Le Chat Noir Studios

I decided that while I don't want to be your standard shop blog featuring artists regularly, I do want to share some of those shops that make me have total Fan Girl moments. I am starting with one of my most favorite shops on Etsy and am thrilled!!

I came across this shop on Etsy early on and her style, attention to detail and the character she gives her pieces is just AMAZING! I have seen other sculpture artists but too many of them seemed to work from the same sets of book patterns but Chat Noir has pieces unlike I have ever seen before.

I check her shop often to get a peek at what Lovecraftian inspired creatures she has brought to her "Pet Shop of the Old One's". My list of favorite's is very long, but I tend to love her sweet and unusual Cats the very best. Some are trim and smooth and some are little hair sweets like this one.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=5343272

I like that she has many unique pieces but her prices also fit so many budgets. Which is nice when adding to a new collection. This little wonder comes in at only $20,

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=225603

While this piece is $120

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=5681619

Besides the stunning Art Dolls this shop also offers, hand cast Resin Eyes for other artists, cool jewelry, and these really funky Skull Keychains and magnets,

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=5148496

I also love the new addition of a Coloring Book! It has great looking pages with perfect to color designs that would be great for kids or adults, and you can frame them after your done!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8394434

But in the end the main reason I go back to her shop is her dolls. I must have been very good this year since my sister spoiled me with "Luna Blue" she is even more stunning in person and I could go on and on about how cool she is but until you touch one of these pieces you really can't appreciate it fully. Her little necklace with a moon is probably my favorite little detail!

I really hope that everyone who appreciates stunning work and a unique eye with check out Le Chat Noir on their

Etsy Shop http://chatnoirstudios.etsy.com/ or

their blog http://chatnoirstudios2.blogspot.com/

And last but not least if you love their stuff or my blog please send me $1 or $2 or just buy me this because I think this really would make an awesome shop Mascot! :)

My newest photo shots

I thought besides sharing information about bath and body as I expand my blog and focus I would also give you updates on some of the shoots I have gone out on.

My recent trip was right after the new year, out to the desert. Living in Lancaster I am right on the edge between full blown Suburia and the open desert. It is so great having the ability to go out into this underappreciated enviroment.

My favorite time to visit the desert is in the Winter there is a strange feel to the desert this time of year with its solitude and gray tones. The sky has a deep blue tone that contrasts with the monotone colors of the desert floor.

I went out to a "hidden" location, it's a long abandoned stone building that might have been a house at one time, that sits off a well traveled road but because of its stone build it blends right in with the butte it sits in front of.

The sky was blue and the weather was good while I was out. I wandered and took pictures of the building the Joshua Trees and then came across trash piles. This makes me so sad. I hate to see the dumping out in such otherwise untouched nature.

I also took a few Macro shots mostly focusing on the dead Joshua Trees and the Cactus I saw. Most people think Joshua Trees are Cactus but they are not. They are really beautful and amazing trees. I have heard them called the Sentinels of the Desert and I love that thought. May favorite pair look like a couple dancing. This shot is of a natural heart in the bark.

I also went out to photograph a film location. One day when I was back in school I saw this building built so quickly that I thought it would be torn down after they used it, but over 15 years later it is still there and has grown to include a "gas station", "motel" and a small building up the road that is not a "real" structure more of a moveable shed type building.

These building have been used for Music Videos including R.E.M's Man in the Moon, Commercials, Movies including a Rob Zombie film, and TV including X-Files (they "blew" up this gas station). I love that these structures look old and get changed up every so often depending on how they are being used.

I love the desert and love to share its unique beauty with everyone, I hope you enjoy these shots, if you would like to see more please check out my Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/fairycatbath/

I will have more soon, including a bit on my new Roadside Memorials series.

Great Facts Site for Etsy Sellers

I thought I would share this amazing site with you! One of the sellers on Etsy created this site to process your views, hearts and item hearts all

http://www.majaba.org/ultracow.php?userid=&submit=Submit

Featured in Blog

I am thrilled to announce that one of my prints is being featured on this great new blog!!
http://thebrasshussy.blogspot.com/
Make sure you check herout she did a great job!

Bad Monkey!

I have been a very bad blogger!

But expect news very soon!

Shea Butter

Shea is a wonderful natural butter that has been used for ages in Africa to help with exzema, dry skin, for soap making, cooking and much more. Its traditional uses and extraction are very much apart of the African Culture.


Shea Butter comes from trees in the West Savannah of Africa, these trees are wild and not propagated, irrigated or fertilized. In fact in Africa these trees do not propagate well. These trees are a highly substainable crop because of this, and a very enviromentally positive crop.Traditionally when it comes time to gather the crop many people will walk miles to where the trees grow wild to collect the nuts. They then remove the butter in a cooking and stirring process over hours and days. This process is done by the women as it has been done for ages.


More recently the times have changed and after the nuts are gathered they are sold off to European Middlemen for much lower prices. These nuts are taken to have the butter chemically extracted. Then the butter is sold for a profit for the middleman.

The Traditional method makes sure that the people of Africa (typically poor women) get fair prices for their product while creating a higher quality product. It is more time consuming and expensive, but it is worth it for the positive effect it has on the enviroment and the local people. This Type of Shea Butter is sold as Fair Trade.

Shea Butter is wonderful for many skin conditions and can be used in place of a lotion or as an additive to many bath and beauty products, including soap.

Lets not Lye

While I know that I touched on this in what is soap I continue to find false statements being made by so many soap makers about lye, so I felt it needed it's own seperate blog.

What is Lye? Lye is a a caustic alkaline also know as sodium hydroxide or potassium Hydroxide. It is a true base which makes it caustic to the skin in its natural state. But don't let this scare you, as it is a common ingredient in many products you use every day from soap, to glass making and even food preparation.

The most common way to get Lye (Sodium Hydroxide) is from the chlorakali process, a form of desalanization of sea water. But in the past it was created by using wood ash this created a slightly different version of Lye but it was still the same strong base, this Potassium Hydroxide can still be made at home today http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Lye.

The difference between Sodium Hydroxide and Potassium Hydroxide is the salt in each mixture that helps to create two unique forms of soap, Sodium Hydroxide is used to make bar soap while Potassium Hydroxide is used to make soft soaps.

Lye because of its alkalinity when mixed with a fat causes the chemical structure to break up and change the properties of the ingredients. The by-product is glycerin and soap.

Since glycerin is a very sought after byproduct some large companies remove it from their bar soaps and re-sell it as a single product or in the form of glycerin soap.

Lye might sound scary and while it does require extra care in it's natural form it is not dangerous or bad in a high quality soap, in fact, because of the process of saponication (the term for the chemical reaction between the fats and lye) if done correctly the Lye no longer chemically remains in the final soap.

Don't let some people scare you -- Lye is a great ingredient that has gotten a bum wrap. Also know that without it you can not have soap, instead you only have a detergent bar. Now enjoy some homemade, well crafted soap in the knowledge that this great product is a part of our history.