Cheap Thrills

Lip balm is one of my favorite things to make at home. It's quick, easy and enables me to keep my lip balm addiction going strong too.

Last year, I received a sample of soaps from Ayelet, owner and creator, of Sun Kissed Bud bath products, and I enjoyed them immensely. So much so, I mentioned her bathtime treats in our first-ever handmade-holiday guide.

When I started running low on my favorite lip moisturizer, I decided to check out Ayelet's collection of hand-crafted goodies in her online store on Etsy.com, a marketplace for all things handmade.

Sun Kissed Bud offers natural deodorant, soaps made from scratch, hand lotion made with shea butter, and moisturizing lip balms. Sun Kissed Bud products are incredibly fragrant, too. I adore the sweeter scents, such as chocolate mint truffle, bubble gum, sweet pea and banana cream.

To save on cash, I picked up a three-pack where I could pick the scents for a mere $7.50. You may also purchase singles for only $3. What a deal! The best part about this purchase was Ayelet's friendly and professional manner.

For more information about Sun Kissed Bud products, visit online: ayelet17.etsy.com.

Have you taken the pledge to buy handmade? Here's why you should ... buying the wares of a craftsperson or artisan is like investing in their hopes, dreams and creativity. That alone can make a purchase extra-special.

Do you want to rave about your recent handmade purchase? Pop me an e-mail describing your latest find and you may see it here on the blog!

In the room next to the kitchen in her Syosset home, retired high school art teacher Alice Sprintzen keeps an acetylene torch.

She also keeps a drill press, a scroll saw, a flexible shaft, a belt sander and a rolling mill, as well as a rock-polisher, a bench shear and a small anvil.

A window fan ventilates when the torch is going.

Sprintzen is a jeweler, and what was once upon a time a typical suburban breakfast room became her studio 25 years ago when she and her husband, David, took out the wall separating the breakfast room from an adjoining mudroom to enlarge the space to 12 by 11 1/2 feet.

Continue reading this article by Dan Van Benthuysen.

My pal and fellow blogger the Garden Detective has the scoop on a tree giveaway through MillionTreesNYC. Click here to get more information.

Down with the dastardly plastic bag! New York City students want shoppers to go green and use cloth instead. So three students have designed eco-friendly canvas tote bags and you can get them today - for FREE!

Click here for more details. Tip of the hat goes to Lauren over at the Urbanite blog.

The Carle Place retailer 1-800-Flowers.com is partnering with an Islandia company to encourage Long Islanders to recycle old computers.

1-800-Flowers.com and e-Scrap Destruction will hold the recycling drive June 4 at the 1-800-Flowers store at 1 Old Country Rd. in Carle Place between 8:30 a.m and 4 p.m. Electronic-waste experts from e-Scrap will collect the discarded equipment.

Not wanting to miss a promotional opportunity, 1-800-Flowers will give coupons for 15 percent off its items to people who drop off discarded electronic equipment.

-- Carrie Mason-Draffen

Steve & Barry's, a clothing retailer based in Port Washington, is offering the official "Sex and the City: The Movie" apparel line in stores starting today.

The launch is just in time for the long-awaited reunion of New York's favorite girlfriends on the big screen May 30th.

Fans of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda can pick up T-shirts and tank tops with classic phrases such as "I'm with Mr. Big" and "I (Heart) Sex and the City" for an affordable $8.98 or less, according to Steve & Barry's.

Last year, Steve & Barry's partnered with "Sex and the City" star Sarah Jessica Parker to launch the Bitten Collection of cheap, yet chic clothing for women.

Check out the newest Steve & Barry's store at DSW Plaza in Lake Grove.

Enter for a chance to win a shopping spree or free screening passes to "Sex and the City: The Movie" at participating Steve & Barry's stores, while supplies last. For official rules, visit online: www.steveandbarrys.com and www.bittensjp.com/satcsweepstakes.

Sex and the City photos

Most of us might change careers a couple of times - but just how many public lives has Commack's own Rosie O'Donnell lived, anyway?

Well, let's see, to name just a few: standup comic, Broadway actor, TV host, over-the-top fan of Tom Cruise, bestselling author ...

... Not to mention willing lightning rod for controversy, from her campy feud with Donald Trump to her vociferous views before leaving ABC's "The View" (just after being named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World: "the TV host who loves a fight").

Whew! And she just turned 46 (in March).

She's also the founder of Rosie's Broadway Kids, a program to bring musical theater to public school students in New York City, and Rosie's for All Kids Foundation, which provides day care and other services to poor children.

Perhaps her favorite role, though, is that of mom - she has two boys and two girls, ranging from around kindergarten age to tween.

