Education

PechaKucha (PK) Nights are Back in Greenville!

June 6, 2019

We are so excited to team up with some awesome people and bring PK Nights back to Greenville!

What is PechaKucha you say? Well, PechaKucha Nights are informal and fun gatherings where creative people get together and share their ideas, works, thoughts, holiday snaps — just about anything, really, in a PechaKucha 20×20 format (20 slides, 20 seconds per slide).

Mark your calendars for June 7, 2019, come enjoy First Friday in the Village and then head over to Brains on Fire – see their new digs; meet some cool people; learn something fab and then head out for some fun or home for your comfy pjs!

Presenters are like a “Box of Chocolates” so you never know what you might be inspired by or learn.

Check out our event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/2280664445540539/

You can sign up for our newsletters/blog posts to stay in the know at: https://www.pechakucha.com/cities/greenville

Interested in presenting? Just send me an email and we can go from there.

All of our events will coordinate with First Friday Art Crawl. Can’t make June? Sad as that may be, we have 3 more nights scheduled and you are welcome to any and all of them!

Friday, September 6, 2019
Friday, December 6, 2019
Friday, March 6, 2020

Doors will open at 7:30 pm with presentations starting at 8:20pm (yep 2020 on the 24 hour clock, hence the 20 slides, 20 seconds!)

I hope you will come check out this fun event, meet some new people and learn something you didn’t know before you walked through the door.

A Day at Raspberry Moon Through the Eyes of My Niece

June 6, 2017

I am a terrible Auntie! My niece came to work with me in DECEMBER and wrote this lovely blog post and I am just now getting around to posting it. She wanted to see what business women do, we didn’t traumatize her with any waxing appointments but she did observe some facial treatments. She had a great time and I had a lots of help all day which was awesome! My Mom said they came to check on her and they were informed “Aunt Nikki is with clients and I am not leaving” LOL So below is what my niece thinks of her day with me.

My Visit to Raspberry Moon – By L.R. Martin (Nicole’s niece)

So today I came here with my Aunt Nicole, and I learned a few things. I learned about wax and what it does, a micro current, LED light, business, and much more.

There is this yellow stuff and it kind of looks like honey. It is actually wax. Once you apply to the skin you rip it off a few seconds later and the hair is removed. If you wax enough, you don’t have to do it as much in those areas after a period of time. (She has been corrected that we don’t say ripped! We say removed!)

What a micro current does is it is supposed to bring the skin up to make you look younger. As you get older, the skin on your face goes down. So this machine brings the skin up to make you look somewhat younger.

There are three settings on a LED light; Red makes you look younger, blue kills bacteria that causes acne, and infra-red heals. The LED light is SUPER bright! You can’t just look at it without special goggles or something to protect your eyes.

I heard a lot of words that I am not sure what they mean. Peptide is an amino acid that our body already has so when you apply it to the skin, our body already recognizes it. Here you do not use the term “burning” but you use “tingling” because it does not sound as harsh. When she does face masks, she does not use cucumbers because they rot fast. You should put crème on irritated skin because it helps it. I still don’t really know what tapotement or effleurage is but I am sure I will know soon. (She now knows what this means.)

If you want to eat or have a break, you normally just have to have an extra minute or two. At around ten or eleven, she was still eating breakfast because she was a little busy.

My aunt Nicole taught me so many wonderful things today and I am very happy that she let me come along with her. I hope I can do this again some time soon!!!

I hope she can come hang out with me again soon too! She was a big help.

10 Steps to Performing the Best at Home Facial Treatment

April 12, 2016

Want to give yourself a nice glow? Here are the equipment and steps you need to do a fabulous at home facial treatment.

Items you will need:

Skincare Items – Cleanser, Toner, Exfoliator, Serum, Eye Cream, Moisturizer
Mask that best suits your skincare type
1 Headband or clip
2 Hand Towels
1 Sonic Brush/Manual Facial Brush
2-3 Cotton Rounds
1 Wash Cloth, Facial Sponge, Face Puff (not the scratchy kind)
3-4 Small bowls
1 Fan Brush
2-4 River Rocks
Herbal Tea or maybe a glass of wine

The steps for a fabulous at home facial:

Soak your towels in warm water (you can add 1 drop of Lavender Essential Oil to the water if you like), wring out and place in the microwave to heat up, about 3 mins. Place in a closed container to keep hot.
Place your river rocks in a bowl and add a few ice cubes, some cold water and set to the side for later.
Put on your headband or hair clip then cleanse your skin from the neck to the forehead – work your cleanser in a circular motion.
If you have a facial brush or sonic brush use this now – you may need to add more cleanser or some water.
Use an exfoliator to slough off dead skin cells OR if you have sensitive skin you can use honey.
If adding honey, simply add a little honey to a glass bowl and melt the honey just a little so it spreads easier. Also, it’s best to use a facial brush (art brush) to paint on the honey and later your facial mask.
If your skin is sensitive you will want to make sure your towels are cool otherwise you can add steam towels. Just leave them on for a few mins, breath and relax. As you take the towels off, simply wipe off your exfoliator OR remove with your sponges.
Choose your face mask; mix and apply with a facial brush or your fingers and rest for about 15 mins.

