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Deodorant - homemade

2010-05-01T07:15:00.001-04:00

This homemade recipe, however, is truly completely natural and harmless. And cheap.

Ingredients for homemade deodorant:
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup corn starch
~5 tablespoons coconut oil
a couple of drops of your favorite essential oil if you want.

Directions for making homemade deodorant:
1. Combine baking soda and cornstarch in a bowl and mix with a fork.
2. Start with about 4 tablespoons/one-fourth cup of coconut oil and add the coconut oil to the baking soda mixture, working into a paste.

The deodorant will have somewhat of a play-dough consistency, and will be softer or harder depending on its temperature. You can put the deodorant into a small container with a lid, or into an empty stick deodorant dispenser if you have one. My deodorant hardened somewhat after I put it into a container.

This homemade deodorant is really quick to make and inexpensive (and I already had the ingredients for it!).

Ease of use? I've only tried it in a container, where I put a small make-up pad in for ease of using the deodorant.

The real question: Does it work?

I think it works okay. I like it really well and every so often I get the scent of my added in sandalwood as my essential oil.

Well, this homemade deodorant works well for about 8-12 hours. In a relatively low-stress, low-sweat environment. It's fine for around the house if you plan to shower every day. I have been using this deodorant for about 2 weeks, and I'll definitely update if my opinion changes.
Edited to add:
I am pleased to be adding this update about the deodorant! When I originally published this post, I had been using the homemade deodorant for 2 weeks, a time frame that I thought would be sufficient for testing.
Even though I wasn't 100% thrilled with the deodorant since I was used to the store bought, I planned to use up what I had made -- especially since I knew it was healthy
.
Now, I have been using this homemade deodorant for about 4 weeks, and it's really working well! I think that for me, it seemed like it took my body about 3-4 weeks to fully adjust to the deodorant -- whatever that means, I don't know -- just that it gradually worked better and better and I am now completely satisfied with this deodorant! Woohoo!! :)

I have also tried putting the deodorant into an empty commercial deodorant dispenser but that method of dispensing didn't work as well as I had anticipated. So, it's back to make-up pad from a container.

Laundry Soap

2010-04-29T07:58:00.000-04:00

It has been a long time since I was able to post something. In the meantime I was searching and experimenting with homemade and green items to use in my household.

Two items I am using so far and I must say, I'm very happy with it. A 3rd I'm using but it's not totally green and homemade but its a cost saver anyways.

Here is the 1st one I'm posting. Try it, it's fun and cheap.......

Laundry Soap - the dry kind:

2 cups Fels Naptha Soap (finely grated – you could also try your homemade soaps)
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
I also use one cup of very cheap laundry detergent to add a little suds at the beginning since homemade laundry soap does NOT suds. So I cheat a little........

Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container.
Use 2 tablespoons per full load. Experience with how much you need. But not much is needed.
Put water on hot for a couple of minutes while you put your soap in so it can dissolve. Then put it on the cycle that you want it to wash.

And my laundry is clean and smells good.

While washing, I put 1/4 cup of vinegar in the softener cup of the washing machine for large loads. This will eliminate a buildup of soap and help with the static cling. And no, your laundry does NOT smell like a salad :)

LadyBug

2010-02-20T09:11:00.002-05:00

Meet our new addition. LadyBug is 9 weeks old and a spunky little Boston Terrier mix young doll.

A little bit of snow............

2010-02-06T13:57:00.001-05:00

When does it end

2010-01-27T18:25:00.001-05:00

Seems that winter has been extremely cold and long this time around. Another cold one coming from north and I'm so tired of it. Don't mind the cold, but frigid is too much.

Gonna stand by the groundhog next week and if he sees his shadow for another 6 weeks of winter I'm gonna "whack" him!!

Whew, I feel better. Even though I should've saved my steam for heat :)

Clean the World Asks for Help from Soapers for Haiti...click here

2010-01-22T10:29:00.002-05:00

It is sad to see all the hardship and pain that our fellow people are facing.

