All about bath bombs

Bath bomb ratios 2 parts baking soda to 1 part citric acid and 1 part corn starch (optional).  Yes really that is it.

Now I wish I would have taken pictures of some of my bath bomb failures so I could show you what happens under different conditions.

Ingredients you can use to get your bath bomb to take a shape, otherwise all you have is a bath fizzy.

Most vegetable oils (excluding any that is a humectant like olive oil).  Here is a pic of ones that turned out fairly well.

Most butters (in very warm weather be sure to use a hard one that has a high melting point)  do not use coconut oil or babbasu oil in warm weather.  Some people think these are butters as they harden in colder temps but they are really oils.

You can also use witch hazel, but never use anything with water in it, this is what sets the baking soda off to expand and fizz.

Be careful how much witch hazel or anything else you use, and also you might need to check the humidity as most bath bomb makers say when the humidity is above 70% it gets into the bath bomb mixture and sets the baking soda into action and leave you with a wet mess.

You don't have to make your bath bombs into a round ball shape using a plastic mold.  You can also use any type of silicone mold.  Actually silicone molds are easier to get your bath bombs out of.  Make sure you give your bath bombs time to harden before you try to remove them or they will break apart in pieces.

Here is a picture of how I sell my bath bombs.

Sharing some funnies and love

This week I had a very difficult time finding any new funnies, but it seems that their are so many people who love to share animal photos and lots of dog and cat lovers are my Facebook friends.

We love them for their unconditional love

Now I do not believe that this one isn't a Photoshop image, do you?

This is fun to look at any way

Can you believe the way these bears bunched up on one tree?

How does all of that weight not break the branches?

Soldiers can use some doggie love too.

I don't know if this is Afghanistan

Isn't the below pretty much everyone's prayer?

I have to admit that I have been guilty of saying that I drink diet soda so I can have a candy bar.

Have you been guilty of this too?

An artisan with fabulous surprises in her shop

This is an interview with Martiel a very talented artisan whose shop on Zibbet is called Sewmantra.

Laura:  Where do you get your inspiration from?

Martiel - It is rare for me to look at other fabric artists and take inspiration from them - which funny enough is where most people assume I get my inspiration.  In fact most of my inspiration comes from just walking around and seeing things.  I am an anthropologist by training and one thing that is big for me is observation.  Humans learn and come to understand the social constructs within their culture as well as behaviors from observation.  It is foundational to who we are and how we understand our world and the people in it - everyday is a journey

Besides Yarn, what other materials do you use?

Martiel - I used a lot of yarn as yarn is my primary material.  However I do use lots of other types of material  (cotton, vinyl, polyester, felts, etc.).  I also find ribbon to be in high demand in my studio along with natural fabric dye, thread, buttons and socks.  I am actually in the process of new line of cleaning accessories that uses just that socks.

What is the time range it takes for you to complete the various flowers?

Martiel - For my bouquets, a single flower in the bouquet can take from 20 minutes to 2 hours depending on the complexity of assembly and the parts that are required.  The 18 stem calla lilly bouquet takes about 27 hours to make give or take.  This can be shortened up a bit if I don't hand dye the styles (the center yellow portion of the flower).  Some of my more complex bouquets take upwards of 50 to 70 hours to complete.  This is why I ask brides to give me at least 3 to 5 months lead time on their orders so I can have it ready and shipped to them just the way they imagine it.  Plus these bouquets can be unassembled just like real bouquets and the flowers will stand on their own as each flower has their own stem and they are held together with ribbon.  My bouquets make a great keepsake for a bride and the lovely thing is that they don't need to go through additional processing to keep them lovely.  They are lovely forever.

Laura - What made you decide to cater some of your items to weddings such as your veil.  Isn't it difficult to find veil material?

Martiel - I decided to offer wedding accessories and bouquets because my sister in law was getting married and she wanted me to make items for her wedding, so that is how it all got started.  As for veils, it isn't hard to find the materials to assemble veil, it is much harder to put it together, especially the cathedral veils - they range from 120 to 150 inches long.

