YBC artist feature - Traci Weber and WalkAboutYoga

I love talking about artists, handmade, and small businesses.  And today I want to share with you

Traci and her business Walk About Yoga.

I have heard so much about essential oils, and I have used them in some of my all natural body products I sell at the local farmers market.  

Traci has this adorable inner peace aromatherapy necklace in her Scott's Marketplace shop.

You just place a few drops of the oil in the clay bottle and the oil is absorbed into the cork.

I especially like the upside down owl on the label.

That's seems to be the story of me...upside down.

Now let's hear some more of Traci's story.

I love the name of my company- WalkAboutYoga (WAY). After completing my 200 hour Yoga Certification I decided I would like to offer a unique yoga class.WAYs  class offers a 90 minute hike with yoga stops along with way in my beautiful hometown, Milford, CT. Locations include Silver Sands Beach and downtown.  Outdoor yoga frees the yoga spirit, and the open space expands the heart. I think WalkAboutYoga tells the story of my company perfectly!

Once WAY closed for the season I wanted to offer something to my students and the public, that involved yoga and all that yoga offers. What could I do?? What else says YOGA?

Mala beads, Yoga mats and essential oils- So, I started making them!   All WAY'S handcrafted products are made with love, intention and gratitude, they are purified with sage and blessed before they are shipped.

WAY places a high value on giving back, living with kindness and compassion.  We have created the Give-A-WAY Initiative. You can't keep what you don't give a way. On the first of every month we Give-A-WAY one Essential Oil Roll-On or a gift certificate for a walkabout to a special recipient that has been nominated. Just our WAY of giving back.

Being a Mom and Pop shop, minus the Pop. There are lots of challenges! Especially, since I have a 9-5 job!  WalkAboutYoga means so much to me, I love feeling that I am making a difference, that I am sharing my love of yoga with others. If I inspire one person, WOW, would that be great!  So, I stay up late, get up early and work on the weekend- and I LOVE it.

I love all of the products I create~ each one is infused with a deep connection to the person receiving it. A lot of me goes into each product. Right now I especially love the Mala bead necklaces. I in vision the stillness, calmness and ease of the person using them to aide their meditation practice.

 I live, play, teach and design in Milford, Ct, along with my husband, daughter and furbabies.

Traci also has her own website, WalkAboutYoga.net, where you can learn even more about her, and purchase other yoga equipment not listed in her Scott's store.

So check out her site, and I'll see y'all tomorrow.

Be blessed,

Debbi

Saturday Shopping Link Up - relaxing

With the fun, and stress, of the Christmas season, what do you do to de-stress and relax?  I personaly like to sit with a nice cup of tea and a crochet hook (or a game on my laptop).  Here are a few items I found to help us all relax...

This relax pillow in charcoal grey looks so comfy...snuggle up against it with a good book, or a good blog...and if the color is not for you, hop over to the shop Honey Pie Design for other great pillows to complete your home decor.

And speaking of tea, we have personally ordered from the loose leaf before, I got Amanda some tea for her digestive track, and she enjoys it.  So if you don't sleep well, try this Organic Skullcap tea for your insomnia.  Your loose tea comes with a reusable cloth teabag.


Now let me show you relaxed....Owen spent the night last night and stayed up late to watch Wipeout with Gamma and Poppa.  Yes, he has our off-center sense of humor.  Then he got up at 6am when the other kids left for school, so by afternoon, he was tired delirious.  We had to take Hannah to an appointment, and there was an oh-so overstuffed and comfortable couch in the lobby.  Here is how Owen waited for his aunt...

He started sitting up, but when I nudged him, he just fell over...poor kid, I laughed!  And I'm sorry for the poor quality...I took these with my cell phone, and then I couldn't get them off the phone to my laptop, so I had to email it to myself. heehee.

Ok, so now for our party...as you know, the theme is relaxing...so link up anything you sell, or even your blog posts, that you find relaxing.  You can even go ahead and link up someone else who helps you relax.  Then share, share, share!

