My Christmas Green ~ PEAR

Well, we all know that on "The first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a PEAR tree".

I can't offer you a partridge or a pear tree.... but how about a long lovely soak in sweetly PEAR scented Silky Bath Soak.  Pretty little 2-oz packages make the perfect stocking stuffer and all tied up with a pale pear-green crinkly ribbon.

It's not too late to use the following coupon ~ good until the end of the year on your entire purchase in my store located at http://www.essentialbliss.etsy.com/

Just type the word CHRISTMAS in the coupon code box during your checkout and your 30% discount will be applied ~ You may also click on the coupon to print and give to your friends!

Select your silky bath soak from any of the following fragrances ~ PEAR ~ LILAC ~ LAVENDER ~ VIOLET ~ SWEET PEA

Coming next spring my newest fragrance HONEYSUCKLE!

Scroll down to read some of my stories....... :)

Click on this picture to enlarge so you can read or print my story.   It's a true story from my own childhood and I really did pay 5-cents for a halo from my friend Joanne Edgeman.  You might think what a silly child to fall for that old gimmick but that little nickel investment was turned into $75 when it was accepted to be printed in a 1996 issue of Mary Englebreit's magazine "Leading the Artful Life" .... so Joanne, who's laughing now?

** Use this coupon on your entire purchase at my bath salts store www.essentialbliss.etsy.com

Home Based Business Fair

Last weekend my husband helped me immensely with a small booth at our local Home Based Business Fair.  It was a good way to get my bath salts noticed in our home town and we did pretty well considering that it was a very small show and not well advertised.

I think that may be the route to take my bath salts in the coming year... to bigger and better shows and we are on the waiting list for the big Christmas Fair in Roseburg... pray for all to go well with that.  We would have a bigger booth and I can also bring in my home made Christmas stockings too... since my 2-oz packages make the perfect stocking stuffer gift.

I bathed in a few of my other favorite name-brand bath salts a few evenings this past week and last night went back to my own Essential Bliss brand and I truely have to say that my bath salts are the best out there!  They really are!!

Come see me at http://www.essentialbliss.etsy.com/ and use the coupon I have posted here for a 25% discount.  Also, while you are there drop in on my other little shop on etsy http://www.jannykathleen.etsy.com/ where I will be listing some Christmas stockings.... this year I'm making up what I call a bunch of shabby chic "plain-janes" - pretty shabby fabrics, some new and some vintage and not a lot of frills.  Also, you can check out my Buckaroo Bibs, if you know a baby or two... they're real cute and made from repurposed Levi's.

I Just Took A Bath...

     Today it occurred to me that I haven’t bathed in any other brand since I started blending my Essential Bliss bath salts last year. I have some favorites out there in bath salt land. I love The Thymes brand and my fav’s in their line are Eucalyptus, Lavender and Goldleaf & Hydrangea. They are wonderful products and I need to use them again… however, after looking in the large cabinet where I keep all my bath paraphernalia I couldn’t help but notice that I have several shelves that are packed with “other brands” of so many other bath salts. Did I hear someone once say, “so many bath salts, so little time”?

     Tonight I decided that I would start clearing the clutter I found in my cabinet from all the unused “other brand” bath salts while they are still good. The average bath salt has a shelf life of about a year, some a little more and some a little less… but a year is about how long it takes to weaken the scent. So I better start dusting off these other bottles and jars and use them up, maybe then I can get my Essential Bliss jars off the floor. My personal stash of Essential Bliss bath salts are stored in large jars, about 32 oz or more and I also have several fragrances that are my “private reserve” and I haven’t decided how I want to market them just yet.

     So back to the business of using up “other brands”… I started with one jar that was at least ½ full, and 100% forgotten, and the fragrance was pretty much shot but it still promised the silky water so I just dumped it all in - under the tap, just before turning the water off. It felt real nice… real silky but the fragrance was pretty much gone - a lavender etc blend. It didn’t include the slight foaming on the surface of the water… that’s an ambiance thing that I like, and not having it doesn’t make a good bath salt less… but it certainly doesn’t make it more either.

