Dream Pillows

I have begun making dream pillows to add to my herbal products line.Dream pillows have a long history of use for soothing and helping people to sleep. Small sachets or pillows that can be placed inside the pillow case of one's regular pillow. When I first tried this I was skeptical, but I found immediately that it worked. The herbs really did soothe and I dropped off to sleep more quickly and slept more soundly than I had before. That was with a pillow of mixed herbs, that like most of my mixtures is fairly complicated.

Then I added a hops pillow. Hops flowers are a pale green and smelly beery. (Funny about that, since hops dried in a different way to a different stage are an integral part of beer making.) I didn't think that I could sleep with them in my pillow. But they did not distract as I had thought that they would, but simply worked their magic.

Dream pillows have no bad side effects, are non-addicting, have no calories and are inexpensive compared to the drugs that are sold as "sleep aids". (Notice the drug companies no longer call them "sleeping pills".)

Our foremothers knew so much about herbs and grew them and prepared them annually for use by their families. It is a joy to be part of this tradition.

I will be posting my dream pillows for sale on Etsy soon. In the meantime, here are pictures.




I liked the rather "tweedy" effect of the lavender and buckwheat hulls in the bowl. Buckwheat hulls help to keep the herbs from being too overpowering.

I am grateful for the herbs, for the lore that dates back centuries and for the connection that they give me to the "wise-woman" traditions of my ancestors. Grateful too for the technology that allows me to find and buy the supplies and materials, blog about them and offer them for sale. How different my prospects are now than they were twenty years ago.

Createability Team on Etsy

Shortly after I wrote the post last week on the ADA, I joined the Creatability Team on Etsy. Very supportive and creative group of people that I am glad to belong to, it is comprised of people with disabilities or people who care for others with disabilities.

The products range from those specifically intended for disabled users, such as an ingenious and patented, cane-catcher to items intended for medical professionals such as stethoscope covers, something that would, I think make a much nicer present for a nurse or nurse assistant than the usual candy.

Artists, photographers, knitters, soap makers and jewelry makers abound in the group. So many, many pretty things--makes me wish I could win the lottery so that I could buy them all and bestow them as presents on all of my friends!

I have posted the link to the group's blog in my blog links to the right and hope that anyone who reads my blog will go read and follow the Createability Blog as well.

I have not felt so excited or hopeful or focused in a very long time. Being welcomed by people in the group made me smile and feel comforted and included.

Only modern technology could make this possible. I am so grateful for the group and for the Internet.

Lavender

Lavender is one of the most beautiful herbs that can be planted in a garden. In a Mediterranean climate the plants will last a very long time. Mine is over twenty years old. Even when it is not blooming, it is a lovely plant and while the flowers are used for culinary, medicinal, decorative and personal care products, the leaves are also fragrant.

Here is my one remaining lavender plant in bloom



I believe that this particular lavender plant is English lavender. My favorite, Hidcote, which was a deeper, bluer color, died out a few years ago. It was planted too close to the edge of the planting bed and did not have enough room. After a decade, lavender will be a big plant, so give it plenty of room.

Culinary uses include Lavender Sugar (see the link to the Spice House at the right), Lavender Chocolate cupcakes, lavender syrup (think addition to lemonade), and all kinds of scones, cupcakes and cookies. Lavender sugar is delicious on toast as a lovely way to start off the day.

Medicinal uses include headache remedies and little dream pillows to aid in sleep. Lavender has such a strong fragrance though, that many people find it overwhelming. It can make a headache worse if you are one of the people who has a sensitivity to it.

Decorative uses include bouquets, both fresh and dried, and wreaths. Lavender sachets can fill a bowl and will make a much nicer air freshener than anything manufactured in a spray can or plug-in. Lavender sachets have long been used in linen chests and closets with stored clothes and shoes. Nice in suitcases too!

Lavender soap is beautiful and lavender is used in fragrances as well.

