Bodelicious Ramblings

Pikinini Dolls

2011-05-22T22:02:00.000+10:00

Pikinini Dolls - for the hearts of children by the hands of mamas!

These GORGEOUS handmade dolls are handmade in Cape Town.

As the children of the world are unique, each doll is unique and comes in the full range of skin colours.

The aim of Pikinini Dolls is to be as environmentally-friendly as possible, we only use non-synthetic fibres and are beginning to source and use quality off-cuts and 'waste' from the clothing industry.

Children need the opportunity to play with toys that are imbued with love and originate from human hands as conscious creations, as opposed to their factory-made, plastic counterparts that are produced at the expense of the earth and its people. All our dolls and toys are safe and ideal for all inner children of any age and gender.

Integral to Pikinini Dolls vision is the channeling of their toys to children who have fallen outside of the family structure and who are especially in need of the therapeutic power of play. Play is essential to healing as children play with their hearts. Pikinini Dolls pledge that out of every ten dollars made, one will be given to a child in the state welfare system.

Pikinini Dolls are all about the creation of quality handmade dolls and toys through empowering a small group of mothers with marketable skills and employment.

These mothers make each individual doll with great love and care, while executing much of their work with their children around them.

A little about the creators of Pikinini Dolls..

Jade has been making dolls and teaching doll-making for 8 years. She is a single mother to Luca and runs a playgroup in Muizenberg. Her passions are hand-work, children and the environment and all these came together in starting the business and the creation of the toys.

Elinah is a young mother to Paul from Zimbabwe. She is an assistant at the play group and is currently studying early childhood care and development (educare). She will be a partner in this small business.

Catherine is South African born and bred, married to a Zimbabwean. She is 38 and has six children and six grandchildren. Brenda and Ester are her daughters.

Brenda is a 23 year old mother of two boys with another on the way.

Ester is 16 years old and a single mother of one little boy.

The quality of these dolls is undisputed and they all have their own character!

They are an environmentally friendly business with an environmentally friendly product.

Currently their studio is based at a small playschool in Muizenberg, Cape Town.

Pikinini is all about quality, love and the supporting of women and children in a variety of ways.

They aim to have a wide range of environmentally friendly handmade toys that speak to the hearts of contemporary children.

Their dream is to see their facilities and team grow and consolidate in order to supply their product locally as well as internationally.

These absolutely STUNNING dolls are the only ones available at this time. As I mentioned earlier they are all UNIQUE dolls and are all from a limited edition and numbered. If you would like one of these gorgeous dolls please email me at info@bodelicious.com.au and let me know which one. First in first served! They are a bargain at $35.00 each. I receive NO money from these dolls, it all goes back to these women..I just thought I would help them get their name out there!

Have an excellent day!

Amanda xo

THANK YOU ALL - for your support over the last year!

2010-12-20T11:38:00.000+10:00

I just wanted to pop on and let you know how much I appreciated your support over the last year here on my blog.

Next year we are changing our blog over to be more informational and also have some weekly DIY skincare and bath tips and pantry pampering recipes for you to try in the comfort of your own home anytime you like, so we hope that you will enjoy that and join along for some pampering fun!

We are re locating to Perth, Western Australia at the very begining of the New Year and it will be then that I re open my blog, so keep us bookmarked and if you have any suggestions or comments on what you would like to see on the blog next year, just drop us a line at info@bodelicious.com.au and I will work on that for you as well.

So for now I will sign off and wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Amanda
http://www.bodelicious.com.au/

BOWtique competition winner is....

2010-10-08T20:36:00.000+10:00

Natalia - comment #8 - is the winner of the totally GORGEOUS zebra petitskirt from the BOWtique small business feature story this month! CONGRATULATIONS Natalia!

Please contact me through info@bodelicious.com.au and I will hook you up with the LOVELY Christie to see where to send your lovely gift.

I hope you all enjoyed reading all about how Christie and BOWtique started, she is a wonderful lady and fantastic to deal with. I recently purchased two skirts from her and her service and contact was wonderful and the skirts are a HUGE hit with my two older girls (10 and 12 years). I have no hesitation to recommend Christie and BOWtique to anyone looking for a high quality petitskirt of just about any age!

Thank you so much Christie for being our small business feature of the month...and remember you can find Christie at BOWtique on facebook HERE or on her stunning website HERE

Voting is now OPEN

2010-09-20T19:54:00.000+10:00

Hello Everyone..

We made it into the finalists of the Business Mums Network Blog Awards - THANK YOU so much to all those who nominated us and got us into the top blogs.

Voting is now open to finally vote for us in these awards.

All you need to do is click on the link below and vote for Bodelicious-ramblings!

I would like to thank all of our supporters of our blog who have nominated and who will also now vote for us in these awards, it means a lot to us!

Click HERE to vote for Bodelicious-ramblings!

Business Mums Network Blog Awards

2010-09-01T20:14:00.000+10:00

We are proud to announce that we have been nominated for the Business Mums Network Blog Awards.

Now that we are nominated we would like your help in voting for our blog for this award and by voting or nominating us you also go in the draw to win some fantastic prizes for yourself.

To read more about the awards and to vote for our blog click on the button below, and thank you for all your wonderful support!

Click to read more

Have an excellent day!

Amanda xo

BOWtique

2010-08-27T18:23:00.003+10:00

Hello Everyone..

I know its been a while since I last had a small business feature run on the blog, its been a busy winter for us here! We are back on track again now though and I have had the pleasure of recently buying two petitskirts for my daughters from BOWtique and I was so impressed with them that I invited Christie to be our small business feature for the month.

Without any further ado..here is Christie's story in her own words..

I have always been business-minded. Whilst working fulltime, studying at Uni and running my own small business, I learnt how to juggle life and all that comes with it.

However, I must admit I had no idea what I was in for when I fell pregnant!

I had a grand idea, I would continue my life, as is, and baby would play in a play pen - how wrong would I be?

So, once baby came (7-weeks early) I realised that life had changed and there was no looking back.

With my degree behind me, a great partner in my hubby and all the support of my family, it was time to move on business-wise and focus on family.

I was a happy at home mum for about 6-months, when I realised I needed a little more to keep sane!

Dr Phil would only keep me entertained so far and I had a lot of creative energy (and little money as we had dropped to the one income).

I started to create pieces here and there for my now 6-month old daughter.

She was a baldy and I a novice sewer so it made sense to work on small bits to dress up an outfit and make cheaper bits look "expensive" (as Alex Perry would say)!

So big bows became an even bigger obsession and my perfect little model was selling them for me!

We would go to functions and people would ask where I got her hair accessories.

Soon, I was making them for everyone and by the time her first birthday rolled around, there was a business card in every kids goody bag to promote BOWtique!

I was happy with the direction, and soon the first bow became an online store - with real stockists!

From there, it has grown to more than 50 stockists in Australia and some overseas too!

It is truly a dream - one that enables me to work from home and enjoy my little girl and also keep my sanity too!

Through the "journey" not much has changed - I still aspire to create great, well-priced pieces for little ones.

Mums want their children to look fab, but it is so hard when lots of us are just on one (sometimes small) income.

So I am consious that I create affordable bits that can transform an outfit, enabling mums to create several looks from one thing by just adding a big flower, or some cute "bling for baldies" for your newborns!

I love what I do and I would not have it any other way.

Sometimes I feel guilty that I do spend time with ribbon and not my little girl if I have an Expo or a market to attend, but at the end of the day, having that creative outlet enables me to be a better mum.

Having the diversity to surround myself in work allows me to appreciate my beautiful daughter Addi (now going on 3) so much more!

So that is Christies story..what a journey she has had so far with her business 'BOWtique' I can highly recommend Christie's products as I recently purchased two of her gorgeous petitskirts for my daughters as I mentioned earlier.

They arrived super fast and it was a real pleasure to do business with Christie as well. My daughters LOVED their skirts and here is a picture of their skirts they were only too happy to model for me at short notice (I now need some shirts to wear with these for them and stockings).

The skirts are made extremely well and you can see the quality in them. So do yourself a favour and head on over to the BOWtique website with a cup of coffee and have a good look around. Its FULL of gorgeous things, only a limited number would fit in this small business feature! We are now eyeing off some of those gorgeous hair clips!

Christie has generously offered our lucky readers a chance to go into the draw to win one of the very gorgeous ZEBRA PETITSKIRTS like my daughter just got - large size. Its very easy to enter, just pop on over to her BOWtique website and have a look around there and come back here to the blog and leave a comment with what your favourite product was on her site. Anyone who leaves a comment on our blog is in with a chance to win, and the blog is open to all comments so head on over to her BOWtique site now and have a look around for your chance to win one of these beautiful skirts!

Christie also has a FANTASTIC facebook page and you can join it by clicking on this link!

Redraw winner announced!

2010-07-12T18:03:00.000+10:00

Well I tried and tried to contact one of the winners from our last giveaway we had (for when we reached 700 friends on our page) but I didn't hear back from her at all despite posting them a message even on their facebook page..so we just had a REDRAW and the lucky winner is Zelda Napier!

Zelda..I have sent you a message to your facebook inbox. Please respond by the end of this week if you wish to have your prize sent to you! You have won some gorgeous Certified Organic Unrefined Shea Butter and some Traditional African Black Soap which is excellent for eczema and all sorts of things..well done!

Bulk African Black Soap in basket

Bulk Certified Organic Unrefined Shea Butter in basket

Amanda xo

THANK YOU!

2010-06-30T16:03:00.001+10:00

We reached a mileston last week on our facebook page with reaching our 700th new friend or 'liker' there, so to say thank you for all your lovely support we are giving away three small gift sets to three randomly drawn people on our friends list!

