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

Ever have one of those "get nothing done" days?

On the Hamster Wheel...

It seems like the faster I go the more I realize I'm not getting anywhere! This has been a very unproductive day...It started when I couldn't get logged on to my bank account. They had made me change my password and it didn't work. I had them send me the password and I copied and pasted to no avail. Finally, I emailed the bank, they called me and we got it sorted out. I live over 100 miles away from this bank and totally rely on the internet to check on deposits and withdrawals. Maybe it is time for me to consider switching banks?

It's such a major hassle to switch! I have to change at least 6 different accounts and deal with the government  to make the change- Argh! Now you know why I have been putting it off... :)

So next on my list of not getting done things is making more bags, making more soap, putting in an order and guess what? I have done none of them. I have gotten side tracked at least a dozen times. At this point I have decided to just wait until tomorrow, surely I will get stuff done then. 

What can I say? It's just been one of those "get nothing done days"!!

God bless you and see you next time!

Marla Riedling

MJR Soaps

ODWTC Class & the Derby yesterday and 7 new soaps on Etsy today!

One Day With The Creator

 My husband and I watched the first 2 segments of the new class "One Day With the Creator" put out by The Living Truth Fellowship. Only about 24 segments to go ;) !! It is a very insightful class that will definitely teach everyone about things they thought they knew and understood but unfortunately got skewed somewhere along the way... A re-learning experience to be sure!

7 NEW LISTINGS ON ETSY!

As always, the dreaded paperwork kept me busy today. I was able to get 7 new soaps added to my Etsy page-yay! Yesterday I spent the majority of the day bagging and tagging and taking pictures of soaps. Fun Fun! It is amazing how much time goes in to getting things ready before they can be put on the web for sale!

I took a picture of all the different soaps I have for sale right now-just getting them lined up was an interesting task! So many soaps and so many still curing and of course I have about 7 waiting in line to be made!
My cotton candy and other soaps are still waiting in the wings...I will get to them soon!

The Derby

When the trumpet sounds and they play "My Old Kentucky Home" I got goosebumps all over and the anticipation built for the big race! Did anyone else watch the Kentucky Derby? We did and I was very excited when my horse came in 3rd place! What a fun race! The rain stopped and although the track was very wet and muddy all the horses ran their hearts out. It was a beautiful sight I've seen before but one that never fails to bring tears to my eyes! Horse racing in general is so thrilling to watch and jump up and down rooting for your favorite! What an awesome day!

Until next time-may God bless you richly!

Marla Riedling
MJR Soaps

New Cutter in Action!

Marty uses the cutter for the first time!

Yahoo! He finally got 'er done! Now I will have some beautiful straight pieces of soap! Thank you so much Marty!!!! You are the best!

Of course you know I would have a really hard soap for him to do? Ha ha! Some Sugar Plum Soap for my nose's sweet tooth-;)