Salon de Mere and friends are getting ready to join the annual celebration of America’s only native spirit. The 19th annual Bourbon Festival will be held in Bardstown, KY from Sept 14th to 19th. Please accept our invitation to join us in the one of Kentucky’s most historic districts for a taste of southern hospitality. Stephen Foster, Jessie James, Abe Lincoln and many others stayed here in past years.

Begun in 1992 as a tasting and dinner, the festival has grown to an event that hosts people from around the world. Last year 55,000 people from 43 states and 13 countries attended the festival. Many distilleries, artists, crafters, and Kentucky vendors display their wares in this charming Bardstown historic district

If you cannot join us in person- please visit our on-line gallery and view some of the popular items from our shop. The limited edition Bourbon print is a joint effort between mother and daughter that started as a social visit to the Jim Beam tasting room. The original photograph was taken on a digital camera and multi media effects were used to manipulate the images to produce an “old-timey” calotype effect. This popular item is for sale in two different sizes, framed or unframed.

Salon de Mare is also thinking green in the bluegrass. We have some excellent recycled products. Pat Gorham, of Greenlifesavor hopes to join us in Kentucky for the festival- we hope to see you soon!

OK. Last month I discussed the necessity of exfoliating. Silky, soft, glowing skin is the number one way to bring out your natural beauty.

I would like to introduce my Handmade Body Scrubs. Each has 100% natural ingredients that make you look and feel good.

There are three main selections, Coffee, Salt, and Sugar – the essentials, of course! Can any of us live without our coffee?!

Coffee Handmade Body Scrubs come in two varieties. The first is a scrumptious Honey Almond and the second is a vanilla blend called Morning Buzz. What fun!

Salt and Sugar scrubs are my aromatherapy line. We go from “Cheers for Years” and uplifting sweet orange scent to “Pillow Talk” a relaxing blend of lavender and jasmine. (a full varietal list will be posted soon)

Once you see how beautiful your skin looks and feels, you will never go back to life without these scrubs. They are made from the heart to uplift your spirits and rejuvenate your soul with the added benefit of silky soft skin like cashmere. It’s pure indulgence without the calories!

Out of the Darkness and into the light. It’s time for sun!

For my first Blog it’s going to be short and sweet. I want to let you in on a few of my favorites to get my skin looking sun-kissed for the summer.

First things first… EXFOLIATE! This is a must to get your skin in tip top shape. All winter long we’ve been covered up and exposed to the dry forced hot air in our homes, store and cars. Your skin needs some extra help to sloth off the dead skin cells that showering alone can’t get rid of. My Fave is Cliniques Sparkle Skin Body Exfoliator. This scrub has no heavy fragrance and is gentle on the skin; it has enough grit with out the pain of some scrubs. This exfoliator leaves my skin silky smooth, I love it!

Ok, now it’s on to getting that bronze look without the tanning bed. After you have exfoliated your skin, towel dry and apply and oil-free moisturizer. The moisturizer will help your self-tanner glide over the skin more smoothly and evenly (think, no streaks) I do have a few faves for the summer in the self tanning arena. Clarins Delectable self-tanning mousse SPF 15 is great. The texture is totally different from lotions and it provides you with sun protection, which is a total bonus. I also love Jergens natural glow Body moisturizer, which has two different levels. Light to medium and Medium to Deep. With the gradual tan this provides it is easy to achieve the look you want. I have also found that these two products wont give you that Oh so Orange self tan gone wrong look (we all know what that is like, Oops!)

All right, so there are definitely times that I don’t want to wait for that gradual tan to set in. there are some amazing body bronzers out there. They provide the look you need for that day or night without the wait. Exfoliating first would be best but with these they are a quick fix and will give you the glow you are looking for. My faves are Laura Mercier body Bronzer, Clinique Bronzing liquid for face and body and Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess. Love these! FYI, be sure to let the body bronzers dry down in the correct amount of time, this could mean the end of that white outfit if you are not careful. Yikes! OK, so after application of any self tanner be sure to wash your hands really well. The staining can be not so pretty! If there are some spots that need extra attention use acetone to clean the area. Put a little on a cotton ball and spot clean where you need to.

I will say there are those times that I just want to go ‘au-natural.’ No self tanners just the good old fashion sun. Well, it’s all about the SPF. Kiehls has this amazing new product called Super-Fluid ultra Sheer Liquid SPF 50 and Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Liquid Daily Sunblock. Both are super lightweight on the skin and silky smooth on the skin. These are amazing under your makeup. I find that they work as a great primer for your makeup and the huge bonus of protecting your skin from the sun. This season for body I am going with another Clinique product… their Sun Protection line is my fave. They have SPF for face and body from 15 to 50. There is no fragrance and it dries down quickly. I am telling you, you will be hooked. Let me know how it goes.

Next month it’s on to color and hair tips for the summer and boy do I have some tricks to talk about. Can we say HELLO turquoise? Love it!

Tammy Roy was raised in Stratford, WI and was surrounded by auto repair shops, a school bus company, a gas station… and the list goes on. Tammy always had a keen interest in the”nuts and bolts” of how things work, stemming from her mom’s hobby of rummaging through dumpsters and scrap yards! Instead of shopping, they enjoy rummaging through twisted and mangled steel.

Tammy’s background is graphic design but it was her first welding class (by her dad) that led her into a new direction. Welding enabled Tammy to transform discarded, scrapyard junk into works of art. She has since become completely obsessed with reusing and creating objects out of discarded materials.

Below are a few beautiful and unique items for sale by Tammy for greenlifesavor.

180-design relates to the process of transforming trash into treasure! The materials do a complete “180”. Sourcing is a huge part of the process and I work with various steel manufacturers to reuse their scraps.

