Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to take a moment and wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

Winning Numbers for Buy Broken Arrow

BUY BROKEN ARROW
WINNING TICKET NUMBERS

The winning ticket for $10,000 #2042956 and was given out at Reasors – S. Elm

The winning ticket for $3,000 is #0518253 and was given out at Reasor’s E. Kenosha

The winning ticket for $2,000 is #1234040 and was given out at Baby Emporium

The winning ticket for $1,500 is #0794058 and was given out at Lowe’s


Don’t throw your tickets away.
If any of the prizes are not claimed by
Wednesday, December 23 at 3:00 p.m.
The Chamber will draw again!!!!

See What You Can Make!

These are soaps made by Courtney, 11 years old, here at The Gift Garden. She did such a great job. Hard to believe she is a first-time soap maker. Come in and see what you can make!

Gingerbread Man Soap

This is a sample of one all wrapped up and ready to go.

Gingerbread Men Soaps

Today I made these adorable Gingerbread Men Soaps. They are super cute and fun. They are scented with a yummy Gingersnap Fragrance. They are being packaged in a clear acetate box tied off with tulle. I will try to post pictures of them packaged tomorrow. Just $4.00. Makes a great stocking stuffer.

Buy Broken Arrow Campaign

We are excited that this is the second year that The Gift Garden is participating in the Buy Broken Arrow Campaign sponsored by the Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce. Support your local businesses this holiday season and get tickets that enter you in to a drawing in which you could win $3000, $5000, or even $10,000. Drawings will be held on December 18th. Stop by participating businesses and get your tickets!

Taco Salad Recipe

This is a recipe that was given to me years ago from a friend. I just made it at home this weekend and thought I should post it here. It is great for potlucks too. I have never had leftovers when taking this to a potluck and would usually do a double recipe. I even used this for a Halloween potluck as we were tasked with bringing food that orange and black. To create that, I mixed everything according to the directs and right before serving a sprinkled a layer of the crushed Doritos on top and then added some sliced black olives.

1 bottle Catalina salad dressing
1 head lettuce
2 lg. tomatoes, chopped
1 med. onion, chopped
1 med. green pepper or green onion, chopped
1 lb. ground beef
1 pkg. shredded Cheddar cheese
1 pkg. Nachos or Doritos, crushed or broken
1 pkg. taco seasoning (optional)
Olives are also optional

Brown beef with taco seasoning and allow to cool.

Combine all other ingredients except chips in a large salad bowl. Toss like a regular salad. Add ground beef and chips just before serving. Pour Catalina dressing over all or serve alongside.

For a lower calorie option substitute ground turkey for the ground beef, use light versus regular cheese, use light Catalina versus regular, and use Baked Doritos.

Enjoy!

Health Care Expo

Saturday, October 24th from 9 am to 4 pm at Neinhaus Park Community Center. Lots of free screenings, kids activities, and more. For more information click here.

2010 DRNA Calendars

As you may know, I am a doxie mama of 3 and a foster mom of 1. I foster rescues for Dachshund Rescue of North America (DRNA). The new 2010 calendar for DRNA has been released. They are available for $18.00 and can be purchased here or in my store. Proceeds from the sales of the calendar help to pay for medical expenses and care of these precious and needy rescues. They will also make a great gift or stocking stuffer for any dachshund lover in your life.

Soap Making App for the IPhone

I must say I was thrilled to find that there is a Soap Making Application for my IPhone. How great is this? Leave it to Brambleberry to be the creator of the app.

I have been playing around with this quite a bit lately and I am loving it. It is easy to use and even comes with 3 recipes to help get you started.

There is an extensive list of fats, oils and butters to choose from. You can choose your percentage of superfatting and the size of your batch. You can even email the recipe. The only addition I would like to see in future updates would be an area for notes so I could keep information about fragrances and colors I used in the batch...etc. Otherwise, I could not be happier. Creating new recipes made even easier. Get yours for just $4.99.

