Not that long ago I decided I was going to attempt to post a single post everyday for one full year. 365 posts. I've already missed 2 posts. The first because I was just overwhelmed and exhausted. The 2nd was yesterday.
Yesterday was Christmas.
I celebrate Christmas.
Maybe not in the same way a lot of people do, but I celebrate.
Christmas to me is a time for family, a time for giving and a time for joy.
This was my Christmas:
Christmas Eve the hubs, the girls and I went to his Aunt D's house. We noshed, we gifted, we caught up with family members we hadn't seen in 6 months and others we hadn't seen in a year or more. I really enjoy these gatherings and the opportunity to catch up.
We returned home around 8:30 p.m.
Lulu and I still had some baking to do, and Thi-Thi still had some mochis to sew. Lulu and I made the dough and baked the gluten free empanadas and stolen. Both turned out lovely, but I want to play with the dough to see how truly thin we can roll it. The next time we make the dough, I'll share the link to the blog we found it on, along with pictures of whatever we are baking with it. I parboiled the potatoes (ala Jamie Oliver's Christmas Baked Smashed Potatoes) and we made Gluten Free cinnamon rolls. The cinnamon rolls were my absolute favorite. We had been looking for a grain free recipe that was still soft and tasty. These hit the spot! Again we want to play with this recipe to see if we can make larger rolls (keep in mind with grain free the dough doesn't rise).
Then of course the kitchen had to be cleaned up. I washed and dried dishes.
I always wrap presents on Christmas Eve. I have visions of wrapping things as I get them (and visions of getting things through out the year) so that on Christmas Eve I just need to pull out the gifts and put them under the tree. There is always next year.
I finished wrapping a few minutes past midnight. I went to bed. Originally I thought if I finished my Christmas preparations by 10:00 p.m. I would do a simply Merry Christmas blog and set it to auto-post. By 10:30 I realized I would not be able to prep a post. I thought about blogging Christmas Day after breakfast, and after my girls did presents.
Then is was 7:30 Christmas morning and time for me to get up. Fortunately, we trained our girls early to wait on Christmas morning. They were not allowed to get up and run down stairs and open presents. Our rule was that they had to wait to go down stairs until Mom and Dad had gone downstairs and had coffee AND that they had to wait to open presents until my parents arrived in the morning. They could open stockings but everything else had to wait. So my girls have always slept in on Christmas morning.
This year I actually had to wake them up.
I got the cinnamon roll dough out of the fridge to let it come to room temperature. I put the empanadas and the stolen in the oven to warm up. I set the table and rearranged the furniture.
My parents arrived at 8:30 (which is early for them, usually it is closer to 9:30), and we had breakfast before we even did stockings or presents. After breakfast the girls opened their stockings, the hubs opened his stocking and I opened my stocking.
Last year, Lulu took on the task of filling my stocking. The year before that she asked why my stocking was mostly empty. I told her that because I do all the stockings it is tough for me to come up with my own stocking stuffers. Instead I just put in my toothbrush, razor refills, soap and a chocolate item that we all get. Everything else in the stockings is personal to that person.
Last year, Lulu worked the previous summer and had some money so she bought a lot of items and filled my stocking. It was touching. I thought it was the best stocking ever! Then I opened my stocking this year. While I had limited funds this year, she had only $10. She bought my favorite tea and a chocolate bar (with Chai spice) but what made this stocking the best ever was the rest of the items she made. She made me hand warmers which she stitched a peacock feather and a heart in peacock colors on. She made me a bracelet and a wire pendant. She made me an infinity scarf and I am sure I missed something, but it made me so happy I nearly cried.
My girls received all hand made items from me and Santa and Thi-Thi stated "Best Christmas Ever"
While they received items that were from Amazon and/or store bought they items that made them happy and everyone else happy were the items that were handmade for them or by them.
They were both super excited to be giving out hand drawn cards, candles and soaps they made along with some sewn crafts. I'll let Lulu tell you about the Studio Ghibli basket she made her sister.
After gifts I had to clean up the kitchen from breakfast.
Then my parents and I hung out and chatted for a while. Eventually it was time to put out the grazing platters and prepping Christmas Dinner. While I took plenty of breaks and spent time with my family I was go go going all day long. I realized before lunch that it was more important to me to spend the time with my family and be present in the moment than to simply post a blog post.
So however you spent yesterday I hope it was a good day and that you were present to all the joy.
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Friday, December 26, 2014
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Happy Christmas Eve! Whipped Body Lotion for ALL!
Happy Christmas Eve! Weather you spend it at home or with friends and family I wish you a joyous day!
As promised here is another homemade gift-able. Unfortunately unless you are as quirky as I, and have a teenage daughter who has been experimenting with making home beauty products for more than three years you might not have all the ingredients..... I even had to go out and buy more Apricot Oil last week (and to my dismay the coop only had one small bottle. I'll have to ask at the service desk about ordering a big bottle of apricot and a big bottle of almond - once I am back to work of course).
So here it is, and it is super simple. You keep a simple ratio of 3 solid to 1 liquid. Yep that's really all you need to know.