Laura - Do you use patterns or do you come up with ideas of your own and just go for it (I am referring to your crocheted animal critters).

Martiel - All of my items are made without a pattern.  I am a certified drafter and and because of this or maybe because I have a knack for seeing the spacial distribution, I see the object just the the way I want it to be in my head before I get started.  It's a gift I am thankful for everyday.  But my critter hats are really thought up initially by the people who order them.  They tell me the critter they want and then I make it.  I haven't turned down an order yet and every customer loves their critters.

I just had to post two of these.  

Laura - What prompted you to make several different looks for e-gift cards?

Martiel - I think e-gift cards are the wave of the future!  Personally I think that being able to send a gift card is fun and is a good gift idea for people who are difficult to shop for or hard to please.  I also really love having fun and funky things in my shop - the gift cards are there to make people smile and they are customizable as well.  It's a great solution for people who need a quick gift idea and what's even better they show up in the buyer's email box almost instantly.  I also design individual and gift card packages for other shop owners as well.

Would you like to share your idea regarding fabric flowers by the sheet?  Can you create other types of things with these sheets, like butterflies or lady bugs or any other type of shape that scrap bookers
might like?

Martiel - I haven't been on the ball as much as I would like with making more flowers by the sheet.  But I do love these and they are so cool.  They come in many sizes and I am open to anyone who would like me to design other flowers or even shapes.  They are great for scrap booking, sewing projects and so many other things.

Laura - Where did you get the idea to make such crazy looking bookmarks, they are much more original than any I have ever seen?

Martiel - I have a dear friend who loves to read and I wanted to give her something for a housewarming gift last year.  I wanted it to be something she would use and also something she would enjoy.  No two are alike and even when I try to make them the same, they always turn out different.

Laura - What is reclaimed yarn and how do you find it?

Martiel - Reclaimed yarn is yarn where a garment such as a sweater or blanket is taken apart.  While this can be confused with recycled yarn, it is very different.  Reclaimed yarn is simply taken in it's current form and then transformed into another.  For example, I can take apart a sweater or a blanket and make a scarf.  Recycled yarn is where it is taken apart and broken down to its most basic form (fiber) and then respun with other recylcled fibers or new fibers into yarn.

Laura - I am curious about the hand fan, how can you dye and hand cut the cherry blossoms and does that mean you paste them on the fan?

Martiel - The hand fan is a major undertaking to create.  First I use reclaimed starch fabric which has been temporarily glued to paper, just like printable fabric to create an outline for the flower shapes so that the blooms are all the same approximate size.  Each bloom is hand cut using some very tiny and very sharp scissors that I purchased just to do this one task.  After they are cut out, I use a soy based ink to color them.  When all the flowers have dried, they are then mounted using a non toxic fabric glue and I mount them by hand one by one.  The process from start to finish takes approximately 8 hours.

Considering the length of time and care it takes, the fan as well as the other beautiful things you make is a real bargain .

You can find Sewmanta at the below links

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 View or shop my wonderful creations

Nature's top ten moisturizers

Here is a list of the top 5 butters and the top 5 oils that are derived from plants (botanical) with an explanation of what their virtues are.

Butters

• Shea butter because it is highly emollient and a good skin protectant
• Illipe butter because it's moisture is long lasting and it is great at softening the skin
• Pumpkin butter because it is both rejuvenating and revitalizing for dry and damaged skin
• Avocado butter because it makes skin really soft and supple
• Kokum butter because it is not greasy and is absorbed more quickly than most other butters (including shea)

Oils

• Rosehip oil absorbs quickly into the skin and has great anti aging properties as well
• Apricot kernel oil is also quickly absorbed into the skin and is cheaper than rosehip if you don't need or want the anti aging properties
• Neem oil even though this one is stinky, it is great for all kinds of skin problems including eczema and psorasis and fungal infections and has been used for centuries
• Macadamia nut because it is known to be regenerative
• Meadowfoam oil for whatever reason is superior to other moisturizers when it comes to rejuvenating and moisturizing the cuticles around your finger nails.

