DIY Foaming Hand Soap (Easy and Money-saving)

Have you ever seen how much good quality hand soap costs? We have all bought it but have you really looked at the cost? A necessary evil, no?

I was determined not to buy hand soap again. I reused foaming hand soap bottles until finally, I fell upon these great bottles (thank you, InterDesign!). The trick is the bottle here. These special bottles ensure that you never have to buy hand soap again. They come in chrome, white, nickel, black and bronze (pictured below). 

 

 

This is like DIY foaming hand soap for dummies super savvy thrifters. The bottle has two lines on it. First to fill with soap and then to fill with distilled or filtered water. Essential oils (I prefer citrus, tea tree and clove) are a great addition and are naturally antibacterial.

 

All you need:
A Foaming Hand Soap Bottle (found here )

Dr. Bronners Castile Soap (citrus is nice for bathroom and kitchen)

Distilled or Filtered Water

Essential Oils (optional)

Fill the first line with castile soap. Fill to second line with water. Shake gently. And use!

The result is a great foaming hand soap without a lot of waste.

 

Move over triclosan! Make room for Essential Oils! According to Sophie Uliano in her book Gorgeously Green , triclosan, the chemical used in most antibacterial products, is carcinogenic and can weaken your immune system. It also can cause birth defects and fertility issues (p 21). Lavender, Tea Tree, and Lemongrass are all effective antibacterials. I buy Mountain Rose Herbs essential oils.

 

 

Week of Love: 2 Ingredient Lotion Bars + Giveaway

These two ingredient massage bars are one of the easiest and best gifts a gal or guy can get for Valentine's Day (love massage optional).

The cacao butter lends a rich, white chocolate smell mixed with the sweeter coconut oil. No fragrance is needed although feel free to add whatever essential oils strike your fancy. Try mint for a refreshing bar or orange for rejuvenating. Ylang ylang, jasmine, and rose geranium are all well-known aphrodisiacs.

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These bars are an average ratio of 2 parts cacao (more commonly known as cocoa) butter to 1 part coconut oil. They may seem pretty solid but these little bars warm quickly to our bodies. Feel free to substitute shea butter for cocoa if it's not available.

I used a small heart mold from Target to make mine mini (great for my two year old's hands who loves one after her bubble bath). There are several heart molds on amazon. Or you can line a loaf tin with parchment paper and after they are solid, cut them with a wire (like you would soap) into bar slices).

I buy all of my cocoa butter and essential oils from:
.

You can choose to weigh instead of measure as this is more accurate (I totally eyeballed it).

1 cup coconut oil
2.5 cups cocoa butter wafers

Directions:
Melt in double boiler until completely melted. Stir. Add 30-60 drops essential oil if desired. Pour into molds (or parchment lined loaf tin). Refridgerate until solid (at least four house) or freeze 20-30 minutes.

To gift, place in cellophane bag, empty tins, or in a mini paper box.

I'm giving two sets of three of these little bars away to two lucky winners! Comment below with one of your Valentines Day plans or favorite memory before midnight Tuesday the 12th to enter!

Pumpkin Chai Latte

This week starts off with our Chai Week! We also have Christina from Dandelions on the Wall and Alisa from Alisa's Garden contributing with some very fun and unique recipes on their blogs this week.

When the air is turning crisp and the leaves are falling, there is just nothing better than a hot cup of chai to guzzle. I love the smell of the spices as they infuse the tea over the stove. Mixed with pumpkin, it's just one beautiful cup of Fall! Best enjoyed in a cozy sweater and with a book.

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Besides being absolutely delicious, Chai is also a multi-tasker! The Ginger helps to increase circulation and aid in digestion (great for nausea) as well as being detoxifying. Cloves can help relieve stomach or tooth pain and strengthen the immune system, killing intestinal parasites. Cardamom helps relieve gas and can be soothing for bronchial problems. Black Peppercorns has antibacterial properties. Cinnamon also aids digestion when stagnant and can be great for indigestion and cramping (Nursing Mothers be careful of cinnamon as it can be the culprit for acid reflux in little ones). It is also can help fight fungal, bacterial, and parasitic infections (originally posted on my simple chai recipe).

I already have a simple chai recipe here on the blog which you might have seen mentioned in the Iced Coconut Chai Recipe (are you getting how much I like chai?). But for today's recipe I added a couple more spices and made the concentrate a more robust, detailed below.