OPTION – If you want an added bonus, you can use the ice cold stones to massage around the eyes. Add your eye cream and use the stones to massage the cream into the skin; APPLY YOUR FACE MASK; then dip 2 cotton eye pads soaked in the ice water, wring them out and place on your eyes to help with dark circles and make your eyes feel lighter. Add a river stone to each eye.

Remove the mask with your sponges.
Swipe/Spray with your Toner.
Apply your eye cream, serum(s) and moisturizer – be sure to work all items in upward sweeping motions and circular, adding some tapping movements is a plus as well.

Seem like too much work? – Just call me at 864.271.2710 or contact me to schedule your Facial Experience today!

All About the Bees

April 10, 2016

Our last Ladies Lunch and Learn was all about the Bees, Monarchs and Honey in your Skincare. Susan from The Carolina Honey Bee graciously talked about bees and all the goodness that they do for us. Bees are the best of the pollinators and are such busy little guys.

Bees have been on the decline for several reason:

Pesticides like Neonicotinoids
Varroa Mites – is a type of tick that compresses the immune system of the bee.
Long Travel pollinating only 1 crop at any given time.

Poor bees have a hard job pollinating on commercial farms. Every year thousands of bees are transported by the tractor trailer loads to pollinate almonds in California. Can you imagine eating the same food for days and weeks at a time? Well that’s what happens to bees on the journey. All they have for acres and acres are almonds. It would greatly help if the almond growers planted wildflowers or something else so that the bees have some variety.

After the almonds they will travel to Washington State to pollinate the apples and will eventually go to Maine to pollinate the blueberries. This is very hard on the bees but is a very lucrative business for the bee keepers. They receive about $200/ hive and there are about 400 hives/tractor trailer load.

What are some things that we can do to help support bees:

Leave those dandelions, clover and golden rod in your yard.
Avoid Pesticides like neonicotinoid and even Seven Dust

Neonics are systemic pesticides. Unlike contact pesticides, which remain on the surface of the treated foliage, systemics are taken up by the plant and transported to all the tissues (leaves, flowers, roots and stems, as well as pollen and nectar).

Plant native plants that attract pollinators – here is a list of plants recommended by the Master Gardener Program. To purchase plants, check out their Annual Plant Sale on Saturday, April 30, 2016.
Learn how to attract native pollinators at Xerces.
Plant a Bee Garden. Honeybee Conservancy has some great info!

3 Generations of Bee Keepers! Courtesy of The Carolina Honey Bee.

Become a Hobby Bee Keeper. If you want to learn more about bee keeping be sure to check out Susan with Carolina Honeybee.
And most importantly BUY LOCAL HONEY! Local honey is raw and still has good stuff in it. Grocery store honey has been pasteurized to make it shelf stable.

Be sure to check out the blog post about the Monarchs and Honey in Your Skincare.

Monarch Butterflies and All Their Glory

April 8, 2016

I love butterflies and was so excited when Polly, a graduate from The Clemson Master Garden Program came to speak to my February Ladies Lunch at Learn about Monarchs, their plight and what we can do to help.

Monarch Butterflies have such an interesting life cycle. As we were having our Lunch and Learn in February, the Monarchs were already starting the journey North from the oyamel fir forest in Michoacan, Mexico. This is the only place that the Monarchs wait over the winter and after they reproduce, they will be begin a 3,000+ mile trek North.

They will lay their eggs on their way North in the Midwest and then will die 2 to 6 weeks later. The only plant the female will lay her eggs are in milk weed plants! A butterfly can lay up to 400 eggs or more in 1 day. There is a severe shortage of milkweed plants and once the larvae hatch if they don’t have enough milkweed they will die. The larvae will then form a chrysalis and will emerge as a butterfly less than 1 month from the time their mom laid her eggs. The moms may live between 2-6 weeks longer before they die. In 30 days these eggs will have turned into butterflies and will begin the next leg of their journey North. There will be 3 generations born and the 4th generation will be the butterflies that make their way ALL the way back to Mexico! How crazy is that? They have a wicked GPS system!

The life span of the Monarch depends on when it is born and if they will be the migratory butterfly that will eventually fly back to Mexico. The Monarchs will end up back in Mexico right around the time of Dia de los Muertos. “According to local legend, the Monarch butterflies arriving in Mexico at this time of the year are believed to be the souls of the deceased returning to earth.”

