Happy Wednesday

Happy Wednesday Peeps ~Its the middle of the week and to be honest? I awoke on this rainy day not feeling very Fabulous. Ohhh no not at all ~generally a pretty upbeat and perky kinda gal ~various things managed to drag me down. "Begone Rapscallions "~ I said to my Doldrums......... and begone they did. 
 

Photo  By Isaac Weddings 2013

 We were lucky enough today to have a visit from Adrian ~One half of the amazing New and Fabulous Magazine called ~Isaac Weddings! What a bloody brilliant Idea folks??? Seriously??? Its a colorful fun magazine full of really really cool articles and information. All the help a Girl could need planning her Big Day from Around the House Do it Yourself Ideas ~ ( I am serious ~funnest Idea Ever on how to quickly and efficiently make your guests wine glass personal! ~I reckon even I could do it ~ not withstanding the never to be again mentioned Mason Glass Tinting Fiasco ... or the Chalk Paint Fiasco .. or ~I digress as usual). Beautiful pictures including the one I have gone back to from Frosted Delights Cakery ~ A gorgeous Wedding Cake surrounded by frilly lace which is ICING??????? *SWOONWORTHY*

Photo By Isaac Weddings 2013

 Poor Adrian made the mistake of asking about our Mason Jars while in the Fab Shoppe Of Sorts ~the poor man had the bewildered look of someone hit in the face with a fish after I said "Well ~Adrian ~Let me tell you ~Back in 1913.................". The man now has a brain full of trivia from why Vintage Masons are Blue to when the Heritage Blues will discontinue. He took it all in his stride and must have been listening ~after a night shift~ ( I was impressed by THAT) ~ as he did ask some really good questions!
Now the Mag is chock full of super fab things like Naturally Beautiful ~information and recipes for natural facials for your Big Day / Seasonal Flower information / Where to have your Wedding/ Stories from Beautiful Brides and as mentioned ~ Do it Yourself Tips and Step by Step Tutorials. Thats just a small portion of whats inside!

Pop over to their Facebook Page or read the latest happenings at

http://isaacweddings.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/when-everyday-gets-in-way.html

Plenty of copies available NOW right here at fs vintage!

Tell them Fabulous scents Vintage sent you!

Stay Fabulous

fs vintage
xx

Dexter The Wonderdog

Dexter The Wonderdog ~ By Kate Redmond Photography

Have you met Dexter? Our beautiful boy?  
Mr Fab and I were talking about getting a dog and I was not really keen. We were looking at photos of 12? I think? Puppies for sale and we both pointed to our boy at the same time and said "That one".
He came into our lives in November 2011 and we have not regretted one single day! Yep he thinks he is the Alpha in our household but who could resist that face?

Dexter By Kate Redmond Photography

Dexter by Kate Redmond Photography

Stay Fabulous

fs vintage
xx

Its Monday

Heritage Blue Mason Jars

Monday has rolled around again ~ Pour day here at fs vintage. Now today is kinda interesting because I am doing ~ vintage glassware along with Heritage Blues and stock. A customer has entrusted me with their Uranium Depression glassware and Russian Teacups. I don't sell recycled vintage glassware but I am happy to refill it for customers. I wont fill anything that doesn't " feel right " ~ or on inspection ~ has even the smallest or most miniscule fracture / scrape or crack.  Also the last of the Heritage Blues are rolling out and I must admit ~its kinda sad. The frenzy they created still leaves me blinking like an owl in surprise! Wow! I had no idea when we first started to think about bringing them into fs vintage that they would be received even HALF as well as they have been. And ~ yeah yeah ok I admit its STILL kinda deliciously squirmy cool that we seem to be the only ones with them ~ Makes me feel all serene and zen just thinking about it.
Update on that ~New American order on the way and Australian order ~still no more information other than May 1st.

Stay Fabulous....

fs vintage
xx

The Tinting Fiasco

Huge disaster

Thought I would try my hand at Mason Jar tinting ~Cannot even begin to tell you what an abysmal failure it was. I now have a sink full of weirdly tinted wide mouth mason jars and a dishwasher full of the ones I have managed to remove the Mod Podge from. 
I tried both the American and Australian versions ~found on many many pages and Blogs. Followed the instructions TO THE LETTER.....
and I have come to the conclusion ~I suck at Mason Jar tinting.

This will NOT be something available at Fabulous Scents Vintage. 

Think we may just stick to what we know.....

Quilted Ball Mason Jar as Fabulous Scents Vintage Soy Candle with Rusty Lid

Keep being fabulous

fs vintage
xx

Imitation the highest form of Flattery? I think not....