A few notes about a few other gifts of nature that didn't make the top ten list because you can only put ten on a top ten list.  LOL  Tucuma butter is great for the hair and has been purported to both tone and moisturize dry/mature skin.  Further it is considered by some to have anti inflammatory, and anti septic properties and therefore good for acne, eczema and dry irritated skin and a suggested ingredient for a pomade.  I did not include this one in my top ten for two reasons, one it is very expensive and the other is I have not had any experience with it.

Camellia seed oil is also purported to both revitalize and rejuvenate both hair and skin.  This flower grows in both China and Japan and for centuries has been used as both a hair conditioner and a treatment to strengthen brittle nails.

Hazelnut oil is also well known for its astringent qualities and is deeply penetrating and stimulating to the circulatory system.  It helps to both tone and tighten the skin, plus can be used by all skin types.

There are other butters and oils from nature but to the best of my knowledge, they do not have any benefits that vary from those above.  Plus some of them are very expensive and you have to watch out for things like orange butter which may contain ingredients that are not listed.

August sampler Zbox from Zibbet

If you love samples and especially handmade, then a Zbox is just the item for you.  You can give them as a gift to friends and family, like so many other people do.  To purchase one (for a mere $20 including shipping) visit this blog

Here is a sample picture of what you may get in your Zbox.

You never know which shops are going to send samples in, or what type of samples or even how many.

Some of my bath and beauty product sample will be included in September's Zbox and here as image of what they look like.

As you can see my samples come in a pretty little organza bag and you never know which color you are going to get.  Certain products have essential oils to help a specific issue and some you can get the essential oil of your choice.

Some of my products are for serious skin problems and some are just for fun and pleasure, you can visit my Zibbet shop with this link

Funnies for your Tuesday

Since so many people enjoy varying jokes but also enjoy very funny animal pictures (actually I think more people like those than the jokes) I will be posting a combination of the two every Tuesday.  It's nice to take a break from research and writing.

Want some advise from an elderly cartoon character?

Gotta have at least one cute animal one, right?

Just had to include this one, look at those legs. LOL

Can you identify with this joke?

Poly Shop's polymer clays

Hi everyone! Guest posts sure are fun.  First off, I’d like to introduce myself, I’m Abby Colegrove, owner of The Poly Shop!  I sell handmade food jewelry and dollhouse miniatures made from polymer clay! I really hope you enjoy my post!! 

How I began sculpting

Well, the idea came from my best friend, who told me about polymer clay (I’m so thankful she did).  My mother had informed me of Etsy (As did the friend I have mentioned a few sentences before), and so I had been considering what to sell, because I wanted to sell SOMETHING. After figuring out what polymer clay was asked for it for Christmas, and lo and behold, I got some clay, as well as some handy tools.
So, I played around with them, reading lots of tutorials and tips for making miniature food from clay. Now, after almost 6 months of working with clay, my tool and material supply has grown from a few pencil boxes of blades and clay to a desktop and two large bookshelves of materials and tools!  Thanks to my friend, I found out what Etsy was, and more importantly, what polymer clay was.

My materials and tools

Listing each and every one of my tools and different types of materials would take up a whole day. So, I’ll just list the three more important and more frequently used tools and materials.

Polymer Clay

This is, of course, probably my most important material. This type of clay is different from other clays, because you can bake it in your home oven. It only takes about 10 minutes to cure something, so this part is definitely not time-consuming. Polymer clay comes in many different types. You can get firm, soft, some dryer than others, and some wetter than others. You can get huge bricks, or little balls, or even polymer clay in liquid form! There are many different brands, such as Fimo, Kato Polyclay, and Sculpey. I personally love Sculpey III clay, but some love Sculpey Premo (A softer and more vibrant line of clay), and some love Fimo (a firmer, simpler line of clay).

Blades

I have Sculpey brand blades. This is a very important tool to have, so you can cut clean lines in the clay. It is also very important to have a SHARP blade. A dull blade, when slicing through layers of clay, leaves a runny-looking effect, pulling the clay down as it slices. Who would want that?

