What a week...

Until I started downloading my pictures from the past week, I didn't realize just how much we managed to pack into it.

I'll start on Saturday, the 20th. We were to be speakers at a family reunion in Shippensburg. The theme was colonial times, when the family had settled in the area and we were to tell them about the way the mother of the house would use herbs in her daily life.

If the weather had been more pleasant, it would have been a nice ride and a quick little gig. Unfortunately, it was raining and so, not very nice. It gave us some insight into how it must have felt to have been a pioneer woman out in the godforsaken wilderness. We entertained ourselves taking pathetic self-portraits!

The rest of the weeks seemed to be a celebration of lavender! We spent a few quiet evenings in the beginning of the week on Tina's deck making lavender wands.

On Wednesday evening, we headed down to Pottstown to visit with Sue Hess at Farm at Coventry, where we did a lavender distillation and made some lavender wands - also called lavender bottles and lavender baskets.

Sue's place is lovely and I took many pictures of the farm, from the welcoming vignette on the front porch (shown here) to the cats, the chickens and the gardens.

I can't post them all, but wanted to show the lavender treats we enjoyed on her always-beautiful table as a snack.

My son and I decided we needed to get moving and started walking each morning at our nearby community park. We discovered that the edges of the new park have been planted in wildflower seeds and I took a picture of the drift of wildflowers along the side of the trail.And one particular hill covered in many colors of yarrow with the large golden variety at the very top, reaching for the sun!The vistas are just beautiful!

We wound it up on Saturday at market with yet another lavender event. We had attempted to coordinate a mini lavender festival for market mid week, but had apparently waited too long!

But, on our own, we set up a lavender distillation (how essential oils and hydrosols are made) which seemed to fascinate patrons and other vendors alike. Here's Tina explaining the process to our market neighbor, Mary Prescott of Prescott's Patch (organic vegetables).

Tina had also baked some gluten-free lavender shortbread for everyone to try and we had piles of lavender so anyone who wanted to make one could try their hand at a lavender wand.
Somewhere along the line, I also managed to get orders out and make some flag beads so I will have earrings and necklaces for the 4th next week at market!

And more goddesses (goddessi)?

I was anxious to get the photos of these latest goddesses. I'm not even sure if I like them as much as the first ones, although I guess they just aren't as "new", so not as exciting to me. I still like them a lot:

Topaz Goddess

Star Goddess

Mermaid Goddess

Cocoa Goddess

Mossy Goddess

And this is when I ran out of propane. I was almost finished with the goddess on this vessel and realized the flame was getting smaller and smaller, so I worked feverishly to get her head on! No lip to the vessel, but I think I'll finish this up somehow by electroforming a strap around the whole thing. It could turnout to be a serendipitous catastrophy!

New Goddess Beads

My goddess beads in the past have been quite anatomically correct and actually, some folks have been upset with me for showing them (the children, you know - who will probably not be allowed to visit an art museum until after marriage!)

Although I can't claim what follows as an original idea, I have to say that I saw some similar beads online and sort of took it to another place. The original idea was posted on Lampwork, etc. by LouiseI. Her Etsy name is Fireseed.

This is my first try at this particular goddess bead. She's very similar to the first one I saw. So, she's okay, but not something I can really claim as my own. She does look very fertile though (as they all do!)

My second try was the one to the right, an attempt at some color. This was more original and I like it pretty much. She's a little fire goddess.

I should probably keep her as my own since I am a fire child.

As I started my third attempt, I thought of Tina and her affinity for green - leaves in particular.

This gal could be surrounded by jade and would blend in beautifully. I kinda like her as the star of the show though.

Finally, I got really brave and started playing with enamels in a bigger way. This is what resulted:

I really like the way she turned out and will be doing more like her - in new and exciting colors!

I suspect these will be for sale soon at Radiance in Lancaster.

Adventures in Soap Making

Yesterday was a soap day... We were going along smoothly in our usual soaping groove. Our latest batch had been finished and tucked in for the night. I went into the house for a few moments and when I came back out, Tina said, "what is that?"

I became aware of a hissing sound and then we both noticed that the lid of that most recent batch of soap was hovering about 2 inches above the soap.