Vintage and New Heritage Blue Perfect Mason Jar Candle

No I am not grizzling about MY copycats ~although....*cough* I digress. A friend of mine has a Copycat ~(don't we all) Now I automatically went to ease her pain with the usual platitudes.....

"Its the highest form of flattery"
"Don't worry ~ your the original"
"Take it as a compliment"

But then I remembered how I feel when someone else tells me about the ones who copy ME. I don't care what the platitudes are ~I am frustrated and cranky and basically gobsmacked. Not speechless ~never speechless but completely and utterly gobsmacked.
Why? The unmitigated BALLS (Seriously no pun intended) Yes the BALLS of these thick skinned people who imitate.
So ~ Can one of you who has copied or imitated please please PLEASE tell me how you justify it to yourself? What are YOUR justifications and how do you have peace with doing it? How can you sell a product you have copied and literally stolen an idea from someone? I am genuinely asking this question because when I am unable to understand something ~I research and delve till I found the answer. I NEED to know. I WANT to know. I have to admit ~sometimes I go and have a look at my imitators and I see they have incorrect information ~ or they are going on about something and its completely wrong ~ or their customers are saying how clever they are ( yeah yeah ok that's annoying as well I admit it)~I start getting incredibly itchy just wanting to send them a message and ask....why? You have decided to copy another persons idea but you are using incorrect information or not producing a product with the same quality or your imitation is only half way there ~WHY DO IT???? Lets talk about this honestly ~so ~you obviously have some creativity or you would not be making a hand made product correct? You obviously enjoy it or you would not be wasting precious time on something which has such a small return ( I hear the Crafters and Hand makers reading this saying "Oh yeah sister you got that right") So ~use that beautiful brain of YOURS!!! ~ yep there is only a finite amount of things you can do in crafting but why not put your OWN slant on it? Why not do the hard yards and figure it out for yourself? I will freely admit to roaming the Internet and Etsy ( Shameless Plug ~Please visit our Etsy store! https://www.etsy.com/shop/fsvintage ) I found ideas and thought "hmmmmm how can I make that Fabulous." I didn't trawl pages and think "Hmmm that's a good idea I might copy it exactly and then carry on as like its my idea". 

Vintage Mason Wire Ball Pint burning with New Ball Mason Pint Jar

Just be true to yourself till next time fabsters....

fs vintage 
xx

Are you feeling Blue?

Vintage Perfect Mason Jar with Heritage Blue Perfect Mason Jar

Around the beginning of the year I was googling for some information on a Vintage jar when I came across ...The Limited Edition Heritage Ball Blue Mason Jar. This Jar was commissioned and produced by Ball to commemorate 100 years of the Perfect Mason. I almost swooned ~literally. My heart started beating faster and I was fanning myself like a delicate  Southern Belle ~ Ohhh lordy ~ Ah do de CLARE I said to myself (still fanning) I have to have those!!!! So began The Search. Eventually I found out they would not be released till March so I started contacting a few American companies I had used in the past for our normal square Half pint Masons. Wasn't getting very much feedback so I spoke to our dear friends in the US and said ~FIND ME SOME OF THESE JARS!!!!

Subtlety is not my strong point....

Heritage Ball Mason Blue

Thankfully she found me what I was looking for and the long process began. We are not 100% sure but pretty darn close to it ~that we may well be the first ones in Australia to have these jars!!! How exciting is that??? Yes VERY exciting.......and kinda cool but nerve wracking! We have sold out of the first batch and have ordered again from the same supplier ~ Bless em ~ and should have more stock in about 2 weeks ~ fingers crossed.
You can of course purchase them from us empty but DAMN ~they seriously make the most beautiful soy candle EVER. I have them burning every single day (In the interests of testing for quality control ~ as ya do....) and I have to say they are probably up there as my faves. Well I love all the jars but ~*serene sigh* They are so beautiful...... 

Heritage Ball Mason Blue Soy Candle

Are we bored yet?

fs vintage

Its been Months

Vintage Pint Perfect Mason Jar Candle Photo By Kate Redmond Photography

Its been months since I have written ~where to begin?  Sadly I have let the frustration of others really get to me which really? STUPID! So ~why not write about it?
Let us begin ~ When we started doing Mason Jars as a soy candle ~both Vintage and new last year ~ oh my goodness ~ we were poo pooed ~ "You cant use those ~they are not candle JARS"? "Are you insane?" / "They wont sell"/ "Yuk they look stupid"/ and so on and so on. We ignored it and brought our first batch of jars and proceeded to turn them into beautiful candles. We tested those suckas for weeks and weeks till we had it PERFECT! Initially? *shrug* Yeah sure slow going but after awhile? People were contacting us to say ~"Hey I love those jars to". 
Gotta tell you ~I was chuffed! So we sorted out which ones worked ~and which ones were a dismal failure and eventually we managed to stock exactly what people wanted.