This is what I used for this batch (and my recipe changes batch to batch, we keep tweaking it when we are 100% satisfied I'll update and let everyone know my final recipe).
520 grams of Raw Shae Butter (mine is the yellow kind, but I also get and use the white. When I purchase white Shae butter I make sure it is sun bleached and not chemically bleached. I get my Shae Butter for a rocking price from the African Store on S. Clinton Ave. It comes in chunks in plastic bags and is favorably priced. A shout out to the fabulous people at Aaron's Alley for sending me that way a few years ago when I was looking. RIP Aaron we all miss you)
99 grams of Cocoa Butter (I get Essential Living Foods from Abundance Co-op, this wasn't a complete package as Lu uses it for lots of her beauty products).
112 grams of Coconut Oil (I used up the last of a jar I had from Aldi's, yes you can get organic cold pressed coconut oil from Aldi's. In case you didn't know Aldi's is the outlet for Trader Joes....)
To that I added the following liquids
114 grams of Apricot Oil (Lu loves this for her skin.... and I picked up a few months ago after reading about it)
32 grams of Fractionated Coconut Oil (this was a left over bit I had from my EO days)
Once your solid oils are melted add in your liquid oils. You can use just one solid oil. I have made recipes with JUST coconut oil and fractionated coconut oil, but I personally LOVE Shae Butter and what it does for my skin. You could use just Shae butter, or just cocoa butter. Keep in mind Cocoa butter is a "hard" solid oil and so the resulting lotion may be stiff. It will still work you'll just have to "dig" it out and melt it in the palm of your hand. As for your liquids you can use just one vegetable oil (but not corn oil please) or any combo you like. Olive Oil is a favorite from the Mediterranean. There is also Sweet Almond Oil, Avocado (supposed to be great for mature skin), Apricot, Jojoba, etc....... The cost of the oils ranges....
Once the oils have cooled to a solid state, I reheat them. Double heating gives me the best results. Let them cool a second time, but not to a solid state. Once they are cool but not solid add them to a mixer (you can whip by hand, but it takes more than 30 minutes) and add any essential oils you wish. I ALWAYS add Frankincense and Helichrysium, since both are great for the skin. To give you an idea a recipe like this I use up to 8 drops of Frankie and 2 drops of Heli. This made 6 half pint containers and 6 four oz containers.
My original intent was to personalize each of the lotions with different EOs like orange, geranium, ylang ylang.... but when I finished whipping this batch
It just smelled so heavenly I couldn't bring myself to add any other EOs to personalize them. If you are not making a giant batch of one scent you would scoop out your individual amounts and add EOs. Again I recommend keeping it to no more than 3 EOs (unless you are copy catting someone else's tried and true recipe. I also don't count Franki and Heli when I use them in a recipe.
The end result varies from batch to batch. This one was very butter-creme frosting like. If when the product completely cools you find it to hard or stiff you can remelt it and add some more liquid oil (not EOs) to it. Or sometimes just put it back in the mixer and whip it again. Now you will notice that I used a batter mixer on my Kitchen Aid, that is because this is my Mums old kitchen aid and she lost the whisk. My kitchen aid died after 3 years of use (I was disappointed to say the least. After all that old white kitchen aid which is older than I am is the reason I bought a kitchen aid. My mums lent us this one until we replaced ours. She has a new kitchen aid which is just fine 6 years later, but after the heartbreak of my first big married purchase breaking I'll just keep using her back up until it breaks down, which probably means I should seek out a whisk at a thrift store or garage sale.....)
Enjoy your whipped body lotion. Again you can fancy up the packaging with ribbon or fabric and tie on a label (always label your gifts with the ingredients) and some twine. I can only estimate this recipe cost:
Cocoa Butter - $12.95
Shae Butter - $5
Coconut Oil - $4.99 (but I used 1/3 of that jar so @ $2)
Apricot Oil - $7.99
Fractionated Coconut Oil - $9.99 (but we used less than 1/4 of that bottle so @ $2)
Divide by 12 = $2 per container
Add
$.25 for Essential Oil
$1.80 for the 1/2 pint jar
or
$.90 for the 4 oz jar
Making a 1/2 pint (8 oz) container $4 and a 4 oz container $3
Again not a bad homemade gift.
As promised here is another homemade gift-able. Unfortunately unless you are as quirky as I, and have a teenage daughter who has been experimenting with making home beauty products for more than three years you might not have all the ingredients..... I even had to go out and buy more Apricot Oil last week (and to my dismay the coop only had one small bottle. I'll have to ask at the service desk about ordering a big bottle of apricot and a big bottle of almond - once I am back to work of course).
So here it is, and it is super simple. You keep a simple ratio of 3 solid to 1 liquid. Yep that's really all you need to know.
This is what I used for this batch (and my recipe changes batch to batch, we keep tweaking it when we are 100% satisfied I'll update and let everyone know my final recipe).
520 grams of Raw Shae Butter (mine is the yellow kind, but I also get and use the white. When I purchase white Shae butter I make sure it is sun bleached and not chemically bleached. I get my Shae Butter for a rocking price from the African Store on S. Clinton Ave. It comes in chunks in plastic bags and is favorably priced. A shout out to the fabulous people at Aaron's Alley for sending me that way a few years ago when I was looking. RIP Aaron we all miss you)
99 grams of Cocoa Butter (I get Essential Living Foods from Abundance Co-op, this wasn't a complete package as Lu uses it for lots of her beauty products).
