Storewide sale- Free Shipping

I am having a Back to School sale.  I am offering free shipping on everything in my Etsy store. http://www.etsy.com/shop/Ziggydo#

Enjoy shopping. This sale lasts only for 1 week ending on August 23.

Use coupon code- Backtoschool. With no spaces.

                                       Happy Shopping!

Going Back To My Roots-Gardening

After giving some long and hard thoughts, well really not that hard, I have decided to go back to my roots.  And that is gardening.  I have a degree in Horticulture and really have never used it, except personally.  So I am going to be using my true love and passion for plants and taking it to the 2 farmers markets that I attend.  I am growing vegetables and flowering plants to sell.  Actually it has really been great to get back outside every day and work in my garden.  Working outside has been the only real stress reliever for me.  I love it.  Right now I have some peppers and tomatoes in the ground and I am about to plant some winter squash.  Sounds funny to plant winter squash right now since in Houston our winter doesn't start until January and only lasts about 2-3 months. In September I will be planting a lot more veges that will do better when our heat isn't at 100 degrees every day.
With this said, I will also be changing up my blog.  I am going to write more about my gardening work and my love to be more eco conscience than about my other businesses.  I will still post when things happen in my soap business since I still love making soap.  But I do plan to update quiet often about how plants are going and planting schedules, bug problems, or anything else that may arise.  I hope you enjoy it.  I do.

New Hooded Bath Towels

 I absolutely love making these hooded bath towels.  These soft towels are some of my favorites and these fluffy towels are really popular at the farmers markets where I sell them.  These towels can be used for children from toddlers all the way up to college kids.  It was funny when I had one boy about to go to A & M University talking his mom into buying my A & M towel.  He loved it.  I really do enjoy watching the kids get something that they can truly call their own.

My latest towels are here.  One is a white towel with Disney Cars themed fabric across the hood and down the sides.  I originally bought this fabric to make a chair cover so my littlest boy could put his coloring book and crayons behind his chair. (My attempt to keep his work area clean.) But it ended up on this towel instead.  It looks great.  And the kids like to pick out their favorite characters on the towel.  Nothing but fun and it reminds them of the movie every time they use their towel.  Honestly I can't tell you how many times we have watched Cars 1.http://www.etsy.com/listing/79135397/cars-hooded-bath-towel-for-toddlers

My other towel is for girls.  It is a hot pink fluffy towel with a zebra stripe ribbon across the hood and going down the sides of the towel.  What can I say?  It is very girly and so soft.  Perfect for cuddling with after a bath. I am stuck with a house full of boys.  So I get to, every once in a while, make stuff for other peoples little girls.  My mom keeps trying to put an order in for a little granddaughter but she is not getting it here.  It will have to come from my brother or sister.  My boys keep me so busy that I am exhausted by the end of the night.  They are wonderful to have in my life but they are energy sucker uppers. http://www.etsy.com/listing/79136247/pink-with-zebra-stripe-hooded-bath-towel

I do have another towel that is green with giraffe print ribbon on the hood and sides but I don't have it listed on etsy yet. Above is the picture for that one. 

Stripe and Floral Half Apron

My newest passion is making aprons.  I love to look at them for some strange reason.  So, since I have been sewing for so long, I have decided to start designing and making some great aprons.  My first apron is a half apron with a chocolate brown background with stripes and floral designs in green, pink, blue, and orange.http://www.etsy.com/listing/78830150/half-apron-in-stripes-floral-blue I have lined the apron in a solid brown fabric.  I have loved this fabric for a while.  The stripes and the floral design goes together so well.  I loved the fabric so much that I even made a purse out of it. 
I am a vendor at 2 farmers markets a week- The LaCenterra Farmers Market in Katy, Texas and The Spring Branch Farmers Market in the Spring Branch area in Texas.  Last week I put the apron on the table and had several people look at it with some interest.  Most everyone enjoyed it, however, almost everyone said that they prefer full length aprons compared to the half aprons. With this said I am going to make lots of aprons that are full length.  Personally I would like a full length apron also.  When I am making my soaps and other bath products I wear a thick canvas one.  It is really for cooking outdoors but I like that it protects my clothes
 from oils spills and splashes.  So here I go diving into a new and exciting product that I have been wanting to try for some time. 

How Ziggydo And Bodylicious Bath & Body Care Started- Part 2

Well I didn't mean for it to take me 3 days to finish my story about how my businesses got their start but my littlest guy turned around and got sick.  So I have been taking care of him, which has turned out to be constant.