Here is a big bowl of my lavender sachets. The day that I was working on them, I found them to be so pretty that I had to bring them altogether.



I love the charm squares, small squares of fabric that are pre-cut as part of the quilting industry and the pretty ribbons. Making these brings together my love of plants and my love of fabric and color. The sachets would be pretty on a wreath, too.

I am grateful for the fine old plant that still graces my garden and for the lovely fabrics that I am finding from other Etsy sellers. Grateful, too, for the beautiful, fine weather we are enjoying now that summer is here.

Happiness is....

Being blogged! I was blogged this week by someone who cited one of the products from my Etsy store.

The link is here, http://www.baileyandmeister.com/

It was so much fun to receive the Etsy convo (email) and see the write-up. I am so grateful.

Time Slips Quietly By

Over the last few days I have spent a considerable amount of time loading things onto Etsy, paying this month's bills and tending my Mary Kay business. There is an old adage that you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but I am glad to report that I am still capable of learning new things. Today I even conquered a new thing on Facebook--loading my Etsy things onto it and positively glowed and crowed with the thrill of achievement.


Today a friend brought flaxseed meal from one of our nicer, high end grocery stores, Piazza's in Palo Alto. I am determined to develop a yummy, healthy muffin to serve with our lunches that will fit his diet (and mine by default).

My friend, C, helped me take product pictures yesterday and we are both learning about our limitations--she has just had hip replacement surgery and I trundle along with this life-time disability. At the same time we are both learning more about what my digital camera will do and it is considerably more fun to share in this than to try to do it alone.

Tomorrow will be the day for household chores. The laundry and the dishes await and I will put some more items up on Etsy and also, I hope, turn my attention to editing a project of mine that I hope to have up on Lulu soon.

Making Progress Slowly

Today seems to be one of the slowest days I've had in a long, long time. The Internet keeps timing out; the weather is gray and chilly. I wish it would just actually rain! The world's largest rosemary was alive with small birds when I looked out at it a little while ago. I think they are eating the seeds, for the bush had been covered in blue flowers a few days ago. Maybe this is why rosemary never self-sows--there aren't enough seeds left.

The birds are pretty, little yellow and black finches. Not as charming or as aggressive as the hummingbirds, but fun to watch.

I have been working on loading items onto my Etsy shop where there about 100,000 shops. Not as many as on Cafepress, but still plenty of people. I find it heartening that there is a community of people still trying to make things by hand, truly beautiful things, and to make a living in the process. Artisans and crafts people are competing against mass produced goods, hand-crafts from underdeveloped countries where the cost of living is much lower and each other. (Hmm. Maybe I should move to an underdeveloped country.)

I joined Etsy last year and it has taken me this long to figure out how to put things up on it and what things will work. In the interval, I notice that they have begun posting serious articles to help people run their businesses as businesses and I hope to learn from these articles. I hate to see so many things under priced and yet am afraid to just jump in and price mine higher. The point, after all, is to find buyers!

Maybe building a business is a little like gardening: some days it needs fallow time and there is also weeding to do too. The ideas that aren't worth pursuing, the customer list that needs shortening, seeds to plant. I work at some of the things I do because I like to work with my hands. Too frequently I find that most of the hand-work that I've done in a day is typing; not creative at all and not fulfilling, but necessary.

The underdeveloped country is starting to look more attractive. Still I am grateful for a place to work in peace, light and heat and that the days are getting longer.

Now on Etsy

I have been fiddling around all day with my Etsy postings. There are only two. There will be more. My Fred is Peace banner and my first card are posted. There is a learning curve as there always is so this won't be a very long post. I am grateful to have these things up and will now learn how to use another piece of the Internet to reach out to the outside world.

The day was gorgeous, the sun is setting out my back window and I am happy to see it set. I spent it doing tax and computer related things. Tomorrow is Sunday and I hope it will have some social aspects as well as more work.