112 grams of Coconut Oil (I used up the last of a jar I had from Aldi's, yes you can get organic cold pressed coconut oil from Aldi's. In case you didn't know Aldi's is the outlet for Trader Joes....)
114 grams of Apricot Oil (Lu loves this for her skin.... and I picked up a few months ago after reading about it)
32 grams of Fractionated Coconut Oil (this was a left over bit I had from my EO days)
Once the oils have cooled to a solid state, I reheat them. Double heating gives me the best results. Let them cool a second time, but not to a solid state. Once they are cool but not solid add them to a mixer (you can whip by hand, but it takes more than 30 minutes) and add any essential oils you wish. I ALWAYS add Frankincense and Helichrysium, since both are great for the skin. To give you an idea a recipe like this I use up to 8 drops of Frankie and 2 drops of Heli. This made 6 half pint containers and 6 four oz containers.
My original intent was to personalize each of the lotions with different EOs like orange, geranium, ylang ylang.... but when I finished whipping this batch
The end result varies from batch to batch. This one was very butter-creme frosting like. If when the product completely cools you find it to hard or stiff you can remelt it and add some more liquid oil (not EOs) to it. Or sometimes just put it back in the mixer and whip it again. Now you will notice that I used a batter mixer on my Kitchen Aid, that is because this is my Mums old kitchen aid and she lost the whisk. My kitchen aid died after 3 years of use (I was disappointed to say the least. After all that old white kitchen aid which is older than I am is the reason I bought a kitchen aid. My mums lent us this one until we replaced ours. She has a new kitchen aid which is just fine 6 years later, but after the heartbreak of my first big married purchase breaking I'll just keep using her back up until it breaks down, which probably means I should seek out a whisk at a thrift store or garage sale.....)
Enjoy your whipped body lotion. Again you can fancy up the packaging with ribbon or fabric and tie on a label (always label your gifts with the ingredients) and some twine. I can only estimate this recipe cost:
Cocoa Butter - $12.95
Shae Butter - $5
Coconut Oil - $4.99 (but I used 1/3 of that jar so @ $2)
Apricot Oil - $7.99
Fractionated Coconut Oil - $9.99 (but we used less than 1/4 of that bottle so @ $2)
Divide by 12 = $2 per container
Add
$.25 for Essential Oil
$1.80 for the 1/2 pint jar
or
$.90 for the 4 oz jar
Making a 1/2 pint (8 oz) container $4 and a 4 oz container $3
Again not a bad homemade gift.
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Homemade Giftables! Bath Salts
So if you are a last minute Lucy, like myself, you might be scrambling to find gifts for all those who remain on your list. This is a recipe for ingredients you might already have on hand....
This recipe makes roughly 10 1/2 pint mason jars of bath salts. I used plain Epsom salts (I found them in with the medical supplies not with bath supplies), fine sea salt (I would recommend coarse sea salt but I had the fine on hand for making salt scrubs), 1/2 c of Pink Himalayan Salt (I found it in bulk at Abundance Co-op). This is your basic recipe. Mostly Epsom salts, then add some sea salt and pink salt if you have it. You could use just Empsom Salts.
From here you begin to customize. I scooped out (using the 1/5 pint jars) into a small bowl enough of the salt mix for 2 gifts. To this I added Lavender buds and Chamomile buds (this was actually a yummy tea mix from Tracy's Teas) and 3 drops of Roman Chamomile and 2 drops of Lavender essential Oils. Mix well and package. This made my Relax Bath Soak for my MIL and Mums.
It is especially important with Essential Oils and bath salts to let them sit together for 24 hours before you decide if they smell is strong enough.
Then I took out two more containers worth and added orange peel, wild orange (3 drops), grapefruit (2 drops), and Ylang Ylang (1 drop) essential Oils. This makes Shiny (as in sunshiny) Bath Soak.
I already had ALL of these supplies on hand, I had purchased bits and pieces through out the year with the idea of doing a bath salts workshop. So technically these 4 gifts cost me nothing (and I have two coconut oil glass jars with salt mix to make more custom blends), but let's do a real cost analysis.
I used a sharpie to write "relax" and "shiny" on my bath salts. Right on the metal lid. Use a little citrus eo to remove any residue or previous sharpie work. You could also cut a square of fabric to cover the metal lid and make it look super pretty, or use ribbon.
The cost breakdown:
1 lb of Sea Salt (fine or coarse crystals) - purchased from Trader Joes for $.99
4 lbs of Epsom Salt - purchased from Wegmans for $3.99
1/2 c Pink Himalayan Salt - $1.25 at Abundance Coop Bulk Section
Lavender buds - Free the Tea was given to me as a gift and I enjoyed it very much this was just the very end of it. You could buy this tea from Tracy or go to Abundance Co-op and get Lavender and Chamomile in their bulk section. Better yet plant these in your garden this spring and dry them for next year.
