A New Strategy

Greetings!t

First of all, thank you to all of you who have followed me even though I haven't posted in forever!! To my new friends, Welcome! This will be a very brief post announcing the soon-to-be-created new Personal Blog that I will be writing. I think part of me is OCD but won't admit it....I want to post about my life, and I want to post about things relating to Paradise Potpourri, but alas! People would be annoyed if they were looking for one but found the other! ;p

To that end, I beseech you to not give up on me, as I am working towards perfection (not to be achieved in this system of things, of course! But that's why I need a separate blog!) just like everyone else. A link to my new blog will be posted here soon, and/or an update! Please do NOT expect a post from either every day...I have realized that I'm just not always that chatty of a person. However, it will be easier to be relatively current if I branch out.

~Jana

October Special - Free Gift/Tote Bag With Purchase!

Fall has come! Even here in Arizona we are feeling a chill in the air, which is more than welcome! In my shops, I have some new items ready to post. For a special treat this month, I am offering a free "green" type tote bag  or cosmetic bag with any purchase of two or more items from either of my stores! Here is a photo of my first sale of the month in my Etsy store, and her free tote. Sadly, that was the only one I had of that particular style.

The rest of the styles shown above are still available at this time, but I only have a limited supply, so hurry while they last! I will post new photos as some will no doubt become unavailable quickly.  On Etsy, enter code GIFTY in the Notes to Seller at checkout. On ArtFire, enter GIFTY as a coupon code. Then, just let me know the number of the bag you want!

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=573167 Here is my latest item on ArtFire, a lovely Autumn Harvest Apple Gift Set! This set includes a 4 x 6 inch bag of "Harvest Apple Spice" potpourri, a 6 ounce package of Apple Cider scented Fizzing Mineral bath salts with a wooden scoop, and two small flower shaped lotion bars in your choice of Pumpkin Spice or Apples N' Spice! All of this is included in a gorgeous hand painted clay pot, featuring a colorful fall scene painted by my good friend Megan Tredway. I have several more of her hand painted pots to make gift sets with, so if you have a favorite scent you'd like to have made up with one, just let me know! Of course, keep an eye on my ArtFire studio for more of these also!

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!

Supplier Review: The Original Soap Dish

Before I get into my review of ingredients in bath products, I wanted to share an experience that I had with my most recent supply order. I don't know about you, but I love getting packages in the mail, especially when I've ordered something new that I've been wanting to try. My latest order, which was my first one from a company called The Original Soap Dish, did not disappoint! As I opened the box, I noticed right away that their packaging material was different. Instead of plastic air bubbles, or foam packing peanuts, there were shreds of recycled cardboard boxes. A note accompanied the order explaining that this is a greener, more renewable alternative to packing peanuts. It also gave suggestions on how the shreds could be further re-used.

Backtracking just a bit, I should mention that The Original Soap Dish is a specialty company that sells soap and lotion making supplies. In their mission statement, they state that they offer natural products for your skin, because what goes ON your body is just as important as what goes IN your body. I couldn't agree more!! They are a family owned business located in rural Indiana Amish country. They strive to source their ingredients from suppliers and manufacturers in the USA, which probably accounts for why many of their prices were a bit lower than the other suppliers I checked out this time around. My budget was stretched, so that was a good thing!

All of the items in my order were accounted for and very nicely packaged. The shea and mango butters were packaged in plastic containers, rather than ziplock bags. Not only does this make them much easier to use, but I can reuse the containers for some of my products that I make up in bulk, which I can't really do with ziplock bags. I also foresee less waste because I will be able to scrape that last bit out of a tub much easier than a bag!

Finally, there were two nice surprises included in my order! One was a generous sample of Pumpkin Spice fragrance oil, which I loved immediately and will probably order in the future. The other was a small chocolate....it's always smart to lure a customer in with chocolate!! As you can see, that one did not last long! My invoice even had a hand written Thank You with my name, further showing their commitment to a personalized, friendly experience for their customers.

I will definitely be shopping with The Original Soap Dish in the future, and you can check them out too at http://www.thesoapdish.com/

Spa Quality Bath and Beauty Products, and Beyond!