This is how Ziggydo got started and got its name.  I really have been sewing for a little over 20 years now.  I love it so much.   I love the idea of being able to turn a piece of fabric into something useful or something beautiful to look at.  I don't make a lot of clothes.  Maybe every once in a while I will make some pajamas for my boys or something like that.  But my true love it art quilts.  There are some extremely talented men and women out there that can make pictures with fabric that are amazing.  For over 13 years now I have been going to the International Quilt Festival here in Houston with my mom, who is a great art quilter.  You would be so impressed with all of the wonderful quilts that are on display.  Unfortunately, many of my favorite quilts on display tend to be the ones that we are not allowed to take pictures of.

My Ziggydo shop is really just a way for me to shop for and play with fabrics.  I love to shop for new fabrics.  I generally make bags of all kinds, hooded bath towels (where I add some of my great fabrics to), pillowcases, and aprons.  I have been thinking about adding some chair covers to my line.  They will be for kids to put over their chairs and they will have pockets on the back of them for the youngsters to put their crayons and books in when they are not using them.  Kind of like a little storage place.  They will be made to go onto any size chairs.  I have been thinking about making these for some time now.  I got the idea when my son's teacher asked me to make them for the class.  If I decide to do this, I will post pictures of my different fabrics.
So far my hooded bath towels have been my biggest success.  I do sell them online at my esty shop.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/Ziggydo?section_id=10077096
I do sell them at 2 different farmers markets that I attend during the week.  It is really fun watching all the kids faces light up when their parents or grandparents buy them a towel.  I love it.
I got the name ZiggyDo after our dog.  Last year, we lost both of our dogs within a 2 month time span.  One of the dogs we have had for 16 years and the other one  was 11.   That was probably one of the hardest times in my life.  At the time we adopted another dog very soon after our 11 year old died.  It was one of the best things that we could have done.  It did take away some of the grief that could have been there.  We also thought it would be good for our boys to help them deal with the other dogs deaths.  We named our new dog who is now 1, Ziggy.  He is a good dog but still gets himself into trouble.  I think once the puppy stage wears off then he will be a great dog.  But I decided to name my business after him because he symbolized hope and new beginnings.  And new beginnings are a really good thing.

How Ziggydo And Bodylicious Bath & Body Care Started- Part 1

I decided it was probably a little interesting how I started Ziggydo and Bodylicious Bath & Body Care.
It really started when one of my mother's friends was starting her own bath & body company here in Houston.  She wanted to save money by getting her handmade soaps locally and at the time I needed a part time job.  So I spent at least 5 hours a day for about 2 months learning how to make soaps.  It was the only thing that I thought about.  I would wake up in the middle of the night and think about soaps.  I finally made a batch of soap and it failed horribly.  At the time I had no idea that one of the best tools to use when making soaps is to use a stick blender to stir your soap mixture rather than to stir by hand. Things got much better when I used the stick blender the next time.  Ever since then I have been making at least 4-5 batches of soap a week.  I absolutely love making soap and I had no idea that I had a knack for soap making.  Since then I have expanded my shop to making lotions, bath fizzies (also called bath bombs), sugar scrubs, foot soaks, and wonderful body sprays.  The sprays are some of my favorite items that I make.  I attend 2 different farmers markets a week where I get to meet my customers face to face.  I have some of the best customers.  They are honest with me and let me know what they wish I would add to my line of products.  They get great products with some of their favorite fragrances.  One of my favorite things about making products is getting new fragrances in the mail.  It seems that there is always something new to try out.  I love it.
The newest products that are soon to be added to my line is mud masks.  I am in the testing phase with them right now but should be done soon.  Can't wait to get them out for everyone to try.

Tomorrow I will talk about how ZiggyDo got started.

The Tree Wizard

I have to say that there has been one shop on etsy that I really enjoy looking at.  It is The Tree Wizard Shop.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/treewiz?section_id=6599807

Gary Burns is the Tree Wizard.  He carves elves, fish, spirits, hearts, and wonderful wizard faces out of maple burl, walnut burl, redwood burl, myrtle wood, pine knots, and many other woods. He carves in his home studio in Grants Pass, Oregon.  He started carving in 1971 and started selling his works in 1978. His prices range from $30 all the way up to $3,000.   His work is absolutely wonderful.

Summer Feet Relief

I don't know how your feet stay looking great during the summer months but it takes a lot of work to keep mine in good shape.  I love to wear flip-flops during the summer, in fact I hardly ever wear tennis shoes in the summertime.  It doesn't matter if I am going to the store, to the farmers market that I am a vendor at twice a week, or if I am gardening...I love my flip-flops.  With this said, my feet do get really, really dry.  Did I say dry?  They get so dry that they get deep cracks where the dirt gets into and it is not a pretty sight.  I have to admit this because my main business is making soaps and lotions and wonderful bath fizzies.  It is sad that I have all these wonderful products and most of the time I am so tired at night that I forgo a nice foot soak to go get some sleep. Last week I decided to start taking care of my feet.  Honestly, they were starting to crack so bad that they were sore and it was hurting to walk on them.  I am embarrassed to admit this but there, I did it.
I am proud to say that my feet are starting to really like me again.  They  look so much better.  I don't see a ton of dirt in the cracks anymore and the cracks are much smaller.  I am hoping to get some really nice smooth feet by a few weeks more of foot soaks and my pumice soap.

