A Rookie Mistake – Silly Things I did when I was new on Etsy.

Some people have been on Etsy for years and have less than 20 sales.  Others have been there for only three months and have three hundred sales.  Newbie is a relative term, but however you want to define it, we’ve all been one.

Looking back at my first few weeks on Etsy, I actually CRINGE at some of the things I did.  Now I will share my embarrassment with you, in the hopes that you will learn something and prevent yourself from making the same mistakes.  Or if you are a seasoned Etsian, maybe you can commiserate with my experience and perhaps share some of your own in the comments section.

1.  I left feedback for my first purchase as soon as I bought the item.  Yup, I didn’t even wait until I had the item in my hands before I raved about how much I loved it!  Good thing the item lived up to my expectations!   I’ll save you the trouble of going through my feedback, you lookie-loo!  Here it is:  A blue T-shirt with a screen-print of my favourite LOST character, Desmond. 

2.  When I opened my shop, I added all my listings with written descriptions, pricing and shipping, but NO PHOTOS!  I put “photos coming soon” in all the listings.  The excitement over opening my shop got the best of me and I started listing things before I had taken a single photo.  Oh, to think how many views I must have lost!  Those were the days when an item showed up in “search”, or on the front page of your category almost right away, and it stayed there for a good 5-10 minutes sometimes.  Things didn’t get buried as quickly as they do now.  When I was a newbie, I wasn’t aware that hitting the “list” button is your first marketing opportunity for that item.  How many people probably never bothered to click those blank boxes above my wonderful product names?

3.  I didn’t research shipping thoroughly enough.  Canada Post’s  infamous “Slot of Doom” was of no concern to me at that time.  I just made some guesses about how much it would cost to ship something based on its weight.  Well, it would have been good to know that Canada Post doesn’t necessarily go by weight – their first concern is the thickness of the item.  If the package can’t fit through a 2cm high slot (that is slightly less than an inch, for all my Empirical friends), you are screwed!   Even if the item only weighs a few ounces, you are looking at about $7 shipping for regional delivery (within my own province), or up to $12 for delivery to the other side of Canada. 

Of course, one of my first sales was to a lovely customer in Beautiful British Columbia.  A tiny, 10mL amber glass bottle of essential oil cost me nearly $12 to ship!  How much did I charge?  $1.  How much did the item cost? $12.50.  Open mouth – insert extra shipping here!  At least I did the right thing in that situation – I ate the shipping (you never ask a customer to make up the difference once a sale is final), but I did notify the customer that should she wish to re-order the same item in the future, the cost of shipping would be slightly higher.

I’m so familiar with Canada Post now that I think I should be working the counter at the local outlet.  Just take a look at my current shipping policy.  Feel free to use any of that information for your own shop, if you are a Canadian seller.

4.  I listed items when I didn’t have the supplies to make them.  My Aromatherapy Inhalers were my biggest seller, right from the get-go.  Foolishly, I kept re-listing them after a sale, even though my stock of blanks was getting low.  One customer had to wait well over a week for me to ship out the order, while I waited for the delivery from my supplier.  Lucky for me, the buyer was wonderful.  I stayed in contact with her the entire time and kept her informed on what was happening, so I think that helped a lot.  Don’t be afraid to talk to your customers if you run into a problem with their order.  It’s much better to let them know what is going on and give them some options than it is to just pretend everything is fine and hope the problems resolve themselves.

Look at my first label style.  Click the photo to be taken to my current listing for the inhalers.  Don’t worry, I have lots in stock right now, so if you order them it will ship by tomorrow!

5.  I wasn’t charging enough for my items.  With any handmade item, you need to have a system for pricing.  This is normally something like Raw materials + Time x desired profit margin = retail price of item.   Like my shipping prices, I just guessed at what something should cost.  For some things, this worked out okay.  But for others, I was barely charging more than the materials cost me.  Once I realized this mistake, though, it was kind of hard to go back and change my prices once people became accustomed to seeing a certain amount of money.

6.  I didn’t keep very accurate or organized records.  Tax time was not fun for me this year.  It took several weeks of tedious workd for me to break down each sale, figure out my shipping expenses, Pay Pal fees, Etsy fees, business expenses (my receipts were all over the place) and  take inventory of my raw materials (and calculate the value of remaining inventory).  I also had to go back and convert all my Etsy sales into Canadian dollar amounts (I now do this as each sale is made). 

And now, nearly one year, 57 sales, 1 sabbatical and a net loss later, here I am!  A little bit wiser but still with oh so much to learn.

I’d love for you to share your stories with me!

