Hearts and Flowers

No, not exactly getting an early jump on Valentine's day.  It just so happened that my vial supplier had a few new styles.  I only bought a couple of 1 new style, figured I'd try them out slowly; after all, business isn't exactly booming for anyone outside of the top 1% these days.

But, I did get some heart-shaped vials.  I made a Heart of Love, with rose quartz, a little ruby and a red rosebud; and Heart of Creativity, with garnet, opal and a red rosebud.  The 2nd one seems to be the most popular (going by favs on etsy and on deviantart), so it is shown here at left.  These new vials don't have loops in the corks, so a bail is on the back of the vial, formed out of (in this case) brass wire.  (the other pendant is sterling silver).  So, hopefully these will go over well!

I also have some more sterling silver being shipped in and hope to have a few more traditional pieces in shop in the next couple of weeks.  I'm finally going to attempt the dreaded task of setting opals (they are very soft on the Mohs' scale and easy to accidentally scratch of break when setting, so, I'm a little nervous!)

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As for today's plug, I know I've plugged Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab before (they do have an etsy shop as well as their own website!) But I don't think I've ever plugged the Black Phoenix Trading Post etsy shop before.  And today, they've been listing t-shirts left over from years and years of full moon designs.

See, every full moon, Black Phoenix makes a perfume to commemorate that full moon, whether it's Strawberry Moon, or Dragon Moon, or Moon of Small Spirits, or whathaveyou; and to go along with that, the Trading Post prints up a companion t-shirt.  These are only sold for about 3 days a month.  So, the chance to go back and look for your favorite missed opportunity is a really nice touch!

Shown here at right is their Candles Moon t-shirt from February 2010.  I actually bought this one back at the time, and it is one of my favorite t-shirts!  Currently the etsy shop has only put up the babydoll style v-neck t-shirts (the base shirts are from Bella, if anyone else is familiar with the company.  It's a good, sturdy, not too light weight t-shirt.)  I believe they have said that straight line crew neck and possibly even some tissue tees will be listed as they go back through the old stock.  Supplies are very limited, and not all designs are available in all sizes.  A great opportunity to get in there and grab something special!

ACHHOOO!!

Been home sick the past couple of days.  I went out to this place I go fairly regularly, never had any problem, but for some odd reason, that Monday night, everyone decided to see who could wear the most perfume/cologne.  So, I started having an allergic reaction to the girl one seat down from me, tried changing seats, but she had clearly never been informed that perfume is supposed to be a PERSONAL scent, as in something someone only really smells when they're in your personal space.  And, of course, as the place got to be standing room only, a couple filed in behind my new seat who were also competing to see which could outdo the other; and then trying to escape to the bar, some guy there wanted to make sure everyone at the bar knew exactly what brand of cologne he was wearing.  (I admit, men, in general, tend to be much more likely to put on way too much than women.  Don't they know that AXE commercials are a lie?  You're more likely to send the women running away if they can smell you from the other side of the bar.)

Needless to say, by morning, I had a terrible sinus infection and had to call out from work.  By midday, I had a fever over 100 that wouldn't go down until sometime in the middle of last night.  Yesterday I did nothing but take pills, nap, drink hot spicy ginger tea, watch hulu, and suffer.  Today, I'm feeling much better, but still trying to take it easy as I have to go back to work tomorrow.  Cost me too much having to take 2 days off.

SO THE LESSON IS: If you like perfume (and I love my Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - all natural by the way, and perfume oils, so less likely to set someone into an allergic fit who's more than 3 feet away) and you're going to be in PUBLIC - ANYWHERE IN PUBLIC - go *easy* on the scent.  It shouldn't be shouting to the mountains, it should be a quiet note as someone leans in to whisper in your ear.  You can really hurt someone by pouring it on; so be considerate!! Thankfully I don't  have asthma.  Asthma is really common and a similar situation could land someone with asthma in the ambulance, not just in bed for a couple of days!

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I've blogged about BPAL before, but there are a lot of smaller shops on etsy who sell their own all natural blends of perfume oils.  A perfume oil is undiluted with alcohol and chemicals, so you dab a little oil onto your wrists and neck, and that's it.  It stays close to you.  It doesn't spread out over several feet and beat people over the head.  (Even the people I were with, who have no allergies, said that the people were way over the top, and almost enough to give even a no-allergies person a headache.)

 Blooddrop is another big favorite among my bpal-friends.  I got a bottle as a gift from a friend of mine, and it was exceedingly nice!  There is a lot going on at their etsy shop besides just perfume oils, though!  Bath salts, creams, powders, and even corsets help fill out the shop with a great amount of diversity.  I really like the sound of the Summer Limited Edition scent, Agua Fresca.  A blend of watermelon, strawberries, cucumber and mint!  Lovely!

