Earth Day - April 22nd

Plant a tree this Earth Day! Make a new resolution to honor the Earth, maybe, involve your whole family in energy and/or water conservation. Or use natural cleaning product and grow organic vegetables in your garden.

There are so many simple things we can do. Donate items for those who need them or repurpose them for a new use. Choose reusable products and materials. Check your vehicle's emissions and make changes if necessary. Try carpooling once a week or even use a public transport when possible. Get outside more and enjoy and respect nature more. It's good for your health and will keep you inspired.

The world will become better if everyone will make some efforts.  After all, the Earth is our home and we should take care of it better!

Here is a small collection of Russian Artists team members items for sale which are eco-friendly. Visit us on Etsy to see more!

Felted balls giveaway

New giveaway today! This lovely set of 6  white woolen balls might be yours if you will participate in our giveaway! Oksana from LaFiabaRussa is hostess for this giveaway.

This eco friendly lightweight soft balls have many use. Here is some ideas:

Your child can play with them...

 ... or even make a caterpillar or a snowman!

Your can add some embellishments and hang them on your Christmas tree...

or you can through them to a dryer to increase the drying time!

More of these colorful balls can be found in  LaFiabaRussa shop so stop by and take a look!

Only one person will be selected so please follow these rules to be a winner:

1. Visit LaFiabaRussa shop and leave a comment here on what you like the best (1 entry)

2. Follow/ subscribe our blog (1 entry)

3. Grab our button and place it on your blog (1 entry)

4. Share this giveaway on twitter / facebook / your blog (1 entry)

5. Follow LaFiabaRussa's facebook/ twitter/ blog (1 entry each)

Please leave a separate comment on each entry and don't forget to leave us your email address so that we could contact you!

This giveaway will run from November 22 through December 2nd. The winner will be announced on December 3rd, 2011.

Have fun and good luck!

Interview with a Star - Sasha and Veronika (Herbolution)

Today, at this beautiful Earth Day we are appreciating all the gifts Nature brought to us and we are happy to introduce you to our teammates who cares so much about environment that they made it their lifestyle. Please meet Sasha and Veronica at Herbolution!

Please tell us a bit about yourself
We are Sasha and Veronika, a couple of Ukrainian origin – owners of Herbolution that is located in Tennessee. From name of our shop you could guess that our products are made from herbs and natural ingredients :) We do our best to provide the purest and most beneficial power of herbs to our customers through our skin care, aromatherapy and household accessories. We are proud to make all products from scratch and input a lot of love and care in every item, even tiny samples :) And we care about environment as much as about our customers. All our products are made with conscious attitude to Earth and care about condition of our soils. Our products are made of 100% natural ingredients and organic or wildcrafted when possible. All formulas are carefully created to experience full potential of Nature's power of herbs and our packaging is designed to give pleasure of feeling proud to support eco-conscious business.

What brought you to this kind of business?

Love of herbs and Nature was seeded in our hearts from early childhood and was growing and maturing ever since. The desire to express our creativity through body care products and everyday household items was just a matter of time. So we couldn't hold that passion inside and Herbolution is what burst out from that need :)

Why did you start selling at ETSY?
Etsy is all about passionate creation and self-expression - exact place for our needs :) We started actively selling on Etsy about year and a half ago and immediately fit in to handmade community. We like the demand for customizations and individual approach to every product and Etsy all about that :) Etsy customers value our hand made products and are generous on descriptive and detailed feedbacks full of sweet words and happy experiences.

What tools do you use to promote your work?
Our passion and sincere efforts do most of the promotion for us, thus we have many return customers, but we also use Facebook, Twitter, Blogspot, our website and Etsy's promotional tools like treasuries, showcases, teams, etc, as well as arrange giveaways, promotions, reviews and samples.

Where else can we find your products other than ETSY?
We also sell products on our website at www.herbolution.com, ArtFire, eCrater and few other marketplaces.

Do you make сustom items?
We love customizations! This emphasizes our personal approach and gives us advantage as handmade company over mass produced corporations. Personal attention is the key in our business.

Where do you get your Inspiration from?
Our love of Herbs, sincere care for Planet, our love to each other and desire to create things that both Earth and people can really benefit from and enjoy – are our inspirations and never-ending sources of ideas. Everyday life shows us needs and wants of different people and we are challenged to provide eco-friendly and herbal solutions to ones :)

What are your goals for your shop?

We are currently 88% plastic free and our goal is to become 100% free of any kind of plastic. We also plan to introduce some of our products to more retail stores and spas. But the main goal is to shift the thinking of common consumer to value and give priority to Earth-friendly products, and also to restore the trust in amazing powers of herbs.

How did you come up with your shops name?
We LOVE herbs! We wanted the name to reflect both herbal passion in creation of our products and some new, revolutionary solution with herbal products – fresh, 100% natural and eco-friendly ways to engage herbs in our everyday life. That’s how we came up with Herb+solution+revolution= Herbolution.

Do you both create your products or does one do another aspect of the business?
We try to be both fully involved in every step of Herbolution growth whether it's increasing our products assortment or transitioning to renewable energy. But still, Veronika is mostly responsible for formulation, development and testing of products and Sasha is focused on technical part, labels design, vision and eco-friendly solutions implementation.

What would you suggest to new Etsy sellers to promote their shops?
Be confident in what you make, don't cheat and be honest with you customers as with yourself. Give customer service as good as you never received yourself. And remember to treat your customers with generous sales and discounts, like the following one: for celebration of Earth Day we offer 25% OFF EVERY ORDER until Apr 24 (use code "love4earth"). Be sure that you support earth-friendly business while shopping for natural and delightful organic products.