Chamomile buds - same as the Lavender
Orange Peel - FREE
Essential Oils - about $0.05 per drop
Kerr 1/2 Pint Jars with Lids - purchased from Amazon through Cooks.com for 19 with shipping making each container cost $1.60
Sharpie - Free
Fabric or Ribbon - Free
So then each gift costs approximately - $2.50
If you do gift Bath Salts encourage the recipients to return the fancy jars for future gifting. You could also save other containers throughout the year or search garage sales this summer. I don't recommend plastic.
I selected Kerr jars because they are made in the USA and I try very hard to support this local economy of ours. I ordered mine from Amazon then saw them for the same price (sans shipping and handling at Target). As much as I don't like the big box stores, I can justify this kind of purchase there.
Let me know if you have a favorite bath salt recipe....
1lb of Sea Salt (fine or coarse crystals)
4lbs of Epsom Salt
1/2 c Pink Himalayan Salt
Add Ins
Lavender buds
Chamomile buds
Essential Oils
Kerr 1/2 Pint Jars with Lids (19.00 1.60/jar)
Sharpie
Fabric or Ribbon
This recipe makes roughly 10 1/2 pint mason jars of bath salts. I used plain Epsom salts (I found them in with the medical supplies not with bath supplies), fine sea salt (I would recommend coarse sea salt but I had the fine on hand for making salt scrubs), 1/2 c of Pink Himalayan Salt (I found it in bulk at Abundance Co-op). This is your basic recipe. Mostly Epsom salts, then add some sea salt and pink salt if you have it. You could use just Empsom Salts.
From here you begin to customize. I scooped out (using the 1/5 pint jars) into a small bowl enough of the salt mix for 2 gifts. To this I added Lavender buds and Chamomile buds (this was actually a yummy tea mix from Tracy's Teas) and 3 drops of Roman Chamomile and 2 drops of Lavender essential Oils. Mix well and package. This made my Relax Bath Soak for my MIL and Mums.
It is especially important with Essential Oils and bath salts to let them sit together for 24 hours before you decide if they smell is strong enough.
Then I took out two more containers worth and added orange peel, wild orange (3 drops), grapefruit (2 drops), and Ylang Ylang (1 drop) essential Oils. This makes Shiny (as in sunshiny) Bath Soak.
I already had ALL of these supplies on hand, I had purchased bits and pieces through out the year with the idea of doing a bath salts workshop. So technically these 4 gifts cost me nothing (and I have two coconut oil glass jars with salt mix to make more custom blends), but let's do a real cost analysis.
I used a sharpie to write "relax" and "shiny" on my bath salts. Right on the metal lid. Use a little citrus eo to remove any residue or previous sharpie work. You could also cut a square of fabric to cover the metal lid and make it look super pretty, or use ribbon.
The cost breakdown:
1 lb of Sea Salt (fine or coarse crystals) - purchased from Trader Joes for $.99
4 lbs of Epsom Salt - purchased from Wegmans for $3.99
1/2 c Pink Himalayan Salt - $1.25 at Abundance Coop Bulk Section
Lavender buds - Free the Tea was given to me as a gift and I enjoyed it very much this was just the very end of it. You could buy this tea from Tracy or go to Abundance Co-op and get Lavender and Chamomile in their bulk section. Better yet plant these in your garden this spring and dry them for next year.
Chamomile buds - same as the Lavender
Orange Peel - FREE
Essential Oils - about $0.05 per drop
Kerr 1/2 Pint Jars with Lids - purchased from Amazon through Cooks.com for 19 with shipping making each container cost $1.60
Sharpie - Free
Fabric or Ribbon - Free
So then each gift costs approximately - $2.50
If you do gift Bath Salts encourage the recipients to return the fancy jars for future gifting. You could also save other containers throughout the year or search garage sales this summer. I don't recommend plastic.
I selected Kerr jars because they are made in the USA and I try very hard to support this local economy of ours. I ordered mine from Amazon then saw them for the same price (sans shipping and handling at Target). As much as I don't like the big box stores, I can justify this kind of purchase there.
Let me know if you have a favorite bath salt recipe....
Monday, December 22, 2014
Company is Coming, Quick Put Out the Fancy Soap!
Often times in this house we "run out" of liquid hand soap. And by run out I mean I simply don't want to take the 3 minutes it takes me to make new foaming hand soap. When this happens the dish soap gets used for hand washing at the kitchen sink and the bar soap moves between the shower and the sink in the upstairs bathroom....
Now when I know we are having people over I TRY to make sure that we have plenty of foaming hand soap, I wouldn't want them to think me uncivilized. Who am I kidding they are family, they know me....
At any rate I made fresh foaming hand soap and I decided to share my recipe with you. I will not link to the original recipe (which is just an advertisement for a essential oil company) primarily because I have modified the recipe and I believe the amount of Essential Oil they are calling for is excessive. I am not an aromatherapist so any of my comments regarding essential oils are my opinions after more than 2 years of reading about the subject. When selecting the oils you plan to use consider the following:
Who will be using this soap? The exposure to essential oils is very minimal total of 6-10 drops per entire bottle, but if you have little ones, elderly or pregnant mommas using your soap make sure to check the oils for safety for these "special populations".