     I am happy to know that Essential Bliss outdid this product, which I purchased in a shop in the spa-famous Calistoga region of CA, so I know it’s a good product. I have to admit though I have grown partial to my own brand… I have included all the elements of everything I favor in a lovely bath ritual… silky water with a light wisp of foam floating on the surface with light and sweet floral fragrances that are mostly hard to find in bath salts or body lotions. I love the old fashioned flowers I have chosen to be represented in my bath salts, of which my latest is Violet. Its light, sweet and pretty… like floating on a cloud of violets… really. I would like to add also that violets bore a special meaning for my mom that began the day she and my father became engaged. They were in San Francisco, giddy with happiness to be together, and my father stopped at a sidewalk flower vendor and bought my mom a little nosegay of violets. Throughout their almost 61 years together my father continued to give her nosegays of violets to remind her that his love for her was always as fresh as it was the day that she said “Yes”.

     So I should probably help you to become acquainted with my bath salts by also describing the pretty fragrances, acquired by using only the best premium essential and or fragrance oil that I can find. So going down the list are:

Sweet Pea… light and sweet with a little green of the garden tossed in for the full experience.
Pear… one of my all time favorites anywhere I go…. Light and oh so very fresh. It has a real clean sweetness to it’s bouquet.
Lilac… dedicated to my old friend “The Princess Claudia“. That’s what I call her and my whole family knows her by that title. We have been friends for close to 56 years. My has the time flown by us! So I usually just call her Princess. She calls me Brat. In fact her entire family had always know me as “Jan the Brat”… I really don’t know what to say to that one. It’s a title I own and I love it because the people who call me that have always been those I love so dearly.
  
     Oh yea… about the Lilac bath salts…
… Imagine yourself soaking in a huge romantic antique claw foot tub which is sitting in the middle of a Lilac orchard in full bloom! You are floating in heavenly silk surrounded by beautiful mature lilacs! That’s how I feel when I use my Essential Bliss Lilac bath salts. It was my husband’s original favorite of my blends. Mine was Sweet Pea for the longest time (we keep bouncing around with favorites and that’s always fun). But right now we both favor the Violet… it’s so pretty and it’s new.
    
     Last but never least is my Lavender. I love lavender…. The scent, every variety of it as well as the color. I love everything that lavender stands for. My first batch that I’ve put up pretty much represents how I couldn’t make up my mind about which variety of lavender essential oil to use. Personally I tend to favor the lighter more floral notes of the French Lavender but I also realize now that many people want the deep aromatherapy of the heavier and stronger domestic lavender essential oil. It was in a chat with Princess that I came to the conclusion that once my Lavender scent is all sold out I am going to split the two lavenders and offer them separately.
     
     So for now, my lavender is a blend of a domestic lavender essential oil sweetened up a bit with essential oil of French lavender and once it‘s all gone it may be gone indefinitely and after this I will offer two different lavenders, a pungent aromatherapy and a lighter floral French lavender. They each offer their own unique ambiance and I now feel that they should be offered separately for just that reason.
Goodnight!

http://www.essentialbliss.etsy.com/

Good For Your Entire Purchase!

Feel free to save or print this coupon ~ Tell your friends! ~ Hand them out!  They will be so very grateful that you did!

For use on your entire purchase at http://www.essentialbliss.etsy.com/

Follow my blog for more stories ~ COUPONS! ~ Cool Photos ~ and Stuff!  I am still evolving here.

My Dad's Story~As He Told It To Me (Continued from previous posting below)