Storing Essential Oils

{May/10 - An update on my essential oil storage situation will be coming soon. I’ve long since outgrown this leather box.}

I probably own about 50 different types of essential oil.  They are stored in a beautiful, velour-lined, leather-wrapped box. It is the perfect height to accommodate amber glass bottles, from the tiny 5mL size, up to the 30mL size.  (I keep my extra large bottles  in another location, as those are the ones I use for making products, not for personal blending.)   My EO box also blocks out all light and keeps the bottles from being exposed to the air, just in case I ever forget to tighten a cap (as if I would ever be so careless!).

As you can see in the photo below, I put little labels on the top of each lid so I can easily identify which oil it is.  I try to keep them in alphabetical order, but sometimes it’s hard to put them all back in the correct spot, especially if I’m removing several bottles at once.   I also use little coloured dot stickers to signify whether the oil is a top, middle or base note.  Green for top, yellow for middle and red for base.   The scent that wafts out whenever I open this box is amazing – all the different oils combined.  It’s indescribable.  I keep a small stack of business cards with my oils, so the cardstock becomes infused with the scent of all the oils.  That’s my pendulum in the little black velour bag; I use it for reading chakras.

These are the basics must-dos for storing your EOs:

1.  Keep them in the dark.  They must be stored in a box (with a tight-fitting lid) made from an opaque material (NOT a Rubbermaid container!)  And although the bottles can be quite pretty to look at, leaving them out on a shelf for display is the worst way to store your oils. 

2.  Keep the lids screwed on tightly – always!  EOs are very volatile and will evaporate quickly.  The less they are exposed to the air, the better.

3. Keep them cool, but NOT in the fridge. 

4. Keep them out of the reach of children and pets.  The scent of some oils can be very appealing to young children.  Although you will probably never own any fatal or dangerous EOs, you still don’t want to take any chances.  If necessary, you can keep your oils in a metal lock box, but be mindful that the metal will act as an oven if the box is left in direct light.

 

 

You can purchase wooden boxes that have neat little dividers to keep your oils organized, like this one from Quinessence Aromatherapy.  The benefit to this type of box is that it will keep all your oils upright and in order.  The drawback is that it will only hold 5mL or 10mL bottles.  And if you are keeping your oils in alphabetical order, you will have to move them all one by one to a new cubicle whenever you get a new oil.  With a non-divided box, you can just shove everyone over to make room for the new guy!

These types of boxes also tend to be more expensive that just a plain wooden box.  Perhaps you know someone handy (or you are handy yourself!) who can build a special box for you.  Keep your eyes peeled at yard sales – you never know when might come across something unique that you can repurpose for storing EOs.

Look at these beautiful handmade wooden boxes you can find on Etsy.  They would work wonderfully as EO storage.  I love AllenbriteBath’s shop.   I think the Owl is my favourite.

 

Or maybe the turtle!  How can a girl decide? 

Must Read Part Two – Etsy Bloggers Talk Bath & Beauty

I blogged about the first part of this Etsy article a few weeks ago, and now part two is ready.  Read and enjoy.  These B&Bers on Etsy really know their stuff.

What a Waste

How timely.  The union that represents (among many others) the garbage collectors in my town has been on strike for about a week.  Tomorrow is Earth Day.  What does this mean?  An opportunity for us all to stop complaining about it and start looking for ways to REDUCE the amount of solid waste we are producing.

Here are some of the things my family has been doing, or plan to begin doing, to keep our waste to a minimum, and to prevent the waste we do produce from becoming a health (or olfactory) hazard.  Some of these tips are specific to the strike situation, and others are things we can all do year-round.

~ Compost everything you can.  We keep a little aluminum garbage can beside the regular garbage pail, and we keep it lined with a compostable wet waste bag.  You can even find these bags at Dollarama now. Once the bag is full, the whole thing gets dumped into the composter.  If you don’t have a composter, don’t want to buy one, or live in an apartment, see if you have a neighbour who composts and ask if you can start contributing.  Be sure you follow the guidelines for safe composting. Not everything can go in there, you know!

~ Recycle everything you can.  Mind you, the recycle collection is also cancelled due to the strike, but at least recyclables don’t start to rot and stink, so long as you properly rinse out all the containers.

~ If you have a child in disposable diapers, dump solid waste into the toilet before throwing the diaper in the garbage pail.  You are actually suppose to be doing this anyway.  It even says so on the bag of diapers!

~ If you have a deep freeze (or can spare some room in your regular freezer), place a bag in there to store things like meat scraps, bones, chicken carcasses, etc…  All the food stuff that cannot be composted but will really start to rot and stink within a few weeks’ time.  Keep it frozen until garbage collection resumes.

~ On that note, consider going vegetarian most of the week, or using a meat that has relatively little waste, like boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Any fat we cut off those is either given to the dog or flushed down the toilet.

