Thank you all for your patience

This is just a brief post to let everyone know that the hand surgery I had on Tuesday seemed to go well.  It was quiet pain for a few days and the amount of typing that I can now do is limited.  However, I will be getting a new computer soon and with it Dragon software.  Even though the software has a learning curve and some glitches, it will still be helpful.  Just one more thing to let you know, I will have to have the same type of surgery on the other hand and starting on the 31st of this month I will be having hand therapy sessions 2 to 3 times a week for maybe 2 months,  so I might have to miss posting once a week.

Please feel free to email me at support@botanicalsforbeauty.com at any time.  I would love any feed back or suggestions you might have, or even just to hear from you.  Thanks everyone and have a great week.  I will be posting my usual Tuesday funnies this week, so enjoy.

Dreaming of my next two contests

While all the rest of you are dreaming of a white Christmas, sugar plums or what presents your family and friends are going to give you, I am dreaming up my next two contests.  I want to have one contest where there are 5 winners and the prize will be your choice of a flavored lip gloss.  Everyone seemed to enjoy that contest so much.  I am not creative by nature so for me it takes a little work and trying to find the right mood.

I am also thinking that I would like to post a Valentine's day story in (can't decide) later January or early February.  The other month the prize would be a custom perfume either solid or roll on.  Hopefully when you all get done with all of the holiday stuff, you will be visiting my blog again and leave me a comment and help me decide which to do when.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE.  I am thinking about putting the blog on vacation for a week or so.

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.

Finding craft blogs

The one pet peeve of mine about Googling anything is that I often get results that are not what I am looking for, but then I can do the exact same search another day and come up with different results (on the first few pages I mean).  I especially dislike getting "referring sites".  You know like Ask.com and other sites that basically take you to another site which sometimes also takes you to another site.  Too many of the sites list web pages erroneously and the sites that they link to doesn't even know anything about the referring site.  I called a Chiropractor once that I thought also did some alternative healing methods.  Turned out that was how he was listed on a referring site, but he knew nothing about that alternative method.  Sorry that I am not telling what the alternative was but now I can't remember because it's been at least 4 years.

For starters here is a site that rates craft blogs and you can submit your blog to be listed there if you would like http://www.invesp.com/blog-rank/Crafts#ultimate  This site lists several blogs but most of them say they are into many areas of crafting including cooking, gardening and other domestic activities (which I never thought of as a craft). craftblogs.org/blog-list

Here is a list of blogs that are cover specific crafts:

• www.seasidecreativity.com/ -  paper crafts
• http://lindawalshoriginals.info/   - doll maker and doll pattern maker
• http://knitnrun4sanity.wordpress.com/  - makes jewelry by knitting and crocheting with wire
• http://winkbrew.com/  - making beer and wine
• http://wwww.hobbiesonabudget.com/ - information on various hobbies, blogging resources and giveaways and contest
• http://makeiteasycrafts.blogspot.com/  - featuring easy projects, recycled crafts and some other crafts as well.
• http://origamiaday.wordpress.com/  - about yes origami
• http://christmas-craft-kits.blogspot.com/  - featuring crafting with kits
• http://mylittlecitygirl.com/  - knitting and crocheting projects with free patterns (mostly for children but some general as well).
• http://www.pinkandpolkadot.net/  - ideas for redecorating on a budget
• http://keyka.typepad.com/my_weblog/  - patterns for all kinds of items some freebies too
• This one is just to help sellers: http://www.mama-press.com/

I will be writing a very short post tomorrow because I will be participating in a Twitter tree.

Just some thoughts

I am pursuing learning about paper crafting as in cards, bags and boxes.  However, when I get my Bosskut gazelle there are other things besides making cards that I can do with it.  It will also allow me to emboss and not just on paper if I remember correctly plus make custom magnets and even stamping on thin metals.  My boyfriend has claimed that he will purchase a gazelle for me as an early Christmas present sometime in early September.

Speaking of Christmas, the Christmas in July sale will end in 12 more days.  So visit my Christmas in July posts to see which shops you would like to purchase from.

I have also asked 4 other artisans to write about their craft.  The one I published I think yesterday and I have 3 more that I have made requests to.  One is working on her write up as we speak and the other two will need a little while.  One of them lives in the UK and she is spending a great deal of time with a dear friend who has cancer.  Not sure exactly which topics will be discussed as the other two are into more than 1 craft, but the one who has been working on hers is a high end jeweler.  She sells  precious gems including diamonds.

I have been studying techniques of card making from a book and the number of tools required plus the intricate work involved in making some really awesome cards has really surprised me.  It seems that for some things you would have to have a great deal of motor control in your hands.  For me that would take a great deal of practice.  At least that has been my experience in the past.  As far as blending, measuring and pouring as I do in for my bath and beauty products, well being a chemical technician prepared me well for that.

Of course I will need some time to practice and play around with my gazelle.  I heard it's easy to put too much pressure with the knife and that could ruin the blade, I guess you could also use too little pressure and not get a good cut nor emboss.

If you have never used a electronic cutter than you may be surprised at the things a cutter can do.  I will get over 600 shapes (I think actually 700) that I will be able to cut.  One is a really intricate looking butterfly, I couldn't imagine trying to cut something like that by hand.

It will be interesting to see which business I can create the most variety for since I do know that there are many more varieties and yes several product types I haven't yet touched.

With the gazelle as a cutter/embosser/printer the options seem really wide.  There is all kinds of glue you can use to glue just about anything to a card: a button, a feather, a sticker, beads, felt, foam, glitter,shells, clay, foam and ribbons.  Plus you could cut out a frame from one material and paste it onto the card's front.  Plus of course you can put holes in the cards and use brads or eyelets.  I am sure there are more possibilities to learn about.  Different authors will write different things but there will be some things in common.

