Therapy Friday - "Hunka" review - fruity

Oop, a short post today, I got involved in trying to figure out a new pattern to give you guys, plus various other on-line things, and I lost track of the week!

Fruity Little Drink
Peach colored
smells like Hawaiian Punch mixed with peaches
very strong scent - even touching dry soap leaves fingers smelling cheerful
incredibly creamy feel to the wet soap, and lathers very well

Peach Fizz
Tangerine colored
The same creamy and comfortable lather as Fruity Little Drink. Just a little bit on a washcloth lathers up the whole thing, and it looks like one little hunka would be good for around a week, if I let it dry outside of the shower.
Smells like fresh peaches, with maybe a touch of lemon to liven things up. Nice!

I Wanda
Smells like olive oil and some sort of girl-y lime flavored drink. It's actually very clean, and refreshing smelling.

All of these soaps have a nice fruit-stand sillage away from the soap, but up close it smells like clean, comforting, olive oil soap. I don't know if the soap smell overpowers the fruit smell up close, or if there is something about the fragrance that only works when they are actively wafting. Either way, I enjoy the effect - clean, natural, with enough fragrance to make for an interesting bubbly mini-vacation but not so overpowering that it's gag-me artificial.

Therapy Friday: B.E. Dickens Soap

The power of a good scent. (And of having a husband take good pictures of President Nixon.)

Do you know what I love? I love when blogs have some sort of weekly treat, an ongoing theme that I can start to feel familiar with.

I think for this blog Shopping Therapy is a pretty good one, as I already chat about my acquisitions either for or while crafting. Etsy is a dangerous place! But I love it so!

So here goes...Therapy Friday!
Picking who to order soap from can be a little overwhelming! Just clicking on "soap" currently gives me 1315 pages of options. It makes me feel a little like I'm in National Treasure, hunting for a clue in a vast sea of artwork,

Or, I can go hunting for my favorite scent notes. Searching for "tea" gave me 53 pages, searching for "violet" gave me 8 pages, and searching for "iris" gave me...are you ready? One page. Several soaps shaped like an iris, a couple with iris extract for beauty benefits, and at the time just one that listed iris as a scent note. (On a side note: I have found almost all of my purchases via a tag search - those tags really matter! I appreciate sellers who take the time to write up accurate and thorough tags.)

I love iris/orris scents. It seems to be a growing trend in perfume, one which I approve of - a couple of my favorites are PG's Iris Taizo, or Le Labo's Iris 39. Another recent release was Prada Infusion d'Iris, though alas! despite high hopes it did not, shall we say, cooperate with my skin's chemistry. Just another case of me thinking I wanted something I didn't really want (in perfume! Or in life? Hmmm...)

So my soap craving self went ahead and purchased B.E. Dickens Fleur de Lis, a pretty pink bar with notes of iris and violet. Perfect!

And, because sample sized objects fill me with a sort of giddy glee, with their sweet miniature proportions, I went ahead and indulged in B. E. Dickens hunka soap package. I'm glad I did!

Between my selections, and hers, I ended up with 19 soaps to try. Oh, I can feel the therapy working already! The samples range in size from slim and flirty to hunka handsome.

When I opened the box I was walloped with an instant scent memory - turning 21. A combination of scents, I think Peach Puff and Azariah, smelled fruity, a little bitter, and distinctly fizzy. I don't usually like fruity scents, but it was a moment of nostalgic bliss.

The scents I remember ordering, because I was looking forward to them and convinced I would like them best, were:

Lavender Divinity, River Birch, Honey Pun, Goddess (amber and patch), Jonquil ("Luscious notes of iris, jasmine, balsam & lichen" - and I'm guessing jonquil), and Willy Street (clove, sandalwood and...are you ready for this? Tobacco!).

Will this be another case of my eyes being disconnected from my nose? Well, I still think I will love them, but maybe not as much as the rest of my treasure trove.

It will take me a bit to figure it out, because I certainly intend give each little bitty baby soap the full shower treatment. Plus, I can draw out my therapy over many Fridays this way. Mmm...anticipation!

The scents I either forgot I ordered, or that B. E. Dickens in her bubbly wisdom knew I'd love, were : b.e. naturals Kali (clay rich with notes of sage, rose, citrus - I'm drinking sage tea right now, must be soap psychic powers!), b.e. natural Cybele (clay infused with notes of neroli, jasmine and sandalwood), b.e. natural Danu (clay plus notes of lavender, eucalyptus, jasmine and other sweet flowers), Peach Puff, Eqyptian Sky (desert resins), Azariah (a musky unisex with bergamot and (gasp!) leather), I Wanda (lime and olive - or maybe tropical fish), Lanai (the artist's favorite - notes of Lemon Verbena and flowers), Grand Dame (floral), Grandmother's Lilac, Fruity Little Drink, and Atomic Pepper (citrus and chili pepper).

