Peppermint Stripes Soap

Stripes, stripes where are all the stripes?

I'm always amazed at how I try an idea on soap and it ends up so much different than I planned. It was a good soap for doing stripes, it stayed liquid for me all the way through. I had white, green and true red. The red sort of took over the bars! I may have to try again but do it the way I did my tiger stripes in the past. I just wanted a candy cane look but as you can see, that is NOT what I got! I laid white on the bottom then drew diagonally across, red, green then extra heavy on the white. I used squeeze bottles to do it with.

Top view-this is what it was supposed to look like

View from front

Another Set

I'm rotating the soaps so you can see how they look.

Bottoms

A different view

All in all it turned out so much different than I would have expected! Now I don't know what to call it. My original name for it was Peppermint Stripes. Anyone have a good idea for a name? It smells like peppermint candy, it has peppermint candy fragrance oil and actual peppermint essential oil too. Should be a cooling soap! I'll report back on that in a month or so when I get to try some. Meanwhile...what do I call this soap?

And no I can't call it a peppermint mess or disaster! Ha! ;) This red is not supposed to bleed so again I will be excited to see what it does.

Just another day in soaping paradise! I made a Cranberry Fizz a few days ago that traced the second I put the fragrance oil in! That was fun to work with-NOT. Just having sooo much fun here. I had planned to drizzle white through the center of the soap but instead got a pretty solid line. I used a stick and went back and forth to try to get some feathering in but that soap barely budged! So now I have lines with light feathering:

 Oh and I did a soap on October 30 that went gold on me! I changed to Mayan Gold fragrance oil so that went fine but after the soap sat for a week it developed crystals, I shredded it back down and remelted it a couple days back and it looks wonderful now! And smells terrific!  It's a Goats Milk-Almond Milk Soap, the flecks are ground oatmeal which will give it a nice scrubbing action.

Mayan Gold

I replaced my Almond Goat's Milk soap which I've sold out of. It is a bit darker than my last batch because I decided to dedicate it to almond! It has ground almond & ground oats, sweet almond oil and a yummy smelling almond fragrance. This is a nice soap! The first batch I did I loved so much it became one of my favorite shower soaps, I think this one will too!

Almond Goats Milk Soap

So that's what I've been up to lately! I got new business cards made, got a ton of paperwork done and also made 2 of my holiday soaps. Only one to go! Bayberry, oh and then I need to make more Apple Cinnamon Goats Milk-I'm down to 4 bars, and maybe I'll do another coffee soap-only have 3 of those left too! 

My mom's annual church bazaar is coming up the Saturday before Thanksgiving and I plan to send them some soap to put in the bazaar-I hope South Dakotan's will like my Kentucky made natural soaps! :)

Hope you're having a great Saturday! Here the sun is shining and I think it's time to go eat some lunch!

God bless you! Take Care!

Marla Riedling

MJR Soaps

Mayan Gold Soap by MJR Soaps

Mayan Gold Goats Milk Soap

Hello all,

Just finished a new soap that started out to be Almond Goats Milk soap but using extra virgin olive oil prompted the change. It turned out gold from the green oil! I will try again using my standard olive oil on the Almond. I'm nearly out of 3 goats milk soaps and need to get them made so they can be cured out before the holidays.

I'm also doing a few seasonal soaps like peppermint, cranberry and bayberry. It should be fun! Some swirls comin' up! ;)

Here's a video:  Unmolding and cutting Mayan Gold Soap What's really funny is I've been wondering what type of soap I was going to make for that scent! The decision got made for me!

Hope you're doing great and having a wonderful fall season! God Bless!

Take care,

Marla
MJR Soaps

Lotion Making Time

My bottle is empty!

I realized my lotion bottle was empty so got busy and made some new lotions today! This bottle originally had some natural lotion in it that my daughter gave me. I pushed the plunger and put some in my hand, GAG! It was rancid! No lie!

I didn't tell her for a while because I didn't want her to feel bad. Instead I emptied the container, washed it extremely well, and made my own!

Alas, I just ran out, so here I go, it's lotion making time!

