Bunches of Baubles

Heidi Davis, of Lafayette, Colorado is the creative mind behind this Etsy shop, Bunches of Baubles.  New to Etsy and surrounded by boys in the house, beading is her escape from life's craziness.  She loves to see the pictures in her mind become tangible creations.

Well, me too.  Especially since I won one!  Actually, I won a gift certificate to her shop, and this is what I chose.

Sparkly!

It wasn't easy.  Look at some of the other stuff in her shop...

Check her out!

What We Did Today

We've been living as if our entire house is the back room of a soap & candle company.  Our kitchen full of crock pots and tubs of oil, our dining room crowded with carry cases full of soap.  Our dining room table covered in candles.  Boxes of the stuff we use to set up our booth at craft shows.  We've been eating our meals at the coffee table in the living room.

We love what we do, and it all smells so good, so it hasn't been torturous, but it's a bit ridiculous.  We want to be able to have guests, after all.  And... y'know... be able to walk all the way around our dining room table.

So this morning, Eric went to Home Depot and bought some plywood to go with the 2x3 studs we already had. And now we have this!

Supplies and stock, all neatly arranged!  I love it.  This'll make it so much easier for us to find everything and keep track of what we've got and what supplies we need to buy and stock we need to make.  It'll make it quicker and easier for me to gather and pack your orders, too.

There are also two other places in the basement where there were already shelves built in, and those house our lye, salts, essential oils, candle molds, soap molds, and other supplies.

It's geeky, but I'm so excited!

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Artist Spotlight: Part Thirty-One

Now this is fortuitous.  My spotlight this week is on an artist I mentioned in last week's spotlight and featured back in May:  Sandi Levy of iKnitQuiltSew.  So let's see what she's been up to since May, shall we?

Well, for starters she no longer has just an Etsy shop, but also a Handmade Artists shop, just one more opportunity to shop for her wonderful things!  She's also started a Facebook fan page, where you can get the latest news on everything in her shop and what she's doing.

She also now offers - get this - a baby gift registry in her Etsy shop!  Isn't that the most phenomenal idea?  Instructions on how to choose your registry items are here.

You know, I love the handmade community.  Most are such a giving bunch, but Sandi is truly generous.  Not only did she create a terrific bear specifically to donate as a prize for the HAF contest, but she even gives away her self-learned secrets.  On her blog, she's got a tutorial on making a log cabin quilt block!  Since I started sewing and may be trying my hand at some simple quilts, I could see using that tutorial.  She makes it look so easy!

It's the exact opposite of her bears, which look like they wouldn't be easy at all to make.  I'll leave those masterpieces to her, the expert.

I love those smiling furry faces!

Gift Certificates!

Just in time for the holidays and our Cyber Monday sale, Reef Botanicals now offers gift certificates, in denominations of $10, $25, and $50.

So, now if you don't know which candles they'd want, the Autumn Harvest or the Home for the Holidays, you don't have to choose!

Or maybe you're not sure whether they'd prefer Creamsicle or Vanilla Latte bath salts.

Then a gift certificate is perfect!

Plus, we email the gift certificates directly to your recipient, for quick delivery.  So if  you've forgotten to get someone a gift and are under the gun, we can make sure you look just as thoughtful as you are and as organized as you wish you were!

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Cyber Monday Sale!

Black Friday is upon us.  There's not enough money in the world that could induce either me or Eric to enter a mall on that crazy day.  Sorry, no sale is good enough to warrant risking being elbowed in the eye or stomped on the instep.

We like online shopping.  We're betting you do too.  And we have so many gift ideas for you!

So...

From midnight to midnight EST on Monday, November 29, Reef Botanicals will be holding its first Cyber Monday Sale, the internet's answer to Black Friday.  The benefit to holiday shopping online, of course, is that everything comes directly to your front door (or the front door of your gift recipient!) and you don't need to fight those insane crowds in the stores.

For 24 hours, every single item at Reef Botanicals will be 10% off and every order over $30 will qualify for free shipping*!

*Valid only within the United States for Priority Mail shipping, and Canada for Regular Mail.

That's 10% off our candles, like these Autumn Harvest, about which I blogged but didn't have a photo to show you until now.

Autumn Harvest

Home for the Holidays

It's 10% off our Dead Sea mud masks and facial scrubs.

Almond Pastry Facial Scrub

Dead Sea Mud Mask

It's 10% off our salt & sugar scrubs.

When Life Hands You Lemons Sugar Scrub

10% off our soap, shampoo, and shaving oils.

Smooth Operator Shaving & Bath Soap

10% off our gift baskets.

Men's Gift Basket

10% off our lip balms.

Orange You Glad I'm Your Honey Lip Balm

And 10% off our fizzy bath bombs and bath salts.

Serenity Fizzy Bath Bomb

Creamsicle Bath Salt & Eucalyptus Bath Salt

And every United States order over $30 qualifies for free Priority Mail shipping, while every Canadian order over $30 qualifies for free Regular Mail shipping!

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We're Ready for the Holidays!

Are you?

Our newest candles are perfect for your holiday celebrations!  Home for the Holidays evokes eating candy canes and nibbling on warm cinnamon cookies while sitting in front of the tree.  Layered in a great rustic red and green, they look as beautiful as they smell!  You'll notice that these are our first candles that are layered like this, and I'm very excited that we pulled them off exactly as we wanted them.  Getting the colors right took some serious mixing too, and it couldn't have turned out more perfect!

Sorry, I'm too psyched, I know.  I can't help it; I'm really proud of these.

If you want to see them in person before buying them, we'll have them with the rest of our wonderful product line, perfect for gifts or to pamper yourself this winter, at the Minerals Resort and Spa on December 12, 2010.

This time, it's the Holiday Gala craft fair!

Come visit us!

Don't wait for the fair, though.  Don't forget that Chanukah is December 1 this year.  And get your Christmas shopping done early.  We'll get your orders out to you as quickly as possible, or we can send them directly to your friends and family!

We're looking forward to hearing from you.

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