Needle Tool

This is important as well. It’s used for making small textures in small areas, or for making little holes. I just use a household sewing needle, but you could use a pin, or you can buy a “professional” needle tool at your local craft store. (I used to have one but the end broke off, so it’s really dull.

And so, that’s most of what  you need for basic clay-making. I could continue on, and ramble on for hours, so let's just go on to the next topic.

Some of my techniques

Well, there are quite a few techniques I have. The first one will probably have to be making a crumbly cake/bread texture. I just take my needle tool and make little loops all over the surface, and just tear it up. Eventually, the surface looks crumbly. For some other textures, I also use foil, a toothbrush and mascara brush, and a white pencil carved into a square tip (for waffles and ice cream cones).

If you make little cakes, they can be extremely messy. So, I have suggestions.  First, make each cake layer, texturing it and whatever. Don’t ice it yet.  Bake the layers.  While they’re baking, make your icing. Just mix chopped up clay and liquid clay until it’s smooth and creamy. (Use about equal amounts of clay and liquid clay.)  Now, take out your cake layers. Spread icing in between and bake again.  Ice the sides, bake AGAIN. Then finally, ice the top, and bake again. Then you can glaze the cake or whatever, to make it look pretty.  Those are techniques I find the most valuable. Use them wisely!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my post! 

 Our Website and Blog  www.thepolyshop.weebly.com

Like us on Facebook, please!>>www.facebook.com/

We’re on Flickr, too!>>www.flickr.com/photos/

You can purchase our items from Etsy or Zibbet:  www.thepolyshop.etsy. OR www.zibbet.com/thepolyshop

(Currently, we’ve got a promotion going, where with any purchase you receive a surprise gift!! This promotion only goes on until 8/23/12, so hurry on over!)

Hope you all have a GREAT day!

The craft of marketing

I picked to write about Lush in this article on the marketing craft because they are so good at it.  Sometimes I think that not only do I lack imagination but I don't get other people's imaginative ideas either, like Lush's gorilla perfume.  Here are the names of some of their Gorilla perfumes (solid perfumes):

Karma
Lust
Breath of God
Twilight
Yuzu (Japanese fruit)
Dirty
Icon
snowshowers
the smell of freedom

Could someone explain to me why those names would be appealing when they tell you absolutely nothing about the scent of the perfume.  I would so love to understand this type of marketing.  Is it just that the names are so catchy?

Here are some of the names they use for their bath bombs (nothing catchy in front of the term bath bombs).

butterball

twilight

golden slumbers

bon bomb

geo phyzz

sex bomb

dragon's egg

fizz o therapy

honey bee

mrs whippy

rocketeer

fairy jasmine

space girl

softy

Sakura

phoenix rising

tisty tosty

the sicillian

fluffy egg

Could it be that these names conjure up curiosity or that it just sounds interesting?

They also have a product called bubble bars.  It's kind of like bubble bath except in solid form.  You crumble it under running water just like you would pour bubble bath under running water.  I would also like to know if people really want scents like sea weed and fresh cut grass?  Maybe it's just that I am an old foggy but I always thought of scents that were appealing to be floral or fruity.

Here is an excerpt from their web site describing one of their products:  "Love the smell of warm milk with a bit of added spice? Hot Milk comforts with orange and patchouli essential oils and soothing coconut milk. Its delicate bubbles envelop you like a favorite old blanket then it wraps you up nice and warm and sends you off to bed with a big hug and a huge smile on your face. Soak in its frothy waters, slip into your favorite jammies and fall into your fluffy bed. Repeat nightly."

Does warm milk really have a distinct scent to anyone who doesn't have a really sensitive nose?  Plus I am really wondering about the bubbles wrapping you up nice and warm and sending you off to bed with a big hug and huge smile.  Do bubbles hug you?  I just never thought of things in this fashion being a big old pragmatist.  I can certainly see though how these types of imaging terms can be very appealing.