Lotion making isn't hard at all, the secret is having the right ingredients, if you live in a big city the chances are you can find a place that carries the stuff you need. If not, do what I do! Order online!

Hand and Body Lotion-98% Natural

Sterilize First!

Before you begin make sure that you have a good sterile environment. Use gloves and a small amount of food safe bleach and water(1:4) to clean any bowls or pots you may use. I'm not a big fan on the use of bleach because the bleaches out there aren't pure sodium hypochlorite anymore. You can also use steam, peroxide and even high proof alcohol. Start as sterile as you can as a good precaution. Use glass, porcelain or stainless steel to mix in. If adding water make sure it's sterile. Make sure whatever container you pour it into has been sterilized as well.

Get a good emulsifier!

I tried using beeswax & borax and couldn't get a good emulsification, I also tried beeswax and potassium sorbate, and I tried lecithin. I had too many problems! Oil is too precious to waste, so get yourself some emulsifying wax! Lotion making suppliers also carry:

• Palm Stearic (vegetable based Stearic Acid) and Cetearyl Alcohol (vegetable based emulsifying wax)
• Palm Stearic, Polysorbate 60, and Cetearyl Alcohol
• Sorbitan Monostearate, Polysorbate 60 and Cetearyl Alcohol
• Sorbitan Monostearate, Polysorbate 60

Figure out which one you like the best. For me, I just use the ewax! :) Oh and a quick note, those wonderful stick blenders aren't so wonderful for lotion. They put too much air into the mixture, better to go with a slow hand mixer or stand mixer!

Preservatives? Absolutely!

You also must add some type of preservative to be safe. If you mix a lotion with no preservatives in it, you risk all types of infection-staff, yeast, fungi, bacteria, molds. It isn't worth it believe me! I'd also go with a newer type of preservative the Germaben, Germaben II, Phenonip, Methyparaben and other types such as Germall and LiquaPar Oil have been tested and found wanting, thus the upgrades. I personally use Jeecide Cap-5 and have never had any issues. You can go to LotionCrafters online or Camden Gray for good preservatives like Jeecide Cap-5, Citricide, Cosmocil CQ, Optiphen Plus or Geogard Ultra at low cost. A small vial will last for many batches of lotion! Stay safe! You can honestly say you're making 98% natural hand lotion! :)

Natural preservatives are mostly antioxidants and will only last 3-6 months at best and they can still fail.  

They include: 

• Benzoin Powder (never more than  .25%)-can be a skin irritant
• Ceylon or Cassia Cinnamon-works best combined with Potassium Sorbate (add a dash to 1/4 teaspoon of each)
• Citric Acid-add to water after it is cooling, right before mixing oils .05-.3% This keeps the PH of the lotion lower.
• Geranium Essential Oil-1 drop per every 2 oz of lotion, add it during the final mixing stage right before bottling.
• Goldenseal, or Grapefruit Seed Extract-.5-1%-add it during the final mixing stage right before bottling.
• Green Tea Extracts-.5-3%-add it during the final mixing stage right before bottling.
• Rosemary Oil Extract-not the same as Rosemary Essential Oil, it is very thick and overpowering! - add at .1-.5% during the final mixing stage right before bottling.
• E T-50 Mixed Tocopherol Oil-add at .05-.5% -add it during the final mixing stage right before bottling.

It's your lotion so you decide what goes in it. Just be safe!

Thickeners and other add ins:

You can also use thickeners, stabilizers and all sorts of add ins like hydrolyzed silk, botanicals, oat protein, corn starch,arrow root-tried it, eh, I didn't see any difference, dimethicone, and on and on! I got lost looking at this stuff and went with NO add ins! LOL! Google it and you will see what I mean! You could spend a fortune and end up with a totally non-natural lotion! Pass! I can buy that in any store- ;) 

Okay we're all set!

