Baby Cakes!

I guess I am a typical mom with baby on the brain.  Now instead of hallucinating that some one is calling "mom, mom" sometimes I think I am hearing crying.  I have already gotten up once from this quicky blog post to check out the crying that I am hearing (only in my mind)...I think...or maybe not.  Anyway, I love this cry baby necklace from CobwebCorner.  It makes me chuckle.  Cry babies are cute.

I swear I can still have an adult conversation about something other than baby, but please indulge me as I share my newly created baby cakes treasury with selections from my Unique Women in Business group members.  Visit the treasury on Etsy to click through the individual items.  

Three of the items in this treasury are from Kim of BeautifulBridget in her beautiful photo props shop you can find more items such as these.  All her items are her own original designs or patterns.  She is a true handmade artisan.  This is my current favorite from her shop.  Be sure also to check out Kim's daughter's shop: Miss Indie.  Quite a talented family:

Here is the newest picture of my little baby cake in a basket.  She's actually a very happy baby, not too much crying.

I also included in this treasury my Zi Cao Herbal Salve which is very great for baby diaper rash. Luckily I haven't had to use it for Tessa yet. It comes in very handy though if a baby ever has a rash or hurting bottom from diarrhea.  I have blogged about this specialty herbal salve previously and you can read all about it's many uses including to relieve burns, vaginitis pain, and insect bite itch here here.

Garage Sale Fundrasier at Fair Share! Donations Wanted!

The volunteers at Fair Share are planning a garage sale fundraiser for July 17th.

If you have donations for the sale we would be happy to accept them during our regular meetup times on Saturday July 10th from 8 am - 12 pm and on Wednesday July 14th from 5 pm until dusk.  345 White St. Dyatona Beach at the Lions Club.

For more information please contact me at corysu@gmail.com

Florida has a lot to offer!

The Florida Etsy Street team just keeps getting better and better! Check out these two treasuries from two of our members.

The first is entitled "Summer inspires" by jewelry artist Seaphemera.  I love that she included my Black Charcoal Clarifying Soap in a summer collection, because this is just the soap that I like to use in hot sticky Florida summer weather. The charcoal and bentonite clay in this soap help make it very cleansing.

My favorite item from the treasury is this abstract mosiac mirror from Memories In Mosiacs.

OhBabydotcom is the curator of this "My Purple Passion" treasury.

Included in this treasury is my Black Licorice Tooth Powder in the treasury, which is a big favorite. I just made up a batch of tooth powder samples to send out free with the next 10 orders from my shop.  I love the awesome clamshell necklace that was included in this treasury.

You can check out more items from the Florida Etsy Street Team and meet our members at EtsyFest.com.

Introducing My New Etsy Store and Blog: Delicate Adornments

Last month I started a brand new Etsy store.  The name of the shop is Delicate Adornments and it features light-weight gemstone and glass jewelry that I make.  People have been asking me how long I have been making jewelry and are surprised to know much longer than I have been making soap!  Relatively recently I have settled on this new style of jewelry that I'm very happy with.  The majority of the necklaces that I have been making in recent times are made with knotted silk.  I use silver clasps and French wires to finish the jewelry.  The are perfect for summer or Florida weather when multi-stranded or large jewelry will trap sweat and heat in the body. 

I also have an assorted collection of earrings such as the Ocean Jasper and Rose Quartz earrings below. 

If you would like to keep up to date with my jewelry offerings you can do so on Facebook, or Twitter.  I'm very excited about my new blog, which is evolving content-wise, whereas at the Aquarian Bath bath blog my focus has been the body products, gardening, and herbs.  I'm still considering what different kind of content I would like to include at Delicate Adornments.  I hope you will have a visit and let me know what you think so far. 

Daytona Beach! Eat at Shroomers!

If you in Daytona Beach please be sure to drop in at Shroomer's Pizza from time to time. Dave makes great pizzas, salads, and more.  After I had my baby last month, Dave sent over whole wheat crust pizzas and awesome salad. What a great friend!  This is small family run business in Daytona Beach that you should support. Vegetable scraps from Shroomer's pizza often end up in feeding the compost pile to make rich soil at the Fair Share Garden.

You may remember Shroomer's from the former location off of International Speedway Blvd, just near A1A and the Surf shop. Dave's current location is 521 Ridgewood Ave, Holly Hill, FL. Call for Delivery or stop in for Carry-Out or Lunch out back in the garden. 386-258-7800.  Monday - Saturday 11 AM - 2 AM

Happy Summer Solstice!

Wishing you a midsummer day filled with happiness and sunshine!

I Need Some Coffee!

I really had to laugh the other day when I woke up and found my Kitchen Coffee Soap in this great treasury by Florida artist, Maria Soto Robbins.  The title of the the treasury is "I Need Some Coffee."  Well, my sentiments exactly, but I'm not going to get any for quite some time I suppose.  Silly me, I thought I could have a cup of coffee or two on occasion.  However, a not so happy, not so napping breast-fed baby recently convinced me otherwise.  So I have a brand new bag of a yummy chicory-coffee blend that is stashed in the refrigerator now.  I will have to be satisfied with my coffee soaps or maybe I can try decaf or just admire these wonderful Etsy Treasury East Selections.

