Just in time for the Summer Solstice Sale!

Thieves' Oil Lip Balm has come to the HAFshop.

Thieves' Oil, the mix of spices and perfumes that kept those now infamous rascals from contracting the bubonic plague as they ransacked houses, is the same mix of essential oils we use in this lip balm, together with beeswax, cocoa and shea butters, vitamin E, and other moisturizing oils.

Steal a kiss!

And more news... we're phasing in our new lip balm containers.  So far you can buy Orange You Glad I'm Your Honey Lip Balm, our awesome mix of orange essential oil, honey, shea & cocoa butters, vitamin E, and other moisturizing oils, in the new containers, both at Reef Botanicals and in the HAFshop.

We've heard our customers' request for the lipstick style container, and we've responded.  Enjoy!

Success!

On more than one front.

First, about this past weekend and the Carlstadt Fresh Air Market... I had a blast!  Eric came in the morning and helped to set up, then stayed 'til one or so.  He ended up buying coffee from a local roaster, pickles from a local pickler, and rolls & pie from a local baker, then heading home to make our dinner.

Meanwhile, our friends Tori & EJ stopped by to visit and ended up helping for a bit too.

That's Tori in the photos.

The fun thing about this market was that there was no one runaway hit item.  People bought shampoo, makeup brush cleaner, facial scrub, mud mask, shaving soap, all different other soaps, candles, and lip balms.  It was pretty cool to see so much interest in so many different products.

And the washcloths got a lot of attention, partly because while I was sitting, I started a second trinity washcloth, which I've since completed.  One woman actually commented that they're great for babies because they're so soft.  I hadn't thought of that, but she's right!

And my other success... I won the Highlights contest at the Handmade Artists Forum, and got to choose a print from Nancy's WildWireArt!  I chose "Flow," and it came today!

It looks even better in person, and Eric loves it.  Now we just have to get it matted & framed.

So how was your weekend?

Happenings, Happenings

So... just because I've been quiet doesn't mean I haven't been busy.

I've been knitting my little heart out and adding some things to Fabric of my Mind, like these new washcloths.

This one is a basic washcloth (or dishcloth, if you prefer).

And this one's a cool basket weave with a seed stitch border.

I did both in an awesome gardenia yellow cotton bamboo yarn that is really soft and has a gorgeous sheen to it.  I understand that cotton bamboo is a great fiber in that it's got the strength of cotton and the absorbency of bamboo.  Not bad!  Of course, my very first washcloth, a duplicate of the basic one above, went to Eric for "quality control testing."  He uses it as a face cloth every day and loves it.  Of course, when he saw the basket weave, he wanted that one for "quality control" as well, but it made it into the shop.

I've also got 41" of Eric's cashmere scarf done.  Talk about soft!  It's insane how soft 100% cashmere is.  Insane.  I love knitting with it.

Meanwhile, I've been filling orders for Mother's Day gift baskets, of course, like this one.

The request was for "fresh" scents including soap and candle, so I stuffed in an Autumn Harvest candle, a couple Garden Party soaps, a Lemongrass & Sage soap, an Orange You Glad I'm Your Honey lip balm, and a When Life Hands you Lemons sugar scrub.

And then, since I can't seem to keep them in stock for more than a minute, I made another batch of Purity Makeup Brush Soap.

So there you have it!  Check back Sunday when I revisit a fellow artist for you.

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A Reminder for Valentine's Day

Our products make great gifts!

Make your own slide show at Animoto.

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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Our Day

Today, we spent the day at the Autumn Extravaganza Arts & Crafts Show at the Minerals Resort & Spa in Vernon, NJ.  We'd done this show in April when it was their first attempt a a craft fair, and had a decent day with a lot of interest.  It was a very small fair but with good vendors.

This time, a vendor organizer company had taken over and the fair grew from one room (the gym of the spa) to three rooms (the lobby, gym, and small back convention room).  Still a small fair, but nice.  Unfortunately, it also grew by three more vendors of handmade soap.  Total:  4.  That's unusual, especially for a fair of this size, and initially they were placing three of us all in adjoining booths!  Well, two of us obviously moved, and we lucked out and were placed in the lobby, directly to the right of the entrance doors to the spa.  That meant we had a differently-shaped space (the original was 10'x10') and needed to reorganize.  We actually really liked the way we were able to use the area.

That whole length there was Reef Botanicals!  We had two 6' tables end to end, and then a 4' camping table on the end forming an L.  Our banner is there at that far end because that's where the entrance to the spa was.