Autumn Harvest to Benefit Madonna House

The 16th annual Autumn Harvest Arts & Crafts Festival benefiting Madonna House of Catholic Charities will be Saturday, Sept. 19 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Bishop Kelley High School, 3905 S. Hudson Ave. in Tulsa.

The Autumn Harvest Festival is sponsored by the Madonna House Auxiliary, an organization with more than 600 members that support the Madonna House residential maternity home dedicated to helping pregnant women, new moms, and newborns.

This organization assists women through lodging, nutrition, linkage with health care, professional counseling and child care education, as well instruction leading to a GED or support toward post high school education.

I have a booth at this craft show. I hope to see you there!

Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce Expo

Tomorrow is the Chamber Home & Business Expo. I will be exhibiting there along with many great businesses in Broken Arrow. Come down and check it out. Lots of great door prizes and a chance to find out what is happening in Broken Arrow!

Saturday, August 22 , 2009
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Nienhuis Park
3201 North 9th Street
Broken Arrow, OK

First Batch of Cold Process Soap

Last week Cheryl & Molly (sisters) came in to make their first batch of cold process soap. They had previously taken a class with me but were a little leery of doing it all on their own. So they came back in last week and Cheryl made a batch scented with an essential oil blend of Lavender, Chamomile, and Vanilla with Lemon Balm herbs and Molly made a beautiful batch of Pumpkin Soap. Next, they want to do goats milk soap. I think they may be hooked on soap making!

Vault Key Stop

Come by the store this week or on Saturday from 11 - 1 for your chance to enter to win a key to open The Vault at Big Splash.

You may get the key that opens the Vault! Some lucky key holders will have the key that opens the Vault of cash, trips, electronics, and a SmartCar!

Any purchase of $15.00 or more at the Scent Station enters you to win!

Pumpkin

Last fall I made a Pumpkin Soap. In that soap I used actual pumpkin in it. I intended for this soap to be a seasonal soap and did not plan on bringing it back until this fall however some of my customers did not agree with this plan so I finally broke down and made a fresh batch of my pumpkin soap today. Some may ask why pumpkin?

Pumpkin is actually quite good for your skin. The valuable benefits of pumpkin are the high content of vitamin A and beta carotene, two potent antioxidants provide important nutrition for the skin. Pumpkin also contains lots of anti-oxidants, vitamin C, as well as zinc and beneficial alpha-hydroxy acids.

Beyond putting it in soap you can make facial masks and scrubs with it as well.

Fish in a Bag Soaps

I truly believe that bath time should be a fun time for kids. I know as I child, I hated bath time. Then again it was not that fun. It was like a chore. Now I want bath time to be relaxing and soothing. But if I was a kid again and had to take a bath I know these Fish in a Bag soaps would be lots of fun. Just peel the soap out of the bag and once the soap is used up your child will be left with the fish toy. Please supervise your children with the soap and/or toy.

Bath Bomb Cupcakes

Today was frosting day for the bath bomb cupcakes that I previously made. I have such fun decorating them and adding special touches like body-safe glitter or various colored jojoba beads.

Wicked Sale Event

Join us Saturday, July 11th at The Gift Garden. From 10-6 we will have some Wicked Sales going on, free hand spa treatments, refreshments, and chances to win tickets to see Wicked opening night in Tulsa.

Too Cute Cupcakes

The picture above is a cupcake. They put two cupcakes together and decorated it. I thought these were just adorable. Of all places they can be found at the Walmart Bakery for only $4.00. What a great way to brighten someone's day.

Soap Making Party

On Saturday we had a party at the store and the activity of choice was making soap.

To facilitate things I used that signs and tags from the summer issue of the Soapylove ezine. It made things so easy. Everyone was able to follow along with the steps and made beautiful soaps. The tags made packaging the soaps as favors so simple and nice. Get your summer issue with the full instructions and templates here.

Personalized Diapers

Looking for a special and unique idea for a baby shower? We can now create personalized diapers for you. They can be done in a variety of fonts, colors, and with a wide selection of graphics. Above is a sample of a finished basket to show the basket will arrive. Shipping to all states is available. These will soon be available on our website.