I think one of the hot things right now to do with cutters and embossing is pop ups.

This blog's future

I have been asking some very interesting artisans to write about their art and a bit about themselves as well.  The artisan I am working with right now makes beautiful bowls, candle holders and more.  He has actually made two benches, a vase and a cup holder.  He does not use power tools all of his items are truly handcraft with care to make the natural beauty of the wood shine.


The most incredible thing about Wolfcreekmill is that he used nothing but found wood.  Wood that other may end up in a landfill.  His name is Dave and he lives in Southeastern Michigan where an invasive pest known as the Emerald Ash Borer which can destroy up to 15 million trees or more in Michigan alone.  This pest does not eat deeply into the wood leaving it usable for furniture and other home decor items.


Although one might think that found wood couldn't possibly be as good as the wood you get at the stores, well much of that wood is inexpensive, chipped and glued together. Dave's uses the Ash tree a great deal and his items have the real beautiful look and shine of natural wood, not the fake thin veneer that cheap manufacturers make. Finding real wood in the stores is difficult unless you shop at the very pricey furniture stores.


Dave is also an exclusive member of Custommade.com and I hope he can find some time to write more detail about his crafting in a few days. Below is an image of one item he has crafted.

Taking a break and doing Ramblings

I am so personally flabbergasted at the amount of judgmental hatred that is in this country now.  Economic hardship certainly does bring the worse out in many people.  Questions in our minds like how long will my paycheck continue and why do I have to work so hard just to barely stay afloat are on many people's minds.

The news no longer talks about the number of people who have lost everything or the number of long term unemployed.  Once in a while I will hear about the number of people who have been unemployed for 6 months or longer but not with any details.  Also don't hear much about the number of "discouraged workers" either.  How can they afford to stay discouraged is a question that is on my mind.  No one talks about net new jobs either, plus do they include the number of new entrants into the job market like recent graduates or kids reaching the age of 16 so they are allowed to work not to mention the immigrants that enter the country plus the immigrants that are here on a visa.  Yep Anthem (now part of Wellpoint) an insurance company (medical, formerly known as Blue Cross and Blue Shield) has many immigrants over here working for them on a work visa.  Do all of those jobs count?

What's the number of jobs available compared to the numbers of people who wish to work?  How many are low paying and part time?  How does the government decide how much discretionary income people have?  If you drive 40 miles to work and you make $10 an hour and only work 2 or 3 hours before being sent home for a lack of work, how much discretionary income do you have out of that?  Even if you are getting 30 miles to the gallon that's still almost 3 gallons of gas not to mention the wear and tear on your car.  So that's 3 times what? (depends on where you live and what point in time you are looking at, as the price of gas changes all of the time).  I would guess around $10 or so, so you made $30 in three hours and if you pay local tax for the privilege of working in that municipality plus the gas alone you could be left with as little as $29 or for 2 hours left with $19.  Well isn't that worth while?  If that happens too many days can you pay your rent, utilities and repair your car and let's just forget things like food and clothing and really anything medical.

I really would like people who say they have 2 or more part time jobs to tell me where those part time jobs are and how they make them fit together time wise.  All the restaurant and retails jobs advertise that they want you to be flexible with them, that means that you need to be available for work any time or any day that they may decide from week to week.  Plus I have heard stories about how many applicants per job even McDonalds gets.  Even the seasonal jobs at Kings Island are getting like 100 applications for every seasonal job they have open.  That means there will be 99 people not hired for each of those jobs.

I know there are people who are angry about who is getting food stamps and who is declared as disabled by the Social Security administration.  When I question these people it seems that what's behind their thinking is that they think they have it just as bad as anyone else and sometimes it seems like ego because people just love to tell stories of how hard they worked and how they were always able to find a job or start up a business.  But funny thing is my neighbor who is one of these also told me he needed help paying for work he needed done on his teeth.  I don't get it, how do you brag about how much income you make from a business you started and then in the next breath complain about how you can't afford things?

Yep people are a dichotomy and not many question themselves, not many seek enlightenment and too many love to judge.  For Christians I remind them of the verse that says: take the beam out of your own eye before you worry about the speck in your brother's eye.  I also have found that many religions share many of the same principles.

Yes I am a bit of a rebel and don't accept what others say as the truth no matter who they are.  Plus I also question and research things to death as much as I can.

Well that's my rambling soapbox for today.  Well actually this has been my rambling soap box for several years now.

Why does anyone buy handmade?

People who take the time to create items with their own two hands often spend a great deal of time learning what quality means.  Handmade can not and does not compete with manufactured goods.  Handmade items are unique and often one of kind.  Many handmade items are also part of recycling, meaning they are eco friendly.

You can find handmade artisans all over the web.  As a group, handmade artisans can be found on Facebook, by searching blogs, and many even have their own web sites.  Of course you can find handmade items at various venues as well, such as Artfire, Etsy, Storenvy, Supa Dupa, Zibbett and there are other new sites in progress.  There is even a site that is strictly handmade artisans and their suppliers.

The types of items you may find from those involved in crafts made by hand include:  jewelry, wooden items such as salt and pepper shakes and yes even chairs, bath and beauty items, some paint glass, then those that sew, knit or crochet create many items such as leg warmers, wash clothes, wall hangings, rugs and all types of decor.  Certainly let's not forget things like custom embroidery,   and the more ordinary items such as belts, soap, bags and purses, clothing , candles baskets, just about anything you can think of and some things I never even knew existed until I became interested in handmade bath and beauty items.

To see just a few of the wonderful artisans and the items they can create, visit the FB fan page: It's Better Handmade