See? That's a lot of showers!

The full size is plenty large enough (haha), plus it was beautifully packaged.

The soap itself seems to be nicely scented, not overwhelming. Many of the lighter scents seem to, when dry, smell primarily of rich, creamy soap with a frisky streak of well balanced fragrance. Nice! Also, I can't get over how darned sweet the packaging was - next time I decide to buy nice soap as a gift this will probably be my destination. It looked pretty, simple, and elegant. The only cautionary detail was that it was wrapped with price tag, but I'm sure that could be removed by the seller! Plus, the little sample soap carry container included with the Hunka looks like it will be astoundingly useful. Taking a dash of sudsy scent with me as I travel? Oh yes, please!

Overall, without even stepping into a shower, it has already been a good value for money - nice scents, generous samples, packaged beautifully and professionally, plus a bonus dash of a happy scent memory.

Thread!

It's a little like Scrooge McDuck's pile of gold...

Etsy can be a very dangerous place. Or a very fun place, depending on how you look at it. Now as for me... I have a serious thread weakness. For some - it's yarn. But I like things tiny. Thus, my ever growing stash of thread. And, most recently, lace weight yarn and tatting thread. The above stash is all from the Etsy shop Snappish .

I just love all of the colorways, plus that center pull skein. It's dreamy.

And at least I can almost justify it by saying that at least it helps me be a crafty woman. Mwahahaha!

See? I'll even prove it!

Here's Kelly's friend, Kayla, wearing a nice little low waisted dress made out of some of the above stash.

It has bead closures in the back.

I sat down and pretty much crocheted a dress around the doll, so I don't think I'll be able to repeat it, not exactly.

Though working on it was very relaxing. Maybe too relaxing, since I'm not sure what I did.

I just need to add a privacy flap of some sort on the back, and then I might put it up for trade on DoA. Mostly I am hoping to find out if fitted dresses like this will fit some of the cute little bjd tinies. I hope so! It would make me so happy to see a tiny wearing one of my dresses.

And, of course, some Ponyville. I am keeping this dress for myself, because I just love the cute little puffy skirt.

See? It's like a little bubble. How fashionable! And seriously, only a creature with very slender little legs could pull off a look like that.

I certainly couldn't, and I have half as many legs.


And now on to the most important crochet project of all... PONY SOCKS. Several people at the mlptp have already seen these. Hello mlptp people!

I use to crochet pony booties a few years ago, and then lost the pattern. I was so mad at myself I took a break from it. Pony booties have a ribbon closure. Pony socks just slip on and off.

In a lot of ways No. 10 crochet cotton is too thick for socks, especially in relation to the size of ponies. And if I had a bigger stash of superfine laceweight yarn or tatting thread I would certainly experiment with scaling it down. Hmmm....

Anklets with a very subtle shell edging. Plus a legwarmer. Look at those colors! How could I make anything but anklets and a leg warmer?

Ok, I confess, this thread is not from Etsy. It's still a pony sock, though. A nice mint colored spiral sock. I only made one, because these new ponies have such big feet it weirded me out a little.

I added a poll to the sidebar. Please vote, thank you :)

My Latest Loot, October/November edition

One of the reasons that I loved Halloween as a child (and adult!) was the loot.

Ahh....loot.

New Ponyville ponies for me! Showing off some fall fashions...

I finally bought the Toys R' Us tube of Ponyville ponies. I tried to convince myself that I could just live with an itty bitty Triple Treat, but I was so wrong. I needed a Flippity Flop in my life. And a Breezie Dreams! Oh and a... well, you get the idea.

Now they can get together, have some fancy dress cocktail parties, and talk about how aggravating it is when President Nixon knocks them to the floor and chews their heads. I gotta say, it is more fun with (small, plastic, pony) company.

There's a lot of collectors out there who just don't like Ponyville ponies, and in some ways I can see why. Their hair doesn't move. They are mostly just repeats of big ponies, except with much better playsets. Lately, there doesn't seem to be much attention paid to decent NEW ponies...

But, look at how CUTE they are!

Kaylazilla demands cute!

Well, Kayla was more of a planned purchase. I have failed in Mission Convince-Hubby-That-Tiny-BJDs-Are-NOT-Creepy. However, for some reason he thinks Kelly dolls are cute. And I think spiders are cute. So, say 'hello' to Kayla! I can't wait to have time to crochet her some little outfits. And, as far as I know her dresses will fit Felix Brownies and Pukis, so maybe she will help spread the BJD love, after all. Er, to DOA and Etsy, if not to my hubby.