~ That’s another tip itself:  A lot of food waste can be flushed down the toilet instead of pouring it into a garbage pail.  Leftovers that have been “left over” for too long, old oatmeal, soups, etc… Look, it would have ended up there anyway if you had eaten it.  

~ The best thing to do, though, is not have waste in the first place.  Only make as much as much food as you need and if there are leftovers, take them in your lunch the next day or bring them to a neighbour.

~ Keep waste reduction in mind when you are at the grocery store.  Look at the amount of packaging in a given product and, where possible, switch to products with less packaging.  For example, get your soda in a 2-litre bottle rather than in cans.  Buy your wine in a box instead of 4.5 separate bottles.  You can get cereal in just a plain cello bag instead of a bag within a box.  Make the bulk food store your friend.

~ Use reusable grocery bags.  Not just for trips to the grocery store, but for everything.  Take one into every single store you go to.  Carry your work stuff around in them.   Tote your kid’s karate uniform in one.  Keep your library books in one so you can easily carry them back when they are due.

 

Here is one thing I would NOT suggest you do.  In fact, I advocate against it.

~ Bring your garbage to the city dump and just leave it on the side of the road. 

That’s what many citizens of my city have been doing.

This photo is not the best  quality – I took it with my camera phone.  It can’t be enlarged any further without pixilation, but I’m sure you can see the wall of garbage that is about 6-8 feet tall in places.

 

Tell me what YOU are doing for Earth Day!

Etsy Shout-Out – Savor Scrub for clear skin

I’ve been a fan of Savor soaps for almost a year now.  Try one bar and you will be hooked, too, I promise you!   When she started branching out into whipped soaps and sugar scrubs (my fav!), I thought my brain would burst into suds, I was so excited.

My first experience was with the Dulce de Leche Sugar Scrub.   My favourite soap bar scent translated to my favourite bath product – sugar scrubs.  I loved how this scrub exfoliated without being rough on the skin, lathered just right and smelled oh so heavenly! 

Just in case that listing is sold when you click on it, you can also get this scent in bar form, or even as a body spray or body cream.  Yes, I own all three so I can benefit from the full scent layering technique.

 

 

When that jar was empty (sob!), I cracked open my newly released (at that time) Coffee Butter Sugar Scrub.  Um, WOW!  I am not a coffee drinker, but I LOVE the scent of this product.  So fresh and invigorating.  

One morning while showering, I realized I had run out of facial wash the day before but forgot to replace the bottle in the shower.  On a whim, I used the Coffee Butter – after all, it does say right on the jar, “May be used as a facial cleanser for normal to oily skin.”  It sure felt great on my skin!  I continued to use it in place of my regular face wash.  After about three weeks, I noticed something interesting.  No acne break-outs the entire time!  Oh, I suppose I should tell you what my previous facial cleanser was – Proactiv!  Yup, that’s right.  Proactiv couldn’t keep my occasional break-outs in check, but Savor to the rescue!  I don’t know if it’s the sugar or the coffee butter, or just the whipped soap itself, but I’m not taking any chances.  This is my new facial soap for as long as Savor will continue to make it.

This item is not currently listed in Savor’s shop, but trust me – I have dibs when the new batch is released!

In the meantime, try some of these yummy nummy soaps from Savor.

Spotlight on … Benzoin Essential Oil

Botanical Name: Styrax benzoin

Part of Plant Used: Resin of the Benzoin tree (member of the Styrax genus)

Method of Extraction: Crude benzoin resin is collected from the tree (like sap) and then refined using solvents which are later removed.

Benzoin is an essential oil (which is not technically an EO, but an oleoresin) that I had never heard of until I received the starter kit for my Aromatherapy course.  At first, I was a bit surprised, since the name sounds chemical-y.  Indeed, there is a chemical compound called benzoin, which is not the same as the essential oil.  Despite my misgivings about the name, the scent of it, which is reminiscent of vanilla, immediately drew me in.  This is now one of my favourite EOs and I use it frequently in my work.

Benzoin is very thick – it doesn’t drip like a typical essential oil.  In fact, I found it easiest just to remove the dropper top altogether and let the Benzoin just ‘pour’ out of the bottle.  The consistency is similar to maple syrup – not surprising, since they are both made from tree sap! You can see in the photos below just how thick it is:

 

Tincture of benzoin (the resin dissolved in an alcohol) is used to treat minor skin wounds, or oral ailments like canker sores.  The tincture can also be inhaled in order to treat conditions such as bronchitis or the common cold.   Benzoin can be a very uplifting oil and is used in massage to treat stress, anxiety and depression.   I love using Benzoin for extremely dry, cracked, flakey or itchy skin.  I use it to create my Luscious Lotion, which is a big hit with many of my clients.  (This item is not currently listed on Etsy, but I do have some in stock.  Just contact me if you are interested.)