Gift Set 1: 1 x 100gm Certified Organic Shea butter and 1 x 100gm African Black Soap

Gift Set 2: 1 x 5gm Chocolate Lip Balm and 1 x 200gm Chocolate Milk Bath

Gift Set 3: 1 x 55gm Winter Blues Buster Solid Lotion Bar and 1 x 125ml Winter Blues Buster Bath Oil

Here are the randomly generated numbers of the winners numbers, we will go and count them out very soon to bring you the actual names:

number 134   - Emielouise Perez
number 15     - Corline Ross
number 619   - Darlene Sollitt

I have sent each of you a message on Facebook inbox..will wait to hear back from you with your address's!

Thank you SO much for being a friend of ours on Facebook.

Amanda

Di..Licious Give Away Winner!

2010-06-15T20:06:00.000+10:00

Thank you to all you wonderful supporters of our blog! Without your participation our give aways would NOT be able to happen, so a BIG THANK YOU to all those who entered!

After plugging in our comment numbers into the random number generator, we received the number 10 for our winning comment! So MELANIE GRACE - Come On Down! You are our lucky winner!

Please contact me at info@bodelicious.com.au and I will organise for your win to either be picked up by you OR if you are not local..for you to be sent the lolly bag! Congratulations!!

Di Licious - Cupcakes, Sweets n' Treats!

2010-05-31T21:45:00.003+10:00

This weeks feature small business is Di..Licious and its run by a mother and daughter team right here in Ipswich.

Imagine, catching up with your friends for a quiet cuppa and a scrumptious cupcake..next to you your children are entertaining themselves in the kids corner and you hear their squeals of delight as they get their baby cupcake!

Well you can do exactly this, at Di..Licious - downstairs at the Old Flour Mill in Ipswich!

Over the last two years this quaint business has grown in leaps and bounds.

Originally Renee used to buy cupcakes from her mother Dianne for morning tea where she worked and they were always a huge hit with all the staff.

News of the fantastic cupcakes soon spread and the mother and daughter team started doing their local markets as well for a bit of fun and socialising and to share their delicious treats with others.

The cupcakes were so popular though that the business soon needed both Dianne and Renee there full time to bake and decorate their creations and get them out to people, so Renee gave up work to become her mothers partner in the cupcake business – they have not looked back since.

Today they have a gorgeous cozy store at the Old Flour Mill building at the top of Ipswich where they sell their yummy cakes and other assorted goodies from Tuesday to Saturday each week.

Di..Licious currently have 25 flavours of cupcakes that they create and those are: Lemon.licious, Turkish Delight, Choc Fudge, Choc Devils Food, Choc Coco.licious, Mint, Plain White Choc, Coconut Ice, Carrot, Passion Fruit, Banana Delight, Coffee, Mallow Madness, Oreo, Jaffa, Rocky Road, Toblerone, Strawberry, Plain Choc, Caramel, Bee.licious Honeycomb, Maltesers, Coconut Rough, Lamington Angels and Orange. They also sell assorted biscuits – like macadamia and white chocolate, chocolate chip, peanut and chocolate, cornflake biscuits, Itty Bitty Spotty Dotties and everyone’s favourite, melting moments.

They also have gluten free biscuits for those with special needs.

Di..Licious recently made up a special order of 1,000 cupcakes for Gatton University of Queensland for an event they were staging and they had great feedback and lots of fun getting those ready for them.

They can also create gorgeous cupcakes for weddings and baby showers, all you need to do is discuss your needs with them and pick out the cake flavour you want and how you want it to look.

Just organise it two weeks before they are needed, the rest is fuss free and fantastic quality.

You can even hire assorted cupcake stands from them to display your tastey treats on your special day. They have mixed small stands from $10.00 (plus deposit) right up to wedding cake stands which are only $50.00 to hire with a $100.00 refundable deposit.

What better way to display your stunning assortment of scrummy cupcakes?!

Biscuits can also be made to order for special events like the cupcakes can and a great time to have these on hand are for the biggest morning tea’s!

All orders are strictly pick up only unless you have pre arranged for them to be delivered.

If you want a special treat for your childs loot bags, then you can pick up a wide variety of lollies at the store as well..they also have pre made loot bags for busy mums.

They sell a range of different sized cup cakes from mini bite size’d ones for $2.00, regular sized cupcakes are $3.00, texas (large) cupcakes are $6.00, round cupcakes are $10.00 and giant cupcakes are $50.00, so there is DEFINATELY something for everyone!

We had one of our son’s 21st birthday this last weekend and of course we got these talented ladies to make up cupcakes for him. I could not believe how easy it was to organise. I was extremely happy with the cupcakes and the price was excellent so I was also able to get him a ‘round’ cupcake with his name and 21 on it with a special black and white cow made up on top. He LOVED his special cupcake and it was the centrepiece of the cupcake stand! (which I hired for a very reasonable cost)

The cupcakes were fabulous and exactly right, we had half vanilla and half chocolate cupcakes and half were white butter icing with little black stars on them with white 21’s on them and the other half had white butter icing with black chocolate ‘jaffa’ balls on top.

Because we have readers from all over Australia and beyond, Dianne and Renee from Di..Licious are offering as a treat for their giveaway for this feature the choice of either $10.00 of cupcakes from their shop if you are local OR if you are not local you can get a $10.00 lolly pack sent to you..so a great choice of excellent prizes!

To be in the draw all you have to do is go to the Di..Licious blog page and look up the cupcake flavours and post a comment here on our blog in the comments section at the end of this feature - and state which flavour of cupcake you think sounds best – now how easy is THAT??

Cheeky Chuckles Give Away Winners!

2010-05-18T12:45:00.000+10:00

Hello Everyone..

Well we took a while to work out where we are now allowed to announce the winners of the give aways on here, so thank you for your patience Jo! Seems we are not allowed to announce winners on our Facebook page where we were announcing them till now so from now on all announcements of winners will be on here, so you will need to remember to pop in and check up on that yourself ok? I will remind everyone to come to my blog to read who the winners are though on my FB page.

Anyway..without further ADO...here are the three LUCKY WINNERS of this last blog feature from Jo at Cheeky Chuckles!

1. Louisa Ward - you won the Wee Target, please let us know how you like it and we will update our blog with that information for others!

2. Sally Guiver - you won the Bodelicious Chocolate Indulgence Soap, please let us know how you liked it and we will update the blog with that information as well.

3. Hailey - Now we are NOT sure who Hailey is as she has no link to her name on the blog comment to find out who she is..so Hailey PLEASE contact me at info@bodelicious.com.au and I will get you in touch with Jo to receive your lovely prize, which is the TUTU...again..please let us know how you liked it and we will update the blog to let everyone know!

All winners were picked with a random number generator. If we cant find out who Hailey by the end of NEXT week, we will have no option but to redraw her lovely gift win..so please remember to keep an eye out for winners here, and if anyone KNOWS Hailey..please let her know she WON!

Thats all for right now everyone, thank you SO much for making these give aways so much fun!

Amanda

Cheeky Chuckles revamped!

2010-04-26T19:46:00.005+10:00

I have done a feature on Jo Hill and Cheeky Chuckles before but I thought I would re feature her small business as she has expanded to include a variety of fantastic new products, some of which I have had the opportunity to try out for myself and some which I will soon get to try out on my children on their birthdays.

So without further interruptions here is Jo Hill's story..

Jo started Cheeky Chuckles in 2007 after having problems finding products she needed for night time toilet training, such as bed protection. Jo researched and found an awesome product - BD's Bed Mats for Kids. Suddenly there was no need to change all the sheets after those little accidents in the middle of the night!

Jo mentioned the bed mats to friends and they soon wanted them too. There were no retailers in South Australia, so Jo became the state agent and now she supplies them all over the country, along with other helpful products.

Jo likes to support Australian made where possible, and her products are carefully selected and tested before they go on the market.

Cheeky Chuckles currently stock their original BD's Bed Mat's, Bodelicious, Hemer, Wee Target & Little Leggies, and are gradually expanding their range as they find suitable products to share with their followers. The following is a small snippet of some of the great products that Jo and Cheeky Chuckles have available right now!

BD's Bed Mat's are a gem in the middle of the night, a totally waterproof fabric mat that is easily removable with no need to change wet sheets. They are a GREAT product designed and made in Australia. I must add a note to this one, I had a bed wetter in my household. She would worry that she would wet the bed every night and get so upset when she did. I ordered a BD's Bed Mat off Jo and my daughter loved it and with no need to worry if she wet the bed anymore, she was soon no longer a long term bed wetter and she says it was all because of her bed mat, which gave her confidence..so I HIGHLY recommend these to anyone with either a long term bedwetter like I had (she wet the bed till she was over 10 years) or if you are starting to look at night training your toddler.

They dont get caught up in the sheets either as they have generous sides that tuck under the mattress to hold it in place firmly. These mats can handle a bigger child wetting the mat without overflowing onto the bed as well, so would be good even for older people, or people who are needing to be bedridden for a while etc.

Bodelicious products are just divine and they have a range of babylicious products that include baby soaps and lotions to our all time favourite chocolate indulgence body scrub.

All Bodelicious products are proudly made in Australia.

Hemer have the most gorgeous range of products, from ballet tutu's, singlets, aprons and bookbags for children, as well as many more products in different and fun designs.

All products are designed by a very talented Australian artist/designer.

Wee Targets are great little products designed to help boys aim correctly whilst toilet training. Whoever thought going to the toilet could be so much fun! Wee Targets were designed by an Australian mum and featured on New Inventors!

Jo's newest addition to her range is Little Leggies. The kiddies love them! They are a great size, up to 30cm long, meaning they will fit babies, toddlers and even older kids.

They are designed and made in South Australia by Jo herself! She will be adding more to her range very soon, so stay tuned.

