My Favorite things~

Happy holidays everyone! For the month of December I will post some my favorite things from http://www.etsy.com/ . There are so many thing I want to buy or have bought that just amaze me! Do you have a Favorite thing? Post a link below to share with everyone!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MintyFreshFusions

I just love this shop! Jen not only made me a custom necklace, its the most amazing thing I ever ordered on Etsy since it has my logo on it! This awesome wine bottle was transformed into a neat candle holder. How great would this look on your dining room table for the holidays! Truly her shop is amazing, you will find ornanents, necklaces and even cuff links!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/OriginalsbyLauren

So yes I could not control myself! I bought these cute potholders for a gift and I kept them for myself! I might have to get another pair! OriginalsbyLauren has so many cute potholders, aprons and quilts.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MonkeyThreads

So my friend told me tonight that when ever she sees birds she thinks of me! Well I have these cute little birds in my purple and yellow kitchen and they look over me as I cook and bake! MonkeyThreads has so many cute decals, there is even one that can get on your car with your Etsy URL!

Check back I will be posting more of my favorite things.

Ohhappydaycreations Note Card giveaway winner!

And the winner is...............OriginalsbyLauren on Etsy! She will be getting some really cute goodies from Ohhappydaycreations! Thanks everyone for playing! Look for more fun giveaways coming soon!

Oh Happy Day Creations GIVEAWAY~

I LOVE doing giveawys! They are so much fun and now you can win goodies from http://www.ohhappydaycreations.etsy.com/
This cute shop has notecards, tags, placecards and so much more!
Here is what you can win:

Fancy Flower Note Card Set: 10 yellow folded note cards with a fancy flower design hand stamped and embossed on each card in gold ink. Each card comes with an shimmery copper envelope hand lined in a textured, fancy, gold pattern paper.

Gift Tag Set: 5 gold gift tags with a lovely floral pattern hand stamped and embossed in scarlet ink on each tag. Each tag comes with a brown ribbon attached.

Place Card Set: 12 curry colored place cards with a fancy floral pattern hand stamped and embossed in scarlet colored ink on each card. (perfect for entertaining!)

Here is how you can win:
-You must be a blog follower.
-Go to http://www.ohhappydaycreations.etsy.com/ and than post below your favorite item. This will get you 1 entry
-If you tweet http://www.ohhappydaycreations.etsy.com/ giveaway on http://www.handmade-beauty.blogspot.com/ this will get you another entry. Post below that you tweeted
-Be sure to post your Etsy name or Email so that I can contact you!
-Only 2 entrys per day per person

I will pick a winner on Saturday November 21st 2009! Good luck and have fun!

AND the winner is......

Katherine from www.percent.etsy.com !! Woo hoo! She will get to pick out 4 FREE eye shadows!

I hope to do another giveaway from my shop soon! I think they are a ton of fun! I do have some more shops lined up for some more fun giveaways!

~Eye Shadow giveaway~

Would you like to try 4 full size eye shadow for FREE!? Been thinking about trying mineral makeup but was still feeling unsure. Well I would like to make 1 special person a lucky winner! I will pick one lucky winner at random. The winner will be able to pick any 4 shades of eye shadow from my shop at http://purenaturalminerals.etsy.com/. 3 lucky runners up will win samples packs filled with sample bags of eye shadow! I have about 40+ shades of eye shadow and growing! Here is what you have to do to enter:

1. go to my shop at http://purenaturalminerals.etsy.com/ take a look at my eye shadows and tell me what shade you love the best!


2. Post a comment below with your Etsy user name and your favorite shade. (If you do not have an Etsy account just post your email, I promise NO spam will be sent to you from me!)


3. That's it your in the running!

Here are some rules:

• If you Tweet about my blog contest you can get 1 more entry just post again in the comments
• You must follow my blog to enter.


• Limit of two entries per day per user name/email if you tweet, only one if you don't tweet.

I will announce the winner on Nov 14th, 2009! Good luck and have fun! :)

Salt City Urban Art & Craft Market

This was my first show ever and it was a big hit! I was met some awesome artist! Like Alison from http://dirtyasssoaps.etsy.com/ , Christine from http://concepcioun.com/ , Beth from http://lilipadcreations.com/ , and so many more!!

I did learn a few things from my displays, next time I am going to add more height to my table. It was hard to bend down to look at everything. I am going to buy those bed risers that you see at bed bath and beyond.

I made my lip balm trier, I bought 3 plastic plates from target and two plastic bowels, I used super glue to glue the bowel upside down on the bottom plate, than glued the next plate on top of the bowel. So I have a square plate on the bottom, a round plate in the middle and a smaller square plate on the top. I got the small glass cups at the $1 store!

I used a large glass vase that I got at Micheal's and filled it with eye shadows to add some fun color!

Overall My first show was a hit! Up next....the indie garage sale in Utica NY http://IndieGarageSale.org

~Rose

Laundry soap

I LOVE to purchase goodies for myself on Etsy. I have been wanting to try the hand made laundry soap, so I purchased a sample from www.livelaughlovesoap .etsy.com. It was enough for me to do 5 loads of laundry.

