Blog Directory ID: 1915
Blog URL: http://cotterjames.blogspot.com
Google Pagerank: N/A
Blog Description: Welcome to my world! I love to write about life on lots of levels. Sometimes my blogs are funny, sometimes a bit sarcastic and ironic, but they are always informative and entertaining. Feel free to leave comments and ideas!
Blog Category: Health & Wellness Blogs
Blog Owner: Julia Peterson
Blog Added: March 14, 2008 08:19:17 PM
Audience Rating: General Audience
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United States Number Hits: 6 |  Blog Rating: 3.00 |  Rate Blog: Submit rating |  Review Blog |
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Top 9 Reasons to Attend a Craft Show
Spring is coming. Farmers' markets are opening soon and County Fairs will soon be putting up the tents. Between now and Christmas, it will be easy to find lists of open craft shows and festivals every week.SO! This is the perfect time to lay out the best reasons why anyone would want to go to a craft show....
1. Free Entertainment. Walking around on a nice day beats sitting in a quiet park enjoying a good read.
2. Free Lunch. Usually there are several food vendors offering samples. Feel free to eat up! Don't be concerned with the signs that say 'one per person', and, 'no double dipping'. We all know the vendor has included the cost of the samples in the retail price of the item. You could buy it...but you don't need to buy it now because you are full.
3. Free Babysitting. Bring all of your children and send them down the aisle ahead of you. They gain important product info from all the merchandise by handling, ripping, throwing and hugging every single thing that strikes their fancy. You, the parent will know just which vendors are tolerant, angry or preparing an invoice to hand you when and if you catch up with the kids. It's relaxing to know the kids are annoying someone else for a change.
4. Free Guest Lectures. You are at liberty to expound on the any vendor's technique, comparing it nostagically with all the identical things your grandmother, sister, neighbor or you, yourself have made just exactly like the vendor....only different.
5. Price Comparison Skills. This is where you get to instruct the vendor about the pricing you have seen, or paid at Walmart for the 'same thing'.
6. Free Research. Bring your notebook so you're ready to write down all the answers to your questions like 'where do you buy your supplies?', 'how much did that cost to make?', 'do you make money?', and 'where can I learn to do this so I can make money too?'.
7. Take advantage of the backgound noise to continue an intimate conversation with your friend regarding your latest medical procedure while you absentmindedly flutter through all the items on a vendor's table; constructively blocking access for others who really are interested in buying something.
8. Samples! We already mentioned the food so now I'm referring to those vendors who put out samples of their products, hoping you'll like them so much, you may just buy something in the future. You can gather a lot of samples and put them in a basket to give as a birthday gift...now you don't have to buy anything! So ignore the signs that say 'one per person' and just tell the vendor you'll also take a couple for your neighbor, sister, grandmother or daughter too.
9. Ideas! Cruise around for the latest trends and ideas for your own production! Be sure to take notes and refer to #6 above.
So there you have it! Nine very good reasons to attend a show and enjoy the day!
Soap! What is it worth?
There are so many soapmaking books on the shelves today that it's a little overwhelming. Of course you will be attracted to the books with the best pictures, but in my experience, the info in those kinds of 'pretty' books is often off the mark. Usually, those kinds of books are written by the publisher's staff writers and not by experienced, real soapmakers. Staff writers gather info on a chosen subject and put it together in an organized manner, mistakes and all, and add some pretty pictures and a price tag. You buy it, you try it and it's not good. If you are interested in making soap, as an alternative, you may be able to find a class to see it done.Just the other day, I went along with a friend who talked me into signing up for a soapmaking class as a hoot. Okay, it was kind of goofy (not to mention expensive) but I couldn't say no. I call it a 'class' but actually it was a demonstration. That means I paid a lot of money to watch the teacher make soap while she talked about how to do it. We didn't get to do anything but watch. Of course, I was in the unusual position of knowing why she was doing what she was doing, but most of the others there didn't. She sounded good, but in reality she didn't really teach much; she demonstrated a lot. In fact she was a little defensive when a couple of the 'students' asked some perceptive questions like "how much does one bar of soap cost to make?" She hedged nicely by responding, "it depends on the ingredients and where you buy them".