We got traffic from every direction and were very happy with the setup and location.  In fact, the spa is having another event on December 12, just before the holidays, and we plan to participate in that one too.

Although the patrons were somewhat inundated with soapers, they seemed really excited by our product line, and we did well.  Our most popular sellers of the day were the Hair Dew shampoo and the Home for the Holidays bath salt, though also especially popular were the lip balms, facial scrub, candles, and Smooth Operator shaving & bath soap.  People took a lot of cards too, and we're hopeful that the event gained us some regular customers!

If you're in the area, look for us at the event in December, where we'll also be offering gift baskets for the holidays.  Don't be fooled by the fact that it's a resort; the place is really friendly and non-members are as welcome as members.  In fact, the staff there were treating even us more like guests than anything!

In the meantime, everything is still available at our website, as well as on our HAFshop, and of course our giveaway is still underway until October 31!

Relaunch, Baby!

We're back and better than ever - new web host, new shopping cart, new site design!

And we're so happy that we're celebrating with a sale:

15% off anything and everything

at

Reef Botanicals

through October 5

Now's the time to stock up on your favorites, try something new, or get a jump start on that holiday shopping!

Mother's Day Sale!

In honor of the moms, we're making gift buying easier for you.  How?  A sale, of course!  For one week from Friday, April 30, to Thursday, May 6...

First, all individual items at Reef Botanicals are buy 3 get one free!  Simply purchase any three items on the site, and then choose a 4th item of equal or lesser value to the other three, and that one's free!  To make things easy, you just purchase the three items as you normally would, and then in the "notes" during checkout with Paypal, let us know what you'd like as your free item.

Secondly, all gift baskets are 25% off!  You can have a ready-made gift for your mom, at a great discount.  Normally $40.00 each, they're now $30.00.  You can either email us first to discuss the variety of soaps, scrubs, bath bombs, lip balms, and candles you'd like included, and then purchase through the site, or you can purchase first and then we'll email you to work out the details.

The sample basket shown has two Lemongrass & Sage soaps, a When Life Hands You Lemons sugar scrub, a lemongrass & sage candle, an Awaken Fizzy Bath Bar, and an Orange You Glad I'm Your Honey lip balm - a $45.50 value, all piled into a pretty woven basket and then wrapped in cellophane and tied with raffia, for just $30.00.

Don't miss out on these great deals!

What a Weekend!

And what a week!  It was great, but I'm now awfully tired and sore.

Eric spent every evening this past week making candles for our craft show this past Saturday, and I helped on the evenings I wasn't rehearsing.  We got together a good stock of Lilac, Cedar, and Ocean Surf candles for the show.  No, these are not going up on the site at this point, but if you want information about them, feel free to contact us.

Our setup has much improved since our first vending experience.  You'll remember the tiny IHOP booth from December.  It looked like this:

Hey, we worked with what we had, right?  But we've moved up in the world.  Our booth at the Minerals Resort & Spa in Vernon, NJ looked like this:

And here are the closer views.  In this photo, from right to left one are our Ocean Surf, Cedar, Lilac, and Lemongrass & Sage candles, large and small baskets of loose soaps, and a sample gift basket.

On the left branch of the booth, we had soaps on a bamboo mat and more soaps and shampoos in the baskets.

And in the middle, we had more baskets of soap, the two-tiered shelf holding bath bombs and scrubs, and on the table were lip balms!  This time we had space for tester scrubs, so people could actually see, smell, and touch.  They really seemed to appreciate the opportunity and took full advantage.

All in all, it was a great show!  It was the first ever hosted by that resort, but they definitely plan to do it again.  I heard talk of another one in October, and one possibly in December, before the holidays I guess.  Plus, they want us back for their Bluegrass Festival on July 30!  Now that sounds like fun.  Music, partying, food, and vending.  We are so there!

One of the booths at the show was from a local small boutique in Vernon, and the owner seemed interested in discussing with us the possibility of carrying some of our products there too, which would be great.  Reef Botanicals has invaded Sussex County!  Ha!

That doesn't completely explain the exhaustion, though.

That night, I went to see a play with a friend, and then on Sunday I participated in the Manhattan MS Walk with a friend, my tenth year at the event.  Six miles through Manhattan and Brooklyn for a woman who doesn't exercise nearly enough is a tough haul, but it was really fun.  Always is.  I'm so glad one of our Deadwood Spa Bars is in the shower.  My aching muscles thanked me.

Last night, of course, more rehearsal.

All of that adds up to some serious tired.  But I'm still kickin', and off to rehearsal again in just a bit!  This is going to be a great show!

