I am hosting a giveaway - AGAIN....be your own boss now of the prize you get

Yeah, yeah....now I havent hosted my own giveaway in such a long time, I thought it was about time. And really, there is no better way to do it than Youtube, so I can at least say what I want to say :-)

You would be able to choose your own prize here. At least you dont get what someone else decided to throw your way...lol....My creams have all stayed the same, they are my signature product and what I am known best for.

I did experiment with soap recipes though. All of my cold process soaps are awesome, but my personal favorites are the ones with olive oil/shea and olive oil/lard combination.

option of how you can enter:

Mandatory:

1. Subscribe to my YouTube Channel

Optional:

2. Become a fan of my Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/MeaCulpaBodya...

3. Go to my stores and write down under the video which item you like the best:
http://meaculpabodyandbath.artfire.com
http://meaculpabodyandbath.esty.com

4. Subscribe to my newsletter:

5. Twitter about it

6. Facebook it.

Write down each entry separately under the video. Contest ends in 2 weeks - May 11th

Giveaway....AGAIN...win 3 Goats Milk Soaps

Here we go again....this time I have 3 Goats Milk Soaps up for grabs - Grapefruit Essential Oil, Golden Goddess (Baby Phat) and PS I Love You (Bath and Body Works). Hop on to ByHandGiveAways and see the simples details of how to enter.

http://byhandgiveaways.blogspot.com/2010/04/sponsored-enter-here-win-soap-mea-culpa.html

How to make all natural sunscreen cream

I finally made a video. But with this, new challenges came...lol.....I could not, for the life of me, find a program to crop the inside of the video so I can make it only 10 min long. So, you will have to suffer through all the mixing with the hand blender :-(

There are 11 parts, they are not very long (thank you Gods!) and if you only click on my username there - it will take you to my channel where you can see all of them. I really doubt that you want me to embed all 11 here on my blog :-)

Enjoy:

Etsy Buy Handmade MeaCulpaBodyandBath

Giveaway Alert - Karma Bites (Lush Type Karma) Goats Milk Soap

Alright Folks, I am giving away one 3oz bar of the intoxicating Karma Bites fragranced goats milk soap. This is the last one left in my store and there will be more to come.

There is no need to purchase anything, you dont have fill in all requirements that are listed. Do only what you feel comfortable doing. Its nothing really, few of the things that Traci at Sampler Village (in which I contribute with samples in her boxes) are: to go to my store and write down your fav item, to become a fan of my Facebook Fan Page etc....

Hop on over to:

http://samplervillage.blogspot.com/2010/03/giveaway-mea-culpa-body-and-bath-goats.html

and enter to win this luscious soft soap!

Giveaway ends April 2nd.

What Lush scents would you like to see in my store?

So....I've been gone, I know....I had a lot going on in my life - store was busy, we were looking for a new house, moving, settling in etc.....I am not completely all unpacked and all, we just moved in 2 weeks ago. Taking it slowly....

I have gotten few Lush scents and I was really wondering which ones are popular and which ones you would like to see. I investigated Lush's ingredients and honestly, as much as they tout natural and all - oh, they are not. Probably the worst ingredient in their products is SLS.

In my store, you can find a lot of the amazing scents of Lush (with changed names, of course) with my REALLY all natural products.

The ones that I have for now are:

Karma

Honey, I washed the kids

American Cream

Rock Star

Uluru

Alkmaar

Champagne Snow Flurries

Jungle

I am really looking forward to finding and buying more, so your help would be very appreciated.

Etsy Buy Handmade MeaCulpaBodyandBath

Receive free 3oz Goats Milk Soap Coupon

I have decided to award the people that shop with me by giving them a free gift. From now until Dec 3rd orders over 15$ (before shipping) will be able to get a free soap. If you dont like surprises, just leave me a note at checkout saying what scent you would like.

Here is the coupon you can use:

Visit MeaCulpaBodyandBath's Studio

Receive a free gift with Order Total (orders above $15.00)

Use Coupon Code:

FREESOAP

during checkout.

