Dreamcatcher workshop in JULY?

Hopefully we will be scheduling the dream catcher workshop in July (or August). Need to pin down the instructor as to her availability in July, PLUS my travel schedule. If you are interested, email us and we'll put you on a list to be notified when the date is set.

Beads N Botanicals Newsletter May/June/July 2007

Beads N Botanicals Newsletter

May/June 2007
227 South Market St. (Next to the Harris Agency) Hoopeston, IL 60942 217-283-6380
STORE HOURS: Tuesday-Friday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

UNIQUE GIFTS
Don’t have time for a class but want a unique piece of jewelry made

according to your specifications?
Come in, pick out your beads, and we’ll put your earrings, bracelet,

necklace or other design together for you.

Our store features books, handmade jewelry, handcrafted oil blends, incense, soaps, bath salts, candles, herbs for tea, medicinal and culinary use; beading and wire wrapping supplies: including sterling silver wire, seed beads, semi-precious stones, sterling silver beads, milfoil, seed beads, Swarovski ™ crystals and more.

Herbal Medicine Chest

on Tuesdays in June
Making a Dream Catcher

on Saturday in June
for more information, look below

Refreshing Herbal Teas for Summer
By Catherine Novak

Summertime with its mild temperatures and blooming flowers draws us to the outdoors.
Although it’s a great time for strolls down the street, it’s important to remain hydrated to avoid fatigue or even heat stroke.

Using homemade herbal teas can be a great way to encourage yourself, family and friends to drink enough healthy liquids. (Pop and ice cream floats don’t count!)
Simple herb teas can be made ahead of time, chilled in the refrigerator and drunk when
(continued on p. 2)

Early Summer Classes 2007

More Classes May Be Added to the Schedule.
Check at the Shop for Updates. Please note our earlier class start times.

Jewelry Making & Decorative Beadwork

Herbal & Aromatherapy Classes

Gardening & Origami Classes

Beading & Jewelry Making Workshops:

Tools for Wire Working classes are available for purchase at the shop. A limited amount of tools will be available for use at the classes. Bring round-nose pliers and flat nose pliers if you have them.

Basic Wire Working: How to Make Earrings:
This is a great starter class! You’ll learn the basic techniques involved in creating earrings with head pins, eye pins and ear wires. You’ll make two pairs of earrings, one with a dangle. A few other earring styles will be demonstrated as well. $20, 1 hour, materials included.
May 3, 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Thursday
June 7, 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Thursday

Basic Stringing: Bracelet Design:
Want to learn how to put together a bracelet, but not sure how to begin? Or, how to end it? In this class you’ll learn how to work with specialty beading threads, what a crimp bead is, and how to use it, jump rings, and clasps to finish off your bracelet. $15, 1 hour, materials included.
May 17, 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Thursday

Basic Stringing: Necklace Design:
Want to learn how to put together a necklace, but not sure how to begin? Or, how to end it? In this class you’ll learn how to work with specialty beading threads, what a crimp bead is, and how to use it, jump rings, and clasps to finish off your necklace. Learn about the differences between choker and other-sized necklaces. $18, 1 ½ hours, materials included.
June 28, 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Thursday


Herbal & Aromatherapy Workshops

Making Solid Perfumes:
Solid perfumes are spill proof and make great gifts, especially when they are made in nifty little containers. Learn how easy basic solid perfumes can be made, for personal use and for gift giving..
$20, 1 ½ hours, materials included.
May 15, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday

Pain Management
Alternative approaches to dealing with pain without overusing pharmaceutical or over-the-counter drugs. $10, 1 ½ hours
June 12, 6:30 p.m.- 7:30 p.m. Tuesday

Healing Circle:
Take a break for yourself. No prior experience necessary. $5, 1 hour, Wednesday
June 27: 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

Herbal Medicine Chest: This four-part series offers an introduction to concepts of herbal medicine, herbal terms, a materia medica of healing herbs, identification of wild plants, uses of herbal teas and tinctures and more. $25 per class, $85 prepaid.
August 7, 14, 21, 28, 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m Tuesdays

Meditation For Relaxation:
Take a break for yourself. Learn how to quiet your mind, relax and release stress from your life. No prior experience necessary. $5, 1 hour, Wednesday
June 6: 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.


Summer Teas: (continued from p. 1)
needed.
Zinger Delight
1 tablespoon Raspberry leaf
1 teaspoon Hibiscus flowers
1 teaspoon Peppermint Leaves
1 tablespoon German Chamomile flowers

Pour four cups of hot boiling water over the herbs in a teapot or fill a quart mason jar. Cover and steep for an hour. Stain off the tea into a pitcher. Add lemon slices or lemon juice (if you have lemon). Serve chilled and/or over ice.

—C.N.

Catherine Novak has served as an adjunct faculty member for Northampton Community College, Bethlehem, Pa., been a featured speaker at Barnes & Noble; and spoken about medicinal herbs on the Health Nuts NJ radio show. She appeared on the Judy Lewis show: Psychic World. Most recently she and her son appeared on ABC's Sunrise This Morning out of Champaign, IL.

