Friday, November 20, 2009

A Blissful Journey



Come along with us as we travel through inspiring, informative, insightful, and sometimes wacky websites and blogs. No airport parking or baggage concerns. No lofty hotel rates or fuel costs. No ‘Are we there yet?’ Just grab a cup of tea and a bit of chocolate, sit back, and enjoy the journey!

If You’ve Never Failed, You’ve Never Lived
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2Ioxn3A4C4

These Five Things; share yours.
http://blissguild.blogspot.com/2009/11/these-five-things.html

From Moon Beams In A Jar—a lesson in time management.
http://moonbeamsinajar.blogspot.com/2009/07/time-management-still-cant-master-it.html

They carry everything—I wonder what the shipping costs would be.
http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=casket&search_constraint=0&tab_value=27_All&ic=48_0&ref=&search_sort=3&selected_items

A Mile In Their Shoes
http://adaptinginplace.blogspot.com/2009/11/ah-long-time-no-post.html

Help Campbell’s preserve five barns. Vote for your favorite here:
http://www.helpgrowyoursoup.com/projects.aspx?EID=3787&MID=3892695&LID=2655

Jewelry Box Diplomacy from Madeline Albright
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113278807&sc=fb&cc=fp

An inspiring interview and a giveaway
http://www.notquitejunecleaver.com/2009/11/please-meet-my-dear-friend-ellynanne-geisel/

Did you enjoy the journey? Please drop us a line so we know you visited.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

What's New Around The Bliss Guild



Christi from Charm and Grace creates a special gift.
http://charmandgracecottage.blogspot.com/2009/11/tis-season-commissioned-artwork.html

Princess Leia, I mean Serena shares her Halloween Costume.
http://thefarmchicks.typepad.com/farmchicks/2009/10/princess-leia.html

Introducing Honeysuckle Lane’s Snow Folk.
http://honeysucklelane.blogspot.com/2009/11/sneak-peek-snow-folk.html

Datdatdatdah! Welcome Michele’s new Etsy Shop – French Hen.
http://msddesign.blogspot.com/2009/10/datdatdatdah.html

Announcing, a Brand New Website From The Blackberry Briar.
http://theblackberrybriar.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/10/brand-new-website.html

Paper Joy from The Vintage Flea
http://thevintage-flea.blogspot.com/2009/11/paper-joy.html


Image from MSD Design


Saturday, November 14, 2009

These Five Things




Thanksgiving is almost here. So often this holiday gets lost in the frenzy of early Christmas shopping and decorating. So before you make your Christmas shopping list and unravel those outside twinkle lights - Name Five Things You Are Thankful For.







Monday, November 9, 2009

Let's Dish!



Welcome to Let’s Dish! where we talk about everything from Allspice to Celebrities, Heart Disease, Money and Zoos! If you’re reading this (and we know you are), please share your thoughts on the current Let’s Dish! subject. How can we dish if there’s no one to dish with? And if you have any subjects you’d like to dish about please drop us a line!

This Let's Dish! subject is the third and final installment of the history of makeup. If you missed the first two you can see them here:

http://blissguild.blogspot.com/2009/09/lets-dish.htmlhttp://blissguild.blogspot.com/2009/10/lets-dish.html



Makeup became heavier in the 18th century, causing medical complications such as tooth decay, adverse skin conditions, and poisonings. Lead and sulfur (for enhancing the cleavage), mercury (for covering blemishes) and white lead (for whitening the complexion) were often the culprits.

In Victorian times makeup became the mark of a loose woman, though women went to great lengths to hide their use of cosmetics. To make eyes bright some women ate small amounts of arsenic or washed their eyes with lemon juice, or worse yet, belladonna, the juice of the poisonous nightshade. Natural ingredients such as oatmeal, honey, and egg yolks were also very popular.

In the late Victorian and early Edwardian eras, ladies of society liked to preserve the myth of being naturally beautiful. A Mrs. Henning, who owned a beauty salon in London, had a special back door for her clients. Heavily veiled, a lady would hurriedly alight from her carriage and disappear into the discreet entrance. Mrs. Henning sold creams and rouges.

The 20th century brought about safer cosmetics and a new freedom of choice to wear excessive or natural makeup as the wearer desired. In the 1920s and 30s, lipsticks and the first liquid nail polish along with several forms of base powders and blushes and the first powder compact were seen. Cosmetics were now a booming business. The 1920s brought about another revolution; the Tan. No longer did women strive for the pale, wilted flower look. The wealthy of the 1920’s prided themselves of not having to work, but also the ability to go outside and play.



