Mother's Day Earrings

Above: Paris Patriot Earrings (also available Paris Butterfly Earrings), in my etsy store. These actually have the three colours of the French flag, the lucite towers are much redder, and the faceted bead is dark blue, with a white glass flower at the top of the arrangement.

Now for what I really wanted to show you, the earrings I made today, for Mother's Day, using new and vintage supplies of faceted czech glass, lampwork beads, and some gold dangles from fellow etsian and blogger Adya International.

These earrings were made much earlier this year also using vintage supplies from AdyaInternational, the large pink flowers are actually buttons and feature a pollen centre designed in the shape of a star.

I am offering free shipping around the world until May 10th, but please note that I recommend orders for Mothers Day be placed before April 25th for international, and May 3rd for Australia.

My favourite suggestions for mother's day this year are pink (I'm making up for all the years I was anti-pink, and I'm a pink ribbon fundraising junkie now!); also hearts; buttons - I think buttons are symbolic of care and attention, of nurturing and renewal - so I like button jewelry; and I am collecting charms for jewelry featuring scissors, thimbles, and other sewing and craft related items, as well as tea pots and tea cups. Of course you should take into consideration all the personal preferences and interests of the individual mother or grandmother in question. I'm also in the market for the perfect apron for my own taste, I have never worn an apron, I think I just want something gorgeous to hang in the kitchen!

See you soon!

Mother's Day Home Spa Treats

I have my home spa day, or half day, once a month when I have the house to myself, but a home spa day with friends or family can be very nice, and why not give the mum in your life a hamper of beauty treatments, or pamper her for the day?

As a herbalist and aromatherapist here are some of my nice 'safe for anyone' treatments, and then later in the post I will tell you some of my favourite budget friendly ready made goodies in case you want to fill a hamper for her.

Peanut Butter Scrub except for those with peanut allergies, this is a great treatment for tough or roughened skin for example, heels, elbows, knees and for dirty hands from gardening.
4 tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter,
2 tablespoons finely ground sea salt,
2 tablespoons of almond essential oil.
Mix these ingredients into a paste, adding the oil last of all, rub onto dampened skin where the treatment is required and massage for a couple of minutes, you can then rinse off or have a bath.

Avocado Mask Mashed avocado flesh applied to the face for a short time, up to 5 minutes, will reduce signs of aging and leave the skin glowing and fresh. Honey is often also added into the avocado flesh, just a little, and mix it in.

Carrot and Lemon Zinger grated carrot with the lemon juice squeezed over it, and applied to oily skin on the face, or to body acne is brilliant, the skin is so clean and clears up as if by magic.
I leave this treatment on my face for up to 10 minutes, first timers should try 5 minutes, and on the back or body up to 15 minutes.

Cucumber Cream Mask blend 1 tablespoon of fresh cream with equal amounts of cucumber, melon, and pumkin seeds in a food processor. Apply the cream to the face and leave for up to 30 minutes, rinse off and relax!

Rosemary Bath for body aches and pains, low mood, and to ease stress, go out to the garden and pick two branches of rosemary about 30cm long. Come inside and steep them in boiled water in a large vessel for 15 minutes. Run a bath and pour the steeped rosemary into the bath, you may prefer to strain the herb out of the water but you can safely soak with the rosemary in the water.

My Favourite Ready Made Treats

1. Herbal Essences Drama Clean Shampoo and conditioner, for silky smooth, clean hair that lasts for days.

2. Botanical Creations Body Butter (I buy at Priceline) in Lavender, Chamomile and Geranium, use this and you won't only have moist skin, but you won't need perfume.

3. Lux Shower Gel in Neroli and YlangYlang, love it! Boosts your mood and wakes you up without stress.

4. Megan Gale Invisible Zinc Tinted Moisturiser, gives me luscious creamy skin the boys go mad for! You can wear mineral makeup over the top without looking like you are wearing anything.

5. Sally Hansen Lip Inflation in clear, the peppermint oil really gives it the tingly sensation while it keeps you moist and chap free.

Hope this helps for now, in the future I will be doing a naturopathic first aid kit post for all you mummies who want to soothe and treat the family aches and pains safely.