Sharpen up your calculator, here is what I use for my lotions:

Ingredients: (use weight not volume)

• 30% of any type of oils (Shea, Coconut, Olive, Argan, Sesame, etc.)
• 60% liquid-can be tea, water, aloe vera, milks
• 8% Emulsifier (you can adjust this 5-8%)
• 2% Preservative

Directions:

1. Melt/warm your oils and ewax and bring to 170 degrees C in a clean glass, porcelain or stainless steel pot. Hold for 20 minutes.
2. Heat your liquid solution 170 degrees C, if using tea let it cool to this temp. Use a thermometer if in doubt! Hold for 20 minutes.
3. Pour your oils into glass mixing bowl, set your mixer at a low speed and slowly pour the hot liquid in. Continue mixing for a few minutes. You should see a nice thin lotion. (you can also use a blender)
4. Cover with clean cloth or paper towel and allow to cool to about 50 degrees.
5.  Add in your fragrances and preservatives at this time-stirring manually to get any air bubbles out of the mixture.
6. Once the mixture has cooled to room temperature you can pour it into your bottles. It will thicken as it finishes cooling.

1. 

Argan, Shea Butter, Sesame oils with Aloe, Chamomile and Honey

My face and hands are happy again! Yay! 


There is an eye make up remover I make that works great too. It contains:

• aloe vera 
• witch hazel 
• a tiny amount of sesame oil (it is lighter than most oils)

Fill bottle 45 % with aloe, 45% witch hazel and 10% sesame oil.

To use: shake vigorously and put a few drops on a cotton ball. Use on closed eyelid to remove waterproof mascara or lips to remove 24 hour lipstick. Wash face as usual.

It works great on my waterproof mascara.  I use very little oil in the mix because there are little bugs that eat oil called mites. Most people have them. Google eyelash bugs it if you don't believe me! If I can find an ingredient that works that isn't an oil I will use it! Wipe away make-up, then you can wash your face as usual with your all natural soap! If you don't have some go visit my Ebay or Etsy store for a good soap! :)


I personally love Mary Kay's Oil Free eye make-up remover! This is as close as I've come to it as far as how it feels after I wipe the cotton ball across it. I just wanted to get away from the chemicals in the Mary Kay product. Still searching for an oil free remover. Unfortunately I have been unable to give up make up. I use lip colors, blush, eyebrow pencil, eye shadows and waterproof mascara. *sigh* I haven't been able to stop, I like how it makes me look and feel. I'm doing lots of other things right. The makeup is my area I'm weak with....Oh well!


Many thanks go out to Isabella Duvall for her wonderful Shea Butter! I used it in several of my recipes today. :)


See ya soon!


Marla
MJR Soaps


Update: I started using Norwex over a year ago (2014) and have no need for any type of make up remover! They have microfiber make up remover wash cloths that work excellent! I use the cloth and then wash my face as usual. I can go soap free too if I want but I like how my skin feels using my aloe hibiscus soap! Check out Norwex-it's still fairly new to the USA.

Ahh Pumpkin-it must be fall!

Yes it's that time again! Pumpkin soap time! Here is a loaf of Pumpkin Spice Flax Milk Soap. 24 hours from the time I put it together until I removed it from the refrigerator!

And here are a few bars after they were cut a few minutes later, very pretty 

and boy does it smell good in here!

So much to do! I'm uploading a video on how I made this soap, it will be on my You Tube channel once it is finished.It was fun and I can hardly wait to try it our! October is right around the corner-yippee!

Hope you're having an awesome day!

Marla

MJR Soaps

Pumpkin Spice Flax Milk Video

Oh and if you'd love to have some go here: Etsy Flax Milk Soap Listing

Lining Soap Molds

Taking the horror out of lining a soap mold

When I first started making soap I used Parmalat Milk boxes because they are the perfect size and shape for the perfect size bar of soap-they even release the soap because the inside of the box has a nice lining. They make adorable soaps!  The problem is they only did 5-6 bars of soap at a time.

So I asked my talented husband if he could make me some "cool" soap molds that fold down. I showed him some online that were over $100. He said, "Okay, I can do that and for a whole lot less money".

 I was so excited when he made them!! Then came the horror, the unthinkable! 

How do I put soap in them and get the soap out? What do I use to line them with? I had no idea!

First I tried Vaseline on the sides and bottom because I'd read that mineral products do not saponify during the gel phase. This is what happened:

As you can see I had some trouble with that one! My husband had to help me get the sides to "unstick" The soap still was pretty though!

