Bathgasm

Relax,take a break and some time for yourself! In a busy life it is important to take the time to slow down and care for yourself. It is not always easy to do with a full time job and little ones at home. Enjoy a soothing visit to www.bathgasm.etsy.com.

by Bathgasm

Hi! My name is Alyson, and I am the owner / fizzy maker here at Bathgasm. :) The inspiration for my crazy, colorful bath products actually came to me during a trip to Europe. I visited a small bath product shop in Zurich, Switzerland, and while I loved the idea of their bath bombs, I wasn't impressed with the lack of selection in colors and scents, nor with their high prices! When I got back home, I decided to make my own business with all my ideas for what I would want in a luxury bathing experience. And here I am, making high quality products and loving it! :)My absolute favorite thing about making my luxury bath products is working with my wonderful customers. They have such wonderful and creative ideas, which makes it a tremendous pleasure to create their custom items! Plus, I get to work with my hands in a delicious smelling medium all day. I have a personal mantra that I often have to repeat: "Do not eat the bath bomb, do not eat the bath bomb..."

My fizzy workshop is actually a tremendously large bathroom in my house that has been transformed into a work-only area. It has wonderful natural light from huge windows and comes complete with a huge bathtub so I can do lots of product testing! ;) My wonderful fiance also built fizzy drying racks into a small closet in our home, so not only do I have a great work space, but I have a humidity-free area in which to let my fizzies cure. These steps ensure that your fizzies will be made and stored in clean, well-kept area designed specifically for that purpose. It's too gross when bath products can come into contact with yucky stuff while being made!

In the future, I plan to introduce even more variety into my bath product collection. Bath melts, sugar scrubs, and adorable bath bombs for kids are just a few of the products that I will reveal in the upcoming months. I am also always adding new scents and products based on customer suggestions. Keep checking back at http://bathgasm.etsy.com/ for these new items, as well as my periodic SALES and GIVEAWAYS! :) You can also keep track of Bathgasm news at http://bathgasm.blogspot.com/ and on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/bathgasm. Thanks so much for reading my story!

Cherish Her Gifts

Jean creates handmade items that make people smile. Enjoy a visit to her shops
http://www.amaebi.etsy.com/ and http://www.grimcute.etsy.com/.

by Amaebi

Hi my name is Jean. My husband and I live in the desert with five kooky cockatiels and one adorable puppy. I am currently in medical school, which really eats into me physically and mentally; I craft when I can, because it keeps me sane.I’m crazy about color; I think my favorite color changes every year. It is normal for my desk at home to have tons of unfinished projects and scraps of paper with ideas sitting around on it. Typically I craft on the couch or at my desk while multi-tasking on the computer. I have even taken my yarn to school to crochet in class. It helps me focus, really! I use baskets, sewing bins, and lock-and-lock (airtight) tupper-ware bins to store my supplies and projects. Tiny ziplocks keep all of my individual jewelry pieces from scratching each other, and I have an entire craft box for just doll eyes! My favorite tools are my clear ruler, pliers, and shiny purple aluminum crochet hook (it makes me happy).

My first true craft obsession involved tsumami hana-kanzashi (Japanese floral hair ornaments). Many of my pieces can be seen in my Flickr album collection: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10936702@N07/ From there, I branched out with my main Etsy shop Amaebi Jewelry http://www.amaebi.etsy.com/. I then started a second shop, Grimcute http://www.grimcute.etsy.com/ , which has funky plushies and amigurumi crochet items. Amaebi is more for creating pretty and affordable accessories, while with Grimcute I try to create handmade items that make people smile.

Last year my mom passed away from breast cancer. Sometimes when I remember my crafty mom, who made so many beautiful things (she loved floral arranging and Christmas ornaments), I am too heartbroken to do anything, and at other times crafting is a quiet sanctuary where I can remember her and cherish her gifts. I miss creating with her very much."

Jenny Hoople and Her Bunny

by jennyhoople

My name is Jenny Hoople, my business is Authentic Arts http://www.jennyhoople.etsy.com/ . A few years ago, I saw job's tears for sale in Johnny's seed catalog. The description said that it was a natural bead, so I thought I'd try it out. I ended up with a whole tin of seeds, but they were so light that when I made a necklace with them, the clasp kept coming around to the front. So they sat, unused, in my basement for a few years.

This July, my mom and dad were visiting and my mom, as usual, wanted to stop by a craft store. While I was waiting for her, I kept walking up and down the bead aisle thinking about what would go well with the grey job's tears. I bought a few things and made a necklace. My mom liked it so much that she asked me to make her one, and since I had materials left over, I just tried to come up with as many different designs as I could. Well, when I got done with that, I had to buy more materials and really, I couldn't stop making necklaces! A lot of things were coming together in my life, bringing me to this, so I jumped on it and started selling them. I decided to use knotted silk because I like its history, it's more romantic! I choose "natural" materials (stone, bone, wood, shell, silk) because even when altered by human hands and arranged and strung by them, the beauty of the processes that formed them breaks through and dazzles me. It's so fulfilling to finally be able to use my creative side (B.A. in fine arts, millions of crafty hobbies) as a part of my livelihood. You can see from the picture that my workroom is...the coffeetable in my living room! I sit on the bean-bag chair. Please note the neglected fishtank and my small bunny helper under the table :)





















I've always needed to work and live in the same space, I need to be where the action is!