INFUSED OILS MAKE GREAT GIFTS

Sorry I haven't posted in a while.  Fall is my busiest time of the year.  Since I make most of my holiday gifts I need to get started early.  I have also been making new products for my Etsy Shop. After wild crafting herbs and flowers in the fall they are now solar infusing nicely on my windowsills. Besides the multi-herb oil pictured in the previous post, I have also infused the vanilla oil pictured. 

The beautiful calendula was picked yesterday in the garden.  It's unusual for it to still be blooming in November so I am really thankful.  Calendula is an amazing herb.  It is especially good for babies because of it is so gentle and healing.  Some of the other infusions I am making are comfrey, arnica, St. John's Wort, and elderflower.  For holiday gifts I am infusing  rosemary, thyme, fennel, and tarragon in organic olive oil.  

I like the slower solar infused method, only using dried herbs and add Vit E oil to prevent rancidity and to increase shelf life. If stored away from heat and light, your oil should last a year or two if not longer.This is how I do it:

 Dry the herbs to remove all water.  This can be done with a food dehydrator or just by leaving in the sun.  After the flowers and herbs are dry, you can add them to the olive oil.  Whole sprigs of thyme, rosemary, dried peppers, etc. can decorate the inside of the bottle this way. 

The oil will pick up the flavor fairly quickly, in the first few weeks, and then slowly intensify. It is fine to leave the herbs in for a long time; eventually all the flavor leaves the herbs and the oil flavor stabilizes. I like to infuse the herbs in the decorative beer bottles pictured when giving as gifts. For the herbal infused olive oils I like to attach a recipe to the bottle.  For the infused massage oils like vanilla, comfrey, calendula, St. John's wort, arnica I sometimes like to essential oils known for healing or relaxation.  

Happy Holidays and don't forget to visit my Etsy Store for my big Black Friday Sale.

Sea of Love

This month Etsy Earth Team's theme is the ocean and plastics.  The blog is chock full of articles, videos, hints and recommendations.  I am  proud of this team which does so much to help save our precious earth.
The team also has a shop where members donate items and part of the money goes to the team treasury and part is donated to causes near and dear to our hearts. http://www.etsy.com/shop/EtsyEarthTeam

I created this organic soap for my Etsy shop called "Sea of Love" in honor of this months theme.  Every month there will be a new theme so for a wealth of information please be sure to check out Etsy Earth. Next month's theme is "Summer Breeze" featuring natural fiber, industrial hemp and farming.

Green Springs Featured in Eco-Etsy Auction

Bring out the green diva in you and treat yourself to this Health and Beauty bag filled with:

Bath Salts by HerbanLifestyle

Lavender Heart Sachet by Pouch

Spa Goods by HerbFriend

Soap/RoseCream by GreenSprings0

Organic Cotton Washcloths and Makeup Removers by Ecokaren

Felted Wool Pouch by Karen Meyers

These items will be packaged in a reusable T-Shirt Bag by zJayne

Retail Value: $115

The Minimum Bid: $25

Bid Increment: $5

Please leave your bid in the comment section below.

See other categories for bidding:

Baby Home Fashion Jewelry Paper Goods

*Please read the bidding guideline on the bottom of the main page before bidding. All bids are binding, meaning, if you win the item, you must pay for the item.*

Good Luck!

Desert Solitude

My dad passed away last month so when I returned from his funeral in Florida I was in need of some solitude. We traveled to Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Park for some r & r. Being out of cell phone
and internet range for one week really helped me to relax and reflect. Our days were spent hiking, climbing, biking, relaxing, and getting in touch with nature. Not many flowers were blooming yet so we were really excited to find this one cactus (pictured) blooming in a vibrant shade of red. After four days camping in Death Valley we headed for Joshua Tree for some rock climbing. Joshua Tree is named after the tree with the large white flower pictured. Look for more pictures to be posted on my Face Book page. Many of these beautiful trees are dying because of Global Warming. We are committed to doing everything in our power to stop Global Warming which we see happening all around us. As Earth Day draws near I hope that everyone will make an effort to help save our precious Earth for future generations.

St John's Wort for the body, mind and spirit

Above is the soap I made using oil infused with St. John's Wort (hypericium perforatum). Herbal folklore name is flower of the fairies and wolf medicine. This is one of my favorite herbs and grows abundantly in the surrounding mountains. I filled a glass gallon jar full of flowers and added organic olive oil. I then set the jar in the sun to infuse for at least 6 weeks making sure to turn and shake once a day. I use the oil in many of my lotions and potions.
Last week I burned my fingers with the steam from the canner. I quickly rubbed St. John's Wort oil on the burn and the pain stopped immediately! St. John's Wort oil has the ability to penetrate nerve endings thus relieving pain. I also use this oil for painful joints.
If I am feeling blue, I like to take a few drops of tinctured St. John's to lift my spirits.
The soap pictured is called Citrus Sweet Goat's Milk Soap
I used the following 5 fold essential oils: lemon, lime, blood orange, tangerine and grapefruit. I also added a touch of patchouli which gives it its sweetness and anchors the scent. Lastly I add a bit of Litsea Cubeba essential oil.