Jo sent me a GORGEOUS pair of these leggings in a fantastic LIME GREEN to do a review on as well. I knew my grand daughter would LOVE them (especially the fantastic bright colour) but I was really surprised that my two daughters also loved them. For my girls they tried them on their legs but it wasn't until they tried them on as arm warmers that they Ohhh'd and Ahhhh'd over them and asked if they could also get a pair in blue so they could wear them to school. SO these fantastic leggings get a thumbs up from all the girls at our house! They are great quality and unlike a lot of others are in a bright and happy single colour which makes the mixing and matching with things I found easier than having patterns on them. They will be fantastic for winter for school as well, as when they get hot they can take them off and pop them into their bag during autumn when they dont really want to wear a jumper and have to lug that around when they get hot. For Miss Haylee my grand daughter, they were excellent for her legs, perfect fit with room to grow without looking bulky and after running around with my girls and heating up..we just pulled the leggings off her and she kept on playing. WONDERFUL things! I HIGHLY recommend them for any ages!
Check out Cheeky Chuckles at http://www.cheekychuckles.com.au/

Jo would like to say a big thanks to all those that have supported and inspired her to pursue her dream, and she hopes to chat with you all very soon.

Jo has a great facebook page HERE and her website can be found HERE

Jo is offering 3 FANTASTIC PRIZES up for grabs for this feature post. To be in the draw you must comment on the blog here at the end of this feature blog post (just click on comments and if you have any trouble commenting let me know) with what product from Cheeky Chuckles online store they would either love to TRY or that they have TRIED and LOVE..now HOW EASY IT THAT???

For simply placing a comment here on either of those two things you could win one of the following:

1 x Wee Target
1 x Tutu or
1 x chocolate indulgence soap

so with your comment put in which prize you would like as well so we can work on getting you the gift of your choice as well (after all you wouldn't need a Tutu for example if you only have boys..unless its for a gift of course!)

So JUMP in quick and post your comment on your favourite product and which prize you would like best and have some FUN! THANKS JO for the great prizes to give away!

KYM..you are the lucky winner

2010-04-12T20:53:00.002+10:00

Of one of our lovely $20-00 gift vouchers from La Toriana! Please contact me so I can send on your details to Elizabeth who will then contact you!

Amanda xo

La Toriana!

2010-03-28T21:51:00.003+10:00

La Toriana was established by Elizabeth in 2006 when she found it hard to go out shopping for special and unique presents for babies and children at birthdays and other special events, for their own children and also for family and friends.

Elizabeth would look through stylish glossy magazines and see beautiful designer clothes, toys and accessories for babies and children that she would have loved to have gone out to see and buy, but with a small child of her own to take with her getting out to the shops was difficult, especially since she lived in the country.

So Elizabeth decided to set up a place where you could shop in the comfort of your own home, anytime that suited you, day – or night..and so La Toriana was born!

La Toriana has the latest releases and newest trends in the fashion and gift industry in their retail online store and Elizabeth is constantly doing market research to make sure she always has the highest quality products at affordable prices available to you along with excellent customer service.

La Toriana showcase great Australian and New Zealand designers as well as neonatal and NICU appropriate baby clothing as well as organic premmie clothes and accessories.

Checkout the vast range of premmie wear and newborn baby items in the secure online baby boutique.

If you are looking for a premmie baby keepsake doll, or organic baby wear for a bub that has been born prematurely, then you have come to the right online store.

La Toriana specialise in providing great quality, stylish and affordable designer label products for low weight babies and babies born early.

EVERY sale in the premmie baby catagory 10% will go to National Premmie Foundation.

So take the stress out of finding excellent quality, affordable designer labelled clothing and accessories for babies and children and shop at this stunning online store.

La Toriana also has an excellent blog where she showcases other business’s.

Like her website its full of glamorous photographs and amazing talent.

You can get to her blog HERE.

La Toriana is an active facebook business as well with well over a thousand followers.

You can find her facebook page HERE.

For all our blog readers, Elizabeth is putting up for grabs not one but TWO x $20.00 gift vouchers.

ONE $20.00 gift voucher is going to a lucky person who comments on her blog feature at the end of her feature blog post in the comments section.

ONE $20.00 gift voucher will go to a lucky person who goes to her FAN PAGE (HERE) and says you are there and that Bodelicious sent you!

Easy to enter and win!

Because she loves to share Elizabeth will also be offering a great 15% off storewide (excludes Tea Princess and Tummy Bear and Specials) when you use the code “Bodelicious” to place any order till April 30th..really..it doesn’t get better than this does it!

Thank you SO much Elizabeth for sharing part of your life and for the great prizes and discount code for our readers!

LOVESTAMP - custom hand stamped jewellery by Jo

2010-03-15T20:57:00.009+10:00

This week's feature business for our blog is LOVESTAMP!

Joanne Petrie is the creator and owner of Lovestamp, a custom hand-stamped jewellery business located in the gorgeous Noosa Heads in sunny Queensland.

Jo is a devoted wife and work at home mother of two children - 'Freckles' (her daughter) and 'The Boy' (her son)

Jo's jewellery line includes lovely stirling silver and gold necklaces, gorgeous bracelets, cuff links, key rings and even spoons. For those that just can't decide, there is the option to purchase a gift certificate to gift those you love so that they can chose their own gift.

Lovestamp jewellery makes perfect gifts for mums-to-be, new mums and even those older mothers who just love their kids and want to keep them close to them no matter where they are or how old they are.

Jo and Lovestamp has been featured in many places both online and in paper magazines including My Child, Frankie, the Sunshine Coast Daily and Practical Parenting.

You can buy Lovestamp custom handstamped jewellery at the following places: her WEBSITE , MADEIT and in person at the Mathilda Markets in Brisbane and you can keep up with what she is doing on her BLOG here and you can join her FACEBOOK group here.

If you have an idea for a custom piece that you would like made, give Jo an email and she will work with you to make that creation come to life for you.

So pop on over to Jo's site and have a look around at her gorgeous jewellery, you surely wont be disappointed and the prices are really affordable as well.

We hope you enjoy her creations as much as we do.

As a special for this blog feature Jo has set up a special discount at her webstore (http://www.lovestamp.com.au/) only for a generous 10% off. To recieve this great discount all you have to do is enter the code "bodelicious" at the checkout are. This offer is available till the end of the month!

As an added bonus we are also giving away a fantastic LOVESTAMP $25.00 gift voucher to one lucky random blog follower .

All you need to do is comment HERE on what piece of jewellery you would like from LOVESTAMP's current line on their website. Easy! So what are you waiting for?

Dr.Mom's Prescription for Managing Food Allergies

2010-03-05T12:56:00.000+10:00

Dr Rita Malhotra-Kuczabski is a physician, mom and woman dealing with her own food allergies who has recently published a book – “Doctor Mom’s Prescription For Managing Food Allergies” – so this week I have chosen to feature this book on my blog as there are many people out there today with food allergies who might find some help within its pages, so without further ado I would like to share the back cover note of this book here...

Doctor Mom’s Prescription for Managing Your Food Allergies is a guide written to help you safely navigate your food allergies. It contains information for an adult, a child, or a family dealing with these issues. We start at the beginning, with diagnosis and testing. You will learn many techniques to prevent a reaction, but also how to manage one should it occur. Helpful hints are provided for successful label reading, understanding current laws, and becoming familiar with commonly used terminology. Tackling tough social situations and educating family and friends is also addressed. Sensible day to day tactics and food preparation pointers will reinforce your safety net and enhance your lifestyle!

Doctor Mom is a mother, a licensed physician, trained surgeon, and a woman dealing with her own allergies. These helpful strategies come from her heart. They have been derived from her medical knowledge, her personal experiences and her extensive research. They are practical and thoughtful, yet knowledge based. Dr. Rita Malhotra-Kuczabski is dedicated to her family and to the community. She has received honors from her Borough President, and from her city’s Mayor for outstanding community service. The author received both her Bachelor’s Degree, and Medical degree with top honors. She was also the recipient of an annual scholarship to medical school from The Miss America Pageant.

The author invites you to visit her website DrMomsAllergyRX.com. It offers a great deal of information on the subject including reaction prevention and management, product recommendations and recalls, current legislation, recipes, and much more. The site is proud to provide free online support forums. Embark on this journey with Dr Mom, and together, we will more successfully manage food allergies.

*This book is NOT intended as medical advice. Involve your allergist in any decision making process.*

website with forums: http://www.drmomsallergyrx.com/

The book is available from this link: http://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Moms-Prescription-Managing-Allergies/dp/1449003613/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251244992&sr=1-1

NEW FORMAT!

2010-03-02T17:52:00.000+10:00

Hello Everyone..

As you have gathered I am changing the format of my blog over to enabling comments and I would like to be more user friendly on my blog so I will be trying a few things out but I would really like some input into what you all would like to see on my blog. I was thinking to change over the small business feature to doing one a fortnight and then each second week doing an informational blog, so if you are interested in learning about ingredients or herbs or want to learn some pantry pampering..speak up and I will get right onto it for you..

Looking forward to hearing some feedback from you all..if you have any problems posting a comment, please let me know as I have it set up for anyone can post a comment, but it sometimes glitches (like when I go to comment on some other blogs..sometimes it makes me post it twice before it will show it for some reason..) any ideas are welcome!

Leisa Jones Creative Design!

2010-02-15T14:29:00.003+10:00

Last week we featured Leisa's new business Twinkle Tush Baby Cakes, and this week we are letting you read all about her founding business Leisa Jones Creative Design! I hope you enjoy reading all about this fantastic lady and her business's. Drop by her sites and have a look around, she is fantastic to work with and really knows her business...so you won't be disappointed!

