Wednesday Review ~Teresa's Plants & More~

I LOVE terrariums! I have a black thumb, if it's green and leafy then it's best if it does not enter my home. But moss....oh lovely, resilient, earthy moss! I don't have to worry about murdering moss. Even if I forget to do the very minimal watering that it requires, it just goes dormant and will usually come back to life if you start watering again. Awesome! So, when I saw all of the terrariums on Etsy I was smitten. Teresa's Plants & More offers a huge variety of terrariums and kits to start your own.

Teal Blue Butterfly Moss Terrarium -$22

Large Moss and Lichen Terrarium Kit- $22

My sweet Mr. got me one of these adorable birds with moss for Christmas.
Songbird Moss Planters- $10

If you are like me and can't seem to keep plants living longer than a week, then I urge you to check out Teresa's Plants & More. She is really great to work with, I ordered just some moss to make my own tiny terrariums and she was more than happy to answer any questions I had. And I love the build your own terrariums option. You can find some awesome containers at thrift stores. Every time I go to one I see just tons of containers that would make perfect terrariums and I wish I had just shelves upon shelves to fill with them!
And you can find many little accessories on Etsy to adorn your moss.

Tiny Wee Blue House- $12
Miniature Woman Reading a Book- $2
(isn't this just awesome? and what a great price!)

So go ahead, don't be afraid to add some green to your house! I promise, if this girl can manage moss, then I have faith anyone can :)

Wednesday Review ~Whiff and Sniff Candles~

I'm not a candle girl. I'm a tart girl! I absolutely LOVE my tart burners. Candles pale in comparison to me. Their scent throw is just not as good usually, and buying a whole candle is so much more commitment than just one single tart. For the price of one candle I could get 10-12 different scents and change them every few days! Yeah, I love variety and options.
I also love that there are a billion different burner styles out there, again a one up on candles. I currently have 5 different burners, each a different style. I enjoy walking from one room to the next, leaving one delicious scent and then entering another. My nose loves me :)
So, that's why I've chosen Whiff and Sniff Candles for my review today! Although the name is kind of misleading, considering I've just spent the first few lines downing candles and I chose a company with candle as part of their name. But Whiff and Sniff actually sell wax tarts, or as the owner Kim calls them, "Scent Shooters". They come in small plastic cups that you just pop out right into your burner.


Tarts are also referred to as "wickless candles", hence the candle in the shop name. I just refer to them as "aroma awesomeness". I've tried tons of different wax tarts over the years, and I can honestly say that Whiff and Sniff are my favorite, by far. They have a long lasting life and just amazing scent power. I use my tarts 3-4 separate burns, which for me is approximately 4-5 hours each burn. That's a lot of life! How long the tart lasts really depends on the scent.
So far, my absolute favorite scent ever is "Angry Aphrodite", which is a Whiff and Sniff original. Kim's description of Angry Aphrodite is
"A sweet musky bouquet of mandarin orange, bergamot, and tangerine enhanced by hints of fresh peaches, strawberries, raspberries, cotton candy, and sugary caramels. Love Spell and Pink Sugar basically had a baby and we named it Angry Aphrodite."
It's seriously one of the most delicious scents I've ever burned in either tart or candle form. I also enjoy "She's My Cherry Pie" and "Dee's Dessert".
Kim also puts together different packs of 12 different scents. Right now she has a Slammin' Summer Pack that I believe will be my next indulgence. Every single scent sounds amazing and right up my alley. I love fruity, clean, and sweet scents.
The newest scent offering is a fabulously Easter inspired scent called "Pink Peep Cupcakes". And there is also a charity scent, Blueberry a la Mode, in honor of The American Cancer Society Relay For Life®. 100% of the proceeds made off this scent will go towards Kim's relay team's goal.

The price of the wax shooters is great for the amount of life you get out of them. Single shooters are $1 each, with the special 12 packs priced at a great $10 each.
To find out more about wax tarts and Whiff and Sniff in general, check out their FAQ page.
If you are looking for a way to make your home smell amazing, or for a great housewarming gift, I highly recommend Whiff and Sniff Candles!

