OCTOBER HAS ARRIVED !

I Can hardly believe that it is October already, so much has happened since my last post.  We went camping in COLORADO for 10 days, then stopped in ALBEQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO  on our way home  where we  had a great visit with family and went to the Albequerque Growers Market.  At the Growers Market we purchased a large bag of chili peppers and watched them being roasted....pictures forthcoming...After that....I went on a cruise to  ALASKA  and WOW! what a beautiful, WILD  and breathtaking state!!  Had a great time with my son Nick who is a guest entertainer on the ship I was on ~ The GOLDEN of Princess Cruise Lines.    The shows were of course awesome!!  It was great getting a chance to meet some of the people my son works with and was glad to see that he has such a great bunch of people to work with.  We had 3 stops in Alaska and 1 stop in VICTORIA, CANADA before coming back to our original port of SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.  I stayed in Seattle for 2 days after the cruise was finished and visited with more of my family and we spent some time one day at PIKES PLACE MARKET, more great pictures from these events in the next few weeks. And if you can believe it, in-between all these trips, I have been canning, freezing and pickling a pantry full of goodies for our winter larder.  Hope you get a chance to check back next week and see all the great pics from these events.   Soon to come too are more great DIY projects for Christmas gift giving.   A  big thank you to The Graphics Fairy for the free pumpkin graphic used above for this article.  You can find more free graphics on her web site HERE.   Until next time....I wish you Peace..

Make Custom Labels Like These To Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle Containers

I used a free graphic from The Graphics Fairy

To Make These Vintage Style French Labels. 
 I Added The Words and

Changed The Sizing in Photoshop.  I Then Printed Them On Cardstock and Used a Rubber Stamper To Add The Special

Delivery Notice.   The  Par Avion Tags

Were Made Using Photo Shop Also.

I Used The Par Avion Tags As A Strip  Sealer

  For The Boxes

And For Closing The Top Of The Cellophane

Cookie Bags

I Had Been Saving These Containers

To Repurpose Them For Packaging For Gifting. 

These Containers Were Originally

From Starbucks and Came With Mixed Fruit and Nuts In Them.  The Incense and Cookies I Put In These Boxes Were Put In Cello Bags First and Then Put Inside The Boxes.

These Labels Were Great For Incense Gifting

 And Cookie Gifting

My Next Project Will Be To Repurpose

This Black Bottomed Box That Tea Came In.

For Those Who Would Rather Purchase Labels and Not Make Their Own, I Will Be Offering These In My Etsy Shop. 

They Will Be Available As A Set Of 4 Tags With 4 Par Avion Strip Tags,  and Can Be Made With Your Specified

Custom Wording On Them

And You Can  Specify The Size You Need For

Your Repurposed Containers

Click HERE to see my Etsy Listing for This Label Set

Today I Will Be Linking This Post Up To

Brag Monday at The Graphics Fairy

Thanks For Stopping In Today At Visions Of Bliss....

Let's All Make A Difference By Remembering To

REDUCE.......REUSE......REPURPOSE......RECYCLE

Until next time....I wish you Peace....

I Started To Think About This Title For Today's Post and Thought...Wow...I Have Always Loved The Fragrance of Fridays....You Know what I Mean...You Can Smell

 A Weekend Coming On ! HaHa!

But...... That Is Not What I Meant by

A Fragrant Friday this time...

No,  Actually I Meant It Literally.  Today Is Actually

Fragrant.....You May Ask Why...

Well, Because Today  I Am Going To Show You How To Make

Incense Cones and Sticks.......Like These...

.....And Yes....Because Of This Project

My Studio Does Smell Very Fragrant This Friday!

So Let's Get Started Shall We?

For This Project You Will Need The Following Supplies

*  DPG (Dipropylene Glycol)

*  Fragrance Oil

*  Unscented Incense Cones And Sticks

Container To Put The Incense In For Soaking Up Oils

Newspapers and Paper Towels

Containers To Store The Finished Incense Cones and Sticks

The Above Items Marked With An Asterisk can be Purchased Online HERE or At Many Soap and Candle Suppliers.

Step 1

Put 1 part Fragrance Oil and 2 parts DPG into the container you will be soaking your unscented incense cones and sticks. 

(I used a bathroom dixie cup to measure these portions out.)

Step 2

Add cones or sticks to the liquid you just measured out, making sure that all of the cones or sticks are completely covered by the liquid.  Let the cones and/or sticks soak in this liquid mixture for 3 to 4 days.  I soaked the sticks for 3 days and the cones for 4 days.  The reason for the difference is the sticks are much thinner and take less time to soak up the oils, but the cones are thick and need more soaking time. 

 (By the way I soaked the sticks in a piece of foil that I had tripled and made into a long box shape, sorry I forgot to take pics of that.  Make sure this "box" is put on a newspaper lined cookie sheet or box lid as some of the liquid could seep out a little.)

Step 3

Layer the newspaper and paper towels on a cookie sheet or box lid.  Take the incense cones and/or sticks out of the liquid and lay them out in a single layer on the paper towels to dry for about 2 - 3 days. 