Leisa Jones Creative Design began way back in 2003 under the name of Leisa's Heartfelt Invitations after going through a very traumatic time both personally and emotionally. I had a 2.5 year old to look after, I was suffering from panic attacks, I had no car, I had no job and emotionally wasnt in the best space. I had to do something from home so here began my creative side. A rough start, but totally worth it all.

I started making Wedding Invitations and selling them through a local Wedding Boutique. This kept me quite busy and began to give me back my confidence. I also began working with Posh Bridal Stationery in Brisbane which kept my little office at home very busy.

The more i was designing invites the more my creative side began to resurface. Through word of mouth I began to receive design jobs, but more so in late 2008. Last year I really began to get my name out there and the jobs started to grow.

When designing, i like to get to know my client, but this sometimes is a little hard if my client lives at the end of the country. I try and tune into the person & research their business so i can get a little bit of background info and design something that truly suits their business.

One of the latest designs I have created was for Lisa kavenagh from Overall Being. Lisa's Business covers such a lot of different products and her previous logo was a Lotus flower. After sitting quietly I came through with the following logo, which Lisa is very very happy with, and to be honest Im really happy with it too. I also create my own logos which is great and my latest logo is Twinkle Tush Baby Cakes.

Twinkle Tush Baby Cakes - the perfect gift for babies tushies & twinkles is yet another creative branch of Leisa Jones Creative Design. I design and create Nappy Cakes for the new Mum & bub.

Leisa Jones Creative Design can create a logo for you and your business, we also design business cards, letterheads, brochures, corporate printing, labels, stickers, Gift Voucher and lots lots more. I have a quick turn around time, as I know this is very important to my clients running their business.

If you need any help please do not hesitate to contact me no matter how big or small your querie. I take pride in my work and the relationship that I have with my clients. I endeavour to make your dealings with Leisa Jones Creative Design an easy experience.

My website displays a variety of my jobs that i have recently created and you can also contact me through my website too. www.leisajonescreativedesign.com or directly on lj.creativedesign@gmail.com

Kindest Regards

Leisa Jones

"LJ Creative Design"

m | 0411 409 234

e | lj.creativedesign@gmail.com

w | www.leisajonescreativedesign.com

Introducing Twinkle Tush Baby Cakes!

2010-02-08T11:21:00.010+10:00

It is with great pleasure that I introduce you all to this next business. Its owned and run by a friend of mine, Leisa Jones and is just starting off..

TWINKLE TUSH BABY CAKES
If you have problems finding the perfect gift for the New Mum and Baby then this is certainly for you......

Leisa Jones' Twinkle Tush Baby Cakes was established May 2009 as I found it so hard to buy a gift for my girlfriend who was pregnant with her first child. I had no idea what to buy Shari or her little bundle for that matter. I didnt know what she had already bought, didnt know the colour scheme of her nursery and I didnt want to double up with the same gift as someone else. And not knowing whether it was a boy or girl made the process even more difficult. So I decided I would create a Nappy Cake as I wanted to give her something a little different, but know it would still be something that she would love and most important of all, be able to use! After seeing Sharis response, I had a little thought to myself, I just might be onto something here. So began the first production of my Nappy Cakes.

Here is just a little bit of behind the scenes info to help you get to know me a little better. I am a single mother of a 9.5 year old son, who keeps me on my toes all the time. We reside on the gorgeous Sunshine Coast and have done for the past 9 years. I work part-time but I also have my own little home based Graphic Design business called Leisa Jones Creative Design and design/create everything from Babies Cup Cakes, Logos, Business Cards, Brochures, Stickers etc.

I have over 17 years of Graphic Design under my belt and if i do say so myself im a little creative and love being creative! So making these little Babies Cup Cakes is very rewarding for me. I came up with the name Twinkle Tush Baby Cakes, because we all love to snack on a good Cup Cake, well i know I do. Obviously this one cant be eaten but they are so gorgeous, and you can give them knowing they will be love and appreciated as it is such a practical gift! Being a mother myself i have chosen products that are well known and trusted with Mums all over the world.

Leisa Jones' Twinkle Tush Baby Cakes are available in two different sizes small and large, and come in a variety of colours. The small Babies Cup Cakes contain at least 10 Huggies Newborn Nappies, a Palmers Cocoa Skin Care product for Mum and either a little singlet or face washer for Bub. With the help from Amanda, I will be looking at stocking Bodelicious Baby Soaps also within BCC shortly.

The large contains approximately 25 Huggies Newborn Nappies, 2 Palmers Cocoa Skin products for Mum then either a singlet or face washer for Bub. Both the small and large Nappy Cakes are finished off with beautiful Satin ribbons and little embellishments & wrapped in Cellophane. Colours currently available are Pink, Blue and Lemon but am looking at stocking Lavendar & Green also for neutral colours.

I take great pride in designing and creating Leisa Jones' Twinkle Tush Baby Cakes and I hope that shows in my designs. I put alot of love and care into making sure it will be one very special gift that will be appreciated and adored by the receipients! If you require any further information regarding Twinkle Tush Baby Cakes please do not hesitate to contact me via my website http://www.leisajonescreativedesign.com/ or lj.creativedesign@gmail.com. Leisa Jones Twinkle Tush Baby Cakes is also available through stockist Overall Being lisa@overallbeing.com.au or you can find us on Facebook under Twinkle Tush Baby Cakes or Leisa Jones Creative Design. BCC can be posted anywhere in Australia or if within the local 20km area of the Sunshine Coast can be delivered for free!

Give the gift that you know will be appreciated!

With love Leisa

Overall Being

2010-01-31T16:50:00.010+10:00

The next round of features on my blog are going to be not only business's that I LOVE but they are run by people that are awsome as well, to start this round off I want to introduce you to Lisa Kavenagh, a fabulous lady with awesome products and owner of OVERALL BEING..this is Lisa's story..

Overall Being has alot to offer the shopper from home. It is an online business which offers Personalised and Unique Gifts.

Overall Being was very different back when it started in 2003. It was started as a business offering a range of alternative & conventional Massage treatments to clients in their own home. Being a mother I needed flexibility and the ease of promoting my business without too much time away from my family. Having this online allows me to work from home around such.

I have a thirst for natural therapies and alternative ways. Hence why I have so many various
techniques that I can fall back on. I feel giving alittle of you to help others brings joy and hope for humanity as a whole. It creates fabulous good energy which is what Overall Being is.

My Logo is mainly of a Lotus Flower. I think its quite fitting for this business and the owners belief hence why it was chosen. The Lotus Flower is one of the most ancient and deepest symbols of our planet. It grows in muddy water and rises above the surface to bloom with remarkable beauty. At night the flower closes and sinks underwater, at dawn it rises and opens again. Untouched by the impurity, lotus symbolises the purity of heart and mind. Which is how I came up with the name. It represents long life, health, honor and good luck. All of what I live by and what I try to bring into Overall Being to every customer that graces the front door. I treat each client as if it is my first and last.

I have studied quite a number of various techniques which allows me to offer many ways of treating oneself to my clients, family/friends. Being a mother now of four boys( Alexander 1996, Nicholas 1998, Samuel 2002, Jack 2008), I required a fair amount of flexibility and am terrific at multitasking. No job or order is too big, I love a challenge when someone comes and says do you or can you do this?!

Overall Being has been offering since 2003 various techniques of Reiki, Kundalini, Aromatherapy, Massage Parties, Crystal Therapy, Massage techniques and online Reiki Courses. Along with crystal jewellery.

When I became pregnant with our fourth son, I decided to take some “Hands on” time off. Putting my massage on hold for a moment, so I could enjoy being a new mum. Life certainly is busy, but so rewarding at the same time. I suffered unfortunately bad PND after having Jack which lead me to delve back into meditation and therapy to help heal my soul whilst using conventional methods as well.

Since having this time off it made me think about other ways of bringing joy into my life. Which is how Overall Being has grown to where it is today , offering various other products which some I outsource to other work at home businesses or have become a proud stockist for or some I hand make myself.

To have one place to visit on the web makes it extremely easy for people to help give memorable gifts to those they love. I now offer personalised and customised gifts for anyone seeking something of difference.

The fabric I use to make my quillows, blankets or cushions is imported and has been described as having hugs all around you when snuggled into one. Available in this are: quillows, cushions, pet beds and blankets of all sizes using the same fabric.

I love natural products. Products that I know what is in it. Putting things onto my skin with chemicals just diminishes the beauty eventually. I offer a range of Aromatherapy products aswell such as Blends, Colognes, Perfumes, Soaps, & Candles. I am also a proud stockist of Fresh Faced Skincare & Mineral Makeup. Which is a 100% Australian owned and made Natural product. But also Gaia.....the name speaks for itself .

Along with the above....there is also a range of jewellery which is all handmade. Using handmade
Kaolin beads, crystals and such which has been sourced from overseas. With the Crystal Bracelets I can also add Reiki Healing into each piece as an added special touch for the giver.

Digital Scrapbooking is also available at Overall Being, whereby I use the clients photos to create a everlasting leather bound album, filled with memories. These albums are perfect for the coffee table or as a gift to someone. There is many different sizes available and also have created a Digital Scrapbook page and had it printed onto a Canvas to hang on the wall. They are quite stunning and highly unique. Even creating Invitations, Place cards, Thank you cards, etc...I also now have Photo Gifts / Canvases / Albums available.

There is a Gift Ideas page on Overall Being which highlights suggestions for the shopper. To allow them to see what is available on a website as a quick guide makes the whole shopping experience and visit to us more memorable and unique.

That is where is versatility comes into it and allows me to offer clients to “create” their very own gift basket. Each Basket can be tailored to the individual and anything can be added to it.

Overall Being has been running like this for the past 12mths and will continue to do so. I think having somewhere like this on the web adds love.

There is also a gorgeous way of celebrating time together as people. Overall Being offers a Massage Boutique experience in the comfort of your own home. Offering many complimentary services to the host and discounts for the attendees. Perfect for hens nights/afternoons, Girl get togethers, baby showers and such.

