To use: Scoop out a small amount of scrub. I prefer to use a spoon to keep water, and germs, out. Scrub lightly and rinse off. Pat your skin dry. Easy peasy!

Christmas Rush

My blog has been lonely for the past month! Getting ready for the holiday rush and doing a show has put me behind on posting!

 

Here are a few items I brought to the show. I didn't sell any of the cupcakes, but I received lots of compliments. The box is 4x4 and I think it makes a great presentation. I have the boxes listed as gift wrap in my Etsy shop. Be sure to check out my cupcake soaps. I have many different ones to choose from!

I sold a few lip balms, and Fig was the favorite among many.

I did sell many of my lotion bars. I had a few out for demo's and I think that helped a lot.

Stay tuned! I will be having a special on Black Friday! I will post the special ONLY on this blog, so stay tuned!

The Weird Popcorn

Popcorn Soap

Have you ever heard of popcorn soap? I have been making this soap for several years now. It seems to come and go in popularity, but it is always popular around this time of the year.
I love making this soap, although I bought a small mold and I can only make 9 kernels at a time, so time wise, it's not a soap I make often. I will usually make a small container of soap and pour into the soap mold when I happen to be in the kitchen, collecting the kernels in a small baggie. This saves time in actually making the soap, but my kitchen is filled with the scent of popcorn for longer than I wish.

Popcorn Soap

Popcorn soap is interesting to everyone because it looks just like a kernel of popcorn, and it smells just like popcorn!

Cut and Curing

My apple pie soap loaf is cut and on the curing rack. They should be ready in about 3 weeks. This mold makes taller soap, so the slices are a little thinner than my other loaf.

I was just using up the extra icing, but I do like how they turned out.

The cupcakes turned out great! These will be ready in about 4 weeks.

More Etsy Tips

I hope everyone had a great weekend! My son came in town, so I had a wonderful time. :)
More tips to share!
1. List new items and list often. I try to list a new item at least twice a day. I have found, using google, and most of my visits come around noon and again between 8 and 10pm. I try to list new items, but if I don't have anything to list, I will renew an item.
Renewing will bring your shop up to the "front of the lists". It doesn't always brings tons of views, but I do think it keeps your shop "fresh".

2. Visit the Etsy forums. I can't tell you how much I have learned from the forums. Granted, you must take advice with a "grain of salt", but there is a lot of good info in the forums. Ask lots of questions and most of the time you will receive good advice. The forums have changed in the past few months and sometimes you have to wait longer for answers to your questions.
3. Visit the Etsy blogs. No, I don't read each and every one, but I do try to each week. Be sure to comment on the blog. Why? Because every time you comment on Etsy you are leaving a link to your shop! I have noticed an increase of views each time I comment on the blogs. Google also picks up your comments!

I hope these tips have helped you. Please feel free to post any questions you may have and I will be happy to help you.

Tips For Etsy Sellers

I just realized that my anniversary on Etsy has passed and I have been selling for 4 years now!
I thought I would share some selling tips for those that are just starting out.
1. Pictures, pictures, pictures! I can't stress to you how important this is. Your customers can't "see" or touch your prduct, so it's your job to make your product stand out. I cringe when I see my first pictures, as I think most seller do. While I don't like my first pictures, I am amazed at how I have improved at capturing what I want my buyer to see.

 

This is my Dragon's Blood soap. While I love this scent, and this soap was amazing, the picture just doesn't do it any justice.

 This soap, as a buyer, appeals to me more than the first one. It's not perfect, but I am getting better.

2. Titles. I know that "Cruising through the Summer" is more appealing to a buyer than "Lemon Lime Soap", but a customer is not going to browse for "Cruising through the Summer", so you will want to make your titles direct and to the point.

3. Descriptions. Google picks up the first few sentences of your description, so this is the time to use your main key words. You will want to use key words that google picks up. For soap, I have found that the word "natural" is far more searched than the word "handmade".

After the main description, you may want to add:

* size and shape of product

* color - will the colors vary?

* how many will the buyer receive? I always include "this listing is for ________ so that the buyer is aware of how many they will receive. I like to take pictures of several soaps together, although the listing is for just one bar.

* how will it be shipped? will it come in a box? envelope?

* include a link to your shops main page. sometimes buyers will land on your page and not know how to get back to the your shop.

I hope these tips help! I dislike long posts, so I will cut this short and return later with some more tips.

Have a great weekend!

Shopping for a shaving mug on Etsy

I'm shopping for shaving mugs on Etsy today and I thought I would share my finds with you.

virginiawyoming made this mug. I love the soft yellow color. The cost is $26.50

 

sheilasthings makes this mug and it is $19.50 and comes with a starter mug and shaving soap, although I won't need the soap as I will be filling the mug with my own soap!

brookhousepottery made this sweet shaving mug. I like the creamy white color and it's simple design.

It's going to be a hard decision to make! I need to pick out a shaving mug and next will be a shaving brush. Any ideas?

New soaps for my Etsy shop, ABreathOfFrenchAir

I have been busy in the soap kitchen lately and thought I would share with you.
Gentleman's Club is a wonderful blend of Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Amber, and a touch of Cinnamon. It really smells like heaven! I think it's a great unisex scent, so don't let the antique ties fool ya!

This soap is made with Indian Sandalwood fragrance. It's a nice spicy scent. I'm still working on a new name. Any ideas?

 Ah, another beer soap! This one is scented with Cedarwood and Ylang Ylang. I love this soap and it's in my shower right now.

The Life of a Cairn Terrier

 

It's been raining cats and dogs here in St. Louis. We took a break from being cooped up inside to enjoy throwing the frisbee and looking at the flowers.

As you can see, Finch loves her frisbee! She loves to bite the middle and then shake her whole head. Because of this, we have gone through many frisbees! Usually  they develop a hole in the middle...imagine that!

I bought this heavy rubber frisbee hoping to solve the problem, but as you can see, she has figured out how to fold it in half, bite the middle and shake her little heart out!

Gardening Soap for my Garden Club

May 7th is our local garden club plant sale. The money collected from the sale is given to local schools to promote gardening skills through hands on gardening. If you are in the Webster Groves area, stop by! Every 1/2 a bar of soap will be given out to everyone shopping. I am donating 10 bars and the rest will be in my Etsy shop soon.

I think the packaging came out really cute, don't you?

Plant Sale

Treasury on the front page of Etsy!

I made a treasury, on Etsy, yesterday and it made the front page that evening! I think this is the third time my treasury has hit the FP. I've been working on this happening more often, so check back to see if it happens again!http://www.etsy.com/shop/aBreathofFrenchair?ref=si_shop

Etsy's New Coupon Code!

 I decided to try Etsy's new coupon code tonight. I've been waiting for a few days for this to become active in my shop. I'm just having a sale tonight to check it out and see how everything runs. So far so good and I've made a few sales!

Sale ends tonight (11/20) at 10PM (CT).
This is just a test to see how the coupon works, so I'll have another very soon.

Coupon code: 112010