From their home ... to ours!

Debbi and Amanda are a mother-daughter team. Debbi is the mom, and with her own biological children, foster kids, and a newly adopted child, uses art as a stress reliever and favorite hobby. Amanda is following her mom's footsteps ... she's a stay-at-home mom of a toddler, so "life is never dull," but with a bachelors degree in Graphic Design and her current work in her Masters program, art plays a big part in her life too.

The pair are the driving force behind "Our Home To Yours," a fabulous shop on Etsy that offers a fun combination of items like hand-crocheted childrens' hats and stuffed toys, unique vintage items and home decor, and photography.

We are amazed that these two busy women have the time and energy to offer such wonderful finds! We highly recommend their shop as a greast place to browse and find a few special items for your home ... from theirs!


To learn more about Debbi and Amanda's work, visit their blog or Facebook page!

What's that you're eating?

Studies have shown that you tend to bite and/or chew on your lips more often when wearing lip balm. Did you know that?

Whether or not people can become addicted to lip balm is controversial and debated a lot among researchers and other people with lots of time on their hands. It IS known, however, that balms like Carmex, Blistex, and some Chapstick-type products contain ingredients such as menthol, camphor or phenol, which are actually drugs meant to DRY up skin problems such as canker sores, ect.

So, you're eating these things. Yum.

Furthermore, these ingredients are much too harsh for everyday use. They do nothing to actually nurture the skin on your lips, and most contain petroleum products, which some feel are very harmful and at the least do nothing good for you.

At Swan Mountain Soaps, we create a natural, nuturing balm for lips that moisturizes with ingredients like cocoa butter, shea butter, pure olive oil, castor oil, and Vitamin E. No drugs, no petroleum products, no nonsense. With flavors like Decadent Butterscotch, Chocolate Orange Truffle, Minty Lime, Apricot Honey, Wild Alaskan Rose and Alaskan Violet, Chai Tea, and even an unflavored version (just for geeks!), we know they're good enough to eat. We don't recommend it, of course, but isn't it nice to know that you can?

Mother's Day countdown ....

Have you picked out your Mother's Day gift for Mom yet?

No? Are your hands clapped onto the sides of your face with your eyes caught in the despairing look of one with No Clue What To Buy? Does your Mom (or mother-in-law or wife) have EVERYTHING? Better yet, has she told you, "Don't buy ME anything, dear, you know I don't need anything, and I don't want you to spend the money on me."

You don't actually think she means that, do you?

Lucky for you, there is still time. And to help you out, we'll even send your gift directly to Mom with a lovely note from you. If your Mom washes her hands, she needs soap. if she doesn't, she needs help. Professional help. Sorry, we're not equipped to handle that. But you have our sympathy.

If you're overwhelmed by the abundance of wonderfulness and plethora of awesome gift choices in our Etsy shop, that's OK. Our trained professional Mother Shopper can help you. (You want credentials? Just ask Dad how much Mom has spent over the last year. That woman can SHOP).

Whether your Mom is a gardener, homemaker, diva, sport, geek, businesswoman, hopeless romantic or all of the above, we've got the perfect gift for her. We're happy to help. Now go put on a sweater, you'll catch your death. And don't forget to wash your hands.