DIY

How to Make a Body Butter (Reblog)

by
I was in the mood to make a body butter and share it here, so I decided to look at the recipes I’ve made before and decided that I would just reblog the one I followed most closely, otherwise it’d just be a repeat anyway. I love making body butters because of the way they change from solid, to liquid, to a creamy consistency. It’s like true alchemy at work. They are decadent too, and so perfect for this time of year when heaters start cranking and skin starts cracking. These butters are perfect for the skin that gets driest, such as feet and elbows and hands, but I use these all over my body and my legs seem to especially love the highly moisturizing texture. They make lovely gifts too, just heed the warning below about using a tight-fitting lid such as a screw top if you or your lucky giftee have a prying pet. Below is my blog from February of 2018, and here is another one on making body butter complete with video.

Making a body butter or cream is an especially magical process because the mere act of whipping the concoction creates the luxurious feel of the product and also the opaqueness. It’s really easy to do and there are so many ways to do it that I very rarely repeat the same process twice in the exact same way. That being said, I don’t always get the proportions exactly right for a proper whip to the recipe so do follow the ingredient recommendations closely of whatever recipe you choose at least for the first time or two. Even if the whipping doesn’t make your butter quite creamy, you will still end up with a soft balm that is just as good for moisturizing, and considering all these ingredients are natural, healthy, and non-toxic, you can use them on any part of your body that needs a little lotion-y love. Use whatever essential oils you like, but just know if you are using the recipe below the cocoa butter gives the finished product a decidedly chocolate-y scent, so figure that into your scent profile. For example, orange and chocolate might be good, cedarwood and chocolate though….maybe not.) I used vanilla absolute to round out the chocolate scent and the lavender to make sure it didn’t smell completely like food, plus lavender has so many skin benefits.

25AACD8A-2C24-4EA7-8017-2F6C8FC2F792[1]

Body Butter

1/2 C Cocoa Butter

1/4 C Coconut Oil

1/8 C Shea Butter

1/8 C Rose Oil (Olive Oil based)

20 drops Lavender

10 drops Vanilla Absolute

Put all the ingredients, except for the essential oils, into a measuring cup that can go into a pot of water that will heat up to a simmer. 3756C7C8-FDB6-4FEB-B5E5-051F1F1C9E5A[1]Let the solids completely melt, then take the measuring cup out of the water and let the liquid cool. You can put the measuring cup on ice, or put it in the fridge or freezer with a clean towel on top of it. It takes a while to cool, anywhere between a half hour to an hour depending on how it is cooling (freezer or on ice or just sitting out or whatnot). If you lose track of time and find the measuring cup hours later rock solid, don’t worry, just melt it again. When the liquid feels room temperature to the touch, add the essential oils and start whipping it with an electric mixer or in a blender until it turns creamy and opaque. This could take 5-10 minutes, depending on how cool the liquid is upon starting. Pour the butter into a clean jar and keep it out of heat and light for storage. This is a very emollient body butter, good for hand or foot cream, elbows, or any part of the body that is very dry. It isn’t recommended for the face though because those hard oils and butter can be pore clogging. It smells decadent and it is really fun to make something that starts off mostly solid, melts into a liquid, then whips into a totally new texture.

45F09253-CA73-4ABD-84A3-CAE927C60A5A[1]

Store in a clean glass jar with a tight fitting top, in a cool, dark place. Preferably a cool, dark place up out of nosey doggie territory. I was going to give this body butter to a friend so I had it down on the bottom of my shelf of herbal things where I knew I wouldn’t forget about it, but see that cork there…? My dog took the cork out of the jar (it does smell heavenly, and very much like food despite the lavender, I have to admit) and the jar hardened to a decidedly non-butter state. Definitely not gift-worthy anymore although I’ll still use it. Now it’s back to the stove top to make another batch, this time with a screw-lid jar.