Threats to the Monarchs:

Not enough milkweed to lay their eggs on. There are 2 kinds of milkweed: Common Milkweed which is very invasive and Swap Milkweed which is easier to maintain. There is a push to turn America’s Roadsides into pollinator heaven! I think this is a fabulous idea! It would cut down on mowing and it will allow our pollinators and other a natures beautiful species to flourish. There are approximately 17 MILLION ACRES of roadsides in the US. Why not take do something productive with it!?
Pesticides
Extreme Weather
Crop Monocultures – the planting of the same species for acres. (Same issue that our bees have)
Illegal Logging in Mexico – Thankfully illegal logging is on the decline. According to SciDev.Net, due to “decade-long financial support from Mexican and international philanthropists and businesses to create local alternative income generation and employment”, it says. Schemes such as community tree nurseries, the growing ecotourism sector and community surveillance of illegal logging have generated new sources of income for local people.

Thankfully there has been a rise in the number of monarchs but we still have a ways to go:

2012 to 2013 there were only about 1.4 acres of Monarch!
2014 there were 2.8 acres
2015 10 acres!

What can you do to help? Glad you asked! ;)

Plant Milkweed – The Fish and Wildlife entered into a partnership with two private conservation groups, the National Wildlife Federation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, to grow milkweed like crazy across the country in the hopes of saving as many monarchs as possible. The plan is to make the plant widely available at nurseries. Here is a great link about how individuals can help by receiving free milkweed plants as well as a grant that can be earned for larger spaces! There is also a program for schools and nonprofits. Don’t have a yard? No problem, here are some great container ideas. There are several types of milkweed, check out Joyful Butterfly for some great ideas.

Create a Wildlife Habitat in your own yard – this doesn’t have to be complicated nor does it have to be a large space. Just be mindful of what you are doing. Plant flowers for all stages of Monarch (and other pollinator) life span. Some great options are Lantana, Mexican Sunflowers, Zinna, Coneflowers, Phlox, and Butterfly Bush just to name a few.
Stop using pesticides
Encourage your friends, neighbors, schools, NGOs and parks to get on board

Great Websites to check out:

Monarch Watch

Monarch Butterfly Gardening

Learn About Monarchs

Eco-Exchange

South Carolina Wildlife Federation

Great resources for Teachers:

Monarch Butterfly Journey North

Forest Service

MonarchLive

University of Minnesota

MonarchWatch

Bees and Butterflies in Your Garden, Honey in Your Skincare, Ladies Lunch and Learn Tea

February 11, 2016

Saturday, February 27th from 11 am – 130 pm

At Bocca Pure Italian, 2660 Poinsett Hwy, Greenville, South Carolina 29609.

The cost is $30, which includes your lunch. Net proceeds will go to the Clemson Master Gardener Program.

We’re continuing our series of Lunch and Learn Teas, and this one is all about Bees and Pollinators. Reserve your spot now (seating is limited!) and learn from several amazing ladies how to encourage bees and pollinators in your yard and help them thrive!

I have been wanting to do this event for a year! Susan with The Carolina Honey Bee came to speak to my ladies group — Women’s Social Business Group — a few years ago and I just loved it! Who knew the bees did all this great work? Anyhow, I decided to do this whole Lunch and Learn on bees, butterflies and other pollinators. Just in time to get ready for spring. So whether you are a gardener, an admirer of nature, have a black thumb (like me) or just want to come hang out with some freaking amazing ladies, please book your space today.

The Topics

An Intro to Honey Bees

Susan Gardner an avid honey bee enthusiast and owner/ operator of The Carolina Honey Bee Company in Travelers Rest, SC. Susan is going to be talking to us about all different kinds of bees; what honey bees need to thrive and what we can do to help.

In addition to running The Carolina Honey Bee Company, Susan’s beekeeping background includes her personal bee hives which she manages at home on her farm, and her commercial hives located throughout Greenville County. She is proficient in creamed and infused honey varieties as well as byproducts of the bee hive. Susan lives on a farm in Simpsonville, SC raising and showing her dogs and horses with husband, James, and youngest son, Taylor. Her daughter, Morgan, and son, Cutter, are both enrolled in college in Clemson and Columbia.

Monarchs and their Plight

Faye Legros, a Master Gardener from the Clemson Master Gardener Program will tell us all about Monarch Butterflies: How to recognize a monarch, the life cycles of the monarch, attracting monarchs, their migration, their decline and reasons for, and what we can do to help. The speaker will also share some of her personal experiences raising them.

Honey for Skincare

Last but not least I will be doing a presentation on using honey in skincare mask preparation and the steps to creating a great at home facial. And I’ll have recipe cards for masks you can do at home.

Lunch Menu from the fabulous Horacio at Bocca Italian

There are 3 options to choose from:

Tomato Basil Soup with Caesar Salad, your choice of Grilled Salmon or Chicken
Lasagna Bolognese
Almond Crusted Basa Fish with sautéed spinach and pasta

All entrees will come with rolls and Tiramisu for dessert. Salad will come with Lasagna and Fish. Please specify your choice when you purchase your ticket.

If you have any special dietary requirements please let me know beforehand to make it easier on the Kitchen.

If you know anyone that would be interested in coming to this event please feel free to share! The more the merrier!

A Sassy, Saucy Skincare & Waxing Studio in Greenville, SC

864.271.2710

1211D Laurens Road Greenville, SC 29607