I Won a Feature on the Linor Store Blog!

I was triumphant in Linda B's Top Etsy Finds...considering I won a feature on her blog! Please stayed tuned soon for the Eco-Friendly Freckles feature posted on her stunningly sophisticated blog!

http://linorstorecom.blogspot.com/

How Our Emotions Change the Molecular Structure of Water

Love and Appreciation


Thank you

The above photos illustrate how thoughts and words affected the formation of untreated, distilled, water crystals. In this experiment, words were typed onto paper by a word processor and taped on glass bottles of water overnight. The waters were then frozen and photographed. When looking at the photographs of water crystal formation their is a significant difference between the positive and negative thoughts placed on the water; you can view these images in this fascinating article:

http://www.wellnessgoods.com/messages.asp



Considering that our bodies are made up of 60% water, imagine what impact our thought have on our well-being and molecular structure! My husband and I conducted our own little experiment with this concept, we planted some wheatgrass seeds in an old coffee mug with the word "Love" painted on it. Along with the word "Love", I would tell the plant that I loved it. Once the plant reached an adequate height, Joe and I gave it to our three cats to nimble on...the result: they loved it too and seemed very happy afterwards! Maybe we gave our cats some extra "love" that day...although we do tell them we love them very often!


Our boys: Magnum and Buster


...and our girl: Nozomi

Egyptian Flavors of Summer - Treasury Feature!

My Egyptian Blue Lily Lotus is featured in a treasury by ile1974 called Egyptian Flavors of Summer. Please check out this beautifully exotic treasury...also, don't forget to tell everyone how much you like by posting a comment on the treasury! Thank you! :-D

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c7ab7b01f5a6d91a2cabca1/egyptian-flavors-of-summer

http://www.etsy.com/listing/40614757/egyptian-blue-lotus-lily-aphrodisiac

Indoor Herb Garden in Our Bedroom Window!

One night this last week, my husband, Joe, and I decided to start an indoor herb garden in our bedroom window...now we have happy little seedlings that seem as though they are praising the sun and water, for their little leaves (which look like hands) are reaching up towards the direction of the sun; and every time we give them water the almost seem to grow right in front of our eyes...ha ha, or maybe that is my imagination! ;-) Here are some more pictures of our new, little indoor herb garden:


...some of our herb seedlings planted in various cups and planters that I had.


These are our peat pellet herb seedlings...we are going to transplant these into our organic-heirloom vegetable garden for our fall crop!


This is our little bean seedling...it is a beautiful Scarlet Emperor bean!

I hope this post inspires you all to create your own indoor herb garden...it is easy to maintain, provides tasty herbs for tea and cooking, and is great for cleaning your indoor air! So go ahead...get growing! :-D

Darling Pictures of My Little Baby Nephew Bobby!

With beautiful and happy GREAT Grandma "Nana" Sharee...little Bobby is smiling in this one!


With his sweet and loving Momma, Andrea, (my twin sister)...he is a feisty little fellow!


...and with gleeful me "an overjoyed Aunt"; Baby Bobby loves making those "O" faces!

Vote for Me and My Art!

I need some votes from my friends!

One of my hand-painted upcycled decoupage canisters just got featured on a blog with over 700 followers! If my canister gets the most votes then I will win a feature on this popular blog...which will be wonderful promotion for my shop and blog!

If you would like to vote for my art piece, please go to the blog below and post a comment on the blog post stating that you want to vote for the "Paulie's Confession" canister from Eco-Friendly Freckles. Thank you everyone for the support! :-D

http://linorstorecom.blogspot.com/2010/08/82710-my-top-etsy-finda.html

Cheers! Time for a Celebration!

The above picture is a close-up of a charming card called "Cheers to You- Congratulations Card" by LindasPaperie! Please check out her lovely Etsy shop here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LindasPaperie

It is time for a celebration! My Eco-Friendly Freckles blog has now reached 200 followers!...Yippee! :-D I want to thank all of my new and old, loyal and infrequent followers for supporting me! It has been a wonderful experience exploring some of life's full-filling curiosities with you; whether it be art, natural health, gardening, shopping, traveling, or sharing recipes...I have enjoyed it all and will continue to write about more of my delightful discoveries along the way! In celebration of my blog reaching 200 followers, I would like to say "Cheers!" to you all and share with you one of my favorite cocktail recipes as well as an enchanting aphrodisiac and a favorite of the Egyptian pharaoh Cleopatra!