This does harden a bit over a couple of days even with a properly closed container, so don’t be surprised if that happens. It still melts right onto (and into) your skin. We have all heard how skin is our largest organ and whatever we put on it goes into the body, so make sure you are only using the best, purest, products. You are worth it and your body will thank you. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

Herbal Perfume Base DIY Part 2

by

This is a follow up post to the one about making herbal perfume bases. After the tincture sits for about a month, it is ready to be strained and used as a perfume base. It can sit for longer than a month and potentially get a little stronger, but if you are like me and get antsy to get crafting, a month is long enough. I actually strained mine this time slightly before a full month was up, but I could tell from the scent and the color that it was ready. A note about the color~ when you make an herbal tincture it will inevitably take on the color of the herbs which shouldn’t be a surprise, but it may seem strange to put colored perfume on your body. The color does not show up on the body and I’ve never had it stain my clothes either so you don’t need to worry about that. If you do not like the idea of colored perfume, stick to essential oils in straight alcohol, or make an herbal oil instead because oils take on a lot less color. Here’s part two of making an herbal perfume base:

The final perfume I made with the 2 oz. spray bottle is the following:

50 drops ylang ylang

10 drops nutmeg

3 drops palo santo (because I’m out of sandalwood)

5 drops bergamot

This turned out to have a nice, fresh, gender-neutral, autumn day scent. If you watched the video you will know that I was thinking of adding jasmine but I’m just not really feeling jasmine-y this time of year. Nutmeg is a strong scent which is why there are only 10 drops while ylang ylang has 5 times as much, but the scent turned out to have a strong vanilla-nutmeg scent which just feels right for October. It could have really used some sandalwood but I improvised with the palo santo which is another essential oil that is extremely strong so only three drops of that one. The bergamot just gave it a light, happy finish as the only real top note in the mix.

Thank you for reading and please subscribe if you haven ‘t already for more herbal tutorials and wellness articles from the natural foods and products world.

 

Herbal Perfume Base DIY

by

It’s really nice to have an herbal oil or herbal extract as your natural perfume base because it adds another layer of scent and benefits to your perfume. It also lessens the amount of essential oils you need in your perfume, making the end product more affordable and sustainable. Essential oils are wonderful, therapeutic, beautiful gifts from the earth, but they should be used sparingly as their production can and does take an environmental toll in some cases. Sandalwood, for example, has become endangered due to over harvesting and some other environmental factors, which is also why its price has been steadily and substantially increasing. It often takes an enormous amount of botanical material to make an essential oil, and the more material it takes the more expensive the resulting essential oil. Rose and Jasmine (link is to an absolute) are classic examples of this, and one way around the steep environmental and personal financial price, is to make an oil or extract from the flowers yourself. It takes 60,000 rose blossoms to make 1 oz of rose essential oil, and it takes even more Jasmine than that, but to make an oil or extract, you can use a lot less and end up with a great product although not as potent. Vanilla is another great herb to use as an oil or extract because vanilla can’t be made into an essential oil, it can be made into an absolute which is generally found already mixed with jojoba oil, so using it in an alcohol based perfume is not rose and vanilla in oilrecommended other than as an extract itself. I like to make my perfumes that are alcohol base with vanilla extract, then add essential oils to it. You don’t need to just pick one herb though, you can add herbs together for a unique, multidimensional scent as your base, then layer in the essential oils to create something completely your own~ a true signature scent.

Today I made rose vanilla oil and rose vanilla extract for my perfume bases. The extract will take 4-8 weeks to cure, but the oil is ready in a few hours (thanks to the quick method) so I can start experimenting with some fall scents right away. Below is what I did, but remember that you can do this with any botanical ingredient that you like. If you have something growing near you that isn’t found as an essential oil, I especially encourage you to try working with that and seeing what kind of special, local scent you can create full of originality and terroir. Go for it!

Thank you for reading/watching and I hope you are inspired to create your own multilayered natural perfume or cologne with an herbal base. Let me know what your favorite combinations are~ I’d love to hear!

 

Lavender Lore

by

This Saturday I’m giving a DIY class on using French lavender and French green clay to make bath and body treats to celebrate Bastille Day (a day early). I thought I’d share a bit of the history and folklore of lavender here that I’ll be sharing in the class before we start crafting.

Lavender first originated in Arabia, then spread to the Greeks who considered it sacred. Egyptians used it in mummification process and were the first to make it into perfume. The name lavender comes from the Latin word lavare, “to wash” because the Romans used lavender to scent their baths. It was expensive at that time and only used by the wealthiest Romans. Lavender has long been used for cleansing purposes, and it was even used to ward off plague in the middle ages. By that time it was more common and less expensive, so even poor villagers would tie lavender around their wrists in hopes of keeping the plague away.