Debbi

the day before Thanksgiving, we need treats!

I like to spend Thanksgiving Day with my family and watching the AKC dog show, so I try to do all my baking and cooking the day before, which happens to be today.  But before I start, I did some "window" shopping for all of you that don't like to bake, and I found some really neat treats to share.

First up, cookies.  My kids like cookies more then cakes because you can eat while you walk and play, so this bright colored turkey sugar cookie is a great idea.  They are all natural (no preservatives) and hand decorated, and at only $28.00 a dozen, I think it's a good deal.  Check out the other treats at this shop, Surfsupcakes.  Now I'm going to share what else I found at this shop that has nothing to do with Thanksgiving, but I just love it!

The next easiest treat to eat (after cookies) are cupcakes.  And these are so cute, almost too cute to eat.  Now at this shop, Kati's Kupcakes, you supply the cupcakes, she supplies the toppers.  So when people ooh and aah over your dessert table, you can still take some credit for yourself, lol.  These adorable Thanksgiving toppers are created with fondant, which I lovingly call fondon't (because I can't).  And we all know that fondant is really just edible play dough. hahaha.

Now I don't know if your husband is like mine, but when it comes to turkey, the bigger, the better.  It doesn't matter how many people may be coming for dinner, 2 or 20, he always gets a 25 pound turkey.  So we always have turkey leftovers, and while I love cold turkey sandwiches, I can only eat so many.  I was thrilled to find this Southern Kentucky Family Turkey Hash Stew recipe at The Kitchen Witch 3.  There is nothing like an old family handed down recipe to make your family get-together complete.

Ok, now it's time for me to get dressed and get moving.  The boys will be here sometime late tonight, and I AM SOOOO EXCITED!!!!   I pray everyone of you readers have a very wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving.  I'll see you all Friday.

Debbi

Saturday Shopping Link Up - chocolate

Today we went out to dinner to one of our favorite restaurants, Golden Corral.  They have a fairly large selection of food, so everyone in our family can find something to eat.  Of course, our favorite food bar is the dessert bar.  And they have a new item there, a chocolate fountain!  I was in heaven.....I love those things.  I could just stick my face in one, or give me a straw....a really big straw, hahaha.  So that is this weeks theme, chocolate.   Chocolate color, chocolate food, things you can wear while eating chocolate, you get my drift.  Here are my 3 Etsy chocolate picks...

First is a Chocolate Covered Strawberry Drizzle Dessert Bar from Love My Suds.  Now, while these look so delicious, you can't eat them.  This is a bar of.....soap!  You should see the soaps for sale in this shop....if you're on a diet, these are the treats to get, no calories.

I remember pigging out on these Hostess cupcakes while growing up.  No box was safely hidden in my house, I was always able to sniff them out, and snarf them up!  (I liked the orange ones too).  These earrings are made of polymer clay, and they can be found in the Etsy shop Artwonders.  You can find tons of miniature food clay items there.

And last, I found my favorite dipped in my favorite.  Oreo cookies dipped in white chocolate.  These we eat, my friend.  They are listed for weddings, but I'm sure they taste as good as they look anytime.  But be warned, when you visit the shop of Sweettoothesweetie you could be there all day trying to decide which treat you absolutely need to eat!


Ok, there are my picks for chocolate.  Now it's your turn.  Link up something from your shop or blog that involves chocolate.  Remember, you don't have to stick with just Etys items, if you sell on Artfire, or Zibbet, or any other venue, please join my party.  And you don't have to stick to chocolate, share your favorite item.  Just remember to link and share, because the more people, the better the party. :~D
Debbi

here kitty kitty

Here's some Besteam kitty kitties! This week I pulled 3 totally different shops for my BESTeam weekly feature, and was "almost" stumped as to how to tie them all together for my feature. That's when I noticed that all 3 shops had a cat item for sale, so here we are, "here kitty kitty kitty". lol

First up from the shop of UpcycleRecycleReuse I found this way too cute orange tabby kitten.  I had a kitten just like this as a kid, we called him Kris Kringle (yes I brought him home at Christmastime).  This Orange Tabby Cat envelope was created from recycled paper, which is the foundation of this Etsy shop.  You can also find UpcycleRecycleReuse on facebook, and follow the Recycle blog.