Vintage Perfect Ball Mason Jar Candle with Burning Heritage Blue Ball Mason Jar candle

Then the emails began ~Yep people telling us that this page and that page on Facebook had started to copy. Gotta tell you ~that saying? Imitation is the highest form of flattery? Nope its not. Its annoying and frustrating and in this Bloggers opinion? RUDE! Get your own bloody ideas and dont pinch mine! Now settle down people ~Not saying we here at Fabulous Scents Vintage are the Boss of Mason Jar candles but DAMN ~Cant you at least find your own way of packaging????? Don't copy mine!
Hmmm do I feel refreshed finally saying all this? You betcha! And I must add ~it is nice to be back and continuing my woffling. Read this or dont ~your choice ~but come along for the ride as I regale you with whats happening.

fs vintage

Its Saturday.....

Finally made it through to Saturday!!! Honestly felt like the week would never end. So ~breaky with a friend then back here to open fsv for a few hours to cover customer appointments. The rest of the day spent just relaxing and doing a Mr Fab ~laying on the couch. I do not remember the last time I simply did ....nothing. Well unless you count carting a few pint masons outside to take some pics and make a sorry attempt to create an arty visual to appeal to your eye....... Not sure how successful I was but.......
It was blissful.

Home Show .................. Done.

Home Show is done and the tablecloths and assorted table decorations are packed away till next time. What a HUGE weekend which left us both exhausted. Mr Fab stepped up and I have to stop shaking my head in amazement. I knew he would help but had no idea he would step up to the mark and be ...well ...just Fabulous!

Our aim was to get Fabulous scents vintage out there and in peoples minds. I am pretty sure we were successful. Met some amazing people and established new customer relationships so all in all? Good job!
Now to get cracking on Christmas.........

Its beginning to look a bit like ..... Xmas....

Finally have everything unpacked and organized. Even managed to get a start on a couple of the amazing baskets we will be offering this Christmas season. The hardest part was finding a basket that was suitably vintage looking and Fabulous! Pretty sure we nailed it with the Romaine tin baskets.....

What do you think?..............

What a Fabulous Week

Amazing and interesting week! We always love New customers and we have had a few this week and all have been wonderful! I once again think to myself how insane lucky I am am to be able to do what I love every day. Thats not to say ~some days I become seriously fabbed out and quite honestly would like to walk away from wax and wicks and not being able to smell anything because of the fragrance overload....then a gorgeous new or old customer will pop in and have a chat....and all is right with the world once again.

Also ~all the stock we ordered for Christmas has arrived and there are some really amazing things! It has been incredibly hard to find gift baskets in keeping with our Vintage look and which would compliment our Jars. Eureka! All here and this weekend is dedicated to preparing a couple for the shelves.

Have a Fabulous weekend!

Delivery Day

Delivery Day here at fsv HQ. A huge parcel arrives and I am once again dazzled by our American supplier managing to pack these beautiful jars so they arrive without a scratch. I do have to admit to the unpacking process taking a teeny bit longer than it should because I read the American newspapers the jars are wrapped in. I enjoy seeing how much it costs for anything from a bathroom sink to a pack of cookies.
I must also admit I am having one of those weeks where you seem to be on the go with no spare time to stop and still not getting anywhere. Now as an added distraction our supplier put in some Presto Jar Company glass lids so I will have no choice but to begin an adventure by searching out everything I can! The lids are actually very cool! Apart from that ~when we embarked on this journey of turning Vintage Mason into beautiful Soy candles we discussed the fact we simply cant just toss some soy in a vintage jar and send it on its merry way. We need to able to give the customer a little bit of info on each of these beauties ~even if its just a date range. We need to be able to say with absolute certainty that these are Vintage Mason Jars and not replicas.

I find I can spend literally hours late into the night just searching for any snippet of information I can ~hmmmmmm obsessed much?

This week Focus

This weeks focus has been the Gallery order. They are now completed and on their way to Moree.....

Saturday Pottering...

