Busy building inventory

So after making 14 bottles of Cleanse yesterday (the 7th, I'm writing this after midnight), I jumped back into production today with even more stuff.

Body Butters

I have 2 so far that have both been quite popular. One is a very carefully created "Skin Soother" for super dry skin that has helped me, my family, and some of my customers with various rashes, dry cracked skin, dermatitis, psoriasis, and eczema. After the first batch went out for testing, the scent (which comes from the herbs infused in the oil as well as some essential oils added) was dubbed "Spa Day" by one tester (thanks Squiddy!) and that scent has since been recreated in a special blend of just essential oils so it could be used in lip smoothers, tub treats, and Cleanse.

The other, originally created by request, was a peppermint body butter. It's a much simpler and more basic recipe, intended to do no more than smell like peppermint and moisturize the skin. As a bonus, Aimee discovered that the peppermint helped relieve her fibromyalgia pain flare-ups.

Both these are now done and labeled and ready for sale. If you don't see it in my etsy shop, just convo or email me, or leave a comment here, and I'll let you know if I still have some.

Sugar Scrub

I have a small batch of my orange-rose sugar scrub, made with a mixture of brown and white sugar, moisturizing oils, glycerin, nourishing vitamin E and crushed comfrey, and of course, rose petals and orange essential oil.

I will soon be making a new batch of the coconut-vanilla scrub, with real coconut and vanilla beans!

Aroma Balms

I mentioned a few days ago that I was making these. Well tonight I finally got around to the shrink wrap. Now I just need some photos so I can get them put up on etsy. These are the same aromatherapy blends as the "Clear Head" and "No Stress" oils, but in a convenient lip-balm tube so you can carry them around and apply directly as needed. (Don't carry them in your pocket, though. That much body heat will melt the aroma balms and lip smoothers - just ask Joy!)

My plan for the next few days

• get caught up on photos and postings on etsy.
• update my facebook fan page
• make some more products (still to come - flower garden body butter, more tub treats & lip smoothers, and herbal dryer packs)
• check in with my local boutiques to see what they need from me
• check my ingredients on hand to see what I need to order soon.

The shop has quite a lot in it now and more will be added soon. Check it out, share it with friends, and happy shopping!

Taking a Big Step

Okay, I'm a bit nervous about this, but here goes nothing... I'm preparing to take a pretty big step with my products, specifically Cleanse. My dear friend Star has created a banner ad for me to use on the Ravlery site and once I've got my shop updated and she's done a couple minor changes on the ad, I'll be advertising!

This should be exciting, and I'm looking forward to tracking the impressions and clicks and seeing what new customers I might get from this.

Today, in preparation, I made 14 bottles of Cleanse in unscented, lavender, and lavender-tea tree. I need to order some ingredients before I can make more, but this is a good start!

Aroma Balms!

I've just finished up a batch of No Stress Aroma Balm and will soon be making a batch of the Clear Head Aroma Balm as well.

These balms come in lip balm tubes, just like my lip smoothers, only in black tubes so it's easy to tell them apart at a glance. They're a slightly different formula, blended for a smooth consistency but not particularly for moisturizing like the lip smoothers (though with the cocoa butter, glycerin, and grapeseed oil, they'll be somewhat moisturizing too). Then each one has my original aromatherapy blends added to them.

If you have tried, or thought about trying, the headache or stress oil blends, but want something easy to carry around, or with less mess to apply and less chance of oil spills (because we all know how hard an oil spill can be to clean up, right?) this is the thing for you! Just pull out whichever Aroma Balm you need, and smooth it on the temples, forehead, wrists, pulse points, under your nose... The idea is to let the aromatherapy do its magic while you sit back, breathe, and relax!

More to come soon - I'm hoping for a busy day of creating!

Delayed Update

I have done stuff since mid-May, I'm just sure of it, but apparently I never got around to blogging about it. Sadly, the cord to my camera is MIA so I can't add any new pics just yet, but I'll get to that as soon as I can track it down.

Lately - I've made a nifty purse from a recycled sweater, and have plans to make many more purses, bags, etc., which will soon be going up in their own etsy shop (name to be determined).

I've also made some room sprays. In addition to the Energizer and Cube Calmer that I was already carrying, I finally got a new bottle of Geranium oil which allowed me to make a No Stress room spray. It's the same EO blend I make for the No Stress Calming Oil, and I will soon be making it in a convenient balm style as well.

I hope to be updating again soon with details of many new products going up in the shop. :)

Finally - Progress!

After focusing much of my energy and attention on my daughter's prom, birthday and graduation (all happening within two weeks), I've finally been able to devote some time to business needs! As such, I have a number of new products made, a couple "in development" that I'll be making larger batches of this week, and have even managed to get them where they need to go.

Some of these new products are now at Mesh here in Murfreesboro, while others are listed for sale on the Stones River Market and my Etsy shop.