Next I found this Vintage Siamese Cat Perfume bottle and vase in the wonderful Hawaiian shop, Redemption Art.  Let me tell you....Connie finds the neatest stuff, and graciously shares them with us.  You can like Connie on facebook, or follow her tweets on twitter.  But I'm telling you, her blog is a must read.  She has a great way with words, and shares life on the island so well, you'll feel like you're really there, so bring your lei and grass skirt and enjoy.

And finally Michelle from Mossy Creek Soaps handpainted this Black Cat on a pumpkin for those who celebrate Halloween.  Michelle makes all her soaps from natural ingredients right in her own studio in Georgia, USA.  She also teaches soap making there and in case you were wondering, she is a certified soap maker with the Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild.  And you can find her all over the web...at her own site, read her blog, on facebook, on twitter, and the first place I met her, on Creating the Hive, another cool social site for artists.

Well, that's all the Best for this week.  You can click on any of the links above to get you where you want to go.  And remember, if your an an Etsy artist that likes to blog, and is looking for support, friendship, and promotion, the BESTeam is the team for you.

Debbi

homemade pasta sauce

Spending the week getting ready for the first day of school *dancing a jig* got my blog schedule messed up.  Oh well, the kids are off and my house is quiet, who needs Calgon when you have school buses.  Just kidding, I love my kids, which is why I try to cook healthy food for them.  And so today I decided to share my recipe for homemade pasta sauce.  Not only is it healthier than jar sauce (no preservatives), it tastes so much better too. 

First you start with the manual labor.  I'm lucky, my Owen is a farmer at heart and loves working outside.  He will run thru (and over) my gardens and plants, lol.  It's a good thing that he can't drive the tractor yet, but give him time!  This is our "antique" tractor.  Yes, it still runs, sometimes, with a lot of coaxing (and smoking).  But I think this was it's last summer.  Time to look for a new "toy" for my hubby.  Ok, back to child labor.

Owen enjoys helping me pick our tomatoes.  But we were coming to the end of our harvest, so the basket was only half full of smaller tomatoes.  I hate the end of summer, but I was getting tired of harvesting and canning, hahaha.  Now for the sauce.  First you start with the meat.  You can use ground beef, but I've also made this with ground pork, turkey, italian sausage, and even breakfast sausage, whatever you have handy.  Brown the meat with lots of

onions and garlic.  I prefer to grate my onions instead of chopping them.  I like the flavor of onions, I just don't like biting into them.  And grating them makes the meat juicier so I do this when making hamburger patties too.  And don't be skimpy with the garlic either.  It is very healthy for you.  I use about 4-5 big cloves for around 1.5 pounds of meat.  While the meat is browning, prepare the tomatoes.  There are different ways of skinning tomatoes, and all of them are messy :~D  I boil a small pot of water, then toss in the tomatoes 2 or 3 at a time.  When the skin starts to split, I toss them into a sink full of cold water.  When they are cool enough to handle, just peel and chop.  But remember, this is the messy step.  Keep paper towels handy, and use a sharp knife to chop the tomatoes.  After the meat is brown, drain off the excess grease and add the tomatoes.  You will probably need to add some tomato paste, but that will depend on how meaty your tomatoes are, and how thick you like your sauce.  Then we move onto the herbs....the flavor of the sauce.  If at all possible, use fresh herbs, they just have more flavor than dried herbs, and the sauce just looks better.  And remember, when using fresh herbs, you will need more than when a recipe calls for dried herbs.  I used to keep my dried herbs in a box above the stove...not very accessible, or good for the herbs.  So my super talented hubby Chuck made me this herb cabinet.  It is attached to the end of my cupboards, and holds all different sizes.  And yes, I keep my herbs in alphabetical order, hahaha.  I could tell you that it makes it easy to find what I'm looking for, but I will admit that I do have some OCD tendencies.  Here is the list of herbs you will need....basil, oregano, parsley, all about 1 tbs dry, or a palmful of fresh.  And marjoram, about 1/2 tablespoon, and 3 teaspoonfuls of sugar.  Then let it simmer while you clean and prepare the pasta.  Or while you spoil your grandchildren.  Owen knows where I keep his favorite drink...strawberry milk.  He will even drag the chair over to try and get the mild down himself.  He loves milk, but only if it's flavored. :~D  UMMMM, don't you wish this was smellavision? (yes, I watch Rachel Ray, heehee).  Now I know that making sauce this way takes longer then opening a jar, but think about it...how long has that jar been hanging around?  God created our food to keep us healthy, and fresh food is so much better for you than processed.  To make sauce this way only takes about 30 minutes and is well worth your time and effort.  Use this time to visit with your children while they do homework, or better yet, teach your children how to cook, and share great memories with them now.  Have a blessed day, and eat healthy.