     Although their new home was in Alabama, Arthur’s first years wouldn’t see much of the land for the young family sailed with the captain who was his father. It was a world surrounded by water that was to cement itself in his memory as the earliest definition of home that Arthur would know. Conceived on the ocean it was only natural that the sea-legs he was born to have would carry him through his first steps over the rolling deck of the freighter his father commanded as it sailed over the gentle swells of the sea. But the years would pass quickly and Edvard would soon reach the age for schooling so mother and sons left the ship to make their home ashore in the lazy-warm southern days of Mobile Alabama. Their sailing days would be restricted to the summer months when school was out and it was at sea where Arthur believed that he was truly home. He spent his days exploring the ship which was his backyard. At eight years old he climbed the ladder to the top of the foremast not knowing that he was being observed from the wheelhouse by his father who summoned him to the bridge the moment he got back down. Expecting to be punished for going where he didn’t belong he found himself catching “holy-hell” only for climbing the ladder by holding the rungs which could be rusty and easily break. Any good sailor knows, his father admonished, that you must always hold on to the sides of the ladder and in the future he better see his son observing that safety precaution when he decides to climb a mast. He was then sent to the ship’s carpenter to find some work to help with. While children on the land had their chores to help out around the house a ship-captain’s children were given chores to help out with the sailor’s duties and Arthur soon found a good friend and teacher in helping the ship’s carpenter.

      For two little boys the economic crash of 1929 wouldn’t diminish their enthusiasm for Christmas. Their house was fragrant with the scent of fruitcakes, nut breads and the sweet and spicy aroma of their mother’s fatigman, a traditional Norwegian Christmas cookie. Packages sat in the corner, wrapped and waiting, for the tree the boys would cut themselves although they would wait until the last moment to put it up in hopes that it would remain fresh for their father’s return from sea just a few weeks after the holiday. He had been at sea for many months shuttling cargo between European ports but he was homeward bound now and the boys were looking forward to seeing him again. A letter had come just a week before Christmas with stories of the sea and foreign ports and a special note for each son. He missed them terribly and wished he could be home for the holiday and although his vacation wouldn’t begin until the end of this trip he would still be home for Arthur’s tenth birthday in March. It had been over six months since they last saw him and they were all anxious for the reunion. He hinted of a wooden crate full of gifts for everyone and how much he looked forward to bringing it home. So their Christmas tree would remain decorated for the homecoming and for two happy little boys Christmas would come twice.

     Sailing from Hamburg under a dark winter sky the captain stood on the bridge-deck thinking of home and also thinking of the weather he was sailing toward. Not far to the west lay a low pressure center, halted by the higher pressures standing in the way. The air moving around the center, being swung around harder and faster, was building the storm’s power even greater. The captain knew he couldn’t make any headway in this weather and that it was only a matter of staying hove-to until it blew over. The seas rolled eastward and the wake of the ship soon disappeared as the sea gained momentum and power. Looking into the low hanging clouds, his face showing that he was deep in his thoughts, he sent up a silent prayer for the safe voyage that would return him to his family. His only answer was the wind whistling and howling through the rigging. Suddenly one swell loomed up ahead, larger than the others. The bow, having just been lifted high over the last wave, was turned down into the trough driving the next wave right into it almost to bury the entire forward end of the ship. The captain called orders to the mate to reduce the speed five more revs but to himself muttered a hope that the storm wouldn’t build up anymore as he barely had steerage-way already. With added fury the waves rushed on, hitting the deck with thundering crashes, but even a storm cannot stop the work that must be done on board ship and the captain took it as his own responsibility to check hatch-covers and lashings first hand. Wearing his fowl-weather gear and grasping the life-line that was strung from the ladder to the main deck and along the hatch coamings he made his way down to the deck. Taking hold of yet another line he continued on to the foc’sle head to make certain that the deckload was stable and check the lashings before he would take his leave to the galley for supper.

     At home, it was only four days before Christmas and preparations were well under way. A long and colorful paper chain was strung from one end of the living room to the other. Paper snowflakes adorned the windows, belying the mild weather of the south. The storm, so furious in the mid-Atlantic, wasn’t even known to the folks in Mobile. School had ended for the winter break and report cards were proudly displayed among the few Christmas cards they had. The house was warm and fragrant with spices as the fruitcake had finally been released from it’s rum-soaked bondage when a young courier rode up to their porch on his bicycle with a telegram bringing news that would forever change their lives. The boy’s father, their mother’s husband, had disappeared from the ship. Lost at sea, he was last seen climbing down to the deck to check the load and it was assumed that he had been washed over by a wave. He was missed in the officer’s galley during supper but by that time he had long disappeared into the sea.

