Monday, April 11, 2011

Natural Oil Samples are Here!


There are so many, many oils out there, and there's virtually no way to know which ones will work best for your personal skin or hair chemistry without physically trying them. Sadly, many oils, especially the more exotic ones, are expensive, and even in a 1 ounce size, it quickly becomes cost prohibitive to try them all.

NightBlooming is happy to offer a wide variety of natural oils in 1/32 ounce vials for sampling. To purchase, simply add as many samples as you'd like to the cart, and in the Message to the Seller on checkout, tell me which oil types you would like.


Keep checking back! We plan on adding more oils, and would love to hear suggestions for other oils to add !




Select from:
  • Avocado Oil
  • Borage Oil
  • Coconut Oil (Fractionated)
  • Emu Oil
  • EVOO
  • Evening Primrose Oil
  • Foraha Oil
  • Hazelnut Oil
  • Hemp Seed Oil
  • Kukui Oil
  • Macadamia Oil
  • Pumpkin Seed Oil
  • Rose Hip Oil
  • Shea Nut Oil
  • Sunflower Oil
  • Wheat Germ Oil

Thoughts, comments, suggestions?  Let us know in the comments section!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Introducing the Panacea Cycle and 8 Ounce Sizes!


Introducing the Panacea Yearly Cycle

After carefully considering the feedback we received (which was that there was going to be some sort of uprising if I discontinued the Vegan Salve and that the Winter salve needed to stay forever) and balancing it with concerns on our side (that it isn't practical to keep a ton of salve variations on hand and that it limits the time dedicated to developing new products) here's the scoop on Panacea!
  • Vegan Salve has been renamed Summer SalveRather than taking people's beloved Vegan salve away, we gave it a new name and made it a seasonal offering.  The salve itself is unchanged, only the name has changed!
  • Winter Salve is no longer a Limited Edition itemWhen this salve was developed it was meant to be just a seasonal offering, but the response to it was so overwhelmingly positive that we've decided to keep it on as a seasonal product.
  • Winter and Summer Salves will be each offered for half the yearSummer Salve will be offered from Beltane (May 1st) through Samhain (October 31st), while Winter Salve will be offered the other half of the year, from October 31st through May 1st.  Some stock may extend past the last sale date- for instance, if there are still a few ounces of Summer Salve on hand after October 31st, I'll part those out into 2 ounce and 1/2 ounce containers and will make sure that's the number listed in the store.  When that stock is gone, that's it until May!
  •  Spring Færie Summer Sachets will be shipped with whichever sample is running for that half the yearWhile it'd be awesome to have both Summer and Winter samples included, this leads to having both types on hand all year round, defeating the purpose of splitting them in the first place.
  • Both Winter and Summer Salve will be offered until May 1st 2011:  We want to make sure people have time to find this information and stock up!  Both types of salve (and the Original Panacea's Salve, of course) will be offered through May 1st, after that Winter Salve will be going away until autumn.





Now offering 8 oz. Panacea Containers!

 

In order to help people stock up before their favorite salve is gone for half the year, we're happy to introduce 8 ounce tubs of all three salve types!  Less expensive on a per-ounce basis, these larger tubs let you stock up with a healthy supply.

What's the best way to use such an amount of salve?  Many of our customers use it not only on their hair, but also as lip balm, cuticle cream, hand and foot balm, and body lotion.  Other customers have reported using it as a solid perfume, on their pet's fur, and to oil their wooden hair sticks and forks with.

But will it go bad?  Not at all!  Unrefrigerated Panacea keeps for roughly a year (less so in very warm temperatures).  We recommend putting the large container of salve in the refrigerator and then refilling a smaller container that's kept in the bathroom.  Reuse a 1/2 ounce or 2 ounce Panacea jar for this purpose is!

Buying in a larger quantity like this this will keep the salve fresh, on hand, and save you money.  Comparing prices you have:
  • 1/2 ounce sample Jar: $7.50/ounce
  • 2 ounce Jar: $6.75/ounce
  • 8 ounce bulk jar: $5.43/ounce




So with all these options there's something for everyone and every use!  We'd love to hear what you think of the changes, and please spread the word!  No one wants to miss out getting their favorite salve before it cycles out for the season!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Spring Solstice Quest for the Kingsfoil Leaves

Kingsfoil from the LotR movies

.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ (¸A knight-errant
is a figure of medieval chivalric romance literature. "Errant," meaning wandering or roving, indicating how the knight-errant would typically wander the land in search of adventures. NightBlooming has a quest for those that would dare to take it. Though a challenge, the reward is great!