Debbi

today's chore

My chore for today (well, one of them) is peeling, cutting, and canning yesterday's harvest from my overgrown garden.  These were the only ones I could see, and reach, in that mess.  I peeled and cut some the other day, but didn't have a chance to can them, so I put the pot in my refrigerator.  I loooove my big fridge.  I took the pot out yesterday, but didn't get to can, and then forgot I took it out of the fridge.  That being said, I learned something new....never, never, never leave cut tomatoes out without canning them first.

You can't really see it in this picture, but it's bubbling.  And you should be glad this isn't smellavision.  PeeeUuuuu.

Oh well, live and learn.  I managed to live 51 years without this knowledge, but I can assure you, I will never do this again.  "Quick kids, open the windows!"

Debbi



healthy eating is killing me, hahahaha

Well, we are trying to live a healthier lifestyle here at OHTY, especially since they now say that dark chocolate is good for you. :)  But seriously, I've gone the route of adding calories, counting points, weighing and measuring serving sizes, and while I lost a few pounds in the beginning (3 years ago), I've been up and down with the last 3 pounds since.  So I am tossing out my scale, and if I feel healthy and can keep up with my 2 year old grandson, I'm fine with that.  But to feel healthy, you need to eat healthy.  My husband loves to garden, and I love to can, especially tomatoes.  So I want to share a quick and easy reciepe that Amanda made with some of our fresh garden tomatoes.

Grilled open face tomato and cheese sammy: take some
french bread brush it with extra virgin olive oil/oregano/red pepper flakes, toast it on the grill then add tomatoes and mozzarella cheese on top and allow the cheese to melt. Made with homegrown tomatoes from my mom's garden, they were super-juicy and super-yummy!

With home-made spinach and artichoke dip.  Amanda got the recipe from Food Network, really easy, made with all-natural stuff- no added chemicals for processing! 

Debbi

Besteam feature on Mossy Creek Soap

Today I'm featuring the shop, Mossy Creek Soap, run by Besteam member Michelle Rhoades.  I first met Michelle on Creating the Hive,  a fun social site for us crafty types.  When Michelle opened her Etsy shop a few months ago, she posted a question on the Hive about promoting her Etsy shop, and I told her about this team, the Best Etsy team ever! :P  I am so glad she checked us out and now I want y'all to check her out.  As I'm sure you've been able to figure out, Michelle makes and sells soap.  She has had her own Mossy Creek Soap site before joining Etsy, so she is an accomplished soap maker with tons of knowledge and experience.  Let me show you what I found in her Etsy shop.

Ok, so of course the first item I fell for is....ORANGE, lol.  Now, it's not orange flavored, but it is full of grapefruit, coconut, and lime.  The perfect soap to take on your next beach vacation.  Or to use at home when you just need a mini-get-a-way.  Calgon has nothing on Mossy Creek. :)  This soap is appropriately named Grapefruit Delight.

Michelle also makes body cream.  Oh, I got the munchies while reading the description of this Cocoa Body Butter.  ummmmm, milk chocolate whipped body butter.  I'll eat just about anything covered in chocolate, but I never thought of rubbing it on myself.  LOL. 