I want to share here the one product I'm most proud of. CLEANSE. It's my own creation - a carefully developed and thoroughly tested no-rinse cleaning soak for handmade items and delicates. I tried a number of different formulas. I sent out small bottles for people to test. It's gone through a bunch of tests on various types of yarn, natural and synthetic, animal and plant, commercially spun/dyed and hand spun/dyed, knitted/crocheted/skeined. It's also been used on a few delicates such as lingerie and hosiery. It leaves these things soft and fresh, and the scented version add just a hint of scent to the dried item without leaving behind a bunch of residue buildup.

CLEANSE is all natural and earth friendly, and is currently available in the Etsy shop in unscented (for sensitive skin), citrus spice, or tea tree & lavender. It comes in 8oz. bottles, amber glass, just like the oil blends.

I'm really excited about this and hope you will all enjoy it and the other new products available, too.

It's been a long weekend, complete with a fourteen hour film festival hosted at our house (Hobbitpalooza - all three extended editions of the Lord of the Ring movies, with 8 meals/snacks served throughout the day), an afternoon tea and crafty gift-swap with friends, and a brainstorming meeting with the crew for WhedonFest 2010. Also, a weekend-long visit from my daughter's boyfriend.

We had a great time, saw lots of friends, including some we don't get to see very often, and ate TONS of delicious food. :) The downside is that the prep for all this took up much of my week, so I just now got around to posting some new products.

I have "Tub Treats" available at the Stones River Market now, and hope to get them posted on Etsy soon. (In the mean time, if you're interested and not local to me, just email me for an order).

Tub Treats are currently available in a selection of 5 "flavors" (scents - don't eat them): spa day - a relaxing and refreshing scent that reminds my friend Squiddie of a day at the spa, sleepytime - pure lavender scent for relaxing at bedtime, spicy-fresh - created for an online friend who loves ginger, citrus fresh - just a blend of citrus essential oils for a refreshing and energizing scent, and scarborough faire - herbal essential oils blend just like the song (but without the parsley).

Each tub treat is about 1/2 an ounce of cocoa & mango butters with some added vitamin E and essential oils for scent. They're relaxing and moisturizing and would make a great addition to a gift bag!

New market place

I've just been added to the Stones River Market. You can check out the website here, and if you're local to Murfreesboro, I'd suggest checking them out. It's like a cross between a farmer's market and a CSA program. You sign in once a week, select exactly what you want from the various growers in the area, and submit your order. A few days later you go to the pick up location, give them cash or a check for your total order, and bring home all your locally raised, grown, made, or baked goodies. We ordered from them last week and came home with some turkey, ground beef, fresh veggies, homemade jams, and a garlic/herb focaccia that was quite tasty. :)

They have a bath & body section too, which includes my current items and another person who makes soaps and body scrubs and such. I'm really excited about this as both a seller and a customer, so be sure to check them out. And if you're close by and thinking about ordering something from me, this is a good way to do it without having to deal with etsy.

Finally Blogging - aka A Year in Review

Okay, It's been more than a year since the post about having my products available at Mesh.

In that time, I've added new items, many of which are available at Mesh and Brocade Nashville for those who are local. I have begun selling in an etsy shop, though so far only to people I already know online. While I can't even begin to express my thanks to those loyal customers, I do admit I'm hoping to gain interest from other etsy shoppers soon.

For whomever is reading this, in case you don't already know, my current line of products includes:

• two aromatherapy oil blends which can be used topically, in an oil burner, added to a steamer or hot bath, added to unscented body wash.
• an essential oil fortified massage oil developed with natural muscle relaxants according to common essential oil resources.
• a variety of scented and unscented lip smoothers in traditional lip balm tubes.
• two aromatherapy room sprays.
• a variety of bath teas made up of all natural (and some organically grown) herbs, botanicals, and salts.
• a selection of sugar scrubs including moisturizing oils, and exfoliating sugar and ground herbs or other natural ingredients.

I have a few things currently in development and/or testing.

1. all natural laundry soak for handknit items. I've done lots of research on other handknit soaks, homemade laundry detergents and fabric softeners, and beneficial fragrances and developed this all natural, no-rinse, fabric softening, gentle cleansing soak for hand knit items. I've used it on a number of my own items so far and have been quite pleased with it as a cleaning and softening agent. I have high hopes for it - now I just need to figure out the name. :)
2. tub treats. I made one batch that seemed to be successful, and were raved about by the recipient, but the batches done since then have not held their shape. I'm now checking other sources and trying out a few recipes in the hopes of making it work again. When they finally work, they'll be a great item for adding moisture and pleasing scents to a nice long soak in the tub.
3. body butters. I have made a few of these in very small batches and they were well received. Some are just moisturizing like any body butter, and others have been reported to help with the itching of extremely dry skin, preventing chapped/cracked hands during the winter, and even helping with psoriasis, eczema, and dermatitis. Now it's time to start making larger batches so I can get those out to the boutiques and in the etsy shop.
4. aroma-balms. I plan to take the headache oil and calming oil and begin offering both in semi-solid balm form, presented in a standard lip-balm tube for easy application and a much safer (less chance for leakage or mess) carrying system.

So far, this is still very much at the hobby level, but interest is building and the word is spreading. I'll be trying to update much more regularly now as I make Crafting Balance part of my "work at home" schedule. I'd love to hear from people here, with comments, questions, ideas, suggestions, or whatever else you'd like to say!