Sasha and Veronika

Organic sugar coffee and cinnamon body scrab

It is always a great idea to pamper your body, especially when you are using organic ingredients and can create some really great product right at your own kitchen. Veronica and Sasha from Herbolution are sharing their organic body scrub recipe with us today.

It is not hard to create such luxurious spa product as body scrub at home as you might think. All you need for the basic recipe is few things that usually can be found in almost any kitchen: oil, sugar or salt and some sort of fragrance, flavor or essential oil. Such scrub will not only diligently exfoliate removing dead skin cells but also will moisturize your skin which is especially good for people with very dry skin. Homemade scrubs are great for people with sensitive skin too as they don't contain any harsh ingredients usually found in commercial products.

Today we will demonstrate how to make Sugar Coffee & Cinnamon body scrub. To make it earth-friendly we recommend to use organic, Fair trade and 100% natural ingredients that are not only better and safe for your skin but also support ethical and chemical-free agriculture businesses.

Why sugar? Sugar contains glycolic acid, a component that keeps skin healthy. It moisturizes, conditions it and protects from the harmful effects of toxins. If you use a brown sugar scrub on a regular basis, it will help to improve your skin's ability to retain its natural moisture balance.

You need:

Oil, ¼ cup (we use organic Apricot Kernel Oil. It is very light, absorbent and moisturizing for your skin. You can substitute it with almond, soybean, sunflower or olive oil of your choice).

Sugar, 1 cup (we use organic Brown Sugar. If you would like more powerful exfoliation you can use sea salt).

Coffee, ½ cup (we use organic Coffee. You can also reuse any leftover from you

r fresh brewed morning cup of coffee too, but since it will contain water it should be used

immediately, within day or two).

Cinnamon, ½ table spoon

Cocoa powder (optional), 1 table spoon (we use pure raw organic cocoa powder but you can add also one of those yummy dry drinking cocoa mixes, like the one from Hershey's).

Cinnamon essential oil, ¼ tea spoon

Vitamin E, 6-8 drops.
Also you will need measuring cups, spoon, spatula or spoon for mixing, bowl and container to transfer the finished product.

Measure and mix all dry ingredients first in a bowl using the spatula or clean hands (to touch and feel the consistency and to add some love to the scrub). Make sure there are no any combs left. Add base oil and essential oil. Mix thoroughly.

That's it. Fast, easy and aromatic as your morning coffee :) Transfer the scrub to your container. Since this recipe is 100% natural and does not contain any chemical preservatives, we strongly recommend to avoid any water contact with the full jar, otherwise the life of the scrub will shorten considerably. You don't want it to happen, right? :) So the best way to avoid this is - before going to shower/bath scoop out a portion that will be used right away, this way the full jar will stay fresh and safe.

Give your skin a good pamper each time you bathe or shower. It will look amazingly soft, supple and glowing!

Feel free to surf Herbolution Etsy store for different body polishes as ideas and inspiration or get one for yourself today!

Wonderful things Wednesday - Holiday gift guide: gifts under $20

Every year we have a Holiday gift exchange between our friends. We are pretty fluent in what we are going to buy as a gift but we have our limits: all our gifts are supposed to be under $20!

If you are trying to find the perfect gift within a budget here is the solution: shop online at Etsy! It is easy, convenient and you don't have to spent hours to find something great and wonderful which will fit your budget!

To prove that great gifts don't have to be expensive and they can be cool without breaking your piggy bank please check our collection!


1. White Christmas/ Fabric rosette statement ring by StudioElenus
2. Sterling silver handstamped Zodiac earrings by BlueberryCream
3. Organic Strawberry Facial Scrub Sample Size Natural and eco-friendly no soap vegan cleanser great for acne by Herbolution
4. Knit felted purse cellphone holder by Allmadewithlove



1. White felted wool acorns set of 5 by CityCrochet
2. Deep red flower brooch by Cushyadornments
3. Snowy Owl Necklace Polymer Clay Medallion by ArtHarmony
4. Winter House Clay Ring by Smafactory


1. Cordoba tile patchwork pot holder by RizalaYa
2. Felted flower brooch by Galafilc
3. Ornament - red hearts by AleksandraRoo
4. BLUE gamma striped felt bracelet by Soroka

Stylish things - KatrinShine

I would like to share with you a wonderful collection of leather jewelry and accessories by a very talented designer Katia (boutique Кatrinshine).


Accessories in autumnal red, burgundy and golden brown colors attract attention to themselves and touch everyone's hearts. Her creations are stunning, full of lightness, elegance and
inspiration! Immaculate execution of decorative features highlights stylish compositional solutions. The idea of these accessories is very simple - it is a stylized poppy made of pieces of leather. However, the number of possibilities in this design is simply inexhaustible!!!


Flaming red poppy is passionate and glowing, it is a perfect match for an evening dress as well as a strict business style dress. Sultry hot red can be easily combined with a summer outfit, attracting attention to the bronze glow of tanned skin.


Dark cherry color can serve as an alternative to a red poppy. Burgundy color adds a touch of mystery, magically turning a beautiful woman into a mysterious stranger.


Golden brown raises completely different emotions. Its tanned color, as if touched by the sun, suits warm and cozy autumnal jersey, mixing well with the colors of ripe fruit and berries.


A smoky blue flower has yet another purpose. Dove-colored blue brings thoughts of the frosty breath of winter, crystal mist on the tries and sparkling snowflakes slowly moving in a dance.

Please, support RosemaryManufacture and Herbolution by Voting on Etsy!

Great news! Two of our members have made to Etsy Voter this week! Please, choose one and vote for it!

From Herbolution: Organic Computer Peppermint wrist support set

From RosemaryManufacture: Swarovski Pearl CLASSY Earrings Sterling Silver

 
To vote you should be a member on Etsy - if not, it takes just 3 minutes to register! :)
Thank you so much! :)

Please VOTE HERE