Karma Thoughts.... The Blog of Cards, Candles & Karma

We've moved

2012-02-01T04:01:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone just to let you know we have now moved to our purpose built blog site -The Spa Bar - The Blog of Candles and Karma - hope to see you there.

Win Scented Candles for a whole year!

2011-11-08T02:46:00.000-08:00

Nothing evokes the feeling of Christmas more than scented candles, the scent and the glow all help to make the festive season even more magical.

This Christmas at Cards, Candles & Karma we are offering one lucky person the chance to win one of our gorgeous candles from our Bomb Cosmetics, Best Kept Secrets and sebnini range, every month of the year - that's 12 gorgeous candles delivered to your door.

All you have to do to enter this free draw is head over to our website here enter your name and email address and press enter, it really is that easy. Whilst you are there why not take a look at our festive scent candles.

The draw is open until Tuesday 22nd December 2011 and we shall announce the winner on Wednesday 23rd December 2011 - A great gift for Christmas for the winner with your first candle arriving in the new year.

Good luck everyone!

Are you make up mad and candle crazy?

2011-10-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

If so then Danielle loves beauty is the blog to read, we was really pleased to have featured in a review earlier this month and thought we would share it with you, take a look here.

Where did the Summer go?

2011-10-19T01:34:00.000-07:00

Did I miss something? Where did the Summer go? I've spent all July and August waiting for hot, hazy, sunny days and family BBQ's but they never appeared.

I woke up a few weeks ago to complete darkness and wandering around the shops I was greeted with Pumpkins, Ghosts and Ghouls for Halloween, Halloween? But where did the Summer go? Have they bought Halloween forward this year? I suppose I just have to admit that Summer didn't come and didn't go, it just didn't happen.

All said and done I am a great fan of Autumn and Winter, I love the cosy nights in with the fire on and the candles lit ( Remember at Cards, Candles & Karma we have 100 different scented candles to choose from with some wonderful winter, festive fragrances) there is so much to look forward to during these months, Halloween, Bonfire Night and Christmas and talking of Christmas, our website is now decked up ready for the festive season and the snow is falling, well on our website anyway, I'm sure there will be some of the real stuff soon enough. If you want to take a look at the fake snow pop over to our Christmas Shop now, it's full of Christmas Candles, festive Fragrances and lots of gift ideas.

Don't get disheartened that the clocks will be going back, the nights will be darker longer and it will be getting colder - embrace these months.

A trip down memory lane with essential oils and an ice cream

2011-08-18T02:58:00.000-07:00

The weather was lovely over the weekend, at a loose end I began to think of places to go, I decided it would be nice to visit The Birmingham Botanical Gardens - I was still at school the last time I visited so it was well over 25 years since I'd been (Gulp...was it really that long? How time flies and so much has happened since) and with my interest in Aromatherapy I thought it would be nice to take a trip down memory lane and see if it had changed much.

On arrival it looked exactly how it did all those years ago and happy memories of my Dad taking me on a Sunday afternoon came flooding back - The Botanical Gardens really is a calm oasis in the middle of Birmingham City Centre, once inside the 15 acres of greenery you really wouldn't know how close you were to the hustle and bustle of City Centre life.

The main purpose of the gardens is to spread the message of how important plants are in our life, which is why I find the place so interesting. It was great seeing and touching the plants that go into making Essential Oils and bringing home just how important essential oils are and the contribution they have made over the years to our physical and emotional well-being. Essential Oils are the natural fragrances of aromatic plants.

The rest of the day was spent on the garden greens listening to the brass band playing (and eating one or two ice creams) I certainly came away feeling calmer and more relaxed and it bought it home to me exactly where the little brown bottles of Essential Oils actually come from.

Talking of Aromatherapy and Essential Oils, we are pleased to announce that we are now stocking the Bomb Cosmetics range of Apothecary products. The Apothecary Range was created using a combination of natural essential oils and plant extracts and comes in four fragrance ranges including: Violet Extract & Lavender Oil, Lime Extract and Clary Sage Oil, Mango Extract and Mandarin Oil, Seaweed Extract and Spearmint Oil.

The Apothecary Range includes: Shower Serums, Body Balms, Night Cream, Hand Doctor Lotion and Foot Fetish Lotion.

With todays hectic lifestyle treat yourself to a little bit of nature and relaxation.

Until the next time.

Bomb Cosmetics Shower Power Prize Draw

2011-08-08T09:34:00.000-07:00

It's that time again...time for another Cards, Candles & Karma Facebook Prize Draw - Our latest Prize is for a relaxing and refreshing Bomb Cosmetics Shower Power Gift Box.