So as you can see Overall Being is exactly what the name says, incorporating Lifes pleasures into one spot.

"Life is not about the moments we breathe, but the moments that take our breath away"

Lisa has a blog and cafepress store as well click on the words to go and check them out!

The Fish Cafe at Manly - a horrible eating experience for us..

2010-01-18T20:28:00.004+10:00

Hello Everyone..

I like to post about local business's that are doing a great job and providing great service, but every once in a while I come across a business in my travels that is just so bad that I feel I have to share it and last night my husband and I came across just such a business when we went to Manly, near Brisbane for dinner.

We had a lovely ride into Manly, we usually have dinner there at the Boat Shed on the Jetty (HIGHLY recommend them)..but tonight we got there late as it wasn't planned so we decided to eat at a restaurant near there that also had a take away section off it, the take away is called "Barramundi Boys Fish Cafe - Manly's favourite cafe and wine bar"

Anyway..we went in and ordered and encountered our first problem, I ordered first and I ordered salt and pepper calamari, my husband then said he would like the calamari pieces with sweet chilli sauce..obviously we didn't make ourselves clear because she put them both through as salt and pepper calamari...

Then we bought a drink each and I nearly died as the drinks there were each $3-85 and they were only small bottles!...

she asked if we want any chips with the salt and pepper calamari, so hubby says yes please and orders them as well (they were not cooked well and so terrible we only ate a few of the whole box).

We finally get our meal and thats when we first see we both got the same meal and not what we ordered.

Now salt and pepper calamari is something I try at everyplace we go as its one of my absolute favourite things to eat. I have eaten it in the Northern Territory, in Western Australia, all over Queensland, absolutely everywhere..and this salt and pepper calamari was the worst I have ever had in the last 5 years.

So much coating on it that you had to scrape it off to even get to the calamari and it had like cinnamon in the coating, just not nice at all.

The tables they have outside were lovely wooden ones, but filthy dirty and they made no effort while we were there to clean them and even when she put our take away on the table and you could see food on the table..she still didn't make any effort to clean it off!

We didn't eat most of our dinner and left. I was so disappointed to get such bad service and cleanliness from a favourite area such as this popular place.

Everywhere we have had this meal, its always well presented on a plate with salad (even if only mixed leaves and tomato) and a small amount of hot fresh chips, from this place, when you order salt and pepper calamari, you only get that..and a few old lettuce leaves like mine where one entire leaf was totally clear it was so old and saggy and icky, over cooked, and some even brown, chips that were like rubber we had to pay extra for..so not a good eating experience!

We wont be going there again and anytime we are asked for a recommendation for a local place to eat there, they will be ones we do not put their name forward!

I thought maybe it was because we rode a motorbike in, but I wore a nice shirt with my black jeans and we are not uncouth people with no manners who don't speak well etc so I can't really see that would have made a difference, and the tables out front were all filthy when we got there, so goodness knows how long they were all not even wiped down for before that, just a real shame as I have eaten there before about a year ago and it was quite good.

I hope for their sakes that they really pick their game up as there are so many food places around there that they really can't afford to coast by on their 'good name' for long.

Come on people..present the food nicely even if its from the take out section, dont reheat cooked chips as thats what it looked like we got, make sure if you give salad (or even just the lettuce leaves) that they are at least resembling fresh, for goodness sakes smile and be pleasant when dealing with customers and most importantly CLEAN YOUR AREA where you expect people to sit and eat your food for goodness sakes! Over all a totally bad experience and not worth the time it took to get there or the money it cost us to eat. Such a shame!

Agoo Australia - first showcase of the year!

2010-01-18T09:23:00.006+10:00

Hello Everyone!

Its a magnificent day here in Brisbane today, an excellent day to start off our new year of small business showcases!

The first showcase for this year is Agoo Australia and great timing too as Agoo Australia has a TERRIFIC sale on RIGHT NOW!

Alison established Agoo Australia, based in her home in Woonona, to distribute this innovative clothing range. When the busy mother of 2 active boys discovered this Canadian brand she knew she had to bring it to Australia so Australian parents could also discover the "Stay out and Play" Agoo Collection.

“Young children’s skin is thinner than adult’s skin, is extremely sensitive and can burn easily. Practising sun smart habits during the early years can reduce the risk of skin damage and skin cancer later in life” says Alison Covington.

Assisted by one of her oldest friends, Susan Wallis, also working from home around the needs of her children, Alison and Agoo aim to make a positive impact on the lives of the children of Australia. Encouraging them to get out of the house, outside being active, and sun protected and hopefully setting up healthy habits for life.

Agoo is walking the talk, having joined the Fatlossathon and with Susan training for the City to Surf again this year.

Our first ever clearance sale starts 15 January, with 50% off the entire Agoo activewear clothing range (excluding accessories). Agoo's 50% off sale is available to VIP customers only so make sure you sign up for the newsletter to get the exclusive code. Use it at checkout and your purchases will be 50% off. Easy!"

In conjunction with this sale we are giving away a tee shirt a day for 50 days to a lucky customer who orders from Agoo or one of our stockists. (prizes drawn each week to the total value of $1900, terms and conditions available if required)

Do yourself a favour and go check out the Agoo Australia website HERE and have a look at the gorgeous clothes they have on offer for our precious little ones, you won't be disappointed! Agoo also has a great blog which you can find through their website or just click this easy link to take you there now

Bodelicious Ramblings: We are featured in La Toriana's Blog!

2010-01-13T10:28:00.000+10:00

Bodelicious Ramblings: We are featured in La Toriana's Blog!

We are featured in La Toriana's Blog!

2010-01-13T10:21:00.002+10:00

Hello Everyone and Welcome to the New Year!

We are proud to announce that we are now featured on the La Toriana blog, thank you so much to Elizabeth for featuring Bodelicious!

We will certainly reciprocate and feature you as well over here at Bodelicious_ramblings when you have time to work us in.

Its a lovely blog and I just love the things on Elizabeths website as well, so pop on over and read her blog HERE and visit her website HERE and see all the lovely goodies she has there!

Mea Culpa Body and Bath, showcase of the week!

2009-11-09T19:40:00.006+10:00

This weeks showcase is all about Jasmina Radosavac and Mea Culpa Body and Bath. Our showcase of the week is a little bit different this week as the small business mum is from America!

Jasmina was originally from Yugoslavia, but moved to the United States 10 years ago. Jasmina is a stay at home mum who takes care of her two girls and husband. Jasmina always looks forward to the mornings when her little girls wake up and go in to cuddle with her while they are still warm from their beds. Her days are mostly filled with taking care of the girls needs, so her craft really gives her a minute of sanity and emergence in some other world.

Jasmina has had a long lead up to creating her own bath and body business. She first started her journey when she got interested in alternative medicine and holistic treatments. Her younger daughter used to have a hard time breathing at night every time she got sick and would wake up coughing and crying and sometimes even vomiting from all the mucus in her airways. Around this time Jasmina also started practising Reiki - 'channeling' the life energy that flows freely and is available to everyone - and incorporated that with some eucalyptus essential oils and it helped her young daughter get through the nights easier.

From there Jasmina thought she might try to share and help other people as well. She started a blog and was looking through other people's blogs when she came to an Etsy widget and went to see what it was all about. She loved the idea of having a little online shop herself to sell products in so she opened her own store and sold premade sprays, lotions and shampoo's while she learnt to make them herself so she could add ingredients she liked and thought would be helpful.

Jasmina soon realised that not all people liked essential oil products, that often they liked the scent choices that fragranced oils could offer, and that is how she came to be where she is today.

Jasmina is inspired by other people. She is always eager to help others and everytime she talks to someone and they mention some problem they might be having, like a dry scalp, balding, thin hair, rashes, wrinkles etc, right away she starts brainstorming about what she can do to help, and she doesn't stop until she gets it perfect. She says her reward is when friends or family call her to tell her how it has helped them, and this is why people are her greatest inspiration.

Jasmina never tries to think too far into the future because she says, you never know what life will throw at you. She does hope that she is still going to be doing what she loves, like cooking up creams and lotions, and that she will still have spare time to be with her family and friends. She hopes her business grows, but doesn't want to be one of those people who dont have time to customise an order or talk to a person that has a question. She would like to open a store at some plaza and that way really connect to people. Jasmina sells her work at both her online stores. One is at Artfire and one is at Etsy

Jasmina thinks people should buy handmade products because we need to support local artists and also because you know exactly what is in the product you are buying and that no one was discriminated against by working in poor conditions and being paid minimal wages, and lastly because the beauty products are always better for you if they are handmade, they dont have any harsh ingredients in them.

So drop by her etsy store, her artfire store and her blog and get to know her a bit better and have a look at her gorgeous products!

What I Wish I Knew Before I Became A Mother

2009-11-06T18:26:00.005+10:00

Bodelicious is also helping to promote some fantastic Australian ladies -

Peace and Katy - who are the authors of this fabulous book -

"What I Wish I Knew Before I Became A Mother"

From now until 5pm on the 11th December 2009, every purchase of this fantastic book "What I Wish I Knew Before I Became A Mother" from Bodelicious Bath & Body Products website goes into the draw to win a share of over $600 in prizes for Christmas.

So don't miss out on this fantastic offer. Not only will you get a fabulous book for yourself or a loved one, you will also have the chance to win a fantastic prize as well.

It would make an excellent gift for yourself, or a new mum or mum to be and at $19.95 excellent value for money!

Get your copy HERE!

Overall Being Christmas Gift Pack Competition!

2009-11-06T18:09:00.002+10:00

Hello Everyone! We are part of the following Christmas Gift Pack Competition that Lisa from Overall Being is running right now! Read on to find out more...