  You may find that most health food stores (or wherever you buy your EOs) do not normally keep Benzoin in stock.  If you ask, I’m sure they will special order it for you.  It’s handy to have around.  Add a bit to some carrier oil (try apricot kernel for its moisturizing properties) and you’ve got a wonderfully relaxing and nourishing massage oil.  You can diffuse it in your oil burner for a warming and comforting atmosphere.  I do not recommend adding it straight to a bath as it will just sit there in a clump at the bottom of the tub.  Remember, EOs are not soluble in water and with Benzoin being so thick, it wouldn’t even disperse in small droplets along the top of the water they way Lavender or Eucalyptus would.   Dissolve the Benzoin in a few teaspoons of carrier oil before adding to a bath.

Any more questions?  Please leave a comment and I’ll answer them right here!

Enjoy a Virtual Tour of My Studio

Ah, my studio! I can count myself among the fortunate few who are lucky enough to have an entire room to donate to their craft. When the recent addition of my massage table, I feel content in saying that the Heather Scent Aromatherapy Centre is (almost) open for business!

The room still requires some minor repairs to the plaster and re-painting.  It suits my needs perfectly right now while I’m still working mainly on friends & family members, but I would love to have a separate office once I’m established.  There are a few chiropractor’s and holistic health centres that I plan to approach about renting office space.

The second floor of my house has only two rooms. One is a large bedroom. The other is an open space at the top of the stairs. You must walk through this room to access the bedroom. It’s this open space that houses my studio. This is the view as you come to the top of the stairs. I placed these shelves her to form a wall, giving me a little more privacy. Those white boxes came from the Scratch & Dent room at Ikea – only a dollar a piece!  They hold office supplies and empty containers. 
 

This is the view of the back of the “shelf wall”.  Yup, more IKEA storage solutions! 

I love these little Fira drawers.  They are so versatile, and with all the different drawer sizes, the configurations are endless. 

The small drawers are perfect of bottles of essential oil, my inhaler sticks and business cards.  The deep drawers hold larger bottles of EO and finished product/stock, and the wide drawers are great for sheets of labels, promotional postcards, tissue paper, etc…  I picked up these ones on a trip to the Chicago area. 

Now I need to make a trek over to Michigan to pick up a few more.  They are a great organizational tool, but I’m not going to lie to you  – they are a b-i-t-c-h to put together! Each drawer is held together with about 5 million tiny little nails.  Here are my assembly tips:  Use painters tape to hold the drawers together before you start nailing, and use a small pair of craft pliers to hold the nails in place for the first few strikes of the hammer.

Lookie, lookie, even my desk drawer is organized!  Or it was, for about 5 minutes. 

My treatment table, all made up and ready to go!  Pillow placement is crucial – one under the chest to help take the curve out of the spine, and one under the feet to relieve pressure on the knees.  I make my own eye pillows (yes, I can sew!  I am multi-talented!), and like to put one over the client’s eyes when they are in the face-up positon.  This is for two reason: their own comfort (keeps out all light and encourages them to keep their eyes closed and relax) and, more importantly,  it sort of freaks me out when someone just lies there with their eyes open and stares.

    I like to give people the option to freshen up after their treatment.  I provide baby wipes, tissues, hand sanitizer and a few clean face cloths.  There is also a bottle of water because it’s very important to stay hydrated, especially on the day of a treatment.  Lots of water will aid in the detoxification process.  
   

   

Chakra balancing is very interesting and can be very effective.  Using a pendulum, I “measure” the chakras before the treatment to check which ones are strong/open or weak/blocked.  I then create an essential oil synergy based on which chakras need work.  After massaging the client with this blend, I “measure” the chakras again to see how effective the treatment was.   This is an on-going learning experience, but I’m having lots of fun with it.

Who doesn’t love books?  I could start my own alternative health library!  Recently, after being closed due to budgets cuts, a local library branch was throwing away most of their collection (gasp – I know!  How could anyone throw books in the garbage?  More importantly, how could anyone close a library, but that’s a whole other topic).  

I was able to snag a huge, hardcover, comprehensive guide to Homeopathy.  No, that’s not next for me!  My step-son’s mother is a homeopath (among many other things, click here to visit her website), so we already have one of those in the family. 


Thanks for taking a look.  I would love to see pictures of your studios.  Leave me some links in the comment section.

Namaste

Little Pleasures

I love getting mail!  Who doesn’t?  When I was a teen, I always had pen pals (I’m still in contact with one of them!).  Running home from school to check the mail was the highlight of my day.  In those days, we went home for lunch and if the mailman didn’t show before I had to leave for school again at 12:30, boy was I cheesed!  That meant having to spend another 3 hours at school bursting with anticipation.  