Coconut Chocolate Swirl

Next I tried parchment paper, the soap released but ended up with vertical lines along the bottom where the wood grain came through the parchment paper!
I tried

• plastic bags-eek!
•  plastic wrap-too hard to get perfect on the sides!
•  fiberglass-stuck!
•  hard plastic-stuck!
•  rubber-stuck!
•  Laminate-stuck!
•  Silicone-stuck!
• Freezer Paper-works but it has to be measured and cut very precise
• Parchment Paper-works but leaves lines, also has to be measured and cut very precise

 All of them had problems of one kind or another. Lining the "cool new molds" became my nightmare! More than once I ended up messing it us and starting over and over. I got some freezer paper and used a ruler and tried really hard to get it cut just right. Often I ended up wasting paper because one little corner was cut wrong. It made me depressed and just the thought of lining a mold got me tenser than a banjo string!

I started putting a piece of freezer paper on the bottom, and a piece on each side. I figured out I could wrap the ends with plastic wrap and that worked out great. It wasn't ideal, the soap would get around the seams, or the soap wouldn't have good edges. Making soap is my way to relax, it's something I truly enjoy but the lining issue was stealing all my peace and fun! 

Then one day, I had a IDEA!

  "why not just lay it across the middle?" 

It worked! And I could do it in a few minutes with no measuring, with just a few folds it was done! The paper was now under the end pieces and flush against the plastic wrapped ends. I still had some leaks on thinner pours but Marty, my husband, saw me struggle with the mess and took care of the problem! He kidnapped the molds that were leaking and glued some silicone rubber onto the bottoms. Now when I tighten the wing nuts it has a secure seal with NO MORE LEAKS! Yay! Here's a couple videos that show how I learned to line the molds:

Making soap became fun again now that the set up for the molds could be dealt with quickly and easily.

Have you had a bad lining day? Cheer up! You will figure out the answer. :)

Take care and God Bless!

Marla
MJR Soaps

• 
  

Neroli Orange Flax Milk Soap and Citrus Melon Hemp Milk

Using a webcam is new to me....

Just wanted to show you the pretty new soaps I made.  Both are milk soaps, the one I cut in the video is Flax Milk soap with Neroli-which is from the Bitter Orange Tree and Orange Oil from the peels of regular oranges. It smells very sweet light and fruity! The other is more Hemp Milk Soap scented with Grapefruit Ginger and Cucumber Melon. I shorten the name to Citrus Melon. It also smells sweet and light and fruity! My shop smells wonderful. Yum! :)  Both of these are so mild and gentle on the skin. My husband broke out before he started using my soaps, I put him on the Hemp milk several months ago and his skin looks the best it has in years! I asked him what he thought and I got the typical male response, "Well I don't know, it cleans good and seems like it works". That is as close to praise as he gets I think! ;)  Ha ha!

It's been about 24 hours since I made them. They are nice and firm and smell wonderful.  Next time I will record making the soap, I'm still new at doing it myself so please be patient with me, ha ha! I'm sure I'll get better at it!

Bless you! Enjoy the film.

Making some soaps for the fall season

Hello!

Well the Ebay idea has taken off! I went ahead and opened a store with them and am selling a whole lot more regularly and even have some repeat business coming in! :) There is nothing more exciting than when my phone goes "cha-ching" and I know I just sold some soap! I've been keeping my mail lady busy that's for sure! Thanks to a box manufacturer in Louisville and Endicia, I can pack, weigh, print and ship right from home. Endicia has saved me lots of postage and I love that I don't have to have the shipping price on the shipping label.

Today I made more Citrus Melon Hemp Milk soap as I'm down to 4 bars and it is selling well. It is such a skin healthy soap for eczema types of problems, I have had lots of great feedback on the Hemp Milk soaps! My husband is still using it every day and his skin looks really good! For a while he kept breaking out and having odd skin patches here and there but since he started using the Hemp milk soap it's all gone!

As for me, I trade off on the various soaps I have-I love them all! My favorites are hard for me to say because I genuinely love all the different soaps! :) My skin is aging very well, it stays soft and moist. Using home made soap and Argan oil has made the difference for me.

