Mountain Goddess

Happy Summer! We've been busy in the Green Springs with the markets, gardening, and making new amazing products.  My latest soap is called Mountain Goddess in honor of the Cascade Siskiyou Mountains we live in and the Green Springs Community that is near and dear to our hearts.  

Mountain Goddess contains 100 % goat's milk, lovingly supplied by my daughter Brett who raises gentle Nubian Goats.  Nubian's milk has a high fat content which makes fabulous soap.  I used Aussie Beige Clay for color and skin soothing properties.  Scented with a combination of eucalyptus blue mallee, Peru Balsam, Pettigrain, clary sage and gingergrass essential oils it reminds me of the fresh mountain air, hence the name Mountain Goddess.  It needs to cure for a few more weeks so check back here or on Etsy in a few weeks.  This soap is sure to sell fast so don't miss out! 

I've also made a healing balm for cracked heals and cuticles.  I've named it Neem Crack Cream.  It works great!  I'm off to create a new Shaving Soap!   

Wildcrafting in the Green Springs

Summer is my busiest time of the year,  but also my favorite.  This is the view that greeted me this morning on my search for arnica, elderflowers, and St. John's Wort.  I get up early and hop on my Mountain Bike with 3 cloth bags and the search is on.  All of these herbs are quite beneficial and I use them in my skin care line.  I infuse the fresh St John's Wort in organic olive oil and it turns this beautiful red color.  I also mix it with the lye to get a reddish orange colored herbal soap. 

Today I also made a new perfume for an online perfume swap I am participating in.  It's a winner so look for it to be listed on Etsy once it's married and mellowed a while.  I will also  be listing affordable samples of my 4 signature perfumes once I get around to taking pictures.  If you are in the Rogue Valley (Or.), please stop by the Growers and Crafters Market and say hi.  I am at the Ashland Armory on Tue. Medford Armory on Thur. and in Ashland on Sat. next to the Post Office.

Have a wonderful summer and don't forget to smell the roses!

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!

Back By Popular Demand

Rose Complexion Bar is back in stock. This organic bar is a labor of love. It starts with 100% Goat Milk from Nubian Goats (see post below). Nubian goat milk has high milk fat producing a super rich bar. Goat's milk is high in lactic acid which naturally exfoliates your skin. The organic oils used in this soap are infused with herbs and the most fragrant rose petals saved just for this soap. The oils are solar infused for six weeks and smell heavenly. Just before pouring the cold processed soap I add a generous amount of rose absolute, rose geranium, and palmarosa essential oils. The bar is then cured for about a month producing a gentle, long lasting bar. I love to use this decadent bar all over my body, try it your skin will feel the difference!

Guardian of the Spring

This majestic Ponderosa Pine stands guardian over the spring I posted about below. The picture on the left was taken at sunrise, the right was taken before sunset. This is the view we have from our bedroom window and is one of the reasons we chose to buy land 5 miles up a bumpy dirt road.
This beautiful tree is over 200 ft. tall and the bark smells just like vanilla.


A few years ago the dogs and I came face to face with a cougar walking up the road around 10am. He or she turned to face us and I just about had a heart attack, the dogs started barking like crazy and it bound over a fence and was gone in a flash. I have always wanted to see a cougar and finally got my chance, I just wish we had been safe and sound in the car. We routinely see coyotes, bobcats, red fox, great gray owls, blue herons and the occasional rattle snake and black bear. Living in the mountains can be hard and sometimes lonely, but thanks to our wonderful neighbors, both human and not, there is no other place I'd rather be.

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.

Happy Earth Day

These items from the Ecoetsy Team were a big hit at my Growers Market Booth. To celebrate Earth Day I downloaded these awesome Green Share seed packets from http://lolaness.com and filled them with my organic seeds. I used calendula and amaranth. Also pictured is a kootsac from www.kootsac.etsy.com. It is a re-usable bulk food bag for produce. I purchased two bags and used them to put all my vegis in. The bags are very well made and hold a lot. The customers and vendors were very interested in these items and I enjoyed sharing. Happy Earth Day everyone!

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!

SAFE team's International Soap Challenge

Vote for your favorite soap with a chance to win one! SAFE team's International Soap Challenge - come vote http://etsysafeteam.blogspo...
If you vote in this challenge and purchase any item from my store you will receive a free organic lip balm! Just put "voted" in the message to seller.

Moonlight on the Adriatic

This is the soap I created for the challenge. Last summer I traveled to Croatia the home of my ancestors. I had no idea what a lovely country it is. Beautiful lavender grows everywhere and they produce the most delicious grassy green olive oil. I tried to recreate the blue-green Adriatic Sea in this soap. It is made with organic ingredients, 100 %, goat's milk, french green clay and pure essential oils of lavender, jasmine and litsea.

Hurry March Madness End Soon

Etsy Eco-Team is hosting March Madness Free and Green. http://www.ecoetsy.com/marchmadness.html
Simply purchase an item from any of the participating sellers and put "Free and Green" in the message field. You will receive a free eco-friendly gift!