Showing posts with label Jena Baxter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jena Baxter. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

2018 HOLIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA - ANTHOLOGY - Enchanting Yuletide Anthology



I love special soaps and toiletries and sugar scrubs are on the top of my list. There are all kinds. Some require special attention, and others are downright easy. I don’t recommend the traditional oil and sugar, unless you want to slip and slide, then spend the day cleaning your tub. I think this one is much better, and the ingredients are easy to find. They make great gifts too.

Homemade Glycerin Soap Sugar Scrub Cubes

Once you have all your ingredients together prepare to work fast.

The first thing you need is a glycerin melt and pour soap base. Most craft stores carry it. Michael’s now carries some great detergent-free bases

You’ll also need a skin friendly oil. Fractionated coconut oil is a great choice and can be found in your supermarket. Sweet almond oil, avocado or olive oil will work well too. Macadamia is wonderful, but not as easy to find.

A SKIN SAFE scent and colorant if you want them. They will be available in the area you find the glycerin soap. Read the label, they MUST be skin safe. Don’t use candle colorant. Choose a nice fragrance for the season. Peppermint, pumpkin, cookies, or gingerbread.

Sugar – Sugar can have large or small grains. For this recipe, I use regular white granulated sugar. For a face soap, I would probably use brown sugar. For a foot soap, I’d use demerara sugar, because the granules are larger.

You will also need a mold. No need to run out and buy one for this recipe however. You can use a silicon mold or ice tray, or a sanitized milk carton cut to size; the box quarts are pretty perfect. Line it with saran wrap. You want the mold to give, so you can push the scrub out once it’s set. If you use the milk carton, you can carefully rip the paper off.


To make your Sugar Scrub

½ Cup Oil

1 Cup Melt and Pour base

2 Cups plus Sugar

Use drops or a half teaspoon to get the fragrance you want. Be cautious not to use more than necessary because even skin safe fragrance can be harsh on your skin. 1 teaspoon per pound of soap base is the limit.



Instructions: Have your mold ready before you start and remember to work fast.

Melt your soap base on very low heat. A double boiler is good, or you can microwave it in 30 second pulses. I use 30 seconds to start and stir. If I need more time, I do 15 second pulses. You don’t want it to get too hot, because soap can burn.

When the base is completely melted, pour into a large bowl, add your oil. Mix well.

Add your colorant one drop at a time until you get the shade you want but use as little as possible; too much colorant can stain washcloths. Mix well

Add up to a half teaspoon of fragrance. Mix well.

Add your sugar and mix fast; You don’t want it to harden on you.  You want to pour it as soon as possible. When it’s incorporated pour it into your mold. If it’s too thick, spoon it in and press it down.
Once the soap is set. (I’d give it at least a couple of hours. I leave mine overnight). Carefully remove it from the mold, placing it onto a plate, or anything oil can’t seep through, because there is always some oil that seeps out of the soap. Work gently because the scrub will be crumbly.

Carefully cut it into 1-1 ½ inch squares.

If there is a lot of leftover oil, I cover and leave it, so it can soak some of that up. There will usually be seeping oil.

Your sugar scrub soap is finished and ready to package. You can use cellophane wraps or jars, label it, and add trinkets or bows to the top. Be creative. Just remember to use something the oil can’t seep through. I also place a note on the label telling people to be careful in the shower or tub, because oils can make it slippery.

Instructions: Break off a piece from the cube. Scrub an area until the sugar is gone. Rinse well, and pat dry. It usually takes one or two cubes per shower.

Have fun with it. Once you’ve tried these, I think you’ll be addicted.

WARNING: If someone is allergic to a food product, (Like nuts, avocados, etc.) they will be allergic to the oils produced by that item as well.




Enchanting Yuletide: A Multi-Author Anthology
Jena Baxter, Raven Williams, Ellie Lieberman, Barb Lieberman, Guy Donovan, CK Brewer
Date of Publication: November 15th 2017
Publisher: Pipe and Thimble
Cover Artist: Raven Williams
Genre: Holiday / Fantasy


Tagline: Tis the Season for Magic

BLURB
Six stories of the holiday season, guaranteed to put you in a festive mood. So, grab your hot chocolate and snuggle up to experience the season as you've never done before. After all, tis the Season for Magic!





Author Info
A prolific writer, Raven began her career in 2010 with a blog and non-fiction, then moving to fiction in 2014, when she began Elven-Jumper, the first book in the Realm.

Jumper Chronicles. She now has 30 books to her name, spanning the Realm Jumper Chronicles, Raven’s Twisted Classics, and the Demon Stones Saga, as well as her non-fiction, with more planned.

When Raven is not writing, she is creating art in the form of abstract paintings, fractal designs, and jewelry pieces that tie into her stories. She is also a caregiver for a disabled family member and two cats. She physically resides in the Northwest Florida Panhandle, but spends most of her time mentally in her Mystic Realms.

Will you join her?