Christmas Gift Pack Competition from Overall Being!

Work at home businesses are usually run by mothers who are at home. Mothers who not only devote their time, love, attention, support and passion into the family/home, but also find further love to add into a hobby to create a business.

I would like to thank the following businesses in donating very unique & fabulous prizes to be added into my Overall Being Christmas Gift Basket.

What is inside the basket???

* Agoo Leg Huggers & 10% off card voucher
* MillaRuby Designs A Japanese fabric handmade Bubble Purse with matching shell button
* Pure Natural LivingBare Naked Soap with Goats Milk, Lavender Soap & Lavender Bath Salts.
* Coastal Chocolates x2 Vouchers of their delicious Chocolate Bark
* The House of Vintner 50 Postcards for free Voucher
* Heaven Bound Gifts A diary, notebook and a voucher for $35
* Bodelicious Green Tea Cleansing Bar & Green Clover and Aloe soap
* What I wish I knew Before I Became A Mother Novel.
* Overall Being Pandora Pen, Assorted Grocery Items, Reiki Blessed Crystal Bracelet, An expression Ware Bracelet & a 100g bag of Peaceful Dreams Herbal Tea

So if you like what you have read so far, then pop on over to Lisa's blog HERE and find out HOW you can enter to win this FABULOUS PRIZE!

You could WIN this amazing gift basket from some fabulous WAHM businesses valued over $150 in just following 3 easy steps! Click HERE to read how to enter NOW.

The winner will be announced HERE and on Overall Being's website and also on her Blog HERE.

Aquabub, this weeks new showcase!

2009-11-02T20:04:00.005+10:00

Hello everyone, this weeks small business showcase with Helen MacMillan of Aquabub, a wonderful New Zealand business!

Helen MacMillan lives in Auckland, New Zealand with her wonderful husband of 7.5 years and father to their two precious boys, Ethan (born November 2006) and Aiden (born December 2008).

Helen started her home-based business, Aquabub in mid 2007 by hiring out the super-comfy inflatable birth pool she'd laboured in with her son Ethan. Demand soon led to Aquabub having seven hire pools and then further expanding to offer natural parenting products, including baby carriers, natural fibre modern cloth nappies, Baltic amber jewellery, organic bamboo babywear and more.
Helen is very proud to be the New Zealand distributor for five product lines, one of which she also exports, and she enjoys sourcing new products and brands which aren't readily available in New Zealand in the natural parenting market.
Helen loves the autonomy of running her own business and finding solutions to customer problems, for example sourcing natural fibre modern cloth nappies for families who's children don't tolerate synthetic fibres against their skin (like her own boys). She also loves and feels very privileged to share birth stories on her website when her birth pool hire customers share them. She feels they are a great resource for prospective parents who may be considering birthing at home or using water for their labour/birth.

Helen says one of the harder things about running a home business around two young children is managing work and family life balance. Life is certainly a juggling act!

Because all Helen's products are also used by her family, its hard for her to choose a favourite, though the Kozy Carrier is very dear to her heart and is one of the brands that Aquabub distributes. Helen says its super comfy, ergonomic and supports baby's developing spine safely. Helen also says she has enjoyed and still does enjoy, carrying both boys in a Kozy as does her husband. She says its liberating to be able to wear the boys on her back, as the boys are comforted and she is still able to get things done around the house or with the business. She also loves to carry them on her front as Aiden has been worn this way since he was a newborn and he loves to sleep in the Kozy Carrier!

Another of Helen's best sellers is her range of Baltic amber teething necklaces - a great alternative for soothing baby's teething pain. They have been traditionally used in Europe for centuries, the necklaces are designed to be worn against the skin. As the Baltic amber warms against the skin, the amber releases oils containing natural analgesic (pain relieving) properties which are absorbed through the skin into the blood stream. Baltic amber also helps skin conditions such as eczema and dermatitis and is a natural remedy for many other conditions.

Helen's storefront is her website, but she also attends a local Artisan market once a month and enjoys being able to show selected items from her product range in person. In November Helen will be introducing a lay-by service to make shopping with Aquabub even easier!
So there you now know all about Helen and her wonderful business! Go and have a look at her website and see all the things she has to offer..you won't be disappointed!

The Toy Bug!

2009-10-24T18:28:00.008+10:00

This weeks small business showcase is all about the gorgeous Jo Debnam, owner of The Toy Bug, an online toy store specialising in educational and fun toys.

Jo lives just outside Noosa. She has been married for 17 years to 'the best husband imaginable' and has a gorgeous little boy called Lachlan, who is the inspiration behind starting her business - The Toy Bug.

Lachlan was diagnosed with Autism in January of 2006. Jo wanted to find the great range of toys his therapists (speech, occupational therapy and early intervention centre) were using on her son. The search began and when Jo found them, she decided that she also wanted to share them with other parents, and this is how her flourishing business was born!

Jo's love of toy shopping was also how she decided on the name for her new business. She said she was bitten by 'the Toy Bug' so what better name to call her business than just that! I think it is just perfect.

Jo originally started selling the toys through her Early Intervention Centre, Local Day Care Centres and Kindergartens, though she quickly found the need to open an online store in July 2008. She works from home and is very lucky to have a huge 5 bay car shed to store all her wonderful products in, so they are ready to ship off as soon as orders are taken.

Jo said she loves working from home as she can incorporate work and her son's therapies, though its also challenging at times for her to balance her family and work life, as it is for lots of other home run business's.

Jo has found that joining online forums like connect2mums or celebrating women has been good for her as it allows her to be able to talk to other WAHM's (work at home mums) and she also gets a lot of tips and support from her peers there as well.

Lachlan is Jo's toy tester, which she says he loves, but it does make her house look like Toy World. Lachlan's favourite toys that he tries out get a special listing in Jo's "Lachies Favourites" link on the website, so he can share them with everyone.

Jo's favourite toys are the puzzles. She said she loves puzzles so much as you can teach many different concepts with them. Jo also stocks novelty toys because as a young girl she loved collecting knick knack things like fun stationery and things that were cute. She really likes the novelty toys and thinks they are her side of the business to play with and enjoy.

Jo would never consider selling anything that she wouldn't purchase herself and she treats her customers the way she would like to be treated as a customer. This is very evident in her customer feedback and which she is very proud of earning.

So take a trip over to Jo's website and have a look around. Jo offers a 12 week lay-by service and free gift wrapping on any purchase, which is a great help getting ready for Christmas!

I suggest if you are not already a fan of Jo's facebook page, go and join up now to be the first to learn of any specials or competitions she has going. You can visit her facebook page HERE and you will find her blog HERE.

Jo has a great range of toys and is a lovely lady to deal with. I promise you won't be disappointed shopping with her!

Suga Pink Designs Competition!

2009-10-21T09:02:00.002+10:00

Just a heads up to everyone..pop on over to Jenni's blog here and enter into her fantastic competition, but you have to be quick..its ending soon!

Jenni is the woman behind the fabulous Suga Pink Designs website..while you are at her site here have a look at her fantastic portfolio! If you want to follow her on FaceBook as well..you can do so here.

New Products coming soon!

2009-10-19T18:49:00.002+10:00

We have been working hard on a few new products during our month off, while we were entertaining visitors, and they will be starting to go up on our website this week and will be available shortly after that.

We have a gentle foaming bottom wash that can also be used when you are out as a hand/facewash - so its another great multi use product! We also have some of our delicious mummy to be products finally being released. There will be a luscious belly oil for those who have super sensitive tummys that dont really like to be touched and a rich luscious belly butter for those that like to soothe the dreaded belly itchies while relaxing under their loved ones hands with a gentle rub. There will also be a healing nipple oil and butter to help prepare the new mummy to be's nipples for feeding and to help keep them in good condition during the feeding stage.. it is full of healing herbal infusions to heal any problems you might find as well.

So stay tuned for those new products being released over the next two weeks!

Have an excellent day and remember to tune in again on Friday when we will have our next small business showcase. Its a wonderful small business by Vicki Wallis called Little Lottie Lou Lou!

We're going to start to Show Case home and small business's!

2009-09-25T14:54:00.006+10:00

Hello Everyone,

I have been asked by followers if I will start to do some show casing of handmade business's and I thought..I already do reviews of products that I have purchased so yes, I could showcase the whole actual business as well!

SO..each fortnight I will showcase a home based or small business here on my blog of those business's that I find who offer great service and products etc.

The very first business I would like to Show Case is none other than MillaRuby Designs!

I have gotten to know Caddie through an online networking group we are both members of called Connect2mums. Caddie is a very friendly small business owner and I count myself lucky to have had this opportunity to get to know her.

Caddie is from Western Australia. She is married and has two gorgeous girls named Millana and Ruby. Caddies girls are her whole world and also her inspiration, so she decided to name her business after them both, and so MillaRuby Designs was born!

While not working, Caddie taught herself to sew. What started out as a hobby though, soon progressed much further as people started wanting garments made for their own children. Caddie didn't want to go back into the work force at that stage as she was really enjoying herself, so she decided to start her own homebased sewing business and see how she went. It was a bit of a gamble at first but as the business grew and expanded, she and her wonderful husband knew she had made a good choice and she was doing what she was good at. Her husband is very supportive and proud of her achievements.

Caddie says that she loves showing her family her new designs and seeing all the excitement in their faces as she designs new things, and this is what keeps her job so special to her, that and wanting other young children around Australia to feel good and look good when they are wearing any of her designs.

As well as making gorgeous and unique clothes for boys and girls, Caddie is also branching out into supplying accessories to complement her MillaRuby clothing range. So you will soon be seeing a variety of bows, ribbons, headbands, again handmade, but by other small business owners, there to match her designs and Caddie herself will make purses to go with them as well!