     Arthur’s tenth birthday came the following March but instead of celebrating it with his father home on vacation he found himself once again on board ship with his mother and brother steaming their way back to Norway, where they would live until he once again boarded a steamship as a deckhand only 7 years later.

This concludes the first chapter of my father's life ~ To be continued.....
(c)2005

http://www.essentialbliss.etsy.com/

Photo for Today

http://www.essentialbliss.etsy.com/

By My Dad and Me ~ Continued....

(Note ro reader:  This is part two.  If you haven't read part one yet, you can scroll down a bit to my Sept 12th post titled "My Dad and Me" ~  Follow my blog and be notified each time I post more of my father's amazing life story.)

Off the coast of Norway on the island of Stord at the mouth of the Hardanger Fjord perched a tiny sod-roofed cottage built over a boathouse. It’s bright colors added a cheerful note to the dreary gray of the sea and sky. At first glance it seemed as if the sea could easily reach up and grab the little house and pull it right back in but the stone foundation held fast against the fury of the waves and this storm, like it’s many predecessors, would not penetrate the cozy warmth inside. There were only two rooms and a kitchen, and although there was no sign of luxury, the old carved and painted furniture and handmade rugs, knitted afghans and embroidered tablecloths gave it an air of respectability. The only access to the boathouse below, other than the big doors where the boats were pulled in, was through a trap-door in the kitchen floor.

In the bedroom, in a huge bed that her father had made and where she herself was born, lay the captain’s wife in the pains and agony of childbirth. Her worried thoughts were mostly of her husband at sea in such weather and were interrupted only by the pain of each contraction and at times a cry could be heard above the howling wind outside. It wasn’t to be much longer and soon, almost within reach of the angry grasping sea a child was born. A son. The wail of the tiny infant sounded puny and weak compared to the howl of the storm and he was given the name Ingard Arthur. Although he would go by his middle name, Arthur, he would come to be known by many throughout his life simply as “Cap”.

It wasn’t long before June came and the midnight sun reflected off the chilly waters of the Hardanger Fjord like many diamonds floating out to the sea. Arthur, just three months old, was to travel from his birthplace with his mother and brother to join his father in America who had taken command of a ship with an American steamship company and their plan was to reunite in the captain’s new home port. As they steamed out from the fjord and across the bay they sailed right past the island and the tiny boathouse that was home. Holding her new son in her arms with a toddler at her side, the young mother stood on the deck watching her tiny but cheerful home grow smaller in the distance. She would miss her little boathouse with the big view of the glaciers that mirrored an upside-down landscape over the fjord and she couldn’t help but wonder if she would ever see her family home again. They had lived in America before, in Philadelphia, where their first child Edvard had been born and the new parents had taken a new citizen ship. Such a great opportunity to be an American but right now all she could think about were the little flowers that were blooming in the grasses of her sod roof.

To Be Continued ....
this text is from copyrighted materal (c)2002

Violets Are On The Way!!

Last week I was busy putting up 20 jars of Violet scented bath salts ~ my new favorite and it's just lovely! ~ and also 40+ pretty 2 oz packages that are a nice size to try but so pretty that they would make a perfect gift or stocking stuffer for the bather in your life.  I'll get a photo up soon ~ yesterday and the day before were my "work days" ~ In the meantime here's the label.

I am also in the middle of having a large roll of the backside labels printed up and was told they would be ready in a couple weeks, maybe sooner... so I am waiting for those before I list the Violet in my etsy store.

Inspired by another entrepreneur recently, I drafted a pretty coupon to sell for $10.  That's right, I said SELL!  It is listed at http://www.essentialbliss.etsy.com/ and once purchased you will receive it digitally, which you can print because it's pretty, but it will also come with a coupon code that is good for a 50% discount.... that's right..... 50%!!!!  So what a great way so save on your Christmas shopping!  For a one-time use it will be good on your entire purchase.  The coupon itself would make a great gift for your bathing enthusiast and can be tucked into a stocking or a pretty little gift pouch hanging on the tree ~ what a great way for someone to stock up on their bath salts!