The natural colorant is fresh St. John's Wort infused in organic oils to give the soap a nice reddish color. It never ceases to amaze me that the gold St. John's Wort flowers turn the oil to a beautiful red.

Bath Time

Fall is the time I get back to taking long luxurious soaks in my claw foot tub. When we were building our log cabin, one my first priorities was finding a big old claw foot tub. This weekend I made up a batch of vanilla and lavender scented bath salts. The following recipe makes enough for many baths: I use 1 cup of dead sea salt, 1 cup of epsom salt, and 1/2 cup powdered organic milk. I place everything in a large zip lock bag and mix well. Then I add a small whole vanilla bean scraped and cut into little pieces and lavender essential oil, I use a teaspoonful but you may want to ad more or less. I shake the bag daily for a few weeks then it's ready to use. Once I draw the bath I add a tablespoon or two of the bath salts and soak my cares away.
Sometimes I will ad dried rose petals or hollyhocks for a spa-like experience. Now is the perfect time to treat yourself to Clean and Glow, my oil based cleansing method and don't forget Green Springs skin softening goat's milk soap scented only with essential oils and or herbs. Goat's Milk exfoliates naturally. Treat your feet to a rub down with our Shower and Glow made with dead sea salt and herbal infused organic oils. Relax and let the salts and essential oil do its work. Sweet dreams!

TIME FLIES WHEN YOU'RE HAVIN FUN

Can you believe Suka is 6 months old already? He is almost as big as Tenaya pictured with the beautiful blue eyes. He loves to chase her around their fenced in yard. Sometimes he grabs a hold of her tail while they are racing around! They have worn a racetrack into our yard and Tenaya is so fast the only way Suka can catch her is if he takes a short cut.

I am almost done wild crafting Arnica, St. John's wort, and Elderflowers. I made a beautiful soap using St. John's Wort Flowers that I will post in a few days. I also made a nice salt bar that is a goat's milk soap bar with dead sea salt and French green clay. It smells amazing.
I still have many soaps, potions and lotions to make for my markets and shows. Visit me in Jacksonville Oregon Labor Day weekend for the Arts Festival. Then it's time to gear up cause Christmas is right around the corner. Time sure flies!

Nature's Gold Rose Facial Oil

Natures Gold is made with the oil pictured in the post below. I bottle the precious organic herbal infused oil in a frosted glass 2 oz container, add a few fragrant rose petals, rose essential oil, vitamin E and viola this facial oil gives your skin a dewy appearance and silky feel. The oil soothes dry, damaged skin and the rose scent is uplifting.
Rose is an aphrodisiac since ancient times and this oil is also great for a sensual massage.

This is why they call it the Green Springs

This beautiful spring a mere 100 yards from my house is why they call the area in which I live the Green Springs. There are many such springs in the area. We drink from this spring and the water tastes like water should taste, pure and fresh. Whenever I need to get away from it all this is where you will find me.
In the next post I will show you our majestic old growth Ponderosa Pine, guardian of the spring. The area around the spring teams with herbs and flowers that I gather to use in my products. If I am lucky I can find violets hidden among the nutrient rich soil. Oregon grape, plantain and wild strawberries are plentiful.

Well I better get over to the spring, today I am making bamboo soap. As I draw water from our spring to use in the soap, I will give thanks to her and bless the herbs that I have gathered.
I also say a blessing every time I make one of my organic potions, lotions or creams. I feel it brings me and the person receiving it luck.

If you are ever in Oregon, head up Hwy. 66 to the Green Springs, the area is so special, President Clinton protected it and it is called the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument. Our land is within the boundaries and will be protected for future generations. The hub of the community is the Green Springs Inn, check it out, great food and good prices. Happy Spring!!

GREEN SPRINGS AT THE ROGUE VALLEY GROWERS MARKET - SAVING THE PLANET ONE FACE AT A TIME

This is my booth at the Growers Market. I sell in Ashland on Tue. and in Medford on Wed. In a few weeks I will also be selling Saturdays in Ashland. One of my favorite things about the markets is meeting expectant parents then getting to see the new babies and watching them grow. The local community is really supportive and come rain or shine.

Our biggest seller is our fabulous organic Face Food. Many of our customers are tourists and purchase it at the markets and can't live without it, so I also sell it online. Also pictured is my hand-spun hand painted fiber art, yarn, and baby clothing made from recycled sweaters. In the future I hope to open a shop on Etsy and Artfire listing those items. Please stop by and say hi, if you are ever in Ashland or Medford Oregon on those days. The market runs from March until late November.

GREEN SPRINGS - LIVING UP TO OUR NAME

Twenty five years ago we moved our family from Cleveland, Ohio to the mountains of Southern Oregon to a small community called the Green Springs. Back then it consisted of loggers, hippies, and back to the landers. For the most part everyone got along because we were all somewhat isolated and depended on our neighbors. We purchased 10 acres and began living our dream. We built a small cabin with logs killed by beetle infestation, grew our own fruits and vegetables and tried to walk gently on the land. I learned how to garden, spin, weave and make soaps, lotions and potions, and was commitment to eating organic and out of necessity we reduced, reused and recycled.

