Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts

Monday, January 21, 2013

Flashback Monday(1/21)



Originally posted on May 20th, 2009 entitled 'The Making of a Good Cause-Beadware IL' 

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Happy Wednesday everyone and here is the other installment of my The Making of a Good Cause series!

When making a bracelet, the beads are the soul of the piece, but the findings are the heart and body. So you couldn't have a beautiful piece of jewelry without the clasps, crimp beads, or jump rings as its structure.

Which brings me to introduce you to the wonderful company I bought my 13mm Bali Sterling Silver Double Strand Toggle Clasp(pictured to the right below) from, Beadware IL on Ebay! If your not familiar with their store name, you might know them by their Ebay username wooden_flower.

Some information on Beadware IL right from their website:

Beautiful beads from around the world - Swarovski crystals in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, Bali silver beads and findings, Czech glass, Venetian glass, Grade A fiber optic cats eye beads in 30 colors,
vintage lucite, and more!

Free US shipping on purchases of $50 or more

If you want to know more about the technical stuff such as shipping, returns, and whatever else you may question, check their FAQ page here.
When I went in search of the perfect clasp, I knew I had requirements; One, for it to be double stranded and two, it be sterling silver because I wanted this to be a high quality bracelet with nothing but the best materials. Then I wandered upon this toggle clasp and it was beautiful!

Looking through Beadware IL, I can see their description is right on the money! They have a wide variety of stunning
and very affordable beads and findings. I found what I paid for the sterling silver toggle clasp(after shipping) was extremly reasonable. I am very satisfied at how perfectly it went with my bracelet and how easy working with the company was.

With reasonable prices, fast shipping, and 100% positive feedback, you have another place to indulge your jewelry fetish! Lol

Tomorrow we will be featuring an Etsy seller(finally)! And this one is where I got my amazing elephang charm. Don't miss it!







Monday, January 14, 2013

Flashback Monday(1/14)


Originally posted on May 19th, 2009 entitled 'The Making of a Good Cause-24hourgems' 

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I thought I would start out with the beads that I chose for the auction bracelet. The first thing you should know about me is that I love symbolism. It means more to me if I buy something that has meaning to it over something that's just an object-Kind of like buying handmade or vintage as opposed to factory made. Handmade is just more personal and has more of a story then some mass produced cheapy piece of crap you buy from a chain store.

So of course I'm going to put symbolism into my bracelet! And because this is going to the Elephants, I figured I would look up the Elephant totem online and see what some of it's attributes were.

Here is what I found from Lins Domain:


An Elephant totem gives you

ancient wisdom and power to draw upon.

It embodies strength and power.
 

It's very important that I add those qualities to my bracelet because that's who I am. I want to make this bracelet personal and meaningful for the person who buys it.
I did some research and found all of those qualities in one beautiful stone: Lapis Lazuli. I found the perfect Lapis beads at 24hourbeads on Ebay!
A little about the company from their site:
We specialize in beads: Freshwater Pearl, Millefiori Glass, Lampwork Glass, Gemstones, Kyanite, Ruby, Pink Opal, Lava, Turquoise, Bracelet, Pearl Necklace, Biwa Pearl, Tourmaline and much more.
 
I have to say I am extremely satisfied with this company! The beads where beyond stunning(I am debating on making myself something from whats left over), the shipping was fast and easy, and very pleasant to work with in general.
If you take a look at their site, you can find anything in any price range. Speaking of prices, WOW. They are extremely reasonable even before shipping.
All in all, I am very satisfied on my purchase from 24hourbeads and I'm eyeballin a few other lovelies for my collection! Lol
Come back tomorrow for more on The Making of a Good Cause.







Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Smile & Share the Health--Body Parfait *Review & Giveaway*


A big welcome to Dawn of BodyParfait on Etsy!



Dawn currently resides in Uxbridge Massachusetts and has for the past 8 years. She isn't a stranger to Massachusetts though; growing up in Bellingham and being a native of the state, she knows it quite well!

"I love dessert and I love body products," explains Dawn when asked about her shop's name. "They both look good, smell good, make us feel good and homemade is always better, in both categories, in my opinion." Hence, Body Parfait!

Selling on Etsy is a nice extra source of income, however Dawn makes her living as a C.N.A and part-time nanny. Having owned and operated her own day care for many years, Dawn decided to close those doors and pursue a new career in the Healthcare Industry.