My husband and I both work out and so should I say we do have some smelly laundry!! Sometimes commerical laundry soap still leaves my clothing with a weird smell, like they are still not clean and I have to be careful what brand I get since my husband and my kids have very sensitive skin.

Shipping was fast, I did my first load right away and it came out smelling GREAT! I used two tablespoons like the directions said and it was perfect! I used all my sample up in two days and went back and bought the full size bag! Livelaughlovesoap also carries toothbrushing soap, dishwasher soap, shampoos, body scrubs and lots of other natural products.

***New*** PURE lips- lip balm

So I have been wanting to add some new items to my shop, I tested a few things and after spending lots of cash (having fun too) I got a lip balm formula I liked!!

The first one I tryed had Shea butter, cocoa butter, candellia wax and some oils. It was important to me that I did not use bee's wax so my formula could be vegan, than everyone can enjoy it! It came out so thick, it was too hard to apply to your lips! I use that batch for my feet....yup that's how thick it came out!! Makes a nice lotion bar!! Than I tried another recipe and I liked it.....

After tweaking it a bit I came up with my lip balm. I like how coconut oil gives a slick feel on your lips, just perfect. The sweet almond oil gives it a nice shine! Keeps my lips kissable all day, even my husband loves to use it! I have only listed my Vanilla and my peppermint, but I do have some more flavors in the works! Here is what's on the way:

Lemon Lime

Spearmint

Tea tree

Chi tea

Cinnamon

Almond

Clover honey

Raspberry

I hope to have most of these listed by next week. I have tubes and tins coming!

Next I am working on colored lip gloss, I have everything down for this I just need my tubes to come in the mail. I did not get the roll on tubes but instead I got the tubes with a stick in them, I think those are more fun. I am going to make these unflavored.

I wonder what other flavors of lip balms I should add....I know what I like but I forget these are all not for me! I love all the minty flavors, vanilla is good too, but I like anything that is out of the norm. Leave me a comment below if you know of any flavors I should try to make! Also right now if you purchase a lip balm with anything else you get free shipping on the lip balm!

I HEART Eye Shadow

I just love going into my bathroom and picking what color I am going to wear for the day!! Right now I am wearing Grey pearl, but I love all shades of grey and black. I even really like white since it brings out my green eyes so much. I added some new listings to my shop a you pick 2, 4 or 6!! That way you can make your own set and pick your personal favorites. I hope you enjoy :)

New necklace

I have been eyeing this shop on Etsy, www.MintyFreshFusions.Etsy.com for so long! I loved looking at all her pendents and necklaces, but could never decide what to get. She has the most wonderful looking Fused glass pendents, upcycled bottle top necklaces and neat spoon rests made from wine bottles. One day I thought of putting my logo on a pendent and knew where to go! I convo'd Jen at MintyFreshFusion, the amazing artist behind it all, and asked her if she could do just that. She was so kind to work with me ensuring I got exactly what I wanted. After I checked out it only took a few days for her to finish my necklace! Since she lives close to me I went right to her house to pick up my order! I was in love,I got into my car and put it right on! Her work is so amazing, I am so happy that I have a unique one of a kind necklace made just for me.

Not only do I have an amazing new necklace, I now have a great conversation piece. When people ask about my new necklace I can tell them about my Etsy shop and MintyFreshFusion!! Here are some pic's of me and my new necklace made from my logo!

Me in my new necklace from www.MintyFreshFusion.Etsy.com

Summer.....

I wish I had more time to blog, but right now it's summer and I have enjoyed the time with my family. I am lucky that my husband has summers off and I just work from home. We have made many day trips to fill our days with tons of fun. We went to the zoo, the beach, and boating with my parents. We also have a pool and spend lots of time splashing around!! Most of all we have been relaxing, reading, cooking and hanging with friends and family. I have been working on my shop to get ready for Christmas. I will be going back to school in the fall and my husband back to work, than it's homework, housework, picking the boys up from daycare, etc, etc. that will keep us busy. I have set a goal of blogging at least once a week and I have plans for my posts!! I hope everyone is having a great summer. Here is a picture of my boys, Aidan and Eliot at the Farmers museum in Cooperstown, NY

Promo packets!

There are so many great shops on Etsy, too many for me to name! I wanted to show all my customers some of them, so I put together a promo packet for all my customers to include with there order for free! Whats in them you ask? Well it changes from time to time as new cards/items come in the mail to me almost every week! But they can include:

• Business cards/post cards



• coupons



• soap samples



• magnets



• tags



• stickers



• and other small fun goodies

I place all the goodies in a bag, right now it's plastic but I will be switching to paper bags soon since they are better for the Planet. With a sticker on it that says "Thank you for your order. Please check out these other great Etsy shops". My customers give me great feedback on the packets and I am honored to be among such great talent! If you would like to be included in my promo packets send me an email at Twinsmomma27@gmail.com or send me a convo through my Etsy shop http://www.purenaturalminerals.etsy.com/

Some cards from my latest packet!