Fast forward to the present. My goal is help others go organic and eco-friendly , and make every attempt to save the world for my five grandchildren, and future generations. I now market my fabulous skin care products and call my business Green Springs Bodyworks. My products and packaging are eco-friendly and most of the ingredients are organic. What I do not grow or wild-craft, I try to purchase locally. I trade a local vendor face cream for his wonderful organic olive oil. Our butters are purchased from a sustainable women's co-operatives. We offer a $1.00 refund for recycled containers and I usually go home from the markets I sell at with a big bag of returned bottles and jars. Last April I decided to spread the word further on the Web. My products can be purchased on Etsy, Artfire, and here on the blog.

Unfortunately the bigger Siberian Husky pictured died right after Christmas. Here is a recent picture of Suka our newest member of the sled dog team. Tenaya, his big sister is three and loves her newly adopted companion.

I've Been Featured

Happy Easter! I have been featured on Ecogeneration's blog: http://ecogeneration.blogspot.com
There are many wonderful eco-friendly items featured including my Moonlight on the Adriatic Soap.
The whole family is coming for Easter Brunch along with our extended family. It is snowing right now so I hope it clears up by Sunday for our annual Easter Egg Treasure Hunt. My daughter will be bring her duck eggs, which we will dye with pieces of old silk ties. It is super easy and so eco-friendly. I use old silk ties that my husband no longer wears and cut a piece of the tie big enough to wrap around the egg. Then cover the egg with a piece of cotton material, I use old sheets. Secure with a twist tie and place all the eggs in a pan full of cold water with a tablespoon of vinegar and boil as usual. When you remove the fabric you will be left with a beautiful unique colored and patterned egg. Try it the kids love it!
I make it a treasure hunt with lots of clues and my husband hides the eggs in our woods (we rope off an area). The golden egg will be well hidden as usual so the adults can have fun helping the little ones search. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

Meet the Newest Member of our Pack

Introducing Suka our 12 week old puppy, pictured with his pack member Tenaya. In January we lost our male husky Neeka to cancer, Tenaya stopped eating and would hide under the sofa and bed, we could tell she really missed Neeka. I found this adorable pup and we have had him for 2 weeks. He is a bundle of joy and he is doing great. I have been busy puppy-proofing everything. My computer time is limited as I have to watch him every minute he is awake. He is thriving on a raw meat diet and loves all kinds of fruits and vegis too. This weekend we took him to the coast and we all had a great time.
We like to explore old graveyards and took the above picture. I will keep you updated on our pack.
Don't forget to participate in Ecoetsy March Madness Free and Green Promo.

Purchased on Etsy for my Valentine's Day Ambush

I purchased this on Etsy for my Valentine.
Scentual Soundtracks: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6371978 offers decadent
sensual ingredients in her skin care products.
Money is tight so my plan is to ambush my husband and give him a candlelight dinner and his very first spa treatment. More about that in another post.

I choose this Facial Mask because of it's wonderful chocolate scent and it looks just like chocolate! The skin pampering ingredients are: rhassoul clay, powdered coconut, powdered chocolate, ground flaxseed, and jojoba oil. It comes in a beautiful eco-friendly cobalt blue glass jar. All you do is take out a level teaspoon of the mask and put it in a small container. Measure 2-3 tsp. of liquid, I plan to use whipping cream, but the possibilities are endless. Buttermilk, yogurt, olive or jojoba oil, honey, milk, green tea, or water, are all good choices. Add liquid, stir and microwave 10-15 seconds. I don't have a microwave so I just put the mixture in a double boiler over water and simmer gently for a few minutes. Apply to face or body and leave on for 5 to 15 minutes. Rinse with lukewarm water,
then tone and moisturize. It leaves you skin feeling silky soft and clean. I just love it and want to share with my hubby and you!

Check back next week for my full ambush spa plan!

Etsy Treasury

My organic soap is featured in this lovely treasury, check it out here:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=37540
You can also view the curators shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5981407
Her work is amazing!

Eco-friendly Christmas

This Christmas our family decided to make or recycle all of our gifts. The youngest (pictured) told his grandmother he wanted a roll of duct tape for Christmas. We got such a kick out of what he created with it. The knights helmet and wooden sword (covered in duct tape) has been played with more than any of the plastic sets he has had in the past. When it starts to get worn looking, there is nothing a little duct tape can't fix. You can see from the picture how proud he is of his creation, and best of all, his friends all want him to show them how to make one!!
I knitted earflap hats and socks, and gave my organic soaps to everyone. My husband took wooden boxes and wood burned each grandchild's name (we have five) and date and we decorated each box with glass beads or shells, and added a lock and key. Each child received there own special treasure chest.
I received a basket of jams, honey, salsa, garlic braid, and beeswax candles from my daughter and her family, my son's family gave us a beautiful photo album filled with family photos. It was truly the best Christmas ever!!!