Small Business Spotlight - Mourning Star Curio Shop in Tucson, Arizona!

 

I love visiting oddities shops anytime I am near one, so I was excited to check out Mourning Star Curio & see what they had in store for me. I love that it is tucked away in a cute historic little alley way of an old building, it almost feels like ducking into a train station waiting platform. The shop itself feels whimsical & the lighting and decor really helps add to the ambiance. 

They had a wonderful selection of products from a number of local artists. You can find prints, stickers, crochet plushies, jewelry, cups, taxidermy, insect specimens, and much more tucked away into this little shop. Although the store was a little smaller than I expected (width wise), the owners did a fantastic job with picking out the perfect shelves and displays to make the store not feel cluttered. 

It was lovely looking around at everything the shop had to offer. I ended up grabbing a pair of earrings and some delightfully scented incense and my daughter picked out a print she wanted. My mother & step-dad also ended up buying a few things while we were there. During check out I was able to pick out a free stone from a little dish she had on the counter, there was a nice assortment of moon and star shaped stones to choose from. She also put everything in a little gift bag with a little bit of tissue paper to keep everything in place. Next time I am back in Tucson, I am sure I will stop by again to see what is new! 

If you are looking for more adventures in Tucson type in "Things to do in Tucson" or "Things to do in Arizona" (You can also click the link) in the search bar of my blog.

💗This post is not sponsored. I love sharing awesome new spots I find with my readers!

BicBugs Review & Giveaway!

 

If you have someone on your holiday list this year that loves gemstones & framed insects, then BicBugs has got you covered! BicBugs has such an extensive collection of framed specimens and gemstones to choose from including harder to find pieces. I've always loved seeing framed butterfly collections in movies & TV shows growing up and I always wanted one of my own, so I've very slowly been building up a collection. Knowing the prices of a lot of pieces I can say that BicBugs has some of the best prices in the business & I love the quality of the pieces they offer. 

I worked with BicBugs once in the past & I am delighted to be able to work with them again this holiday season on a new review & giveaway. This time around I will be talking about two wonderful, framed specimens I received for review, plus I have three gorgeous gemstones to giveaway to one lucky winner. The blue/grey stone in particular is so stunning and really shimmers in the light. 

I was very excited opening up my PR package to see what they had selected & let out a squee when I spotted the luna moth. A luna moth has been at the top of my "want" list for quite some time alongside a hawkmoth so I am very pleased to finally have one in my collection. It is a stunning specimen; the light greens are so pretty, and I love looking at the delicate fluffy little antenna on it. The specific species of luna moth I received is the Actias Luna green Saturn moth which originates from the United States. They have other luna moths as well if you are looking for a rarer specimen. 

The second specimen I received was a male Antherina suraka pink bullseye Saturn moth from Madagasgar. This moth makes a great addition to my collection, I love the soft oranges, browns and pinks in the patterns of this moth. One of the things I appreciate about their framed specimens is that they aren't completely smashed under the glass in the frame, I have one specimen from another seller that was a bit smashed & over time the body of it looks a little funky. I also like that the frames are light weight & very easy to hang up on the wall. They look quite lovely with the rest of my collection! The large blue morhpo butterfly in my collection is also a BicBugs piece. 

Don't be fooled, butterflies & moths aren't the only specimens BicBugs sells. They also have a wide selection of different bugs including praying mantis, beetles & more plus they even had bats and wet specimens. Want to frame some butterflies yourself? They sell them unframed so you can frame them however you want. They also sell framing supplies, jewelry, clothing, gemstones and more. 

🤩 GIVEAWAY 🤩

One lucky winner is going to receive the two beautiful stones & necklace shown above! The purple stone is a Rhodonite palm stone pink black manganese inosilicate mineral Madagascar, the blue/grey stone is a Labradorite palm stone green blue gemstone mineral Madagascar and the necklace is a sodalite gemstone. Total value: $32

This is open US Residents only! Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the notification email! 

This giveaway ends on 12/06/24

Giveaway entry question: Leave me a blog comment letting me know another product from their website that you would love. (Link is the purple)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by BicBugs for the review & giveaway free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.