Bomb Cosmetics Products are Handmade and Natural and this box contains; Raspberry Blower Ice Cream Wash, Strawberry and Mandarin Solid Shower Bar, Pink Pamperer Body Lotion and Mango and Mandarin Shower Serum.

To enter all you need to do is become a Facebook Fan here and click the green button...it's that easy.

Good luck everyone!

Oh the weather outside is frightful....

2011-08-03T23:48:00.000-07:00

...but the fires so delightful, if you've got no place to go...let it snow! let it snow! let it snow!
Well actually NO the weather outside is not frightful it's actually quite warm at 27 degrees, don't worry I haven't gone mad and the the mini heatwave hasn't given me heat stroke but we've just had our first delivery of Christmas stock.....yes I can hear you all groaning 'Oh no his mentioned that dreaded 'Christmas' word and we haven't even got the 'Back to School' stuff out of the shops yet and we've still got to get through the 2 weeks in the caravan with the kids, 2 dogs, a guinea pig and Aunty Sheila in tow, but his mentioned the 'Christmas' word - Yes! I know it's early but anyone who knows retail knows Christmas starts in July - were already planning and it's quite funny how in July and August when your surrounded by 'Snowmen Bath Bombs' 'Christmas tree bath creamers' and 'orange and spice reed diffusers' with the smell of spices and pine wafting around the office, well it sort of gets you in the festive spirit, I can't help it, but I promise I'll try not to mention the 'Christmas' word again for another couple of months...in the meantime...'silver bells, silver bells...it's Christmas time in the City' - okay I get the message I'm going.

Till the next time.

Cards, Candles & Karma goes calmer!

2011-08-01T05:04:00.000-07:00

Well the move is finished and we are now settled into our new office, and we have been busy giving our website a fresh new look.

We hope you like the new look, we think it looks a lot calmer and relaxing and were really excited about lots of new products that are coming over the next few weeks.

Until the next time take care everyone.

A Moving Experience!

2011-07-13T05:43:00.000-07:00

Now I’m just about to pull out what little hair I have left and why?

Well one little word that brings fear to most people ‘Moving’ - most of us have experienced it at least once and yes at the moment were busy moving into our new business premises and it’s proving to be quite stressful.

You would think that being surrounded by lots of relaxing aromatherapy products that we stock I should be calm and serene...oh no...Far from it!

Ask anyone who knows me, I have turned into that ‘Moving’ monster that everybody hates, snapping at anyone and everyone, barking orders to anyone who will listen to them and generally being extremely moody.

I keep telling myself it will all be worth it in the end but with tripping over boxes of scented candles and aromatherapy products piled higher than Blackpool tower I’m beginning to wonder. I can’t find anything I need and when I do you can bet it’s in the bottom box of a huge pile.

On a positive note were still managing to get orders out on time but it will take at least a week to get straight in our new offices – at the end of it I’m going to treat myself to something really relaxing, no, not one of our gorgeous Bomb Cosmetics Pamper kits or our luxurious bath bomb soufflés – no forget that it will be a large Gin and tonic with ice – I think I’ve deserved it...I may even stretch to two.

Till the next time.

Win Scented Candles for 12 months in our new prize draw

2011-06-14T12:15:00.000-07:00

If you love scented candles then you will love our new Facebook Prize Draw - the prize is this wonderful Bomb Cosmetics Blissful Rest Scented Candle Tin, but it doesn't end there...oh no it doesn't (Don't worry the panto season hasn't come early) because each month for the following 12 months we will send you a brand new fragrance - that's 12 scented candles over 12 months - how great is that?

All you need to do to enter is 'like' our Facebook Page go to promos and click on the green enter button - it really is that easy.

The draw is open until 25th July 2011 - once you've entered why not share it with your friends - everyone loves a candle.

A special mention

2011-05-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

Hi bloggers - just a quick blog to give a special mention to a great website called Caroles Characters take a look at the site and please sign up to the Caroles Characters facebook page here - many thanks xx

A Right Royal Prize Draw

2011-04-08T11:31:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Sarah Rodgers who won last month's prize draw.

We've now launched this month's prize draw and with the Easter and The Royal Wedding Bank Holidays approaching we thought we would go for a very regal prize this month, so we are giving away a very Royal looking Gold and Mirrors Premium Fragrance Lamp from Ashleigh & Burwood and a Country Garden Fragrance.