Steal a Kiss!

Ever hear of Thieves' Oil? Neither had I, until just a few months ago.

I have this brilliant and talented friend, Zack.  Zack seems to know an awful lot about a lot of things - he's getting a graduate degree in psychology, is an actor, and makes the most wonderful leatherwork products that he sells.

He's the one who asked for chamomile in our soap and shampoo, which resulted in the reworking of our Lavender Soap and the chamomile present in our Mock Turtle shampoo.

But back to the thieves' oil.  As the story goes, during the bubonic plague in 1413  Europe, there were thieves ransacking the houses of the dead and dying.  Thing is, the plague was incredibly contagious, as I'm sure you remember from your history classes, but for some odd reason... the thieves didn't catch it.

Finally, four of them were captured in France and charged with the thefts.

At the trial, the magistrate offered the thieves leniency if they would reveal how they managed to avoid contracting the dreaded plague despite their close contact with the infected corpses.  The thieves disclosed that they were perfumers and spice traders who had rubbed themselves with a concoction of aromatic herbs.  It worked!

Well, I like this story.  I like this story, and I like the herbs used... cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, rosemary, and lemon.  So what do I do when I like something!  I make something from it!

This time, I made Thieves' Oil Lip Balm, the fifth balm in the Reef Botanicals line!

You Want Some!

Starting NOW, well... as soon as this posts, at any rate, the next ten orders on our site will include one of our NEW LIP BALMS!  Get kissable lips for Valentine's Day!

When you place your order, just tell us in the comments section which one you want.  If you can't decide and don't specify, we'll choose for you.  Each balm is selling for $5.00, so this is a very cool deal for our next ten customers.  Plus, it gives you a chance to check our our brand new stuff!

Here are your choices:

Chocolate Chip Mint...

It's full of luxurious olive oil, sweet almond oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, and vitamin E, in a beeswax base.  Even better, it's made with real dark chocolate and peppermint essential oil for a chocolate chip mint taste and smell that's irresistible!

Orange You Glad I'm Your Honey...

Sweet orange essential oil gives this balm its wonderful scent, but it's the olive oil, almond oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, honey, and vitamin E suspended in the beeswax base that will save your lips from the cold winter wind.

Eucalyptus:

Made with olive oil, almond oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, and vitamin E in beeswax, plus eucalyptus essential oil that's great for healing chapped lips and clearing your nose when you've got a cold.  Plus, it's a light sage green from the sea kelp we've added, known for its high vitamin and mineral content, antioxidant properties, and ability to confer elasticity.

and Totally Tasteless:

Our most basic balm is made solely with olive oil, grapeseed oil, cocoa butter, beeswax, and vitamin E to pamper your lips without all the extras and with no nut-based ingredients, even shea.  Do keep in mind that our equipment may have been in contact with nuts and nut products, so if you've got severe allergies be careful.

Jump on this one!

Even more new stuff!

I know, I know, it seems like we've got something huge and new going on every day. I feel the same way, believe me! It's all just moving so fast.

We've been busy! So busy that we haven't been able to take photos, but those are coming soon, I promise. In the meantime, we've made some new things for you to check out.  They're all up on the site, even though we haven't got photos, because we wanted them to be available to you.

Just in time for Valentine's Day and the need for kissable lips, we've got - count 'em - FOUR lip balms! Each is in a quarter-ounce pot, easy to use, easy to just chuck into a purse or a pocket.

The first is for those of you who are no-frills. The ones who shun the flavors and smells and reach for that original Chapstick. Our Totally Tasteless Lip Balm is all of the healing without the bells and whistles. Moisturizing oils, cocoa butter, beeswax, and Vitamin E are all you'll find in this one. We even stayed away from the almond oil and shea butter for those of you with mild nut allergies.*

*Note: Shea is a nut, for those of you who didn't know. Eric is a nut too, but he's not an ingredient so you don't need to worry about him. Also note, our equipment is all likely to have touched nut products, so those of you who have severe nut allergies should beware. The last thing we want is for you to get hurt.

Our second balm is the Eucalyptus.  Made with an assortment of moisturizing oils, as well as both shea and cocoa butter, beeswax, and Vitamin E, it started off great.  We didn't stop there, though.  Eucalyptus essential oil is both great for healing dry, chapped lips and for helping to clear your nose when you're stuffy.  So having it on your lips, right there beneath your nose, is perfect!  Is that it?  Oh no!  This one also has sea kelp!  Not only did it give the balm a really cool sage green color, but it also is loaded with vitamins and minerals, is full of antioxidants, and has elastic properties that are used in anti-wrinkle creams.  Top shelf!

