Natural Ingredients: Part I ~ Sweet Almond Oil

A Few Words about...Sweet Almond Oil

Sweet Almond Oil is an ingredient you will find in many handmade bath and beauty products today. I have really grown to love using it in my products because is light and penetrates the skin easily. It is just about a perfect base for lotions, scrubs, balms, hair products, and even massage oils. Sweet almond oil is rich in essential fatty acids and vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and E. Soap makers find that it saponifies easily and yields a mild soap with good lather.
With all of these benefits, it is no wonder that sweet almond oil is said to ease symptoms of eczema, psoriasis and help in combating itching and inflammation. It makes a great lubricant and helps to restore skin's natural moisture. Also, it is suitable for all skin types.
You will find sweet almond oil in many of my scrubs and all of my lotion bars. I recently created a massage oil for my husband when he had a cold. I filled a 1 ounce bottle with sweet almond oil, and added eucalyptus, tea tree, peppermint and lemongrass essential oils. I rubbed it on his chest instead of using the petroleum based vapor rub we grew up with, and he loved it! You can do the same with any combination of essential oils you prefer for a wonderful and soothing aromatherapy experience!

Up and Running on ArtFire!

As promised, I have indeed taken the plunge into the bath products section of our little handmade universe! *plunge, get it? Dorky Bath Humor!! Oh well...* I even upgraded to the Verified Account on ArtFire, which I LOVE!! Not only can you click on the nifty little item boxes on the right side of this page--------------->>> but you can purchase them right here! No login needed! If you do decide to join ArtFire, be sure to give ParadisePotpourri as a referral and help me earn a Free Ride for Life! :) 10 referrals is all it takes! Did I mention the $7.00 for life accounts are almost gone? *end of ArtFire shameless promo! :)

I really am happy with the new products I am offering also! (Well, duh, I wouldn't offer them if I wasn't :p ) My daughter has even made a salt body scrub of her own, it's so much fun! I may have to offer that one for sale too...it's Pink Grapefruit-Lime and smells lovely! But I digress...the coffee scrub has proved to be such a hit, even Megzy's husband uses it...he who scorned any sugar scrub as being "too girly"! If you have a scent you'd like to see me create, please let me know...feedback is GREATLY appreciated! I really can't say enough about what a difference using handmade soaps and bath products has made in my skin. My husband is won over too!

In non-store related news, Spring Break is here, so I have all the kids 24/7 for the week...fortunately I am already insane so I don't have to worry about that! I will be twittering for therapy if I can kick them off my computer! We started off the week with our cat ignoring her newborn kittens, so we took her prisoner in the kids' bathroom and made them all a cozy box. They are doing much better. Sadly, only 2 of 4 survived. They are very cute though! We will be TwitPic-ing photos later in the week no doubt!

A Month of Ups and Downs...and Downs and Ups!

At the beginning of this month, our little town was facing something big...the local mine, which had been booming and prospering to unprecedented proportions, was caving in to the growing economy crisis. Layoffs were announced, over 1500, which was about 1/3 of our town (give or take). As Feb. 2nd got closer, there were even rumors that disgruntled people were going to start trouble to the extent that the National Guard would be called in. Fortunately it didn't come to that, but a mass exodus has begun. So sad to see truckloads of people hoping to find opportunity elsewhere. Many of our friends have been affected too. Some have gone to other towns within the state, some to Colorado, and some to New Mexico. My husband thought that his department, which deals in Vibration Technology and Preventative Maintenance, wouldn't be affected, but unfortunately it was shut down, and he was laid off too.

We, like several others, have decided to stay in the area if at all possible, so we had planned to use his layoff as an opportunity to take care of things around the house that had been put off. Things were shaping up pretty good, and he was planning on Auxiliary Pioneering, as we call setting aside extra time in the month to share Bible truth with our neighbors, for the first time. Then the phone rang...apparently knocking out the department hadn't been such a good idea after all. His boss wants him back on Monday. Go figure! We are thankful he has a job, especially as hard as they are to find right now. But I have to admit a teeeeensy bit of sadness that "the old grind" has to take up so much of his time again already! We were getting used to having him around! OK, I'm just a little weird. So, a bittersweet sigh of relief here in our house!