This golden orb shaped Fragrance Lamp has been hand crafted using gold and silver mirrored lozenge pieces, to create a truly lavish decorative accessory. The shiny silver along side rich textured gold creates an opulent effect which is completed by a golden crown. You can read all about this gorgeous lamp here

And to enter our free prize draw see our Cards, Candles & Karma Facebook Page

Chocolate - It's part of my 5 a day!

2011-03-31T11:19:00.000-07:00

Well it’s coming up to that time of the year again...Easter...the time of year for the start of spring, bright coloured daffodils, new born lambs and.....the time my diet starts falling to pieces because of the temptation of...CHOCOLATE.

It’s the same pattern every year, Christmas comes and goes and I decide after all the festive over indulgence I need to lose weight, I stick to the healthy eating plan, watch the calories...eat the salads on night outs and the pounds start dropping off...I get into a routine and my body starts accepting this new way of life I can cope with dieting once I get started, it’s easy watching what I eat, the difficult part is watching what everyone else is eating... but then March arrives and everywhere I go CHOCOLATE Easter Eggs start appearing in the shops and temptation starts to raise its ugly head.

I will admit I love chocolate it’s the best over the counter prescription to perk you up, and if I’m ever ill don’t send me roses, unless they are the chocolate kind.

So last weekend there I was walking round one of the large supermarkets with chocolate eggs piled up high and selling cheap (No pun about Easter chicks intended there) when in my head I heard that little voice...’’Go on, it’s okay chocolate is good for you, chocolate comes from cocoa beans and beans are good for you, green beans count as one of your five a day’’ and ‘’Milk chocolate is dairy and dairy is good for you’’ yes I know it’s not a convincing argument but it’s working in my head.

I pull myself together and walk past the mountain of chocolate eggs that are crying out to me, sweat dripping from me, the walk gets harder and longer...I glance back to say one last goodbye to my friend chocolate. I’m so pleased with myself I have overcome the temptation I have won...well until I get to the checkout which is oozing with cream eggs...if you can’t beat em (another Easter egg pun and I didn’t even mean it) Join em and I throw in two dozen...oh well I can always start the diet again after Christmas.

Scented Candles make great gifts for Easter and alternatives to chocolate eggs, why not combine the two with our gorgeous Chocolate Orange Scented Candle Tin By Bomb Cosmetics. It is a sweet tasty fragrance blending accords of milky cacao with juicy citrus notes of Clementine, blood orange and satsuma over a vanilla base. Blended with orange and mandarin essential oils

Treat someone to something different this Easter...and think of the calories you can save.

Treat Mum this Mother's Day and get a free treat for yourself!

2011-03-17T06:32:00.000-07:00

Well it will soon be Mother's Day and at Cards, Candles & Karma were offering a relaxing bath time treat for Mum.

Bath Bomb Souffles unlike bath bombs foam in the water. Take a look at this video to see how they work.

Just remove the souffle from the casing and drop into a warm bath to create a relaxing aromatic experience, you can choose from Bomb Marley, Cool Detox, Gooseberry Tea, Orangeade, Oriental Musk, Relaxing Rose, Sensual Healing and A Touch of Froth, each 125g souffle costs just £1.40.

This Mother's Day if you purchase 2 or more Souffles we will give you a Apple Pie & Custard Soap Bun absolutely free, you can give it to Mum or keep it all to yourself.

The soap buns have several layers of colour and fragrance with an oatmeal base and they smell yummy! RRP £2.95.

Go on treat Mum this Mother's Day.

Win 6 scented candle jars in our new prize draw

2011-03-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Debbie O Connor who won our aromatherapy gift bag in our last prize draw.

We've launched another prize draw on our Facebook page and are giving away 6 Scented Candle Jars By Bolsius worth over £30. To join all you have to do is 'like' our Facebook page and click on the green enter button, you are then automatically entered.

Join our facebook page here Cards, Candles & Karma Facebook Page

The winner will receive 6 fragrances which will give over 150 hours of burn time.

Good luck everyone!

Why not take a look at our scented candles section here

Candle of the week - Tuscan Velvet Scented Candle

2011-03-02T11:07:00.000-08:00

Drum roll please......this week's Candle of the week is this Tuscan Velvet Scented Candle Tin by Best Kept Secrets.

This Tuscan Velvet fragrance is a brand new addition to the Best Kept Secrets range of candle tins and is a melody of rose, lily, mandarin, lemon and vanilla.

This beautiful fragrance is topped off with 'sparkly toppings' to co-ordinate with the tin.

All Best Kept Secrets Candles are handmade in Northumberland.

With a burn time of up to 60 hours it is great value at £5.99 and would make a great gift for Mother's Day.

