Gardening Again!

Hi you all!

Another day I'm up and able, I ought to be thankful for that. How are you? I have to say I've re-discovered my method of rejuvenation. It has been some years, though.....

I love what I do, don't misunderstand. I own and operate my own soap and herbal shop, and I'm inspired and excited by my shop's progress. Starting up and making a business succeed takes a lot of time. The first five years, I was absorbed by it. I did not do the things I've always done in my last twenty or so years.

I didn't read. I didn't work out my astrology charts, I didn't garden, etc. I worked hard at the business almost 24/7 363 (maybe 2 days off a year) days a year. Just last year, I began finding myself again.

I began reading. I credit this to my son, Jeremy, who gifted me on Mother's Day with a John Grisham novel I had not read. It took me a few months to read more than a few pages at a time, but I eventually found that enjoyable space when reading an exciting novel puts me in a rejuvenating zone again.

Just this spring, I re-found my gardening spot. It has been 5 years since I put my hands in soil with purpose. Last Sunday, I spent the day in my garden beginning to reclaim what I had worked so hard for before I began soap making. It is going to be a hard task, but it felt so good to be out there. I went back at it Monday, even though it was lightly raining. Yesterday - too wet. But, today, it will be dry and sunny, and I'm going to step out in it for 30 minutes or so.

It felt good, it makes my space look good, and it is going to feed me and mine. Yes, I planted, too. I planted spinach, lettuce, and peas. I have lots of plans for the small space I'm reclaiming this year. And, next year? I hope to reclaim some more.

So, now I re-discovered two out of three main structures of myself. I'm looking forward to the day I can re-discover my passion for astrology.

Thanks for hearing me out...kathleen

1st coupon code sale at Sweet Creek Herbs

Hi.

Today, I'm trying something new. I'm using Etsy's coupon code app in my shop. I set up the code for 15% off, no minimum required. Actually, I notice you cannot have a minimum when setting up a coupon code through Etsy.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetcreekherbs?ref=si_shop is where you go if you are looking for quality, handmade skin care offered at a discount the next few days.

The coupon? Oh, yes.. it is paddy11. When you are ready to check out on Etsy, type in the code where it asks you for it, and you get 15% off your entire order, sans shipping (and sales tax for Tennesseans).

So, come on over and visit my shop online for a discount of 15% March 15th through March 18th.

Thanks!!

Kathleen

Pre Valentine's Day Sale

Good Evening:

You may think it a bit early for Valentine's Day shopping, but if you are buying online, now is a good time to buy.

For one, there is a sale going on right now. If you purchase one Valentine's product along with the rest of your order, I will refund 10% back to you for your whole order before shipping costs.

Also, every Valentine's product sold is shipped already gift wrapped.

And, there is still a Free Shipping offer at my shop for orders $30 and more - so you could double up on offers if you so choose.

Thanks for visiting. Come see me also at http://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetcreekherbs

~Kathleen

Questions and Answers on Shampoo Bars

Sharing....

1. How do you use a shampoo bar?

To be fair, I rarely get this question from a guy. He often will use his bath bar to wash his body and hair and not think twice about it. But, for the ladies, I often answer this way:

First, I like to wash my hair with my head flipped down and most of the time in the kitchen sink. I wet my hair thoroughly to the point of sopping, then taking the bar and rub it a few times in my length and then over the scalp a few times. I set the bar down and work up a lather with the length and the scalp hair altogether. Some are afraid of hair breakage, but I work my lather as I would if using a bottled shampoo - no different. When cured, my shampoo bars lather as well if not better than bottled shampoo, so working up a lather is not a problem. The lather tends to stay in place and not run down the head into the eyes! When I've massaged my scalp a bit with my fingers, I rinse it out. My shampoo bars rinse cleanly out very quickly.

2. What is the deal with an acidic rinse? Is this to rinse the shampoo completely out?

There is a lot of controversy over this issue. I will tell you what I know:

Before I began making shampoo bars, I read in one of my herb books that our grandmothers often told us to use an apple cider vinegar dilution as the final rinse to our hair. The reason? the hardness of the water. Many would steep lovely hair herbs in this vinegar over a period of time, strain it and use it for their hair, using 1-2 teaspoons of herbal vinegar to rain water or other water. What our grandmothers knew was that vinegar softens hard water.

The 'cones found in commercial shampoos and conditioners mask the minerals in hard water. But, shampoo bars do not. They will clean your hair, but when rinsing out the shampoo, you may find your hair feels waxy or rough. This indicates you are using hard water. To restore the water to a neutral pH, add a bit of vinegar. The acid neutralizes the alkaline water and softens it, which in turn softens your hair upon using it. I use a cup of this dilution as my FINAL rinse.