Am I adding Essential Oils for Smell or for Purpose? Do you know the REAL purpose of hand soap? Hand soap NEED NOT BE ANTIBACTERIAL. You remove bacteria with proper hand washing. Good hand washing is done with WARM soapy water and at least 2 minutes of friction. Soap is a surfactant. This means that soap reduces the surface tension of grease, oils and germs to make them more readily removed from your hands. If you wash your hands with warm soapy water for a minimum of 2 minutes with friction, not just placing them under running water, you should have no worries about germs. If you are worried about resistant germs, I have bad news, antibacterial soap contributed to the evolution of that bacteria and isn't the solution. That being said many essential oils have antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties. One can search the interwebs to find out what the properties of an essential oil are (please note if a website promotes or is in some way connected to a specific company and use wise judgement when accepting the information put out for the purpose of selling a product) and decide what ones to use. Keep in mind however unless you have the science background and the ability to GC/MS test (and read the results) of the oils you are using you never really know what and how much you are getting.
The beauty of Essential Oils is that LESS IS MORE. No that is not a question. Anyone who tells you differently is simply uninformed or out to sell you more product than you need. Our bodies are wonderfully complex devices and just like the human body can only process so much water at a time (roughly 4 cups per hour, if your kidneys are healthy) it can only process so much essential oil at a time. The concern with essential oils is that they are lipid based. IF they were water based (such as vitamin B) you would simply pee out the excess. However lipid based items (like Vitamin D and K) actually get stored in body fat and can accumulate to dangerous levels. Use the least amount of essential oil you can for the purpose you are seeking. Are you simply seeking smell? Then add a drop or two of you oil and let it blend for 24 hours. If the smell is enough you are done. If you desire a stronger smell add 1 or 2 more drops. Are you seeking a therapeutic effect? The same rules apply. Generally if you can smell it, it is enough to have an effect.
At some point I will do several posts about essential oils. The purpose of my essential oil posts will not be to direct you to any company but to clear up misinformation being supplied by sales reps for some of the leading essential oil companies and to encourage my readers to do their own research (from non-affiliated websites and books) and make their own decisions with the guidance of their medical team.
At any rate back to the soap:
You will need
Liquid Castile Soap - I use baby gentle mild, if you want to use one of the fragranced ones then omit any additional essential oils
A foaming Soap Bottle
Essential Oils (maximum of 10 drops and 3 oils)
Water
The original recipe called for the addition of fractionated coconut oil, presumably as a hand moisturizer. I made my initial batches with the FCO, but found that even if I remembered to shake the container before I used it the oil settled to the bottle. When I got to the bottom of the container the oil felt greasy. I omitted coconut oil and because castile soap is so gentle I did not find the soap drying or have a need for the oil. So as a time and MONEY saver I omit any kind of liquid vegetable oil from my recipe.
I already had foaming soap containers on hand. If you don't then ask around you probably have friends who do. Or you can buy new plastic ones that look similar to the short ones with black lids at a place like Aromatools. I have purchased from them in the past (no I am not being compensated, they don't even know I have linked to them) and had excellent customer service. I am sure based on the inexpensive price these items are made in China in horrid conditions, but I have yet to find a US supplier. If anyone knows of any I would LOVE to check them out. Or you can go for the Mason Jar style. If you google then the lids will come up, you can even buy the complete jars through Esty. Again I am sure the lids are made in deplorable condition and I would LOVE to know if anyone knows of a US Manufacturer. Lastly, you can do what I am going to do in the new year: Repurpose glass jars with screw on lids and the foaming pumps from these bottles. I'll post when I get that one figured out.
There is some debate about using essential oils (especially the citrus ones) in plastic containers. I have used citrus essential oils in these containers and had no known issues. If the citrus oil is breaking down the plastic I haven't seen evidence of that. That being said I DO PREFER to use glass with everything, especially my essential oils and storing products with essential oils. However I am also cost conscious so I use what I have.
Take you old (or new) foaming soap container and give it a good rinse. Put clean hot water in it and pump it through until it stops foaming.
Now take the castile soap and add 2 Tablespoons of soap to the container, I use 3 TBSP in the larger container.
Add your essential oils (I use 2 drops of Tea Tree and 2 drops of citrus, this time it was grapefruit).
Fill with cold water (filtered or distilled not necessary), leaving enough room for the foaming pump.
TaDa!
You're done!
For less than $1 worth of materials and supplies I have filled 3 foaming soap dispensers and this will last in my house for at least one month.
. Let me know if you make your own hand soap, foaming or otherwise and your favorite scent combinations......
Now when I know we are having people over I TRY to make sure that we have plenty of foaming hand soap, I wouldn't want them to think me uncivilized. Who am I kidding they are family, they know me....
At any rate I made fresh foaming hand soap and I decided to share my recipe with you. I will not link to the original recipe (which is just an advertisement for a essential oil company) primarily because I have modified the recipe and I believe the amount of Essential Oil they are calling for is excessive. I am not an aromatherapist so any of my comments regarding essential oils are my opinions after more than 2 years of reading about the subject. When selecting the oils you plan to use consider the following:
Who will be using this soap? The exposure to essential oils is very minimal total of 6-10 drops per entire bottle, but if you have little ones, elderly or pregnant mommas using your soap make sure to check the oils for safety for these "special populations".