 (Save the leftover liquid, it is reuseable for making more incense.  Make sure you store this liquid properly labeled and in a container with an airtight lid.)

Your Incense is now ready to use! 

Store your Incense In A Zip Lock Plastic

Bag or Cellophane Bags

I made labels for the above and below containers for storing my cellophane bags filled with incense.

I will have more pictures on Monday of How I repurposed some containers like these For Incense and Cookie Gifting. 

Hope you enjoy making some incense, it really is so very easy and lots of fun!  Have a great weekend and...

Until next time.....I wish you Peace...

A Beautiful Necklace From Cindy at

 Whimsical Musings

This beautiful necklace arrived this week from Cindy. 

I had entered a drawing on her blog

Whimsical Musings and won! 

You might want to check her blog out for other current drawings.   Thank you  for the gift Cindy!

In other news.... check back tomorrow for the post
"A FRAGRANT FRIDAY"
    I will be posting a tuitorial for making your own incense sticks and cones.  I will also have pictures of the packaging I designed for mine on that post.  The tuitorial for the packaging will be on my Brag Monday post that I will be linking up at The Graphics Fairy next Monday. 

   I am in the process of making some gifts for my holiday gifting this year, so keep watching for more tuitorials on new items.   I like to do my gifts up as far in advance as I can when it's possible and since it has turned so hot here the last couple of weeks I have been indoors doing a lot more art and crafting.....
I am enjoying my self immensely!

Until next time......I wish you Peace.........

An Interesting Perspective....Something To Think About......

Would love to hear your comments on this video.....
Until next time.....I wish you Peace.........

Encouragement....

 To   Inspire   with   Courage,   Spirit,   or   Hope

One of the reasons I started  Vision Of Bliss  Blog was not only to express myself and my art to those who visit, but  also as a means of  Encouraging others.  I hope this post

INSPIRES  and  ENCOURAGES

you today...

Times being what they are these days I hope the following (paraphrased) quote helps you to look at the glass as

 half-full...

 and  NOT  half-empty....

Finally Brothers,

Whatever Is True,

Whatever Is Noble,

Whatever Is Right,

Whatever Is Pure,

Whatever Is Lovely,

Whatever Is Admirable,

~  If Anything Is Excellent or Praiseworthy  ~

....THINK ABOUT SUCH THINGS.....

                                 Phillipians 4:8

Today I am linking up at I Owe It All To Him ....To see More  Words Of Encouragement Click Here

May you find encouragement in these inspiring words

today......Until next time.....I Wish You Peace.....

Making Herb Infused

Wine Vinegar

Making Herb Infused Vinegars Is Really Very Easy and 

A Great Way To Recycle Some Of Those Pretty Wine or

 Syrup Bottles You Have Been Saving.

 I Even Found A Way To Recycle The Wire "Cage" That

Was On One Of My Champagne Bottles!  I Thought It Made A Cool Embellishment To The Top When I Added The "Cage" Along With One Of My Custom Galvanized Sheet Metal Tags

 I Thought Some Of You Might  Like To Make Some Herb Infused Vinegar So I Added The Instructions To This Post.

Start By Gathering Up Some Of Those Pretty Bottles You Just Couldn't Bring Yourself To Get Rid Of And Sterilize Them

These Bottles Were From Flavored Waters, Wine 

And Coffee Syrups

Supplies Needed

~ Empty Sterilized Bottles ~

~ Herbs And Spices Of Your Choice ~

(The Herbs and spices I used were - Rosemary, Thyme, Flat and Curly Leaf Parsley, Basil, Black Peppercorns, Garlic and Mustard Seeds)

~ White Wine Vinegar ~

~ Cork  And Optional Champagne Wire Cage ~

~ Labels and or Tags ~
(I found the free graphic for my label at The Graphics Fairy, I used Photoshop To Embellish It and Add The Words)

Useful Tools

~ Small Plastic Funnel ~

~ Long Wooden Chopstick ~

Step 1 ~ Gather Up The Fresh Herbs You Want To Infuse

 Wash And Dry Them Thoroughly

Premeasure Additional Spice Ingredients

I Used About A Tablespoon Each Of  Black Peppercorns And Mustard Seeds and 6 Garlic Cloves

Now You Are Ready For Step 2

 Step 2 ~ Fill The Empty Steralized Bottle By
 First Adding The Spices...

Then The Fresh Herbs

The Herbs I Used In This Infusion Were

~ Curly And Flat Leaf Parsley ~

~ Thyme ~

~Rosemary ~

~ Basil ~

I Used A Wooden Chopstick To Push The Fresh Herbs Down

(Only Use Plastic Or Wood Utensils as Metal Ones React With The Acidic Vinegar)

Step 3 ~ Using The Plastic Funnel Pour The Vinegar Over The Herbs and Fill The Bottle, Leaving About 1  1/2 Inches Headspace At The Top

 Cork The Top And Add Embellishments

 
Add Your Label and You Are Done! 

Wasn't That Easy?

It Is Best To Let Your Vinegar Steep

For 2 To 3 Weeks In A Cool Dry Place Before Use

Enjoy !!

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day.  Until next time.....I wish you Peace....