I removed the lid and this is what we saw (Notice the normal, well-behaved soap next to it.) : Just under the little oval shaped "bloop" in the front, steam was escaping, causing the hissing noise.

We've (just recently) had soap over heat before, but that time there was no sinister spitting and hissing noise.

I stabbed it a few times to try to release any more steam, but by that time, the damage was done. Unlike the goats milk soap we dealt with before, this one never collapsed into itself. It was set up and solid in no time at all.

We somehow hoisted the steaming hot mold and soap onto a cart and wheeled it out into the garage bay next to the studio so it could cool down a bit before we even tried to deal with it.

After we were finished with the rest of the uneventful batches of the day, we brought it back in and took it out of its mold:If you notice, the freezer paper we use as a release became brittle from the heat and also stuck very solidly to the soap so it is now "part" of the soap! This shows the "cavern" on the side - one of many as it turns out. And in case you're wondering what it looks like close up, here's the "gaping maw":Scarey, huh? There seem to be crystals inside. I haven't tasted them, but I'm pretty sure they aren't lye!

And when we set it up on it's side and cut, we saw there was no salvaging this one:We aren't sure what caused this. The only thing we can figure is that it was a new bottle of fragrance oil and the formulation had been changed somehow. It doesn't smell at all like it should, I'll say that!

One other possibility is that the water we use as a carrier for the marbling colorant wasn't mixed in thoroughly(and I mixed it and know it actually wasn't), became trapped in the soap and as the soap heated up, it turned to steam...

I'm hoping it's the latter because this is a popular variety and I'd hate to have to stop making it because of the oil change.

Just goes to show you, no matter how long you have been making soap (we've been making it since the early 90's) there's always something new that can surprise you!

Geldard Tutorial results..

One of my favorite glass artists is Jennifer Geldard. I've wanted to take a class with her for years and always managed to miss out. On Monday, it occurred to me that I could purchase her tutorials and get as close to a class as possible without taking one!

This is the result of her "Ornate" tutorial:

The one on the bottom left is my first attempt on Wednesday. I got mixed reviews from the family, and I knew I could do better. The larger blue bead was another attempt to copy the tutorial bead exactly. The purple and orange beads were my own color combos and I was especially pleased with the purple/green one!

The other three were done yesterday and this morning I etched them to get the wonderful glow that comes from etching some encased colors.

I tried making beads like hers when I first began making beads and had some limited success, but it is really nice to find out exactly how she achieves some of the effects.

This technique reminded me that I need to take my time and be mindful of heat control. I'm often much too impatient and these certainly slowed me down. It was worth it though and I can see getting much better results as time goes on.

I'll probably post individual photos on my facebook page later today... You can become a fan there at TorchsongStudio if you would like!

Springtime at Frog Hollow

So, it's spring here at Frog Hollow and our prolific chickens are "at it" again!
This is the first clutch to hatch this year and the first clutch is greeted with a great deal of excitement. This mom is a really good mother. She is extremely protective of her chicks. She's the first one Bob has let have pretty free rein with deciding when she could take the kids out for a walk, etc. Usually he puts new little families in their own protected nursery areas, but this gal was exceptional in many ways.

We saw her nest some time ago when she first started to lay. She chose a spot in one of the bays next to the soap studio and as soon as Bob noticed, he started blocking the door open so she could get in and out. The odd part about the spot was that it was almost underneath a large air compressor that would start up at any odd time of the day or night with a loud, loud clamor!
I'm assuming the first hatch of the year is a bunch of deaf chicks...

We;ve also been visited more than usual this year by an assortment of wild animals.

My little chipmuink was back dancing on the wall outside the bathroom window, a doe seems to have decided our back yard is a great spot for her mid morning naps and three wild turkeys have started hanging around.

A couple of weeks ago, I thought I caught a glimpse of a turkey slipping around the house. A few days later, a neighbor showed up wondering the turkeys he saw were ours.... no, not this time. Then, last week, Bob came in and told us to come out and look.... The elusive turkeys were in our front yard.Now, they seem to show up in our yard almost every day and I finally got a picture of them this afternoon as they strolled across our driveway. We're especially impressed with the one in the middle - the coloring is really unusual.

