What's New

This tip was passed along to us by a participant in our Forum( http://www.mixupyourmakeup.tkbtrading.com/ ). If you haven't checked it out yet, do! There are some awesome tips posted there. Anyway, for grinding powders, you can use a kitchen blender and a mason jar. Here is the hyperlink for the tip. http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001357tip_blender_and_mason_jar.php It shows you that the blade portion of the kitchen blender can screw onto a mason jar, you then place the jar on the blender motor and press "blend". Have Fun! Kaila Westerman TKB Trading, LLC

In case you hadn't heard already, Google offers a FREE download of office software. The Star Office Software includes word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software. It's completely free, easy to download and it can save documents in all kinds of different formats which can be read by all kinds of computers. Don't fret about a learning curve, the software is a lot like the programs you are used to working with, there really is little learning curve. In addition to this free software, the Google Pack includes other options. The one I really like is Picassa, which is a photo downloading and editing program. You can also get spyware, and other groovy stuff. Kaila Westerman TKB Trading, LLC

This suggested website has nothing to do with my usual topics, but I found it interesting and beautiful, so I wanted to pass it along to you. www.6billionothers.com is a project site where people from all over the world are asked to talk about various things. Listen to men and women from every continent answer questions such as "what is the meaning of life?", "what was your happiest day", "what are dreams?", "what are your fears?" Take a moment to share in the babble of humanity. Kaila Westerman

I saw an article about how some guy hooked carpets which were portraits of big CEO's and then sold them for 1,000's of dollars. My dad is a carpet-hooker and thought he'd try the scaled-down, little CEO version worth . . . what, ten bucks? Here I am, in carpet. Kaila Westerman TKB Trading, LLC www.tkbtrading.com

I'm lucky to live a stone's throw from Oakland's Koreatown , and I always enjoy shopping there -- especially when on the hunt for soap molds. I found two possibilities in my last expedition I wanted to share with you. This first one is called a " Kimchi Cutter". Kimchi is spicy, pickled cabbage eaten in Korean cuisine. But for soapmakers this cutter makes a smart little loaf mold. It measures about 11" long, 6" wide and 3" deep. It's especially nice because it comes with a lid and the cutting device stores flat inside the lid, making the whole thing very compact and perhaps a good way to transport loaf soaps to and from a craft show. At the store it cost me $9.99. Google Kimchi Cutter to find one of your own. This next find looks like a kind of jello mold. Sorry I can't be specific about company brand or name of product, the entire package is in Japanese. For $4.99 I got three small loaf style molds: a half round, a square and a wavy bo...

Financier Warren Buffet says that he always tries to go to bed at night a little smarter than when he woke up earlier that day. If you are having a hard time accomplishing that goal today, let me help by introducing you to pen turning . Did you know that there are people dedicated to the hobby of handmaking pens by turning them on a lathe? I didn't until I was contacted by a man named David who asked permission to link to my website so that other pen turners could purchase our colorants for their projects. Here is David's educational link with photos: MasterdCrafts (p.s., note the TKB Trading liquid colors in use!) Kaila

Yesterday, I was contacted by the Toni Payne Element5 Mineral Makeup . She asked me to let you know about her company: that it exists, that it specializes in mineral makeup for women of color. Also, that she has an online shop called Tonipayneonline.com . I am dutifully reporting said facts. I can't comment on Toni's products as I've never seen them (although I imagine they are wonderful, since she is clearly a creative and energetic business woman). Instead I'd like to comment on what strikes me about Toni's "body of work" as a businesswoman. First, I applaud Toni for branding her own name. A little 'who is' searching shows Toni has several websites. A fashion site called hotntrendy.com was created in 2003 (reseller of a variety of fashion products), Element5 was created in 2005 (focus on makeup) and tonipayneonline was created in 2006 (kind of a blend of the two). Not only did Toni establish her brand with tonipayneonline, she also uses her name...