So here is a great idea to get involved with help. Even if you don't have money to donate, it shouldn't be hard to come up with a few dollars to ship a care package.

I'm cleaning out my "closet" and sending some of soaps to help.

Come on, everyone has some soap stashed somewhere. Doesn't need to be made by you. It can be store bought and sitting on your shelf for awhile and forgotten. Or how about that gift basket that had some in it and you don't know what to do with it.

If it is under 13 ounces it can be shipped even cheaper. I have enough that I can fill up a bigger flat rate box and will feel good that I was able to contribute.

This is only normal for human nature to want to help in a crisis. I'm normal (maybe)....I'm human (kids tell me I'm super human)....and this is a crisis!!

Tribute to Kaiser

2010-01-14T19:13:00.002-05:00

I had a goal. I didn't make it.
I had a dream. I didn't finish dreaming it.
I had a resolution. I didn't put it in effect.
I had a beginning. I think I never really began.
I had a heart. I got it broken.

Christmas and New years should be a very happy time. I celebrated both but on January the 2nd I lost my best friend. My dearest boxer, a dog named Kaiser. And he WAS a Kaiser. Just like a child to me. He was handsome and as thick headed as a true blue german! But he sensed when I was feeling down or sick and he was right by my side. He laughed and danced with me when I was feeling up. He talked to me when I wanted him to chat awhile. He was for 12 years my friend. He is missed very deeply by me and the rest of my family.

Classical Times

2009-11-26T10:21:00.002-05:00

In classical times, perfumed oils were extensively used for bathing and were combined with the use of a metal devise that was used to scrape the skin free of oil and dirt. It is claimed that the Romans used a type of clay called "sapo" for washing themselves. This is where the word soap originated.

The use of soap in personal hygiene does not appear to have been adopted until the second century when the physician Galen (130–200AD) mentions its use for washing the body.

Another physician, Priscianus (circa 385AD), reported the use of soap as a shampoo.
While soap was in use during the Roman period its adoption may have been slow, despite the popularity of public and private baths throughout the empire. Possibly early soaps, made from animal fat and crude alkali, were not particularly attractive in appearance or smell, and were deemed more suitable for cleaning and laundering. The remains of what might have been a soap factory were discovered in Pompeii, which was overwhelmed by an eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD.

"Now" and "Then"

2009-11-21T10:14:00.002-05:00

Difficulties in Making Soap

In the old days the hardest part was in determining if the lye was of the correct strength. In order to learn this, the soap maker floated either a potato or an egg in the lye. If the object floated with a specified amount of its surface above the lye solution, the lye was good for soap making. Most of the colonists felt that lye of the correct strength would float a potato or an egg with about the size of a quarter above the surface.

To make weak lye stronger, the solution could either be boiled down more or the lye solution could be poured through a new batch of ashes. To make a solution weaker, water was added.

Soap In the “Now A Days”

Nowadays the ready made lye, sodium hydroxide, can be purchased. It has changed the soap making industry in a dramatic way. Sodium alkalis make hard soap without the having to add common salt to effect the change. These hard soaps were of a firmer quality.

The whole business of soap making became much easier and therefore soap became more available to more people. The habit of bathing came back into fashion and the using of soap increased tremendously in the 19th century. Soap became of age in the Victorian times and the soap making industry turned from part craft and mystery to a fully developed industry.

It is that time

2009-11-19T21:15:00.000-05:00

Holidays are here again.......

Black Friday and Cyber Monday........

So here I am, starting early......

All items are marked 10% off regular price.

Shipping is US $5.00. No difference if you purchase one item or ten. So the more you buy the more you save since you will NOT pay more for shipping than US $5.00!

Click on the title (It is that time) and you will be "beemed" to my studio.

Hope to see you there!