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Pumpkin Chai Latte
1/4 part pumpkin puree
1 part chai concentrate*
1 part milk of choice
Sweetener of Choice (I used a little maple syrup = mmmm)

1. Warm chai concentrate, pumpkin puree and sweetener in a small saucepot (or microwave).
2. Seperately, warm the milk. Whisking for foam. (If you don't care for foam, you can heat the two together).
3. Pour the chai tea into the cup then the foamy milk. Sip. Enjoy!

Another option to enjoy this is to freeze the chai concentrate and blend it with the milk and pumpkin for a pumpkin chai frappe.

Chai Concentrate
3 Tb cardamom
3 Tb clove
1 Tb red peppercorns
A few square inches of ginger
1 TB allspice
3 anise stars
6 cups water
3 Tb Black Tea

1. Put all the ingredients except for the black tea in a medium saucepot. Boil then simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and add black tea. Cover for 5-10 minutes (depending on desired strength).
3. Strain and store in fridge.

Meanwhile, you can check out Christina's delicious-sounding, gluten, soy and dairy-free chai-spiced scones on her blog.

If you don't have time to make your own pumpkin puree, you can subscribe and save organic pumpkin on Vitacost (here's $10 off your first order) or 12 pack Farmers Market Organic Pumpkin from Amazon.

Autumn Scented Leather or Felt Bookmarks DailyBuzz Moms 9x9

Fall into Fall with Autumn Scented Leather and Felt Bookmarks

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Fall is
Guzzling Hot Cups of Tea
Cuddling in Big Sweaters
Cold Noses on Brisk Walks
Changing Colors
Warm Spices Baking

There is something so comforting about the spices of Fall. While summer's taste pops with fresh bursts of garden flavor, Fall's taste is soothing and warming with the late harvest. Pumpkins. Apples. Pears. Butternut Squash. All perfectly rounded out with cinnamon, clove, orange peel, and a little love. This is exactly what inspired me for this blog post. Not only did I want to enjoy the taste of fall in delicious baked goodies, I wanted to carry it with me all day and find it tucked in between the leaflet pages of a well-loved book. And what better way to enoy Autumn than through scent, one of our most powerful senses!

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Leather and felt are both wonderful bases for scents. As bookmarks, they are safeguarded until we open the leafy folds off a book to have them release a breeze of Autumn Spice to our tickled noses. Also these leather and felt swatches can be tucked in clothes drawers and hat boxes to impart their lovely scent onto clothing. Perfect to combat stinky shoes as well!

Tucked in a folded paper envelope or a book, these make great gifts! Simple yet elegant and you can tailor each gift depending on the person and their scent personality.

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I originally saw this idea in a book called Aroma. Mandy Aftel scented cut leather with rose and perilla base. I got the idea from the book but the essential oil mixes are all my own. If you would like to see other great ideas from Mandy Aftel, check out her other books on amazon.

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For the Essential Oil Mixes:

I've created three blends for you to use or work from and create your own. Put all the drops in one bottle and let sit overnight (or longer if you choose) to combine.

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Orange Spice
5 drops Clove EO
5 drops Cinnamon EO
20 drops Sweet Orange EO

Rosemary Thyme
20 drops Rosemary EO
10 dropsLemon EO
5 drops Thyme EO

Rosy Ginger
10 drops Ginger EO
5 drops Clove EO
15 drops Rose Absolute

Cedar and Pine
5 drops Lemon EO
10 drops Cedar EO
10 drops Pine EO

Each bottle contains enough to make at least five scented bookmarks. You can multiply these bases to make as many as you like.

Not only do these smell divine, essentials oils are also very therapuetic. Many are antibacterial and can help increase your immune system.

For the leather, I suggest untreated leather chamois from the Auto Supply Store or this product on amazon . Recylced felt sweaters are a great alternative to leather. For the felt, I suggest natural wools or felted sweaters (I used a purple Gap felted sweater) but felt from the craft supply store works as well. (Just make sure it is natural materials - Essential Oils are powerful and can actually deteriote plastics). I buy all my essential oils from Mountain Rose Herbs.

Directions for Scented Leather or Felt Bookmarks
If using felt, skip to # 3.

1. Wash the leather in soapy water.

2. Wring out and hang to dry (I let it dry overnight).

3. Cut into 2"x5" or so rectangles (or any size you would like).

4. Mix essential oils in a small dropper bottle (let sit overnight or longer to allow them to marry) and then drop 5 drops on leather or felt swatches and enjoy! Give as gifts with extra oil or tuck it in books or drawers for fall-scented surprises all around the house.

What is Fall to you?

What is your favorite thing about Autumn?

Do you have a favorite scent?