So many other options and products, and there are lots of other companies out there making hand-blended perfume oils.

But remember, if you've gotta spritz, spritz LIGHTLY before you go to a crowded public place.

Busy, Busy, Busy

No, I'm not a Bokononist, but I will be this week. So, a short little update now, because my parents will be staying with me for almost a full week, so not much of anything will be getting done.

Went to New York ComicCon yesterday, and aside from just wandering around, basically did NOTHING but hang out at the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab booth for literally hours.

I suggest if you're not familiar with the company, you take some time and just look/read their webpage. And if you'd like to see more products, visit their Black Phoenix Trading Post. I has lusciousness in the form of Treatsie Bath Oil, Sagardoa Soap, and other goodies!

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and because I refuse to break my streak of plugging etsy sellers:

Well, if you were a BPAL addict like me, you would probably need a place to put all your bottles and samples and loot and swag and such.

Now, there are some beautiful, immaculate boxes, hand carved, inlaid wood patterns, amazing real craftsmanship for a few hundred dollars. However, those who might read my blog on occasion know I try and keep things, usually, a little more frugal. So I will be looking at catches my eye under $50.00.

Small Note: just in case any etsy box makers see this. Please remember to take at least one picture of the inside of your box. It matters.

Tims Green Thumb is the first shop that absolutely made me sit up and pay attention. I love the contrast and interest in his Handcrafted Recycled Wood Box (pictured.) It's made out of redwood and is still under $50, even after the shipping and handling! You can tell it's made of thick, good pieces of wood, and I love the contrast in the different colors of wood.

His shop is full of all variations of colors and styles of boxes. Beautiful workmanship and very reasonable prices! Great places to keep "the precious." :-)

Money Stress

I'm stressed. Not only am I stressed, but I'm downright afraid. There. I admitted it. I've been unemployed since January and have been barely scraping by these past months, barely able to even get interviews, let alone even part-time employment.

I know I'm not alone.

And it's a horrible cycle, because you send out dozens of resumes every day, and if you're lucky, you might actually get a reply or two actually telling you "no thank you;" but mostly you'll just get ignored. And of course, this makes you feel even worse. And so it continues day-in, day-out, until you're near a full-blown anxiety attack.

And my blog is all about shopping. Thankfully, it doesn't actually require any money on my part. Plus, I obviously have the time. It's easy to multi-task; one window for job-search, another for typing up your blog.

I did not mean this entire post to be a downer, but I did need to vent that out somewhere.

In fact, I meant to write about a nice little suggestion for relaxation.

Last night, I had a wonderfully relaxing bath. Baths, I think, are highly over-looked by a large portion of the population as a way to relax. Yet, I am very aware that bath products can get very expensive! But they don't have to.

What made my bath so insanely luxurious last night was not some expensive bomb, soak or scrub. I made it in my kitchen out of what could be considered common pantry fare.

I used about 2 tsp kosher salt and 1.5 tsp table sugar for the grit.
I blended that with about a good tsp on honey and a tsp of oil.
We happened to have Walnut oil, so that's what I've used; but almost any oil will work, even olive oil or safflower oil are both fine for this.
Then you just stir it up and scrub it on while you soak in a nice hot tub of water.

If you really want to be extravagant, and I frequently want to be, put a few drops of an essential oil or perfume oil into the scrub to scent it. 2ml is more than enough fragrance to have you smelling lovely all day.

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Even as much as this post is about money woes, I will not break my streak of always picking an etsy seller to promote in my blog. We etsy sellers *need* the sales more than ever; and hey, who knows; I don't know you, the person reading this right now. You very well may be extremely rich, or at least monetarily comfortable.

So, I went and found someone who sells perfume oils, the kind like you could put in your own homemade bath scrub like I just wrote about above!

I will say, that my absolute favorite purveyor is NOT an etsyian, though they are family own/run and completely homemade. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab They're a bit of an addiction of mine; and I'm lucky that there's a large forum dedicated to reviews and even free swapping of 1ml sample bottles of their creations.

Because scent can be so very particular and personal, I do prefer companies that offer tiny testable amounts. That way you're not taking as big a risk on spending a lot of money for a big bottle of something that might not agree with your skin chemistry.

Parchment Perfumes starts off their blends in tiny 5/16th dram bottles, for $1.50 a piece; up to full drams for $3.50. The scents are literarily inspired, creative, and thrifty! Plus, in case the small amount worries you, these are perfume oils, not thinned out perfumes. A little will go a *very* long way!