Here is my weekly routine:

*Twice a week I soak my feet in one of my foot soaks for at least 20 minutes.  I usually take a good book into the bathroom warm the water up in the sink, put the foot soak into the water and read while my feet enjoy all that goodness. I put shea butter, grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, almond oil, vitamin E, cornstarch, and Epsom salt in the foot soaks. http://www.etsy.com/shop/bodyliciousbath?section_id=8037478
*Every other shower I use a pumice powder soap that I developed.  It is a glycerin soap and I put pumice powder, ground oatmeal, sugar, and peppermint in it. I love it because this is what gets the dirt out of the cracks of my feet. http://www.etsy.com/listing/67277686/pumice-and-oatmeal-foot-scrub-soap-with
*Lastly, at night before I go to bed, I put some lotion on my feet and put some nice socks on.

Honestly, I was surprised that my feet looked so much better so quickly, but they did.  My favorite part of this whole ritual was the foot soaks.  Afterwards my feet felt so soft and relaxed that I wanted to do it again, and again. I hope that I have learned my lesson. I don't ever want to go back to those unsightly feet again.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

This recipe is one of my most favorite recipes of all time.  It makes me feel like I was when I grew up.  Like many families my parents were divorced and my grandmother lived with me, my dad and my brother and sister.  Looking back I didn't realize how good I had it when my grandmother lived with us.  She was so loving and would do anything for us without question. She worked hard like almost everyone in her generation.  She even helped weld ships during WWII.  I am very greatful to have seen her everyday, and to enjoy her great cooking.  It wasn't as healthy as we eat now days but it was good.  I remember on holidays she would make a dish for everyone, at times there would be 10 different dishes on the table.  I look back and wonder how she ever did it.  How did she have time to get it all done and still be able to enjoy the day.
So as I said earlier,  this is one of my favorites.

1 stick of butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs, at room temp.
1 1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large bananas)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (sometimes more or less, depending on my mood)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease your pan.  The recipe calls for a 9 x 5 loaf pan but I use a bundt pan.
Beat butter, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs one at a time until blended.  Beat in bananas and extract.   With mixer on low speed, gradually beat in flour just until blended.  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.  Pour into prepared pan. 
Bake 60 to 65 minutes until a pick inserted comes out clean.  Cool in pan on rack 5 minutes before removing from pan to cool completely.

This recipe is so easy and my littlest guy who is 3 helps me make it all the time.  He just hates to wait for it to cook and cool before he eats it.  (We usually will make it for breakfast, but it makes a great desert  or snack for the little ones.)
I hope you enjoy it.  Try it and let me know if you liked it. 

Here Are My Current Favorites

Again I am listening to my favorite pandora radio station.  I love to listen to Adele, Katy Perry, Paramore, and my new favorite Frou Frou. I love the funky beats that I can get from these bands. But I am a lover of music of almost all kinds.  There are only a few kinds of music that I don't care for.  I'll let you guess.....

But the other day when I said that I didn't care for one of my best selling soaps, Eucalyptus Spearmint. http://www.etsy.com/listing/34892892/eucalyptus-spearmint-soap I didn't say what my favorite soaps were.
So one of my favorites is my Lemon Verbena soap. http://www.etsy.com/listing/65754484/lemon-verbena-handmade-soap I love lemons and citrus in general but this lemon is so refreshing that every time I smell it I feel renewed and energized.  Did I say I love it?
My other favorite is the Purple Haze soap. http://www.etsy.com/listing/59384826/purple-haze-handmade-soap This soap smells a lot like the Ed Hardy fragrance.  It is a little fruity and sweet.  Both of those soaps are some of my best sellers.  When I make soap recipes I require that the soap lathers up really well and they are all very conditioning. 

Since I do 2 farmers markets a week I get lots of questions about the soaps, being that bar soap is my most popular item.  But the one question that I get often is "How long does the soap last?"  The answer is that my soaps will last just as long as commercial soaps as long as you take care of them.  Basically, when using them in the shower I keep them in a shelf that sits above where the water sprays.  It is a plastic little shelf that is suction-cupped to the wall and it also has drainage holes around it and on the bottom.  If you want to use it as a hand soap then you need to use it with a soap dish so that the water can drain from the soap.  You don't want the soaps to be sitting in water. I even have a customer that swears by using a dry wash cloth to let the soaps sit on. If you do these things then the soaps will last a long time. I love using handmade soaps.  Before I started making them I had no idea what all the fuss is all about.  Now I will never go back to commercial soaps.

