The Big Crafty is this Weekend!

What'cha doing this weekend? Well I hope on Sunday between noon and six you come out to The Big Crafty, Asheville's rockin' craft show located at Pack Place.

Lots of Amazing Indie Crafters (including fine members of Asheville Etsy Street Team!)

The Mountain Xpress has given it major kudos calling it "something akin to the social event of the year". Read about it here

For more information on The Big Crafty:

Check out their website here

And come by and say hello to me ... I'll be on the upper level near the stairs ... Booth #36.

It's a great time!

Pura Vida!

Pura Vida!

In Costa Rica, they go around saying "Pura Vida!" This is the good life!
Pure Living!

For one week (July 13-23) my 6 year old daughter and I will be living the
good life in Costa Rica as I take her on the trip of a lifetime. We will be
snorkeling in the Caribbean, hiking in the jungle with monkeys and sloths
and running a zip line admiring the gorgeous greenery that Costa Rica has to
offer.

We are so excited!

One of the items I'll be taking is our new bug spray, Pester Me Not! We
carry it everywhere we go. I even have a bottle in the car for unexpected
hikes.

Faerie Made will be closed during this week with the exception of the
Asheville City Market venues which will be staffed by my husband, Zac. Come
by and say hello to him. He's been in the background here doing all the
heavy lifting and weighing out the oils and butters we use in our soaps and
body care ...

However, our website will not be closed to orders, but shipping will cease
on July 9th and resume on Thursday July 23rd. So go ahead and order ... and
as a thank you for your patience, the shipping rate will be a flat $4.00
from today until then and free shipping on all orders over $40.00.

My website is already set up for it. If you order on Etsy, you will be
refunded through Paypal if you put "Pura Vida" in the message at check out.
No other discounts apply to this sale. Thanks!

I"ve been blogged

i always forget to post to my blog when i've been blogged.

but i got blogged today at this site.... got an email featuring my Lavender Citrus soap!

thanks so much for thinking of me~

Makes me feel sooooo good!

Garden pictures mid June

It has occurred to me that I haven't posted any pictures of our garden in a while. It's been growing great! Haven't had to water yet because of the rain.

I refuse to participate in this recession!

The news is all gloom and doom. Says that the unemployment rate is 10% so everyone focuses on that instead of the 90% who are employed. Of the 90% who are employed a fair precentage of them are scared to spend money because of the gloom and doom news.

I refuse to participate in this recession. I am still living my life, selling my soaps online, to stores, at my retail venues and then sharing my wealth created and purchasing things.

What do others think about this?

Pester Me Not!

I am pleased to show off Faerie Made's newest creation ... Pester Me Not body oil spray!

This spray has bug hatin' catnip, lemon eucalyptus essential oils ... combined with other bug hatin' essential oils: lavender (yes!), lemongrass, and cedarwood. I've got this in a base of fractionated coconut oil which is lovely in that it's light and absorbs nicely along with a bit of soybean oil, a vegetable oil that pests detests.

We've been using it in the garden and my husband, a mosquito god has reported not being bitten to pieces.

It's up on my site. Regular $10.00 for four ounces, but right now being introduced at 15% off for $8.50!

Get it HERE

Faerie Made Soaps & Day Camp!

It's summer time!

Schools out and that means my daughter is home for the summer. I don't put her in a summer program for the most part ... if something comes along that is cool, then okay we'll do that, but usually she's chillin' with her mama which I love.

I've always done that. Back in my past life when my sons were little, I was a college student and would take summers off and hang with them. When they were older and I had a "real job", I worked in a mom friendly agency (at a domestic violence shelter) and I'd take them with me, plus I adjusted my work schedule during the summer to where I was home fairly early in the afternoon so we could be together and I had a large circle of friends with kids so we'd "farm them out" from one family to another ... when it was my turn I would have from 5-10 kids at a time at my place for several days at a time! Then we'd have a potluck and kids would go back to parents with at least one or 5 other children in tow ...

My sons are grown and gone, and the kids I helped raise those many years ago many have kids of their own, so now I am on phase two!

My daughter has always been a huge part of my business. She is my Faerie Muse :) So how do I run a growing business with her? My days shift in summer. Much more flexible. Instead of busting it from 8:30-3 Monday through Friday & 8-1 on Saturdays, I work in spurts. This morning I am up early answering emails, making my list for the day. I'll work until she is awake and ready to eat, then I'll spend time with her. Fortunately she is easily entertained, so she plays around the house and in the yard while I work and then I'll take a break and we'll do something together. She puts on the best plays which she rehearses while I am doing something, then I stop, watch and back to work.

She goes with me on deliveries, which then leads into a stop at our favorite coffee shop for a snack. She vends with me at the markets, helping out by climbing trees, playing with all the kids of other vendors and shoppers and eating her weight in goat cheese and sour cherries!

My assistant last year brought her kids and it really was good for the 4 kids to play together while mom worked.

We also have a neighbor who has a child her age and they play together really well. Often the two will be seen running back and forth between the two houses (the other parent is a work at home parent). My sister is nearby so sometimes my daughter gets kidnapped & goes to her house (where my parents live .. it's a win win). I've joined a gym that has a really cool on-site child care center where she loves to go play so we'll go there and she can play and I can let off some steam ... did I mention the lake we can go hike into and swim? We plan on going there at least once a week too this summer. Oh and mark your calendar for one week in July where we will be gone to Costa Rica. Yes, I am taking my daughter there for a week with some friends.

My schedule is a bit scattered and it can be difficult at time, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.