Door Prize Winners

Thank you to everyone who attended our Open House on Saturday. We did drawings during the afternoon and the following won prizes:

Susan Gunyon
Meagan Rhodes
J. Renee Williams
Suzanne Jackson

Congratulations to the winners!

Bath Bomb Cupcakes

Today I was making Bath Bomb Cupcakes. These were so much fun but I won't discuss the mess I made making them. They are available in Buttercream & Snickerdoodle, Raspberry Cream, and Sweet Thang. The scents are delightful. Treat yourself to a fun bath time.

Plumeria Soaps

Today I was making soaps. I made some loofah soaps in Oatmeal Milk & Honey and Mulberry scents. Then I made these fun Plumeria soaps. They are also scented in Plumeria.

The Original Man Candle

Now in stock. With scents like Pot Roast, Draft Beer, French Fry, Garage, Golf Course, Fishing Dock, Cup O Joe, and Football, you are bound to find a perfect match for the man in your life. These would make great Father's Day Gifts too.

Open House

In honor of our new location and our upcoming 1 year anniversary, we are having an open house. This will be at our store on June 6 from 12 -5. Other vendors will be there along with friends, food, fun, and prizes. Further details are posted in the store and will be sent out in our newsletter. I hope to see you there!

Dove Release

This morning at the Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce Leads Group I attend we had a presentation by Tina of Webster's Wings. Her company does dove releases for various events and we were treated to one of her releases at our meeting.

I must say it was quite nice and if I have a wedding I would love to have doves released. Nice job Tina.

I am back open and having a contest to celebrate!

I am finally back in business and very happy to be. So I figured that I should have a contest to celebrate that and Mother's Day which will soon be upon us. So please join us in celebrating by participating in our contest and win a very special basket for your Mom. See the details on the above contest to read all about the prize.

Good Luck!

The Sign Went Up - Yeah!!!!

I am a little delayed in posting this but on Saturday the guys came and put up the new sign for the store. I was so excited. Like a little school girl. The reality of becoming official. For my customers, you know this is a long ways from the sign I had at the last location. The Osage Neon Crew did a great job.

The Move In Progress

The move is well under way. After 1 year at the last location, I completely grew out of the space. It was good that I started where I was as I was not really sure all of what I wanted to do. Over the past year, I was able to drill down my business and where I wanted to go with the store. So when I was searching for a new location, I kept my business goals in mind. The ability to also custom build the new location has been truly wonderful.

This picture is of my back room. This is where I will have my office as well as all my tools and supplies for making baskets, diaper cakes, and all my other creations. I know it does not look like much now but it will. I will take more pictures over the next few days to show the new store in progress.

The front section of the store will be the gift shop. I kept the bar that was in the store for our "scenting station." This is where we will custom scent our bath and body products for you. I also will have an open area for people to come in and make their on glycerin soaps. The finale is a party/class room. We will be able to have groups, parties, and various craft classes taught by various teachers.

I am so excited about all that is to come.

Fresh Batch of Cool Water Type Soap

This is a fresh batch of Cool Water Type soap I made today. The fragrance was all over the shop and smelled just wonderful. I can't wait to unmold and cut this soap tomorrow.

Making Silky Cream

I was busy making lotions and creams this morning. The cream I was making above is definitely one of my favorite products. This cream is very light, non-greasy, absorbs quickly, and contains yummy ingredients like shea butter, jojoba oil, and liquid silk.

BBQ Basket

Here is a BBQ Basket that was just made. This basket contains a BBQ Grill Tool Set, OU Grilling Sauces 3 pack - 1 Bottle of Albert's BBQ Sauce and some BBQ Peanuts.

Kid's Basket

This is a custom kid's basket. It is filled with construction paper, markers, coloring books, crayons, puzzle books, sidewalk chalk, Play-Doh, Bubbles, and even a Yellow Rubber Ducky for bathtime.

Baby Basket

This is a baby basket made today for a customer order. I will be posting more basket samples of the work I do so you can see the types of quality baskets I can create for you.