Wednesday Review ~The Pixie~

All of you readers with Etsy shops, listen up! If you're looking for a new, unique promo to send out with orders you'll want to check in with Catherine at The Pixie. About a month ago I put out an Alchemy request on Etsy for an idea that I had for a simple yet useful promo item. I got quite a few great bids, but one really caught my eye. From Catherine's bid I could tell that she was right on the same page as I was about what I was wanting. I've been wanting to participate in a sample box for quite some time, but with the type of product I make it's impossible for me to actually send in samples (for those of you who aren't familiar with sample boxes, check out The Little Black Box and Sampler Village). I wanted a promo that would represent my work with a few pictures, but also be useful and not just immediately go in the trash. So I came up with the idea to make a small matchbook notepad with a few small pictures of my work for the first few pages. Catherine came in with a great bid, not only on price but with the detail and thought that she put into the project. She had the fabulous idea of recycling tea bag wrappers as the pages of the notebook, how cool is that?! And so I present to you the result of her very hard work :)


The first 5 pages are various pictures of different products I offer, and the rest is the tea wrapper blank sheets for jotting down notes. I am so thrilled with the end result, I'm actually kicking myself that I didn't think of it sooner. I urge anyone looking for great promo items to contact Catherine now. Not only will you love your new promos, but she was absolutely wonderful to work with. Communication was top notch, and she's just a neat lady all around! Contact her at The Pixie on Etsy for pricing. I highly recommend it!

Wednesday Review ~Best Art Studios~

I'm still feeling a bit under the weather, so I'm going to make this short. I simply love the art from Jamie Best at Best Art Studios. The shop is a combination of art by Jamie and her husband Mike. I'm the proud owner of 3 beautiful prints and one gorgeous necklace from this great shop. In fact, you can see 2 of the works here, above our mantle,

(Obviously, I have a thing for trees...)

My husband bought this beauty for me for Christmas
One day I will own one of her large multi cavas pieces

So if you're looking for some beautiful artwork for your walls, or even your neck, click on over to Best Art Studios, there is an amazing collection to choose from.

Wednesday Review ~Mama K's Aromatic Play Clay~

Okay, who doesn't like play dough? I mean, I'm 29 and I still love to get my hands on the squishy colorful stuff. So when it was time to introduce it to my son, I knew I wanted to get some of the wonderful handmade variety that I had found on Etsy. I settled on Mama K's Aromatic Play Clay due to the essential oil scents and the great colors.










The play clay comes in 7 different scents to invoke different moods:

Soothed ~ Lavender
Eased ~ Bergamot
Inspired ~ Lemongrass
Balanced ~ Geranium
Uplifted ~ Sweet Orange
Refreshed ~ Cardamom
Relaxed ~ Chamomile

Prices range from $4.99 for one scent to $30 for the complete set of 7.




From the Mama K site, "Mama K's Aromatic Play Clay is a 100% natural modeling clay made using only certified GF* flours and organic essential oils. No synthetics, no artificial dyes, nothing but natural. Feels great to play with."

We got the set of all 7 and my favorite scent is the lemongrass, so fresh smelling! My son loves the vibrant colors, especially the geranium. He received a small set of the mass market play dough and when we pull them all out he always picks the Mama K's first! I think he likes the feel of it better, it's softer and molds easier. And I love to just knead and roll it around, it's a great stress reliever.
So if you are in the market for a great gift for a kid, or even a fun loving adult, head on over to Mama K's!

Your crayons are jealous of my crayons ~a review!~

Unless you too own some Chasedreams crayons!
So, I was perusing Etsy a couple of weeks ago, intent on finding my little guy some new crayons. I was tired of having to pick crayon after crayon up off the floor at restaurants, because my dear child thought it was hilarious to roll them all over the place. Dork. Anyways, I knew there were a ton of cool crayons in all different shapes, colors, and sizes on Etsy and I was determined to find the perfect ones for my boy. After quite a few pages I tripped over these lovelies,


Umm, hello? Awesome much?! I'm not even that into the whole mustache thing, but really. They're crayons. And they're mustaches. I mean, the coolness factor is just apparent. So I decided to check out the other crayon greatness in Chasedreams's shop. Lo and behold, I hit the jackpot! I found these treasures,



and I knew then that these must be mine, uh, I mean, my son's. All of Chasedreams crayons are made from recycled, non-toxic crayons and are packaged in eco-friendly biodegradable bags made from plants. They also have super cute heart, rock, fortune cookie, and building block shapes. Andrea is super friendly and provides top notch customer service. And most importantly? My boy LOVES his new crayons! He actually spends a ton of time just playing with the different figures as well as coloring, so they keep him doubly entertained. And the moustaches keep the adults entertained since we all have to hold them to our lips and giggle like school children. Yeah. we're simple like that.