Lush says fresh handmade cosmetics, does powdered milk need to be fresh? They also like to talk about vegan and essential oils but honey is not considered vegan friendly.  Do chemicals need to be fresh? I have heard that baking soda does (sodium bicorbonate) but chemicals like the ever dreaded sodium laureth sulfate (a foaming agent, detergent and surfactant which means it stabilizes a mixture of oil and water or easier to understand it keeps the oil and water from separating), lauryl betaine (commonly found in body cleansers, shampoo and bubble bath, known to work well with water and removing dirt and oiliness), cocoamide DEA (another foaming agent used in soaps and an emulsifying agent as well) or limonene (an oil found in citrus peels, so not sure why they can't just list that as orange oil), linalool (this one is found in many plants and is generally used for scent), benzyl salicylate (used as a flavoring agent, as a fragrance ingredient and an ultraviolet light absorber), hydroxyoitronellol (an ingredient in fragrances found in Lime, Lemon, Sweet Orange, Petigrain, Sandalwood, Tangerine and Ylang ylang essential oils), citronellol (also used in perfumery and insect repellents), geraniol (commonly used in flavors and is also an effective plant based mosquito repellent as well plus also used in perfumery).  Some other chemicals they use include titanium dioxide (primarily used as a pigment and a sunscreen), iridescent sparkles(obviously just pretty sparkles), and what's up with listing perfume as an ingredient?  Does that mean they combine some synthetic perfume with their oils and why does the ingredients list often say oils not essential oil of?  THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN OIL AND AN ESSENTIAL OIL

Of course they also use the body safe colors that are either D&C or FD&C colors, but isn't there something all natural that can create vibrant and beautiful colors.  Plus I have to admit I do not understand why people want their Bath and Beauty products to have beautiful colors.  I also wonder why so many of their products have gardenia extract.  Plus do most people really like the scent of patchouli?  I have heard it's scent gets better with age.

I checked out their toners and the price for one of them was 3.3 fl oz. is $8.95 and 8.4 oz is $19.95 (tea tree, juniperberry and grapefruit waters plus limonene and methylparaben and of course perfume.  I easily found the reviews for this one but you have to scroll down (and maybe select a size) to find the list of ingredients.

So my final question is does the market really demand that their products look gorgeous and smell wonderful and be fun or are there people who buy products just because they believe in the "all natural ingredients" or "environmentally safe" products, or even support the handmade industry?  Or have these things just become catch phrases that people use like the word organic which the law then cracked down on and created a strict system of documentation and inspections before businesses could use the term organic.

This week's funnies

This one is well I just can't believe it and is it adorable or just funny?  What's your take on it?

Wonder if he or she snores?

Wonder what this kitty is thinking?

If he is awesome, than so are you.

This one (for those of you who are Christian) says what Jesus Christ said "let him who is without sin cast the first stone.

And these two are just because you might relate and they are so funny.  Anything can be taken to an extreme by a person who thinks in extremes.

If you are getting older like me, you will get this one

Nail Polish Artisan Kelsey Feature

My name is Kelsey. I hand mix nail polishes and sell them on my Zibbet store. I always have had an obsession with nail polish and I especially loved getting nail polish from indie shops. After looking at my huge collection of indie nail polishes I decided it would be fun to start my own shop. I'm so glad I decided to sell on Zibbet because everyone there is so nice and their customer service is amazing. There is a community section on Zibbet where you can chat with other store owners and there's a free store plan if you don't want to commit to premium.   After I signed up I had a difficult time thinking of colors to make. I would look through my nail polish collection and ask my friends for advice. I now have 5 polishes listed.  My nail polishes are  Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Formaldehyde and Toluene free!

This is my first: Hot Cocoa

One mini bottle of nail polish has 5 ml.  A regular sized nail polish has 15ml.  I use a special nail polish base that will suspend glitter so the glitter doesn't fall to the bottom.  For anyone who doesn't know what Indie means it's short for independent. It means stores not associated with a large company. Indie nail polishes are unique. A lot of them are only made once and since they are handmade so there will always be small differences. My  plans for my store right now are to keep it small. I love making nail polish and it's fun talking with other store owners, but I would prefer to keep my business easy to manage.