As NightBlooming's signature style is well known to our customers, we're offering up this Middle Earth pair of a fork and a dangling finishing pin as a reward for the one who can unravel this riddle! The answer lies within one of my sold items, so the better you know NightBlooming’s work, the easier this may be.


.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ (¸Quest for the Kingsfoil Leaves



In Tolkien's Middle Earth Athelas was a plant with healing properties. The athelas plant had long leaves that gave off a sweet and pungent fragrance. The scent had a refreshing and invigorating effect on those who inhaled it. Athelas could be used to ease pain, and it also had the power to counteract the effects of the Black Breath exuded by the Nazgul. Only in the hands of a King of the line of Elendil could the full power of athelas be released, lending to its common name of Kingsfoil or king's leaf.


Kingsfoil Leaves Pin and Fork Set- the reward for this quest!


Aragorn used the athelas plant to help ease the pain of Frodo's Morgul-wound after the Lord of the Nazgul attacked him on Weathertop. He crushed the leaves into boiling water and bathed Frodo's shoulder. Frodo felt the pain and cold lessen, but the athelas could not cure him since there was still a sliver of the Morgul-knife in his body that had to be removed by Elrond. When Frodo and Sam were injured during the battle in Moria, Aragorn used what remained of the athelas he had gathered on Weathertop to treat their wounds.

After the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, Eowyn, Faramir and Merry were all gravely ill as a result of their contact with the Nazgul. In the Houses of Healing, Aragorn asked for athelas. The wise-woman Ioreth recognized the plant by its common name kingsfoil, but the herb-master said he had none since it had no virtue that he knew of, except as mentioned in an old rhyme:

When the black breath blows
and death's shadow grows
and all lights pass,
come athelas! come athelas!
Life to the dying
In the king's hand lying!
The Return of the King: "The Houses of Healing," p. 141


At last six leaves were found, and Aragorn crushed two leaves into steaming water for each patient. As he did so, a freshness filled the room, each time evoking a different feeling to those present, and the patients awoke.

This set seeks to capture these amazing leaves, most potent for those that share the line of a king. This alluring beauty is topped with an oxidized brass leaf and a bronze knotwork filigree. The accompanying finishing pin has a brass know and a spill of brass leaves.

Both the pin and the fork have usable lengths of 2.75 inches and overall lenths of 4.5 inches.

We'll do another quest for the Winter Solstice! So even if you don't win please try again then :)


.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ (¸Rules:

Use the clue to find the right listing, then look in the item description or photos to answer the question. The contest will run for a bit more than a week (closing at 12am on Saturday the 25nd of March), and a winner will be randomly drawn from all those that submitted the right answer.

To submit your answer you can either convo me on Etsy or you can email me the answer directly. You are allowed only ONE GUESS and cannot amend your answer, so make your submission count! The winner will have the sticks shipped to them for free++ anywhere in the world!

Once the winner is announced they may check out with the sticks. Best of luck to you all!

You can see all the sold items here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/NightBlooming/sold

*******************************************

.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ (¸The Quest


Your Hint:
Kronos was the Titan god of time and the ages, especially time where regarded as destructive and all-devouring. He ruled the cosmos during the so-called Golden Age, after castrating and deposing his father Ouranos (the Sky). In fear of a prophecy that he would be in turn be overthrown by his own son, Kronos swallowed each of his children as soon as they were born. Rhea managed to save the youngest, Zeus, by hiding him away on the island of Krete, and fed Kronos a stone wrapped in the swaddling clothes of an infant. The god grew up, forced Kronos to disgorge his swallowed offspring, and led the Olympians in a ten year war against the Titanes, before driving them defeated into the pit of Tartaros.

Many human generations later, Zeus released Kronos and his brothers from this prison, and made the old Titan king of the Elysian Islands, home of the blessed dead.

