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Juicybags Is Back

Helen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:41:39 +0000

I spent some time listing some of my Juicybags stuff in my Etsy shop last night. I forgot how time consuming that can be! Now to promote and try to get some sales for Christmas. The great thing about my Juicybags for online shopping is that the shipping is usually quite reasonable since they are so lightweight. If I can pack them flat enough, I can even send them by letter post which is much cheaper than package rate.

Now- if only Canada would get a nice, simple flat rate system going I could get to selling more soaps too! I have to get Jon to update my Juicybath site today. I’ve sold out of so many of my soaps that are pictured there. Lots of new stuff is on the curing racks though. We just have to figure out how to get better photos to show them off properly. I’ve got another craft fair this weekend so I’ll be busy in between working nights (ugh!) this week to get everything stocked up again. I need to make more Whipped Body Butters and I need scent suggestions. I made some unscented and only sold one or two. I guess scented is the way to go for that product.

How about:

Coconut?

Pineapple Cilantro?

Instant Karma? (like Lush’s Karma)

Mango Melon?

Orange?

Lavender?

Honeysuckle?

Go Back in Time With the Go-Go’s!

Helen — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:40:24 +0000

Update: This auction has ended and was won by my husband Jon who is a big Go-Go’s fan. ! Yeay- now I get to help him pick out a great spot to hang it:-)

Deb from Bee Mine has donated this great wall clock, made from a Go-Go’s album cover. I love things that are made from recycled materials and this one is a real conversation piece! What a great gift this would be (me, me!)

The Go-Go’s (careful, that link is a little loud) rose to fame in the early 1980s. The clock you are bidding on is fronted with their debut album Beauty and the Beat, produced in 1981. This album is considered one of the “cornerstone albums of new wave”, breaking barriers and paving the way for a host of other new American acts. In the beginning, they played primarily a pop-inflected form of the emerging punk sound, and later defined themselves with the distinct sound of 1980s rock. (Info from Wikipedia)

This album included the chart-topping single, “We Got the Beat.”

The clock base is one-quarter inch MDF that is painted ocean blue and is faced with the actual well-loved vintage album cover. Also included with the clock is the record album and inner sleeve, both of which are in excellent condition.

A battery (plus a spare) is included in the purchase.

~Deb will ship this anywhere!~

Here’s How To BID (it’s so easy!):

1: Visit Bee Mine at Etsy. Browse around and choose your favourite item there.

2. Come back here and leave a comment, telling us:

a) The name of your favourite item.

b) The $ amount of your bid for this fantastic retro pop clock.

3. Check back often during the 2 weeks, to see if you’ve been out-bid. You may bid as often as you like.

4. Bid increments for this item will be $1 minimum (for example: if the highest current bid is $10, you must bid $11 or more)

5. Bidding starts at only $10.00 for this clock.

Bidding for this item will end at 12:00 noon PST on March 26th.
Winner will be notified by email and must respond within 48 hours

with their shipping details.

Item will be shipped directly from the supplier.

All payments for items won can be paid via my online donation page at the End Cancer website (or you can pay via my Paypal donation link if you prefer) Net proceeds from the walk go directly to the BC Cancer Foundation.

Want to see your products here?
Please contact me by using the ‘Contact Me’ tab at the top of this page if you would like to donate something for the weekly auction. I would love to showcase your shop and products. Let’s help each other!

Juicybags for the Cause!

Helen — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:20:12 +0000

Update: This auction has ended and the winning bidder was Susan who also gave away one of my bags on her blog recently! Thanks for bidding and supporting my fundraising efforts! Hope you like the bag and wallet!
It’s about time I offered one of my own creations to benefit my fundraising efforts, don’t you think? I hope you like this little multi-coloured tote-bag I made out of recycled (and cleaned!) empty Koolaid Jammers pouches. The sides are made from re-purposed denim from thrift store jeans. This auction will also include a Juicybags wallet-styled after Jon’s old, worn out wallet. I’ve got a few of them already made, so you can take your choice. (I’ll post the colours when I get home and check)

The bag measures about 11″ high x 11″ wide x 4″ deep. The wallet has lots of slots for your cards and a big money pouch, with a velcro closure.