And look what I found when I woke up this morning! Another awesome coffee colored treasury! This one is by Deirdre of Blackbird Photography.  Click to check out all the items.

Keep Cool in the Summer with Flax Seeds!

As an herbalist living in Florida I can tell you keeping cool is a high priority.  It's quite simplistic, but the herb that I use the most often for beating the summer heat is flax.  Flax is also known as Linum usitatissimum or linseed. Organic flax seed can be found at your local health food store in bulk.  I sew up neck and eye pillows  in various shapes and fill them with flax, sometimes together with organic lavender buds and store these pillows in the freezer.  I have about 5 in the freezer right now!  My daughter loves them too.  You can store them in plastic bags to protect the fabric if you like.  When you get home from doing errands or come in from working in the garden, they feel great draped around your neck.   They are great to use on new bumps and bruises for children also.  Of course I had to go get one out of the fridge also for writing this post!  It feels great on tension from overwork with the mouse on photo editing, etc.  If you don't like sewing and or you are on a budget you can tie up flax in a long sock to use.  Please feel welcome to visit my online store for neck and eye pillows.  Take a peek and let me know which one is your favorite.

This blog post is a part of a blog party being hosted by Kristine Brown. Please visit her blog to find out all about what other herbalists are doing to keep cool during the summer. 

Flax photograph by D. Gordon E. Robertson.  Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this photo under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

July Classes in Ormond Beach: Lip Balm and Herbal Salve Making

I am pleased to announce that I have a new venue for classes and workshops in Ormond Beach.  Debra Brooks is the owner of the brand new Craftbugg's Cottage in Ormond Beach off Granada Blvd.  She and I have worked out a few classes for her July schedule.  She will have a calender of available classes available on a monthly basis.  Debra's grand opening is June 25th, so check it out if you are local and have the opportunity.


We are starting out simple with Lip Balm and Salve making classes and we will go from there.  You have your choice of 2 different dates for the lip balm making class.

Saturday July 17 4:30-7:30 Natural Lip Balms making with Essential oils and Herb-infused oils
Learn to make all natural lip balms with natural herbal infused vegetable oils and essential oils for flavoring. You will learn to make lip balms with beeswax and vegan candelilla wax. Fee $30. Call to register 386.299.4273

Thursday July 22 1:30- 4:30 Natural Lip Balms making with Essential oils and Herb-infused oils
Learn to make all natural lip balms with natural herbal infused vegetable oils and essential oils for flavoring. You will learn to make lip balms with beeswax and vegan candelilla wax. Fee $30. Call to register 386.299.4273

Sunday July 25 2:30-5:30 Herbal Salve and Balm Making
Learn to make your infused herbal oils, salves and balms. We will use organically grown herbs for making two types of a salves including a clay drawing salve. Learn about oil bases appropriate for balm and salve making and a variety of herbs that can be used in salves and infused oils. Fee $35. Call to register 386.299.4273

I also have updated my Fall events schedule with classes in St. Augustine and events where I will be vending.  You can check in at that page any time for current happenings.

Woodland Wonders & Birds of a Feather

I hope you will enjoy these two lovely treasuries that my items were featured in recently. The first is a woodland treasury. My Evergreen Woodland soap with Black Spruce, Fir and Pine essential oils is featured. This soap has gotten great feedback recently. My friend who is currently stationed in Afganistan had me ship more of it to him. He said he likes to sleep with next to it to enjoy the smell :-). More feed back on this soap came from Laura of LaurasCreativeWhimsy: "WOOHOO! Fantastic soaps! Lovely scents, too! my husband is thrilled with the ones I bought him too (Grrrr!!) These are WONDERFUL!!"  You can visit the Woodland Treasury with all the featured items here.

The next treasury was curated by KarieSueCreations and features items from the Florida Etsy Street team. The theme is Birds of a Feather, and my Oat Milk soap looks like a nice big egg amongst the other bird items.

Daytona Locals, stay tuned. I will be posting soon about upcoming classes in Ormond Beach that I will be teaching for salve and lip balm making.

Mandala Books Going Out of Business Sale

For those of you who are in Daytona Beach, don't miss your chance to pick out some great books before Victor closes the store.  The land lord lost the building to the bank, so Victor will stay open until the bank gives them notice to leave.  I'm passing along his message to you here: 

Mandala books remains open at our regular hours 7 days a week!

We feel like we are on death row, our endpoint undetermined. But, It seems that we will be here at least two weeks after we are told to vacate.  There are still great selections in Literature, Sci Fi, Mysteries, Cooking, Photography, Art and History.  Please tell others about this sale; if each of you could tell one other book lover it would help.

Prices are 50% off up to $50, then 70% off till $200 then 80% 0ff exceeding that.

Buy next years Birthday presents... or Christmas gifts for the next five years.
If anyone knows of worthy educational institutes or charities I would be happy to listen and donate books.

Thanks in advance, Best regards
Victor Newman