All-Natural Diaper/Skin Cream

It's been a while since my last post, huh? My apologies, we've been busy moving and getting back into the swing of things!

Today I have a great recipe for you, it follows along the same lines as the ever-so-popular All-Natural Gripe Water I posted about back in November 2013. It's homemade, completely natural (even organic, if you use the right ingredients!), and oh-so yummy (but don't actually eat it. It just smells yummy). This stuff is fantastic. Not only is it great as a diaper cream - I've been told it's completely cloth-diaper safe - it also works amazingly as a lotion, sunburn treatment (note: not a sunscreen, but it will help heal burned skin), eczema lotion, massage cream, whatever floats your boat!

This recipe is not original, though I did make my own modifications to it while I was making my batch.

I actually received a sample of this cream from a friend while I was pregnant with Monkey and I loved it so much I begged her for the recipe! The original recipe can be found on her blog, Beards, Braids, and Babes, but I will be posting a copy (with a couple differences) below!

I also apologize because I don't have step-by-step picture instructions with this one. I made this batch back in July, and I made enough to last a couple years so I probably won't be making it again any time soon. Here's the recipe, I even added a pretty orange picture for your delight and because it's officially the first day of autumn!

Ingredients:

1/2 ounce beeswax
3 1/2 ounces coconut oil (if yours is solid at room temperature, warm before measuring & adding to batch. It's easier, trust me!)
2-3 ounces olive oil, as desired for consistency (I added about 2 oz)
1-5 drops tea tree essential oil
2-4 drops lavender essential oil

* 1 tablespoon = 1/2 ounce

Instructions:

Fill a pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to a simmer. Place a tightly fitting bowl (I prefer glass) over the pot of simmering water. 

Place beeswax in bowl and melt, stirring constantly. Once melted, slowly add in coconut oil and stir until melted. The beeswax may harden when the cooler coconut oil is added, just keep stirring to melt. Add olive oil to beeswax-coconut oil mixture. 

Once the oil mixture is melted, remove from heat and add essential oils as desired. Let cool completely and test consistency**. If it's too thick, melt over simmering water again and add more olive oil. 

**Because I'm impatient, I took a tablespoon or so out of the batch and cooled in a separate container to test consistency. That way I didn't have to wait a couple hours for the entire batch to cool before checking consistency, and I didn't have to re-melt the entire batch to transfer it to my other container(s). 

***I've been asked a few times where I got my beeswax. I got mine at Whole Foods, where it can be found by the ounce, but I have also seen it in bars, beads, and cakes at Natural Grocers and a few independent natural foods stores. It can also be found in varying quantities on Amazon and from many other online retailers. It's not terribly expensive (I think I got mine for $2.50 an ounce of pure organic), so shop around!

This is mine, as you can see it's not pretty and has been used a lot! I like it to be pasty so I can scoop it out of a container. Adding more olive oil will make it thinner so you can put it in a squeezable bottle, if you so desire. I doubled the recipe above and it was enough to fill my 2 cup (470 mL) Pyrex container. 

Enjoy, with love!

All-Natural Gripe Water

Gripe water, have you tried it? It is amazing for little tummies that are upset because of gas, teething, colic, etc. But it is so expensive! Nearly $10 a bottle in all the stores around us. And some even have sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and dyes. Blech (I'm kidding, I'm the last person to stay away from junk food laden with all of those things!).
My husband pointed out to me after we flew through the third store bought bottle that we could probably make our own. True, true. So I did some research and was astounded at how easy this is to make! And if you have some of the ingredients already, it costs as much to buy all the supplies (which would last you at least six months) as it does to buy one bottle from the store. And it only takes about ten minutes, fifteen tops.
We have tried three different brands of gripe water, so we were pretty familiar with which flavors and consistencies the baby preferred. Little Remedies was alright, Mommy's Bliss? Oh goodness-me-oh-my no. He hated that stuff!
The first time I made this I had my husband taste-test it. He liked it so much he drank a whole mug full. So it's not just for little tummies!
You ready for the recipe? You'd better be, 'cause here it comes. Don't blink.

 Yup, that's it. Fennel, Ginger, and 1 cup of water. Bam. Gripe water. Now, there are other things that are apparently very useful when attempting to soothe little tummies, so you can add more to it if you'd like.

Peppermint, Chamomile, and Dill Weed are reportedly very good upset stomach soothers. I use Pomegranate juice instead of sugar for sweetener, but raw sugar works too.

