Friday, March 27, 2009

Blog Contest - Week 5 - LIP BALMS

This is Week 5 of the Herbal Blog Contest. Friday March 27th to Thursday April 2nd.

Featured this week are moisturizing Lip Balms from Patti’s Potions Natural Soaps, Ltd.
Did you know that most lip balms contain petroleum products that are NOT eco-friendly? This is your opportunity to experience fine natural oils in your lip care experience. Ingredients: calendula infused olive oil, shea butter, natural beeswax, jojoba, castor, & vitamin E.
To win TWO of these luscious lip balms, simply enter by posting a comment in response to this blog entry and take a chance at winning!!! Don’t forget to include your email addy so we can contact the winner!

The following blogs are also participating, so stop over to enter with them for additional chances to win AND the chance to explore some cool blogs.

PrairieLand Herbs
Aquarian Bath
The Rosemary House
Natures Gift
Torchsong Studio
The Essential Herbal
Garden Chick
SunRose Aromatic
Herbs from the Labyrinth- Where the winners from week #4 will be listed
Patti's Potions

Keep coming back and keep entering. We have some great prizes coming up, and we'll be having the contests until the middle of May!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Spring is almost here and my husband, Bob, is more than ready!

This is always a difficult time for him because while the weather looks good and he can get outside, it just isn't time to really be doing anything yet. He's already planted the trees for the year, but we need a little rain before he can start to dig any trees.

So, while he has time, he finds things to do. I was surprised to see this going up the other day:
Years ago, we had a heated plastic greenhouse built out the front of one of our outbuildings. When Bob took it down, he saved all the materials. He decided we need a seed starting area and so, he built a nice sized cold frame. The thermometer inside registers 70 degrees most of the day when it's around 30-40 outside.

I went inside and looked around. He has a nice little bench set up on the sunny side of the building:
Another project was to clean out the beds that we use for our gardens in the summer. So, their permanent home is ready for the little seedlings he's planting now:
It seems that we're still in winter, but before we know it, the trees will be green, the tulips will be blooming and we'll be planting those veggies and anxiously awaiting the first ripe treasures of the year!

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Shards! (and enter the contest)

Yes, you can enter the contest by commenting on this post too!

I purchased these shards some time ago, but hadn't had time to work with them. I finally made a couple of focals using them and am thrilled!

This picture shows both sides of the first bead I made with them:
Lots of silvered ivory and reflective dark silver plum shards... This bead is probably about 35-40mm tall (I don't have it here to measure.)

And then, I got out the raku and this was the result.....
I think it's the most colorful reaction I have ever gotten from raku and then the oil slick look of the shards just combine with it perfectly! This one is about the same size as the one above.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Take a Chance - Win a prize

Welcome to week 4 of our Herb Blog Group Contest!

For the week between Friday, March 20 and Thursday, March 26, you can enter simply by entering a comment and your email address in response to this blog entry and take a chance at winning a sampler of hand-blended herbal teas from HerbsfromtheLabyrinth.com, including one each of the following: Moontime Tea, Lover's Tea, Spring in My Step, FemininiTea, Dandy Lion Tea, Hush-A-Bye, Strong As Nails, SereniTea, SmarTea, DigestiviTea, Nursing Mother Tea, Endo-Liver Tea, Love Your Liver Tea, and Mid-Summer Tea


HerbsfromtheLabyrinth.com has a wide range of herbal products to choose from.

The following blogs are also participating, so stop over to enter with them for additional chances to win AND the chance to explore some cool blogs.



Patti's Potions
PrairieLand Herbs
Aquarian Bath
The Rosemary House
Natures Gift
Torchsong Studio
The Essential Herbal
Garden Chick
SunRose Aromatic- Where the winners from week #3 will be listed :-)
Herbs from the Labyrinth

Keep coming back and keep entering. We have some great prizes coming up, and we'll be having the contests til the middle of May!

Friday, March 13, 2009

Herbal Blog Contest - Week #3

This week (#3) our herbal blog contest swings over to SunRose Aromatics, where Roe whips up the most delightful of aromatherapy and pampering products. For the week between Friday, March 13 and Thursday, March 19, you can enter simply by posting a comment and your email in response to this blog entry and take a chance at winning!!!


Here's the prize:


Facial Scrub w/ Organic Liquid Soap Set:

Pamper your face with all natural ~
* apricot kernel meal 
* organic liquid castile soap
Mix in the palm of your hand & then apply to your face. A wonderful exfoliate!



The following blogs are also participating, so stop over to enter with them for additional chances to win AND the chance to explore some cool blogs.



Herbs from the Labyrinth
Patti's Potions
PrairieLand Herbs
Aquarian Bath
The Rosemary House
Natures Gift
Torchsong Studio
The Essential Herbal
Garden Chick - Where the winners from week #2 will be listed :-)
SunRose Aromatics

Keep coming back and keep entering. We have some great prizes coming up, and we'll be having the contests til the middle of May!

Saturday, March 07, 2009

Last Weeks Winner!

The winner of the 1 year subscription to The Essential Herbal Magazine is (Drum roll please!):

Crystal (Gnightstar)

Congratulations!

Now, everyone post here or in the last post to win this weeks prize, the cookie set from Gardenchick!

Friday, March 06, 2009

Week 2 Blog Contest - take a chance!

Welcome to week 2 of our Herb Blog Group Contest!

For the week between Friday, March 6 and Thursday, March 12, you can enter simply by entering a comment in response to this blog entry and take a chance at winning Fairyland Cookie Cutter and Fairyland Recipe Card.

Each cookie recipe comes with 1 "friend of the fairies" fairy cookie cutter and fairy sprinkles. Cutters include bird, dragonfly, fairy, gnome, flower, butterfly – she’ll choose one for you!

Garden Chick has a delightful selection of products that are either created by Karen or something she found on her adventures and loves enough to share!

The following blogs are also participating, so stop over to enter with them for additional chances to win, the chance to explore some cool blogs and maybe get a preview of things to come in the contest.

Garden Chick
SunRose Aromatics
Herbs from the Labyrinth
Patti's Potions
PrairieLand Herbs
Aquarian Bath
The Rosemary House
Natures Gift
Torchsong Studio
The Essential Herbal

We'll be posting the winner of last week's contest shortly!

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Mystery Solved!

So, for me this has been a huge mystery and I have been trying to solve it for months... This blog entry showed a plant that we found outside our Post Office in Mt Joy. No one knew what the plant was, but it had some amazing berries.

The mystery has been solved. It is an Euonymus bungeanus Maxim. winterberry euonymus.

What a relief! I have a friend I can't wait to tell because I know she was wracking her brain just as hard as I was.

Monday, March 02, 2009

New earrings - and you can still enter the contest

You can still enter the blog contest I talked about in the last post. Just Comment on this or that post and be sure to leave your email so we can get in touch if you win!

We had a little snow storm last night and this morning and although I didn't make these then, I photographed them this morning.

Although I don't make these beads, I love this style of earrings. They are pretty dramatic and make a statement.

The two pairs I have here are both very springy with bright greens and pearly beads on one pair and creamy blue green leaves and golden beads on the other.

The remaining pair are made with some little healing hands charms. I love putting things like this together.

Any of these pictures can be enlarged by clicking on the picture so you can get a better look. To come back to the blog just click on the back button.

Thanks again for looking and don't forget to leave a comment to win the magazine sub mentioned in the last post.