After the coupon is purchased a one-time-use code will be in the place of the question marks.

Now I am going to post more on my dad's story...... the continuation continues.

Floating on a Pretty Cloud of Violets....

Today I finished up making and packaging 20 jars and over 40 2-oz pretty packages of my newest scent bath salts ~ Violet.  I am hoping that by the end of the week I will have all my pics taken and ready to post on my store at http://www.essentialbliss.etsy.com/

A couple friends of mine have encouraged me to tell this little story.... shhhhh... don't let my husband know I told!

Over the years I taught my husband the art of taking a lovely bath and I can now say that he is a true bather.  Not the "get in the tub and scrub yourself clean" kind but the "soak in the fragrant bliss of heavenly water" kind.  Now mind you, he's hardly the dandy-boy type... in fact, far from it.  He does, unfortunately, live with constant pain and mostly for that reason he loves to soak in the tub.  He has been known to lay in our huge clawfoot tub for over an hour at a time because while he's soaking in the warm water he's not in pain.

I do admit though, like myself, he has grown very fond of lovely high-quality bath salts and since I have been making them he enjoys being my primary guinea pig very much.  For a long time his favorite scent was the Lilac but that one has taken 2nd place to our new Violet scent.  My former favorite was the Sweet Pea, and although I still love it a lot, it has taken to the number 2 position to the Violet with me... for now anyway.

The other night I went to check on my husband because he was soaking in the tub for so long I wanted to make sure he hadn't drowned.  There he was... surrounded by candles and fully stretched out in our really big tub (thanks to you Princess!) and I asked him "what are you doing in there so long" and he answered, "just floating on a cloud of violets". 

So the moral of this story is pretty simple.... "Hey Guys!!!! Taking a lovely bath is for you too!!!"

P.S.  I have started sharing stories from my dad's life that he and I wrote together and the first installment is just below this post so you can scroll down a bit to read it.... I will post a continuation of the story on Friday.

Goodnight!  I'm filling the tub as I write!!!!!

My dad and me

In 2001 my husband and I left our home, jobs and life in Nevada to come to my home town of North Bend, OR to take care of my parents.  My mother was in the late stages of Alzheimer's Disease at the time and between my and dad I we were able to keep her home where she could retain a feeling of safety and being loved until she passed away in 2005.  After my mom passed, it was just my dad and me for another precious 18 months. 

For six years I was blessed with this time with my parents and during this time my dad and I spent time together writing his story.  I have decided to share what the two of us managed to write here on my blog, in segments and always to be continued.  My father was a Master Mariner who started his sailing career at the age of 17, as a deck-hand, which is the lowest entry level job on a ship.  By the time he celebrated his 28th birthday he had already achieved his master's license.  He was a ship captain, my mom's "sailor man", and was licensed to skipper any ship, of any tonnage in any waters of the world... and that he did.  The following is the beginning of his story as told by him to me.

      "A late winter storm had been building up in the North Atlantic threatening all seafarers that this was no place to play around. Except where whitecaps broke, stringing out their lacey trails, the huge swells forced their way eastward building ever higher as they went along. Fighting bravely to hold her own against the fury, a freighter was rolling and pitching heavily. Her decks awash with the sea as each wave hit her, smashing into hatch comings and deck houses, she would struggle to free herself, throwing the water off, only to face another assault from the sea that was racing toward her. The water ran down her sides carrying bits of rust that had been blown astern to disappear back into the sea. With smoke pouring out of her stack she could barely clear each swell before it broke over her deck where it would swirl around in the down-draft behind the midshipshouse and be pushed over the poop-deck, streaming out over the foaming wake. Along the after-deck a life line had been strung out close to the hatch-coamings and at every change of the deck-watch men could be seen hanging on as they made their way midships. Her sides, once painted a glossy black were streaked with rust showing signs of her battle with the sea that had been going on for several days.