At Mossy Creek Soaps you can also find great gift items, like this Serenity Creek Basket.  Here you'll find soap, a soap mitt, a soap dish, and lotion.  Much nicer than those cheapies you'll find at Walmart during the Christmas season.  Michelle is a certified handcrafted soapmaker and creates all her items in her studio located in Georgia.

Michelle has a great blog where you can get to know her better, and to learn more about the art of soap making.  I love reading the blogs of shops I purchase from, it's nice to get to know the people behind the crafts. If blog reading is not for you, try her facebook page where you can sign up for lessons given at her studio.  And don't forget to follow her on twitter to keep up with the latest in the soap world.  So click on any highlighted link above to see Mossy Creek Soap for yourself.

If you are an Etsy artisian that like to blog, check us out here.

If you are a blogger that sells on Etsy, check us out here.

Besteam feature on Ancient Oils

When you are feeling down and under the weather, where do you go?  I first and foremost turn to my Lord in prayer, because He is my Healer, but I also know that He gave knowledge to people to use in keeping our bodies healthy.  In fact, a large portion of the Old Testament is just instructions on hygiene and what to use to keep our bodies healthy.  So I was pleasantly surprised to find the following items in the Etsy shop of my Besteam feature for this week: Ancient Oils by Lilly DelValle.  Ancient Oils was started by Lilly in 2009, with a 100% positive customer feedback.  So you'll know that you will get essential oils and creams of the utmost quality.

Dead Sea Mud

Per the description, this natural Dead Sea Mud is enriched with minerals and aloe vera, and for use on your whole body to improve blood circulation, ease pain, and relax muscles.  Sounds wonderful after a long work week.

Frankincense and Myrrh resin

If you've ever been in church that uses incense, you have probably smelled Frankincense and Myrrh.  It is almost indescribable, so wonderfully rich and pleasing to the senses.  Ancient Oils pacakages theirs' in a beautiful handmade pouch, ready to give as a gift, or keep for yourself.

Holy Anointing Oil

And this last item is something we keep in our own home, Holy Anointing Oil.  This oil is created by mixing Myrrh, Cassia, Cinnamon, Calamus, and Olive Oil, and they all have special properties to heal and sooth.  Just a few drops in your bath water, and it's much better than Calgon.
You can follow Ancient Oils on facebook, and her blog, Living Vibrations.

Mountain Creek Gifts

We belong to several Etsy teams, one of them being the CAPSteam, Christian Artists Promoting Shops team.  That's where I met Brittany from Mountain Creek Gifts.  Brittany lives in the middle of Amish country in Ohio.  When I still lived in western NY, I remember visiting Amish shops near the PA border.  I have always been intrigued by the wonderfully peaceful lives of the Amish.  To have so much faith in God that you would separate yourselves from the world is inspiring.  His Word tells us that we are to be separate, and not of this world.  But as my husband likes to ask me, whatever would I do without my laptop? hahaha.  While preparing to blog about Mountain Creek Gifts, I asked Brittany to share her life and background with me.  After reading her message back to me, I've discovered a kindred spirit.  She married her childhood friend (and I mean childhood, they met when she was only 7).  She comes from a large family, 8 total with her as the second oldest.  I was the youngest of 10 (including steps brothers and sisters).  She grew up on a farm, and while I did not grow up on a farm, I spent many summers on my uncle's sheep farm, and even worked on a dairy farm for 2 summers as a teenager.  I am truly a country girl at heart, just like Brittany.  She has a brother in the military, and stationed in Afghanistan right now.  How proud she must be of him!  Brittany's favorite scripture is also one of my own favorites.  Jeremiah 29:11.  Look it up, you'll be glad you did! Brittany spends her time researching and making all natural soaps and candles, and discovering great vintage items, all of which you can find on her Etsy shop.  To visit her shop, you can click on any of the highlighted links.  I chose a few to share with you.  At the top we have her all natural soap balls.  Just imagine how relaxing your bath time would be when you toss one of these into the tub.  Next is her all natural peppermint cookie soap with shea butter.  Sounds good enough to eat. And last, but not least, this wonderful vintage silver-plate soap dish, complete with 3 bars of soap.  And better yet, you get to choose the soap!  So stop whatever you're doing right now, look up "her" scripture, the look up her shop!!  Tell her I said "Hi".