The tote holds lots of stuff and it’s fun to carry. I get lots of comments on my Juicybags everywhere I go with them.

Here’s How To BID (it’s so easy!):

1: Hop on over to my Etsy shop. Browse around and choose your favourite item there.

2. Come back here and leave a comment, telling us:

a) The name of your favourite item.

b) The $ amount of your bid for this tote bag and wallet set.

3. Check back often during the week, to see if you’ve been out-bid. You may bid as often as you like.

4. Bid increments for this item will be $1 minimum (for example: if the highest current bid is $10, you must bid $11 or more)

5. Bidding starts at only $10.00 for this bag and wallet set.

Bidding for this item will end at 12:00 noon PST on March 20th.
Winner will be notified by email and must respond within 48 hours

with their shipping details.

Item will be shipped directly from the supplier.

Felted Purses Auction

Helen — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:45:25 +0000

Update: This auction has ended and the winning bidder was Krista from The Grand Bakery. Krista won 3 of my auction items this week! Thanks for supporting this great cause Krista:-)

I am so pleased to be able to offer this wonderful handmade felted purse for auction, kindly donated by a local Vancouver crafter. I met Judy from The Knitting Chair at a craft fair last November. We were both vendors there. It was a slow day so we chatted a bit and I encouraged her to open an Etsy shop. I had heard of felting, but I wasn’t sure how it was done. Judy explained and it was fascinating. I love that her craft involves reusing sweaters for a new purpose. I’m all for the green options!

Brown Argyle Sweater Bag

There are more photos that show different views of this bag on the Etsy listing here. Just don’t buy it over there because we need it for the auction! It has long handles for easy shoulder wearing. Judy has thrown in another tiny matching purse as well. You can see it peeking out in the photo at left.

Judy will ship this item anywhere in North America.

Here’s what she says about her crafting:

“I really don’t like to make the same bag twice (unless you twist my arm and I still have some of the wool left) so after knitting many bags I’ve started to design my own. I rescue wool and sweaters from thrift shops and try and create a unique bag”

Here’s How To BID (it’s easy!):

1: Hop on over to The Knitting Chair. Browse around and choose your favourite item from her shop.

2. Come back here and leave a comment, telling us:

a) The name of your favourite item in the shop

b) The $ amount of your bid for this sweet Argyle Felted Purse

3. Check back often during the week, to see if you’ve been out-bid. You may bid as often as you like.

4. Bid increments for this item will be $1 minimum (for example: if the highest current bid is $10, you must bid $11 or more)

5. Bidding starts at only $10.00 for this great purse!

Bidding for this item will end at 12:00 noon PST on March 18th.
Winner will be notified by email and must respond within 48 hours with their shipping details.

Item will be shipped directly from the supplier.

Juicybags Giveaway!

Helen — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 02:30:47 +0000

Susan over at My2Boyz is featuring my Etsy shop as her Tuesday’s Green Tip this week. I am giving away this cute orange and tropical punch Koolaid Tote to one of her readers. There are several ways to enter the giveway and it’s completely free!

Go on over to her blog here and check it out. Good luck!

Green Thursday- for Swingers!