One of my pals use to send anywhere from 2-10 letters a week.  I’m not kidding!  Once I got 5 letters in one day.  And they were always “fun” letters – stickers, pens, pieces of gum and other little treasures were often tucked inside.  She lived in New Jersey, and it cost about half as much for her to send a letter to me as it cost for me to send a letter to her.  Her parents kept her in her postage habit; even at the tender age of 12, I had to purchase my own stamps using my baby-sitting money.  So I couldn’t reciprocate as frequently, but she didn’t seem to mind.

As we get older, postal mail turns from “fun” to “functional”.  Even e-mail has lost its appeal – it’s rare to find a personal message in my inbox anymore.  Instead I have offers for free magazine subscriptions (so long as I sign up for eighteen years of roadside assistance first), instructions on how to claim my lottery winnings from Zimbabwe, or warnings that my deodorant is going to kill me.    Snail mail is now almost exclusively bills and invitations to apply for credit cards (and get more bills!).

Today was one of those days that makes you love the mail again.  When I peeked out the door, the box was stuffed!  All of the contents were addressed to me and all of the contents were fun:  my new business cards from Vista Print, three magazines (Chatelaine, Real Simple and Macleans), plus my bundle of flat-rate shipping boxes from Canada Post.   Yay!  Now I’m off to read some magazines….

Aromatherapy 101

{This blog entry has been adapted from an assignment I wrote for one of my courses.}

You can also download my  brochure -  Holistic Aromatherapy: An Introduction.

What is Aromatherapy?

Aromatherapy is the health science of using the essential oils derived from plant matter such as flowers, fruits, seeds, leaves and bark, to achieve and maintain optimum health, balance and beauty.

Essential oils are absorbed by the body either through ingestion, inhalation or skin application. The latter two are  most commonly used by North American aromatherapists. In Europe, medicinal aromatherapy, (i.e. taking essential oils internally) is practiced by many doctors. Pharmacists mix and dispense the oils right at the pharmacy. For example, a mixture of fennel and anise seed may be given to a baby with colic.

There was a time when Aromatherapy (and Herbalism in general) was considered primary medicine. Herbs, oils, etc… were often the first thing people turned to when they were ill. With the advent of big-business pharmaceutical companies, and the push for prescription drugs, Aromatherapy is now considered “alternative” or “complementary” medicine.

Although there are thousands of years worth of anecdotal evidence that Aromatherapy works, there are really very few scientific (i.e. double blind, control group) studies available regarding aromatherapy. Due to the lack of “evidence”, many medical professionals are skeptical of its benefits, and some may even warn against it.

A Short History of Aromatherapy

The term “aromatherapy” was coined by Rene Maurice Gattefosse in the 1920s, but aromatherapy can be traced back at least 5000 years. The use of plants and herbs medicinally goes back as far as recorded history, most likely to the beginning of mankind. Originally, plants were used in their whole state. Around the 10^th century, an Arabian doctor named Avicenna perfected the art of steam distillation and made obtaining the essential oil of plant matter much easier. EOs are concentrated and more potent that using a leaf or flower from the same plant.

In India, essential oils were an important component of Ayurvedic medicine and massage, an ancient form of medicine. This holds true today.

The Egyptians are considered the first group of people to perfect the art of aromatherapy. They were famous for their use of incense and burning aromatic wood. It was used in religious rituals, to drive away evil spirits and disease.

One of the first texts containing written guidelines about the use of herbs in medicine was written by the Chinese around 2800 BC. China introduced incense to Japan in the 6^th century.

Greeks and Romans learned about aromatics from the Egyptians. The most important contributions the Greeks made to modern aromatherapy was to classify and index all the knowledge they learned from their travels in Egypt. The Romans made extensive use of essential oils in baths, perfumes, massage oil and ointments.

During the 16^th century, commercial production of essentials oils began in Grasse, France. Essential oils continued to be a popular form of medicine until synthetic drugs became a readily available. Aromatherapy and herbalism (once mankind’s sole form of medicine) is now considered “alternative” therapy.

How Are We Affected by Scent?

Memories of odours are stored in the limbic system. The limbic system is the group of brain structures concerned with the olfactory system (among other systems). It is also the centre of emotional behaviour such as anger, fear and pleasure. Evolutionary wise, the limbic system is the oldest part of the cortex, so it would stand to reason that it is the most developed or finely-tuned part of the brain as well.

Scent is our strongest link to memory. Memories of odours are stored in the limbic system, as well as the memories of the experiences associated with the odours. Yet often I will catch a waft of something and be overcome by a feeling that I cannot always connect to a conscious memory. I know the scent has meaning, and it will evoke a feeling in me, but I can’t pinpoint the reason. This is because our scent memories last longer than our visual memories.