The Question:
Praytell, what animal is in the center of the crest?

*******************************************

++Free shipping is via First Class USPS. If you would like a different shipping method or insurance, a small charge will apply.

Though the listing is for $0.20 as that is the lowest amount that Etsy will allow an item to be listed for, these fees will be covered by NightBlooming for the winner.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Tools of the Trade

I tend to treat myself to one new major purchase for the store each year. In 2007 it was a system of storage cabinets to hold everything in, 2008 was the bandsaw, 2009 /2010 was a new house with a whole room dedicated to crafting and a laptop, and in 2011 I upgraded our poor 17-year old Dremel tool.

With the excitement of a new toy, I thought it'd be fun to do a post about some of the things I use to make the things you see in the store.

Safety Equipment
 I'm not joking when I say that the safety equipment is THE most important thing.  I use a pair of padded goggles rather than just safety glasses so no bits of crap can fall behind them.  Those I didn't actually buy, they're the ones I got after LASIK and they were much more comfortable than what I had been using and worked better.  And really, that's the key to safety stuff-- it NEEDS to be comfortable.  Don't get the cheapest pair of glasses, they're going to pinch your nose and give you a headache.  Don't get the cheapest pair of ear plugs, you'll "forget" to put them in.  With safety equipment you want something you can wear comfortably and work in for a long period of time.  Don't kid yourself, you're not going to wear it otherwise.  Generally, when working I'll wear (as needed)
  • Safety goggles
  • Hearing protection (I use behind the ear plugs like these)
  • Hair sticks (seriously, hair down around power tools is stupid and dangerous)
  • Leather wrist guard (when using a cutoff wheel on the Dremel)


Dremel 8/200 12V Max Lithium-Ion Cordless

Yeah, it's a bit beastier than I really needed, but I thought to get this one rather than the smaller, lighter 7V cordless because I wanted to be able to use it for other household projects too.  Turns out that weight-wise it's just a hair heavier than my older corded Dremel, and without the stupid cord in the way the balance is a lot nicer too.  On the old Dremel when you'd turn it off the bit would keep spinning until it's inertia wore out and it'd slow to a stop.  With this one, there's an internal brake, so you turn it off and it STOPS.  Very nice.

To go with that I use a keyless chuck  (on the right), which means that I don't have to use a key each time to change out a bit.  It's not expensive, but it's a massive time-saver.


Dremel Workstation
This little guy serves a few purposes.  It works by you locking the Dremel into it and then you can use it as a drill press, which is awesome for getting nice, straight holes.  At the moment the old Dremel is actually in this because then I don't have to go through the whole process of putting the cordless in there each time I want to use it.  Another cool feature is that the entire Dremel pivots in the station and can be locked, effectivly turning it into a mini bench grinder when using an abrasive disk bit.


Hitachi CB67 10 Inch Band Saw
This is what I use for cutting sticks to length and getting them nice and square on the top.  It isn't a huge bandsaw, but it's more than what's needed for what it's being used for.  Before we got the house it was actually on the "dining room table" (read: my work table) of our apartment; now, thankfully, it lives in the workshop in the basement. A side note on safety... you should NEVER NEVER wear gloves when working with either a drill press or a band saw.  Without them you'll just get cut, with gloves on you'll likely get pulled into the machine as the fabric gets grabbed.








Refurbished Dell Latitude Laptop
This might seem like a strange store purchase, especially considering I have a desktop as well, but it has probably been the biggest time-saver.  The problem is that the desktop is not in my workroom, and when I want to check what a stick looked like to recreate it, review what I need to do for a custom order, or look at what things need to go in which boxes I had to literally walk back and forth and back and forth and back and forth.  Now, the laptop sits on the worktable, allowing me to quickly access whatever information I need.  When boxes need to be filled it migrates to my shipping table.  And when I'm making things I can quickly reference previous sticks, custom order requests, as well as listen to music or play a movie in the background.



Thinking about trying this sort of thing?  DO IT! :D  Don't be intimidated by tools, they're not scary.  They are not the sole domain of one gender. They are there to make your job easier.  Besides, girls have the unfair advantage that they'll actually read the directions that come with a new tool.  So you'll be safer AND actually know how to use it properly!


