The Plague

Unfortunately there is a nasty virus that seems to be sweeping through our house.  Sore throat, achy, feverish symptoms that everyone is complaining of...everyone but me and I am praying it stays that way.  Right now I have an herbal chest rub in the crockpot that I will finish in time for bed tonight and hopefully it will help people get some sleep and relief from congestion.  It is menthol crystals and eucalyptus simmered in olive oil and when it is ready I will add in some beeswax to firm it up and put in tins.

 not looking too appealing right now, but it will be very effective!

 Decided to cook up some candied ginger too.  Time consuming but worth the time and effort.  Ginger is anti-microbial and a warming herb...soothing and incredibly tasty in so many ways!  Saved out some of the broth to make a tea later this evening!

Here is what the finished product looks like...mmmm!

While packing it into a jar I realized just how much sugar is left over.  I put that in the smaller jar to use for tea!   Fabulous!

Herbal Medicine Kit

This week I had the opportunity to spend time with two of my favorite girls sharing some of the herbal remedies I have been learning about recently!  
We spent a few hours each morning adding elements to our herbal medicine kits for winter.
On Monday we made herb infused oils with St John’s Wort, Calendula and Comfrey that we put in olive oil  on low heat in the crock pot for a few hours.  The girls also made  a jar of the same herbs and oil to take home and keep for 6 weeks until it is ready.  That way they learned  both the "folk" method and the quick method using heat.

On Tuesday we used the oil to make a healing salve. We added lavender essential oil for a wonderful scent to a useful medicine!

 I had calendula in almond oil already made that we  used to make some lip balm -- you can never have too much of that in the winter! This project begins with beeswax...which came in a huge slab and it was quite a challenge to chisel off just the  right amount.

The beeswax was melted in a double boiler, then we added our oil.  After removing from heat, the girls put in some bergamot (orange) essential oil.  It smelled wonderful and made some amazing lip balm!

I was able to order chapstick tubes in bulk from a vendor on ebay that worked out perfectly.

 Today we tackled two projects...elderberry syrup  and horehound candy.  We were really please with the way everything came out!  Elderberry syrup is wonderful for the immune system and because it has warming herbs in it like ginger, cinnamon and cloves, it is also really soothing when you have a cold.  I take a teaspoon a day and it is very tasty too!

 The horehound candy had to be boiled much like any hard candy.  We poured it into the pan and actually set it on the picnic table to cool.  The weather was pleasant today -- temperatures in the 40's and no wind...which is highly unusual  at this time of year...so we took full advantage.  Our candy hardened quickly and I used a pizza cutter to get some lines into it.  We then broke it apart by hand.  and e ended up with a good amount.  I filled some altoids tins and small containers I had so that I can carry a bit in my purse and send some to work with my husband..

The girls were also to take a bag home with them to share with the rest of the family.  It has been a productive week!  Thanks for coming to hang out gals!

Soap Cutting

Cut my first  batch of soap and ended up with 17 bars.  

They are each about 1 1/2 inches thick.

Now that they have passed inspection I will set them aside to cure for a few weeks.

Hand-milled Soap

Hand-milled, french-milled and rebatched  are all terms that refer to a particular method of soap making.  Taking an existing soap base, melting it down then adding your own oils, fragrances and herbs to make something new.  Since I am waiting for materials to arrive to get started making cold process soap, I decided to give this a try.

I purchased hypoallergenic unscented soap from the Dollar Tree.  

 Grated 4lbs of it...which was actually quick and easy.  I put it in the crock pot to melt

added some lavender essential oil and calendula flowers 

Here it is in the mold!
This whole process took much longer than anticipated  so by the time I finished, everyone was in bed sleeping.  When I got to the part where I am supposed to bang the mold on the counter to get the bubbles out...well let's just say it made quite a racket!  While the kids slept right through it, it gave my husband a scare...next time I will take that little time issue into account...lol.


I had a little soap left over after filling my mold and found the idea to make it into balls.  Definitely makes some interesting little hand soaps!  They actually look kind of tasty so I was sure to put them on the desk rather than leave them in the kitchen where a hungry teen might come across them : )

Herbal Soap Adventure - Preparations

I read somewhere that when someone becomes interested in herbs that eventually it leads to  making herbal soaps.  For me, that apparently is true.  There are so many wonderful herbal remedies I am learning about and I am anxious to try my hand at applying that knowledge to the soap ingredients.

After a little research, I decided that I would like to try cold process soap.  I have my lye and have now ordered various oils that I need.    While waiting for those to arrive, I started looking at soap molds.  

They can be very expensive but I found a lot of fantastic ideas for every day items you can use to mold your soap!  For instance, pvc pipe of different sizes...

When my husband realized I was headed for the garage...and his power tools, he graciously decided to help me.  He used 2 1/2 and 3 inch pipe and cut and sanded them to different lengths for me to try out.