Handmade Musical Instruments

Was it Halloween?

well....thats it :-) My older one was a vampire, my younger a Native Indian and me....well, I was SUPPOSE to be a vampire, but my teeth just didnt work out. I think I look more like a witch...lol

See how you can win free Goats Milk Soap with Shea Butter Cream

I am going to offer a free 3oz Goats Milk Soap, accompanied by a 2oz Shea Butter Cream - your choice of scent of course, for the 100th subscriber to my newsletter. If by any chance more people enter, I will do the same for the 150th and 200th and so on for every 50th person.

All you have to do is click on the blue box on the left and enter your name and email. If at any time you want to unsubscribe - thats very easy to do.

I just want to tell you that you can be at peace - I dont overwhelm the people with emails all the time. I start with

myself, knowing that I wouldnt like that.

The prize is worth 9.50$

Thank You.

I have over 115 different scents to choose from. You can see them here:

http://www.etsy.com/profile.php?user_id=6254361

and here:

http://www.artfire.com/users/meaculpabodyandbath/blog/c/my-list-of-scents-available

Getting personal with soap...no, not THAT way!

So, I started making soaps and my biggest challenge so far has been matching colors to the scent. Yeap - it takes some creativity to do that successfully.....and honestly, I dont think I have been all that successful with it.

One scent just sent a lightening bolt through my head and I had the colors pink-gray in my head. That scent was Very Sexy from Victorias Secret. I dont know why, it somehow reminded me of my days when I used to work as a customer service at a

n international phone company. It was elegant, sensual and sexy in such a subtle way - just like the ladies that worked at the office with me.

In a tribute to our inner sensuality - I matched Very Sexy with the soft look of pink shirt and gray pants :-)

Right now I am running specials on my soaps - all my 3oz soaps are marked down to 2.50$

MeaCulpaBodyandBath

Sell Handmade

Some cute jewelery finds :-)

I was browsing ArtFire and came up to M2bC's Studio - amazing pieces! Here I am sharing some that I liked a LOT!

Kumihimo Necklace with Aventurine

Necklace and Earring Set - Larvikite and Labradorite

Quartz Crystal Point Pendant

Pumpkin picking with a friend

"But mommy, why do they hate Santa?"

I just want to start by saying that I dont judge anyone by their spiritual beliefs - it if it works for you and makes you happy, go for it - who am I to criticize? I am a pagan and have a collection of beliefs from around the world and I hope nobody would judge me for it either - nor feel sorry for me.

I celebrate all holidays as the other kids in school do, because I don't want my child to feel left behind. I cant be happy forcing or forbidding things that other kids do. If my daughter is not happy - I am not either.

Now, on to the topic that I wanted to share :-)

My older daughter who is 7 years old now has gone to the Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall with her auntie and grandma. I don't mind. To me, the backbone of any religion and belief is love. I have always told my daughter not to believe everything she hears. Question everything. Seek answers. And seek them everywhere - not just in one book or in one school of thought. She understands that and she always has something to say.

Yesterday she came back from a sleep over (and a Kingdom Hall outing) a little bit upset. I asked her to talk to me and tell me what is bothering her. She started talking and, oh boy, did I hear a lot!

"Mom, they told me that we shouldn't celebrate Christmas. Why not? They said that Santa is bad, that he is evil. Why do they hate Santa? They talk that we should love everyone and here they don't. They don't love everyone, mom. They HATE Santa...Santa is not evil - they are! How can they hate? Oh...oh...and you know what? They also said that Halloween is evil. That Halloween is from the Devil....how can it be from the Devil? The Devil doesn't exist! Momma, I told you I don't want to go to those churches, then I will have all these church stuff in my head!" (I don't know how to explain to her the difference between a Kingdom Hall and a Church).

And I just sat there and listened, listened, listened....it was not like she was asking me questions - she

was venting. Didn't know what to say. Finally I just uttered:

"Well, you know Mia, they have their own things they believe in. You don't have to if you don't like it, you know that

right? You don't have to worry, we will still celebrate Christmas and Halloween and Santa will be here for you.".