I have been wanting to make some flax soap and today I did it! It was just as easy as making hemp milk soap. No problem! Using coconut, olive, sweet almond, safflower, shea butter and a 1 oz of castor oil to be assured of good bubbles! A very rich nourishing, moisturizing soap. This soap has Neroli and Orange Oil in it along with some peach soap colorant, a pale orange color. Smells absolutely divine! As always, I can hardly wait for it to cure so I can try it! Sometimes I feel worse than a kid in a candy store whose favorite candy won't be in for a month! At least I get to smell it and peek at it while I wait...:)

Flax is good for so many things! Skin, hair, hormones etc. Full of Omega 3's and Lignans to help the hormones in a positive way. I regularly add ground flax seed to my morning Nutribullet. Maybe I should drink flax milk too? I've read many positive reports about it. I'll let you know if I go for it! (At present I drink Almond Milk.)

More goat milk soaps will need to be made as my Apple Cinnamon GM is nearly gone. I adore that soap! Smells so nice and feels so good on the skin! I'm definitely hooked on Milk Soaps of all types!

My Calendula soap is not a milk soap but it too has found a following so I will need to make more of that soon too. It is fantastic for itchy skin and for insect bites! I've used it a lot this summer.. And the Sea Soap  (Kelp Soap) is running low and that is on my to do list as well. I'm happy to be busy and making soap again! Making soap is fun, and always brings me peace. Go figure? Ha ha!

Anyone ever heard of pumpkin vanilla? I'm going to try to find or make a scent like that for the fall season. Pumpkin soap for sure. Last time I made it a hot processed style-it looked like pumpkin bread! Smelled like it too! This time I may make a tiger stripe or layer pumpkin with another color and smell. Still thinking.
I also have lots of fresh basil in my garden and want to make some type of basil soap. Maybe basil extract or basil infused oil. Still thinking. I also have fresh Thyme and am thinking how to use that as well.

Each month I make a tiny container of coconut oil and baking soda to brush my teeth with. I add various things at times. Last month I tried clove oil, the month before that vanilla extract, this month I decided to put a few drops of lemon and vanilla extracts. It smells so nice! The day after I made it something unusual happened-it turned pinkish purple! It still smells nice and works great on my teeth but it is now a plum color! I used Wilton extracts-clear ones. The month I put vanilla in I used ordinary brown vanilla and it never turned any colors. Isn't that odd? Some kind of chemical reaction happening, my teeth have never looked whiter though so I will use it and next month try something else.

Well time for me to get some supper going. Take care and God Bless!

Marla
MJR Soaps

UK & Wildcat soaps are finally complete!

After months of thought and preparation I finally got the soaps done for the Kentucky Pride Week coming next month.

I will need to trim soaps and steam the ash from the blue around the claws. 

Hand carved paws and claws, pads were done with charcoal soap.

How's this for Op Art Soap?

Front of Soap, I will let them harden a week before shaving.

Back of soap

Before Trimming

Back of the soap-the U and K go all the way through the soap!

Leftover blue soap was poured into a Star Ice Cube Tray and a heart mold.

A bit of each

Leftover white went into some big heart molds.

 I also did a blue and gold swirl from the leftover soaps, it will have to set up more before unmolding. Stay tuned...

The smells of these soaps are wonderful! Cotton candy is in some of the blue and the rest has Ocean Breeze. The orange is Orange Mango, the white is Cucumber Melon. So many nice scents in my shop right now! Love the smell of new soap in the mornin' ! :)
Hopefully the students at UK will love these soaps and buy them all!
Meanwhile the Alumni of University of Louisville have asked me to do some U of L soaps....more fun ahead! I can see it now...carving angry cardinals and doing some red and black U of L soaps! ;)  This time I think I'll get Marty to make me some wooden letters! Yes indeed-;)

So much to do! God bless and have a great day!

Marla
MJR Soaps

Back from vacation

Hi all,

It's been a while since I've posted, I've just been gone a lot. Traveling and doing lots of fun summer stuff!

Just got back from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Playing in the surf with my grand daughter.

