Blog Carnival: Spring is in the air...

It's Blog Carnival time :-).  This time Karen hooked us up with a fantastic spring theme!  Thanks Karen :-).  Please leave me a comment if something about my post fancies or inspires you. 

The seasons are once again changing, and with the changing seasons I too change.  I have learned that I am a part of nature, and along with the trees, plants, animals, and our food sources... not to mention weather patterns, there are things about me that are cyclical.  There are also things about me that continue to change and mature as the seasons change, and that as they come back year after year, they continue to evolve.  In this way, I am a lot like a great oak- I lose my leaves, and some of my bark or a branch may be lost occasionally... but as time passes, I continue to return for the spring and I continue to bring something new to my environment. 

So, here we are... spring is sneaking up on us.  I am happily awaiting its arrival and peaking around corners to see if it's here yet.   Every year there are little signs that spring has sprung.  There are the critters that are beginning to peak their heads out.  We see tiny bits of green as heartier plants and flowers begin to push through the soil that has been brown (or hiding under snow) all winter.  At some point the grass suddenly turns from a dormant brown to a lush happy spring green color.  Spring does not just arrive in nature.  Etsy is full of spring, summer, easter wares and lets us know it's that time.  You can find all sorts of colorful finds, and while there are certainly still the share of wool, felt, and mittens... there are less treasuries full of them.  For me, in west Michigan, spring brings sunshine.  There are more sunny days :-).  (The sun tends to hide in the months of January and February.  I can't blame it, many of us would also if we could get away with it!)  Another sure sign of spring is the rise in talk of coming farmer's markets that begins to buzz and in turn my itch for the fresh fare starts to get nearly overwhelming.
  

There is something else that happens in spring.  I feel a need to change.  A need to "freshen up".  This spring, I feel like I need to change my shell to match my insides.  I changed from spending nearly ten years in an academic and professional setting and fighting to find time for my creative endeavors to one that now allows all of my creative, independent, and artistic flare to flow.  The "problem" is that I feel like a dull wool pair of socks that got worn too often this winter, that has a hole, and ... that is not really matching her outfit.  This spring, I think it is time I begin to find, make, create, and buy a wardrobe that expresses to the world who I am and what I do!  Time to freshen up- change out that old stinky sock with the hole for some fresh, vibrant ones!  This spring, it's time to get some sassy back in my step. 

... I think I'll have a salad or two also :-).


Spring is in the air... What are you doing to celebrate? 
I can't wait to hear!

Weekly Creative Inspiration Feature and Fellow Etsian Feature in one! For one Rockin' Philanthropic Woman!

Lilac- Vegan Olive Oil Soap by Shower Treat Soap

Creativity.  How are you creative?  Let me share the ways!

Every so often, approximately each week, I will have two features on my blog.  One feature will be a Creative Inspiration Feature.  Here I will share a person, project, organization, or experience that I feel has inspired my creativity and that I feel can inspire the creativity of others. 

The other feature will be a Fellow Etsian Feature.  In this feature I will choose a fellow artisan on Etsy whose work inspires or moves me who I feel deserves recognition. 

This week... something special has happened.  The Creative inspiration is a fellow Etsian.  Thus, this weeks two features are combined.  It is no doubt that by the end you will understand why.  Let me start with creativity... and then move into the wonderful artisan who is this week's inspiration and fellow Etsian. 

Creativity can be defined in many ways.  Some define creativity as a process of making something with our hands.  Some define creativity as a way of thing.  Others define creativity as a way of being, of thinking, a way of life.  I believe all human beings are creative.  My experiences and interactions with them have taught me this. 

This entry is a suggestion for you to think of creativity differently-- for you to expand your definitions of creativity.  It is also a feature of a fellow creative artisan and Etsian who I feel encompasses a creative energy that I respect and admire. 

Many of us think of creativity and we think of the arts.  Many of us instantly think of the fine, and usually visual arts first.  Certainly those require a certain kind of creativity.  Today I'd like to ask you to think about the other sorts of creative powers that we each hold within ourselves, and that we each use on a regular basis. 

Often we have to come up with creative solutions to challenges which are presented to us.  "Creative thinking" is what we sometimes hear it called.  Those of us who love puzzles-- whatever form they may come in-- we too are creative!  The ones who lay on their backs in the grass in the summer and watch the clouds pass over and imagine them as animals, or president's faces, or famous historians, or magical creatures... creative personalities for sure!  Those culinary inspired individuals who love to experiment in the kitchen, or bake us tasty treats and play with new flavor profiles-- also creative!  Individuals who garden and turn an overgrown brushy area into a beautiful sanctuary that many would dream to sit near- green creative minds!  Accountants who can figure out creative ways to save us money when doing our taxes-- also creative!  The list goes on, and on, and on!  Finally... there are those who devote their lives to helping us find alternative ways to healing our bodies, becoming healthy and well beings, and providing us with products to use when we choose to pamper ourselves.  These too are creative artisans! 