And in that role, she's come out with her third book, a big change from the tone of her 2007 tell-all memoir "Celebrity Detox: The Fame Game."

In "Rosie O'Donnell's Crafty U: 100 Easy Projects the Whole Family Can Enjoy All Year Long" (Simon & Schuster, $21.95), Rosie enlists her trademark abbreviations to make a point: u r crafty - i swear - u r

And:
u r art

"Crafts are my way of relaxing," she writes. "My friends say they can tell how stressed I am by the number of craft projects I'm working on." She says she wrote the book, aimed at ages 5 through 12 and their parents, "to inspire families to spend more time together - crafting!"

She helps you set up a craft corner and choose supplies, which are often found objects: bottles, cans, string, newspapers.

The projects are organized by seasons and holidays - "Cheep-Cheep Chicks" for spring; "Way-Cool Painted Sneakers" for summer; "Mummy Dearest" for fall; "Glitter Globes" for winter. There's also a section called "Rainy Day playdate" ("Oink! Meow! Glove Puppets") and "Every Day Is a Decoupage Day" ("Take a Snapshot Tray").

All of which may prove what she writes: "A craft project is a great way for children to explore their creativity, build confidence and learn how to express themselves."

See rosie.com/craftyu for tips and videos in which Rosie (sans makeup; she's just a mom) shows you how.

Yes, you can cans

"Colorful paint and cool trims transform tossables into a pencil holder, a vase for dainties, or a place to stash craft pens. Grown-ups: Teach kids about the joy of recycling an old, clean can into a bright and shiny new thing!"

What you need:

Foam paintbrushes, acrylic craft paints, clean tin cans with labels removed, artist paintbrushes, craft glue, colorful paper trims

How to make:

1.Paint outside of cans using foam brush and craft paint. Let dry.

2.Paint bands of color around the cans using the foam paintbrush and craft paints.

3.Paint stripes, polka dots, pretty flowers, squiggles or anything you like on cans using an artist paintbrush for detailing. Let dry.

4.Apply colorful paper trim with glue along the top and bottom of the can.

- From "Rosie O'Donnell's Crafty U" (Simon & Schuster)

By Peggy Brown, Newsday staff writer

You're in for a real treat! Baskin Robbins is offering their popular 31 Cent Scoop Night from 5-10 p.m. today. Bring your friends, the neighbor's kids or the whole family for ice cream on the cheap. But don't be greedy, there's a limit of 10 scoops per person, per purchase.

This special offer is only good at participating stores. A donation of $100,000 will be made by Baskin Robbins to the National Firefighters Foundation.

To get the scoop on this discount, go to BaskinRobbins.com.

You're invited to take part in watercolor workshops with East End artist Marilyn Gartelmann on April 30th, May 28th and June 18th at the East End Arts Council.

Each workshop will focus on a different technique and skill. Also coming up are Plein Air Watercolor classes with artist, author and illustrator, Mike Killelea. The focus of Mr. Killelea’s classes will be capturing the warmth and color of Long Island’s dazzling spring mornings.

Classes will be held at various locations throughout the East End on Tuesdays from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM, now through May 20th. The cost of the class is $157.

Mr. Killelea will also be teaching Twilight Plein Air Painting, also on Tuesdays, from 5 to 8:00 PM, April 15th through May 20th. For more information and a complete listing of classes please contact the Community School of the Arts at 631.369.2171 or visit www.eastendarts.org/education.

I finally got my tax refund. Hurray!

I must say, I'm pretty proud of myself for doing them myself and itemizing a few deductions to boot! As a reward, I decided to buy a few things on Etsy.com, my favorite Web site for affordable and unique handmade goods.

Here's a look at what I purchased:

Debbie Chialtas is the owner of Soapy Love and sells adorable handmade soaps in the shape of a popsicle! The "soapsicles" come in a variety of colors and scents. Her soapy creations remind me of summers I spent chasing the ice cream truck as a child. For my Etsy purchase, I chose the Squeakymelon soapsicle because of it's sweet scent and bright color. When it arrived, my mailbox smelled like watermelon candy. It's pure heaven on a stick!

Lather up with one her whimsical soaps for only 8 bucks via her Web sites: soapylove.etsy.com or www.soapylove.com.

In addition to soap, I picked up a couple of her soap tutorials to try out at home. I'm always interested in trying new ways to make my own soap. I love her polka-dot and cameo soap tutorials.

Are you looking for an interesting gift? Debbie's soaps would make great wedding favors or stocking stuffers for the holidays.

Did you buy something handmade and want to rave about it? Pop me an e-mail describing your latest handmade purchase and you may see it here on the blog!