Easter Baskets Galore

I have been busy in the shop with Easter. These are some of the custom baskets made today.

Soapylove

I am so happy. I got some Soapylove in the mail today. I am a frequent ready of Soapylove's Blog and I was lucky enough to win one of her contests. The prize actually was a copy of her eZine. (These are great. I am learning so many new soaping techniques) Since I already had gotten my copy she was kind enough to let me choose a soapsicle as my prize. I chose Clearly Lovely as it is my personal favorite. Debbie suprised me with one of her newest designs - Pink Grapefruit.


Pink Grapefruit smells wonderful. I was even impressed by her card. It was a handwritten card in the cutest envelope that even has a little Soapylove pin on it. Very, very cute. You can purchase her Soapsicles in my store or online here.

Go Girl Soap

It has been a while since I have been able to make some soap. I sure do enjoy getting in a making it though. These pictures are part of a custom order I did today.

This picture shows how the soap was packaged.

Dogs in Color

I was going to the post office when I saw these dogs and had to stop. They were out from a walk from the groomers. They had one more that was blue but he was gone before I could get his photo. Aren't this gals super cute. I love the Hot Pink!


I am sure the dogs are thinking why me. What us humans do to our animals. But I have to admit it is adorable and if I had a dog that I could do this to, I would.

Easter Baskets are on the Way

I am starting to put out the selection of Easter Baskets. The one pictured above has bubble bath, and bath pouf, a tooth brush & soap travel case and a individually wrapped cookie. I have a variety of baskets to choose from. Prices are $6.00 and up. The basket above is $16.00.

Winter Wonderland

So much for Spring. Mother Nature had other plans for us today. We had a winter wonderland. Hopefully it will all melt tomorrow and that this will be the last winter storm.

Olive Squalane

As I continue to work on expanding my offerings of bath & body products in my store, I must share my latest find. I most recently discovered Olive Squalane and I am in love with it. After doing research and hearing all the great qualities this oil has I had to try it. I started by making an all natural lotion that includes olive squalane. After the first application of the lotion, I was thrilled. I tend to have dry skin and this made my hands feel so moist and soft. I now use it as an all over body lotion and my facial moisturizer.

I will be soon offering this lotion as well as Olive Squalane in its 100% concentration that can be used as is for a moisturizer and more. These are some of the reported benefits:

Heals chapped /cracked Skin
Helps prevent UV damage to skin
Helps skin to retain moisture
Helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles
Imparts relief to dehydrated and ultra-sensitive skin
Softens the most rough-textured skin and leaves no oily residue
Helpful in counteracting conditions of eczema, psoriasis, and post-operative skin.
It can be applied throughout the day to soften dry, scaly spots.
It can be used under make-up for a flawless application and as a base to maximize the effects of moisturizers.
Squalane is also an ideal addition to nighttime facial treatments or other formulations.

Those that have been testing my samples have had great feedback and have noticed a difference in their skin. Especially those using the pure Squalane. I look forward to having this available for you to try very very soon!

Margaret Hudson Program

I had the privilege of taking a tour of the Margaret Hudson Program School in Broken Arrow this morning. The program committed to educating pregnant and parenting teens and their families to be healthy, self-sufficient, contributing members of the community and to educate the community about the challenge of teen pregnancy and parenting.

I was very impressed with the facility and the opportunity the program provides to pregnant teens and young mothers. They can take their babies to school with them and know that they are well cared for while they study and finish their high school education. Seeing all the beautiful babies was a very special treat.

I will also be speaking to the girls on Career Day in May on opportunities to start their own business. In this world that we live in, opportunities to start businesses are so available. It is possible to turn your favorite hobby, talent, or skill into a viable business that creates an additional income for your household or it can be pursued into a full-time career. I am looking forward to sharing with these girls.

Cup of Coffee Networkers

One of the best things that I have done to help grow my business is Networking. The opportunity to get out, meet people, share my business and what I do is very valuable. Not only do they get to know about my business, they get to know me. Building relationships is necessary when building a business. I also meet great people that can help me with my business. Therefore, when I heard of Cup of Coffee Networkers I was ready to participate.