If the doe is ever in my camera sights, I'll post a picture of her too.

Mothers Day Surprise

I just got home from a lovely late luncheon with DH and son. We went to one of my favorite restaurants and I had a wonderful meal.

Of course, Mothers Day had me thinking of my own mother and I dug out a couple of pictures to share:

Here's Mom at the beach. Cape May, I'm sure - her favorite.

And Mom with her first three grandchildren (Rob on the left, Tommy on her lap and Janie on the right), again at the beach! Does she look overwhelmed? It got even better after Molly was born.

The surprise was that after we sat down for our lunch and were perusing the menu, a woman at the next table said, "Maryanne, is that you?" I looked up, and it was our mother's friend, Marie!

This is Mom on the left and Marie on the right - at a High School reunion.

Marie was mom's best friend at least back to high school, and she was the nurse in the delivery room when I was born. The story was always that Marie managed to slip Mom a little extra something to make the delivery easier.

Apparently Mom had introduced Marie to her future husband, Charlie, and both women were in each others' weddings. Marie and Mom both had lots of kids and would only see each other sporadically after the kids started coming, but when they did, there was never the feeling of time passing. They would just pick up where they left off.

We caught up on what is happening with all of us and then she told us a story about how she and Mom used to go to the park to swing, and pick up guys.

I hadn't seen Marie since Mom died over 4 years ago and it was wonderful to see her again. I feel like it was as close to being with Mom again as I could get.

Week 10 Blog Contest WINNERS!

First, I must apologize for being so late in posting the contest winners. I will say we just got through the biggest herb event we take part in every year, so I have a little bit of an excuse, but nonetheless, a commitment is a commitment, so again, I apologize profusely!

And on with the winners!

Aquarian Bath - katnjack
Garden Chick - Teeoff10
Herbs from the Labyrinth - Badgermomma
Nature's Gift - Debra
Patti's Potions - Tumbleweed
Prairieland - MollyCulley
Rosemary House - lemonverbenalady
Sunrose - Green Womyn
The Essential Herbal - Marnie
Torchsong - Anne

I will be sending out emails to the winners shortly to let them know and to request their addresses.

Once again everyone, THANKS for taking part in our little blogging adventure! And congratulations to all the winners in the past 10 weeks.

May Flowers in the Rain!

Please continue to comment on the previous post to win the pin, but meanwhile...

It's been a bit rainy and dreary for some time now, but the flowers and the way they glow in this weather are actually enough to lift my spirits!

This was the view that inspired this entry. It's outside our kitchen window and it just makes me happy looking out at the vibrant lilacs, the dark soil and the hostas coming up and taking over... not to mention the rooster sculpture - I just love him!
These are my favorite pink tulips... verging on apricot. They were blooming right along with the daffodils, but unfortunately I didn't get that shot... The clump of chives next to them should pop open if and when the sun comes out again and will be a beautiful sight...
This dogwood has been moved a couple of times and I'm happy to see that it is coming into its own again. Originally, it was right outside our bedroom window and was always such a joy at this time of year and the green shade was so lush all summer.
And this corner of the yard is always a fun place. Right now it looks pretty tame, but the butterfly bushes come up and become a riot of activity, set off by a couple of miniature roses. There's always something going on in this corner...
Although I'd love to see some sun - especially for the Landis Valley Herb and Garden Fair this weekend, just seeing all the green and growing things responding to the rain still makes me very happy!

Blog Contest - 10th and Final week

Torchsong Studio will be hosting the 10th and final week of our blog contest.

Maryanne is offering something a little different to close out the contest.

A lead free pewter garden pin with a little glass ladybug charm in the middle and garden tools on either side.

Just comment on this, or any of the other blogs participating for a chance to win one of ten pins to be given away. MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE A CONTACT email.

Remember all of the blogs below are participating, so visit all of them and post to increase your chances of winning.