Besteam feature on AllAboutCats from Etsy

Before I talk about AllAboutCats, I thought I would share with y'all a picture of our Baby. She was a stray kitten that "found" us one spring day 10 years ago. She was so small that she fit into the palm of my husband's hand, and when he put her back down, she raced us home, slapped our dog, and promptly moved into our home and our hearts. She lost her life to cancer just this past spring, and as any pet lover will tell you, losing a pet is hard, and we miss her. We did not get another cat (yet), but when we do, you can bet that we will shop here, at AllAboutCats. Linda must love her cats, because she not only makes items for them, she makes items about them.

And her catnip is organic, so you can rest assured that your baby will be playing with only the best! Linda also has another etsy shop, ThisAndThatInVermont, where she sells other non-feline handmade and vintage items. And I just noticed that she only opened that shop yesterday, so bookmark it and check in frequently as she builds up her inventory. Linda is from Vermont, beautiful country indeed. Her blog is great reading, especially the "about me" page. She talked about the fad of the month her mother belonged to, and it brought to my mind the packages of "stuff" my mother used to get also, :). So stop by her shop and blog, you'll be glad you did. I am.

oh my aching feet, welcome back Artestia!

**I first wrote this blog in August, but Artesia was on vacation. Now she's back, so here it is. **

I love, love, love flip flops and sandles and open toes shoes. (The ones above I made and are for sale in my Etsy shop.) I love shoes so much that this past summer we took a trip to NY for a nieces wedding, and I had packed a rubbermaid tote with 14 pairs of shoes for a 2 week stay, lol. Now all the other shoe lovers out there will agree when I say, sandals can be hard on your feet. The bottoms get stained and dark, especially when I cut grass in my sandles, and the heels get rough, and there's not much arch support. Well, quite a few months ago, I purchased some products from Artesia on Etsy, and one of the products was the Winged Sandals Foot Soak. I finally used it last night. WONDERFUL! The soak made the water bubble, and my feet tingle, and if felt soooooo good. When I was done soaking my tootsies, I discovered that the bottom of my feet were smooth and clean. It was great! I also purchased their Sublime lip balm, and use it alllllll the time. Artesia has been on vacation all summer, but now she's back, YEA!!! She is starting to fill her shop again, and I'm just waiting for some more foot soak. And her customer service is great. So if you're looking for great handmade and NATURAL body and bath supplies, you need to check out this shop. You won't be sorry.

Debbi

Artesia

If you're into all natural skin care, you must check out Artesia on etsy. Marie Jones, a besteam member, hails from southern Nevada and makes all her skin and bath products from our earth's own natural plants and minerals. And she does not test on animals, only on her family, LOL. Marie feels so strongly about the world we live in that she donates 10% of her gross sales to Water 1st, which grants funds to communities to establish sustainable safe water systems. How wonderful is that!!! The shop grew out of a family Christmas tradition of exchanging homemade gifts. The recipients of Marie's gifts encouraged her to sell her homemade all natural skin care products, and viola, Artesia was born. If you want to test the waters first, they offer trial sizes on many of their items. Here are a few of my favs, visit her shop and discover your own.

Colored bubble bath, sounds like great fun!! It only changes the color of the water, and will not stain your skin.

Here's some great lip balm. Lime flavored with a hint of vanilla, yummmm.

And after a long day on my feet painting and playing, soaking my tooties in this winged sandal foot soak souns like heaven. This come in trial and regular size, so you can relax as often as you like.

Marie also has a wonderful blog at myartesia.blogspot were you can find great stories of her favorite things. So stop by and say hello to Marie from Artesia.