For anyone around Saint Martin, Ohio, this Saturday is the annual Chatfield College Quilt and Craft show. This weeks pictures are of some products preparing to make the trip there.There are more
Make it Yourself Monday- Healing Herbal salve
Today's make it yourself project is a basic herbal salve, or balm. I like to use arnica (great for muscle pain) and comfrey, which has a long history of being known as one of nature's greatest medicinal herbs. It promotes healing of many things, most notably, wounds.
To make it you will need to first, infuse some oil. So grab your small crock pot (the easiest way, but you can use a pan on the stove). Add some dried arnica and some dried comfrey to your crock pot, cover with your choice of oil* and turn on "high" for 15-20 minutes, then turn down to "low" and allow to cook for at least another 2 hours, but I like 4 or more. The biggest thing is that you do not want to allow the oil to boil or to burn, so depending upon your choice of oil and your crock pot, your time on "high" may vary, and possibly even your "low" time. If you use the stove, I suggest keeping your temperature on low all the time to avoid any possibility of burning it. Believe me, burnt oil smells terribly. Um....don't ask me how I know this! Lol
*As for the oil of your choice, I suggest using olive, avocado, sweet almond, apricot seed or grapeseed oil, but really most any other will work. Just do not use hemp or wheat germ oil (in this method), as they break down when heated.
Once you have steeped the herbs for a minimum of two hours, you need to strain it. The easiest way I have found to do this, is to get a cone shaped coffee filter and place that [down] into a medium to large funnel. Then sit the funnel into a glass jar. My medium funnel rests nicely on the rim of an old pickle jar, leaving my hands free, and plenty of space before the tube will be under oil. Pour your oil and herbal mixture into the filter and go gather the balance of the ingredients while it drains.
You will need;
1/2 ounce of beeswax
1/2 ounce of cocoa butter (I get the deodorized, but if you don't mind the scent, regular is fine)
1/2 ounce Mango butter- or the butter of your choice- (remember to temper it first, if you use shea butter)
1/2 ounce of your herbal infused oil
Melt the beeswax, cocoa butter and mango butter in a double boiler, stirring occasionally. Once it is melted, add in the herbal infused oil and stir well. Now you can be done right here, just pour your mixture into a tin or jar and allow it to sit until its set. But, if you want, you can allow it to cool a tad, then add some lavender, tea tree, or lemongrass essential oil, just a few drops will do. Stir well and then pour into a tin and allow to sit until set. Once set, cover when not in use.
This mixture should melt as it warms on your skin, so pop it out of the tin, or dig some out of a jar, and rub over and into your skin. You can use it on rough areas of skin, like knees, elbows, and heels, or for an all over moisturizing treat. Have sore leg muscles? Treat yourself to a massage with this balm and see if you get some relief. I know people who swear by these herbs, but at the least you will get a nice, soothing, moisturizing treatment. And who knows, you may just be one of those that swears by them when it's all said and done!
If when you try it, it isn't soft enough, just remelt it (you can use the microwave on shot bursts of 20 seconds at a time until melted) and add in a tad more oil. If you need it harder, add a bit more beeswax. It's just that easy!
To make it you will need to first, infuse some oil. So grab your small crock pot (the easiest way, but you can use a pan on the stove). Add some dried arnica and some dried comfrey to your crock pot, cover with your choice of oil* and turn on "high" for 15-20 minutes, then turn down to "low" and allow to cook for at least another 2 hours, but I like 4 or more. The biggest thing is that you do not want to allow the oil to boil or to burn, so depending upon your choice of oil and your crock pot, your time on "high" may vary, and possibly even your "low" time. If you use the stove, I suggest keeping your temperature on low all the time to avoid any possibility of burning it. Believe me, burnt oil smells terribly. Um....don't ask me how I know this! Lol
*As for the oil of your choice, I suggest using olive, avocado, sweet almond, apricot seed or grapeseed oil, but really most any other will work. Just do not use hemp or wheat germ oil (in this method), as they break down when heated.