This one is Sky Sparkle

My nail polish can lasts any where from 3-10 days. It depends on whether you use a base coat, top coat, and what you do everyday.  I always recommend that you use a base coat and a top coat to make sure your nail polish lasts as long as possible.

Some nail polish colors are mint, turquoise and pink. It really depends what season it is and what mood I'm in, though. I love having lots of colors to choose from. Painting my nails relaxes me after a long day.  The most popular nail polish colors are always changing and everyone's options are different. Here is a  list of my top 5 favorite nail polish brands.

5. Wet n' Wild
4. Revlon
3. China Glaze
2. Essie
1. OPI

I will even make custom colors upon request.  I am the only nail polish store on Zibbet now so no competition.  Visit my store at everybitofsparkle and my nail polish blog at meandmynailpolish on blogspot

Ten most popular crafts

How do you think people determine what is most popular?  Well you can look at the number of people writing about that craft or you can look at the number of stores in a particular craft on various web venues or you could go to Amazon and see what crafting books are the most popular.

After looking at all of that here is what I came up with as the top ten as of today.

1. Jewelry of course.  (lots of variety in materials for this one and varying techniques also)
2. Bath and beauty (who doesn't love bath and beauty items).  
3. Sewing (all kinds of things including clothing, purses, etc.)
4. Paper crafting (I would think this one would includes card making and scrap booking)
5. Crochet (sock monkeys, stuffed toys, purses, hats, gloves and you name it)
6. Knitting (I never did understand why knit rather than crochet)
7. Candle making (I am actually surprised that Yankee candle is still in business)
8. Needle craft (Don't really know much about this one except for the time consuming needle point)
9. Doll making including doll clothes
10. According to the top selling craft books I think this could be a tie between origami, quilting and home brewing.

So let the world know which craft you think is best.  I have to admit that I am surprised that scrap booking didn't come up higher on the list.  Personally I have read a few books about using scrap booking techniques to make really special cards.  As a matter of fact I have asked my boyfriend about getting an electronic printer/cutter/embosser for me as a Christmas present and couldn't believe he said yes.

What is your favorite craft and why?

Craft blog reviews

The first crafting blog I would like to review is named bugsandfishes and you can find it on blogspot at this address  She works with felt, and has tutorials on making a felt brooch, a butterfly mobile, lavender sachets, pillows, plush toys and lots of other items with felt.  She does some cross stitching too.  She also has cards and some really pretty gift wrapping ideas.  Plus she has a section where she reviews craft books.  She is from the UK and not only sells the supplies but finished items as well if you like them and don't want to do all of that work.

She even gives hints on how to cut small felt shapes.  She seems to try to blog something every other day, but it may be just a few pictures and a hint on what she is working.

The next blog I visited is called somedaycrafts and is on blogspot as well   She features various types of crafting and artisan crafters, some have tutorials, and giveaways (looks like on a weekly basis).  Her list of categories is very long.  If you get turned off by advertisements then you might not like this blog.

The third blog I visited was craftworkcards It features card making tips, amove this showcase of some of her cards, and what would a blog be without competitions?  She has a link to a gallery of cards on her blog, you can get lots of great ideas from her if you are into making cards even if it just for family and friends.

The fourth one was my personal favorite (even though the cards came in very close).  Super cute Kawaii
If you like all things Kawaii with giveaways, contests and special picks then this blog is for you.  They also keep you up on special events.  There is very little writing and lots of cool pictures. with some guest picks as
well.  You will learn about some things on the web that you may never have heard of.

christytomlinson - Does online workshops, like many crafters she does write a bit about her self and her life.  This one also has a ton of categories, anything from life lessons to DYI projects and of course tutorials and workshops.

Lastly marelladesigns looks like a fairly new blog with no categories yet.  It features different products and she has a storenvy store.  She invites other artisans to share and seem to like sharing inspirations.

Making up your mind

There are lots of folks who have problems making up their minds.  Yep I am one of them.  Don't really like to go with the flow but as you get older fighting the flow starts taking more energy than it seems to be worth. Summer time is always a slow time for sales, great weather  for being outdoors and of course they children are home and then there are vacations as well.  As a result some artisans get really creative with sales and making money.

