Pictures and a Poll

As promised, here are pictures of the "swirled soap". It turned out more blotchy than swirled.

And now I need your help! I'm getting ready to order more lip balm flavors and I want your opinions. Please vote for your favorites from the list:

honey
caramel
cucumber melon
coconut milk & peaches
black cherry
anise
pear
coconut
strawberry lemonade
apricot
kona coffee
bananas foster
mango peach
watermelon
lavender
iced pineapple & tangerine
something not listed: ________

Thank you!

My First Attempt at Swirling

For a challenge with a few of my teammates on Etsy, we have to make a tropical themed product that contains more than one color. I had the perfect scent for this...HoneyCocoMango! It's a delicious blend of honey, coconut, and mango. Now the color is where the challenge comes in. I've done layers before. I wanted to do something more unique for this one so I decided to do swirls.

I picked pink, orange, yellow, and green for my colors. Since I use log molds I used the 'in the pot' swirling method. Let's just say it's a lot harder than it looks. I was getting a little flustered trying to get all four colors mixed before the soap became too thick. I think I swirled a little too much once I put it into the pot and now I'm afraid it's going to be a big, ugly mess when I cut it.

Stay tuned for pics to see how it turned out. I'm very anxious to see for myself.

Big Giveaway on Facebook!

Want a chance to win some great prizes? Head on over to Super Coupon Lady's facebook page and see what you can win. One of the prizes is my Herbal Bliss Sugar Scrubs. Good Luck!

Flight of Shadows by Sigmund Brouwer

Time for another book review! This one is for "Flight of Shadows" by Sigmund Brouwer.

I have mixed feelings about this book. The story itself was good. Caitlyn, the result of a scientific experiment, is on the run from bounty hunters and the government. She meets a street-smart illusionist named Razor who helps her escape but she's not sure she can trust him. Razor helps her learn about herself and the unique power of her DNA. It leads her to make a choice between the two men who love her, and whether to keep her freedom or sacrifice herself to change human destiny.

The first few chapters of the book were rather hard to follow. Every chapter jumped to a new scene and introduced new characters. It took a paragraph or two to figure out what was going on. The entire book reads this way but after learning all the characters it becomes easier to follow. I discovered after I started that this book is the sequel to Sigmund Brouwer's other book, "Broken Angel". Perhaps I should have read that first.

There are a few disgusting scenes involving a man eating a rat and the author has an abnormal obsession with coffee. This probably bothered me more than it should have but everytime coffee was mentioned I thought "here we go again...".

All in all it was a pretty good book. I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Read the prologue HERE.

As a reminder, I was given this book for free from the WaterBrook Multnomah "Blogging for Books" program. All opinions are my own.

Did you find the review helpful? Rank it here:

Diaper Pail Deodorizing Disk Recipe

I just made a few of these as part of a baby shower gift so I thought I'd share the recipe. These are very easy to make and are great for sticking in your diaper pail if it has a compartment for them, or nearby if it doesn't.

Supplies you'll need:
Lavender Essential Oil
Water
Baking Soda
Silicone Cupcake Molds or other small flexible molds
Cookie Sheet

Preheat your oven to 175 degrees. Mix a few drops of lavender essential oil with a small amount of water. Add baking soda and mix to make a paste. Keep adding more baking soda and water until you have the desired amount. You want it to be wet enough so it holds together, but not so wet that it will take forever to dry out. Fill each cupcake mold with approximately 1/2" of the paste. Set the cupcake molds on your cookies sheet. Place in the oven at 175 degrees for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and leave them in the oven for another hour, or until fully dry and solid. Remove from cupcake molds and they're ready to use! After they've lost their fragrance, don't toss them out! These are great to use in your laundry. Crumble them up and toss them in with baby's clothes to deodorize and soften them.

Body Butter Giveaway!

Body Butters are now available in my shop! Even more exciting...I'm giving one away! Tomorrow, February 3rd, one lucky winner will be picked to receive a free 3.5oz jar of Yuzu Whipped Body Butter!

To enter:
Head over to facebook tomorrow and post a comment on the following two pages:

http://facebook.com/pages/Vixens-Natural-Jewelry/284357900776

http://facebook.com/AngiesSudsNSuch



Good luck!

Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner

I'm a huge fan of historical fiction so I was immediately drawn to this book. My obsession with this genre began with a trip to the thrift store. I was browsing the books and came across "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory. I recognized the title since it had recently been made into a movie so I bought it...and LOVED it! Within the next few months I acquired the rest of the Tudor series by Philippa Gregory and all of the ones I read so far are amazing. When I received "Lady in Waiting" I had no idea it would tie in with those books.

"Lady in Waiting" is two stories in one. The first story is about Jane Lindsay, modern day New Yorker whose husband of 22 years recently walked out on her. She runs an antique store and one day finds an old ring stuffed into the binding of a book. The ring is inscribed in Latin with the only recognizable word being "Jane". She instantly feels a bond with this ring and its owner and tried to find out more about it. Along the way she discovers more about herself and how to deal with her marrital problems.

Story two takes place in sixteenth century England right after the death of Queen Katherine, Henry VIII's sixth wife (this is where it ties in with the Tudor series). It's about Lady Jane Grey who would eventually reign as Queen of England for a total of nine days.

The story revolves around the decisions that both women have made (or that others have made for them) and how they affected their lives.

I give this story two thumbs up! You can download and read the first 4 chapters of this book on the WaterBrook Multnomah website.

As a reminder, I was given this book for free from the WaterBrook Multnomah "Blogging for Books" program. All opinions are my own.

A few of my favorite things

A few of my favorite necklaces:

Sorry about the small pic on this one. I can't figure out how to make it larger.
This beautiful necklace is by Bella Mei Designs. I met the owner at a craft show back in December. Actually, she walked past me wearing this necklace and I followed her back to her booth to purchase it.


This lovely piece is by Vixen's Natural Jewelry. I now own two of her necklaces and I just noticed she added a purple one to her line!


This gorgeous work of art is by 3Dots. Unfortunately, I don't own this one (it sold out before I got to it) but I have my eye on a few other items in her shop as well.

Whipped Shea Butter

I love whipped shea butter...the creamy frosting-like texture, the way it melts right into your skin. I've been wanting to make some for ages and finally got around to it. This is a picture of my first batch:


There are many tips and tricks on the internet about making whipped shea butter but I learned the hard way that softening the shea butter instead of melting it, doesn't work. It turned out all gritty.

What *does* work? First off, I melted the shea butter completely. After melting I added my oil, cornstarch (to reduce greasiness) and fragrance. Then I alternated between beating it with a hand mixer (with my pyrex bowl placed on top of a larger bowl of ice), and putting it in the freezer for 5-10 minute intervals. Voila!

Not only is shea butter good for your skin but it does wonders for hair as well! I've read about the benefits of using it on naturally curly but was always afraid to try it. I thought it would make my hair greasy. Not at all! No grease, no stiffness, and best of all...no frizz!

Here's a picture of my hair after using the shea butter. I put a bit on my damp hair after my shower (no other product) and blow dried a bit and let it air dry the rest of the way. I should take a "before" picture of what my hair looks like without any product in it, but I'd rather not have anyone see me like that. It's scary!

My Newest Toy

I've been wanting one of these for ages so I couldn't resist when I saw it at 40% off! I've already used it to make some of my Christmas tags and I plan on making some fancy ones to add to my etsy shop for next holiday season.

Anybody else treat themselves to a new toy recently? I'd love to hear about it!