Am I adding Essential Oils for Smell or for Purpose? Do you know the REAL purpose of hand soap? Hand soap NEED NOT BE ANTIBACTERIAL. You remove bacteria with proper hand washing. Good hand washing is done with WARM soapy water and at least 2 minutes of friction. Soap is a surfactant. This means that soap reduces the surface tension of grease, oils and germs to make them more readily removed from your hands. If you wash your hands with warm soapy water for a minimum of 2 minutes with friction, not just placing them under running water, you should have no worries about germs. If you are worried about resistant germs, I have bad news, antibacterial soap contributed to the evolution of that bacteria and isn't the solution. That being said many essential oils have antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties. One can search the interwebs to find out what the properties of an essential oil are (please note if a website promotes or is in some way connected to a specific company and use wise judgement when accepting the information put out for the purpose of selling a product) and decide what ones to use. Keep in mind however unless you have the science background and the ability to GC/MS test (and read the results) of the oils you are using you never really know what and how much you are getting.
The beauty of Essential Oils is that LESS IS MORE. No that is not a question. Anyone who tells you differently is simply uninformed or out to sell you more product than you need. Our bodies are wonderfully complex devices and just like the human body can only process so much water at a time (roughly 4 cups per hour, if your kidneys are healthy) it can only process so much essential oil at a time. The concern with essential oils is that they are lipid based. IF they were water based (such as vitamin B) you would simply pee out the excess. However lipid based items (like Vitamin D and K) actually get stored in body fat and can accumulate to dangerous levels. Use the least amount of essential oil you can for the purpose you are seeking. Are you simply seeking smell? Then add a drop or two of you oil and let it blend for 24 hours. If the smell is enough you are done. If you desire a stronger smell add 1 or 2 more drops. Are you seeking a therapeutic effect? The same rules apply. Generally if you can smell it, it is enough to have an effect.
At some point I will do several posts about essential oils. The purpose of my essential oil posts will not be to direct you to any company but to clear up misinformation being supplied by sales reps for some of the leading essential oil companies and to encourage my readers to do their own research (from non-affiliated websites and books) and make their own decisions with the guidance of their medical team.
At any rate back to the soap:
You will need
Liquid Castile Soap - I use baby gentle mild, if you want to use one of the fragranced ones then omit any additional essential oils
A foaming Soap Bottle
Essential Oils (maximum of 10 drops and 3 oils)
Water
The original recipe called for the addition of fractionated coconut oil, presumably as a hand moisturizer. I made my initial batches with the FCO, but found that even if I remembered to shake the container before I used it the oil settled to the bottle. When I got to the bottom of the container the oil felt greasy. I omitted coconut oil and because castile soap is so gentle I did not find the soap drying or have a need for the oil. So as a time and MONEY saver I omit any kind of liquid vegetable oil from my recipe.
I already had foaming soap containers on hand. If you don't then ask around you probably have friends who do. Or you can buy new plastic ones that look similar to the short ones with black lids at a place like Aromatools. I have purchased from them in the past (no I am not being compensated, they don't even know I have linked to them) and had excellent customer service. I am sure based on the inexpensive price these items are made in China in horrid conditions, but I have yet to find a US supplier. If anyone knows of any I would LOVE to check them out. Or you can go for the Mason Jar style. If you google then the lids will come up, you can even buy the complete jars through Esty. Again I am sure the lids are made in deplorable condition and I would LOVE to know if anyone knows of a US Manufacturer. Lastly, you can do what I am going to do in the new year: Repurpose glass jars with screw on lids and the foaming pumps from these bottles. I'll post when I get that one figured out.
There is some debate about using essential oils (especially the citrus ones) in plastic containers. I have used citrus essential oils in these containers and had no known issues. If the citrus oil is breaking down the plastic I haven't seen evidence of that. That being said I DO PREFER to use glass with everything, especially my essential oils and storing products with essential oils. However I am also cost conscious so I use what I have.
Take you old (or new) foaming soap container and give it a good rinse. Put clean hot water in it and pump it through until it stops foaming.
Now take the castile soap and add 2 Tablespoons of soap to the container, I use 3 TBSP in the larger container.
Add your essential oils (I use 2 drops of Tea Tree and 2 drops of citrus, this time it was grapefruit).
Fill with cold water (filtered or distilled not necessary), leaving enough room for the foaming pump.
TaDa!
You're done!
For less than $1 worth of materials and supplies I have filled 3 foaming soap dispensers and this will last in my house for at least one month.
. Let me know if you make your own hand soap, foaming or otherwise and your favorite scent combinations......
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Just Call Me Last Minute Lucy
Every year it is the same old story. As I wrap of the Holiday of the past year I vow to be more organized, more on top of my holiday prep. I vow to start my gifts early, and shop early, but then... I wait until the last possible minute to get everything done, and as a result I overspend. I really thought this year would be different. I always had good reasons for not getting things done sooner. I was busy with work, I was stressed and needed some down time, I just didn't have the time or the energy. This year I finished my schooling on 12/12 and I should have had a whole week to myself (while the girls were at school) to work on stuffs.... but I didn't.
