Item: Lavender Scented Gift Set
Seller: ClearEssential

Meet Etsy seller Sylvia Parker, the force behind ClearEssential.  ClearEssential has tons of great natural and botanical skin care products, including bath salts, moisturizers, lotions and scrubs, acne and anti aging remedies.  All of Sylvia’s products are made with essential oils and the power of herbs, plants and trees to help you look your best.

I met Sylvia via my Etsy Item of the Day shop submission page.  When I visited her shop, I was immediately drawn to this lavender scented gift set, which is listed for $35.00.  I think gift sets are a great way to try out new beauty products to see if they are a good fit.  This set includes:

• 2oz Relax Massage Balm Honey & Lavender scented with Shea & Cocoa Butter
• 4oz Serenity Epsom Bath Salt Soak infused with Lavender essential oil
• 4oz Shine Body Lotion with Honey,Milk and Lavender scented
• 2oz Glow Sugar Body Scrub delightful with just a hint of Lavender
• 4oz Natural Shower Gel Sulfate free with nourishing Shea Butter

“I am a mom of 2 and have made creams and lotions and medications for 15+ years now as I used to be a compounding pharmacy technician,” Sylvia told me. “While working at the pharmacy, I made incredible medications for very sick people but also wondered, if there is not a more natural approach to it. I started my research and passion for herbal remedies. I feel there needs to be a good balance and that aromatherapy/herbal remedies have a valid place in medicine.I pondered with the idea of making natural skin care products for quiet a while and finally made the jump.”

“I love what I am doing, I love it to be green and be environmentally responsible,” she continued. “Why would you want to put artificial chemicals on your skin if there is a natural alternative out there that works just as well if not better?”

When she’s not working on new products for her shop, Sylvia stays busy.

“I really like to work out…and eat. I want to keep my body in the best shape possible,” she told me. “I love Bikram yoga and “Willpower and Grace,” a pilates like cardio/leg workout. I enjoy the time I have with my kids and going on bike rides and I am always on a hunt for new dinner recipes.”

Sylvia’s advice to those selling on Etsy is to love what you are doing and believe in yourself. “I saw a lot of people doubting themselves,” she said. “Then have a plan or a list of what you want to do. Have a vision and keep working on it. Learn as much as you can about tags and how to optimize your store and network, network, network. You won’t believe what opportunities may knock on your door.”

Be sure to visit Sylvia on Facebook here!

- Jackie

Item: Natural Shave Soap
Seller: LittleBatch

After receiving an Etsy shop submission from Jen Sulligan, the crafter behind LittleBatch, I found I was really pumped about her section called “The Man Cave“. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has had trouble buying gifts for men before, and I was pretty stoked to see Jen’s selection in this area of her shop!

My favorite item is this natural shave soap in Bjarkan Scandinavian Birch scent.

“Birch scented shave soap, specially formulated for maximum lather, slip, and moisture,” Jen writes in the item description. “This scent is ridiculously refreshing; reminiscent of birch beer or wintergreen. Bjarkan is the Old Norwegian term for birch; the trees were very important to ancient Scandinavians. Vikings planked the hulls of their ships with birch wood, the inner bark of birch trees was used as a sweet flour to make bread, and birch bark was used as paper on which to write. Unleash your inner Viking!”

This soap comes in other scents as well, including Bay Rum, which is pictured above.

“I live with my husband in a cute vintage Craftsman bungalow on a perfect little one-acre slice of rural heaven,” Jen told me in her shop submission to Etsy Item of the Day. “He’s a welder; I’m a mad scientist! My lifelong obsession with lip balms, handmade soaps, and perfume oils is the reason I began making bath and beauty products.”

“Soapmaking is an activity has been in my family for quite some time; my great-great grandmother used to make good old fashioned unscented lye and tallow soap in her backyard. I use lye to make my soaps (it’s a necessity, actually!), but I only use vegetable and nut based oils,” she said.

“Both of my grandfathers were phenomenal gardeners; from them I get my interest in all things plant-related: gardening, planting, harvesting, drying herbs, picking flowers,” she told me.  “Both of my grandmothers were damn good bakers. Both Hungarian with some other stuff mixed in, these women were not afraid to use butter. From them I get my interest in mixing up concoctions and penchant for all things sweet.”

“I am a viking mad scientist and stage 4 Hodgkins lymphoma survivor, yeah!” she said. Yay Jen!

When she’s not crafting for her cute Etsy shop, Jen told me she recently began hiking daily. She also likes to bake, garden, paint, and go garage-sale-ing,

I asked Jen where she likes to shop on Etsy.com and she told me about a shop called BeatUpCreations.

“I’ve been visiting this shop a lot lately. I have a great collection of vintage white ironstone, and I like that I can accent my collection with these wonderful vintage plates, adding not only some color but also a nod to my general inherent quirkiness,” she said. “I honestly don’t know how I survived for 36 years without a Pee Wee Herman plate.”

Jen’s advice to other Etsy sellers is great:

“Make things that you love, but make sure others will love them too. You need to love what you do, but if no one else wants it, there’s no way you’ll sell anything. Your craft must be marketable in order to sell,” she suggests.

So what’s next for Jen and her Etsy shop LittleBatch?

“I’d like to streamline scent offerings and offer coordinating items that my customers can easily mix and match. Think: ZEN (herbal), BLOOM (floral), SPICE (um, spice), OM (woods & exotic fruit), SWEET (vanilla blend), DARK (berries & woods)… of course I may change my mind and make everything smell like chocolate chip cookies… just because I love chocolate chip cookies,” she said.

Well, I do love chocolate chip cookies!

Visit Jen on Facebook and on her blog here!

- Jackie

Item: Body Moisturizer Gift Set
Seller: mariedean

Meet Adriene Marie, the seller behind MarieDean – a bath and beauty shop on Etsy.com!

I met Adriene via my Etsy Item of the Day shop submission form.  I was really excited to see Adriene sells multi-product packs, which is such a great way to see if you like her handmade beauty products!

My favorite was this body moisturizer gift set for women (pictured above), which includes 4 oz each of her skin cream, moisturizer, body butter, and body cream!

“I have been creating scrumptious hair and body products for over 6 years now,” she told me. “Back then, I wanted to make natural hair butters and conditioners for myself. So, I purchased a natural hair and skin recipe book and embarked on a new venture of blending wholesome ingredients to make luscious hair care products. I ended up developing many delicious hair creations that made my hair super healthy. I later put my creative talents to work crafting bath and body products. I gifted to friends and family any extras I had from my handmade batches of hair and body concoctions. My network of friends and family especially loved how the hair butters and conditioners promoted hair growth, nourished and conditioned their hair. They also loved the way the body moisturizers softened their skin. Their encouraging feedback and support inspired me to launch Hair & Body Care.”

“I love what I do. I believe in my products and take pride in creating them,” Adriene Marie said. “I use lush ingredients such as organic botanical extracts, exotic butters and highly moisturizing fruit and vegetable oils that are beneficial to your hair and skin.”

“I do not use hair and skin formulation bases and add actives. All of my products are formulated by me and freshly made by hand every day. I make natural hair and body products for all hair and skin types. So, whether you have kinky, curly, wavy, straight or chemically-treated hair, I have a hair product for you. If you have dry, oily or sensitive skin, I have a body moisturizer that will make your skin soft and supple,” she said.

“When I’m not crafting, I am writing poetry and novels. I love to write and have been writing since I was a teenager,” Adriene Marie told me.

Adriene’s advice to sellers is great:

“Be patient and do not get frustrated with lack of sales…they may trickle in at first, network with other shop owners, read the forums and sign up for Etsy’s weekly e-mail newsletters — they offer valuable information to help your shop thrive,” she said.

So what’s coming up next for MarieDean on Etsy.com?

“I’m creating more yummy hair and body products — delicious whipped sugar scrubs and lovely styling creams. I plan on including Gluten-Free hair and body products in my shop,” she said.

Loving MarieDean on Etsy? Be sure to connect with Adriene Marie online! Visit her blog, check out her Facebook page, and be sure to follow @mariedeanonline on Twitter!

- Jackie

Item: Organic Rehab Face Soap
Seller:  SunMune

I once purchased charcoal soap from Lush, and it totally changed my world.  And then, like many other things, I sort of forget about it once it runs out.

I came across an Etsy shop called SunMune via my Etsy Item of the Day shop submission page and was really excited to see this seller listed a similar charcoal face soap.  Although I haven’t used this seller’s soap, I can tell you that charcoal face soap was incredible for my oily skin! I absolutely love it!

So why does this soap rock? Here’s what the seller had to say in the Etsy item description:

““Rehab” is a detoxifying soap for your skin. Our skin always needs a little rehab with pollutants in the air and the dirt we don’t see living happily in our pores! I have added activated charcoal, grapefruit essential oil and a lovely amount of shea butter,” she explains. “Activated charcoal is of a porous nature and therefore absorbs the toxins in your skin. It’s wonderful for skin issues like acne but also good for normal or oily skin. Grapefruit essential oil has an anti septic quality and is great for toning and skin issues.”

Cortney Langenegger is the seller behind SunMune, a bath and beauty shop on Etsy.com.

“I’ve been making soap and candles for the last 12 years,” Cortney told me. “I’m a spouse of an active duty Air Force member. I’m also a veteran, a reservist, a mom of a 7 year old son. I work at Kirtland AFB in New Mexico as the sponsorship coordinator and I’m on my way to finishing my degree in Organizational Leadership. But my passion, is soap, salt, oils, and candles.”

When I asked Cortney where she likes to shop on Etsy, she told me about EraDansLherbe.

“I guess you could consider her a rival but I find her items amazingly beautiful. She makes me strive to better in my own craft,” she said.

Cortney’s advice to sellers is to not give up and keep pushing. “I imagine the next best thing is just waiting to be discovered via a mom n’ pop shop like myself. Network, tweet, facebook and enjoy sites like this to help them promote their amazing crafts,” she said.

So what’s next for Cortney’s shop SunMune?

“I keep on trucking! I’m expanding my craft, coming up with new recipes. The trick is to be innovative but keep the natural and organic ingredients. As this becomes a new wave and more suppliers are selling organic, I try to keep my finger on the pulse so I can offer the best in ingredients to my customers,” she said.

Connect with Cortney!  Follow her on Twitter @SunMune or check out her Facebook page here!

- Jackie