By the 1930’s makeup was available to women of all social classes. Cosmetic giants like Max Factor, Elizabeth Arden, and Revlon flourished. Variety opened the door for the remaining part of the century, and a high demand for eco friendly, safe, quality products brought forth a slew of new companies including Christian Dior and Clinique, providing women with classic makeup for all skin types.

The desire to have sensual eyes and lips, soft and youthful looking skin has never changed. From the kohl, arsenic, berries, and lead powders of centuries past, to the advanced products of today that can hide pores, remove wrinkles, erase age spots, smooth complexions, make your lashes longer, and turn the pale green of your eyes to a vivid shade of emerald, makeup as been an integral part of humankind for thousands of years.





So what's new in the cosmetic world? To name a few; chemical peels, botox, collagen injections, lip and eyebrow tatoos, cosmetic surgery, anti-oxidant products, and the first and only eyelash growth treatment.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

A Packaging Primer for the Holidays


Image from wink designs

Even though it’s still Autumn, many artists and crafters are already preparing for Christmas in our shops. For most of us, packaging and shipping during the holidays is nothing less than an unpleasant task. Here are some ideas that might make this chore a little easier so you can enjoy the season.

Beth at Hint shares a detailed article on shipping along with some great resources for packaging.




Image from Hint


From the Art Bead Scene Blog, a beautiful article featuring Erin Prais-Hintz and the love she puts into her packaging.
It’s The Little Things….






Photo from Art Bead Scene and Hint




A great article from every heart crafts, with beautiful packaging and great resources. Check out her sweet package toppers!


Image from Every Heart Crafts

From Etsy, Fabulous Packaging and Wrapping with rikrak including a video and several helpful tutorials.


Image by maythird

And more helpful articles:
http://www.etsy.com/storque/search/title/packaging/
http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/seller-how-to-packaging-ideas-2912/
http://www.shopnicepackage.com/about-us/

Thursday, October 29, 2009

A Blissful Journey



Come along with us as we travel through inspiring, informative, insightful, and sometimes wacky websites and blogs. No airport parking or baggage concerns. No lofty hotel rates or fuel costs. No ‘Are we there yet?’ Just grab a cup of tea and a bit of chocolate, sit back, and enjoy the journey!


A short story from A Dress A Day
http://www.dressaday.com/2009/10/this-weeks-pattern-story-and-sale-with.html

Entrepreneurship Tips from Etsy and The Daily Worth
http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/seller-how-to-entrepreneurial-tips-from-dailyworth-5286/

Little People Street Project
http://little-people.blogspot.com/

Suzanne of Pear Tree Primitives shows how she creates her miniature portraits.
http://peartreeprimitives.blogspot.com/2009/10/miniature-portrait-painting-process.html

Where The Wild Things Are – the movie. I can’t wait!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z46Yym346QA

Making Shabby Chic, Again
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/garden/15shabby.html?_r=1

Weaving A Story—we need your help to finish.
http://blissguild.blogspot.com/2009/10/weaving-story.html


Did you enjoy the journey? Please drop us a line so we know you visited.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Weaving A Story





Let’s weave a story. I’ll begin, and each of you will add a part. You may weave in a word, sentence, paragraph—there is no limit. You may take the story any direction you like, but please keep it clean. Oh, and don’t worry about grammar or spelling, or that you may not be a professional writer. Let’s just have fun and see where it goes. And remember, all stories must come to an end, so don’t be afraid to be the one who finishes it. Okay, is everyone snuggled in? Quiet now…..and let’s begin.








The Key

Katie examined the plain brown package that arrived in the mail. The return address read Bruxton and Wells Attorneys At Law, and the package was addressed to Miss Katelyn Jane Tidwell. Only her Aunt Agatha addressed her by her full given name, but Aunt ‘Aggie’ had passed away almost a year ago. Katie’s brow furrowed as she carefully opened the package. Nestled in yellowed tissue paper were two keys and a short note indicating that Aunt Aggie had willed her house and all its contents to Katie. The larger of the two keys she assumed unlocked the house, but the smaller key with a tiny glass bead and a metal star hanging from it gave no indication as to its purpose.

It had been years since she had seen her aunt. The last visit ended in an argument and their family never visited Aggie again. Though she was only eight years old, Katie still remembers the shouting that went on between her parents and Aunt Aggie that day. Too young to understand the quarrel, she only remembered that it had something to do with the attic, or more specifically what was kept there. After the argument Katie asked her aunt what was in the attic that made her parents so angry. With a flip of her wrist, Agatha waved away any concerns and answered Katie’s question with one of her own. “My dear Katelyn, will you promise to always believe in the magical and mysterious—things that happen but simply can not be explained?” Katie gripped the keys tightly and whispered the same response she did 19 years ago; “Yes, Aunt Aggie, I promise.”