Saturday here and with Mr Fab at work its been a day of jammies and pottering. I finally realised I will NOT be able to give up our Pre 1900 late 1800 Ball Mason. I know I know ~ I am weak but in my defense...if you love Masons you will understand. It has ripples? running all through it and bubbles here and there in the glass ~ caused by the glassblower all those years ago. I just love to look at it and have finally decided ~nope cant sell it and also wont fill it. As much as I adore candles and how they look in these jars, how they burn, how perfectly fabulous they are as soy wax candles....... I just want to keep it as it was......
I also thought you might get a laugh out of a picture of the Fabulous Redneck Mason Wedding Jars we were given as a gift when we were in America ...getting married.
Vegas Baby ~Vegas.

Little things that make you happy

So excited here at fsv HQ today!!! We have prepped all the jars for the launch of the new range ~ fsv funk. This will be an amazing range aimed at the slightly younger ones who still love candles and want to preserve our environment and minimize their carbon footprint while still being INCREDIBLY cool.
These WILL BE the coolest thing ever! We also booked our Photographer ~Kate Redmond ~for a shoot in the next couple of weeks to show you all and launch this new and super exciting range! Also spoke to our Logo designer about the new logo for fsv funk. We felt it needed to be completely different but still under the fs vintage umbrella. She did an amazing job so keep an eye out ~coming to Fabulous Scents Vintage ~VERY SOON!
Today was also DELIVERY DAY!!! I do so love delivery day ~thats when our parcels of jars arrive from the US. This time our supplier had added a surprise or....4!!! 4 of the really early Quart jars which we are very very excited about. For today ~ pictures of beautiful Vintage Quart Blue Masons ~ filled with delicious and Fabulous fragranced soy wax.

All good so far....

The start of this Fabulous week has been hectic to say the least! I must say ~to finally catch up on orders is the BEST feeling. Today will be spent doing the fiddly and time consuming Soy wax Shots to ensure I have heaps ready for the Moranbah Home Show. As I was drifting off to sleep last night I was thinking about this Blog and what I need to do to engage and capture readers.....

"Sienna stood looking disheveled and beautiful ~her luminous green eyes flashing an anger that was ferocious. Daring him to even try and kiss her. Garth Montague easily stepped forward with his long muscular strides and looked down into those eyes.
" You will not defy me Miss Gorden ~no matter who you THINK you are" he said in his deep velvety tone.
Sienna raised her small petite hand and slapped him hard across his rugged cheek ~a slight mark left for all to see.
Shock and surprise at her actions caused Garth to finally do what he had secretly wanted for these last few months ~
"You saucy Minx " he said as he grabbed and kissed her ...
Sienna tried wildly to escape his strong steel like grip when she suddenly found herself swept away in a passion almost tidal in its force.
They broke away ~shock registering on their faces as they both realized how much they had wanted the kiss to continue and take them on a journey neither would be able to return from......
Garth spun on his heel and stalked out of the luxurious parlor ~slamming the massive oak door firmly behind him.
Sienna sunk to the Chaise lounge ~ her hand to the bodice of her magenta velvet gown ~confusion and wonder on her beautiful face......

Soooooooo have I grabbed your attention yet?

Oh my ~ Baby Blue I do so love you

Do I really need to say anything..............................

Sunday afternoon

What a wonderful amazing and relaxing day! Took Dexter The Wonderdog for a walk to get the paper and then spent the day pottering. I have spent most of it trying to figure out this whole Blog Phenomenon! Then I thought I may as well have a go at the Instagram picture thing and so far have not done very well. I usually leave the photography to Kate Redmond Photography as she obviously knows what she is doing.

She uploaded a picture she had done one sunny afternoon while I was making a coffee. For me to take a picture I basically have to take about 25 to finally get one that doesnt totally suck. I always feel I need to be able to convey how beautiful the Masons are so try not to even bother! The roses look a wee bit worse for wear but you get the drift. Thats one of the Vintage Wire lid Pint Masons. Sold now but we do have more available.

Fabulous Jars

The start of an obsession

I was thinking today about where I first experienced a real fair dinkum Ball Mason Jar. I had always loved them and thought they were the most beautiful jar but had not really had a chance to touch and feel ...if you will.......In April 2012 we were in Polk City Iowa with our friends The Stochls. We were going to make real Moonshine and Mish felt it needed to be poured into genuine Ball Masons. We made the beverage and tested the beverage and it was pronounced....drinkable. And so began the obsession. I loved the feel of the jars and the way they looked.  " Wonder if they could be made into Fabulous Scents candles" I mused ........

We purchased our first jars and now find people embracing them and loving their beauty as much as we do. So the above eventually became...........

New and Old ~ Perfectly Fabulous.