Lavender’s essential oils are antibacterial and it is used externally as well as the herb being used internally in tea, tinctures, or eating the flower tops on salad. The essential oil is sometimes used internally but only do so on the advice of a trained professional. Taking essential oils internally can be dangerous, even deadly, and they have a drying effect on the internal tissues, plus it is not a sustainable use of the herb. Keep in mind, the essential oils are present in the herbs themselves, (that why they smell the way they do!) whether using fresh or dried herbs, so those e.o. qualities are there without the potency of just the essential oil alone.

There are four categories of lavender with many hybrids and species. Lavandula stoechas is the category sometimes known as French lavender. They all more or less have the same characteristics and can be used interchangeably, but French Lavender has long been prized in perfumery for its strong scent.

Lavender in general has also been traditionally used for its therapeutic benefits and actually is known for beginning the research into the medicinal qualities of essential oils. The story goes that a French chemist and scholar named René-Maurice Gattefossé had an accident in this laboratory which resulted in burns. The story says he plunged his arms which were on fire into a vat of lavender oil “accidentally” although some say after he put out the flames he intentionally put lavender essential oil on the burns. Even though the specifics of the story are unclear, either way, he had such great results and so little scarring that he continued to study the medicinal qualities of essential oils and used that knowledge of lavender on WW1 burn victims. This is said to be the real beginning of the study of essential oils for medicinal use.

Essential oils are 99% of the time, not to be put directly on the skin without a carrier. Lavender essential oil is one exception to this rule as it is tolerated ‘neat’ by most people, and can be therapeutic in cases of burns, bug bites, cuts, and acne.

Lavender essential oil is known to be a relaxing scent that blends well with all other essential oils. It is great for uplifting moods and allaying anxiety. A blend I recommend for anxiety and panic attacks is lavender and neroli, while a good blend to help fight depression is lavender and orange or lavender and grapefruit. All the citrus oils are anti-depressant and lavender adds in a relaxed component. BTW, if you clicked on those links and are surprised by the price of neroli, it’s important to know that neroli is one of those higher-priced precious oils but there is a less expensive option. You can get neroli absolute instead, which is already blended with jojoba oil.

In the class I’m giving on Saturday, we will be making lavender bath and body oil, bath salts, lavender and French green clay masks, and a facial toner. It’s so fun to craft with people~ I’d love to see you there! Thank you for reading and please share with lavender lovers everywhere.

 

Infused Witch Hazel

by

I wanted to show you the end of the process since I showed you the beginning a few weeks back. This is the witch hazel after four weeks of infusion. The witch hazel has clearly been infused with all the beneficial qualities of the rose petals and calendula because the color of the liquid has turned from crystal clear to a deep, warm orange. I prepped some for a facial toner with geranium and carrot seed essential oils, and left the rest without any essential oils in case I needed it for an after sun spray, in which case I’ll use lavender and peppermint essential oils instead.

Witch hazel is anti-inflammatory, soothing, cleansing, and balancing to skin alone, but infusing it with botanicals makes it a medium for adding more antioxidants, healing, and enhancing properties to your skin. It’s also just fun and so rewarding to see the color change that takes place when infusing it with herbs, so it makes for a particularly good green beauty craft for young teens/tweens and it’s also gentle enough for them to actually use.

Thank you for reading and watching! I also added a couple of other new videos on YouTube on making natural perfumes if you are interested in actual recipes. Watch the alcohol based version first because in the oil based body perfume video I tell you how to (somewhat) alleviate a problem with essential oil perfumes that I bring up in the first one~ the fact that products made with essential oils just don’t stick around as long as chemical fragrances due to their ‘alive’ and volatile natures.

Happy holiday week to all the Canadians and Americans and anyone else out there who has a holiday this first week of July :0).