Aren't we a motley crew? LOL!

Marty and I

We had a wonderful time playing in the water, making sand castles and checking out all the cool stuff along the Myrtle Beach board walk. I even got to try out some sunscreen-salt water was too much for it! Oh well! I'll have to make something stronger for salt water. It held up fine in fresh water. 

Going to Myrtle Beach was a lot of fun and many thanks go out to Marty Riedling Jr. and Megan Riedling for inviting us and putting up with us! Hugs! Hugs! Hugs!

________________________________________________________________________________

First week of July....

Rain Rain and busy busy!

It's been raining all week here and we have been working outside every time it stops! Crazy Kentucky weather....

I've been working on some specialty soaps for the Kentucky Pride week. I have some wildcat paws with claws! When I get them set into the Blue part of the soap I will post pics. It may be a while. Each one takes time to carve and inset the pads and claws.

Did some new "Strawberry Delight" soaps that turned out nearly see through! Very pretty soaps. Pictures coming soon. Finished up some plain brown vanilla soaps and I have been holding off making more until I sell some. I have 10 soaps just waiting to be born! Keeping a list of coming attractions keeps me from forgetting when I come up with an idea! ;)

Oh and I did some child size bars of what I call "Soap Crayons" I will post pictures of them soon too. Made with some very precious oils for their precious skin but with lots of color so they can have some blue green bubbles and draw in the tub! My grand children will have fun with these little soaps! Their mom may shoot me....ha ha!

Presently I had to redo my hard drive on my big computer-it died. That has been taking up all my time lately. It takes time to reload programs and back up files. As soon as I think I'm done I remember some other program I haven't installed yet!  And my laptop fan is going bad so today I have been making a back up of it onto another drive, I can't afford to lost what is on that computer!

Oh and I finally bit the bullet and put up a website-mjrsoaps.com Yay!

So I will be posting more soaps and other fun items in the very near future! God bless and TTYL!~

Marla
MJR Soaps

Not reaching the soap lovers...

Not much happening in Kentucky right now. I tried going to a Farmer's Market twice. The first time there were very few booths and only about 86 people showed up. I sold about 12 bars of soap and a few hearts. So I heard they had a big turnout 3 weeks back so I tried again. I sold 5 bars. I'm not sure if people just don't care about all natural organic soap or what! Very discouraging. I will be seeking some different venues around the area and see if I can find one that will move this soap!

Etsy has very slow. Just haven't sold much soap through them. Has anyone else had issues like this? How can I reach the right people? These soaps are wonderful for the skin and body, there is so much love that goes in to every batch I make! The smells in my shop are so nice and there is nothing I love more than planning new soaps! My skin looks and feels soft, supple and healthy since I started using my soaps exclusively. I even use them on my hair. Maybe I need to find someone who will help me market my soap?

I'm thinking about opening an Ebay store...more on that later. :)

Busy Weekend!

Busy is a good thing....most of the time!

Starting on Thursday it got really busy trying to get things finished and all loose ends tied up. Friday Marty made me 2 cute Stairs to put my soaps on display when we take them out to sell. Putting them flat on the table is just so boring! I asked him to make it as lightweight as possible and he came up with the corner pieces from some leftover siding! He used some lightweight wood for the ends. It worked really great this weekend!

 I also went ahead and invested in a 10 x 10 EZ up Canopy from Sam's Club. It will get used a lot!

Went to a Farmer's Market

I checked with a lady about a farmer's market just opening for it's first day of the season and they had no one selling soap so that's where we went. Got up at 5:10 am and headed 100 miles to Mount Washington, KY. It was a rainy morning and on the muggy damp side. My soap wasn't very happy and my ingredient cards were drooping. So sad! I may have to invest in some plastic type that is weather proof and wrap the soap to protect them. It will only get hotter as the season goes on. It was a very small turnout, about 5 booths and us, we had small groups of people flit in and out. I still managed to sell some soap! That's always a good thing! After that we headed out to the Awesome Flea Market and spoke with Marty's nephew, then on to the rest of the day.