Sign-up for Raven’s Newsletter here: https://mysticrealmscurioshop.com/newsletter-sign-up

Raven’s Mystic Realms FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/mysticrealmscurioshop/





Author Info
A prolific writer, Jena Baxter creates characters with depth and stories filled with action, emotion, and a little bit of romance. She loves building fantastical worlds and cultures.

Living in Northern California with her husband, Jena enjoys soapmaking, her pets, and writer's conferences. She also reads for a screenwriting contest on an annual basis.




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Thursday, October 18, 2018

Haunted Halloween Spooktacular - Enchanting Yuletide: A Multi-Author Anthology

From Children of the Moon
By Jena Baxter

Moonlight shines within my soul
Musical notes splash color
Violin, piano, from worlds of old
Stirs new life with blossoming wonder
Seabirds call in the distant sky
Warm breath of forgotten lovers
My heart stands with awe and wonder
Lost in a web of finest silk
Notes spiral through twilight endless
In a fine-spun web of enchantment.




Enchanting Yuletide: A Multi-Author Anthology

by Jena Baxter, Raven Williams, Ellie Lieberman, Barb Lieberman, Guy Donovan, CK Brewer
Date of Publication: November 15th 2017


Publisher: Pipe and Thimble
Cover Artist: Raven Williams
Genre: Holiday / Fantasy





Tagline: Tis the Season for Magic


BLURB
Six stories of the holiday season, guaranteed to put you in a festive mood. So, grab your hot chocolate and snuggle up to experience the season as you've never done before. After all, tis the Season for Magic!







Author Raven Williams


A prolific writer, Raven began her career in 2010 with a blog and non-fiction, then moving to fiction in 2014, when she began Elven-Jumper, the first book in the Realm.

Jumper Chronicles. She now has 30 books to her name, spanning the Realm Jumper Chronicles, Raven’s Twisted Classics, and the Demon Stones Saga, as well as her non-fiction, with more planned.

When Raven is not writing, she is creating art in the form of abstract paintings, fractal designs, and jewelry pieces that tie into her stories. She is also a caregiver for a disabled family member and two cats. She physically resides in the Northwest Florida Panhandle, but spends most of her time mentally in her Mystic Realms.

Will you join her?

Sign-up for Raven’s Newsletter here: https://mysticrealmscurioshop.com/newsletter-sign-up


Raven’s Mystic Realms FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/mysticrealmscurioshop/












Author Jena Baxter
A prolific writer, Jena Baxter creates characters with depth and stories filled with action, emotion, and a little bit of romance. She loves building fantastical worlds and cultures.

Living in Northern California with her husband, Jena enjoys soapmaking, her pets, and writer's conferences. She also reads for a screenwriting contest on an annual basis.







Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jena-Baxter/e/B00M4YF352
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Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Haunted Halloween Spooktacular - Haunted by Darkness by Raven M. Williams and Jena Baxter


Halloween Night
By Raven Williams

Darkness grows all around,

As the woods echo with haunting sounds.

On the pumpkins the frost does lay,

And in the cemetery mist covers the graves.

The wolves howl at the bright full moon,

Filling the air with their spooky tune.

Witches, their cauldrons they do stir,

While stroking their familiars’ soft black fur.

Costumed children roam the streets,

Looking for candy and other sweet treats.

The Vampires, Ghouls, and Goblins give fright,

As all gather to celebrate Halloween Night.

©RavenM.Williams2018





Haunted by Darkness
by Raven M. Williams and Jena Baxter
Date of Publication: December 5th 2016

Publisher: Raven Williams
Cover Artist: Raven Williams
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy, Fairytales





BLURB

These are not your childhood tales!

Haunted by Darkness is a collection of eight Dark Fantasy Tales and Legends from the minds of Jena Baxter and Raven Williams. Experience the Darkness as you step further away from the Light.

Raven's Tales

Fall into Darkness, A Realm Jumper Chronicles Origins Story:
The darkness within brings a great downfall.

Rise of the Dark Witch, A Realm Jumper Chronicles Origins Story: Sometimes a person is beyond redemption.

Witch Hunter's Rise, A Witch Hunter's Society Origins Story: When darkness falls, death awaits.

Witch Hunter Ordained, A Witch Hunter's Society Origins Story: Will his dark deeds end when vengeance is had?

Jena's Tales

Belshazzar: The Gods rest in eternal sleep while their appointed Guardian for men and supernatural creatures is going mad.

Eyes of the Gods: A lonely phoenix returns to his home in Misty Haven to die, until he hears a song that cuts to the heart of his being.

Children of the Moon: Tormented by dreams and exhausted, Raven is sent to live with her aunt where she is lulled into a dreamless sleep by a haunting melody.

Hunted: Cursed by the Queen of Fairies and hunted by men, Darla must find true love or remain a deer forever.