More info about Soaps

2009-11-16T16:17:00.003-05:00

Modern Soap

Most “soaps” on the market today are not true blue soaps but are more like detergents which have been created from petroleum based products. Other “soaps” contain ingredients that can be found in nature; but these ingredients have been radically changed by high energy processes. The resulting soap has actually little similarity to the soaps that have been made historically down thru the ages.

Soft and Hard Soap

When you make soap with wood ash lye it does not make a hard soap but only a soft soap. To make hard soap, common salt was thrown in at the end of the boiling. If this was done a hard cake of soap formed in a layer at the top of the pot. As common salt was expensive and hard to get, it was not usually wasted to make hard soap. Common salt was more valuable to give to the livestock and the preserving of foods. Soft soap worked just as well as hard and for these reasons the colonists, making their own soap, did not make hard soap bars.

In towns and cities where there was freshly made soap for sale, the soap would be converted to the hard soap by the addition of salt. As hard bars it would be easier to store and transport. Hard bars produced by the soap maker were often scented with oils such as lavender, wintergreen, or caraway and were sold as toilet soap to persons living in the cities or towns.

Hard soap was not cut into small bars and wrapped as soap is sold today. Soap made by the soap makers was poured into large wooden frames and removed when cooled and hard.

The amount of soap a customer wanted was cut from the large bar. Soap was sold usually by the pound. Small wrapped bars were not available until the middle of the 19th century.

Soap making was always considered one of the most difficult jobs on the farm or homestead

But….What IS soap?

2009-11-13T14:33:00.000-05:00

I should explain what soap is and the chemical reaction that makes soap. No, this is not a chemical textbook. Some understanding of the chemistry involved, however, will enhance the story of soap's history.

Soap, in very simple chemical terms, is the sodium or potassium salt of a fatty acid.

It doesn’t just sounds simple but really IS simple.

What is a salt?

Common salt, which we all know as table salt, is not the only salt in the chemical world. There are many salts all being the result of an acid and an alkali reacting together.

What is an acid or an alkali you ask?

Acids are solutions that tend to burn or smart. Acids range from weak ones like acetic acid, the chief ingredient in vinegar, to hydro sulfuric acid, an extremely strong and dangerous acid in the battery of your car.

Alkali, also called bases, is solutions that corrode rather than burn. They too range from weak to strong. An example of a weak one is sodium bicarbonate, baking soda, used to settle your upset stomach caused by your over active stomach acid. A strong alkali is sodium hydroxide which is the chief ingredient in oven and drain cleaners. Actually oven and drain cleaners work by doing the very reaction we are discussing. They convert the grease blocking your drain or messing up your oven into soap so that you can flush or wipe it away.

And what in the world is a fatty acid?

Fatty acids are found in foods we call fats and oils. Today we hear much about fatty acids, as they are the substances affecting the nature of the fats and oils we eat and the action these foods have on our health.

And that was about the most of the chemical lecture that I can come up with.

A short history on Soap

2009-11-11T18:09:00.001-05:00

It is quite possible that soap could have been discovered in prehistoric times. Early people cooked their meats over fires and might have noticed after a rainstorm that there was strange foam around the remains of the fire and its ashes. They might have even noticed when water was put in a pot that had been used for cooking meats and then got ashes in it, which often happens with outdoors cooking, that it also had this strange foamy substance. The women, most likely who was doing the washing, might have also observed the pot became cleaner or at least her hands became cleaner then usual.

A very informative and easy read can be found here:

http://www.cleaning101.com/cleaning/history/ (or click on the title above to get there: A short history of Soap)

Colonists from early America made soaps from wood ashes and waste fats

But by far the most common soap was made from potash and pearlash. Potash and pearlash are forms of the potassium based alkali present in plant and wood material. Potash and pearlash soaps were used by everyone from the reigning monarchs to the peasant or cottager, who made their own soap from the waste fats and ashes they saved.

Most people who have made soap down thru the centuries had no idea what occurred. They just made soap by trial and error and by having lots of luck.