Other times, the visual memory accompanying the scent memory is very obvious. A co-worker walked into the lunch room one day after having been outside for a cigarette break. The scent of her perfume combined with the stale cigarette smoke invoked an immediate response from me. “You smell like church!” I told her. When I was a child, we attended church every Sunday and after mass the parishioners would congregate on the front steps of the church to socialize. Nearly everyone smoked, and there must have been one particular woman who wore the same brand of perfume as my co-worker. That combination of scents has been stored with my childhood memory of attending weekly mass.

When a memory is triggered, it can create an “opening” in the limbic system. Unpleasant scent memories can be modified by teaching the brain to form a new association. Fortunately, pleasant odours can gain deeper access to the limbic system than unpleasant ones.

{This blog entry has been adapted from an assignment I wrote for one of my courses.}

You can also download my  brochure -  Holistic Aromatherapy: An Introduction.

Spotlight On…Tea Tree Oil

Botanical Name: Melaleuca alternifolia

Part of plant used: Leaves

Method of extraction: Steam distillation

Tea Tree EO, like Lavender, is a very popular essential oil. It is best known as being a strong disinfectant, and with a trend towards more natural, environmental safe cleaning methods, products containing Tea Tree oil have become very popular lately.

If you are interested in using cleansers made with Tea Tree, my suggestion is that you should buy a commercial prepared product rather than try to make your own at home. Simply adding Tea Tree EO to a bottle of plain water will not do the trick. Essential oils are not soluble in water – in other words, they don’t mix. Shaking the bottle may disperse droplets of EO throughout the water, but when you spray a surface with the mixture, you wouldn’t be getting even coverage of Tea Tree – it would be mostly plain water with a microscopic drop of Tea Tree oil here and there. Furthermore, water is a breeding ground for bacteria (even if it is distilled), so you would also need to add a preservative, or you would be spraying germs on germs! Some people think that the Tea Tree oil itself is antiseptic enough to keep bacteria from growing in the water. But, as we’ve learned, the EO never really mixes with the water, so it cannot impart its antiseptic properties into it.

Tea tree is great for clearing up stuffy noses and loosening chest congestion (along with rosemary). Add a few drops to the water reservoir of your humidifier, or into a bath or steam shower.

Many people have had success using Tea Tree EO to treat acne.  Simply use a clean Q-tip to apply a small drop to the pimple.  I haven’t tried this remedy myself, so if anyone has experience with it, let us know how it worked out for you!

Safe for everyone, including babies as young as six months (with proper dilution).

 

How To Get Lots of Free Stuff from Vista Print!

I know that many people do not like working with Vista Print, but I've been using them for over a year and haven't had a problem. You just need to be super careful not to click on any of the extra offers during checkout. I also think that VistaPrint.ca operates a bit differently than VistaPrint.com. You rarely hear horror stories of unauthorized credit card charges from Canadian users. Furthermore, Vista Print now accepts Pay Pal, so you don't need to worry about entering a credit card number at all!

A few days ago I submitted an order for new business cards. I paid $5.99 for 250 premium cards -- not bad. I always upload my own designs, which costs an additional $5.99. Of course, they overcharge for shipping, but since their print house is located in my own city, I can chose the slowest option and still receive my cards in about a week.

Well, today I got one of those e-mails from them -- everything was free! So I went a little nuts! For only $19.23 (that's shipping plus tax), I will be getting:

250 Premium Business Cards (my own design)

100 Postcards (Preview of the front of card is at the end of this post). I left the front of the card ambiguous so I can use them the back of them for various things -- informing clients of special offers, thank-you notes, birthday greetings, coupon codes, indications and warnings for their custom EOs blends, etc... My contact information is also pre-printed on the back (Greyscale printing for the back side of the postcards is FREE).

140 Return address labels -- I use these to quickly label custom products that I make on the spot for a client. As you can see, I leave it blank except for my URL so that I can have room to write in the product information by hand.

25 Small Magnets (freebies for customers!)



Here is the trick to getting multiple items for free:

First, you need to wait for a really good e-mail from them. If you like to upload your own designs, make sure the offer also includes free image uploading. If you are not on their mailing list, go sign-up. Yes, you will get an e-mail just about every single day, but once you order your items you can opt-out again. Opt back in when you want some more free stuff!

1. From the e-mail, click the link for the first item you wish to purchase.
2. Create the item and put it in your shopping cart. You will have to click through loads of other offers first. Make sure you say "no" to all of them. When you get to the shopping cart page, leave the window/tab open and go back to your e-mail.
3. Click the link for the next product you want.
4. Create the item and put it in your cart (as in step 2 above)
5. Repeat for as many free items as you need, up to 10 (That is the maximum they will allow).