I suggest you pop on over to her site and have a look around. The clothes are fun, unique and best of all, affordable! To keep the designs unique, all clothing is made in limited numbers, sizes and colours - but if you are after a particular size or colour, I suggest you drop Caddie a line as she will work with you to create exactly what you are wanting as well.

I know I love the fact that not a thousand other little girls are wearing the same clothes that my girls or grand-daughter are wearing, I am sure you will too!

Caddie also makes adorable soft toys, which are perfect for all ages (I recently bought my mother one of her beautiful cuddly owls and she is 65). She uses either chenile or minky material for her soft toys for their tactile appeal and they are easy to wash as well if needed.

I can say that Caddies owls all seem to have a personality of their own (due to being handmade and the love that goes into them I am sure!) and picking which one you will buy is half the fun! I know I took ages picking which one I was going to buy my mum.

Just before I leave you with todays Show Case..I wanted to let you know that Caddie also custom makes pirates. She is very proud of the very first pirate she made - Mick was his name - as it was the first toy she had designed herself. These are only made to order as each one is totally unique. "Mick" was auctioned off for the Jane McGrath Foundation and he had his name and the number 1 tattooed on his arm for authenticity - how cool is that??!!

I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about Caddie from MillaRuby Designs and her business here in our very first Show Case! See you in two weeks for the next showcase!

If you want to keep up with Caddie on her blog go HERE.

Millaruby Designs - stunning handmade products!

2009-09-20T19:46:00.004+10:00

I just had to let you all know about an amazing woman named Caddie who makes some of the most adorable things I have seen for a long time. Caddie has a Facebook page and a website. I highly recommend you join these and keep an eye on the gorgeous creations she is bringing out all the time. My mother is an owl fan and as soon as I saw Caddie's Owls I KNEW I had to get one for my mother, just because she doesn't have one like these! lol

Caddie was very fast to post my owl to me and I was so impressed with the workmanship. The materials in it were gorgeous and the whole product was so well made! I can't wait to give it to my mother as I know she will love it as much as we have loved seeing him sitting around our house just waiting for a day to say "Love you mum"

Caddie..your products are amazing and I love all the new ideas you are coming out with all the time. I look forward to many more purchases off you soon!

Here is a picture of the gorgeous Owl that I was lucky enough to get off Caddie, isn't he adorable!?

Cheeky Chuckles Bed Mats

2009-08-10T20:31:00.005+10:00

I have a bedwetter in my household and so when I came across Jo Hill from Cheeky Chuckles with her BD's Bed Mats, I thought I would get one to try it with my daughter, since she is very conscious of her problem and hates having accidents.

I am SO glad I went with my instincts and ordered one of these wonderful mats from Jo. I will certainly be buying some more as my granddaughter is amlost at the age to start learning to stay dry during the night as well now.

As soon as I opened the BD's Bed Mat I could see the excellent quality of them. We have bought bed mats from the local shops before (Big W) and while they were ok, they were not really suitable for anyone who might be an older bedwetter like my child and the size of the bed mat was not as large either as the one that arrived from Jo from Cheeky Chuckles.

The BD's Bed Mat also has much longer tuck in panels at the sides. This is good for those with deeper mattress's and it also holds the Bed Mat more securely in place as the sides have longer panels to really tuck right under the mattress. Another bonus for us, along with the larger actual Bed Mat area to sleep on. Being a larger area in the Bed Mat itself as well ensures that there are no area's that might not be caught in the bed when accidents happen.

They are also finished really lovely and are made out of wonderfully soft and absorbent padding.

A very high quality bed mat. The BD's Bed Mat from Cheeky Chuckles is also so well priced. I paid at least the same as the cost of this high quality Bed Mat for the cheaper, smaller one from a well known baby brand one at the shops.

I had my BD's Bed Mat delived extremely fast as well. All in all a fantastic experience, Jo is a wonderful, friendly business owner who is only too happy to help you with questions.

I thought I should add, they are also very easily washed and dried and ready to go back on the bed the next day. They can also be used not only for those who are toilet training, or if you have a bed wetter like we do, they are also handy for when your child might be sick to make sure that their bed stays clean and fresh if they have an accident then as well. They can also be used on beds of people who might have had surgery, the are so very versatile!

An EXCELLENT Australian product!

I would highly recommend the BD's Bed Mat from Cheeky Chuckles! 10 out of 10!!

Soap Competition...

2009-08-09T20:51:00.002+10:00

We are now running a soap competition on our facebook page! To be in it all you have to do is post what you would like your very own designer soap to be and you are in the running! So get on over and let your imagination run wild! Release the inner soap goddess inside you! lol You have nothing to lose and free soap in your own design to win!

Here is the link to enter!

Enjoy!

Facebook competition!

2009-07-27T20:01:00.002+10:00

I have decided to do a facebook competition..for full details go to Bodelicious Fan Page but basically I am getting fans to put in a design for a soap they would like to see..then we will have a draw on it and who ever gets their design picked will get their soap made up for them and they will receive two bars of their specially designed soap sent to them to say thank you!

So head on over if you would like to be involved in my competition!

Connect2mums gathering at Moniques house

2009-07-25T20:26:00.005+10:00

I had a great day on Friday. Linda who runs createdbylinda graciously offered to drive all the way here to pick me up and take me to the connect2mums Gold Coast gathering which was hosted by Monique of Your Cheeky Monkey. WOW I met a great group of women there and we all got to listen to a little bit about each other and what we all do, between eating and drawing prizes and general networking. I have so much fun at these events and highly recommend them to all the other members of the connect2mums community!

I am looking forward to the next connect2mums event which will be hosted my Michelle from The House of Vinter on the 1st September and starting at 10:00am

Its so great to see so many work at home mothers supporting each other here in Australia!!

The Gold Coast get together hosted by Monique

The lovely Monique from Your Cheeky Monkey

Monique and Sally from Strawberry Jam with one of Sally's great products

Cass and Leonie

Michelle with a bag she won from Sally

New Products coming soon...

2009-07-22T19:01:00.002+10:00

I will be making labels for some new products for my website this week, so they should be ready for pictures and uploaded onto the site by Monday I hope!

I have been working on a few different products for the mummy-to-be and will continue to work on those for the next few weeks tweaking them and getting them ready to put on the site..things are going well so far and I am really loving some of the new butters I am working with (sweet almond butter and sunflower butter) that will be part of the basis for the luscious mummy tummy balm, and for those women who find rubbing things into their tummy a bit too sore, I will have the same great blend in an all oils formula for a luscious mummy tummy oil, which will go on much lighter and gentler.

I will be posting pictures of one or two new products next week, so keep your eyes peeled!

A great week already..

2009-07-21T18:51:00.005+10:00

Monday was a really good day..I made three batches of soap and I am always amazed at how relaxed it makes me feel, there is something so grounding about making soap, even after all these years. One was straight lavender for a very special friend of mine. I ground some lavender buds and added them at trace as I love the extra scent they give when you are using your soap..as per request, I didn't add any colour at all to this soap, only lavender essential oil, I sprinkled a row of lavender buds down the middle of the log after I texturised the top. The next batch was lavender again, but I decided to try something new. So after I seperated the batch into two, I put sprinkles of ground lavender buds through half of the batch and left the other half plain. I poured the half with ground lavender buds into the bottom of a mold and then sprinkled some more ground lavender buds lightly over the top of it. Then I poured the plain lavender soap on top. The last batch was actually started earlier, it was a half a log of lime, ginger, gingko and green tea soap, and I had enough lavender soap left to fill the log mold, so I did that to see how it would turn out. The pictures of the soaps are here at the end of this post for you to see..let me know what you think!

Today..I got a lot done around home as well as unmolding, cutting and photographing my soap that I made yesterday. I cut them all one at a time by hand, so it takes me a while to cut 100 soaps and space them out on trays for their 4 weeks of curing in the laundry. I am also not the best photographer in the world, so that takes me quite a while to try to work out!

All the soaps are nicely tucked up and doing their thing now, and tomorrow..I am making more soap! I can hardly wait.

Lavender soap

Different lavender soap, bottom has ground lavender buds in it.

Top of this one is lavender, bottom is lime, ginger, gingko & green tea

Pantry Pampering!

2009-07-18T18:57:00.003+10:00

We have been talking about ways to pamper ourselves at an online group I am a member of called connect2mums and I thought it would be a great idea to put some of the pantry pampering ideas here as well for anyone who might want or need to have a bit of 'me' time and not have the time to go out.

One of the easiest ways I have of pampering myself at home with things that I have on hand in my pantry is to give myself a milk bath. Its really easy, you can use milk from the shops that you would usually put on your cereal, or long life milk or even powdered milk. Just pour in a half a cup to a cup of milk into a bath of nice warm water, get in and relax and let the milk do its wonders on your skin. Cleopatra really was onto a good thing with her milk baths, they are excellent for you!.

You can add all sorts of things to your bath like honey, oats, tea's and salts, or a combination of them if you want to experiment! I love the honey and oats as well, and also I love to have a bath salt bath..so relaxing and good for you.

If you are adding oats, a good tip is to put the oats into a little knee high stocking, or a footie stocking sock and tie up with a rubber band..this will keep the oats from floating all around your bath and having to clean them up when you are finished, as its no fun having a relaxing bath only to have to clean it when you are done!

For the tea's, you can use any regular herbal tea bags for these baths as well, like chamomile, rosehip, hibiscus, and any of the other exotic ones out in the regular supermarkets these days. Just steep a few in a bowl of boiling water for a about 10 minutes and add the liquid to your bath as you are filling it. Easy. If you have lavender or rose petals or other dried flowers/herbs that you would like to add..you can do the same thing for them as well to suit what you are looking for. You can also just toss the tea bags into a stocking and throw that into the bath as its filling if you find that easier than steeping the tea. Works both ways.