When the student asked again, "well how much does this bar of soap cost that you are making", she responded, "well I buy my supplies in bulk so it costs me less than it would for someone making just one batch, plus my time is worth money too, and I have overhead." Okay, nice hedge again.
Fact is that handmade soap costs about $1.50 a bar to make. I guess she didn't want that getting around especially since she was selling her soap at the end of class for $5 a bar. Now I'm not coming down on the girl for making money on her soap or anyone else who sells soap for a profit for that matter. Is the soap worth $5 a bar? Maybe.
As with any business or hobby, the soapmaker buys stock (raw materials) from which to produce their craft. Most of the product is produced on spec which means they make it now with the hope of selling it in the near future. They sign up for shows or rent a booth in a craft mall and the buy product liability insurance. Those are expenses that must be considered on the 'cost' side of making a bar of soap. Supplies include paper for labels, jars for lotion, boxes for packaging, bags for sales, sales pads, brochures, advertising, molds, ingredients, colorants, ribbon, price tags, displays, tables, wax paper, gas for the car to travel to shows or pick up supplies, make deliveries and pay credit card fees for those sales made to customers using credit cards.
Then there is the time involved in making the soap, wrapping the soap, selling the soap and the time involved in getting it to the place where you will buy it. But I think the greatest expense is an expense that isn't all that easy to quantify. It's the cost of including a little bit of herself into each and every batch of soap she makes to put out there for your consideration. The cost of her creativity, hopes and dreams of expressing herself is in that simple bar of soap.
So take a class, read a book and give it a try. You are the best judge of how much that bar of soap is worth. Especially after you have put it all together and discover first hand the process from start to finish. Then again, you could just cheerfully buy a wonderful bar of soap from your local soapmaker.
Clean the Home Naturally
There is no need to buy separate cleaning supplies for each purpose in your home. You can save lots of money and exposure to chemical solvents by trying these easy-to-make cleaning solutions. Most of the ingredients are already in your pantry and laundry room.Borax: 20 Mule Team variety from the grocery store is a wonderful disinfectant and absorbs odors. It softens water so laundry detergent and soaps work more effectively. Try adding 1/2 cup the wash cycle before adding the clothes. If you have a front loading machine, dissolve the borax in a quart of hot water and pour it into the clothing before you close the door and start the cycle.
Rubbing Alcohol: The same rubbing alcohol you probably have in the bathroom is good for mixing with vinegar in equal parts with hot water to clean most surfaces and tile. Fill a spray bottle with one third each of vinegar and alcohol and finish with warm water.
Salt: Fine grain table salt is great as a gentle abrasive for cleaning the tub and sink. It's good for cleaning copper pots and burned on food in pans and glass casserole dishes. Salt cuts grease and is really affective when combined with natural liquid soap. Put a squirt of liquid soap on a damp cloth, sprinkle a liberal amount of salt onto the surface of the copper pot and rub gently with the soap cloth. Rinse with warm water and polish dry.
Baking Soda: We all know that keeping an open box of baking soda in the refrig helps to keep odors down. Did you know you can also dissolve it in hot water and use in a spray bottle to remove offensive odors from the air? Baking Soda can be added to the laundry wash cycle to help eliminate odors and soften the wash water. Use a half cup per load.
Vinegar: The mild acid in the vinegar is a great disinfectant, grease cutter and stops lime build up in the shower from hard water. Combined with baking soda it helps loosen baked-on food in the oven and in pots and pans; the foaming reaction generates oxygen and heat to help make clean up of burned food come up easily. Oven: Wet the burned food area liberally with vinegar and sprinkle baking soda on the area. It helps if the oven is still warm. Pots and Pans: Pour vinegar into the pot, add the baking soda and gently heat the pot to increase the action. Allow it to cool to room temp or overnight. The burned-on food should be easy to remove.
Keep a spray bottle of vinegar and borax in the shower. Spray the walls and around the tub a few times to keep soap scum and hard water deposits from building up.
Essential Oil: Many essential oils smell as good as they are effective in cutting grease and disinfect bathrooms and kitchens. Sweet Orange, Grapefruit, Rosemary, Cinnamon and Lavender essential oils are my favorite. Mere drops are needed and they even help to keep you happy while you do the tough work. I like to put 5 or 6 drops into the vacuum bag just before I turn it on. The scent is nice and helps clean the air. Add a few drops to spray bottles.