This group is 100% free. A location is set up and hosted so people can come together and network. There is nothing to pay or join. Just come and network. If you want to get a cup of coffee or tea it is purely optional. New clubs are starting up all over. Check out the website here for times and locations. You can also get information about starting one in your area.

I will be hosting the new Broken Arrow group on Monday evenings from 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm. We will be meeting at Stonewood Coffee & Tea. Come out and joins us. Bring lots of business cards.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

It was my intention to make St. Patrick Soaps and post them here. Well I made the soaps however I was not really focused on the task and what was to be cute soaps turned into a soaping disaster. Therefore, no soap pics. The cute little leprechaun will have to make due.

Catching up with Technology

Ok, I am trying to get up to speed with all of the current technology. I have been trying not to but see that it is no longer realistic or beneficial to me or my business to do so. Therefore, I am now up an running on Facebook and I just set up my profile on Twitter. I can't say that I am fully proficient on either at this time but it is a work in progress. I added a link for Twitter on the blog today and if I figure out how to do so for Facebook, I will do that too.

Cat Litter????? I Don't Think So!

While I was getting ready for work this morning, I had the news on as usual. On the morning show (a national morning show at that) I was listening to they had a guest come on and give some suggestions on things you can make and do at home to save money. This particular tip was on making an exfoliant at home instead of buying an expensive sugar scrub from a retail store.

I can appreciate the idea, however not the recommended ingredient. She suggested you use your cat litter. Yes, I said cat litter. She said just to add some water to it and use it as an exfoliant for your face & body. I about fell over. I don't care how tight money may be we do not have to resort to using cat litter to exfoliate. You can find many economical brands, including a Shea Butter Sugar Scrub we carry for $8.00. However, if money is tight, and that is more than you can afford to spend, you certainly can make some at home that would work.

These are ingredients you would most likely already have in your pantry.

Take 1 part sugar to 1/2 part olive oil. Mix together. If desired, you can add extra oil. This will make a nice simple scrub that will do the job. And you did not even have to disturb the kitty.

New Diaper Cake Design

This is a new design I created today. I think it is fun and cute. Hope you like it.

This product is also available here.

Sand Art

I found myself watching this and was completely mesmerized as she transformed each picture. This is done by Ilana Yahav, a world renown sand animation artist. Using only her fingers, Ilana draws with sand on a glass table. On her website you can watch her video clips and contact her. http://www.sandfantasy.com/.

Here is one of the videos.

Diaper Cupcakes

I have been making and selling diaper cakes for quite some time now. Today I started doing some experimentation with some new diaper creations for the shop. These are diaper cupcakes. I think this would be cute for decorations at the shower and then can be given to the mom-to-be to use. A 6-pack is 9.95. They will also be available in blue for boys.

The Lease is Signed

After a month of negotiating and anxiously awaiting this moment, the lease is finally signed on the new space. My lease ends in my current location at the in of May. I am excited about the new location as it is much bigger, it will have a full class/party room, and it is easier to access with lots of parking. I am so excited to take The Gift Garden to the next level. I look forward to continuing to offer a great selection of gift items, customized party favors, handmade diaper cakes, and once moved I will be adding my line of bath and body products. I expect to be open in the new location by May 1st. Until that time, it will be business as usual at our current location.

A Beautiful Day

Today was a great day. Warmer weather finally broke today giving hope of Spring. I could hear the birds singing outside while I was working inside. It was wonderful.

I was also able to experiment with some more mineral make-up. Today I worked on formulations for Mineral Veil. I think I have 2 that I like.

This week I also worked on foundations and blush. I hope to make some of these items available for sale in the near future. At the end of the day, I went to take out the trash and was pleasantly surprised to find this cute little critter in the yard.

I was lucky to get the picture as I had to run back inside and get my camera. I came back out and it had not moved. The rabbit sat so patiently while I took the picture. Too cute.