I love being creative in this last way... amongst many others!  I infuse honey to use in my tea when I am not feeling well.  I also infuse it to use on fish and chicken :-).  I infuse olive oil to dip breads and to make my own white sauces for pastas.  I make bath salts using essential oils.  I enjoy making all natural goat milk soaps that smell lovely and are nourishing for my body.  I enjoy sharing all of these things with others, but I equally enjoy using them for myself in healing rituals as I soak in a long hot bath, or do things as simple as wash my clothes in a detergent that I know is good for both myself and the earth that is supporting me. 

Today I would like to feature a fellow Artisan and Etsy Seller who devotes much time to making many products to help individuals nourish their own bodies, and help care for our earth.  Laura is the creative mind behind Shower Treat Soap.  Her creativity enables others creativity-- her creativity enables the web of creativity to continue.   She has been offering eco-friendly handmade soap products since 1997!  Ninety-eight percent her products are vegan friendly, which is not only amazing, but also inspirational!

Rosemary Lemongrass EO (essential oil) BIG BAR Vegan Soap  by Shower Treat Soap

She opened her Etsy shop in 2006 and on Etsy alone she has had nearly thirty five hundred orders since then!  More telling is that Laura has a 100% feedback rating-- her customer service and satisfaction speaks for itself.   While I was reading through the comments left on her feedback it was clear that she did not only meet her customer's satisfaction- she clearly surpassed them!  This woman is a compassionate artisan and is loved by her customers-- that is clear in her feedback!  It is also clear that she is talented and dedicated, along with passionate about her craft! 

Shower Treat Soap is located in lower southwestern Michigan, in Vicksberg.   Living nearby in Kalamazoo, I have often visited the area and I love it.  It is always amazing to me to see what wonderful creative things are coming out of my fellow West Michigan artisans.  Even more amazing, EVERY item she makes is made from scratch!  She uses no bases.  That is a lot of love and a lot of amazing good energy going into her products!  Having a similar passion for natural products, for soap making, and for the earth-- I can imagine that lovely West Michigan gives her a lot of inspiration for the wonderful natural scents and colors used in some of her products. 

Natural Laundry Detergent by Shower Treat Soap-- Fantastic!

Natural Laundry Detergent by Shower Treat Soap-- Great!

              
Laura makes the following products and sells them at Shower Treat Soap on Etsy.   

*Vegan cold process olive oil soap              *Vegan powdered laundry detergent
*Natural dishwasher detergent                     *Liquid pump hand soap
*Luxurious body wash                                 *Whipped cream soaps

.... In addition they also sometimes sell lip balm. 

Vegan Olive Oil Body Wash and Hand Soap by Shower Treat Soap

 

You can also follow Shower Treat Soap on Twitter, Facebook, and on their own Blog!  I highly recommend the blog myself!  All three are linked here-- just click.  Otherwise the web addresses are found directly below. 

 Twitter:  www.twitter.com/showertreatsoap
 Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/showertreatsoap
 Blog:  http://showertreatsoap.blogspot.com/

 And there is more...   As if that isn't amazing enough, Laura of Shower Treat Soap donates five percent of every sale to Women for women international.  This is helping to enable that creativity and sustainability spreads even further.  Laura is an inspiration to me, as an artisan, and as a social activist, for many reasons.  This is certainly one of them.  Women for Women International is an amazing organization that helps women who have been the victims of war, civil conflict, and other strife and conflict gain access to the tools and resources that they need to move from the current situation that they are in to one of success, sustainability, and self-sufficiency.   They provide financial support, job training, rights education and awareness, leadership education and more.  This is, again, a wonderful organization and a wonderfully generous contribution that Laura and Shower Treat Soap are making.

Women and Children in the Garden. 
Photo from Women to Women International's Afghanistan Farming and Agriculture
Photo Gallery.

A Bosnian Microcredit Client feeding the sheep she was able to purchase through the program.
Photograph from Women to Women International's Bosnia and Herzegovina Classroom and Job Training
Photo Gallery. 

Congratulations to Laura of Shower Treat Soaps for being my first featured Creative Inspiration and first Featured Etsian in one!    Laura, and her Etsy shop deserve every ounce of recognition.  Please bounce over to her shop and take a stroll.  Perhaps pick up a thing of detergent... or pack of samples so you can give a try.  You will not be disappointed!  Also swing by her blog-- you will also seriously enjoy what you find there as well.  Finally, if you feel so inclined, please also fly on over to the Women for Women International website and take a look.  Consider how your creativity could help out this, or whatever other cause you feel most connected to. 

As I wrap up another entry, I want to encourage you all to begin your week by telling yourselves that YOU ARE CREATIVE!  WE ALL are creative :-).  It is in our creativity that we find inspiration, peace, fun, our inner child, our spirit, our intuition, and even our logic :-).  Be well, be imaginative, be free, and... spread your creative wings.