Birthday Skating Party for 7 year old Kalia

From 1:00 to 4:00 the party was going, we got there about 1:30 and I slid into my skates and I was having a blast! I got to skate with my daughter and grand daughters-I'll skate until I'm 80 if I have my way! ;) Nothing more fun than flying around on a good pair of skates or blades!

Kalia & Megan

Kalia

Kynyatta & Grandma

b

Grandma backward skating

 After that was done we went to Lindsey Herps-Marty's niece, graduation party. It was very nice with family and friends.I gave Lindsey a soap she's been hinting that she would love to have-Caramel Latte' Goat Milk and she was delighted! Marty gave her cash which is always good! ;)

When we finally got back to Leitchfield it was close to 10 pm and we were both pooped! What a very busy day it was!

Sunday...back to more work!

After fellowshipping with the folks at T.L.T.F. I got to work sorting and reboxing and counting soap. I found I was 28 bars lighter than the day before! Next I started washing furniture pads-6 loads worth and got them all folded and packed away in case we need them next winter or for some thing else. It was a work filled day.

Today I have been posting new soaps on Etsy and changing the amount of the soaps I have available. I also put in an order with a new company. I hope they work out, I really like the variety and the price! Lone Star Candle Supply is the company in case you'd like to check them out too! 

Well that is all the news that is the news here in Leitchfield, Kentucky at Ambassador Shores Rd. Time to go and get some other stuff I have waiting done-my own laundry! Take care and God Bless!

DIY Sunscreen Cream & Sunscreen/Block Powder

There are some people that swear by the article written by Allure, saying DIY sunscreens are no good, but honestly, if I can't buy a sunscreen that has NO chemicals, I don't want it. The FDA's oversight of commercially produced sunscreen is minimal and allows for lots of known toxins, endocrine disrupters and chemicals that can react with the sun and become carcinogenic. I can slather up with zinc oxide and red raspberry seed oil if I'm going to be out in the sun a while. I've tried using the stuff they have at the amusement parks and still got burned. There are no perfect sunscreens and if you don't reapply constantly you will still end up burned. There are supplements that can also help your skin to be more accepting of the sun and protective against the UV rays. 

God gave us the beautiful sun, as in all things, moderation is the key. So it's up to you and your skin.


Here are two sunscreen/block recipes for keeping the skin happy, and to help it from getting burned this summer. :) I use Zinc Oxide because it sits on top of the skin, scattering and absorbing UVA and UVB rays. It is the safest and most effective active sunscreen ingredient. It's the same ingredient that is used in calamine lotion and diaper creams. Zinc Oxide is a chemical that occurs naturally in nature just as salt, sugar, water and other natural chemicals occur. Titanium dioxide also has a long history of use as a sunscreen agent. Titanium dioxide is found in almost every sunscreen with a physical blocker because of its high refractive index, its strong UV light absorbing capabilities and its resistance discoloration under ultraviolet light. This advantage enhances its stability and ability to protect the skin from ultraviolet light. Sunscreens designed for infants or people with sensitive skin are often based on titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide, as these mineral UV blockers are believed to cause less skin irritation than other UV absorbing chemicals. Using natural minerals isn't the same as adding things like octocryline or benophenone that are added to regular sunscreens-both man made chemicals. You can decide what you want on your skin.

Titanium Dioxide & Zinc Oxide Powder

DIY Sunscreen/block Cream

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Mango Butter, Cocoa Butter or Shea butter

1/4 cup Coconut Oil
1/4 cup Almond Oil, Argan Oil or Avocado Oil (these oils have natural sunscreens in them, almond is high in sulfur content so bugs don't care for it!)

1 tablespoon Beeswax Pellets
1 teaspoon vitamin E oil (I use T-50)
5-10 drops Pink Grapefruit Essential Oil (or you can use your favorite "skin friendly" essential oil)
2-3 drops Fragrance Oil of your choice (optional)

2-3 tablespoons of Zinc Oxide Powder

1 tablespoon Titanium Dioxide Powder

 Directions: 

1. Melt the coconut oil and butter until liquefied in a saucepan over low heat. (glass or enamel cookware preferred) Do not microwave as this will ruin the oil.