Monday, February 7, 2011

Treasuries Galore!

Well, it would seem that our circle has grown quite a bit! In about a week we went from 13 to 50 followers on the blog! Hurrah! I've mailed out discount codes to everyone, so if you didn't receive one check your spam filter, it will have come from night.blooming.garden@gmail.com. If you still don't see it, just email me and I'll get it out to you right away!


I've been fortunate enough to have been featured in several treasuries as of late. What's the big deal about treasuries? That's how one could (possibly!) make it to the front page of Etsy. Etsians gather up collections of items, and if the treasury gets enough hits/clicks/modmin affection then it will be put on the front page. It hasn't happened to me yet, but perhaps one day!

So on a dreary morning, enjoy these beautiful collections of items!

'For the love of amethyst' by kmaylward



ELISE Plum Hydrange...
$28.95

30% OFF SALE - Love...
$6.30

Wool Silk Felted Ar...
$99.00

Peacock Dangle Earr...
$21.00

The Plea of Amethys...
$15.00

Purple Grapes on a ...
$54.00

Plumeria - Amethyst...
$29.00

Celebritot Incognit...
$48.00

Purple dress with b...
$271.00

White Gold Hydrange...
$29.00

Dusky Pink Flower C...
$16.00

Purple Iris Card bl...
$4.00

Mobius twist scarf,...
$55.00

TWILIGHT WINTER ---...
$20.00

Handwoven Fab -- Ri...
$65.00

Ladies lace ruffle ...
$35.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.



'Irish Roots' by Gibbihunterhope

Irish roots, the emerald isle. Home of my heart. My first engagement ring from my husband was a claddagh, sterling silver with an emerald in the middle. We purchased it in a little shoppe in Boston.


Leather belt 1.5&qu...
$20.00

All green Irish the...
$30.00

RESERVED for Chevel...
$24.00

Pocket Size Tri-Fol...
$30.00

Celtic Knot Trefoil...
$25.00

Karma Squared - 5x7...
$15.00

Celtic Double Swirl...
$20.00

Barna Woods
$20.00

Sterling Silver Cel...
$185.00

Vintage Rare Trifar...
$32.00

Patroness of Poets ...
$13.00

Little Leprechaun F...
$26.00

Motherhood Knot -pi...
$50.00

Vinyl Wall Decal St...
$21.95

Famine Museum Garde...
$4.50

sterling claddagh r...
$12.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.



'In Kingdoms Far, Far Away...' by ChaelenDesigns

This is my first treasury. I have dedicated it to the realms of fantasy and fairytale: if you travelled to some of those far-off magical kingdoms, what might you find there?


Supporting the Moon...
$30.00

Carriage in Waiting...
$20.00

White Dragonfly Hat...
$45.00

SALE Fairytale Prin...
$600.00

Through the Forest ...
$30.00

Emerald Dragon Gold...
$150.00

Bella No.23, Large ...
$

Fallen Leaves Hair ...
$6.00

Wicked Hat Black on...
$85.00

Valenwood Labradori...
$42.50

Sapphire Wind -- We...
$40.00

Peacock Fairy Tutu
$175.00

Royal Blue Fantasy ...
$125.00

Blue Asian Flame Dr...
$160.00

White Princess Witc...
$48.00

Alice in Wonderland...
$1250.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.



'Into the garden' by GemmaCat

Whether it's a window box or acres of fertile soil, our gardens become a little piece of us. In this treasury, I've tried to capture the pure sensation and textures of my ideal garden."In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful." ~Abram L. Urban


11 inch Enchanting ...
$16.99

Copper China Bird H...
$160.00

Real 4 Leaf Clover ...
$32.00

Sun Shower - 8x10 S...
$23.00

Red Oak leaf jar g...
$31.00

The Eye of God Oak ...
$

Moss and Ivy - natu...
$25.00

Moss Green Cabled F...
$40.00

Hummingbird
$52.00

Bramble & Briar sol...
$9.95

Mason Bee Box, Recl...
$27.00

Hair Forks New Mic...
$

Fine art photograph...
$30.00

Womens Tuatara Hood...
$138.50

A Sense of Spring -...
$12.00

Sevenwaters or Six ...
$22.50

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.