 

More DIY Herb Classes

by

I’m excited to share with you guys the rest of this year’s herb classes I’m teaching at the gorgeous 21 Acres. The following are the workshops already planned, but I’m also collaborating with them on private events, so if you have an idea in mind of a special GNO, or a unique work outing/team building experience, you can contact 21 Acres or me to coordinate a class. I am also available to facilitate herbal events at other places as well, so contact me if you have something in mind and let’s chat!

https://21acres.org/event/girls-day-out-french-spa-beauty/

https://21acres.org/event/make-your-own-herbal-mood-boosters/

https://21acres.org/event/folkloric-medicines-101-make-your-own-herbal-crafts/

https://21acres.org/event/become-a-master-perfumer/

https://21acres.org/event/cut-the-sniffles-herbal-immune-boosters/

https://21acres.org/event/holiday-culinary-gifts/

https://21acres.org/event/holiday-green-beauty/

Come if you can and please share with anyone who might be interested. Even if you aren’t around for an herb class, if you are in the area then you should really check out 21 Acres in Woodinville. They have a lot of great events there, a working farm, a market with local foods, camps for kids, and the people who work there are all warm and inviting. Definitely a good vibes place! (I took that pic up top there btw.)

Have a great solstice everyone!

 

 

Infusing Witch Hazel

by

Witch hazel is a great ingredient to have in your natural beauty cabinet. It is anti-inflammatory, soothing and healing, great for acne and other skin conditions, balances pH, and can be used to cleanse the skin. It is most often used as a toner, the step between cleansing and applying serum and/or moisturizer, and can be mixed with other ingredients to create a more multidimensional product. I have shared a couple of toner recipes here already, this more basic one and this one with a glycerine infusion, but you can also infuse the witch hazel itself with herbs to customize it for your particular needs. I like to infuse witch hazel with green tea for toner concoctions, but for this tutorial I’m infusing healing herbs for after sun spray for a class I’m giving later in the month.

If you follow me on instagram, you might already know that I’ve chosen to infuse two herbs into witch hazel intended for after sun spray. Calendula and rose are both well-known skin herbs that add extra healing qualities to the witch hazel and essential oils (added later) for sun damaged skin. Either one would be a great choice, but since I happen to have both of the herbs in stock, I am using both. After the infusion sits for 2-4 weeks, I will strain the herbs from the witch hazel, pour the liquid into spray bottles, then add essential oils. It’s surprisingly easy to do, just like making a tincture, and really the hardest part is straining it without making a royal mess.

Here’s how to infuse witch hazel:

You will need the following:

witch hazel infusion

Fill the jar about half full with the dried herbs, cover with enough witch hazel so that the herbs are completely saturated and there is at least an extra inch of liquid on top. Push the herbs down (they will float to the top) with a wooden chopstick until they are completely covered. Put a piece of plastic wrap over the cover if using a metal lid, otherwise just cover with a plastic lid and shake gently. Let it sit in a cool dry place for 2-4 weeks. The longer it sits, the stronger the infusion will be so wait the full 4 weeks if you can. Strain and use as is or add other ingredients such as aloe and/or essential oils such witch hazel infusion1as peppermint for cooling or lavender for skin healing (or both).

Store in a cool, dry place, preferably the refrigerator since it is specifically for over-sunned skin. It will feel especially cool and soothing if it is fresh from the fridge, and if you do put aloe vera gel or juice into the mixture, it really needs to stay in the refrigerator to last for about 10 days. If there is no aloe in it, it will last for longer, so you can count on it being potent for a good three months or more, assuming no stray germs got into it during the creation process.

Thank you for reading and enjoy the sun safely! Please share with anyone prone to over-sunning themselves in the summertime.

 

What’s in a Name?

by

Shakespeare probably didn’t know how appropriate this quote would be:

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”  Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

There is a lot of confusion out there on what rose oil is compared to rose essential oil compared to rose hip oil. It surprises me every time someone says something like, “Oh I would never put undiluted rose hip oil on my face” or “What do you infuse in your essential oils?” or “Do you make essential oils at home?” I get these comments and questions all the time and it throws me, until I realize they are not talking about the thing that they think they are talking about. If those questions sound reasonable to you, rest assured you are not alone. I was talking to an aesthetician this weekend who is a brand rep for a natural beauty company, and even he was confused on what rose hip oil is. He thought it was an essential oil, which it is not. It is a highly potent base oil, closer in properties to olive oil or coconut oil, and can absolutely go directly on the face undiluted. Rose hip oil is full of antioxidants and vitamin C, in fact you will find it in vitamin C supplements, and has been used for its beautifying properties for ages. It is known to improve texture and tone of the skin, lightening dark spots and reducing fine lines and wrinkles, as well as firming and brightening the skin. It can be found as an ingredient in many facial creams and serums, but can also just be used as is, on your face, hair, and body. Rose hips, sometimes spelled rosehips, are the little fruits left over after the rose petals have fallen away. The oil should be cold pressed, as heat can damage the active constituents.