2. Remove from heat and pour in the almond oil, vitamin E and essential oil, stir together.
3. Next place it in the fridge for an hour to harden, it needs it to be a little firmer than room temperature butter.
4. Blend it until it has been whipped into butter. If you are having problems getting your butter to whip it is probably not cold enough-put it back in the refrigerator and get it colder.
5. Use a clean spatula and scrape into a clean 8 oz container, I'm using some small plastic containers with lids so I can put them in a few locations.
6. Use a small amount on skin-a little goes a long way. Your skin will thank you!
   

This cream is water resistant and does a really good job on keeping the sun from burning your skin. I used this and it lasted for 2 hours-no burn. The parts of me that I didn't cover, burned. Ouch. Next time I will put it on more spots when I go out to float around the cove of the lake. :) 

As far as an SPF rating goes I would say for sure it is at least a 30 SPF but more than likely 60 SPF. Just reapply it every 1-2 hours if you're in direct sunlight.

DIY Bug Repellant

DIY Bug Repellant

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz Water boiled in Sasafrass and strained*

4 oz Witch Hazel

1/2 t.Glycerin

10 drops Rosemary EO

10 drops Clove Bud EO

10 drops Cajeput EO

10 drops Lemongrass EO

10 drops Eucalyptus EO

10 drops Citronella EO

5 drops Cinnamon Oil

5 drops Peppermint Oil

5 drops Catnip EO

1 1/2 t Sweet Almond Oil

Place ingredients in a misting type of spray bottle, shake and use. 

*You can use pure water, mint tea, catnip tea instead of sassafras water. You can also use a preservative or grapefruit extract to preserve it if using teas.

Smells wonderful, won't stain skin or clothes and bugs will leave you alone. Doesn't make the skin feel oily or sticky either. 

These sprayers can be hard to find but it's worth it! Walmart has mist spray bottles with fans that work, just don't put a battery in it! If you use a regular spray bottle it comes out wet and will saturate skin, clothes etc., a fine mist sprayer will not. It puts out a very light "mist". If you have a pump hair spray bottle or other type of hair care product spray bottle, it may be a fine mist sprayer, save those empty bottles! :)

I used this two days ago while I washed our boat, I had lots of things buzzing around me but never got any bites! Yay! It's a 1959 Lonestar and still looks great and loves to go out on the lake! Well I'm off to dreamland, talk to you again soon! Bless you! Good night!

DIY Small Bag Tutorial

A Small Bag Making Tutorial....

I've been asked to show how it's done. I had some pictures but am wishing I'd done a video. 

I put together a slide show presentation. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask! I'll share the medium bag tutorial soon! Until next time, have a wonderful day!

e

Making bags and more bags

Making Small Bags and Medium Bags

For the past week I've been working very diligently on making small bags and medium bags. I have my count up to 120 on the small bags and 35 on the medium. I also purchased regular size paper shopping bags and stamped my logo on them. It's amazing how much time and effort have gone into these bags! And just think, I will give them all away!

Small Bags bundled in 20 each

Medium bags in progress

Here's all three sizes

Medium Bags waiting for me to do the bottoms

  Making bags is tedious and time consuming but I already had the paper and needed bags so this seemed like a good use of my time. Once all the paper is gone I will probably order bags from U-line next time! This way it only cost me the glue since I already had the scrap book paper, and I got that at half price from Hobby Lobby! My husband uses twine from Home Centers and donated the twine to me for handles-it worked quite well!

I received a partial shipment on soap supplies and am waiting on another shipment to come in. Then I will be back to making more soap! :)   I also received some supplies to make some pest repellent. I will do one similar to Natural Bug Repellent safe for babies and kids  but without the almond oil and I will add Cajeput EO and catnip EO. (It works better to use as many from the mint family as you can.) I use pure water, witch hazel and about 50 drops of various essential oils. We have a lot of bugs here by Nolin Lake and need to use something daily to keep from being ate up. I prefer natural to "Deep Woods Off" type of sprays that are full of chemicals. So off I go to finish the bottoms of the remaining bags. Have a great day and God Bless!

Marla Riedling
MJR Soaps