Once you have steeped the herbs for a minimum of two hours, you need to strain it. The easiest way I have found to do this, is to get a cone shaped coffee filter and place that [down] into a medium to large funnel. Then sit the funnel into a glass jar. My medium funnel rests nicely on the rim of an old pickle jar, leaving my hands free, and plenty of space before the tube will be under oil. Pour your oil and herbal mixture into the filter and go gather the balance of the ingredients while it drains.
You will need;
1/2 ounce of beeswax
1/2 ounce of cocoa butter (I get the deodorized, but if you don't mind the scent, regular is fine)
1/2 ounce Mango butter- or the butter of your choice- (remember to temper it first, if you use shea butter)
1/2 ounce of your herbal infused oil
Melt the beeswax, cocoa butter and mango butter in a double boiler, stirring occasionally. Once it is melted, add in the herbal infused oil and stir well. Now you can be done right here, just pour your mixture into a tin or jar and allow it to sit until its set. But, if you want, you can allow it to cool a tad, then add some lavender, tea tree, or lemongrass essential oil, just a few drops will do. Stir well and then pour into a tin and allow to sit until set. Once set, cover when not in use.
This mixture should melt as it warms on your skin, so pop it out of the tin, or dig some out of a jar, and rub over and into your skin. You can use it on rough areas of skin, like knees, elbows, and heels, or for an all over moisturizing treat. Have sore leg muscles? Treat yourself to a massage with this balm and see if you get some relief. I know people who swear by these herbs, but at the least you will get a nice, soothing, moisturizing treatment. And who knows, you may just be one of those that swears by them when it's all said and done!
If when you try it, it isn't soft enough, just remelt it (you can use the microwave on shot bursts of 20 seconds at a time until melted) and add in a tad more oil. If you need it harder, add a bit more beeswax. It's just that easy!
Tripod Thursday-products
Here are a few things that I have ready for next weeks' show. The facial oil is a new formula, one that I am very excited about! While I loved it before, I just couldn't help myself, I had to add some more great oils!
What Will We Eat Wednesday- Diet Fudge
I am still searching for great treats that are low in calories and carbs, especially chocolate goodies. This is one that I wrote down a while back, but have yet to try. I just found it again, so I am making my shopping list!
Ingredients
3 cups carob
1/4 teaspoon artificial sweetener
1 (14 -ounce) can of sweet condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
1 cup chopped walnuts or nut of your choice
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Put the carob, sweetener and condensed milk into a saucepan, cover with lid and cook over low heat until the carob is completely melted. Remove from the heat, add the chopped nuts and vanilla extract, and stir until it's completely mixed.
Once its mixed well, pour it into a [9" x 9"] square pan and put it in the refrigerator until it's firm. Once firm, cut into 2" squares and enjoy!
According to my notes one square is one serving, and it is only 137 calories and 13 carbs. So this treat can easily be worked into any diet!
Ingredients
3 cups carob
1/4 teaspoon artificial sweetener
1 (14 -ounce) can of sweet condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
1 cup chopped walnuts or nut of your choice
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Put the carob, sweetener and condensed milk into a saucepan, cover with lid and cook over low heat until the carob is completely melted. Remove from the heat, add the chopped nuts and vanilla extract, and stir until it's completely mixed.
Once its mixed well, pour it into a [9" x 9"] square pan and put it in the refrigerator until it's firm. Once firm, cut into 2" squares and enjoy!
According to my notes one square is one serving, and it is only 137 calories and 13 carbs. So this treat can easily be worked into any diet!
Teaching Tuesday-Cats and Aromatherapy
Just one thing for today, but it is an important one. I have learned that my belief that cats should not be exposed to essential oils, due to an enzyme they lack, is not a truth! Several years back a customer berated me for not having a warning on my "pet spray" that pointed out that it should not be used in cat beds, or on cats. At that time I was a dog Mommy, so it never occurred to me that my product would be considered for cats. In the description I even said "dogs" several times, but I did say "pet beds" as well. So I quickly looked up information from the ASPCA and other sites I found across the internet. Like a dummy, I never looked at it again, as I took it as gospel. I never fully researched the issue. Well, now get your cameras ready, yep I am going to say it..........I WAS WRONG! Yes, I was wrong and you now have proof, Lol!