Blue Lotus Wine

Ingredients:

1 bottle of red or white wine

1 wine cork

10-20 grams of Blue Lotus (petals and bulbs)

1 tablespoon of honey (optional)

Open up your bottle of red or white wine and drink a small amount to make room for the blue lotus. Take 10-20 grams of blue lotus and stuff it inside the bottle of desired wine. Make sure to include both the petals and the bulbs so you marinate all the active ingredients. Next, cork the bottle nice and tight with all the blue lotus inside, and then place it into the refrigerator. Even if its red wine, still stick it in the fridge.

Let your blue lotus wine sit for at least a few hours to a week in the fridge. The Egyptians would generally give the bottle 3 weeks, so the longer the better. After keeping in the fridge for your period of time, you are ready to drink your blue lotus wine. If it is a white wine you can leave it in the fridge and if a red you may want to sit it outside for a few hours to catch up with the air temperature.

This one bottle of blue lotus wine can be used for up to 2 people depending on how potent the effects you want. Generally, the bottle of blue lotus can be used by 1 person at a weight of 170 lbs. There is an option to use honey, depending if you like the taste or not. It can sometimes be a tad bit bitter, and if so, add a bit of honey to your wine to sweeten it up. This won't change the effects, only the taste.

As far as experiences with this blue lotus recipe, we think you will be quite pleased. It's simple and it will give you the euphoric/happy/relaxed feeling you've been searching for. It is also fun to experience what the Egyptians experienced centuries ago.


Blue Lotus (Nymphaea Caerulea) represented in Ancient Egyptian art.

A Brief Ancient Egyptian History of The Sacred Blue Lotus

The Blue Lotus was found scattered over Tutankhamen's body when the Pharaoh's tomb was opened in 1922. Many historians thought it was a purely symbolic flower, however there may be some reason to believe that Ancient Egyptians used it to induce an ecstatic state and stimulation, as well as being widely used as a general remedy against illness, and to this day is used as a tonic for good health.

The Ancient Egyptians used blue lotus as a key to good health, sex, and re-birth. An aphrodisiac for men and women as well as a general remedy for all illness. Enhancing sexual vigor and general good health. A tonic richer than ginseng, pain reliever richer that arnica, circulation stimulant richer than ginko biloba, and sexual stimulant richer than Viagra...creating a feeling of well-being, euphoria, and ecstasy.

To find out more about the history of blue lotus in Ancient Egypt please read the description of my blue lotus listing in my Etsy shop.


If you would like to create the blue lotus wine recipe above of if you would like to make a lovely blue lotus tea (great hot tea with honey), you can find the blue lotus in my Eco-Friendly Freckles shop:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/40614757/egyptian-blue-lotus-lily-aphrodisiac

Spice Up You Back to School Gear!

With all of the students going back to school and college, I wanted to post my favorite "Back To School" gear from Etsy! Please sit back and leisurely enjoy looking through these items...you might just get some favorable ideas for your school supplies and wardrobe! Also, some of these items would be great for teachers too!


Back to School Navy Plaid Jumper Dress by lanouvellevie


The Joan Holloway Necklace by Lanyapi


1 12 Scale Thermos Cooler Very Nice by MiniatureCollector


Handmade Crocheted Apple Cozy by The Pink Crochet Hook


Handcrafted Artisan Genuine Leather Messenger Bag by chicleather


"Lullaby of Angels' Enlightenment" Hand-Painted Upcycled Decoupage Canister (a wonderful pen & pencil holder for the teacher's desk...makes a great teacher appreciation gift!) by Eco-Friendly Freckles

My Curiosity with Etsy's Alchemy

Maybe my curiosity was sparked by playing "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" with my husband; our character has leveled up to a "Journeyman of Alchemy" for we have worked diligently creating mystical potions with our mortar and pestle. However, I think the leading factor in sparking my curiosity with Etsy's Alchemy was stumbling across this thread in the Etsy forums in the Business Topics forum titled: "1000 Sales and How Alchemy Helped Me Get There".

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6599385

This post has enlightened and inspired me to give Alchemy a second chance on Etsy. I have tried it in the past and have only been turned down; yet luck might be on my side and I might just end up with a custom order! I like The Midnight Oranges' advice to hold off on clicking the "I Will Make This" button in order to post pictures of your finished custom order on Etsy and get featured on the "Recent Custom Creations" for other potential customers to see (this is something that I would not have thought of). I am mainly going to focus on suggesting items that I already have created that are listed in my Etsy shop (since my hand-painted upcycled decoupage canisters are a rather time-consuming and meticulous craft); however if the request is right, I might just offer a custom order...we will see. ;-) I do offer handmade soaps, exotic herbs, and other items to suggest too; I am hoping that my shop's variety with catch their eye!

My Shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ecofriendlyfreckles

To all of you fellow Etsyians, good luck in your Alchemy aspirations! Now, I am off to make something magnificently magical!


By the way, my sister, Andrea, and I are really intrigued with learning about herbs and coming up with our own herbal tea blends for enjoyment and healing! I bet our homemade Christmas gifts are going to be awesome this year! I have some high-quality medicinal and exotic herbs in my etsy shop...if you are interested, you should check them out!

Happy as a Cat!

I am happy as a cat! I have just received six of my hand-painted upcycled canisters back from "The Gift Emporium" in Rhode Island (they are closing their doors for a month, so I decided to get my items back and add them to my shop to sell again). It is so nice seeing these creations of mine again after several months of being apart. I have added these canisters to my etsy shop...so please take a little time to relax and enjoy gazing at the art!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ecofriendlyfreckles

Speaking of happy cat, check out our happy little girl Nozomi...she says "hello"!

Just Added Three New Types of Kratom!

Find a soothing sense of calm or stimulate your senses with energy with these three new types of kratom incense: "Royal White", "Premium Scarlet Sumatra", and "Dark Jade Indo". You can find out more about each type in my etsy shop: Eco-Friendly Freckles!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ecofriendlyfreckles

Golden Goddess Soap Making Night!

As I stood stirring my coconut/palm oil base soap encompassed by suspending rose petals over the double-boiler with the blissful aromas of chamomile, neroli, and petitgrain essential oils feeling the air, I thought about how beautiful this batch of soap is going to be with its lovely golden color from the therapeutic turmeric and what a serene fragrance it has, that is so calming to the senses. Then I realized that I had forgotten how absolutely amazing this Golden Goddess soap is since I hadn't made it in a while; for this batch turned out just like the last: heavenly nourishing for your skin and state of mind.

Please check out my All-Natural Golden Goddess Vegan Soap in my Eco-Friendly Freckles online shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ecofriendlyfreckles?section_id=6962890

I Just Sold My First Kratom Order!

This beautiful picture above was created by Wyanne and is titled "She Loves Nature". Please check out her lovely, whimsical shop here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Wyanne

I just sent off my first kratom order today! It was a listing for Green Vein Thai Kratom. I will be adding three more kratom varieties to my Eco-Friendly Freckles Etsy Shop soon: "Premium Scarlet Sumatra" (a red vein kratom), "Royal White Sumatra" (a high-quality white vein kratom), and "Dark Jade Indo" (a green vein kratom from the island of Borneo); all of these kratom varieties come from Indonesia. Stay tuned for more details!

It Feels So Good to Donate and Recycle!

Even though you may not have the finances set aside to donate to your favorite charities, you can still make a tremendous difference in our planet's well-being and in the lives of others by recycling and donating your clothes, accessories, books, small appliances, and household items to your local Goodwill, Salvation Army, or other donation centers. So often I see people throwing away things that are perfectly reusable and functional that could be donated and will instead end up in a landfill destroying nature's beauty.


For the last two months, I have been organizing my home by recycling and donating items that I don't use that someone else may find as a little treasure or a comforting necessity. As for recycling, I have mainly been recycling paper and glass, but I soon aspire to recycle plastic as well like my benevolent sister Andrea does. I have heard from a friend who used to live Las Vegas, that the city would provide recycling containers for paper, glass, and plastic along with the regulare garbage containers...I wish our city would do something like this. However, I am happy that we do at least have recycling centers that we can take our paper, plastic, and glass to. Also, I am going to start recycling old cell phones (I have found a few around the house); I know of a local cell phone repair shop that accepts old cell phones for recycling. Likewise, I know of a local computer repair shop that will take in your old computers and computer parts for recycling...there are actually several of these places in my area to choose from, you can probably find some near you!

My hand-painted, decoupage functional art canisters are made from recycled materials, and now I am recycling and donating other reusable items...auh, giving away what some consider "junk" feels so good!

The Newest Little Member of the Family!

Tonight I had dinner with my "Nana" Sharee (now great-grandmother), my Daddy (new grandpa for the first time!), my wonderful twin sister Andrea and her charming husband Robert, and the newest addition to our family: little baby Bobby...he is just as cute and sweet as he can be! :-D




New Grandpa with little baby Bobby!


Happy, New Mama!


I am SO happy to be an Aunt! :-D


Me and adorable, little Bobby!


New Great-Grandma "Nana" Sharee and Baby Bobby!