Valentine Handmade with Love sponsor spotlight: South Texas Naturals

The Valentine Handmade with Love Gift Hop will be happening Feb. 2-6. Many blogs will be participating. All giveaway items are handmade items. I'm so excited to be sharing my wonderful sponsors with you. The next wonderful sponsor I have is:  South Texas Naturals 

South Texas Naturals offers handcrafted soaps as well as other handcrafted items like sachets and lip balms.  South Texas Naturals also has a gifts and favors section.  That would be a great idea for baby showers, wedding favors, prizes at parties, and whatever else you can think of.  Who doesn't use soap?

I'm a fan of shea butter and whipped body lotions.  While browsing the site I see that South Texas Naturals also offers whipped shea butter, cuticle cream, goats milk lotion, solid lotion stick, and other things to quench that dry winter skin.


South Texas Naturals took the time to answer some of my questions to learn more about her business:


" I started making handmade soaps about 10 years ago after the birth of my 2nd child.  He had very bad eczema and I need to find a solution to his dry skin that was cost effective as the medicine the doctors prescribed was too expensive.  I did a lot research and found many stories of how handmade soaps was great for dry skin.  So I was decided to give it a try in making my own and I haven't been able to stop since.  My biggest passion about it is being able to create my own recipes and trying them out.  Not all make it through to the end, but I love the feeling of accomplishment once a recipe I create comes together!

I have just started to venture from  just soaps to other handmade products such as lip balms, lotions, solid lotions and massage bars.  I am hoping to expand my product line this year in 2011 to bring many more handmade products. "  ---South Texas Naturals

You can also find South Texas Naturals on etsy

South Texas Naturas on twitter: @STNaturals

And South Texas Naturals on facebook

If you want to get a head start on some of the Valentine Gift Giveaway Hop entries you can follow the sponsors on their etsy, twitter, and/or facebook pages now.


South Texas Naturals will be offering one FFCM reader their choice of 5 handcrafted soaps.  Here are just a few of the many that South Texas Naturals offers:

Honey n' Oat Milk soap

Green Tea soap

French Green Clay Soap

Stop by South Texas Naturals to see what other scents and types they offer. South Texas Naturals giveaway will be open to US only.



Free Stuff, Fun Sites, Contests, and More

Valentine Handmade with Love sponsor spotlight: Concrete Minerals

The Valentine Handmade with Love Gift Hop will be happening Feb. 2-6. Many blogs will be participating. All giveaway items are handmade items. I'm so excited to be sharing my wonderful sponsors with you. The next wonderful sponsor I have is:  Concrete Minerals 

I was browsing on Etsy, as I like to do sometimes.  Concrete Minerals' Etsy shop caught my eye.  I'm a fan of mineral make up to start with.  Concrete Minerals' eye catching banner drew me in to check out what they had to offer.  With fun and intriguing names like: The Mermaid collection, Lovey Dovey, and Strobelight I started thinking....now this makeup company is for me.  I love shimmer, color, and make up that seems to have an attitude all it's own.  (Besides it's so much cooler to say "oh you like it?  Thanks, the color is Napalm")

The creator of Concrete Minerals, Emily, spent years working in the natural cosmetics industry.  I asked Emily if she would mind answering a few questions for you, my loyal readers and here's what she had to say:



1. How/why did you start your handmade business?

After working in the music industry for several years, I found myself working with some incredible companies in the natural beauty industry. This was where I found my passion in mineral makeup. I decided to launch a company that would embrace the incredible benefits of mineral makeup, yet cater to a trendier, younger generation of women looking to explore a healthier alternative to standard makeup without sacrificing the pigmentation and quality that they love.

2. What is your favorite item to create and why?

Our Electric Eye Primer. It's such a unique, hand-crafted formula that excludes all filler ingredients and preservatives and manages to rival several of the pro primers on the market today. We've received so many compliments and rave reviews, that each time I make it, I feel an incredible sense of pride.


3. Do you have any future goals or plans for your business that my readers would like to know about?

We do have SEVERAL new releases within the next few months, beginning this month with the release of a bunch of new mineral eye shadows! I can't WAIT to share these as well as the new products joining our line in March!


Stop by and check out some of the hot shades at Concrete Minerals etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/concreteminerals

You can also find Concrete Minerals on Facebook:  facebook.com/concreteminerals

And tweet with Concrete Minerals: @CM_Official


Concrete Minerals is going to be giving one of you lucky readers 2 full size eyeshadows in their best selling shades:  Lolita  and   Smut.   So be sure to stop back here Feb. 2-6 for your chance to sexy up those endearing eyes for your sweetie just in time for Valentine's day!  This giveaway will be open Internationally!

Free Stuff, Fun Sites, Contests, and More

Valentine Handmade with Love sponsor spotlight: Madame Koiteh

The Valentine Handmade with Love Gift Hop will be happening Feb. 2-6. Many blogs will be participating. All giveaway items are handmade items. I'm so excited to be sharing my wonderful sponsors with you. The next wonderful sponsor I have is:    Madame Koiteh

I had the pleasure of trying some of Madame Koiteh's handmade products myself.  I had one a blog giveaway for a sampler pack from her shop that included African black soap, organic yellow shea butter, organic white shea butter, and coco butter.  This was a new experience for me.  The African black soap was in small chunks.  They lathered and cleaned well.  All of the products in the pack were in a form that I wasn't really used to but I loved.  Had I not one the giveaway I may have missed out on these organic products that were so good for my skin. 

Since I loved the product so much I contacted her hoping she would be willing to sponsor a giveaway on my blog so I could talk about my great experience with her products and hopefully give one of my readers the opportunity to try her handmade products. 

I asked Madam Koiteh if she could tell us a little about herself and her shop and here's what she had to say:


"I started crafting many years ago, actually as a child. I always loved to sew, crochet, draw, and make perfumes. My mother and other relatives were always making something,from soap to clothes to incense. My first perfume was a sad little bottle of water with a peach pit and some of my mom's Tabu. (I was 5!) Later I would collect flowers, add spices and perfume, and make potpourri. Only in the last few years did I decide to turn my crafty dreams into a business, and it has been the experience of a lifetime.

Now, I have the wonderful opportunity to share my lifelong love of shea butter with the rest of the world. I spend most of my days developing formulas that feature the goodness of pure African shea butter combined with the elegance of modern western beauty care. I use techniques that I learned from my elders in Africa to work with shea butter in a holistic way that preserves its legendary properties. I have also innovated some of my own techniques to make some unique products, such as a very limited edition "Shea Butter Pearl" bath product that will be available later! (Hint, hint)

2011 is a very special year for my whole family at Madame Koiteh, because this year we have launched our first independent fundraising campaign for one of the causes that is truly special to us. This year we are donating 10% of our net profits to the Sheikh Jobe Institute in the Gambia West Africa, where severe flooding has ravaged parts of the countryside and left thousands homeless and impoverished. The Institute is a school, children's hospice, and orphanage that houses more than 300 children, ranging from age 4 to adulthood. The facilities were damaged during the floods and are in urgent need of repair. In addition, many of the parents have lost their livelihood, and subsequently the hospice has not been able to collect critically needed school fees in order to maintain operations. It is an honor and a priviledge for Madame Koiteh to sponsor the Sheikh Jobe Institute and its children for the year of 2011, and we thank you for your business which also supports this worthy cause. You can learn more at my blog madamekoiteh.blogspot.com/2011/01/raising-funds-for-children-of-brikama.html

We will be featuring special products throughout the year in our Etsy shop and other online venues to further support our goal of raising a minimum of $5000 to be donated to the Sheikh Jobe Institute. Please visit us frequently to check out these very special listings. Happy Valentine's Day!"

So don't forget to stop by her shop to make a purchase in support of the great cause throughout the year. 


You can find Madame Koiteh products on etsy:  www.madamekoiteh.etsy.com

Madame Koiteh products website: http://www.madamekoiteh.com/

Madame Koiteh also has another website called "The Shea Butter Queen" http://www.thesheabutterqueen.com/

and last but not least, Madame Koiteh's blog: www.madamekoiteh.blogspot.com



Madame Koiteh will be offering The Romantic Lover's Gift Basket in the Valentine Handmade with Love Gift Hop. The gift basket will include:

"The set is a 3-piece bath and body set featuring shea butter-enriched spa bath salts, a shea butter infused massage oil, and a moisturizing glycerin soap, all in Strawberry Kisses. I will also include a bonus handcrafted candle tin for the winner in Japanese Cherry Blossom scent. It will all be presented in a beautiful keepsake gift bag with a bow."  --- Madame Koiteh


Oh my doesn't that sound delightful!  You lucky readers you. 

Free Stuff, Fun Sites, Contests, and More

Valentine Handmade with Love sponsor spotlight: The Clever Hedgehog

The Valentine Handmade with Love Gift Hop will be happening Feb. 2-6. Many blogs will be participating. All giveaway items are handmade items. I'm so excited to be sharing my wonderful sponsors with you. The next awesome sponsor I have is:    The Clever Hedgehog

I found out about The Clever Hedgehog while tweeting away on twitter a couple weeks ago.  @Peggylikesstuff told me about her new handmade shop.  I stopped over to see her items.  I love the creativity behind her jewelry.   Peggy makes beautiful jewelry with beads and buttons.  I was impressed with how she was able to turn buttons into lovely, feminine pieces of jewelry.  I could never be so creative. 

Here is a just a glimpse at some of the beautiful pieces from The Clever Hedgehog:

I asked Peggy a few questions about her shop and she was kind enough to take the time to answer them for us:


Q: How/why did you start your handmade business?

From the sounds of things, the start of my handmade business is quite like how others plunge in. We love being creative and making pieces (whether it's making jewelry, knitting, clothing and so on) for both ourselves, friends, family and it kind of grows from there into a business.

I've always been crafty (It's very much in my blood!) but I became much more serious and focused on making jewelry about a year and a half ago. While I've made and sold pieces locally, it's only since October and November that I've set up my online store.

Q: What is your favorite item to create and why?

I actually don't have a favorite item to create - that's what's great about working with beads! Whatever my mood is, there's something to make which will fit - whether it's a putting together a simple pair of earrings, stringing together a necklace or working on more complex weaving or piece of bead embroidery.
 
Q: Do you have any future goals or plans for your business that my readers would like to know about?

As my business is only a handful of months old "officially" and online, my biggest goal for the future is to just have it grow and become more well known. For myself, I hope to become more skilled at what I do - there's always something new to learn and get better at!


The Clever Hedgehog also has a blog:  http://www.thecleverhedgehog.com/


You can also find The Clever Hedgehog on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Clever-Hedgehog-Crafting-Company/145085318851505



The Clever Hedgehog is sponsoring a $25 gift certificate in the Valentine Handmade with Love Gift Hop.  The Clever Hedgehog has such great prices that you'll be able to pick a couple pieces if you so choose.  So stop on over The Clever Hedgehog and start deciding what you want if you win. By the way, this giveaway will be open Worldwide!


Please stop you any of The Clever Hedgehog's links and thank them for being a sponsor in the Valentine Handmade with love Gift Hop on FFCM!


Free Stuff, Fun Sites, Contests, and More