This incident point out several problems, and I am really ashamed that I fell into this trap. I have preached about researching everything yourself many times, yet I failed to do this myself. I actually had not even thought of this since the time I posted the cat information, years back. Normally I would tell everyone to check the scientific studies, scientific publications, and known experts before believing anything about an essential oil or herb. I guess that I looked at the ASPCA as an expert, when in fact, they are not experts in essential oils, and have likely just read a lot of the same crud that many of us have! So now that I have berated myself and know where I went wrong, time to correct the problem!
We can begin by looking at an expert in the field of essential oils, Robert Tisserand. Check out this article; http://roberttisserand.com/2011/06/cats-essential-oil-safety/ Some of the comments on his site (from readers, not from him) advocate applying neat oils to cats for various problems. I do NOT recommend any of these treatments, as I believe that safe is better than sorry any day. I would steer clear of neat applications all together, unless I was consulting a trained professional. There are more and more trained professionals these days, making it is relatively easy to locate holistic Veterinarians in most cities across the country.
Just as an aside, there is a comment on this article from someone implying that one particular brand has high grade, pure essential oils. This is a crock and was not addressed by the author because, in my opinion, he did not want to evoke a back and forth argument that person. In my experience, these believers are like dogs with bones, they don't like to allow anything to drop without hashing it to death, and they never change their minds, no matter what proof you offer to support your position. Unfortunately, people from this group appear to be quite indoctrinated and dogmatic. Be wary of of any site or any person that insists they have the "only" pure, great whatever. While I certainly think that my products are the best, I would never assert that they are the only ones that will provide relief or whatever. There is not one company that provides the only true, the only pure essential oil. Anyone who says differently is misinformed, and has simply not done the research for themselves.
That being said, follow the references posted after the Tisserand post, read what he based his post on. Then try doing a search of scientific publications on your own. You may be amazed at what you can ferret out! But the greatest thing that we all need to do, is to stop perpetuating non-truths!
This incident point out several problems, and I am really ashamed that I fell into this trap. I have preached about researching everything yourself many times, yet I failed to do this myself. I actually had not even thought of this since the time I posted the cat information, years back. Normally I would tell everyone to check the scientific studies, scientific publications, and known experts before believing anything about an essential oil or herb. I guess that I looked at the ASPCA as an expert, when in fact, they are not experts in essential oils, and have likely just read a lot of the same crud that many of us have! So now that I have berated myself and know where I went wrong, time to correct the problem!
We can begin by looking at an expert in the field of essential oils, Robert Tisserand. Check out this article; http://roberttisserand.com/2011/06/cats-essential-oil-safety/ Some of the comments on his site (from readers, not from him) advocate applying neat oils to cats for various problems. I do NOT recommend any of these treatments, as I believe that safe is better than sorry any day. I would steer clear of neat applications all together, unless I was consulting a trained professional. There are more and more trained professionals these days, making it is relatively easy to locate holistic Veterinarians in most cities across the country.
Just as an aside, there is a comment on this article from someone implying that one particular brand has high grade, pure essential oils. This is a crock and was not addressed by the author because, in my opinion, he did not want to evoke a back and forth argument that person. In my experience, these believers are like dogs with bones, they don't like to allow anything to drop without hashing it to death, and they never change their minds, no matter what proof you offer to support your position. Unfortunately, people from this group appear to be quite indoctrinated and dogmatic. Be wary of of any site or any person that insists they have the "only" pure, great whatever. While I certainly think that my products are the best, I would never assert that they are the only ones that will provide relief or whatever. There is not one company that provides the only true, the only pure essential oil. Anyone who says differently is misinformed, and has simply not done the research for themselves.
That being said, follow the references posted after the Tisserand post, read what he based his post on. Then try doing a search of scientific publications on your own. You may be amazed at what you can ferret out! But the greatest thing that we all need to do, is to stop perpetuating non-truths!