Tuscan Velvet Scented Candle Tin By Best Kept Secrets

Cough....cough...splutter.....

2011-02-28T04:30:00.000-08:00

...Don't come any closer (Cough, cough, sniff) I'm suffering from flu (sniff)...well not just any flu...that misunderstood and often underestimated ailment called 'man flu'. 'Tut' I hear you say, how do I know it's man flu? Well having read up on this condition all the symptoms point to it...

If anyone asks if I'm in pain and where the pain is I can only reply 'everywhere'

Spend most of the day on the internet researching this condition.

Have become addicted to daytime telly and can't wait for the next topic Holly and Phil will be talking about, I take a turn for the worse when the programme finishes and fall asleep but perk up a little when I hear the 'Loose Women' theme tune blasting from the telly (It's on extra loud because my ears are bunged up) only to be disappointed when I find out that Jane McDonalds left the show months ago!

My symptoms suddenly get worse when friends and family come to visit.

I have a table full of medicine to help me get through the day including; Cheese and onion crisps, mars bars, fizzy drinks and the ocassional pork pie (Just to keep my strength up)

Maybe it's time to pull myself together and face the world again and what better way to put me on the road to recovery than with some aromatherapy essential oils.

The common cold is so infectious it's practically inevitable that you will catch it during these cold winter months.

Nothing can cure the common cold but there are lots of essential oils that can help relieve and soothe some of the symptoms that a cold brings.

The best essential oils to use for colds are; peppermint, eucalyptus, lavender, lime, tea tree, lemon, marjoram and spruce.

If you'd rather use a ready blended soother than you could try our simmus oil which is blended with orange, peppermint, eucalyptus, tea tree, camphor and geranium essential oils. Just add a couple of drops to a handkerchief and inhale or put a few drops onto your pillow to help clear your airways at night.

If it's an irritating cough your suffering from inhaled essential oils are very effective at soothing it. Essential oils that are good for coughs include; eucalyptus, peppermint, thyme, sandalwood, spruce, frankincense, ginger and rosemary.

So with my essential oils in hand it's time to say goodbye to my friend and companion over the past few days, the television remote, and say goodbye to Carol, Denise, Sherrie and Kate and just well be a man and get over my man flu....cough....sniff...well maybe just one more bag of cheese and onion crisps just to keep my strength up!

Lavender!.....It's for old ladies.....

2011-02-21T02:42:00.000-08:00

Well that’s what I’ve always thought, now I don’t know if it’s because I’m a fella but I’ve never really liked the smell of lavender, it was just too flowery, too girly and too old fashioned and well it always reminds me of old ladies...now don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that’s a bad thing and there’s nothing wrong with old ladies.

I always remember when I was young (and were going back quite a bit) the weeks leading up to Christmas I would always ask Nan what she wanted for Christmas and every year her reply would be the same ‘Don’t waste your money on me bab just get me some lavender water’ so every year I would trot off to Boots to get this clear glass bottle with a white top that contained this lavender water (It was about £1.99 for 40 gallons), everyone else would be there buying expensive bottles of perfume and there would be me with my little bottle of lavender cologne water. When I got it home I would always open the bottle and give it a sniff before wrapping it up, i don’t know why i did it because I knew what to expect and knew it wouldn’t have changed from the Christmas before...but every year I did it and every year I’d always think yuk! what a horrible smell. Now to my surprise I was in Boots the other day and yes they still do it, and it hasn’t changed much either, still the same clear bottle but slightly larger, still the white screw top, still the same simple little design on the label. I just had to open it and smell it (God knows what people were thinking this almost 40 year old guy sniffing lavender water in Boots) but out came that fragrance and all the happy memories of Nan came flooding back, and that is the thought of lavender that has stuck in my mind over the years.

Now all these years later I absolutely love it, I can’t get enough of it.....so what’s changed? I hear you ask. Well having completed an aromatherapy course I began to realise what a versatile and special little shrub lavender is. It’s not the fragrance I’ve fallen in love with really but the wonderful things that lavender can do. The ancient Romans absolutely loved lavender and it was a favourite bathtime cleanser and healer. Since the 18^th century it has been used in everything from soap to talc. It’s certainly one of the most commonly used essential oils and is both relaxing and stimulating. Now when it comes to bathtime I don’t bother with the bath foam any more just a few drops of lavender essential oil in the water helps me to relax.

So you see I’m now a Lavender convert, a lover of all things lavender.

For all fans of lavender we’ve now grouped all of our lavender products together under one heading ‘little shop of lavender’ take a look, lavenders not just for old ladies you know.....