Funniest name of the night goes to our Orange You Glad I'm Your Honey Balm.  This one's got all the oils, the beeswax, the Vitamin E, and the butters... but it's also got honey!  Honey is a natural antioxidant that's also got the ability to retain moisture, so it's perfect for a lip balm.  Scented with sweet orange essential oil, this one smells amazing too.

Last, but definitely not least, is the Chocolate Chip Mint Lip Balm.  It's got all the oils, butters, Vitamin, E, and  beeswax, of course, but this one's also got... wait for it... dark chocolate!  Yes, that's real dark chocolate melted into the recipe.  Scented with peppermint essential oil, I can't think of anything but ice cream when I'm wearing it.

Is that all that's new?, you ask.  Is that what she's so hyped about?  No, that's not all.

We already had, of course, the Clean Cut Shaving & Bath Soap.  You know all about that one.  Great soap, awesome close, smooth shave, but a pretty masculine scent, what with all the fir and patchouli involved.  What about the girls?  Yeah, what about them?  Well, now we're covered too!  Our new Smooth Operator Shaving & Bath Soap, made from precisely the same recipe so you get all the benefits, is scented with 100% lavender essential oil for a more woman-friendly experience.  It doesn't leave the guys in the dust, though.  Lavender may be a flower, but it's probably the most guy-friendly flower around.  I promise, using Smooth Operator, even if you're a man, won't get you beat up on the playground.

We done yet?  Nope, not quite yet.

I've been dying to try bath bombs... or rather, our version, which are Fizzy Bath Bars.  Remember those awesome soap molds my sister and brother-in-law got us for the winter holidays?  It occurred to me that those would be perfect for Fizzy Bath Bars!  So I was really dying to try them.

In fact, I did try some a while back.  There's a reason you didn't hear about it.  It's mostly because they were not a success.  See, I'm not a patient person.  You could say, and still be accurate, that I'm a fairly impatient person, in fact.  Rather heavy-handed.  A bull in a china shop is what I might be likened to by an observer, and the observer wouldn't get an argument from me.  So when I studied up on these things and read "very little liquid," well... let's just say that the correct version of "very little liquid" and my version of "very little liquid" diverged.

I used somewhat more liquid than I should have.

If you don't know how these things work when they're working properly, it goes like this:  You run a nice, hot bath, take a very dry Fizzy Bath Bar, hop into the bath (just don't literally "hop," I don't want you hurting yourself), and drop in the nice, dry Fizzy Bath Bar, which proceeds to fizz as it reacts with the bath water.  As it fizzes and dissolves, it releases the benefits therein into your bath.  The scents from the essential oils fill the room and take their aromatherapeutic effect, any butters or other ingredients housed therein do their stuff.  That sort of thing.  It's really nice.

When it works.  The key, you might have noticed from this narrative, is that it reacts with water.  Yeah.

What happened on that particular occasion, the occasion when I first tried to make Fizzy Bath Bars, is that I used too much water in the bar itself.  I didn't notice right away, mind you, because it still looked pretty dry to me.  So I took the mixture, pressed it on into the mold, ... and then pressed it again.  And again.  Only it kept growing.  So I took some off and put it into another bar of mold.  And the third one too.  And then all three were growing... and growing... and growing.  As Eric put it, we had in our kitchen the Stay Puft Marshmallow Bars.  Finally, I gave up.  I wrestled the puffy, sticky messes out of the mold and onto a sheet of freezer paper, where they finally stopped reacting with the excess water in them and stopped growing.  By then they were indecipherable blobs with slightly crusty outsides and mushy insides.  Not what a Fizzy Bath Bar should be, to say the least.  Completely unmarketable, in fact.

We didn't waste them, though.  We had to try them anyway.  So we popped them in the bath, one after another, and they fizzed, bubbled, and dissolved.  I must say the smell from the essential oils was wonderful.  So I knew I was on the right track, just not quite there yet.

Now I'm there.  Our first Fizzzy Bath Bar is Serenity, made with a mix of lavender and rosemary essential oils, a heavenly and relaxing combination.  This bar is perfect after a long day of work when you just want the world to disappear for a little while until you can face it again.  It's also got a touch of Yellow Kaolin Clay in it, with all the benefits that carries.

You can expect to see a couple more within the next few days, also just in time for Valentine's Day.  If you need a gift or want a romantic bath with your honey, this is the way to go!