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.

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!

I'm in a Shop!

So, after a few years of trying various craft forms in various gathering/convention/show situations with very little luck, I am now honored enough to have some of my herbal products offered for sale at Mesh, a local boutique with a wide variety of locally produced arts, crafts, home decor, clothes, bath items, and more, as well as refurbished furniture and various organic goods.

I've just placed the order for more ingredients so I can put together a second batch of Sore Muscle Bath Tea for them soon. I managed to pick up a few other ingredients as well, because I have a Rejuvenating Beauty Bath Tea I want to try out, and some aromatherapy oils that can be used in a room diffuser, as a massage oil, or in the bath. I think these can sell well, and I'm planning to offer them initially in a set of 3-4 different scents, 4 oz. bottles of each.