To me it was a pleasant shock to hear her think like that. I thought that at her age she would believe everything she hears as the truth. I just want to say how happy I was to see my daughter brainstorming.

I want to share the new product line in my store - goats mik soaps!!!

I have been a busy bee lately. You know, its so awesome when you do something you love - you dont mind not knowing where your head is, you are actually happy!

Through this year since I have been selling online, people kept asking me if I do soaps.....at that time, I did not. I was a bit unsure if I ever wanted to offer soaps. That was out of my comfort zone.

Well, that changed! I finally plunged into it! My first dilemma (and it still is as I am still filling up the store) was wha

t scent should I make first? Would it be something for the season and the holiday or something that I actually enjoy smelling. I decided to mix them up and start with a small selection, while slowly adding more scent choices of soap.

The first one I made was a soap for my husband. He wanted something exfoliating so he would be able to use it as a scrubbing soap. I added some pumice stone and loofah and

voila! He loves it! This coming from a guy that is addicted to body wash and doesnt want to ever use a bar of soap. That actually gave me the encouragement to make more and add them to my store.

For now, I have these scents in my store:

Oakmoss Sandalwood, Iced Pumpkin, Birthday Cake, Lilac in Bloom, Nutcracker and a Cucumber Mint exfoliating Goats Milk Soap. I am in the process to add Pink Sugar, Violet Shea and Cupcake - for now.....way more to come in the upcoming days.

I really like having nice pictures of the products too and I have never in my life took a picture of soap - I am so used to photographing jars and bottles. I would really appreciate any input you got to share about my photos :-)

The ingredients are:

coconut oil, palm oil, castor oil, safflower oil, glycerin, water, goat milk, sorbitol, sorbitan oleate, fragrance oil, soybean protein, titanium dioxide

Castor oil adds moisturizing;

Safflower Oil is a highly moisturizing oil with an exceptionally high amount of Oleic acids, deeply soothing and one of the best choices for skin moisturizing;

Glycerin is a humectant, drawing moisture to your skin, allowing it to remain hydrated and soft. Beyond hydrating your skin, glycerin is also known to be a natural remedy for yeast and fungal infections, such as eczema and psoriasis. It is especially good for sensitive skin. Glycerin soap does not contain synthetic ingredients that will cause skin irritations. It keeps your skin looking AND feeling healthy and soft.

The low pH level of goat milk is close to our skin’s own pH. Goat milk also contains alpha-hydroxy acids, which are known for their restorative and rejuvenating qualities.

I love the way the Universe works!

Do you want the nitty griddy details?

Ok. So, I dont know how many of you know that I came to USA from Macedonia. A

wesome country, but I have to say that the people are a little more closed minded. Just now they are starting to open up to tattoing and even that is more in the context of - macedonian pride (which I am fine with) or nice pictures of animals, flowers etc. They are not familiar with tribal tattoos and them being hard core orthodox - they have a picture in their head that henna tattoos are only for muslims.

That said, I had a henna design done on my hand and then up to my elbow, crowned with a Black Widow Spider (which all still have to be finished). My friend is still back home. I l

ove her, I grew up with her....but she has a different taste and world views than me.

She noticed the pictures of my tattoos on Facebook and let me know of her thoughts. Well....that was something....lol.....I was told that my tribal/henna tattoos look like a kid scribbled them and that I should fire my artist. And that my spider is creepy and so not tasteful. I have to express that I told her everyone has their own taste buds and all this is relative - nobody can find the same one thing attractive. And thats a good thing though. BUT she insisted that the artist is no good.....ok....

Today I receive a forwarded e-mail from her. You know, one of those that tell you to send them to xxxx people. This e-mail was about the Goddess Lakshmi and was asking to send to people for prosperity.....HA!!!!! I got ya now!!!! The same tattoos that she was trashing are a "prayer" to Lakshmi for luck and prosperity.....

I just love when the circle closes like this. I did make sure I e-mailed her back to let her know.

Yeah....I was too geeked about this and HAD to blog about it. Dont judge me!

