Happy Earth Day

Good morning all:

This is one of my favorite days of the year...Earth Day.  I'm closer to Mama Earth today than ever before in my life.



I live in the woods between two ridges of Dogwood and Redbud beauty this time of year. Honeysuckle is greening up and blackberries are leafing out.



I live in a Hollow where I'm dependent on the weather for my garden crops and herbs' production.  I have no air conditioner to obstruct my relationship with the air I breathe, and my water comes from a spring.

When the weather is not good, it is not good for me, either. But, when the weather is good, it is perfect.

I'm surrounded by trees, bushes, and plants of all types. The stars show themselves at night when there are no clouds, because there are no lights to block their beauty.

Birds in abundance, as well as insects, bees, spiders, and snakes.  I appreciate them all as I see how they live in nature, dependent on each other for food.





My mother cherry tree fostered hundreds of little trees under her girth.  It looks like a Cherry Forest!
This time of year, life begins anew. I'm glad to witness it once again.  And, I'm thankful my life's path has led me here, close to Earth on Earth Day. :)

Thank you all for allowing me to breathe aloud my thoughts for the day.
~kathleen

New ArtFire Shop

Hi again.

I've opened a new online shop this morning at ArtFire.  I read there are some real concerns with the opt-in privacy issues at Etsy.  I realize, while reading forum threads and blog sites, that some customers will no longer shop at Etsy.  I don't know for sure if any of my customers have taken this stand; but if they have, I want to offer them my products at a more private friendly site.

It is my understanding that you don't have to "join" ArtFire to buy from shops listed there.



Many venues offering crafts and arts people a place to sell their handmade goods are socially inclined. Etsy, ArtFire, and a few others I've passed through encourage connectivity between artist and artist and customer and artist, and customer and customer by providing forums, blogs, ratings, etc. ArtFire just seems more user friendly to those who do not wish to connect.

So, this is a just a note to advise you of my new shop! I hope you will visit me there and check out my added location.  The Site is called Sweet Creek Soaps, but my banner is Sweet Creek Herbs.

Thanks ~Kathleen

Elegant Handmade Skin Care Now Ships FREE!!

April's Newsletter

Hi all!!

1) A definite news flash:  Sweet Creek Herbs now ships free (and reduced international) with a $10 minimum. 

I received a LL Bean catalog in which was stated that they were going to Free Shipping on all orders indefinitely, because the founder started the company that way.  It is a big deal in these hard economic times with gas prices increasing daily. It provoked me into thinking if I can offer the same to my customers.

I read in a forum that businesses do not make money when they ship free.  That is incorrect.  It cuts out the retail profit, but there is still wholesale profit. In order to keep the Free shipping indefinite, a small minimum of $10 will prevent losing money. 

2) New Format

You may have noticed some changes taking place in the Shop.  The goal is to create consistency, provide more than one of a product for sale at the same time, and provide feedback in a more convenient manner.

The consistency comes in the title and description.  Are you able to read the title and description with little question in your mind?  That is the goal.  What this means is you won't find Whipped Shea Butter, lavender in a listing.  But, you will find 2 listings of 4 oz. butters and 2 listings of 2 oz. butters of Your Choice - and you will now be able to buy 2 of the same butters without a special order. This will require entering your choice at checkout, and so far, it is working great. Thanks!!

Also, you may notice in all listings but (yet) the soap, feedback for that product. I am pulling (private) feedback from my shop's FEEDBACK and entering into the listings. I will continue to add as we go for your convenience in knowing what others say about it.

Which brings me to my next topic.....

3) Feedback!!!  I have received my first neutral feedback.  And, it seems, right after having received it, quite a few rolled in.  Much like the first one opening the door to a few standing in line.  0_0    Many of my peers and customers scoff at my concern as they seem to take into account my sales:

(Yippee!! > bragging rights>>)
 Over 3000 items sold
         1400 orders
          1900 positive feedback

Yet, 7 (7???!?!?) Neutral feedback as of this writing.  I've become nervous opening up the new feedback to read it.  LOL

Okay, yes, if you read them, you will notice many of them are nothing to do with my product.  hehe   And, all right, it is neutral and not negative.  And, thankfully, it doesn't seem to affect sales. (whew!)

And, I'd like to say for the record, I will not retaliate. In fact, I give positive feedback to every paying customer.

But, it does tend to bum me out when I read them.  If you are one of those 7 and are reading this - I offer to refund your money for your order.  Thanks!

4)  New products have been and are being introduced.  I now offer soy wax tart melts.  Not only are they a blast to create and make, but I love melting them in my personal sized diffuser.  I didn't have to buy a special tart warmer, which pleased me, to test and use my melts.  They are strong and true! One tart can last through several burnings and still continue to scent the air around it!

New soaps include 2 new castile soaps.  I love them! I'm using the scented right now, and it has become my soap of choice. They are made with organic extra virgin olive oil.  At trace, I add activated charcoal, a blend of green and pink French clays, rhassoul clay, kelp, and green tea powder in a bit of grape seed oil, and to the scented one, a blend of lavender and eucalyptus oils for scent (and benefits to ALL skin types). OMG, man, it's good.
Another new soap is my Goat Milk Banana Mango soap. This at the request of one of my customers. It smells rich and sweet, and the soap is a beautiful goat milk soap.  Mango butter is added at trace.
Brought back from last year's warm seasons and available very soon are Honeysuckle Hollow, Calendula Honey, Blueberry Cobbler, and White Jasmine.

Heads up - Whipped butters (all but the Mango) are in their last month of availability. Just letting those who read this know...they will go on sale the last few days of April.

5) I've made a major decision in my soap making career. I've decided to pull out of the Farmer's Market (65 minutes away) and put that focus into my online shop, gardening, and my family.  I have been a part of that market 5 years. I've made friendships that will last the rest of my life. :)  However, it requires 3 or more days a week to operate efficiently, and I've realized recently that has taken its toll on my family, health through gardening, and even myself.  This decision has brought a sense of relief and weightlifting. I hope you will see the results of this decision through my shop and activities here online.

Thank you for taking the time to catch up with Sweet Creek Herbs. I hope to be packaging y'all's order very soon.  ~kathleen

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