More Excellent Advice

They must be putting self-confidence in the water! Right on the heels of my decision to stop under valuing myself and my products, a fellow Etsian, byamber made a great post that she was kind enough to share on an Etsy forum. This blog goes more into detail about the trials an artist faces when pricing his or her items and the importance of not underpricing yourself.

Check out her full blog for this and other great posts.

Things I Learned on My Sabbatical from Etsy

I opened my Etsy shop about a year ago and sales took off from the beginning. I was by no means a power seller, but my shop was getting just the right amount of business for my schedule, maybe 2-3 sales a week. This was perfect as Etsy was only meant to be a part-time endeavour.

Everything seemed fun at first. I was meeting new people and finding lots of cool handmade products (hello, soap addiction!). But then I started getting discouraged. Even though I had adequate sales, I wasn't really making any money. Determining shipping costs was always a major struggle for me. A few of my packages were tampered with or went missing. International shipments were taking months to arrive. These incidents really got to me. It happened maybe twice out of fifty sales, but it was a major stressor.

Even with only a few sales a week, keeping up with creating my inventory became daunting. I have a full-time day job, a neurotic dog, two crazy cats, and two busy sons. Finding balance was a struggle (still is!). Furthermore, with so many ideas for new products (and so many supplies with which to make them), it was frustrating when I couldn't bring those ideas to fruition.

So I gave up. I de-activated all of my listings.

My time away from being an Etsy seller was time well spent. I turned my focus to my Aromatherapy certification courses and completing the required case studies. Staying involved with the Forums and continuing to make purchases kept me in the Etsy know. I learned what I had done wrong the first time around. Most importantly, I realized that these mistakes were fixable! So I "failed" (in my eyes) with my first experience being an Etsy seller. But it's not a one-shot deal! That's the beauty of life – fall down, get up and try again! The wonderful folks on Etsy will always be there to welcome you back.

Here are a few of the lessons I learned. These lessons are personal to me and my shop, and although I do hope to inspire others, I don't expect everyone to agree with me, or that this advice will work for everyone.

~Heather

Stop under pricing your product. Figure out the cost of materials and then add an appropriate mark-up. Consider, too, that Etsy fees and PayPal fees will cut into your profit. Don't be fooled by the idea that lower prices = more buyers. If you make a quality product and price it accordingly, you will still have sales.

Charge accurate shipping. I will not eat postage costs any longer. The rates & policies for Canada Post are absolutely ridiculous (that will be the topic of another blog), but it is out of my power to change it and whining and moaning about it certainly won't fix the problem. All I can do is work with what I have. That may mean charging $5.75 shipping for an item that only costs $8.95. Again, if it's a quality product, people will pay to have it shipped to them. All I can do is provide information and links about Canada Post so my customers can see that this is what the postage actually costs me. I'm not out to make a profit off shipping, but I have to stop taking a loss.

Communicate with your buyers. Drop them a convo to thank them for the sale, and maybe one more when you've shipped the item. At the same time, though, don't be a pest. NEVER convo someone to ask when they are going to leave you feedback.

Keep it simple, stupid. List only the products that you can make quickly and easily and have the highest profit margin. Stop trying to create a new product every single day. For Bath & Beauty, it should take anywhere between 3 months to a year to get a new product off the ground.

Buy only the supplies that you currently require. Stockpiling seems like a good idea because you can save money by buying in bulk, but how much money are you saving when you have to throw out raw materials because they've reached their expiration date before you could use them up?

Don't obsess about the number of hearts and views your items have.

Sometimes things go wrong. Packages go missing in the mail. Buyers aren't happy. It's not the end of the world. Just refund the purchase, write off the loss and move on.

Create a comprehensive set of policies and keep them updated. When you are in business, you are always learning something new.

Have any lessons that you would like to add? Please, leave some comments!

A Fresh New Look

I've been working on creating a new look for my business materials and product labels. The banner is completed (as you can see), and I've just finished up a new business card. Tell me what you think! I haven't had them printed yet, so there is definately room for improvement.

NEW:



Here is what the old one looks like (for comparison):



Here are my banners (click image to get a closer look):

NEW:

OLD:

Spotlight on: Lavender

This entry is the first in a series of blogs focusing on specific EOs (Essential Oils). Is there an oil you would like to know more about? Just e-mail me or leave a comment. Thanks!

Botanical Name: Lavendula angustifolia

Part of Plant Used: Flower

Method of Extraction: Steam distillation

You would be hard pressed to find a person who hasn't heard of Lavender EO. This oil is widely available and its scent is very familiar. You likely have a bottle of it in your home already!