Books For Mother's Day

Whether for you, your mum, or grandmother, books are a great gift, they are a ticket to another time and place, an escape, an indulgence, and also a way of relating to our own lives and experiences and seeing them in a new light. A good book allays loneliness and bordeom, excites the soul, and soothes the nerves. I have carefully compiled this list of books on a number of factors, personal enjoyment, range of topics and settings, and how they put women's lives in perspective. So here they are, my books - old and new - for Mother's Day 2009:

"Vanity Fair", William Makepeace Thackeray

"Ghost Heart", Cecilia Samartin

"Wild Swans", Jung Chang

"White Oleander", Janet Fitch

" The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox", Maggie O'Farrell

"The Time Traveler's Wife", Audrey Niffenegger

"The Lovely Bones", Alice Sebold

" Barefoot", Elin Hilderbrand

"The True and Outstanding Adventures of The Hunt Sister", Elisabeth Robinson

"The Undomestic Goddess", Sophie Kinsella

"I'm A Believer", Jessica Adams

"The Queen of Sublteties", Suzannah Dunn

"The Constant Princess", Philippa Gregory

"The Other Boleyn Girl", Philippa Gregory

"The Glass Palace", Amitav Ghosh

"The Russian Concubine", Kate Furnivall

"The Bonesetter's Daughter", Amy Tan

"The Bronze Horseman", Paullina Simons

"Wild Lavender", Belinda Alexander

"The Promise", Danielle Steel.


Happy reading everyone, and don't forget to share your favourite books with me, I love to know what my friends are reading!

Handmade for Mother's Day

I love a flapper! Hence I purchased these iconic flapper girl buttons the minute I saw them. They have now been used in my favourite pair of earrings ever designed by me. They are the only flapper girl buttons I have so no other piece of jewellery or craft I make will feature them, the Flapper Girl Earrings I am selling in my Etsy store (see link on the right of page) are unique.

These earrings are a medley of black, black and white, plum, and burgundy glass, ceramic, and plastic beads on a double strand of gold chain. The design also features plum marbled heart shaped beads.

This is my second button design featured in my Etsy store, this is a bright buttoned heart with inner spiral on a white short sleeved tshirt, size 12 (a small size 12).

In my Etsy store at the moment I have four sets of 6 hanging gift tags, the two tags here are from the set marked Opulent Gift Set. Each tag is unique but tags are created in coordinating pairs. Every gift tag has a patterned heart motif and lovely embellishments. (Far top of post and below)

There is still time to purchase handmade gifts for Mother's Day online, or to make something beautiful and original yourself, so don't lose heart, you can give the special lady in your life a terrific gift from the heart.

Gilmore Girls Gifts for Mother's Day

Does it really surprise you that I am a Gilmore Girls fanatic? I am, I have every season on DVD only when I watch them I am Lorelai Gilmore in thought and feeling, I just am! Gilmore Girls is terrific, and if you haven't seen the show you have so many hours of great 'girl time' to look forward to!

Above is the cover of my soundtrack purchased this year at Amazon, it is called 'Our Little Corner of The World, music from Gilmore Girls'. Fans of the show will be pleased to hear that the la la las and ornamental acapella singing is included in the play list. There is only one let down and that is that the cd does not feature the song that Lorelai and Luke first dance to at his sister's wedding, a crucial song to miss out if you ask me! I still do not know what this song is called or who performed it, if any reader does know, I would love to hear from you.

These were last year's sale prices so as a general rule you should not have to pay more than $32 a season, so if the price is too high, keep walking, you can do better. I have collected my seasons from Kmart, Big W, Target, Sanity, JB Hifi, and Video Ezy.

I recommend the Australian merchandise site cafepress.com.au for quick delivery and Australian Prices (better than overseas sites where you pay US dollars and higher shipping fees).

Browsing cafe press today I liked the following items:

Dragonfly Inn women's longsleeve tshirt $26.50

I'm A Lorelai tshirt, $26.50

I'm A Rory tshirt, $32

Life is Short, Talk Fast fridge magnets $6

Coffee is A Way Of Life in Stars Hollow mug $20.50 or better value, tshirt $26.50

Reading Is Sexy tshirt **** This is stunning, I am going to get one of these!

www.wbshop.com/Gilmore-Girls offers tshirts, totes, journals and my favourite is the pink jewelled travel mug, only the most gorgeous travel mug you will ever see, priced at $14.35 I am going to get one, I can't resist!

Warner Brothers Shop also stocks Dragonfly Inn mugs, and Kirk tour merchandise.