Sunday, July 10, 2011

Essential Oil Creativity Challenge

Anhoki's Place and GourmetSoaps wanted to challenge everyone to be creative with color and essential oils. Our team also wanted to help the victims of the tornadoes in Joplin. We decided to combine the two, by donating all of the proceeds from our entry fees from the challenge.

But, it gets even better! Our good friends at Brambleberry are joining us! Not only is Anne-Marie donating a $50 gift certificate to the winner, but Brambleberry is also donating an additional $50 to the money we're sending to Joplin. We've always loved Brambleberry for their awesome supplies, but now we know they have a big heart as well. Thank you Anne-Marie!

The Challenge......

A) Contestants were allowed to use only the essential oils listed below. (We must use essential oils) If you already have a blend or blends with 3 or more of the essential oils listed this will be less of a challenge ...
amyris (sandalwood), anise, bay, cedar, citronella, clary sage, clove, eucalyptus, fennel, ginger, grapefuit, juniper, Laurel, lavender, lemon, lemongrass, lime, nutmeg, orange, patchouli, peppermint, petitgrain, pine, rosemary, rosewood, vanilla, spearmint, verbena, vetiver, ylang

B) Contestants had to have at least 2 colors in their soap. I realize this will be a challenge for some as they only use herbs and spices for color OR none at all. This is why it is called a challenge.

The challenge for the public is...there is no smellovision. We ask that you vote on the two challenge components only. You will have the picture of the soap and a brief description of oils and color used. Vote for the one you feel best depicts the challenge requirements. To vote for your favorite just leave a comment with the number selection and your email address. When voting is over we will use random chooser to decide who will receive a winning bar. HAVE FUN.



1.Smells wonderful a blend of Lavender , Lime and Patchouli esssential oil.
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2.
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3. This soap is made with Lavender, Eucalyptus and Rosemary Essential Oils
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4. Essential oils lavender, lemon, lemongrass, ylang ylang, and titanium oxide, oxide, and ultramarine.
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5. For the essential oils, I used Anise, Orange, Clary Sage, and Patchouli
For the colors, I made a layer of green using French Green Clay, and a layer of rose using Rose Clay.
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6. I used the following essential oils to blend my Relax Scent: Lemon, Sweet Orange, Peppermint, and Rosemary. I also used 2 natural colorants, parsley powder and grapeseed powder
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7. The scent is our own all-natural botanical blend of essential oils: top notes of energizing citrus, lavender and rose blend with spicy and amber accords, balanced with slight earthy notes and just a hint of mint.
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8. Orange Marmalade (front)....Essential oils of Sweet Orange, Pink Grapefruit, Lemon and Lime. Sweet, tangy and a little tart.
Spring Gardens (back)....Citrus, Lavender, and Rosemary give it the warm earthiness that I experienced in the Memphis Botanical Garden.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

MEET THE TEAM - Anhoki's Place

Grab a cup o'joe and meet Anhoki! And then run over to her shop for some great goodies!!!



Tell us a bit about yourself. (family, location, etc.)

I'm Anhoki. I make up half of the Anhoki's Place team. The other half is my husband John (Dr. John to the masses). John and I have known each other for 20 years, married for 15 years in May and have two girls ages 9 and 10. Oh....we also have two Pomeranians (ages 10 and soon to be 15), two cats (13 and 14) and a fish named Gary. :~) We live in middle Tennessee. Tennessee is not my ideal location (I'd rather be at the beach) but it is where our family are and that's why we're here.


Where did you get your name?
Giggle. Over the years I've been told my name is "so exotic" and "so unique". Bunnie's Workshop came about because John used to call me Bunnie. My Chinese Zodiac sign is the Rabbit. I love fuzzy bunnies. Squeeee. Anhoki is a play on my first, middle and last names. You should try it. Some can come up with some pretty unique nicknames this way. :~)
What is your inspiration?
Why are you asking such difficult questions? Sheesh. My inspiration comes from life in general. I am inspired by my family. I'm inspired by the world around me. I love to watch people. I am fascinated by people and the world in general. It's a pretty amazing world we live in.

What is your best seller & why
My best seller??? That's tough. I have several "best" sellers.
Dude soap is extremely popular. It's fun, smells great, and John made an AWESOME stamp for it.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/38425101/dude-artisan-soap

Locally and within my online circle my phunkie candles are very popular.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anhoki/192308499/in/set-72157622555060907
I would love to sell custom candles like this on Etsy. I think most folks are afraid of the massive size of them though.
My deodorant is becoming very popular AND it makes you smell good. What's better than that?
http://www.etsy.com/listing/68090620/citrus-souffle-natural-deodorant-with


Where else can we find you
John and I have our own website www.bunniesworkshop.com
Flickr... http://www.flickr.com/photos/anhoki/sets/72157607761851939/
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/anhoki
Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/anhoki

Are you involved in any other Etsy teams
Etsy Project Embrace, Etsy Moms, Military Brats. I am involved with several teams buy my heart is with SAFETeam.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Winners Announced - Mother's Day Challenge

Many thanks to the artists who participated in our SAFEteam challenge! Their items were wonderfully MOM inspired. But alas we can only have one winner. The votes have been tallied and the winner of the SAFEteam Mother's Day challenge is...


Tara from Waterwaif





inspired by
Thai Coconut Shampoo That Rocks by GetLathered. Pineapple and coconut are awesome scents and together, they're magic! These earrings capture the tropical, spring-time feel of GetLathered's shampoo and every mom deserves a pretty piece of jewelry to pamper herself and to feel special!

A jewelry artist who finds inspiration and strength from the ocean and its inhabitants, you'll find her collection sea inspired.

“for whatever we lose
(like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves
we find in the sea”
~e.e. cummings





Thank you both, Waterwaif and Emburr for participating. We hope to do it again in the future!

And we would like to thank all of our faithful readers, those who came to vote,and those who found us on Facebook. That being said we would like to announce the winner of the Mother's Day Basket giveaway!



We had 44 qualifying entrants into the giveaway. Each was numbered from first entry to last and then the numbers were put into a random number generator. The winning number was 16....



.........who was Julia from Cloth Diaper Geek and She Thinks Media! Congrats to you Julia, you are winning one amazing basket!

And a final thank you to the Team Sponsors!