Etsy Spotlight Shop #6: Smartkin

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Smartkin is one of the cutest shops we've found on etsy and they sell a
huge variety of reusable cloth napkins.

There is a napkin for almost every occasion! Check out these fun designs:

holidays, baby showers, boys parties, girls parties, sports, flowers, fruits,

children's movie characters, and so on....

 

 

  If I had enough money, I'd buy a napkin set of every theme!

Not only will they add some fun to the table, but they are so great for the environment! No more waste use of napkins  or paper towels just being tossed into the trash!

 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Smartkin
 

 

I spoke with Kathryn the owner and designer of Smartkin, and here is what she has to say about her fantastic shop!

 

What do you love about making cloth napkins?



 

Kathryn:

I started making cloth napkins for my kids. I am in love with fabric. :-) I love picking out new fabrics, fabrics that have sold out and seeing how they turn out with a stitch on them.

 

How many cloth napkins do you make a day?

 

Kathryn:

My husband and I work as a team. I pre wash all the fabric and he helps cut out the napkin. We have gotten better about streamlining the work. We try to do it in a lump sum once a month unless special orders come in. Last month was a big month. We cut 300 napkins to be made. :-)

 

I do take them to a manufacturer to sew the surged stitch on. When quantities got high, the machine would break constantly. Her name is Alicia and she works in Phoenix for a company who makes yoga wear. I have been so pleased with her work.

Finding her made me realize how viable a business cloth napkins were. My friend recommended Etsy and I joined back in December. I love every minute of it. 

 

 

What makes your shop different for others that sell cloth napkins?

 

Kathryn:

What makes me different from others... I'm not totally sure. I have seen a lot of great companies on Etsy that sells great napkins as well. I try to keep my costs down to appeal to a wide range of people. I know when buying for kids, you like inexpensive because we like to buy so much for them. ;-) 

 


 

Stop by Smartkin and check out all of Kathryn's amazing napkin themes. You won't be able to leave without wanting to make a purchase!

With the enormous variety, these cloth napkins would make perfect gifts for any event! These cute napkins can be used in tons of ways and in a pinch can be used as burp cloths, centerpiece arrangements, baby lap blankets and more.
 

Stop by, and favorite the Smartkin shop; add some napkins to your wish list, or even your checkout cart ;)

If you do something creative with yourSmartKin, leave us a comment and let us know!



Eggless Cookie Dough ~ Yum Yum

Here is every girls dream recipe; especially if your prego!

 Eggless cookie dough! You can snack on it whenever you'd like!

 

The recipe comes from the kind of cookie dough that is in ice cream. It doesn't have raw eggs, and you don't need all the extra baking essentials; for example, baking soda.

 

Warning, it's still not the healthiest snack, however, a few spoonful's will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth!

 

Eggless Cookie Dough
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup milk
1 cup flour
Pinch salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

In a medium bowl, mix together the brown sugar and butter until smooth. Stir in vanilla and milk. Mix in the flour, salt, and chocolate chips until well blended. Chill in the refrigerator.

 

Note:

If you like frozen cookie dough, shape the dough into balls and freeze on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. After a few hours, remove the dough and store it in the freezer in a ziploc bag.

 

I absolutely love cookie dough!

 I don't think that I've ever met anyone who doesn't!

Try it out; add it to your ice cream, or just dig in!

I wish I had this recipe when I was pregnant haha!

 

 

Easy Hershey's Treats

This salty and sweet Halloween/Fall treat is sure to please even the toughest crowd. These would be perfect for parties, potluck desserts, teacher gifts, etc! This fun recipe only has a few ingredients, so it's fast and easy!

 

 

Let's Get Started!

 

 

Ingredients

• Circle or square-shaped pretzels
• Hershey's Kisses Hugs
• candy corn or Reece's Pieces or M&M's (all work really well)

Instructions

 

1. Preheat oven to 250F degrees.

 

2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Align pretzels on the sheet. Unwrap Hugs and place one on each pretzel. 

 

3. Stick in the oven until the hug begins to melt down (these took about 4 minutes; it depends on your oven).

 

4. While the Hugs are melting in the oven, get your candy ready because you will have to move fast once the pretzels are out of the oven.