In my employment news, in spite of Tweeting profusely, Free Shipping has not brought the droves of people to my store that I thought it would, and I think I am going to have to branch out to keep my business up. Potpourri just isn't a necessity in these uncertain times! I have made a couple of trades, which I think is great! Like the old days, when you could pay the doctor with a chicken or two! Imagine trying to do that now, lol! Anyhoo....I have started making Bath Salts, and will soon begin creating Sugar Scrubs and the like. So, you heard it here first, my new studio at Artfire (http://paradisepotpourri.artfire.com/) will soon feature many new botanical Bath Salts, Scrubs, and fizzies!

Megzy and I are also stocking up our eBay store, and getting ready to part with some former treasures. People still need clothes, right? So, we will keep listing and hopefully help our families by doing something that just may be helping others in a small way too! http://stores.ebay.com/paradisepotpourriglobalbizarre?refid=store

Kids, Cats, Potpourri, and Other Stuff!

Yes, it's me...I'm still alive and kicking, and finally updating my blog after being delinquent these last few weeks!

I have busily been homeschooling my middle son, and after about 6 weeks, we are finally starting to get into a routine. Life continues to happen around us, of course, and we are slowly learning to deal with the inevitable interruptions...like grabbing work to take with us when my youngest's school calls to say they 'think he has Pink Eye and would I please come to get him'? It's a 40 minute drive round trip plus a stop at the store, so no quick trips for us! Fortunately, he didn't have Pink Eye(and I should have known that because he has had major allergy problems with his eyes the past couple of weeks!)

In other news, our mama cat, Lana, had her second litter of kittens two weeks ago, and they are sooooo cute! My daughter took this photo during their lunchtime the other day :) They are fortunately faring much better than her last litter, of which only 1 out of 6 survived. So sad!

And finally, Paradise Potpourri is beckoning...one of the many things I am learning to juggle in my new role as Learning Coach. Business is still good, so I guess people still like me! :) I have managed to squeeze in time to make new batches of Bountiful Harvest, Cranberry Orange, and Honeysuckle Rose. Accordingly, I took new photos of them all, and they are now adorning the Etsy store nicely! I am still working out a recipe for Margarita Potpourri, but I'm almost there! Also, new batches of Rainforest and Rose Garden are in the works due to popular demand! Speaking of which I want to give a very special shout-out to Carrie, aka lunastar, of Morning Star Natural Soaps, Lotions and Soy Candles....she has given me such wonderful incentive to keep plugging along, reminding me that there is a scent for everyone and buying me out of bath tea even though she has such amazingly wonderful bath products in her Etsy shoppe! When I have a chance to figure out the ins and outs, I will feature her here on my blog! Meanwhile here is a link...be sure to check it out! http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5077777

Next weekend, my mother-in-law will be having heart surgery, so I don't expect to be blogging too much at that time...in the meantime I will try to post some interesting tidbits to catch up!

And The Winner Is....

You!!
July 31st is my "official" 6 month Etsy anniversary! I also just made my 20th sale on Etsy, by selling my very last Mocha Java sachet...but never fear! Another customer suggested that I create Mocha Java using a dark red color mixed in. Since some of the ingredients I used in my last batch are unavailable right now, I have decided to substitute some of them with some dark red rose petals, and perhaps another dark red flower, and call it Mocha Java Rouge! I also received an exciting Alchemy request...another first! But I will save that to blog about when the order is done :)
ANYHOO...To celebrate, I am having Free Shipping on anything in my store through August 15th, which is the actual 6 month anniversary of my store opening! This sale will include any alchemy requests...so convo me!
Finally, I am going to create the winning scents from my Party Potpourri Poll...Margarita, Mango, and the runner up, Cold Relief Bath Tea!

Aaaahhhhh...There's Nothing Like a Soothing Bath!!!

As a busy mom, homemaker, Etsy Artisan, and all that other stuff person, I don't get much time to myself. I have a huge bathtub which has substituted as a storage area in our main bathroom for waaaay too long now. (don't worry, we also have a separate shower, LOL!) Yesterday I dug out all of the unnecessary clutter and put some of my Sensational Soothing Bath Tea to the test! It definitely lived up to its name, and my husband was most impressed with the lovely scent and soft skin that resulted from my "me time". I used the method most often recommended for the bath tea...steep the sachet in about 4 cups boiling water for 10 minutes, and then add it to the bath water. The sachet makes a wonderful body scrubber, exfoliating and washing more of the herbal blend onto fresh, clean skin! If you haven't experienced herbal Bath Tea yet, you are in for a treat! Here is a link to Sensational Soothing Bath Tea from Paradise Potpourri: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11664372 and if you love Lavender, here is our Stress Relief Bath Tea! http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12323952