Rose oil and rose essential oil are made with the rose petals themselves. To make rose essential oil, you need a rather large steam distillation system and quite a few roses, around 60,000 rose blossoms in fact to make one ounce of essential oil. This is why rose essential oil is one of the most expensive oils you can buy. (This is also why I get taken aback by the question of making my own at home. Although that is possible with the right equipment and access to a lot of fresh flowers, it is pretty rare. I can only think of a couple of herbalists that have their own distillation equipment, and they are people who live on farms, not the ‘burbs.) Rose essential oil is also known to be great for the skin, but it should be diluted before going on the skin. It makes a great addition to a toner, serum, or moisturizer, and is especially good for mature skin. You cannot “infuse essential oils” with anything, though you can add essential oils to bath and body products, thereby infusing them with the qualities of the essential oils. In other words, essential oils cannot be a menstruum (solvent) for other products, but they can be added to common solvents such as a base oil or alcohol.

Here’s a quick video to show you how to keep your rosehip oil from going rancid, which essential oils can be added to your rosehip oil to take it to full serum status, and how to get the benefits of rose essential oil at a more affordable price:

Rose oil is easy to make in any kitchen and far less expensive than rose essential oil. I’ve made it here a couple of times, once using the Folk Method and once using the Quick Method. This is a great way to use rose petals from your own garden because you can make as small of a batch as you want. Rose oil makes a great base for perfumed body oils, balms, and butters. It is easy and fun to make, and makes lovely gifts as well.

Rose water or hydrosol is another beauty staple for green beauty lovers. These are especially good in homemade toners. Roses have a long history entwined with beauty and love, and there are many ways to take advantage of the their traditional qualities. I hope this clears up any name confusion out there, and maybe entice some of you to look at including roses in some form in your face and body routines. We are in an age of self care and self love reminders, and roses do it all like no other.

Thank you for reading and please share with anyone who might have questions about how to use roses in their beauty regimes.

*This website has links to affiliations with amazon which provide a small incentive back to me. This helps to keep the information coming in such a way that is free to the reader. I only talk about products or services I truly love and believe in and hope this information brings every reader/watcher closer to their optimal health and wellness whether or not they buy anything through these links.

How to Make an Herbal Syrup

by

Herbal syrups are a kid-friendly and throat-friendly way to take healing herbs. They don’t have to be doled out in medicinal spoonfuls either, you can add them to tea, pancakes, or cocktails just like any other syrup. Elderberry syrup is a classic immune booster for wintertime cough and cold season, but other herbs such as licorice, thyme, and sage make excellent upper respiratory syrups as well. Even Hippocrates himself had a recipe for bronchitis that included thyme: For Bronchitis, 2 cups water with 3 T thyme, steep 10 minutes then drink twice/day~ Hippocrates.

I made licorice syrup with cinnamon in this tutorial. Licorice has many uses, from respiratory to digestive to adaptogenic properties. It is also anti-viral, making it a great cold and flu fighter. Some people are a little frightened of licorice because when taken in excessively large doses, it can raise blood pressure. Licorice is one of the top ten herbs used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) though, and it is included in many TCM herbal blends for a variety of issues, (though usually in smallish amounts.) If it has worked for thousands of years for a multitude of different issues for so many, I think most people are safe to take licorice for their throat, stomach, and cough complaints. That is of course up to you and your personal health advisers. Other herbs can be used instead of licorice, with the same instructions, and you can of course use sugar as the sweetener if you want. Honey and agave nectar have soothing, coating properties to aid healing, and in agave’s case, less of a glycemic impact.

Herbal Syrup:

›Materials: Dried herbal material such as licorice, elderberries, or thyme, water, honey or agave nectar, a pot, a clean glass jar.

›Combine the herbs and water in a pot in a ratio of 1:2. (Example, 1 cup herbs to 2 cups water)

›Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, 30-40 minutes until reduced by approximately half.

›Strain the herbal material, put the liquid back in the pot and add the same amount of sweetener, over low heat, for another 10 or so minutes. In other words, if you have 3/4 cup of liquid left after cooking and straining, then you add 3/4 cup of sweetener.