Christmas is 3 days away and I still don't have everything done. I started Toothless today, but I don't know if that is going to come out or even get finished. I still need to make sugar scrubs, body butters, bath salts and coupon books.
I did not send out Christmas cards, but then again I don't think I have sent out Christmas cards for almost a decade now.
I am a procrastinator and an excuse maker. Reasons are just excuses in nice clothing. I acknowledge this and 2015 is the year I work on changing that. I will work to be better prepared. This blog will help me do that.
I also realize I missed a post yesterday, but rather than try to rush through one last night at 10 p.m., instead I accepted it for what it is. I am still going to try to post for the remaining portion of my 375 blog post per day. Missing yesterday was a just one of those things.
I used to enjoy the holidays, then some how I got lost in trying to make the holidays perfect. Just before Thanksgiving, Thia told me the thing she remembers about the holidays is how stressed I get. Not the awesome gifts, or the fabulous things I have done to make Christmas "perfect". Not the fabulous and unique wrapping jobs I accomplish. Not the separate Santa paper. Not the unique ornament each year. Not the story book each year. No her memories are of me stressed out at the holidays. Talk about a bitter reality check. I wanted my girls to remember the holidays as a fun time with family, not Mom all stressed out.
While they are teenagers there is still hope and there is still time. My mission from here on out, is to make sure that all holidays are laid back, and that the focus is family. Forget perfection, just enjoy the moment.
Toothless can wait till tomorrow. I'll try to finish the head, and maybe start drafting the pattern for the body. Toothless might have been a bit ambitious for a non-sewer without a printer. I have a tutorial with a fab pattern, but my printer and my computer do not see eye to eye, so I am without a printer.
So as you prepare and navigate this holiday season with family and friends, take a moment every once in a while to smile and enjoy the season. When you find yourself stressing, ask yourself if this doesn't get done, or come out perfectly what is the worst thing that could happen. Then remember you have a home, a family and friends to spend the holidays with. That is all that anyone really needs for the holidays and everyday.
Christmas is 3 days away and I still don't have everything done. I started Toothless today, but I don't know if that is going to come out or even get finished. I still need to make sugar scrubs, body butters, bath salts and coupon books.
I did not send out Christmas cards, but then again I don't think I have sent out Christmas cards for almost a decade now.
I am a procrastinator and an excuse maker. Reasons are just excuses in nice clothing. I acknowledge this and 2015 is the year I work on changing that. I will work to be better prepared. This blog will help me do that.
I also realize I missed a post yesterday, but rather than try to rush through one last night at 10 p.m., instead I accepted it for what it is. I am still going to try to post for the remaining portion of my 375 blog post per day. Missing yesterday was a just one of those things.
I used to enjoy the holidays, then some how I got lost in trying to make the holidays perfect. Just before Thanksgiving, Thia told me the thing she remembers about the holidays is how stressed I get. Not the awesome gifts, or the fabulous things I have done to make Christmas "perfect". Not the fabulous and unique wrapping jobs I accomplish. Not the separate Santa paper. Not the unique ornament each year. Not the story book each year. No her memories are of me stressed out at the holidays. Talk about a bitter reality check. I wanted my girls to remember the holidays as a fun time with family, not Mom all stressed out.
While they are teenagers there is still hope and there is still time. My mission from here on out, is to make sure that all holidays are laid back, and that the focus is family. Forget perfection, just enjoy the moment.
Toothless can wait till tomorrow. I'll try to finish the head, and maybe start drafting the pattern for the body. Toothless might have been a bit ambitious for a non-sewer without a printer. I have a tutorial with a fab pattern, but my printer and my computer do not see eye to eye, so I am without a printer.
So as you prepare and navigate this holiday season with family and friends, take a moment every once in a while to smile and enjoy the season. When you find yourself stressing, ask yourself if this doesn't get done, or come out perfectly what is the worst thing that could happen. Then remember you have a home, a family and friends to spend the holidays with. That is all that anyone really needs for the holidays and everyday.
Friday, November 28, 2014
Priorities and the Small Wins
Truth be told my Thanksgiving post was written 3 weeks ago, and for whatever reason I left it in draft. Immediately after typing the post I did some work to clean out the downstairs bathroom and even pinned up the blanket. Check out my progress:
My downstairs bathroom is in better shape and I am going to keep working on it, but the next weekend, when it was time to update my progress, I was battling a head cold and I needed a simple win. Instead of doing more work on the downstairs bathroom, I decided to tackle something I could complete (the laundry I had waiting for me). I did not take pictures of all the laundry I had before me because when I pulled out the camera the battery was dead. I did take pictures once the battery was charged.
I also established what will be my office. I have had an office for years, but it is overwhelmed with clutter. I decided to establish a new space that I can feel like I am not disturbing people.
From the downstairs bathroom I removed a dishpan and some cast iron cookware which I need to clean and put to use. I also cleaned out some junk and listed a few items on a Facebook garage sale site. It is looking better, but then we get to priorities.
