Free Craft Marketing Group On Ning

Serena Lee Pena has set up a networking group on Ning geared towards free marketing.

Says Serena:
"This is a place to advertise and promote your wares for FREE as well as network with others and barter/trade, exchange banners and traffic, etc. It is completely FREE and is in the same format as this site (Indie Public)!"

Please check it out! http://FreeCraftMarketing.ning.com

And So It Continues...

I'm on a roll.;-)

More bath and body goodness to make, more blending (I'm in heaven) and a few more stitch projects to work on. Today is a beautiful day and I'm feeling energetic. I'm going to get as much done as possible before I fizzle out LOL.

Blogiversary & Something Special
In the month of September, Tisa of Tisa's Creations will be celebrating her blog-iversary. She'll have two weeks worth of giveaways, and I will be one of the contributors (I'm making something special just for this occassion). Stop by Tisa's Etsy shop and see all the lovely card creations she has. Visit her ->blog<- for all the details on the blogiversary, say hello and be sure to return for the celebration giveaways!

Have a fantastic day friends!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

I have a pretty large to-do list for today, so I thought I'd pop in and give a quick update on a few things.

Eat Local Project
So far so good, however I am missing my lovely pineapple. And mangoes too. On the flip side, there is an abundance of berries available. Blackberries, blueberries and raspberries along with beautiful cherries. I still miss my lovely pineapple lol.

I found a co-op not far from me and will be checking it out soon.

Green beans are still well received in my home. Zucchini, not so much.:(

I have one banana pepper plant with 2 peppers that are almost ready to be picked. There are several blossoms so there should be more soon.

My To-do List
(in addition to my regular work around the home)

• Package samples
• 2 batches of soap
• 1 batch of body butter
• 1 batch of lotion spray
• 1 batch of facial cream
• 2 perfume blends (starters)
• 4 fabric journals

Looks like I better get started so I can relax later and catch up on my blog reading. If I haven't visited you in awhile, many apologies and thanks for coming back to read my ramblings. ;-)

An Ongoing Quest

Once again I changed the background color. The green, while soothing, had become dull. Nothing really stood out. I didn't want to venture too far from the colors in my logo, but other than a plain white background every other color I tried was too dark. So for today (at least) the color will be gray, until I find a combo that I can live with.:)

On another note, I'm feeling better today, so back to work. I'll have an update on that later. Have a wonderful day!!!!!

Well...At Least They're Here

I purchased 13 different essential oils and they were delivered today. Unfortunately I've been having allergy issues for the past few days. If my nose isn't running, it's stopped up. I made a blend last week and gave it (a little) time to settle. Yesterday: I get my test strips out, add a drop of the blend, fan, sniff...........nothing! I can't make out a single note and I KNOW what's in it. I can't wait for this to run it's course so I can get back to work. At least I can sit and stare at all the bottles...until the Benadryl kicks in.:)

Etsy Find 14AUG08

Are you looking for a small lightweight purse or tote? Check these out. They are placemat purses and are just the right size for when when you want to lighten the load of what you carry on your outings. They are also the perfect size for a take-along knit/crochet/craft project.

Yes, You're In The Right Place

I changed the template again. The three columns worked well allowing me to put lots of links and other lists up top so readers won't miss them if they only view the top one or two posts, but it just didn't cooperate with my eyes lol. So, back to two columns. I tried to tone it down a bit with a soothing background color. You like??? Now to work on the header.:)

Where Do I Start?

Celebrate With Style

I recently participated in a blog comment contest on Celebrate With Style . Celebrate With Style is a wonderful resource for tips on planning events, such as parties and fundraisers. The winner would receive several beautiful items donated by awesome shops, on and off Etsy. I was so surprised to learn that I was the winner! So many great items, I was just taken aback. The picture doesn't do them justice. A great big THANK YOU to the Celebrate With Style team and to the designers that participated/donated their wonderful wares. Please stop by Celebrate With Style. There is a wealth of information there that can help ease the stress of planning your next big event.