     Sheltered from the wind and water behind the glass of the wheelhouse windows stood the ship’s captain as he stared at the leaden swells towering above the ship’s deck. His face was showing the strain of the past several days, unshaven and drawn with red-rimmed eyes from lack of sleep. A pipe was clenched tightly between his teeth only to be removed occasionally to be re-filled and fired up again. Between the pipe that was becoming sour and the many cups of coffee his complaining stomach was beginning to feel much like the weather outside resembling each swell of the angry sea.
    
     The son of many generations of seafarers with a rich Viking heritage the captain was younger than most men in command of a ship. He had been raised on the ships his father commanded, spending many days of his youth helping out in the various sailor’s duties to pass the time, which gave him the years of experience at sea that were required. He had been in storms before but this time it wasn’t just the storm that brought the lines of worry to his face. In spite of the fury outside his mind was full of concern for his young wife. She had sailed many voyages with him before but had to leave this one several months before and had gone back to her family’s home to give birth to their second child who was expected to arrive at any time. With thoughts of the child his face would light up. They had one son already and he was hoping for another boy as he dreamed of the pleasures of future voyages with his family aboard, teaching his sons the ways of the sea as he had been taught. It would sure liven up the lonely life that a ship master lived. With that his thoughts drifted back in time a little to the days and nights when this child-to-be was most likely conceived. They had been in the tropics then, warm nights with a full moon laying a yellow band over the water and the air heavy with the fragrant moisture that was carried out to sea from the tropical growth. An ideal setting for romance and the memories warmed him, but the wild motion of the ship and the crash of water as it hit the bridge-deck and wheelhouse brought him back to reality and his struggle with the storm."

To be continued....


from the book (c)2002

New Lilac Fragrance Just Listed

I just finished listing my new Lilac fragrance on http://www.essentialbliss.etsy.com/ ~ This sweet fragrance is dedicated to my dear and oldest friend Claudia, whom is known by my family as "Princess Claudia" ~ I am known by her family as "Jan the Brat" or just "Brat" (it's a long story!)

So because I blended this fragrance for her upon her royal request I have decided to dedicate it to her.  Every jar and every 2-oz package has a sticker on it with a tiara and says "For the Princess" ~ You might have a "princess" in your life, if so then this would make a sweet gift!  I also listed my new 2-oz packages in my etsy store... they are sweet and pretty, a little trial size that is pretty enough to be a sweet gift or a perfect stocking stuffer.... which reminds me of a cute story, and  I am sure my princess friend would appreciate this memory...

Claudia and I have known each other and have been the dearest of friends for about 55 years!  Needless to say, we know each other pretty well.  Some years ago she owned the most beautiful bath shop ~ Splendour In The Bath ~ to be found anywhere and she carried wonderful high-end products that would make any bathing enthusiast burn with bathing lust.

One Christmas my dear, sweet husband lamented that he couldn't think of what to get me for a gift, even though every year I would tell him that I always love anything that smells pretty, and anything consumable is always the perfect gift.  He can give it year after year because as each Christmas rolled around I would have used up last year's soaps, lotions and bath soaks and salts and would always need and appreciate more!

So, one year my husband called Claudia at her bath store and asked her to pick out what she thought "Jan would like", gave her his credit card number but forgot to recommend a budget to remain within.  What can I say?  Claudia is my oldest friend and here she was, picking out my Christmas without a budget!  Needless to say, it was the best Christmas ever!  High-five to you my princess friend!

New pics here....   (also, scroll down to my coupon ~ it's not going to last forever and it's the biggest one out there!)

GIVEAWAY

This is just a short note ~ become a follower of my blog between now and the end of September to be eligible for a GIVEAWAY of a free jar of bath salts (your choice of scent) which are featured in my etsy store http://www.essentialbliss.etsy.com/

At the end of September I will compile the names of my followers and have a drawing for your free jar of bath salts!  They are so lovely, if you love to soak in the tub or know someone who does become one of my followers ~ I'm new here ~ and tell your friends about me!

Also, scroll down for a 30% Coupon on your purchase in my etsy store.