Christmas is just around the corner and I have been out of work since March. Funds are non-existent for this year's celebration. I am determined to make this a holiday to remember and not to be remembered as that holiday we didn't have any money. That is where the priorities come in. I have been pinning on Pinterest (follow me I am Tree), but I stopped because I felt like I was never going to get back to those pins to try them. I have decided that for 2015 my goal will be to attempt all the pins on my Pinterest and let you know how they shake out.
I am going to start with the things on my boards that I can make for Holiday gift giving. Fortunately my darling husband and I have a tradition of not gifting to each other on Christmas. If we find something that is just perfect we might purchase it, but we don't feel obligated to purchase. That leaves me with needing gifts for:
LuLu (16 year old girl)
Thia (13 year old girl)
My Momma
My Father
My MIL
My Step FIL
My FIL and Step MIL
Dear Hubby's younger brother's (Billy a Freshman at the Merchant Marine Academy in King's Point, and Joey an adult embarking on his own life with a wonderful woman named Amanda).
I don't gift to my friends.
I have a few bath salts and whipped body butter recipes I want to try out and that I will use as gifts for my Mom, Step MIL and MIL. I know Lulu plans on using some of those items for her gift to her little sister.
For Thia I found a Toothless Plushie Tutorial on Pinterest and I am hoping I can come up with the fabric to make a toothless. That would be her "big" gift. We typically only do one big gift, an ornament and then something they have asked for. I have a few pins that might help me to fill her stocking. I was thinking about making a Coupon book for each of my girls and for my mother. Since I am hopeful to be back to work come early January I am going to keep the monthly tasks under $10 till at least June and then I am hopeful that we will be back on track and able to do more fun things.
I am a big believer in experiences and time spent together being more important that material gifts.
I have to keep mum on the items that are for Lulu since she is also on this blog, so I'll let you know post-holiday what items ended up being for her.
Lulu is launching her own business. She is making mini Octapi and Mochi as well as pencil cases. I have attached a picture of her Octapi model and hope she does well.
So while I am looking for accountability, I know that I have to prioritize and right now I need to prioritize to clean out the dinning room, living room and kitchen for the upcoming holiday. I also need to work on the crafts that will help me put together a wonderful and fun holiday.
My downstairs bathroom is in better shape and I am going to keep working on it, but the next weekend, when it was time to update my progress, I was battling a head cold and I needed a simple win. Instead of doing more work on the downstairs bathroom, I decided to tackle something I could complete (the laundry I had waiting for me). I did not take pictures of all the laundry I had before me because when I pulled out the camera the battery was dead. I did take pictures once the battery was charged.
I also established what will be my office. I have had an office for years, but it is overwhelmed with clutter. I decided to establish a new space that I can feel like I am not disturbing people.
From the downstairs bathroom I removed a dishpan and some cast iron cookware which I need to clean and put to use. I also cleaned out some junk and listed a few items on a Facebook garage sale site. It is looking better, but then we get to priorities.
Christmas is just around the corner and I have been out of work since March. Funds are non-existent for this year's celebration. I am determined to make this a holiday to remember and not to be remembered as that holiday we didn't have any money. That is where the priorities come in. I have been pinning on Pinterest (follow me I am Tree), but I stopped because I felt like I was never going to get back to those pins to try them. I have decided that for 2015 my goal will be to attempt all the pins on my Pinterest and let you know how they shake out.
I am going to start with the things on my boards that I can make for Holiday gift giving. Fortunately my darling husband and I have a tradition of not gifting to each other on Christmas. If we find something that is just perfect we might purchase it, but we don't feel obligated to purchase. That leaves me with needing gifts for:
LuLu (16 year old girl)
Thia (13 year old girl)
My Momma
My Father
My MIL
My Step FIL
My FIL and Step MIL
Dear Hubby's younger brother's (Billy a Freshman at the Merchant Marine Academy in King's Point, and Joey an adult embarking on his own life with a wonderful woman named Amanda).
I don't gift to my friends.
I have a few bath salts and whipped body butter recipes I want to try out and that I will use as gifts for my Mom, Step MIL and MIL. I know Lulu plans on using some of those items for her gift to her little sister.
For Thia I found a Toothless Plushie Tutorial on Pinterest and I am hoping I can come up with the fabric to make a toothless. That would be her "big" gift. We typically only do one big gift, an ornament and then something they have asked for. I have a few pins that might help me to fill her stocking. I was thinking about making a Coupon book for each of my girls and for my mother. Since I am hopeful to be back to work come early January I am going to keep the monthly tasks under $10 till at least June and then I am hopeful that we will be back on track and able to do more fun things.
I am a big believer in experiences and time spent together being more important that material gifts.
I have to keep mum on the items that are for Lulu since she is also on this blog, so I'll let you know post-holiday what items ended up being for her.
Lulu is launching her own business. She is making mini Octapi and Mochi as well as pencil cases. I have attached a picture of her Octapi model and hope she does well.
So while I am looking for accountability, I know that I have to prioritize and right now I need to prioritize to clean out the dinning room, living room and kitchen for the upcoming holiday. I also need to work on the crafts that will help me put together a wonderful and fun holiday.
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