The first definite and tangible proofs of soap making are found in the history of ancient Rome. The soap was being made from goat's tallow and wood ashes. Common salt was also being added to make the soap hard.

While the Romans are well known for their public baths, generally soap was not used for personal cleaning in the early century of the Roman era.

Throughout history people were also known to take baths in herb waters and other additions thought to be beneficial. It is well known that Cleopatra, who captivated the leaders of the Roman world, attributed her beauty to her baths in mare's milk.

During the early century soap was used by physicians in the treatment of disease. They recommended that bathing with soap would be beneficial for some skin conditions. Soap for personal washing became popular during the later centuries of the Roman era.

Around the 8th century soap making was revived in Italy and Spain.

By the 13th century, France also became a producer of soap for the European market.

During the 14th century, soap making was started in England. Soaps produced in the south of Europe, Italy, Spain, and the southern ports of France (Marseilles and Castle soaps) were made from olive oils. These soaps made using olive oils were of a higher quality than those made by the soap producers of England and northern France. These northern soap makers, who were not able to obtain the olive oil, made their soaps with only animal fats. Tallow, the fat from cattle, was the chief fat used. Northern European soap makers even resorted to making soap from fish oils. Soaps made from the poor quality animals fats and oils, while adequate for laundry and textile usage, were not desirable for bathing and washing. The soap from southern Europe with their olive oils was superior.

Facebook and ArtFire

2009-11-06T16:43:00.003-05:00

No link necessary since you can click on either on the left hand side of this blog. I'm very busy in establishing myself on facebook and also linking ArtFire. I especially like the ArtFire Kiosk on facebook. It's like having my store in more than one places. And you can purchase there or even here on my blog. Best thing since hot apple pie. Did I say "hot apple pie"? Oh, I made one today and just cut a huge slice. Yummm....But sorry, the one that is listed in my store is NOT edible. Just gotta bake your own. Or...why not just buy the soap and you can create an illusion!

Back from Vacation

2009-10-31T08:21:00.003-04:00

After a lengthy vacation I'm finally back. I've gotten my stores back up and running but of course there had been changes all over the place and I'm scrambling to try to "catch up".

Catch up is a phrase that I doubt we'll ever manage. Once we get on top of things something else will upset the apple cart and we'll try to catch up again.

I'm also now on facebook and am trying to figure that out as well. So see me over there. Right now I'm still trying to figure out where in the world the "wall" is that everyone is writing about :)

Officially closed!

2009-09-07T08:12:00.003-04:00

I have officially closed all my stores for the next almost 2 month.

There are many preparations to do before I head to europe for 3 weeks. Since I'm leaving my family here I have to make sure that everything runs smooth on this end while I'm having fun with my family in germany. Considering that I will not have internet connection I wouldn't be able to stay in touch that way with anyone.

And now being the official end of summer with labor day here, I will have to work on getting my home and outside winterized since when I return it will be already cold. Coming back towards end of October and yes, we should have cold weather by then..brrrrrr.....I'm not ready for that, and right now neither is my home :)

I also want to thank everyone that has left me birthday wishes in my chatbox at bonanzle. I was awed by how many people stopped by. That was really super.

And since I won't have time to blog within the next couple of weeks while I'm still stateside and will only "peek" into the bonanzle forum during my morning ritual of waking up, drinkin coffee, I will say my goodbuys right here and will see everyone once I get back.

Hopefully I will be back online by the end of October, just in time to get my butt moving for christmas...

And no, this is NOT intended as a flounce....since I'll BE BACK!!

Oh....as a little byline....don't forget to follow me if you don't already :)

Vacation and stores

2009-08-25T06:08:00.002-04:00

Kids are going back to school which includes THIS old bird too. Hasn't your mom ever told you that you're never too old to learn? Well, if I wouldn't have listened to my mom I would never be online or even have computer. But I headed her words like a good girls and decided to be (one of the oldest) students back in school.

