Month: June 2013

Creating your own scented drawer liners is a quick and easy DIY idea. It can also make a great gift idea, once you have finished them just roll them up and tie up with ribbon.

All you need to get started is either some wall paper or good quality wrapping paper.  Measure and cut the paper to size first. Then fill a small 100ml spray bottle with warm water to which you can add 50-100 drops (3-5ml) of your favourite scent. You can use any scents you like for example, Essential Oils such as Lavender, Geranium, Lemon or Frangipani, or you can use a fragrance oil, which comes in lots of different scents, such as Citrus Lime, Fabsoft, Gardenia, Green Tea, Lily of the Valley, Passionfruit, Powder Fresh, Seamist and White Musk just to name a few. Make sure you shake the bottle really well then spray all over the back of the paper, try not to saturate, let to dry before placing into the drawer. To stop the paper from moving just put a couple of strips of double sided tape on the bottom, to help keep it in position.

If you want a drawer liner that also helps to keep bugs like silverfish out of your drawers use Lavender or Eucalyptus Essential oils in your spray.

Making Melt & Pour soap is so easy, if you can melt butter you can make soap!

To start with place glycerine soap in a bowl placed over a saucepan with water on a rolling boil. The soap melts like butter over low heat (Do Not let soap heat over 70^OC).  Stir constantly and remove from heat the moment half the soap has liquified and continue stirring whilst the rest of the soap liquifys.

Once the soap has melted, you can add food colourings, skin safe pigments or mycas, fragrances, emollients, hardeners and exfolients to the soap. Add a small amount at a time and stir gently to blend completely.

When you are satisfied with your soap, gently pour it into a mold. You can use jelly molds to form your soaps, or candy molds to create miniture guest soaps. A clean milk carton is great for making square soaps, or use a clean tuna can for a round soap. It’s amazing how many items around the house can be turned to good use as soap molds.

If there are bubbles on the top of your mold after pouring, they can be dispersed (Immediately after pouring, or else it will be too late) by spritzing with rubbing alcohol.

Leave the mold on the bench to allow the surface of the soap to skin over – maybe 10-15 mins. If you are in no hurry for your soap, the mold can be left overnight to harden, then gently invert the mold and wait for the soap to slide out. In a Hurry – Once the soap has formed a skin, and you can pick up the mold without spilling the soap, gently transfer the mold to the freezer. Freeze for an hour or so, then invert the mold and wait for the soap to slide out. If you have difficulty in getting the soap out of the mold, running hot water over the back of the mold for a few seconds may help. Freezing can also help in unmolding soap that has been left to set on the benchtop.

Be creative by adding decorations in your soap molds, the only limitation is your imagination!! Enjoy!!

Have you suffered from tired aching feet, burning or discomfort in your feet after a prolonged period of standing or walking. Anyone can get tired, achy feet. However, it is more likely to occur in people with flat or high-arched feet. It can also occur in people who are overweight, people who work on their feet all day and/or people who are not used to being on their feet who suddenly engage in a higher level of activity. So what can we do to soothe our tired achy feet??

Well, of course, one of the simplist things to do is to rest your feet. Lay down on the ground or in bed, elevate your feet with a cushion and enjoy 10-20 minutes of a good book. Another great way to soothe your feet is by placing them in a warm soak. Dissolve 1/2 cup of epsom salts or dead sea salts into a bucket of warm water add 3-4 of drops of Lavender Essential Oil for soothing, and 2-3 drops each of Rosemary and Lemon Essential Oil to refresh, revive, and stimulate the circulation in your feet. For Burning feet add 3-4 drops of Peppermint Oil for Cooling and 2-3 drops each of Lavender and Chamomile Roman to Soothe those aches away.

Afterwards massage your feet with a rejuvenating oil blend. Start with 15mls of base oil (almond or avocado oil), add 15ml of Calendula or Carrot Healing Oil, and 2-3 drops each of Peppermint, Eucalyptus and Lavender Essential Oils.

Now its time to put your feet up, have a cup of tea and start that good book you have been meaning to read!!

20,000 years ago, being alert could mean the difference between life and death. Today, being alert is more than vigilance and attention, its about mental responsiveness. Being alert goes beyond our physical surroundings it is also about being alive to the people around us too. It is not just about staying alive, it is about being alive – on the ball, in the game, sensitive.

Some essential oils that can help to bring about alertness include: basil, black pepper, Cardamon, Coriander, Cinnamon, Juniper, Petitgrain, Thyme, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Rosemary, Pine, Grapefruit, Bergamot and Lime.

Here is a blend that can be used to massage into the temples and back of the neck. Start with 15 ml of Base Oil (e.g. Almond or Olive Oil) add 6 drops of Ginger, 5 drops of Grapefruit and 4 drops of Juniper Essential Oils.

For thousands of years, people have been distilling and processing certain plant materials to extract their powerful healing essences. In medieval Latin, a theory of this famous physician, Paracelsus, referred to the oils he distilled from medicinal plants as the quinta essentia – the quintessence of the plant were the most active parts of a tree, shrub, plant or flower. This theory formed the basis for further investigations and experiments into the beneficial medical use of ‘Quinta Essentia” and that is where the term ‘Essential Oil’ comes from.