Another idea I read about was using plastic drainage pipe...so off we went to home depot.  I love that people are always so helpful in this store but sometimes I really hate to explain why I am there.  Seldom am I buying something for its intended use.  Like last summer when I was looking for stump remover to make a homemade smoke bomb and the salesman launched into a very lengthy explanation of the best way to remove my stump...I didn't have the heart to tell him what I really wanted it for....but I digress.

We found the plastic drainage pipe and my DH cut and sanded that for me as well.  It has little ripples in it and should make some very interesting looking soap!

Last but not least, I saw that many companies sell nice wooden soap molds that come apart to remove the soap when it is ready.  Having discovered that these wooden soap molds can be expensive, I went to youtube where there appears to be a video for everything you are interested in learning, and found this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yog0-s9OsDA tutorial on making my very own wooden soap mold.  Once again, my main man came to the rescue and actually built me 2 soap molds!

 Can't wait to try them out!

Poppy was skeptical about the whole venture and due to the corgi's natural priorities...she believes that if it isn't food related, it is probably a waste of  time.

Time for Tea

ahhh...tea and roses...no need to say anything more.

Not ashamed to admit to my ongoing love affair with Cadbury's

I have a sweet friend who would love to share...I don't dare leave the tin within reach of this guy!

Herbal Project

 I have been dabbling in herbal medicines and have been pleased with the results.  Today I made some peppermint lip balm with calendula which is great for healing those chapped winter lips!  I put the calendula flowers in almond oil about 6 weeks ago and the it was finally ready to use.

I got the recipe  from herb mentor which has an "Herbal Basics" course that is fantastic!  It is so nice to have these on hand both for my own family and for gifts!

Also put together some different types of vinegar for future use.  Dandelion, Rosemary and Garlic & Peppercorn!  

Winter weather has arrived!

A few days ago it was clear and beautiful and I was running about outside in bare feet.  

Today is a different story altogether!  Snow flurries and howling winds...the perfect time to stay indoors and work on one of my New Year's resolutions. 

 I have been making African Flower squares for some time and have had several friends make a few to donate as well.  I have accumulated quite a stack and since I resolved to clear out my bin of WIP's (works in progress), I thought this might be a good place to start and it appears my pack agrees!

Pondering the mysteries of life? 

 More like pondering whether there is enough snow that her little belly might drag through it.  I have thoroughly spoiled corgis and they love the creature comforts.  I tried to encourage brief trips outside at lengthy intervals.  As soon as that cold wind hits them...my dogs are not sure it is worth going out there at all.    

So nice to have a fellow sojourner to help face the trials that come

Wintry Touches

 I have been trying to add little flurries of winter here and there...these are from some snowflake hotpad patterns I found at Crochet Pattern Central.  They work up very quickly!

 In the effort to bring my house out of the doldrums after all our festive Christmas things were packed, I hit the thrift stores and discovered a few treasures.  Love this candle tin!

Also happened upon these cute snowman candles that fit well with my beloved polish pottery!  

This snowflake square pattern has added some much needed cheer to my kitchen!  You can find it here http://www.crochetville.org/forum/showthread.php?t=133796

I love that with a pattern like this one there are so many fabulous uses.  An afghan square, potholder, hotpad, pillow...and the list goes on!!

Snowflakes and more snowflakes!

My mantle has been a work in progress.  I finally completed all my crocheted snowflakes  and am pleased with the results.  My little winter tree is the outcome of some unbelievably warm weather!  On Tuesday it was like spring...warm temps and no wind.  My neighbors were having a barbecue while others were out working in their yards.  I went for a walk and found the perfect branches to paint for my tree.  Then, set about making beaded snowflakes to hang on it.

Hmmmmm...the selection process it a tedious one...

How about these mom?

This crafting stuff  is exhausting!

Yes, that is a pitiful little face but when I heard snuffling noises, I wasn't certain that she might not  be doing a taste test on the beads.  When I questioned this...she was, of course, highly insulted.

Out with the old...time to make some new!

I love to decorate for the holidays!  It always looks very bare once the Christmas things are put away.  After finally getting all of that packed and stored, I need to get some wintry decor to add some cheer.  These are the current projects...

Completed a new snowflake hot pad and bought a plain white candle that I adorned with some glittery snowflake stickers.

These crocheted snowflakes are for a bunting for my fireplace mantle.  I got the pattern from Attic 24 and just used different sized hooks for varying sizes.

Poppy is helping to whip up some magnets.  

We received a set of magnets and pushpins for Christmas that we absolutely loved  (thank you Joy!) and decided to make some using a snowflake paper.  We are using scrapbook paper, different sizes of the glass pebbles and a glue stick to put them together.  Hot glue is used to attach a heavy magnet or thumbtack to the back.  These take minutes to make which is definitely my kind of project these days!

The Moon Sees Me

The moon is almost full and on such a clear and unseasonably warm night I couldn't stay inside.  I got a new camera for Christmas and couldn't resist experimenting with it.  

My assistant patiently catered to my whim and faithfully stayed by my side

It was quiet and still

I see the moon, 

And the moon sees me. 

God bless the moon, 

And God bless me.

--unknown

Sigh...are we finished yet?