"Why should I buy handmade bath and body products?", you ask? For the same reasons you want to eat healthy foods, and take your vitamins! Commercial body products such as lotions and soaps contain numerous synthetic ingredients, some of which you probably don't want to know where they came from. These can be very harsh on your skin, in spite of the label's claim to Moisturize or Protect. Some preservatives, such as parabens, are even believed to have a link to cancer. Why take that chance, when all natural products are widely available and their ingredients have proven over time that they are vastly superior? Over the next few posts, I will highlight one or two ingredients I use, and list some of the benefits they can bring!

I'm not usually comfortable with "tooting my own horn", so to speak, but I'm so happy with the products I have been making (Yes, I have used them all!) that I wanted to share this with you! Since I first started making sugar scrubs this Spring, my friends and family members have been regularly buying them, and eagerly trying out all my new creations. (Thanks guys!)It's not just friends and family who enjoy them though...here is what a happy customer said about her lotion bar purchase from my Etsy store:

"It is wonderful! I love it! It mailed just fine, barely smudged the bag, unlike the lotion bars I order from [a major online retailer of natural bath and body products], which generally arrive in liquid form (ugh). Your's was cheaper, bigger, arrived faster (and not liquified), and I loved the scent! So I do believe I will switch to buying them from you exclusively. =] Is there any chance you might be able to make a vanilla-scented one? I noticed, as popular as vanilla is, you didn't have it listed, and it's my absolute favorite."

Of course, I added vanilla as soon as my shipment arrived from my supplier, along with many other scents! Right now I offer them as a "choose your scent" listing, but I will be trying new shapes and sizes, so I will also be listing individual scents in my ArtFire store. I have some sample sizes ready to post now as soon as I get my pictures edited!

As always, feel free to contact me. If you have a favorite scent that you don't see listed, just let me know...if I don't have it, I can get it!

I am also working on lip balms and lip gloss, and will have those available soon.

Click on the links to any of the items in my stores in the right column to find out more about each one!-------------------------------->>>>>>>>

What's Going On?!

I know I have not blogged in almost 2 months...where has the time gone?! To be perfectly honest, I have been considering giving up my stores altogether, since I have not had the time to create new things and keep them fresh while balancing kids, housework and homeschooling. I also have a goal of spending more time in the Bible teaching work. We had a wonderful Bible convention last weekend highlighting the importance of staying focused, since we are very deep in the "time of the end" according to Bible prophecy. Nothing is more important than that! Anyway, I have a lot on my plate, and I think I am starting to figure things out slowly but surely! Of course, just when I seem to be catching up, I get sick!

In any case, I have decided to keep my stores open for now, and I have a plan to get some new products in them in the next week or so. My next post will focus on some new products I am making...lotion bars! I also had some great encouragement from some family members visiting all the way from Canada, who loved my new shea butter sugar scrubs so much they bought 3 jars!

P.S. Cranberry Orange and Bountiful Harvest potpourris are HALF PRICE in my Etsy store! click here: http://paradisepotpourri.etsy.com

A Cool Contest on Handmadeology!

I don't consider myself a photographer, but since I opened my Etsy shop last year, I have been learning the ropes of how to photograph my items to the best advantage. Of course, I happen to sell items that half of their appeal is scent - and you can't smell them on a computer! (what's up with that anyway? Someone please invent a scratch-n-sniff feature!!) So, it's doubly important that I have good photos. I have had a lot of fun taking photos of my items for my stores, getting lots of help and tips from Megzy who IS a photographer ( http://tredlightphotographs.etsy.com ) as well as the Etsy forums. I think my photos have come a long way! So, whilst feeding my daily Twitter addiction this morning, I kept seeing retweets of this tweet: @tweetmeme Etsy Worthy Photo Contest! Handmadeology http://bit.ly/Eu9F3

I duly entered one of my favorite photos...you will see it above, so please head over there and vote for it! The winner gets and ad space on Handmadeology's site, which is usually $60! There are already lots of wonderful photos besides mine, and you can even add yours...let me know so I can check it out too! :)

http://www.handmadeology.biz/home/etsy-worthy-photo-contest