*EDIT: Breastfeeding/pumping moms, please note that while peppermint is great for soothing little (and big) tummies, there is evidence that it (along with other mints/mint oils) may suppress lactation if ingested or infused.*
When I was doing research I found numerous sites that said Dill Weed was extremely effective at calming upset tummies. If you like, you can just use 1 teaspoon dill and steep in 1 cup of boiling water for a simple colic remedy.
I like to use 100% Pomegranate juice for flavor instead of sugar, but it is perfectly acceptable to use 1 teaspoon raw sugar, agave nectar, or another sweetener.
Now, there are a few ways to steep the herbs. I just opened up one of the tea bags, added the fennel, and re-stapled it. You can use a loose tea strainer, or if you're using ground spices/herbs you can use a mesh fabric (like a pair of old, clean tights. Cut a portion off, then use a rubber band to secure around the outside of the cup/mug) to steep.
So, enough chatter, here's the recipe. Like I said before, my recipe is sugar-free, but you can add sugar easily.

Ingredients*:
1 cup water (boiling)
1 bag ginger tea (or 1 tsp ground/shredded ginger)
1 tsp fennel (seed or ground)
1 bag peppermint tea (or 1 tsp peppermint leaf)
1 bag chamomile tea (or 1 tsp loose herb)
1 tsp dill weed
1-2 tsp 100% pomegranate juice, to taste (optional, make sure it is pure juice and does not have added flavors and/or sugar)
1 tsp raw sugar (optional, agave nectar works too)

Directions:
Combine dry ingredients in a cup (if using tea bags), loose leaf tea strainer (then place over cup), or mesh suspended over cup. Pour boiling water over herbs and let steep 10-15 minutes, or until almost strong in flavor.
Remove herbs, mix in sugar or juice, and pour into glass jar. Cool in refrigerator before serving.

Keep refrigerated. Shelf life is 2 weeks, refrigerated.

Serving size: 1 tsp or .5 mL
Do not exceed 6 doses in 24 hours.

*Any ingredient except water, ginger and fennel may be omitted.

Enjoy!

Family Birthday Calendar

 

Okay, this one is super easy. I came up with it in my crazy frazzled brain, so it'd have to be, right? It's a cute little project and spruces up our bare kitchen quite nicely. Although, if you have as much family as we do, it gets a little time consuming...

What you need:

1 wooden plaque (Mine is a 24" x 6" from Michael's)
Paint, 2 or 3 colors
Paint Pen (optional)
High heat glue gun/glue
1 1/2" wooden discs/coins
1 1/4" alligator clips
Letter stencils, 1 or 2 fonts
12 medium screw hooks
Ribbon

What to do:

Gather your supplies. Lay down newspaper or a drop cloth over your work surface, 'cause if you're like me, this gets messy. Plus, using newspaper gives you something to read while you're waiting for the paint to dry.
Begin by painting the plaque in your color of choice. If you didn't prime it (I didn't) it might take a few coats.

While you're waiting for it to dry, paint the discs. I used two colors, red and black, but you can use as many as you'd like. I painted just the front and sides, but you can paint the whole disk if you'd like.

Ooo, look! Steak!

Once the plaque is painted thoroughly and completely dry, choose your stencil. I suck at stencilling, so I used some cardboard letters from Martha Stewart Crafts for the word "birthdays" and just traced and handpainted the word "family" and the letters for the months.

I also used measuring tape to center and level the words. 

While that's drying, glue the alligator clips to the back of the painted and dried coins. Don't worry if it leaks through the middle of the clip, having a bit of overflow will help it grip the ribbon or string better. I didn't get a picture of that step, but it's fairly straightforward. 

Next, screw the hooks into the bottom of the plaque. The wood on mine is fairly soft, so I didn't need to drill holes beforehand. I just had my husband screw them in by hand. Go, hubby, go!

You may have noticed the white bits around my letters in "Birthdays." I accidentally left the cardboard stencils on top while it dried. Don't do that, it's not worth it. I touched it up with a thin paintbrush, then we were good to go.

I also didn't get step-by-step pictures of the rest of the project. Sorry. But I'll explain it as best as I can.

I used a green paint pen to draw the vine pattern on the board, but a stencil and paint works just as well. Or you can just leave it plain.

I used a white paint pen to write the first name of each family member and the day of birth on the coin. Easy-peasy. Actually, I started by using the end of a thin paintbrush dipped in white paint to write the names out, then I realized they make pens for that kinda thing. Duh. 

I measured out strips of ribbon and poked holes in the tops, about 1/3" from the tip. I used clear nail polish on the ends to prevent fraying, but you can use Ribbon Fray Check (or something similar) if you'd prefer. Place the ribbons on the hooks, and then clip the coins on them. Voila, birthday calendar.

To hang: you can staple ribbon (use a staple gun, not normal staples. I'm sad to say I know from experience that this does not work) to the back and loop it around a nail, tying it in a pretty bow or something. I nailed two brads in the back and looped a wire around them, then hung it on the wall. 

Well, that's pretty much it, simple enough, right? Hope you enjoy this project!