So I made the plunge a few years ago and took all kind of fun and not so fun classes. After I finished I decided I'll dabble in this and that and have been taking on-site and online classes for a variety of things.

And I decided I do the same thing this time around. Soooooooo....Being a Mom with my last chick still living at home while he's in last year college, being a wife with a husband that is one of the greatest and coolest guys because he lets me expand my horizon and never complains, being also in the workforce in a full-time and demanding job that keeps me hopping, being a twice a year european-go-home traveler I decided to put two of my stores on "Vacations".

The 2 booth affected are Atomic Mall and eCrater. I love both sites since I get lots of traffic, was active in some of their sites and just liked the overall feel.

My 2 booth (or 3) I keep open are my ScentsYouAreHere and my EvesBooth on Bonanzle and my ScentsYouAreHere on Art Fire.

I will be going home and enjoying my family in europe for 3 weeks in October. The last week of September I will be putting my remaining stores on Vacation also.

Thank god I can plan ahead for my online classes so I won't get bogged down with those at least.

But I'm sure hoping I won't miss too much of the upcoming holiday shopping times and therefore will open up as soon as I come back.

And while I'm in the middle of everything I continuously ask myself: Why am I always putting myself into this tight and crazy position? And my answer is: Cuz I wanna :)

And this was the rambling of a "mad woman" :) :)

My new idea........

2009-08-22T18:25:00.002-04:00

Now that's scary when I have an "idea".

But right now I'm on a widget kick. Bonanzle has a HPL page that is actually just like a big widget box.

So I come up with the idea to pepper up my blog with different kind of widgets.

So far there is mine with soaps, my other one with odd items(evesbooth), a book one and a candle one. I go and look for other peoples items and if I like it I'll put it in a widget. So far that's as far as I got.

So if you come to my blog and expect to read great, mind boggling and educational things then you're at the wrong blog. I want mine to be fun and full of a heinz 57 variety of things.

So you'll NEVER know what you might find on here :)

A new site (click here to get to my site)

2009-08-17T20:38:00.002-04:00

A wonderful new site for your handmade and handcrafted items. Its easy to get around and there are many wonderful items in those stores. Come and check it out!!

How I got started

2009-08-15T18:58:00.003-04:00

Now I want to talk about how I got started.

One day I was out and about and went to wash my hands. There was this dried up rancid looking soap next to the liquid soap that I wouldn’t even touch if there was nothing else out there. My first thought was, that they need to have some pretty looking and scented soap laying here. If not for use, then at least for looks.

The more I thought about it I kept on getting a “scent” of an idea. I love scented candles, scented satchels, scented products, in short, anything scented and smelling good. So why not scented soap?

The idea was born. Next was to find out about how to do it and where to go from here. After extensive research I decided to do the “for sure” soap base to start with and find some fragrance and colors to add and then test things out.

Next was a set up for a store and of course a name. Someone said “Since you are here” (at Bonanzle), why not open another venue. Somehow the little saying got stuck in my head and the “since” got turned into a “scents”. And the name was born. ScentsYouAreHere.

I needed signs for my store and so I doodled and came up with an odd looking thing that I ended up using for a few weeks. At least my name was there since I went right ahead and opened my store with it. A few weeks later another member of Bonanzle, Jamiro, sends me a banner and an avatar and asked if I would be interested in “hanging those up” in my booth. She was giving them to me for free. After looking at them I fell in love with them and was very happily decorating my booth with my new images. Thank you Jamiro, I will love you forever for giving me such a grand face!

Then I needed to put soaps into the booth. Since I had a few soap bases, colors and scents I went ahead and started experiencing. Needless to say, I ended up with many oddball looking soap trials. But at least they smelled good.

After I finally messed up a few batches I finally got some right. My Avocado, Melon and Cucumber soap in green was my first one I rolled out. I tried it in my household and everyone liked it. It did take awhile to really catch on but I’m happy to say that I’m down to my last piece of soap now in this fragrance.