Speaking of crochet....

I am happy to be working on yet ANOTHER crochet project. I did finish the previous choker and it just didn't suit me as well as I hoped. So, try, try again.

I think this necklace will be more of a lariat...but I'm not sure.

But gosh darn it, it is soft and it has an itty bitty President Nixon-esque cat, so it's bound to be loved by my neck!

And yes, I'm pretty sure it counts as loot, even if it has taken many hours of work to crochet up that lacy pattern so far.

No, I don't think Collette hunted down any ostriches...it's the colorway!
Etsy: Epicurus

Speaking of soft... here's the heavenly extra fine lace weight yarn in question. If I wasn't already married, I'd give this yarn some serious consideration. It's creamy, but with still enough natural texture that it doesn't give me the heeby jeebies.

I fell in love with it as soon as I opened the envelope, because the colors were exactly what I was hoping for. And then of course immediately wrapped the silky, opulent hank into a ball, because I'm neurotic like that.

I still love cotton thread, but I gotta say... silk blends are looking (and feeling) like an excellent choice for jewelry...

Newton, Armando (who is actually blue gray), and Aleen
Etsy: TeriPersing

CATS! FatCats, to be exact.

Before Etsy, I had never heard of Lampwork beads, now I can't get enough of them. Oooohhh...Etsy, you frisky thing, you!

I just love these beads, they are so freakin' adorable in person. I would still have bought heaps and heaps of them except maaaaaaybe I should see if I can make nice jewelry with them.

I'm planning on keeping Armando, because President Nixon is a blue cat (though not at all fat) and using Newton for a gift. So that leaves Aleen for my Etsy shop. Unless I keep her, too.

And, finally, because all that looting and pillaging and purchasing can lead to the body stink...

The closest to "foody" I can get without fearing land sharks
Etsy shop: naturallyamy

Mmm...violet. One of my favorite scents. And soap that doesn't make my skin rashy? That is also high on the list of "Nice Things."

I'd never really tried hand crafted soap before, and I think I should have invested much much sooner! It's creamy, and of course it stinks real pretty.

I had expected a subtle woodsy anise and violet scent, but it's really Violet Mints and Allsorts. Which sounds like a blast to the face, and maybe it is, but it's still clean and refreshing. And nostalgic. So nostalgic, in fact, that I find I can't really use it every day.

Violet Mints and Allsorts were very much "special event" candies, and obviously I enjoyed them because I keep a small stash in the house for pick-me up emergencies.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up keeping a stash of this soap around, too!

Happy Halloween!!

Etsy Interview: Enyaeire

Enyaeire is a very familiar name on the Etsy forums. She is the founder of the A cup of Tea and a Chat while you promote????????????? thread. At the time of this post that thread has 16399 posts!

She was gracious enough to share an interview with us. Thank you Enyaeire!

Please, tell us a little about yourself.
I am Irish and was born and raised in Co. Dublin Ireland. I go by the name enyaeire but my real name is Amanda. Enya is an Irish singer and Eire is Gaelic for Ireland so I put them both together and come up with the name enyaeire. I have many interests and of course crochet being one of them. I also like to etch glass and knit. I love everything to do with Celtic Art. I forgot to mention that I am known to be very witty yet there again most Irish people are.



How did you decide to start the A cup of Tea and a Chat while you promote????????????? thread? What are some of your favorite things about that thread?
I decided to begin this thread because often people just post their listings and run. I thought by making a thread where people can share their items and hang around to get to know other etsians it would be cool.


You also often help others promote their items, that's great! How often do you do that? And do you have any tips for self-promotion, or for promoting others?
I always encourage people who come to chat in the thread because I feel like is not always about oneself but about helping others. I love it and I do it willingly.

Now, about you on Etsy...how long have you been selling on Etsy?
I joined etsy on April 4th 2008 and now I am addicted *laughing^.

What is your shop filled with?
My shop is filled with many different items like crocheted hats, scarves, wraps, bags, bandanas and many other different creations etc.

Are there any materials or tools you find yourself wanting to use most often?
I love wool and crochet. whenever I see a ball of wool just by looking at it, I get a vision of the next project that I want to do.

What about themes or projects?
I love celtic art and all of my items are my own creations. I have never used a pattern as it all comes naturally. My next project is a little different but before I can say what it is, I must get Etsy's permssion first. Keep your fingers crossed for me that they do give it to me.


And, finally, are there any links you want to share?
Yes, these are a couple of etsyiers that I really admire for them as people but also their wonderful stores.
http://wallexpress.etsy.com/
http://katscratchbeadworks.etsy.com/
http://magnolyadesigns.etsy.com/
http://monkeythreads.etsy.com/


thank you for checking them out