›Let it cool, then bottle and refrigerate for longest storage.

This video shows you how easy it is (please ignore my messy house and hair. This was done within some time constraints and really needs to be updated. Soon…..) :

I hope you and your loved ones are making it through the winter season without any illnesses. The snowcopalypse that shut down the Seattle area is finally easing a bit and I have even spotted some robins already, so spring must be on its way. Take care and please share with anyone looking for an herbal boost.

Valentine’s Day Herbal Gifts

by

Homemade gifts made with heart and intention are perfect for the holiday that celebrates love. Valentine’s Day is a warm reminder during this cold season that love should be celebrated fully and joyfully in all its forms, from friendship to family, and of course that special someone. Everyone can appreciate an herbal gift that conveys not only love, but also health, beauty, and green thoughtfulness.

WP_20180307_10_29_27_Pro

What plant could be more associated with Valentine’s than the rose? A flower of beauty that signifies love, it also has healing attributes that qualify it as an herb. Drinking rose petal tea is relaxing, due to its mildly sedative properties, and it also has some historical use as a headache reliever. The petals are used extensively for skin health, anti-aging, and beautification, while rose hips are full of bio-available vitamin C. Rose oil makes a lovely base for a massage or bath oil, and bath salts with rose petals would make a relaxing gift that encourages self-care and rejuvenation. Baths full of rose petals are picturesque and you will see plenty on Instagram, but if you don’t want to clean up wet petals after a restful bath, I suggest packing them in a muslin bag. You get all the benefits without worrying about the messy clean-up afterwards. The proportion of salts to rose petals is completely up to you, but if you want to add essential oils to the mixture, keep the essential oils down to about 10-20 drops per cup of mixture. Example: 1 cup Dead Sea Salt, 1/2 cup rose petals, 15 drops of lavender oil, and 10 drops of rose absolute in jojoba. Mix all together in a bowl before adding to a jar with a tight cap for gifting. Don’t forget to add the reusable muslin bag inside the jar, or tie it on the outside. 

Making a rose petal mask is another lovely way to gift roses and encourage self-care. Make a powder from dried rose petals either by using a mortar and pestle or a food processor. I actually use an old coffee grinder for making herbal powders and it works great. Mix the rose powder with either French Green Clay or another clay that suits the skin of your recipient (or yourself if this is a self-love gift) in the proportion of 1/3 rose powder, 2/3 clay. Example: 1 tablespoon rose powder mixed with 2 tablespoons clay. Store in a dark glass jar and mix one tablespoon at a time with either a water, a hydrosol, honey, or yogurt to apply. Actually, adding the powder mix to any of these one ingredient masks will make a multifaceted concoction, and you can choose if you want more of a firming, brightening, or evening out action. Leave on for 10-15 minutes, then rinse off with warm water. Skin will be moisturized, clean, firmer, and more even-toned.

Making a massage oil out of rose oil is as easy as adding the desired essential oils to the homemade rose oil. Aim for no more than 50-60 drops of essential oil per cup of base oil. You can also add in more base oils to the rose oil, so the mixture is more suited to the recipient’s particular skin. The heavier the oil, the more appropriate for dryer skin, and the lighter oils are more beneficial for oilier skin. Massage oil should not soak into the skin but rather allow for easy gliding, so sticking with sweet almond oil, avocado oil, apricot kernel oil, and grapeseed oil are good choices, especially when mixed together. Here’s a sample recipe including the aphrodisiac scents of rose, vanilla, and jasmine:

Massage Oil

F8F80BD2-C5DE-4ED5-9AA9-B901B2DDFC5B[1]
Making Massage Oil
1/2 cup Rose Oil (olive oil infusion)

1/2 cup Vanilla Oil (sweet almond infusion)

1/4 cup Avocado Oil

1/4 cup Apricot Kernel Oil

30 drops Sandalwood absolute in jojoba

40 drops Vanilla CO2 essential oil

5 drops Jasmine absolute in jojoba

 

I hope your Valentine’s day is full of love for your family, your friends, your partner, and yourself. We are experiencing the most snow in most of our lifetimes here in the Seattle region right now so I’ll be herbal crafting away happily this week. I also managed to make my first sourdough loaf this past weekend and it turned out splendidly! There’s a pic on my Instagram if you are interested.

Thank you for reading and Happy Valentine’s Day!