New Etsy Store Open

http://www.essentialbliss.etsy.com/

I have finally opened my new store on etsy!   It has been a long time coming as I am the chief-cook and bottle-washer of this new baby... I hand blend all my salts to include everything I love in bathing ~ silky water, lightly foaming and gently scented splendor.  I also do all the packaging and labeling myself.  BTW, my beautiful labels were designed by Bev of In My Cedar Chest.  She is also working on my new blog page design, so that will be coming soon.  Kudos to Bev ~ She is an amazingly talented designer!

The other night I was soaking in my yet-to-be-released violet bath salts and my husband came looking for me asking "Honey, where are you" and my answer was "Heaven".

To start with I have listed the three different fragrances you see in the photo, Lavender, Sweet Pea and Pear, and soon will be adding Lilac and Violet.  The Lilac is ready, just needs to be photographed.  I am also packaging 2 oz trial sizes in pretty little be-ribboned packages... great to try and makes perfect stocking- stuffers or small gifts for that sweet friend of yours.  They will also be offered on etsy for $4.25 each, but I will offer one free in the scent of your choice with your purchase of a jar.

I am planning some discounts, coupons and give-aways, so please become one of my followers as this is the place where all that is going to happen.  My first discount offer will happen as soon as I figure out how to do it on etsy... anyone know how to give a discount on their etsy items?  Please share with me!!  I am also working out how to do a gift-away offer.  This is all new to me but I will get it together.... ideas and helpful suggestions are always appreciated!

I have joined Esty Cottage Shops and would like to add the badge to this blog page but so far have not figured out how... anyone out there know how to explain it to me?

Essential Bliss Silky Bath Soak

Thank you Jil!  For telling me how to load pictures and images.  You're right - it is easy and I should have paid more attention... blogging is still very new to me and I'm not even doing it daily yet... so far, you may be the only other person besides myself who sees this.

This is my Essential Bliss letterhead, which Bev made resizeable so I can print it on a transfer sheet to apply to the fronts of T-shirts, as well as the top of my invoices and correspondence.  Isn't it beautiful?  Wait until you see my labels ~ there are two different designs for each fragrance for two different package sizes for a 16 oz jar and a 2 oz trial size package, which will also make wonderful stocking stuffers!

I have been busy making large batches of bath salts and so far have 20 jars filled and labeled of my Sweet Pea fragrance and the Lavender.  Yesterday I worked to fill 20 jars of the Pear scent and today I will finish off with the labels.  That will leave two more fragrances left to fill which are Violet and Lilac.  These are what I am starting with.  So far I think the Sweet Pea is my favorite.

Now that I know how, I will post more pics soon.

Gettin' There...

     Okay, my labels are finished thanks to my friend Bev of In My Cedar Chest fame.  When I knew I was going to start marketing my bath salts I went straight to her for all of my graphic design.  I was so relieved that she was willing to take me on!  She was my only choice and I'm so happy with what she has created!

     So today I am crinkling ribbons.  Later I will mix up big batches of my wonderful bath salts and get them into the jars and envelopes.  I am offering my salts in 16 oz jars and 2 oz trial size (and perfect stocking stuffer size) in pretty bags tied with the crinkled ribbons.

      I will try to post a pic of a little preview of the theme of my label design which is also in my logo letterhead design, which I plan to also put on T-shirts.  I am new to this blogging business (and Bev is also designing my blog page which will come soon) but I haven't tried uploading pics yet.

     So until then I'm going to be so busy in the coming weeks, I don't think I will even notice that summer hasn't really come to the Pacific Northwest yet.

RELAXING THE WORLD ONE BATH AT A TIME

When was the last time you took a bath?    
     For centuries, people around the world have enjoyed the rewards of a long relaxing soak in the tub. But as the pace of our lives grows faster, we tend to spend too little time pampering ourselves and too much time stressing.
     Now, we need the benefits of bathing more than ever - to cleanse our bodies, our minds, our spirits.  

Welcome to the new age of bathing.
     So tell everyone you’re busy. Close the door. Fill your tub, step inside and surround yourself with my nutrient-rich bath soak. Feel your skin awaken and rejoice as minerals from the sea work their magic, making you softer, smoother and healthier from the inside out.

Coming soon to http://www.essentialbliss.etsy.com/