Can I make more? YES.
Guarantee that they look the same? NO.
Guarantee that they smell as good? YES.
Guarantee that I get the color right? NO.

And that’s how I got STARTED.

Rhyme and reason

2009-07-12T18:40:00.001-04:00

My thinking behind having 3 locations and having all the same items listed.
Each venue has different seller/buyer groups. I had been comfortable with my Bonanzle venue for almost a year now. As I mentioned before, I have set up my first booth there called Evesbooth. After a few months I expanded and added the ScentsYouAreHere booth to Bonanzle. Since Bonanzle was my new home I did lots of advertising and chatting on the Bonanzle boards under each one of my ID’s. Some buyers are from this venue and some came through Googles.

Now that I have two more sites I will be on their forums and will have my name and face out there also.

Therefore my rhyme and reason is as being more visible not just to customers coming in from googles but also new possible customers noticing my store from other venues. As a seller, many of us are buyers also. I have been browsing some stores on eCrater and Atomic Mall and have been keeping my eyes on some items for future purchasing. And if I do that, then I know others are doing the same.

So that would wrap up this topic of my way of thinking.

ScentsYouAreHere................

Store locations

2009-07-01T20:12:00.004-04:00

After semi-introduction of WHAT I do, now I will introduce you to my stores

My oldest one is at Bonanzle. You can get there two different ways. Either by: http://www.bonanzle.com/scentsyouarehere or http://scentsyouarehere.com/

I currently have a .com site that I have re-directed to my Bonanzle “booth” until I can decide where I want to go with it. Many of my soap pictures will have the .com across the images and it will take you to Bonanzle for now.

Come and check out my other booth: http://www.bonanzle.com/evesbooth

My second store that I have set up is with eCrater. I will add more items than just scentsy things to it. Currently I have one lighthouse listed that is handcrafted. I will add a couple of other items like memorial boxes for pets or adults. All are handmade and handcrafted with ideas just swirling in and around our heads. But that will be another story.

The address to this store is http://scentsyouarehere.ecrater.com/

My 3rd and newest store is at Atomic Mall. I am still trying to figure out some ins and outs but in the meantime I have set up and will add items slowly but surely. The address to it is http://www.atomicmall.com/scentsyouarehere

Widgets it the next thing I will be working on so they should be in place shortly.
My Bonanzle widget is completely set up.
My eCrater widget is or will be set up soon.
My Atomic Mall widget is in the works.

Just for clarification, you will find most of my items in any of my stores. Currently Bonanzle is the one with everything listed but the others will soon follow. See next blog for rhyme and reason behind that.

Introducing my new store: ScentsYouAreHere

2009-06-26T10:20:00.003-04:00

In reality, it is a fairly new store. ScentsYouAreHere has been in operation since December 2008. This is my second store I have opened up. The other one is called Evesbooth and is located at here at Evesbooth

ScentsYouAreHere is specialized in “scentsy” items. Right now I’m making soaps with different fragrances, colors and different shapes and sizes.

There are no two alike except the ones that I make as a big loaf and cut to around the same bar size. But again, if you would lay them next to each other they would all have a slight different look. Maybe just the colors swirled different into this one or maybe when the loaf dried one side was a little higher than the other. The scent is the same throughout the same loaf.

Right now I’m doing something similar as the “melt and pour” soap bases. Some I melt and add whatever I might feel like, pour and cure. Then I hand grate and re-melt and add the rest of what I want to add or just pour in different forms. I have found that the soap gets harder that way and last a lot longer. When you do the onetime “melt and pour” the soap tends to be a little soft and melts a lot faster. So with the second process it last longer and gets harder and easier to handle.

I don’t want to make such a long introductory since those tend to get boring and one don’t want to read further or just skim through the writing. Therefore I will make shorter blogs but more frequently.

Look for my next one coming up soon. But in the meantime, feel free to check out my store. Hope to see you there.