Aside from taking care of children, she loves to craft and create. "It’s true, I love to make body products, but I also love to crochet, paint and play guitar. Just recently, I started making jewelry. I love learning new crafts; I am self taught in all of them as well. I'm proud of that."

If you look through her shop, she has some absolutely incredible products with pretty pictures and vibrant colors, however the Body Parfait you see came about through medical necessity. It was several years ago that Dawn was diagnosed with a horrible burn-like rash that started on her neck and eventually ended up spreading to the rest of her body! This took over her life and she lived in three separate worlds: one of endless cleaning due to the highly contagious nature of her ailment, one of self loathing for how it made her look and feel and finally one of alienation--"It’s a horrible thing to be surrounded by the people you love the most and unable to touch them or hold them."

Throughout these numerous months of suffering, Dawn had begun reading and researching all about Homeopathic medicine, herbs, spices, botanical, and essential oils. One day, she decided enough was enough!  "I gathered a list of supplies I would need, spent roughly $3,000 and began to formulate and experiment. There were many messes, many (almost) fires, a blown up microwave, several billion burned pots, melted spoons, and weeks of friends dropping by saying, 'what is that SMELL?'"

Through all of that, she ultimately cured her unknown rash and her skin has never felt better!

Advice from Dawn: "My best advice to other crafters/artists would be to do what you love! Don’t make jewelry if you hate it just because you feel this will make you more money than say, crocheted slippers. It will end up showing in your work and it will not see you through the difficult times, such as, learning new aspects of your craft which can be so aggravating!"

Things to keep in mind about Dawn and her products:

*All product instructions, ingredients and information can be found in each listing so make sure to read everything before purchasing!

*Make sure to keep up to date with Dawn by following her on Twitter @BodyParfait and liking her on Facebook!

*For more information regarding shipping, payment information and other important things, check out her Shop Policies Page.

Not only did I get to feature Dawn, her Etsy shop, and her wonderful bath and body products, but she also kindly allowed me to review her Pain Salve as well!

For those of you who don't know, I've been chronically ill for the past 8+ years and being chronically ill comes with a LOT of daily pain; joint pain, muscle pain, nerve pain, headaches, leg pain, back pain...I'm sure you get the picture.

When given the chance, you know I jumped all over that natural pain salve!


The pain salve arrived in a very sweet container with a unique label true to the overall look of Body Parfait complete with a little 'Thank you' note attached to finish off the package.

At first when I opened the jar, I was taken aback by the scent; it was a wee bit strong for me but as I rubbed it into my skin and continued to smell it, I grew to love it! You know you love a particular scent when you open up the jar just to take a big whiff of it every now and again ;)

The past couple of days have been pretty bad joint pain days for me, so, capitalizing on this, I decided to do a little experiment; I applied the salve to my left wrist throughout the day and left the right one salve-less. 

Low and behold, I immediately noticed a difference! It definitely helped the pain and even though the pain came back (as it usually does), I'm so grateful for the little reprieve the salve offered me.


{Giveaway}

1 lucky winner will receive a Body Parfait Bundle which includes 1 Lip Pot,  1 Lip Balm, 1 2.5 oz Body Butter, 1 4oz Body Scrub, 1 Roll on Cologne or Perfume, and 1 Bath Melt!




{The Rules}

1. You MUST use the name and email you want to be contacted with in the Rafflecopter.


2. Contest will run from Thursday, October 18th, 2012 to Thursday November 1st, 2012.


3. Open to US and Canada only-Sorry internationals! 




a Rafflecopter giveaway



Note: Items in prize bundle may or may not be exactly the same as items shown in the above images and/or items the winner will receive. Dawn reserves the right to substitute any products if need be.




Items in Post:

Soap Set

Bubble Bath Sudd Mudd Clay Body Soak

Large Pain Salve



Disclaimer: I was provided products from Body Parfait on Etsy at no cost to me in order to facilitate this honest review and giveaway. All opinions expressed in the above post are 100% mine and mine alone unless otherwise stated. This contest is open to US and Canadian residents only and will run from Thursday, October 18th, 2012 12:00am central standard time until Thursday, November 1st, 2012 11:01 pm central standard time. The winner will be chosen through Rafflecopter.com and be contacted within 24 hours of the drawing. You'll then have 48 hours (2 days) to claim your prize and send me all applicable information-If I haven't heard from you within that time frame, I will be forced to choose another winner.