I find myself not all that excited about the Beach Party soap that I made the other day.  There isn't much color in it since I had a hard time trying to work with the soap and the fragrance is not as strong as I wish it to be.  However, it is workable.  If it turns out that my customers like it then I will do a couple of things different and it should turn out much better.  We shall see.  Sometimes when I am not happy about something there is always someone else out there that loves it.  You just never know.  One of my best selling soaps is Eucalyptus Spearmint http://www.etsy.com/listing/34892892/eucalyptus-spearmint-soap and that soap is not my favorite by far.  It's just not my cup of tea, but it will be someone's cup of tea.

I am pleased to say that my hooded bath towels are really selling pretty good.  I am very happy about this.  I have been sewing for so long and I am just now making things for every one else to take home.  I am enjoying making these towels.  And my little guy wants everyone of them, except the girl towels.  I really like that I can put anything on them that I like.  The possibilities are endless. I have so many ideas swimming around in my head I don't think I could get them all done until both of my boys are in school.  One of my most popular ones is a pink towel with a gold crown on it.  Everyone wants to spoil their little princess.  http://www.etsy.com/listing/77601596/princess-hooded-bath-towel-in-pink-for
The next thing I want to add to my store is personal hand towels for adults and for children.  Should be fun.

Beach Party Soap

As I sit hear listening to my Pandora radio station, ( I do love my pandora radio) I was thinking about how crazy today was.  My 2 boys kept fighting most of the day.  I am wondering if they are just bored silly being at home.  And we are only half way through the summer.  I am thinking that I shouldn't have to entertain them all day long.  Too bad it is horribly hot outside until about 8:00 in the evening.  Yes, it is probably from being stir crazy in the house all day long. So when it does finally cool off I send everyone outside to get some fresh air and run off that extra energy before it is time to settle down and put them to bed.  Yea for bed time.  Now the house is quiet and I am loving it. 
On a more creative side....I did make a new soap today.  The name of the fragrance is called "Sex on the Beach".  I figured that I would need to change the name of the soap, which I do often.  So I think I will call it Beach Party or something along those lines.  The fragrance has a tropical feel to it.  I think it is very summery. Makes me want to have a cocktail. When I made it I had visions of having a white soap with red, blue, and yellow swirls in it.  So I mixed up the soap till it was almost ready.  I then mixed the 3 colors in separate containers and started adding the fragrance to the main batch of soap.  The fragrance was very yellow and made the soap really yellow.  So there went my idea of having a white soap with the 3 color soap.  As with any batch of soap when you are first making it without doing a test batch to test colors and to see if the fragrance will hold or morph in the soap, I turned around and improvised on the fly.  I threw in the yellow soap which matched perfectly with the main batch and then worked quickly to add splotches of the red and blue colors.  Of course the soap then started to work really fast on me and by this I mean that it was getting hard and thick pretty quick.  It went so quick that I didn't even get to put all of the soap that I had colored in the main batch.  Needless to say,  I am a bit anxious to cut the soap and see how it turned out. I will post a pic of it when I cut it.  It does smell good.  I hope everyone likes it.

New Beginings

I love new beginnings.  I am a very busy woman that has decided to add one more thing to do in my life.  I have decided to blog.  Mainly I am doing this to show my customers all my new endeavors.  I love that word...endeavors.  Isn't that what life is all about, Endeavors.  My life is never quiet or boring.  I am always working or playing with my kids, or trying to keep my house in some state of clean. I own and operate  2 different businesses.  One is Bodylicious Bath & Body Care, LLC. My etsy shop for my soaps are www.etsy.com/shop/bodyliciousbath . I make handmade soaps and other great bath products.  I love doing this and I have lots of great customers.  The other business that I have is called ZiggyDo Designs. My etsy shop is www.etsy.com/shop/ziggydo . In this business I make hand sewn fabric products.  I make ipad and e reader bags and purses.  Lately, I have been making lots of hooded bath towels for children, toddlers and I can make them for adults also.  I really like making these and I love the idea of putting pretty much anything on them to make them special and personal.  I have 2 boys who keep me very busy.  My oldest does help me with some great ideas on making the hooded towels.  I sell most of my products at 2 different farmers markets every week. I really love it and this way I can meet all my local customers.  There are many reasons why I love my jobs.  Mainly I get to stay with my boys without having to leave for work everyday.  My boys are always with me, except when I go to market.  They are only little once and life is way to short to miss that.  Another reason why I love what I do is because I can always make something new and different.  My work is never boring and it is constantly changing.  I always have new ideas swimming around in my head and can never have enough time to get them into a concrete state.  But I can always try.