Helen — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:11:00 +0000

As you can probably tell by the crafts I make- I’m into re-use and recycling. I’ve decided to start a regular Thursday posting dedicated to earth-friendly topics. Could be a product review, giveaway, advice on being green, websites of interest on the topic or anything else I can think of:-)
If you are making or selling something ‘green’ and you’d like me to blog about it, please contact me. helen@juicybags.ca
I chose Thursdays because it’s our garbage and recycling pick-up day. Maybe it will help me remember to get the bins out to the curb on time…yeah right! Let’s see, I need a title for it, maybe ‘Green Thursdays’, or perhaps ‘Oh-Crap-I-Forgot-Again’

Today, I’m going to show you something TOTALLY cool, made out of recycled tires. I remember seeing something similar to this quite a few years ago when my kids were small. I wanted to buy one, but at the time we didn’t have our own yard, so I had nowhere to hang it. I just surfed around this morning, trying to find it online and I found this:

Close The Loop is a company in Kunkletown, PA (love the name) that makes the most incredible kids’ swings out of recycled tires. I’m not just talking your normal run-of-the-mill tire swings here- not even CLOSE. Check these out:

Yes! A motorcycle!

…and a dragon!
Not to mention all the others they have pictured on their site, including a kangaroo, an airplane, a shark (so cool!), an elephant, a T-Rex and many more.

They’re priced from around $90 to $120, depending on the design, which I think is very fair, considering they are handcrafted and so creative.

Looks like the only deliver inside the USA *pout*, not that I have anyone to buy one of these for at the moment…but Canada isn’t like overseas or anything, sheesh.
Anyway, all you lucky American parents and kids can go and check them out or buy one of these swings here

Back to the earth

Helen — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:50:00 +0000

When we bought our house a few years ago, it came with a black plastic composting bin in the back yard on one side against the fence. We liked the idea, but didn’t know much about it, so we didn’t do anything with it for several years. This past year I decided to start using it and did some reading on the process. My only experience with composting was when I was a kid. My dad used to have a compost pile and would add the old leaves to it, and garden waste. I don’t think we collected our kitchen waste for it though.
Up till this year, I was putting food waste down the sink disposal, which still decreases the garbage output, but after doing some reading I realized it puts a strain on the water treatment facilities.
So, I put a bucket under the sink (with a lid, to keep fruit flies away) and starting collecting all the raw scraps there. We still put cooked food and meat scraps either in the garbage or down the disposal (or into one of our little 4-legged disposals:-) You can’t put cooked food or meat into the compost, or you’ll attract rodents.
Some of the stuff you CAN compost: veggies, fruit and the peelings, paper (best if it’s shredded and unbleached) coffee grounds and filters (we use unbleached filters), tea bags, egg shells, leaves, grass, garden cuttings…anything organic really.
At first I thought the bin would fill up too quickly and I would have to “take breaks” from collecting stuff, but the bin never seems to fill. As fast as I add stuff, it sinks down and gets transformed. Well, it’s not really that quick, but it hasn’t filled up yet and I’ve been using it for months now. Occasionally I take the whole lid off and use a hoe to turn it over a bit, bring some of the soil to the top and bury things more. If it gets flies on it, I cover it with one layer of dry leaves which seems to keep them off. To make the process most effective, you are supposed to layer fresh stuff with ‘brown waste’ (dried leaves or grasses, shredded paper) I am planning to try to collect a large bin of dry leaves this fall so I have them to use in the compost over the spring and summer next year.
The best thing about doing this is that our weekly garbage for the household has decreased to about one small kitchen bag. Hardly seems worth putting it out for collection some weeks, so often we go 2 weeks between collections. Composting is much easier than it sounds!

We’ve also gotten better at recycling and we check every package for a symbol before throwing it away. Nearly everything we throw goes into some kind of recycling now.
It’s annoying to realize that so many people still throw so much into the landfills. It doesn’t take much extra time to sort your garbage and take it to the curb in the blue bin or using a small bucket under your sink to collect the scraps. Lots of non-profit organizations take returnable drink containers to raise money, and they will pick them up from you too! One I know about for sure is the Developmental Disabilities Association. They have a program where they supply a bin and they come and collect your returnables periodically. Great for the workplace!
http://www.develop.bc.ca

Here’s some reading to get you started if you’d like to try composting:

http://www.cyber-north.com/gardening/compost.html
http://composting.ca/