 

5. Remove pretzel hugs from oven, quickly and gently press your choice of candy down on each one. The Hug should flatten out when you press the candy on it. If it is not flattening out, place the pretzel hugs back in the oven for 30 more seconds.

 

6. Let the pretzel hugs cool completely and let the chocolate set for about 10 minutes in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

 

*Store your treats in the refrigerator!*

 

 

 

These goodies can be made using regular Milk Chocolate Hershey Kisses, Dark Chocolate Kisses,  Carmel Kisses or try them with the new Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses! DELISH!

 

You can also adapt these treats for other holidays:

 

Use Peppermint Kisses for Christmas time with Green M&M's

Use Hugs Kisses for Valentine's Day with Pink or Red M&M's

Use Dark Chocolate Kisses and Jelly Beans for Easter

 

We'd love to see your version of this yummy treat!

Comment and leave us a photo!

 

Crafting Around the World

Making "stuff" is a universal language, lets take a second and learn how to say "I Love to Create" in several different languages!
 

 

 

German:

Ich liebe zum Handwerk!

 

Spanish:

Me encanta crear!

 Romanian:

I dragoste pentru a crea!

 

Danish:
Jeg elsker at lave!

Italian
Mi piace creare!

 

So much fun! Comment below and tell us how you say:

 "I Love to Create!"

Etsy Spotlight Shop #5: AnnsHerbals

Looking for natural, organic bath and body products? Well, AnnsHerbals is the place to shop!

Her lip gloss works amazingly well, and her soaps are fantastic!

I myself, purchase my these wonderful bath and body products. I love them and I know you will to!

 

 

"...specifically made for sensitive skin. I use only organic plant oils and pure essential oils..."

 

Ann has a variety of items from body butters, and vegan soaps, to herbals and lotion bars.

 

 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/annsherbals?

 I spoke with Ann and asked her a few questions so that you can get to know a little more about her natural bath and body items, and a deeper inside look to her shop.

 

What do you love about making bath and body products?

 

Ann:

The process of creating something from scratch with whole natural ingredients is always so exciting. Finding the right combination of oils and herbs and then seeing them work so well together is amazing. Also to hear from customers how well my products work is the greatest pleasure. It never gets old and I can't imagine doing anything else. My love and fascination with nature is my true inspiration and keeps me going.

 

How many products to you make a day?

 

Ann:

I try to concentrate on one product at a time. Usually when I finish one I find I am low on another, that keeps me continuously creating. I am also always looking at something new to add to the product line. Right now I am working on a formulation for a natural deodorant. Chemical free is a top priority along with attention to sensitive skin. Getting the formulation right takes time and patience so any new projects are worked on when time allows. I completed a baby soap but it is in the testing process right now, if all goes well, I hope to have it out by years end. I'm also bringing back my oatmeal spice soap, I just need to get the scent of spice to where I want it. Natural spices are a challenge to get noticed in a soap. It's all a creative process, the joining of art and science.

 

What makes your shop different for other bath and body shops?

 

Ann:

My products are different from most in that they are specifically made for sensitive skin. I use only organic plant oils and pure essential oils that are processed with the steam distillation method. This method is least invasive and uses no harsh chemicals in the extraction process. I also use herbs for any coloring I may put in my soaps, no artificial colors. I look at my products with a very back to basics approach, less is more and from nature is best for our bodies. I have sensitive skin so everything I make has to satisfy my sensitive skin.

 

How did you get your start on etsy.com?

Ann:
I had been in a partnership with my son Ryan up until 2012, he introduced me to Etsy. It seemed like a great fit and Etsy buyes are the best! A few of my products, due to their name and/or tags, cannot be listed on Etsy per Etsy's policies so I have found a new home for them at annsherbals.com. These products are my ditch the itch soap and simple no pimple soap.. I didn't want to give them up, they work so well, so I found a new home for them along with some other new products. Feel free to check them out.

 

Visit Ann's shop and take a look around! She has so many wonderful items to choose from, including gift packs!

 

Favorite some items, favorite her shop, and maybe do a little shopping.

I am not lying when I say her products are and work great!



 



Coffee Filter Flowers

So last night I was browsing around looking for some crafts, and came across a coffee filter tutorial. They are amazing! Although I didn't come up with the idea, I had to share this tutorial! It's a fun project for you and your kids, with items you can find lying around the house.