Anyway..I hope you enjoy the first of my pantry pampering posts and if you have anything you would want information on, like maybe pantry pampering face masks, leave a comment and I will do some of those for you as well ok!

Now you can't whinge that you have nothing to put in the bath, your pantry is FULL of things you can add to it!

Review on Greek Sweets!

2009-07-18T18:06:00.002+10:00

Hello Again..

Well it seems like I was on a roll with winning some give aways. I also received a HUGE box of amazingly delicious Greek Sweets from Despina and her dad.

Its hard to know even where to begin with this huge box of goodies..and it was massive! I was in heaven ohhing and ahhing as I went through the box with my husband, we have not had any Greek sweets since we moved away from Darwin, so this was one special treat!

Sadly I didn't get to take a picture of the box of Greek sweets before we doled out shares between us all..maybe Despina will have taken one of the treats for me and I will post it here for you all to see!

I can tell you though..I took this review of Greek Sweets by Papou's Greek Delights seriously!

I first tried the lovely and sweet Greek Shortbread called "Kourambiethes" I have not had this delicious shortbread for almost 14 years and as soon as this morsel of delicous sweet hit my mouth, I knew I was in love! It was just as marvellous as I remembered my Greek friends making me my whole life in Darwin, the memories it revived were great as well. My eldest daughter (Rachel, 11 years) almost begged everyone for their share of this shortbread, she just loved it so much.

Then I tried the mouth watering delight named "Koulouria" which was a Sesame and Cinnamon Biscuit. Well..as soon as I tried this..I knew I loved it, so I quickly swapped my shortbread rations with my eldest daughter for her stash of this delectable treat! Oh my..VERY NICE!!

I was now feeling rather full with a budding belly ache..but do you think I could stop tasting?? NO WAY! lol Next on my taste hit list was a gourmet delight called "Karethe" a Coconut Cake.

This was SO moist and tastey..so rich in flavour that I only just managed to eat one of the portions sent to me..lol..Talk about mouth watering! I was bursting full and still I needed to eat more! lol

Lastly..when I thought I could fit no more in..I found one I had not tried, it was called "Paxemathi Amigthala" or Almond Bread.

Well you all know I went gaga over the Koulouria..well this Almond Bread..was stunning..It is a small 'bread' but not..its VERY hard and crunchy and just OMG yummy! I think this would be a tie for love for these two delicious treats! This is also a lovely soft sweet crunchy delight..and I would love more to have at nights with coffee while reading a good book..by now..I had a full blown belly ache and it was all worth every delectable bite!

My mother came over today and I had to share some of the treats with her, lol..as I said Despina and her dad sent a HUGE box, there were a few containers of each of these treats, such a generous give away!!

I now want to be adopted and live with them forever so that I dont have to miss out on these scrummy Greek Sweets!

I hope Despina lets me know the link for where to buy these treats, as soon as I find out I will post the link for you all to see!

A truly stunning box of treats!

Review on Handbag from Little Lottie Lou Lou

2009-07-18T17:46:00.003+10:00

Hello Everyone..

I received an excellent handbag in the mail on Friday morning from Vicki Wallis - owner of the blog Little Lottie Lou Lou I was the lucky winner of her blog for this great little bag, so I thought I would also do a review on it while I was going.

Its a lovely little bag, not much room in it for many things at all, not like a big over the shoulder one, but this is why I love it! I don't use a handbag too often, so I don't mind a nice compact bag like this, but I do still love to see the quality that it shows, so this wins hands down in my opinion! I was so excited to get it that I took it to town with me on Friday to see how it went and I am in love! It stands up by itself, something else which I love my handbag to do and it just looks so neat and tidy and stylish!

Anyway..I just HAD to let you all know what a fabulouse little, neat, stylish and gorgeous handbag that it was. I am VERY pleased I won it for sure!

Go visit Vicki's blog and website, you wont be disappointed, she has some of the cutest things on there!

Thanks Vicki!

My Website is LIVE!

2009-07-13T17:45:00.003+10:00

Gosh it seems like forever that I have been saying my website would be ready soon..well this afternoon it is..LIVE and available for viewing HERE!

Its all very new still and I am sure I have a lot to learn as I go along, but its out there, ready to roll..and I am so releived! lol

Any suggestions on give aways or competitions would be very happily received, or if there are things you would like to suggest, please, feel free to contact me at any time and let me know.

What a lovely gift I received today!

2009-07-08T17:46:00.005+10:00

What a lovely gift I received today!
My mailman dropped off a parcel pack today and inside was the most wonderful things from Jemma of Handmade Kids . Jemma is just so friendly and caring..with an excellent blog, I suggest you go and check it out.

In todays parcel I recieved a fabulous tote bag, it will be absolutely perfect for my grand daughter, its bright and colourful and when it get grubby from being used day after day..her mummy can throw it in the washing machine and it will be ready for more love! Its reversable as well, HOW wonderful is that?? The other side is a lovely bright pink that any little girl would love. I can't find a tag on it though to see where it came from. My own daughters loved this bag as well and would love one a bit larger for their own use.

Next there was a pretty soft dolly from Ollie Rose, I can't wait to see Haylee's face when she see's this stunning dolly, its like it was made just for her..and again..fully washable! I love it!

She got some adorable hair clips as well (did I say she was spoilt?? lol) 3 beautiful clips to keep her wispy hair out of her eyes as it grows.

Next she got a wonderful bib and cloth wipe matching set from Tiges and Weince (I hope thats right its hard to read the tags) I know those two things will get a lot of use from my little angel! lol

And since it is for a gift..we also got a very pretty card by Little Mo and friends..just so adorable.

Jemma showcases some incredible things on her site and I am so glad I stumbled across it!

I can't wait to see my grand daughters face when she gets this stunning gift (her mummy and her daddy are going to give it to her). Again..Jemma..I can't thank you enough! The handmade products are all very well made..and you are an amazing and wonderful lady. Thank you.
. This lady is just so friendly and caring..with an excellent blog, I suggest you go and check it out.

In todays parcel I recieved a fabulous tote bag, it will be absolutely perfect for my grand daughter, its bright and colourful and when it get grubby from being used day after day..her mummy can throw it in the washing machine and it will be ready for more love! Its reversable as well, HOW wonderful is that?? The other side is a lovely bright pink that any little girl would love. I can't find a tag on it though to see where it came from. My own daughters loved this bag as well and would love one a bit larger for their own use.

Next there was a pretty soft dolly from Ollie Rose, I can't wait to see Haylee's face when she see's this stunning dolly, its like it was made just for her..and again..fully washable! I love it!

She got some adorable hair clips as well (did I say she was spoilt?? lol) 3 beautiful clips to keep her wispy hair out of her eyes as it grows.

Next she got a wonderful bib and cloth wipe matching set from Tiges and Weince (I hope thats right its hard to read the tags) I know those two things will get a lot of use from my little angel! lol

And since it is for a gift..we also got a very pretty card by Little Mo and friends..just so adorable.

Jemma showcases some incredible things on her site and I am so glad I stumbled across it!

I can't wait to see my grand daughters face when she gets this stunning gift (her mummy and her daddy are going to give it to her). Again..Jemma..I can't thank you enough! The handmade products are all very well made..and you are an amazing and wonderful lady. Thank you.

I won the girls give away!

2009-06-30T18:46:00.002+10:00

Hello Everyone!

I just wanted to let you know that Jemma from Handmade Kids contacted me today to let me know I was the VERY lucky winner of the girls give away on her blog!

I am really looking forward to getting this lovely gift so that I can give it to my son to give to my grand daughter, she will absolutely ADORE it!

Not much soapmaking going on as its school holidays here right now, but I am getting lots of my built up business stuff sorted out and setting up my office properly..so thats good news.

See you all tomorrow!

2009-06-27T17:51:00.003+10:00

Hello Everyone..just a heads up that there is a FANTASTIC giveaway on a great blog called Handmade Kids (http://www.handmadekids.com.au/?p=1492&cpage=1#comment-1887) - You can pick if you like the girls give away or the boys give away, so go check it out..they have heaps of wonderful things on there as well as the fantastic give away!

Its only on for three days!

Finally Launched!

2009-06-26T19:30:00.000+10:00

Hello Everyone, well I finally got around to my launch for my new range and boy what a relief it is! I 'officially' started my babylicious range at the mother and baby expo in Brisbane on the 19th June, 2009.

I had the good fortune to meet a really wonderful woman called Nicki via another friend in Canada. Nicki and her friend Renee run an online baby shop called My Bonding Babies (http://www.mybondingbabies.com.au/) and they are stocking my baby care range in their online store and invited me along to the baby expo with them. What fun the expo was! I didn't do much in sales, but the experience was amazing and I am so happy I got the chance to help them out at the stand while it was on. I got to know Nicki more and finally got to meet Renee as well.

On the Tuesday after the mother and baby expo, I put my products into a real retail shop in my local town called Handmade Heaven. Leisa is the lovely lady in there and she was wonderful with helping me set up my space with my products. Its a gorgeous shop full of handmade products of all kinds and if you are ever in the area, I highly recommend you go in and check her shop out! Its at the Old Flour Mill in Ipswich (Brisbane Road).

So things have been quite busy for me with both of these major events going on at the same time!

I will catch you all next time - I have to thaw my fingers! lol

Blogging and Daydreaming

2009-06-06T21:09:00.000+10:00

Well I have finally got around to starting my own blog.

I am still working this all out, so its a real work in progress for now, but I am sure its going to be a great experience.

For those that know me already, they will know I seem to be unable to write short notes..I am sure this blog wont be any exception! lol

I am looking forward to sharing my thoughts, tips and daydreams with you as I head down this path, but for now I think this might do for my first journey into this new area, so I will say goodnight for now and will catch anyone out there tomorrow!