If you are using soft water, there is no need to use this dilution. ACV (apple cider vinegar) dilutions just put us all on equal footing for softer hair with shampoo bars.

3. What are the advantages of shampoo bars over commercial shampoos?

The most obvious is eliminating a bottle for paper packaging. One sheet of paper wraps 5 regular bars of shampoo or 8 sample bars. And, recycled paper is widely available.
Another obvious reason is for travel. It is wonderful. No bottles, just a bar that travels well.

But, these are the social reasons. There are personal reasons, too. Synthetic detergents, chemicals we do not know, and a ton of other ingredients are eliminated from our head. We are now using only pure whole ingredients we do know, such as coconut oil, olive oil, jojoba, etc. made into shampoo soap by way of a solution of sodium hydroxide in pure distilled or rain water. Real soap versus detergents.

This is what it has done for me...hitting menopause, my hair was coming out in clumps. Now, it does not and even feels thicker than ever before. My hair is soft all the time and requires a washing twice a week versus every day or every other day, becoming oily rather quickly. My hair is easier to hold a do, too. :)

I'm using shampoo bars in my sixth year. I haven't regressed. I've not used a bottled shampoo in over 6 years, not once. And, I don't miss it. I've come to enjoy the shampoo bar experience every time. I make 19 varieties of shampoo bars, so variety isn't a problem, either. Because shampoo bars leave nothing in your scalp and hair, there is no need to change out shampoo bars, either. You may use the same one for years and find it works the last time you use it as well as the first time.

In this article, I give you my reasons. But, in the next article (part 2), I will give you comments from my customers. There are hundreds of them. Shampoo bars are my best sellers online and have been for more than 2 years. And, next time, I will share their experiences with you.



Thank you! ~kathleen

Lotion Bars - New Product

Good morning.

I thought I would tell you about my Lotion Bars..a new creation for my Shop.

They are divine for moisturizing your hands, feet, knees, and elbows with ease. These are made with simple and pure ingredients of almond oil, prime pressed cocoa butter, virgin coconut oil, and unrefined beeswax.

The fragrance free bar contains nothing else.

The lavender bars contain oil of Bulgarian Lavender and a pinch purple jojoba beads.

The rosemary mint lotion bar contains oils of rosemary and peppermint and a pinch of apple green mica. I think it is a perfect bar for the feet.

Another bar I make is the Sweet Orange with oils of tangerine, sweet orange and Orange Valencia, as well as sages and a caress of basil. I added orange jojoba beads for color. The jojoba beads used in these bars are completely melted so they are smooth and use well.

The tropical lotion bar is tinted yellow green here, but the new batch has titanium dioxide in it to lighten the color to a yellow white. The scent is obtained by blending oils of grapefruit with sweet buttery vanilla fragrance - the combination reminds me of coconuts and pineapples.

They are at an introductory price of $5.50 each right now (along with Free Shipping). In January, they will be $6.50.

Thanks!! ~kathleen

Tribute to a Reviewer

Hi Online Small Business Owners (and anyone else who wants to read this):

I just had a wakeup call!

How many times has a youtube (or other) "guru" emailed you with the intent to have you send them free products so that they may review them for you online? Me? I have had several times many. Too many. And, unfortunately, I have sent some free stuff out. Guess what? Never was I contacted again in those instances. No reviews, no response to my emails, etc. *shakes head* Have you had like experiences?

Today, I received an email from someone who does reviews on youtube. Not only that, she has placed her second order. She placed her first one without fanfare - I didn't know about her youtube presence. So, she was treated like all my customers. That is important for us to realize. How can a reviewer talk about our customer service without experiencing what all customers experience?

She might have not told me now except one her followers is asking about some of my other products, and she wanted to know which ones were top sellers.

My lesson in this? Other than what I've already said, "No, to all the freebie requests." How disrespectful anyway! We work hard and longer hours than we are paid for to produce products we are proud to sell around the world. And, some one writes and asks if they can have it for free.

Thank you, Janee. ♥ You are an awesome lady!!

~kathleen

FREE SHIPPING SALE !!!

Happy Thanksgiving, you all!

I'm not doing much celebrating, my friends. Something sad happened on this day last year. So, I'm burying my nose and mind into my business and having a whopping big sale today through Cyber Monday, November 29th.

Free Shipping to all domestic orders, no minimum required. Reduced shipping on all international orders, no minimum required. And for all orders $10 or more, I'm including a free lip balm. If you read this blog and order and want something other than a lip balm, request a sample of my MEmu Facial oil, and I'll send that instead.

Thank you. That's all. Just wanted to tell you about my sale over at Etsy. You all have a LOVELY weekend.

♥kathleen