First, you and your children can add some color with art materials. Markers, watercolors, pretty much anything that you can find to give it some color.
Choose colors to go with the season, holiday, or occasion that you will be using them for.

 

Next Spray them with a water from a spray bottle to give it a distressed look. Let them dry. Drying them in the sun will dry the filters fast, and give them a nice wrinkled crispiness.

 

Now the final stages to create your flowers.

 

Three Easy Steps to Make Coffee Filter Flowers:
1. Use at least three coffee filters, but you can use more if you want bigger, fuller flowers.
2. Trim coffee filters so that you have three different sizes-think big, medium, small. Fold the flowers in half and then fold in half again to create a triangular shape. Cut in a scalloped design along the edge.
3. Layer the filters by size, starting with small, medium, large and with your fingers, grab the filters in the middle and pinch all the layers together. Then fluff and arrange your layers until you are happy with your flower!

To hold the layers together you can either add tape to the middle part that you pinched or you can put a staple through it.

 

Experiment by cutting them different ways,

coloring them with different techniques; such as only around the edges, blotchy spots, mixing colors.

 

There is a variety of ideas that you can try with these pretty little flowers!

I myself think they would look pretty on gift bags! I might be making a few for Christmas gifts....

Make some yourself and show them off! If your kids are getting in your hair,
sit them down with some markers, and tell them to go crazy!
Get your 1st step done while you are catching up on cooking, cleaning or even relaxing!
We would love to see the different designs that you can come up with!

Etsy Spotlight Shop #5: Conversation Glass

This day and age everyone is trying to do their part to protect the earth and this fantastic Etsy shop is doing just that...one bottle at a time!

 

 Conversation Glass is a shop that specializes in taking used bottles and making them into useful and super cool conversation pieces for your home.

 

Check out this amazing shop and help the earth by purchasing some of their unique glassware. Everything in their shop would make fantastic earth-friendly gifts!

 

 

 

www.etsy.com/shop/ConversationGlass

 



I talked to Matt and Gracie of Conversation Glass, here's what they had to say:

What do you love about working with recycled glass?

Matt & Gracie:
Glass has taught us patience. You can't rush glass - it simply won't sand to smoothness any faster than at its own pace. The sanding process is slow and requires great care. And since we aren't a very patient family, we've had to learn to be more so! With that being said, it's simply beautiful. And it feels so good to take something that was discarded and breathe new life into it.  


How many items to do you make in a day?
 
Matt & Gracie:
Our space is limited, so we generally batch our tasks. We just don't have the space for an "assembly line" process that would allow us to go from start to finish smoothly. It can feel like pre-Industrial Revolution in our living room!
Some days we gather and clean bottles, some days we cut them, and other days we sand our glasses. The final step is to ship our goodies to our happy shoppers. So it's tough to estimate how many pieces we can make in a day. In the past we filled a large order of over 100 glasses in a week or so...But we can probably do better than that now...

What makes your shop different than other shops that use recycled glass as a medium?

Matt & Gracie:
I can't speak for other shops, and frankly, I'm thrilled that there are others out there upcycling bottles! As for us, we're an entirely family-run cottage business. We work entirely out of our home, and manage every bit of that business while juggling family life and a full time job. I work from home with Conversation Glass while Gracie works as a veterinary technician.
We're passionate about doing something good for our planet and minimizing the negative impact on our world. We may not make a huge impact, but every bottle we turn into something cool is a bottle kept from a landfill. Our daughter is learning what it means to make something with her own two hands and that a business can and SHOULD have a conscience. I think that makes us unique. That's a pretty awesome legacy to have. 

How did you get your start on etsy.com?

Matt & Gracie:
Etsy is awesome! It allows us the flexibility to be creative and market our glassware and home goods to a wide audience of those looking for something more unique than goods found in a huge box store. A friend of ours who was already selling her jewelry on Etsy suggested we try our hand at the online marketplace. Voila! Conversation Glass was born!
Since that start, we've met amazing buyers from all over the world and made quite a few friends in other sellers, too. 

 

Drop by their shop and check it out!

Save the earth and buy a gift while you're there!