How to make a bowl out of chocolate

Have fun with vegie and fruit

A clever way to keep your plants wet.....

Can you see me????

Miniature Garden

romantic breakfast....

How to make paper flowers....

DIY coconut lime deodorant

I’ve been so curious about this project.  Who is going to be brave enough to try it … and who will just think I’m crazy?

Well dear readers, I am only crazy in an effort to bring YOU natural, healthy solutions to common problems.
And clearly underarm stinkiness is a common problem!

But first, why isn’t my store-bought deodorant, or *gasp* anti-perspirant, good enough?
Have you looked at the ingredients list on your stick of deodorant?
Active Ingredients:Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex GLY (17.8% W/W).Inactive Ingredients:Cyclopentasiloxane; PPG-14 Butyl Ether; Stearyl Alcohol; Hydrogenated Castor Oil; PEG-8 Distearate; Fragrance (Parfum); Talc; