Announcing Athena's Armoury & Apothecary

I'm very excited to announce that I've started incorporating the Apothecary into the Armoury!

This has been a long time in coming.  I've been fascinated with the medicinal use of herbs for as long as I can remember.  In historical stories (whether it be books or movies), I've always been intrigued by the knowledge of the apothecary and the seeming magic of the village wise woman.  Although I've always had an interest, I started studying the herbs in earnest nearly two years ago when I was doing a lot of soul searching to get out of my horrible job.  Lots of reading and researching ensued in addition to concocting, growing, and just getting to know the plants.  As any herbalist will tell you, we never stop learning but I do feel like I'm at a place where I can start sharing what I know about herbs.  After all, herbalism is the people's medicine.

In the future, I hope to share with you simple ways of incorporating herbs in your every day life; not just as remedies but also as nourishment.  I will share some plant profiles with you as well as recipes and projects that you can do with them.  I'll continue to share with you what I learn about growing herbs as we continue the raised garden bed project.  But also, I want to hear from you.  Herbalism is the people's medicine and we should be able to share our knowledge in this community.

The shop is only in the beginning stages of herbal goodness right now.  So far, there are a few different kinds of soap listed in my Artfire and Etsy shops.  I've been testing different recipes on myself and others for months now and have had my testers asking me to start listing it.  Once I get through the remainder of this stock, you will start to see a more unified size of soap, but this is what we have to start.

Coming soon, you will see salves including my sore muscle salve (with a new name!), sleep pillows, bulk herbs, incense, herb beads, and much more.

To celebrate the Apothecary, you'll see a new banner in my shops and the beginnings of a makeover here on the blog.  Also, once there are a few more items in the shops, I'll be hosting a giveaway of herbal products.  You don't want to miss this, so if you're not a follower yet, now's the time (Google Friend Connect and e-mail subscriptions are both available on the right side bar).

I'm so excited about this herbal journey that I'm on and look forward to sharing it with you!

Friday Finds - Raffle Sponsor Spotlight Part IV

This is the final Friday Finds to feature the amazing sponsors for my handmade raffle benefiting the 3 Day. Because of these wonderful artists, ALL proceeds from the raffle will go directly towards my fundraising for the 3 Day to help fight breast cancer. Please check out these amazing Etsy sellers and, of course, the raffle where you can win some of their work! The raffle is super easy: check out the amazing goods, buy tickets (aka: donate to my fundraising), and then comment on my blog to let me know. That's it! Enjoy! Let's make this final week of this fundraiser a good one!

Make sure you read through until the end for a special offer!

Not only has whskr made a beautiful piece to contribute, but she also made an impressive commitment to help spread the word about the 3 Day and this raffle. In addition to making this beautiful Art Doll Brooch, Marjorie is a doll.

Crazy4Cards has donated these adorable and very appropriate bra cards. Whoever wins her donation, will open the package to find not just the cards but also some earrings and some other goodies. I think she had some fun putting together her package!

When cascreates offered to donate a piece for this raffle, Chris very generously offered for me to pick any item from the shop. This necklace and earring set glimmer and glitter like pure gold and the beadwork is beautiful!

Amber Moran has offered a very special piece as her contribution. She will create a custom portrait of up to two people and/or animal. Talk about an amazing way of honoring a loved one.

Don't forget to visit the 3 Day Raffle for your chance to win one of these or many other amazing handmade items!
It's super easy: check out the amazing goods, buys tickets (which really means donate to my fundraising for the 3 Day), and comment on my blog to let me know. That's it!

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As I mentioned, this is the last week of the handmade raffle fundraiser. I'd like to make this last week count, so I'm going to make a special offer to everyone who participates this week. You don't even have to be one of the lucky prize winners. Everyone who purchases tickets (aka: makes a donation) for this raffle will receive a free Euro 4-1 chain maille bracelet from Athena's Armoury.

All you have to do is:
-Make a donation of any amount (the minimum that the 3 Day website will accept is $5) to my 3 Day fundraising.
-Make a comment on the raffle blog post (with you name, e-mail addy, & number of tickets or dollar amount) so that I can correctly cross reference.

There are $600 worth of amazing products to be won. So far, this raffle has raised $125 to go towards breast cancer research and breast health programs. Will you help me raise at least another $75 (to get up to a nice even $200) to go towards the fight against breast cancer?

Thank you so much for your support!!

The 3 Day: Halfway There!! And a Giveaway...

As of yesterday, I reached a huge milestone in my fundraising efforts for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure: I have officially surpassed the halfway mark of reaching my goal of $2,300!! I am just thrilled! I continue to be touched by the kindness, support, and generosity of my family, friends, co-workers, and total strangers.

Did you know that virtually every major advance in the fight against breast cancer has been touched by Susan G. Komen for the Cure? They've helped train more than 400 breast cancer researchers and funded more than 1,800 research projects over the past 27 years? They've provided more money for breast cancer research and community health programs than any entity besides the U.S. government? Komen for the Cure's goal is to "energize science to find the cures.” Komen's contributions to some real victories include:

• More early detection - nearly 75 percent of women over 40 years old now receive regular mammograms, the single most effective tool for detecting breast cancer early (in 1982, less than 30 percent received a clinical exam).
• More hope - the five-year survival rate for breast cancer, when caught early before it spreads beyond the breast, is now 98 percent (compared to 74 percent in 1982).
• More research - the federal government now devotes more than $900 million each year to breast cancer research, treatment and prevention (compared to $30 million in 1982).
• More survivors - America’s 2.5 million breast cancers survivors, the largest group of cancer survivors in the U.S., are a living testament to the power of society and science to save lives.

Thank you for your help in eradicating breast cancer. It couldn’t be done without you. If you'd like to help, just visit my 3 Day Personal Page.

Breast Cancer Fact: Breast cancer knows no boundaries—be it age, gender, socio-economic status or geographic location.

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And because I'm just thrilled to bits with how well my fundraising is going, I'm going to do something that I've been meaning to do for a long time now. I'd like to host a little giveaway. The very first chain maille weave that I learned was the classic Euro 4-1 which is probably the most well known as it was once used for armor of the knights of yesteryear. For my very first blog giveaway, I'm going to be giving away a copy of the very first Euro 4-1 bracelet that I made. It is made entirely by hand: it started simply as wire that I coiled and cut to create the jump rings used to weave the metal into the Euro 4-1 pattern. It was made with bright aluminum jump rings and measures 8 1/2" (including a 1" extender chain).



THE DETAILS:
The giveaway starts Thursday April 8, 2010 and ends Sunday, April 11, 2010 @ 11:59pm EST. The winner will be announced on: Monday April 12, 2010.


HERE'S HOW TO ENTER:
Each entry must be written in a separate comment and include a way of contacting you (an active blog that you check the comments on, your e-mail, or your Etsy shop where you check the convo's).

* For the first entry/comment – Visit Athena's Armoury on Etsy or Artfire and pick your favorite item. Then comment here and include a link to that item.

Then for additional single entries:

* 1 extra entry/comment – Follow Athena's Armoury on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. Then in a separate comment here, leave the link to your tweet. (Find the tweet URL by clicking on the tweet's timestamp.) Here is some text you can use for Twitter:

You have GOT to checkout the giveaway Athena's Armoury is having at http://AthenasArmoury.blogspot.com

* 1 extra entry/comment – Follow this blog. Then leave a separate comment here, letting me know.

For two additional entries:

* 2 extra entries/comment – Make a purchase from Athena's Armoury on Etsy or Artfire.
Then leave a separate comment here, with a link to the receipt/sold item.

* 2 extra entries/comment – Write a blog post about this giveaway and link to http://AthenasArmoury.blogspot.com
Then leave a separate comment here, with the direct link to your blog post.

For FOUR additional entries:

* 4 extra entries/comment - Make a donation of $10 or more to my fundraising efforts for the 3 Day.
Then leave a separate comment here, with the first name and city/state you used for your donation.


Remember, the giveaway starts Thursday April 8, 2010 and ends Sunday, April 11, 2010 @ 11:59pm EST.

Have fun and good luck everyone!!!

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FAQ’s:

I live outside of the USA. Can I enter the giveaway?
Yes! This giveaway is open to everyone, everywhere. Spread the word!

How does this giveaway work?
On the day of the drawing, a random number generator will select one lucky winner.

How will I know if I won?
I will contact the winner (using the method you left in your comment) to request your mailing address. You will have one week to respond to the e-mail from me. If there is no response, another name will be picked.

How will everyone find out who won?
The winners will be announced on Monday, April 12, 2010 right here on the blog.

Mrs B's 31 Days of Halloween: Emily Balivet & The Whimsical Witch Entries

If you have checked it out yet, you must! Mrs B is having such a fabulous month of giveaways on her blog.

Today, I'm entering to win "Pagan Delights" - Mini Gift Cards ACEO: Set of 9 From the original paintings by Emily Balivet.

I'm also entering to win an Herbal Adornment of Witches Black Salt - used for Protection and Banishing Negative Energry from The Whimsical Witch.

Check out Mrs B's blog for details on how you can enter for these and other amazing prizes each and every day in October.

Starting the Year Off Right: Blog Giveaways!!

I hope everyone had a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season! In 2008, I was the lucky winner of a few blog contests. I never win anything, so imagine my surprise when I won three different blog giveaways!!

Cat is the amazing artist of Darkling Woods who creates fairy tale, fantasy, goddess, and mythology art. She's a fellow member of the Fantasy Artists of Etsy Street Team and I've loved her work since I was introduced to it so long ago. She had a Halloween Contest on her blog to help name a Pumpkin Girl that she was working on. Although I wasn't the grand prize winner, she certainly sent me all manner of Halloween treats and no tricks!

I discovered Ant's Pottery (aka antb) while browsing around Etsy a long time ago and have been drooling over her work ever since. I happened to see a post from her on twitter to check out her blog for her Saturday giveaway. First of all, she's got a great blog, but I also love the way she does her giveaways: this is the post I responded to. I won this adorable little Rock Box: it really does look like a rock on the outside, but you open it up to a sparkling, green glass treasure.

I was introduced to Julie of SewItsForYou, when I was accepted to vend at the Handmade Holiday Bazaar (she was one of the amazing women to organize the show). Her embroidered work is so beautifully detailed and add to that her wonderfully zany sense of humor and you get some really amazing work. To help celebrate her first 20 Etsy sales, she decided to have a contest on her blog. She asked that her readers respond to her post with a link to their most favorite creations and why. She presented me with a gift bag full of all kinds of goodies including some of her embroidered napkins, an eye pillow, and a little purse as well as some crafting supplies: jump rings (I am a mailler and make jewelry!) and an embroidery how to.

I'd like to return the good karma that was bestowed upon me with these wonderful gifts by doing a few giveaways of my own. Look for an announcement soon!!!!