Ammonia, NON-Sud sing: The best cleaner for windows and glass.
NEVER COMBINE AMMONIA WITH CHLORINE BLEACH! EVER!
Use 2 tablespoons of ammonia to a quart of warm water in a spray bottle. You can also add 1 tablespoon of baking soda and a small squirt of liquid soap.
Washing Soda (calcium carbonate): Not to be confused with baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), you'll find washing soda in the laundry aisle at the grocery store. A paste of washing soda and vinegar are especially affective for tough laundry dirt like grass stains and perspiration stains. Dissolve 1/4 c of washing soda and 1/4 c baking soda in a spray bottle of very hot water and keep it handy to spritz stains before they go into the hamper or before they go into the machine.
Corn Starch: Draws fresh oil and grease stains from clothing and carpets. Corn Starch mixed with Borax and Baking Soda can be worked into pet urine stains and food stains in carpets. Work the powder in with a cloth whetted with vinegar. The powder will fizz and work it in some more. Cover the area with aluminum foil and allow it dry for a day or so then vacuum it up completely. You may need to repeat the process a few times. Use equal parts borax, baking soda and corn starch, mix well and store in a container.
Peroxide: Good for oxidizing protein based stains on wood and color fast fabric. Apply peroxide directly to the stain, allow it to work for a few minutes then wipe up. Rinse the area with warm water and dry.
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ALL PURPOSE CLEANING POWDER
2 cups Baking Soda
2 cups Borax
2 cups Salt
Combine thoroughly and store in a closed container. Use a scoop in the toilet. Apply with a damp cloth for cleaning the sink and tub.
Use 1/4 cup to a gallon of hot water to wash the floor. Rinse with warm water and dry. Put the solution in a spray bottle for the shower walls. Add a little vinegar to the bottle for tough water deposits.
ALL PURPOSE SPRAY/LAUNDRY
1/4 cup washing soda
1/4 cup baking soda
Hot water to fill spray bottle, but leave a little room for
a good squirt of liquid soap
ALL PURPOSE CARPET CLEANER
Equal parts: Borax, Baking Soda, Cornstarch
mix thoroughly and store in air tight container.
Thanks for reading! Hopefully we can all do our part to keep excessive chemical cleaners out of the water supply!
C O T T E R J A M E S
Welcome to CotterJames in a Natural World!
Our company, CotterJames, began in 1994 as the official start of graduating from a studio workshop to opening our first commercial retail shop. The move was exciting and scary all at once, and we have worked hard as our vision renewed itself every day making custom natural soaps, cremes, salves and personal care products for your skin care needs.
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Our love of all things natural and our knowledge of herbs led to shelves filled with wonderful jars and pots of Fruit Jewels, (our low sugar version of jam and jelly), and culinary herb combinations for the kitchen. We added custom blended teas and functional pottery from our local artisan friends. We began producing natural candles and aromatic beeswax fresheners, herb-dyed silk scarves and cotton bags for aromatic herbs sachets. We continue to support and teach natural soapmaking and herbal care with classes open to the public
in late spring and fall each year.
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As the world continues to reach back to hold on to the simpler things of the past for comfort and strength, we continue to do everything possible to ensure that the simple, healthful and beautiful handmade talents of the past are still practiced in the present. And in the present day, we also go a step farther by ensuring that our commitment to these crafts involve truly
natural methods and ingredients.
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CotterJames is dedicated to the concept the Natural is important. And while it seems the word, 'Natural', has been stretched and misused to the point that marketing hype has blurred any real definition, we would like to state that for us, Natural means synthetic free. That translates to every oil, butter, herb and ingredient we use. All ingredients are minimally processed and unaltered by means of synthetic combination or the product of a laboratory process.
We do not use dilutants, solvents or preservatives.
We do not use petroleum oils or commercially produced 'butters'.
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We DO use Avocado oil pressed from Avocados, Sweet Almond oil pressed from Sweet Almonds, pure Lavender augustifolia essential oil steam distilled from Lavender augustiofolia flower spikes and so on.
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As time goes on, join us here for tips and news about our products and formulas to make your own at home. Feel free to send in a question or comment. We love to help if we can and look forward to sharing the natural world with you!
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