The Essential Herbal magazine subscription
Garden Chick - fairy cookie kit
SunRose Aromatics - facial exfoliant and liquid soap
Herbs from the Labyrinth - tea sampler
Patti's Potions - lip balms
PrairieLand Herbs - healing wand
Aquarian Bath - lip balm and soap
The Rosemary House - Bertha Reppert's "Twelve Month Herbal"
Nature's Gift - purse-sized inhalers & inhalation blend
Torchsong Studio Our final contest - check back on May 8 for the list of winners!

Thanks everyone for participating and for playing!

Blog Contest - Week 9

At Nature's Gift we have been pleased and excited about hosting this week's contest. The hard part has been trying to decide what to offer as the prize!

We chose Deluxe Personal Inhalers from our new shipment, filled with the winner's choice of several healing synergies.

We'll ship one of these pretty purse-sized inhalers filled with your choice of our SineEase Synergy, for easing sinus pain and congestion, Happy Morning Synergy, recommended for easing the nausea of morning sickness, but also helpful for motion sickness, etc., or our research based depression fighter "Citrus Smile."

To be entered in the contest, respond to this post, here, and at all the blogs listed below. BE SURE WE CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN.

And to make the contest even more exciting, ONE lucky entrant, drawn from one of the listed blogs, will receive a signed copy of Marge's Book "Essential Oils and Aromatics". You may check these links for some of the reviews. From the Journal of the Northeast Herbal Association, or from The Massage Therapy Journal.

Remember all of the blogs below are participating, so visit all of them and post to increase your chances of winning.

Torchsong Studio Our final contest - to be announced next week
The Essential Herbal magazine subscription
Garden Chick - fairy cookie kit
SunRose Aromatics - facial exfoliant and liquid soap
Herbs from the Labyrinth - tea sampler
Patti's Potions - lip balms
PrairieLand Herbs - healing wand
Aquarian Bath - lip balm and soap
The Rosemary House - Bertha Reppert's "Twelve Month Herbal"
Nature's Gift (winners will be posted May 1)

We're getting down to the wire with some wonderful prizes! Be sure to keep playing to the end.

Herbal Blog Contest - Week #8

Bertha Reppert (1919-1999) was the founder of The Rosemary House and our mum. She was a Renaissance woman ahead of her time when she opened a herb and spice shop in a conservative East coast town in 1968. Convinced that once everyone learned about herbs they would love these plants as much as she did, she became an avid educator about the secrets of herbs. Lecturing, writing and always promoting herbs, Bertha Reppert became a mentor to many. This weeks prize is a copy of her last herbal and one of our very favorites.
Bertha Reppert's TwelveMonth Herbal features 365 herbal essays one for each day of the year. Written like she is speaking to a friend this book is fun, informative and easy to read. Many folks have told us they reread the book every year and make their own daily notes in the margins. Be sure to leave a comment to this post and at the other participating herbal blogs (see the links below) for your chance to win this clever book
(an $18.00 value) filled with herbal lore, recipes and crafts (priceless). Sisters Susanna, the herbalist, and Nancy, the culinary artist, continue to share their Mother's love of all things herbal at The Rosemary House, the herb and spice gift shop, and at Blog Contest - Week 8 tea room.
The following blogs are also participating, so stop over, post a comment on these blogs for additional chances to win this weeks giveaway AND the chance to explore some cool blogs.

Nature's Gift to be announced (next week)
Torchsong Studio to be announced (two weeks)
The Essential Herbal magazine subscription
Garden Chick - fairy cookie kit
SunRose Aromatics - facial exfoliant and liquid soap
Herbs from the Labyrinth - tea sampler
Patti's Potions - lip balms
PrairieLand Herbs - healing wand
Aquarian Bath - lip balm and soap
The Rosemary House (where a list of winners will be posted on the 24th)

Check back we have a couple more weeks of give-aways!

Inspiration

Sometimes I wonder where to find inspiration ... and then I take a walk in the woods.
The woodland path changes with the seasons and right now, it is just starting to "green up" with spring.

