If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It!

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" I think this is a good moto to live by. But, apparently the Biore company doesn't think so.

I have been a very loyal customer, buying the Biore Pore Unplugging Scrub, for several years. I asked my sister to try it and she has also been a loyal customer. And, last November, I asked my husband's niece, Catherine, who makes soap to try to match the scent of this face scrub in some soap for me. http://lifeofacrazybeader.blogspot.com/2012/01/catie-beth-bath-body-soaps.html I love the scent of this Biore Pore Unplugging Scrub and I wanted some soap to match. I looked on the Biore website, but they only make face products. Catherine said she is good at determining scents, so I sent her a tube of the Biore Pore Unplugging Scrub. In the list of ingredients on the tube, it says "fragrance". Catherine did a great job of matching the clean scent of this face scrub. Using the face scrub every morning was a part of my morning ritual, such as drinking my tea, reading and writing my emails and taking a shower. I looked forward to smelling this clean, melony, minty, clean smell on my face.

Last weekend I needed to buy another tube of my Biore Pore Unplugging Scrub and I had a hard time finding it. In the past few years, if one store was out of this product, I would drive to another store just to buy it. I am very loyal to products I use if I like them! I tried several different stores looking for the green tube of the Biore Pore Unplugging Scrub, but I couldn't find it. I wrote an email to the company and they told me that in January of this year, they changed the packaging, the color of the face scrub, AND the scent!!

The Biore company has just lost this loyal customer. I will be looking for a new face scrub to take its place.

Gift Bags

I have always enjoyed all kinds of crafts. I was in 4H for several years when I was a teenager and that is when I started sewing and baking. I liked baking more than sewing and my sister enjoyed the sewing more than baking. My sister Cindy is much more artistic than I am and she loves to draw and paint. She decided to become an art teacher. Since I don't have much of a competitive bone in my body, I have stuck mostly to the baking and cooking to let out the artist in me. When we lived in Sarasota, I just happened to start making beaded jewelry. At first I only made it for myself until a couple of my friends prodded me into selling it. I got more and more creative in my jewelry making. I have never thought of myself as being creative, but after my friends started telling me how creative I am, I have started to believe it myself. I started making a few gift bags after I saw some instructions on a website I belong to called Fave Crafts. Cindy and I perfected the original instructions. I made my first gift bags from the Sunday comics, scrapbooking paper and magazine pages. One day on my exercise walk, I saw these boxes on the corners of West Village where I live. These metal boxes had big, glossy newspaper ads in them and I took some home with me. These ads in the "Paper City" newspapers were just perfect for my gift bags! I showed my gift bags to some friends and my friend Pat asked if I would make some to help sell some bracelets that the Creations of the Heart group at church had made to sell at the Global Village Market last November. After several people saw my gift bags, I had several requests to sell them. I love making the gift bags and I give one to anyone who buys a piece of the NeeNee & CheeChee's Beaded Things jewelry. I decided this week to sell my gift bags for $1.00 each (plus postage if I have to mail them to you). Here is my Shutterfly link of the gift bags that I have for sale right now --share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8EbMmLJq3aKR0Q Let me know if you want to buy any of them. Like my jewelry, I do not want to duplicate a bag. They are one of a kind, so if you see one you want, buy it NOW!