Amazon      Kobo      iTunes      BN      Mystic Realms





Chapter 1
Victorian London
Lucien closed his eyes and tucked his violin under his chin, placed the bow to strings and began to play. Long notes with a bittersweet edge embodied the atmosphere, like a ship floating, lost, its crew and sails forever lost at sea.
A door slammed in the background, and something heavy pounded the floor. Lucien's eyebrows knitted in frustration, as a discordant note sliced through the illusion he created. He placed the instrument on an end table, and stormed out of the library, into the parlor.
His brother, Edward, stood near the entry, loosening his cravat. He nodded. "Lucien."
"What are you doing slamming into the house like a herd of elephants?"
The material slid off Edward's neck, and his lips curled into a pout. "Annabelle has decided to marry Merrill Brighton," he said, with a huff. "That leaves me starting over, or marrying Winnifred Camden."
Lucien didn't think Winnifred was so bad. She had a few love handles, but that just added to her personality somehow. His brother on the other hand, wanted someone with riches and popularity. Lucien frowned and shifted. "What does that have to do with your conduct? Please settle the affairs of your love life without tearing down the house? Even Winnifred won't want a man with a poor disposition."
"Easy for you to say. Ladies hang on your every word." He smiled, "Or should I say note?" He sat at the piano, and ran his hands over the keys. Soft sounds poured into the room like a whisper.
Lucien sighed, and pulled his coat from the rack. While he loved his brother's piano, he wanted to play violin and he couldn't do it with the other music in the background. "I'm going for a walk."
"Shouldn't be out alone tonight," Edward said. "The moon is full, and it's children will roam seeking their next meal, as the night wears on."
Lucien scoffed. "Fairytales written to frighten children. Don't be absurd."
Edward laughed, and the door slammed shut behind Lucien. Not that he was angry, he understood Edward's frustration. A gentleman needed to find a woman of wealth to settle with in order to live in comfort, unless he had a fortune of his own. Lucien didn't worry about such things. He would rather spend his time making music. Everyone fell into the hands of destiny anyway, the cards would fall where they wanted, changing the course of a man's life, and shaping his future in ways he never dreamed. A pleasant chill climbed up his back. Where would his music take him? Would he be able to perform in great halls, or be forced to settle with a woman, warming a bed and creating babies for her comfort?
The moon hovered bright over the city, and sparkles of light danced on the surface of the Themes. Lucien stopped to watch, breathing in the cool night air. His favorite kind of evening after a warm, summer day. Frustration rolled off his shoulders in waves. He began to relax and continued on his way.
footsteps shuffled behind him. He stopped and glanced back. Nothing but the moon and it's shadows disturbed the darkness of night. A bird screeched overhead, and he jumped, as he resumed his walk. The footsteps resumed when he continued walking. When he stopped again, they did too. Could there be something to the moon children myth? Goosebumps covered his skin as he turned and squinted to see better, but there was still only darkness. He took a deep breath and shrugged the tension out of his shoulders. He was being foolish.
The shuffling stopped when he turned toward the city, and soon he wondered if it had been the work of an over-active imagination. His anger giving rise to the absurd. His shoulders dropped, and he relaxed, as new threads of music filled his mind. He hummed them as he walked, until the shadow of a man came into view up the lane. Lucien tensed, was someone waiting for him? He turned left at the corner, but moments later, the silhouette stood waiting once more. He turned again.
It had to be someone else. No one could move that fast. How many people were out this evening? Maybe it had something to do with the moon. His brother's words echoed in his mind. He turned again, and shuddered when he saw the silhouette of the man waiting.
Lucien's heart raced. He spun and jogged back the way he came. In seconds, the silhouette blocked him, but this time it was closer. His chest tightened as the man moved toward him, his stride like a feral cat. For a moment, all Lucien could do was stare.
Lucien broke the spell, spun around and ran. The chest he crashed into was solid as cement. Muscled arms encompassed him. He kicked his feet and twisted, but the man's grip tightened.
"Don' worry," a smooth voice crooned.
Lucien shuddered.
"We'll be done in just a few minutes."




Author Raven Williams
A prolific writer, Raven began her career in 2010 with a blog and non-fiction, then moving to fiction in 2014, when she began Elven-Jumper, the first book in the Realm.

Jumper Chronicles. She now has 30 books to her name, spanning the Realm Jumper Chronicles, Raven’s Twisted Classics, and the Demon Stones Saga, as well as her non-fiction, with more planned.

When Raven is not writing, she is creating art in the form of abstract paintings, fractal designs, and jewelry pieces that tie into her stories. She is also a caregiver for a disabled family member and two cats. She physically resides in the Northwest Florida Panhandle, but spends most of her time mentally in her Mystic Realms.

Will you join her?

Sign-up for Raven’s Newsletter here: https://mysticrealmscurioshop.com/newsletter-sign-up


Raven’s Mystic Realms FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/mysticrealmscurioshop/












Author Jena Baxter
A prolific writer, Jena Baxter creates characters with depth and stories filled with action, emotion, and a little bit of romance. She loves building fantastical worlds and cultures.

Living in Northern California with her husband, Jena enjoys soapmaking, her pets, and writer's conferences. She also reads for a screenwriting contest on an annual basis.















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