Win an Aromatherapy Gift Bag

2011-02-17T02:34:00.000-08:00

We've relaunched our monthly prize draw on our Facebook page and are giving away an Aromatherapy Gift Bag worth £30. To join all you have to do is 'like' our Facebook page and click on the green enter button, you are then automatically entered.

Join our facebook page here Cards, Candles & Karma Facebook Page

The gift bag contains 3 x 10ml bottles of essential oils, 2 x 100ml bottles of base oil, 2 x aromatherapy soap, 1 x Aromatherapy Gel and 1 Meditation CD presented in a jute bag. It's a wonderful prize and a great introduction to the sanctuary of aromatherapy.

Hope to see you over at our Facebook page and good luck.

Why not take a look at our Aromatherapy section on our website

Happy St Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T02:37:00.000-08:00

Well it's that day of the year - the day for love and romance. Happy St Valentine's Day to everyone from all of us at Cards, Candles & Karma - here's our Valentine's card to you - from us with love.
Happy Valentine's Day from Cards, Candles & Karma

It's Flaming gorgeous

2011-02-10T12:23:00.000-08:00

Where have I been? I hear you ask - well after a busy Christmas I'm afraid I let the blog slip - apologies, I will be keeping up with the blog a bit more often (Promise) but am just in the process of starting a blog website called 'flaming gorgeous' this site will include our blog, free monthly prize draw and lots of information about the products we sell at Cards, Candles & Karma including downloadable leaflets on products we sell including essential oils and hopi ear candles - were so excited and can't wait for it to be up and running, it's our CCK community all in one place.

Cards, Candles and Karma on YouTube

2010-09-17T03:59:00.000-07:00

Well we thought it was time to enter the modern world and sign up to YouTube. I've been a big fan of YouTube for many years but have never posted on it, so I took the bull by the horns and set up our very own Cards, Candles & Karma YouTube channel.

Now when it comes to technical things it doesn't take long for me to get confused but I got there eventually. I'm hoping to use the channel to post information about candle safety, home fragrance tips, aromatherapy tips and to showcase new products - anyway why not take a look and see what you think. http://www.youtube.com/user/CardsCandlesAndKarma

Still recovering from my visit to Autumn Fair International

2010-09-07T15:26:00.000-07:00

Well Sunday was certainly a busy day for me and an eye opener. I visited the Autumn Fair International at the NEC Birmingham. For those of you who don't know what this is, it is one of the biggest shows in the country where buyers can find the latest and very best of new products. I'd never been to one before so wasn't too sure what to expect - it was massive, 5 huge halls with 1,500 exhibitors - I arrived just after 9am expecting to be there for a couple of hours, at 5pm I still hadn't covered everything. I wanted to go to meet some of the suppliers of some of the products we sell on the site, it's always good to put a face to the names. My first port of call was one of our candle suppliers, a fantastic company based in Northumberland called 'Best Kept Secrets' which is run by Alan and Denise Edwards, it was very interesting to meet the people behind these wonderful scented candles. You can check these candles out on our website Best Kept Secrets Scented Candle Tins one of the main reasons we chose to stock these candles was because we wanted to support scented candles that were made in the UK. Having spent some time with Alan & Denise we moved onto the Ashleigh & Burwood stand, this is the company behind our wonderful fragrance lamps. Now I went with the idea that I was just going for a look around and that credit cards and money would stay firmly in my pocket, how wrong I was and ended up buying another range of candles (Well you can never have enough candles can you?) more about them when we receive them. I'm already signed up for the Spring Fair International in February - hopefully by then the blisters will have gone and I'll be fully recovered.

Welcome to our wonderful world of Home Fragrance, Aromatherapy and Scented Candles

2010-09-07T08:46:00.000-07:00

Hello and thank you for stopping by. Welcome to our world of smell and relaxation. First let me tell you a little bit about myself - I'm a guy fast approaching 40 (Gulp and another gulp) and have always been interested in Home Fragrance and Aromatherapy - having worked within the NHS I became interested in Holistic Health Therapy and decided to set up my own website http://www.cards-candles-and-karma.co.uk/ selling Home Fragrance, Aromatherapy and Scented Candle products - I've always believed that I couldn't sell a product I wasn't passionate about, use or liked. You don't have to buy from our website to enjoy this blog - if you have an interest in Home Fragrance, Aromatherapy and candles then please join us - you are very welcome. I'm going to use this blog to review home fragrance products, give you aromatherapy tips and hopefully have a laugh along the way - so let's get smelly and talk.......about home fragrance!