This is what I received:

Your FlipFlops


Forever Flowers

1. Pretty Pear Designs

2. Get Happy Goat Soap

3. Flying Needle Gallery

1. Colie Art

2. Broken Teepee Designs

3. & 4. Estancia Designs

5. Purple Cloud Studio

6. Cyndie Smith Designs

7. Liebling Art Crafts

8. Hot Rocks Glass Jewels

Eat Local Project

Just a brief update on how my project is coming along. So far I have been able to switch to Michigan potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, bell peppers, yellow squash, zucchini and apples. Well the apples aren't new to the list.:) Michigan apples have long been my preference ever since I first went to an apple orchard as a kid and pulled them right from the tree. I have basil, dill and rosemary from my garden, as well as, lemon verbena and several mints. My banana peppers have bloomed so it won't be long before I can use them.

Blossoming Tree Newsletter

The newsletter that was supposed to go out in July was postponed because of several changes being made with Blossoming Tree Bodycare. All new information will be shared in the August newsletter. If you haven't signed up yet you can do so using the form on the right sidebar.

More Etsy Goodness

I received these packages this week as well.

3 Jumbo Caffe Mocha Coffee Espresso Glass Magnets from myrockart.etsy.com purchased for me by my Secret Pal from The Soap Dish forum.:) Aren't they cute?

Nicotiana Fragrant Delight seeds from fluffnflowers.etsy.com (not pictured)
Blackberry plant from fluffnflowers.etsy.com

These two were purchased from my Etsy Organic teammate fluffnflowers. I'm so excited about these. I hope they are resistant to my "thumb of death" LOL. I try hard to do right by my plants. I'm very impressed by those that survive my care.:D

And For Good Measure More Wildflower Photos

Plant Identification

I have been paying close attention lately to the wild flowers growing in a field behind my house. Normally the area is mowed so I really hadn't noticed them before but since I'm so interested now in plants that are native to my area I decided to go out and take a closer look. Boy was I missing out on some beauties. I have no idea what they are or even if they are natives. While I'm researching I thought I'd post some pictures I took and see if anyone could tell me what they are.

Persian Cornflower or Knapweed or ...?

Meet The Etsy Organic Street Team

Team contacts:
GreenWorks - silk screening
Organidog - Organic Dog Treats & Cool Clothes For Dogs Of All Sizes

Team members (in no particular order):
fluffnflowers - seeds and plants
blossomingtree - bath and body
locomomomma - crocheted organic baby toys
janetlyn - little shop of knitwitted goods
scentualsensations - bath and body products
HarvestTheSunHerbals - bath and body
greensprings0 - skin care
greenthing - plants, seeds, and recycled crafts
HUDSONVALLEYWOOL - organic Merino and Shetland wool
babyjeanorganics - 100% organic cotton baby line
10oneworld - one world organic clothing
brendaml - organic merino baby handknits
bumbleberrybakery - organic baked goods
mmmmhandmadesoap - bath and body
MamaLovePerfume - organic flower essence and aromatherapy
ecoleeko - Eco Friendly Handmade Plush Stuffed Dolls
LAVENDERDRAGONHERBS - fresh, wildcrafted and organic herbs, herbals, handipped incense
greentrims - organic and reclaimed fabric, lace, trims
redyellowblue - hand dyed & screen printed items
dogandsparrow - eco-friendly gifts for you or your pet
SmellsandBells - bath and body
RoseBudOrganics.etsy.com - organic baby clothing and accessories

We're new and still growing. We have new members joining almost daily.

Our criteria to join is:

* You must sell at least one organic product
* You assume responsibility to ensure that organic labelled products comply with current standards
* You agree to increasing your range of organic products over a period of time (we want sellers to strive for at least 50% of their products being organic)
* You only tag organic products with the EtsyOrganicTeam tag
*You participate as fully as possible in the team

If you feel you're a perfect fit for this team join us! Look for contact information on the Etsy teams page >>here<< or stop over at the Flickr group >>here<<. Also take a moment to visit the team blog >>here<<.