Calling cards-part 1

My cards from Eight sixty

Every business small and large must have a business card. It tells people who you are and where to find you/ reach you. For my Etsy shop I have two kinds of cards, a more traditional one and a handmade card that is a bit more unique and made by me. (Yes, Traditional ones can be unique too!)

My first card is a traditional card, it has my business name, slogan, web address and email, pretty standard. You can add your phone number, blog address, twitter, or just about anything you like. Some people find this type to be the typical card that is easy to carry and easy to file. You can get regular cards just about anywhere, I wanted to support an Etsy seller and bought mine right from http://eightsixty.etsy.com/ She had a bunch of pre-made designs, just give her your info and she sends a proof and makes them up for you. It was worth the wait!

My handmade card are my cards that are made with heart! I love these cards and they are so easy to make! Here is how I do them:

1.) I bought a 2 inch scallop punch on sale at Joanne's for $10. I bought a pad of textured card stock for $10. I know you can get card stock for a cheaper price but I like the textured kind.

2.) I ordered 1.67 inch round labels from http://www.onlinelabels.com/ . If you ever need any labels at all this is the site to go to! You can get any shape and size. I purchased 1000 for around $22, I also use these labels for my larger makeup jars so they are used for two purposes. When you order from this site you get 1 month free of there design program. You can design your labels, upload images and print them. It's pretty easy!

3.) I punch out till my arm is going to fall off, I print my labels and stick them to my round cut outs here is what I get:

I love these cards! It really does not take long for me to do, I made 250 last night and it took me about 45 minutes. I plan on using these cards to also make some coupons to give to my customers. I always include one with all my orders, I even have some in my wallet to give out to people I meet who have never heard of Etsy or who have shown an interest in my shop. I believe these cards are unique and stand out, show off the handmade nature of Etsy and reflect my business.

Do you make your own cards? Send me an email at Twinsmomma27@gmail.com send me a picture of your unique cards and tell me a bit about them, Also include your Etsy URL and any other info you would like to include. I will pick a few of my favorites and post them up on my blog next week! Check back!! : )

Handmade soap Rocks!!

Chocolate vanilla cold process soap~

My favorite lemon soap!

I have to tell you I never tried handmade soap before Etsy. I thought I would give it a try! I found this great shop http://cosmiccleanbody.etsy.com/ And bought her lemon soap.....When I got the box it smelled so good. The next morning I hopped in the shower with my new soap and was transformed to a better place! I do not like mornings but this soap makes me look forward to a shower. It wakes me up and makes me smile! I just went back to her shop and bought a second bar, I was pretty sad when my lemon soap was nothing more than a small sliver and it washed away down the drain. ( you should have seen the look on my face-like someone just took candy away from a kid) I ordered a lemon bar and the vanilla chocolate bar for fun! I have bought soap from a few different soap sellers and so far the lemon is my fav!

Mineral makeup info

I get a lot of people who wonder what type of mineral makeup to buy. There are so many brands to choose from. They sell it at the drug stores, online and in fancy salons and boutiques. Some can cost as much as $50 for a jar!! Trying to decied what the diffrences are can be hard. Let me tell you what I know about the diffrences of all these brands....INGREDIENTS!! Mineral makeup can be called mineral makeup if it contains at least one mineral in the ingredients....yikes! So what else can you find in your mineral makeup?

Talc-Found in many other bath and beauty products, studies have found links between talc and lung cancer, skin cancer and ovarian cancer.

Bismuth oxychloride-is used as a filler. A byproduct of lead and other metals. Overexposure can cause cancer. Some people can have an allergic reaction which will cause redness, itching and swelling.

Boron nitride- is reported to show weak fibrigenic activity and cause Lung disease.

I have seen some other ingredients in mineral makeup that I have no clue why they are even there.....like Essential oils. Mineral makeup should look good, have no odor, and NEVER expire. EO will cause the minerals to have an expiration date since any moisture in the product will be a breeding ground for bacteria.

Here are some good things to find in your mineral makeup.

*Zinc Oxide USP is known for its calming effect and healing properties in problem skin such as rosacea and acne, its ability to stay on even while sweating and swimming, and offers protection from the sun's harmful UV rays.

*Titanium Dioxide also has waterproof and SPF properties while providing a Matte look.

*Mica has some transparent properties and allows the makeup to go on smoothly.

*Iron Oxides give the makeup its pigment.

*Ultramarine Blue is required in some cool shades of makeup since there is no blue oxide.

*Kaolin Clay comes from the earth and is great for oil absorption. It's a light fluffy powder which also gives the makeup a light feel.

So not only does mineral makeup look great on your skin but it actually helps to protect and heal your skin!! The most important thing is to know what is in the products that you buy.

Welcome

I hope to blog about my minerals, my self, and other grade handmade items that are natural and can make you beautiful !