Make it Yourself Monday-Moisturizing Body Scrub
Have you seen the soap in jars that looks like whipped cream? If you have, you know what I mean. They usually layer a couple of pretty colors together and pack it into a see through jar, and suggest that it makes a great shaving soap. Sometimes it is mixed with sugar or salt and sold as a body scrub, or even a face scrub. This whipped soap takes several months to make, as it needs months of what is called "rotting" time. Basically that just means that it need curing time. But, if you don't have the time, patience or inclination to wait that long, yet still want to try this great soap, you are in luck! Many vendors sell a whipped soap base. That means that you can make it yourself!
While the directions may vary slightly with your particular vendor, the basics are all the same. You need to put one pound of base, 1/4 to 1/2 ounce of skin safe fragrance (either essential oil(s) or fragrance oil), and 1 ounce of the oil of your choice (Sweet Almond Oil, Avocado Oil, and Olive Oil) into a bowl. Using your electric mixer, the kind with two beaters, slowly begin to mix the ingredients. Keep on low until the mixture is smooth. When you have it blended together, turn your beaters to high and mix until it is fluffy. Don't go overboard with the mixing though, or you will cause it to flop, much like when you are baking and someone slams the door, causing your cake to fall in. Generally speaking, you are looking to double the size of your batch. Once you are at the right fluffiness, you can split the batch into two if you want to do two different colors. Add in your colorant and gently stir it. Basically you are folding in this ingredient so that you don't collapse the fluff. Most people use mica to color, but your vendor will likely tell you what choices you have and what they feel is best. Food coloring is not appropriate. Now is also the time to add in the exfolliant, 1/2 to 1 pound of sugar or salt, whichever you like best. Again, you want to fold it in so that you don't collapse the fluff. When the sugar or salt is blended in, you are ready to package it. You can just use a spoon and layer it into jars, or you can get a little fancy and pipe it in with a pastry bag. To do this, just grab two plastic storage bags (freezer bags work best) and spoon each colored mixture into one bag. Seal the top of the bags and push all the whipped soap down into one corner. Cut the corner of the bag and use it just like a real pastry bag, alternating layers of the whipped colors until your jars are full. Make sure that you press the tip of the bag around the sides of the jar so that you get nice, clean layers. Since this can be so pretty, I suggest using clear jars. But if you don't really care about how it looks, only in its use and feel, then you can skip the coloring part of this and store it in any colored jar that you want. In order to make using it easy though, you probably will want to use a wide mouth jar.
This is really a very easy and very fun project for an afternoon. There are just a few things to remember in order to ensure that you are successful.
-Aside from not over whipping, you need to make sure that you do not add in too much oil or too much fragrance. The vendor should provide the maximum percentage of additives, as well as the ideal amount.
-Not every fragrance/essential oil is safe for use on the body. Be sure that what you want to use is appropriate for use on the body, and that you know/check the maximum skin safe amount for use in this type of soap. Understand that the maximum skin safe amount and the maximum amount of fragrance load that the base can accept, are likely different amounts. You must comply with both in order to be safe and to have a successful batch. If you are not sure about your fragrance choice, check with the vendor. They should be able to tell you if your choice is skin safe, and how much you can use in various types of products.
-Once you get the fluff, you need to stop and prepare to package. If you over-fluff and your batch collapses, you cannot re-fluff. So, while it may be fun watching it rise out of the bowl, don't get carried away with yourself! Lol Stopping and starting is not good either.
-You need to use an electric mixer to make this, a hand mixer just won't get enough air into the batch, and air is what "whips" it up. Once you start on the high setting it should only take a couple of minutes to incorporate enough air to double the batch size.
-If you don't want to make a scrub, you may want to add in (fold it in) about two tablespoons of kaolin clay to make some shaving soap. Shaving soap isn't just for men either, this feels great on the legs of women, and moisturizes the skin quite nicely!