Along the path, we find lots of plants pushing their way through the sticks and dead leaves of years past. These are May Apples just starting to unfurl...
All this new growth and unfurling served to inspire a new vessel... Bright green tendrils unfurling around a gray base... It reminds me of jungle growth on ruins, so I called it "Tulum". If you've ever been there, you know why.
While I was in a "jungle" mood, I made some Tiger beads. I tried doing them more free form than I usually do and I think I like them. They're just waiting to be made into a bracelet.
And then, still in the jungle mood, a tiger vessel wass the result.
I found a pack of glass that I had never tried before. The rods looked much more orange, but the glass came out this lovely soft peach color. It's a color I have tried to find, but always been disappointed in until now. I made this on a hollow mandrel, not intending to attempt to blow it, but when the end slipped and uncovered the hole, I thought it was time to give it another try.

It turned out much larger than my usual vessels and it is quite "free form" and "organic". I like it and will probably keep it for myself since it was more or less a happy accident. The salmon frit looks great with this glass - I'll have to do more with it.
So, that's how this particular group of goodies came about and you've seen a tiny peek at how my mind works... Believe me, that's enough!

Week 7 - Blog Contest

Welcome to week 7 of the herbal blog contest! This week we are featuring Aquarian Bath your source for all natural gentle soaps, herbal balms, salves, deodorants, and spa pillows. Aquarian Bath's soaps, balms and salves are either unscented or lightly scented with only pure essential oils. This week, enter to win you choice of a Lavender Spearmint Lip balm in a 0.15 oz tube OR a Lemon Lime Lip Balm in a 0.25 oz slide tin, and 20% off on your next order with Aquarian Bath.

The Lavender Spearmint Balm is made with Extra virgin olive oil, Shea butter, Beeswax, Castor oil, Spearmint and Lavender essential oil.



The Lemon Lime lip balm is made with Coconut oil, Shea Butter, Castor oil, Beeswax, Jojoba, Lime and Lemon Essential oils, and Zinc Oxide, a mineral used in sunscreens.

To win one of these lovely balms, enter by posting a comment in response to this blog entry and take a chance at winning! Entrants must include their email address to be eligible to win. US and Canadian residents are eligible. You can receive additional chances to win in the following ways:

* Tweet about this blog contest on twitter.com including @aquarianbath in the tweet. Come back and log your tweet with a comment to receive 1 additional entry.
* Visit and join Aquarian Bath's fan page on Facebook. Leave a comment so we know you joined to receive 1 additional entry.
* Make a comment about your favorite item from Aquarian Bath's etsy or 1000markets stores to receive 1 additional entry.
* Make a purchase with Aquarian bath to on etsy or 1000markets to receive 3 additional entries.

*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.
Aquarian Bath
Make a purchase from one of these 9 host blog's online stores to receive 2 additional entries and leave a comment at the host's blog's contest:
The Essential Herbal
Herbs from the Labyrinth
Patti's Potions
PrairieLand Herbs
The Rosemary House
Nature's Gift
Torchsong Studio
SunRose Aromatics
Garden Chick

One lucky winner from one of the 10 host blogs will be contacted to receive 2 free soaps of their choice along with their lip balm and 20% off coupon, so be sure to visit and enter at all 10 blogs.



The winners will be announced at the Aquarian Bath blog when the results are in from all participating blogs. Enjoy.

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!

Out of the kiln

BTW, You can still win the healing wand in the least post by commenting here or there..

So, I finished up the last of the "production beads" I've been working on and as my treat, I made a few just for fun.

The first one is Wild Blue:I like the way the multicolored wisps move around the vessel. It is translucent in the middle where I used transparent glass.

But the best thing I pulled out of the kiln today is this one, I call it "Stormy Moonlight":
This shows both sides. There is layer after layer on this one including a little bit of dichro inside. The moon just floats calmly in this wind swept, starlit sky.

Yep, I'm ready to get back to the kind of thing I enjoy!

Week 6 - Blog Contest

Welcome to week 6 of the herbal blog contest! This week, enter to win a .15 oz. Healing Wand from Prairieland Herbs! These healing wands contain herbally infused certified organic olive oil, locally produced beeswax, vitamin E, essential oils of tea tree and lavender, and are the perfect size for your pocket, purse, or diaper bag. They work wonders on cuts, scrapes, rashes, burns, dry skin, hangnails, etc.

To win one of these useful and natural healing 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
Patti's Potions Visit Patti's Potions to see last weeks winners.

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!

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!

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!