Catherine is available for individual herbal and health consultations, hypnotherapy for behavior modification, relaxation and pain management, past life regression, Reiki energy balancing and classes at her office at Beads N Botanicals, and can be reached at at 217-283-6380 or beadsnbotanicals@gmail.com

Is Jojoba Oil That Good for Your Skin?

In a word...YES.

In aromatherapy, massage and even perfumery, certain carrier oils are favored for their healing properties. Jojoba Oil, also known as Simmondsia chinensis, is one such oil.

It is usually added to a massage oil base at about 10 percent of the whole mixture of oils used. For example, a nice massage oil blend might include ten percent jojoba oil and 90 percent apricot kernel oil.

Used in aromatic perfume or aromatherapy blends, jojoba oil is used full strength as the base oil in which one dilutes the essential oils.

An anti-oxidant, jojoba oil contains high amounts of vitamin E and can extend the shelf life of other oils. This is a unique product because this "oil" is not composed of fat but liquid wax.

According to its Wikipedia entry, Jojoba is grown for the liquid wax in its seeds. Its oil is rare in that it is an extremely long (C36-C46) straight-chain wax ester and not a triglyceride, making jojoba more similar to sebum and whale oil than to traditional vegetable oils.

This makes Jojoba oil ideal for use in cosmetics due to its molecular stability and its natural moisturizing and healing properties. With an indefinite shelf life, and no rancidity level, jojoba is suitable for all skin types. Because it is anti-oxidant , it can extend the shelf life of other oils and is very good as a superfatting agent in soapmaking since it resists rancidity.

It can be very beneficial in the treatment of dry scalps and skin because It is highly penetrating and closely resembles our skin's sebum. Used as a facial moisturizer it gives delightful results. It also contains myristic acid, which is anti-inflammatory, making it a good oil for arthritis and rheumatism.

Additionally, some folks find it helps to use this oil applied externally to skin in the treatment of dry eczema or psoriasis.

Used as a base for essential oil blends in aromatherapy and as a base oil for natural perfumes.

Looking for jojoba oil? You can order jojoba oil here:

Jojoba Oil

Spring Equinox

Happy Spring!

Even for those of you expecting snow and ice over the next few days.

Quite frankly, I did not believe the ground hog's supposed prediction of an early Spring. So I have not been surprised by the Winter storms that have hit recently, including in Pennsylvania (bet that ground hog is buried!).

However, yesterday, I did get out, dig in the dirt and plant some herbs and vegetables....Dill, Sweet Peas, Coriander (cilantro), radishes and spinach. All plants that do not thrive in the heat.

Here's to all the seeds we plant for joy, growth and development in the next year, whether they be plant seeds, or the seeds of inspiration.

Do You Know About the Pet Foods Recall?

Pet owners have been faced with concerns that their cats and dogs might die from contaminated foods.

Specifically, it seems to be "wet" foods that come in pouches or cans. Dry foods seem to be okay.

For more information, you can go to ABC News where they have links and lists of all the types of food affected, from Iams and Eukanuba to Food Lion and Hannaford. Yep, we're talking more than 40 foods are in question.

Read more at

Pet Food Deaths Remain a Mystery

Aphrodisiacs That Really Work

Valentine's Day brings up not just articles on love, but on sex as well.

The following article discusses herbal and other sexual enhancing ideas for men.

Surprisingly, I don't recall seeing a mention about Saw Palmetto, which aids men's sexual health...

Aphrodisiacs That Really Work

Forget Spanish Fly. Getting people in the mood is a lot harder than slipping someone a mickey.

For as long as humans have been having sex, they've been trying to get in the mood--or get their partners in the mood. And if necessity is the mother of invention, it's no surprise that humans have developed a wide variety of creative solutions for the old "I've-got-a-headache" problem.

Read more at

Aphrodisiacs That Really Work

Recent Healing Circle Experience

As you know if you've been reading this blog and checking our class and workshop schedule, we offer a variety of learning experiences, including our Wednesday night series where you can just show up about 10 minutes to 7 p.m. (earlier is perfectly fine, btw).

My theory on these classes is that the right mix of the right people show up at the right time.

That means that sometimes there is one other person, sometimes no one, and sometimes a half dozen or more people who may show up.

This particular week, I wasn't sure if anyone would show, it was REALLY cold outside. I was in the midst of talking with a customer when people started to show up. Two new and two old timers, for lack of a better description. Well, the circle turned into a wonderful healing experience for each and every one of us.

What was nice was getting feedback the next day from participants. We'd all left glowing and the glow continued into our lives the next day.

Healing circles start with a meditation to get all of the participants into a relaxed state of mind. Then we each take turns giving and receiving universal healing energy. No prior experience is needed.

Our next Wednesday class is "Healing with Crystals." This class is experiential. That means YOU will learn how to work with crystals WITHOUT having to look up everything in a book, or read someone else's opinions about working with crystals. Yes, we will discuss healing attributes of crystals. But the class focuses on bringing you directly into the experience of crystal healing.