Another gentle and all natural hair aid - Natural Hair Detangler

Soooo, how did it start? My daughters always, ALWAYS woke up with some messed up hair, totally in knots and it was painful to brush that! I did use store bought sprays to detangle it, but the thing that I hated the most was that it left their hair soapy! Yeap, every single time I gave them a bath and got their hair wet - it already had slippery soapy like thing in it, way before I even applied shampoo.

Decided to play with what I had at home and get this done and over with. First thing that I thought was - jojoba oil. Its a wax, not an oil and its been known as a good hair aid - it gives shine, it nourishes it, it repairs it. Didnt want to put any essential oils - I was dealing with kid after all and I was not sure how their scalp and hair would take that, so I added just a tad bit of rosemary extract. That would help with the knots and add shine and silkiness. At last, I added phytokeratin (carrot product) which is THE best for hair detangling and making it manageable again. And then, I mixed this all with distilled water :-)

I have used this with my girls for few months now and I have given one to my sister. I am so happy with the results!!! No more soapy hair! Whats best, it leaves the locks shiny and silky and even takes care of the frizziness!

I just wanted to share my little discovery, my little all natural hair spray for tangles, knots and shine :-)

If you would like to purchase it, you can do it here (without even opening an acoount):

MeaCulpaBodyandBath

Buy Handmade

So, it HAS been forver since I blogged, huh?

Yeah.....everything was getting to me back in May. I didnt have any time for my family, I was way too busy working on my stores, promoting, visiting social networking sites, researching, blogging, visiting blogs etc.....I really, really burned out! I needed this break so much!

Now I'm back and I need to take things easy. I heard that Entrecard is not really working the way it used to, so I might use it only to browse blogs the easier way :-)

Talk later people!

:-)

Jasmina

Got myself a tattoo - finally!!!!

I have been tempted to go get a tattoo every time I see my husband and every time I see someone having something nice and meaningful done....months back, when we searched for something for my husband - I came across a picture of a mandala that just took my breath away and since then it has been in my head and wouldnt leave me alone....so I decided to do it!

Because I was scared of the pain, I told my dear husband to find someone to do it for me - NOW...lol....Honestly, I could have changed my mind in no time.

Well...talking about a pain. It did hurt - but only when he was drawing the lines over my spine. I thought that I can bite through metal, thats how bad it was. Luckily, it didnt last long and the rest was a piece of cake!

Here is my tat, pic taken the same day when it was done:

I want to appologize to everyone

From the last virus attack I wrote about earlier, I am not able to leave comments on blogs....weird, I know....I cant even open my own posts here - it shuts off my Mozilla right away.....so if you leave a comment in the shout box, I will be able to visit back

This sucks big time :-(

Four Ways to Sooth Your Eyes - Naturally

CHAMOMILE EYE SOOTHER


1/8 Chamomile Tea Bags
1 cup Distilled Water


Heat the distilled water to a point of boiling and remove from heat after it comes to a full rolling boil. Add the tea bags and let them sit there until the water is lukewarm. Remove them and squeeze out the excess liquid. Place the tea bags on your closed eyes for 15 minutes. Remove and discard. The infusion can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days and used as hair or facial rinse.




CALENDULA EYE SOOTHER


2 Tbsps dried calendula blossoms
1/3 cup distilled water


Add the calendula blossoms to the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 10 minutes. Strain the blossoms and let the infusion to cool. Soak gauze squares or cotton pads in the infusion, squeeze out excess liquid and place on the eyes for about 15 minutes. The infusion can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days and used as hair rinse.



FENNEL EYE SOOTHER


3 Tbsps crushed fennel seeds
1/3 cup distilled water


Follow instructions as with the calendula infusion. Leftovers can be stored in frudge for up to 3 days and used as skin rinse.



TIRED EYE RELIEF


1/2 cup dried lavender buds
1/2 cup distilled water


Follow instructions as with the Fennel infusion.

Viruses from visiting way too many blogs?

Since I started using Entrecard a LOT and visiting every blog possible, my computer started acting funny and hubby found 45 funky little things.....this is making me re-think using this venue as means of traffic...

Has this happened to anyone?