-Of course you don't have to add clay either, whipped soap is wonderful to use in and of itself. Just remember that you don't want to get water into the jar, use wet fingers, or store where moisture may get into it, as this recipe doesn't contain a preservative. As long as there isn't any water in the product you don't need a preservative, but if water is introduced, it won't take long for microbes to begin growing nasty things. So use a scoop, store in an airtight container, and keep away from the tub/sink area.
While the directions may vary slightly with your particular vendor, the basics are all the same. You need to put one pound of base, 1/4 to 1/2 ounce of skin safe fragrance (either essential oil(s) or fragrance oil), and 1 ounce of the oil of your choice (Sweet Almond Oil, Avocado Oil, and Olive Oil) into a bowl. Using your electric mixer, the kind with two beaters, slowly begin to mix the ingredients. Keep on low until the mixture is smooth. When you have it blended together, turn your beaters to high and mix until it is fluffy. Don't go overboard with the mixing though, or you will cause it to flop, much like when you are baking and someone slams the door, causing your cake to fall in. Generally speaking, you are looking to double the size of your batch. Once you are at the right fluffiness, you can split the batch into two if you want to do two different colors. Add in your colorant and gently stir it. Basically you are folding in this ingredient so that you don't collapse the fluff. Most people use mica to color, but your vendor will likely tell you what choices you have and what they feel is best. Food coloring is not appropriate. Now is also the time to add in the exfolliant, 1/2 to 1 pound of sugar or salt, whichever you like best. Again, you want to fold it in so that you don't collapse the fluff. When the sugar or salt is blended in, you are ready to package it. You can just use a spoon and layer it into jars, or you can get a little fancy and pipe it in with a pastry bag. To do this, just grab two plastic storage bags (freezer bags work best) and spoon each colored mixture into one bag. Seal the top of the bags and push all the whipped soap down into one corner. Cut the corner of the bag and use it just like a real pastry bag, alternating layers of the whipped colors until your jars are full. Make sure that you press the tip of the bag around the sides of the jar so that you get nice, clean layers. Since this can be so pretty, I suggest using clear jars. But if you don't really care about how it looks, only in its use and feel, then you can skip the coloring part of this and store it in any colored jar that you want. In order to make using it easy though, you probably will want to use a wide mouth jar.
This is really a very easy and very fun project for an afternoon. There are just a few things to remember in order to ensure that you are successful.
-Aside from not over whipping, you need to make sure that you do not add in too much oil or too much fragrance. The vendor should provide the maximum percentage of additives, as well as the ideal amount.
-Not every fragrance/essential oil is safe for use on the body. Be sure that what you want to use is appropriate for use on the body, and that you know/check the maximum skin safe amount for use in this type of soap. Understand that the maximum skin safe amount and the maximum amount of fragrance load that the base can accept, are likely different amounts. You must comply with both in order to be safe and to have a successful batch. If you are not sure about your fragrance choice, check with the vendor. They should be able to tell you if your choice is skin safe, and how much you can use in various types of products.
-Once you get the fluff, you need to stop and prepare to package. If you over-fluff and your batch collapses, you cannot re-fluff. So, while it may be fun watching it rise out of the bowl, don't get carried away with yourself! Lol Stopping and starting is not good either.
-You need to use an electric mixer to make this, a hand mixer just won't get enough air into the batch, and air is what "whips" it up. Once you start on the high setting it should only take a couple of minutes to incorporate enough air to double the batch size.
-If you don't want to make a scrub, you may want to add in (fold it in) about two tablespoons of kaolin clay to make some shaving soap. Shaving soap isn't just for men either, this feels great on the legs of women, and moisturizes the skin quite nicely!
-Of course you don't have to add clay either, whipped soap is wonderful to use in and of itself. Just remember that you don't want to get water into the jar, use wet fingers, or store where moisture may get into it, as this recipe doesn't contain a preservative. As long as there isn't any water in the product you don't need a preservative, but if water is introduced, it won't take long for microbes to begin growing nasty things. So use a scoop, store in an airtight container, and keep away from the tub/sink area.
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