There is a good reason it's so popular – you can use it for just about anything, although it is best known for its calming effects.

Many bath products are available in Lavender scent. Be aware, though, that these products usually contain synthetic fragrance, not true essential oil. You would be better off making your own products by adding Lavender EO to unscented bases, such as lotion, shower gel or skin oil. One drop of Lavender in 30mL of base oil (such as sweet almond or grapeseed) makes a great massage oil for baby.

Lavender oil is gentle enough to be used 'neat' (undiluted) on the skin, such as in the case of rashes, insect bites and minor burns. Just apply one drop and massage in gently. Many people find it useful for relieving migraines when rubbed into the temples, especially when combined with Peppermint EO.

Another indispensible product is Lavender hydrosol, or floral water as it is sometimes called. Hydrosols are a by-product of steam distillation. Once the EO of a particular plant matter is obtained, the steam is allowed to condensate and then is collected. Pure Lavender hydrosol makes an excellent facial toner or pillow mist. One time I used a cream on my face that produced an allergic reaction. I spritzed my cheeks with some Lavender water and within minutes the redness, burning and itching was gone. When my two- year- old son is acting up, I will spray him with some Lavender water to help calm him down! Keep in mind that merely adding Lavender EO to plain water will not produce true lavender water since EOs are not soluble in water.

Lavender is safe for everyone, even babies and pregnant women.

Etsy Shout-Out -- Felt Food Fun!

I am a felt food fanatic! It's becoming a compulsion really, right up there with my handmade soap addiction. There is no shortage of adorable patterns available for sale on Etsy. One of my favourite shops is Bugga Bugs. Her patterns are so adorable, creative and easy to follow. All you need is a sewing machine and the basic knowledge of how to use it! The patterns are delivered promptly (via e-mail) and are extremely well-organized and easy to read. If you are a beginner, I would start out with the donuts.

 

Normally I do not make every single item in a given set of patterns. Sometimes I can find a non-felt item to substitute. Take the Happy Meal -- My kids received McDonald's gift cards for Christmas and the cards came in mini french fry holders. Rather than make my own holder from felt, my lazy side won out and I just use the cardboard one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did something similar with I made popcorn.  I found this adorable popcorn holder at the local dollar store. 

 

 

 

 

 

Another excellent source for patterns is Gulf Coast Cottage PDF. I really need to get these two new patterns!

Okay, so that last one isn't food, but it's still adorable!

Don’t let me forget about Little Crickets!  I received a PIF pattern from her when she first opened her shop, and it’s simply adorable!  Look at this campout set – I love it!

Essential Oils -- General Tips and Safety Precautions

When using EOs, there are some important safety precautions to consider. If you plan to make Aromatherapy and EOs a part of your life, invest in a good book that will expand on the basics I outline here.

• Never, never, ever take essential oils internally, even if the manufacturer claims its oils are "pure" enough to ingest. There are some parts of the world that practice Medical Aromatherapy, but this is done under the guidance of highly trained Aromatherapists who are often pharmacists or MDs as well.

• Most oils are too strong to be used neat (undiluted) on the skin. Be sure to dilute oils properly before applying to the skin. To obtain roughly a 2.5% dilution, simply divide the amount of carrier oil in half to determine how many drops of EO to add. For example, if you have a 60mL bottle of carrier oil, you can add about 30 drops (total) of EO.

• Remember that small bodies = small nervous systems = greater effects of the oils. Use extra caution when using EOs around young children, babies, pregnant women and pets. A general rule of thumb is to cut the dose in half, or double the dilution. For example, instead of 15 drops of EO to 30mL of carrier oil, use 6 or 7 drops. For babies, I cut that in half again – 3-4 drops.

• Citrus oils (with the exception of Grapefruit) are phototoxic. This means that they exasperate the effects of the sun on your body. Remember putting lemon juice in your hair because it would make your hair lighten in the sun? Avoid using skin products containing citrus EOs before going out into the sun.

• Essential oils are flammable. Store away from heat sources or open flame, and follow all manufacturers' directions when using a diffuser or oil burner.

The following is a list of EOs that should NOT be used by ANYONE under ANY circumstances. This list is provided by the International Federation of Aromatherapists.

Bitter Almond

Boldo leaf

Calamus

Yellow Camphor

Horseradish

Jaborandi leaf

Mugwort

Mustard

Pennyroyal

Rue

Sassafras

Savin

Southernwood

Tansy

Thuja

Wintergreen

Wormseed

Wormwood

Stay tuned for an upcoming blog about Aromatherapy & EO safety during pregnancy.

A Must Read

The Etsy bloggers posted the first in a two-part series about Bath & Beauty products. The article is extremely informative and peppered with suggestions of wonderful handmade B&B products. This is a must read! Click here to read it.