One of the creative events I have found is hosting a private Tophatter auction or even a Facebook auction page.  One person is doing this for $5 and it lasts 6 weeks, they combined a Facebook ladder with the auction.  Who couldn't use a few more likes on their FB fan page.  Yep that's rhetorical.

What I would like to do is blog on a regular and consistent basis 3 times a week for now and build up to 5 times a week in the future.  Unfortunately like many people there are days when I feel lazy and uninspired.  I also need interaction to get inspired, but some people are just so mean that make me want to run away. LOL

Well I made a new friend in the past few days who is from northern Canada and her web site sells miniature bonsai trees plus she goes out and finds "rock" but maybe that is a Canadian term, because I think here in the US we would call them gem stones.  She tumbles and polishes and I think cuts them too.  She also does some classes on Facebook I believe.

She likes to run charity auctions on Facebook to help children and adults with disabilities.  She has a disabled husband.  He suffers from being paralyzed.

I have found many crafting blogs to write about but just taking a cursory look I don't know how interesting anyone might find them.  I guess it depends on what interests you.

This is the routine I am going to try to establish.  I want to blog on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.  I want to rotate the blogs between the following:  funnies to share, facts about varying crafts, guest posts, about other related blogs, occasionally a list post (like top ten crafts) and I will try to do a give away once a month.

Less than perfect

Most of us will admit that we are less than perfect, but of course there are some exceptions of people who see themselves as perfect, which makes me laugh.  The reason I am saying this is that I got involved in some new things yesterday and forgot that I promised a short post.

I am blog shopping for more various craft blogs to net work with.  Many of them do weekly give aways.  I will work on doing a monthly give away.  I can't say how long that will take me to do.  It can be difficult to find artisans that have any follow through dedication.  I had several who said they wanted to be featured on my blog and I haven't heard anything from any of them in the week since.

Some people make writing a daily blog post seem easy.  I suspect after a while and from what I have heard bloggers start recycling old posts.  There is even software out there to help you mix up anything you have written so it's a bit different.

The suggested blogging is every day or at least 5 times a week and consistently.  The types of post suggested are: a giveaway, a guest post, a top ten or some type of list, an article about like minded blogs and what is called a "pillar" post, that is something that is timeless like frequently asked questions or a how to, this one should be longer and content rich as well.

I may do monthly giveaways later, but for now I would like to do one funny post a week.  Now I just have to decide which days.  I have tried writing something every day and I don't seem able to think of or find enough information to come up with a daily posts.  I am striving for 5 days a week for now.

For today just to mix this up a bit, come visit a FB auction page: This and that jewelry and beyond
Anyone who would like to participate in a Twitter tree there are three blogs that run a weekly twitter tree.  This one is on Mondays (at times they do take a break) http://christiecottage.blogspot.com/p/twitter-tree-home-page.html and another one is on Wednesdays (that's the one I do right now) http://elunajewelry-nc.blogspot.com/ there is one listed for Fridays as well, but it seems she hasn't updated her twitter tree and actually the Monday one with Christie Cottage hasn't been updated either.  There are no longer Twitter trees running on Tuesdays and Thursdays nor is the hashtag #bluebird being used any more.  The hashtag they use is #retwt and you can add one other hash tag if you would like.

Don't know how a twitter tree works?  Well with these twitter trees each member gets to post two tweets that they would like the rest of the team to tweet for them and you tweet their requests in kind.  Pretty simple really.  You also need to go back later if you get there in the morning cause some people join later in the day.  The team leaders do occasionally check to see that everyone is tweeting everyone else.  That's only fair and I hate the fact that some want other people to help them and give nothing in return.  We all could use a bit of help and that is the purpose of a Twitter tree, it extends every members reach.

I also have a friend who is still hosting a private tophatter auction.  You can see what this group of artisans are offering by visiting the FB event here and one other auction that is on FB you can visit here  I have some of my items on there and the starting bid is at cost.