My mantra: Stay centered with God, keep balance in life, and use your gifts. I consider myself fortunate to be inspired by those around me.

The Season of Giving

This is the time of year we pause and give thanks for the gifts bestowed upon us and we also think about the gifts we wish to give. As I left Bardstown to visit friends and family in New England for the holidays, the Kentucky Standard Newspaper was offering a unique recycled newspaper bag from the Salon de Mere collection as a generous gift to new and old customers. This is their way of thanking the community while capturing history and saving precious memories. Thank you Kentucky Standard for your generosity and for always keeping us well informed. I hope my fellow Kentuckians will stop in and see Brandi, the circulation manager at her office on Stephen Foster Ave. and as you sign up for your 2010 subscription you can select your own special gift from the 2009 couture handbag collection.

December 5th was the annual “Open Studios” at the historic Lydia Pinkam Building in Lynn, Massachusetts. This building was once the site of the production of Lydia’s famous “woman’s tonic” . Today it is the home of local working artists and where George Dyer, the nephew of the legendary Walter Dyer, continues the family tradition of producing high quality handmade leather goods. It was a joy to view the leather goods, pottery, sculpture, paintings, photography and woodcrafts and invite many of the artists to join us on greenlifsavor. George Dyer has been with us from the start. Some of the artists that will be joining us soon are Eleanor Appleyard, Andrew Houle and Jackie Diele Singer. Stay tuned as we continue to build our artists community.

From Salon de Mere and greenlifesavor we wish you happy holidays and hope that the wonder and joy of the season will be with you throughout the year.

Music and the Creative Arts is all I know. These traits have been seared into my working brain allowing creative flow and inspiration in all my pieces. My background is graphic design and photography from Columbia College Chicago along with a currently earned degree from The Art Institute Of Pittsburgh in Web Development and Multi-Media Communication. I consider all my passions to be my hobbies along with a strong need to fly fish and make music when ever I find the time. Woodworking has been a recent involvement of mine and a great life experience to continue and cherish. Working with wood allows me to use my hands once again to create working pieces from mother natures cupboards. All rustic furniture shown through my shop here at Green Life is all custom made to your specifications to ensure every piece meets your standards. These pieces are something unique and provide lasting conversations with others who are unfamiliar with the process of handmade rustic furniture. If you have a need for something unique or unusual please contact me through thecreationlabratory@gmail.com for arrangements and draft sketches. I am just a man trying to find his niche in the art community. Learning and creativity is a process of continuation and a path to be traveled traveled for the remainder of my life. I invite and thank everyone for visiting me through Greenlife and encourage everyone to be passionate and creative in all aspects of their life. Please visit my main web page for more works such as music, photography, design, rustic furniture and illustration at www.thecreationlabratory.com.

We’re IN THE NEWS!!!

Check out the Swampscott Reporter for the latest press release on greenlifesavor.com

Create a naturally healthy environment in your home and in your body. Health and wellness are physical, mental, and spiritual. They are all related, as we are related.

Community Herbalist, Kathleen Aiello, gives information on natural aromatherapy blends to help you relax, recouperate, or revive your spirit and tips on how to incorporate natural elements of design into your home.

Makeup Artist and Designer, Sheena Mitchell demonstrates how to bring out your individual beauty with natural skin care and fresh, light colors. Sheena also gives her honest opinion on some of the newest products and the hot trends.

Passion and Creativity.

The topic of this month’s column will be passion and creativity in our daily lives. Creativity in my own personal opinion is an important attribute that fills the soul and allows for emotional expression needed. It allows for expression to be shown by everyone that lives and breathes in our contemporary world. But wait stop right there…” I am not creative”, you say. NOT TRUE!!

Being creative is not something that is genetically implanted despite some beliefs by the few masses. Creativity is the ability to imagine in its most simplistic terms of the definition. I encourage everyone to be creative for one month and construct something once a day even if it consists of typing a letter or hand writing a letter in cursive to a close friend or relative. There are so many explorations in creativity that the sky is the limit. So what are we waiting for? Let us be creative starting today.

Next week tune into my rant about creativity with color and how these hues impact are daily lives tremendously. Did you even know color effects our moods? In the United States currently, color therapy is a banned practice. See you next month earthlings.

Dennis Gaebel

Celebrating The Arts From The Spirit Within.

My name is Marilyn Kucera and it has been a little over a year since I opened the door to Salon de Mere (Mother’s Room) in Bardstown, Kentucky. Being the mother of four talented children and ten grandchildren, the name reflects the nature of my studio/gallery. In my gallery I have been showcasing the work of friends and family as well some pieces I have collected and created myself.

The path of my life over the past six decades has led in many directions. Born and raised in New York State, I lived and traveled in Europe for several years before returning to the capital of New York for a rewarding career with the New York Education Department. In 2003, I retired and reinvented myself, once again, following my inner Voice.

Ever since childhood my father, Alexander Hess, taught me that discipline,study and practice are the foundation of success but beyond this I must be quiet and let the spirit within lead. Last year he passed on at age 94 leaving behind a tremendous legacy. His drawing table seems to embody his spirit of love and creativity. I grew up learning to draw on this table which he inherited from his own father. All of my children and most of my grandchildren spent many hours with him at the table continuing the tradition of letting go and releasing the spirit to create lovely works of art.

The on-line gallery gives us an opportunity to expand our horizons and continue to create in his memory. Mother’s Room started very small, expanded to the local community and now we are part of the global village that we call the world wide web.

Each month I hope to tell you more about what our family of friends and artists are doing, Thank you for giving me the chance to introduce Salon de Mere and share our philosophy. Marilyn Kucera

Salon de Mere is a collection of Marilyn’s favorite artwork.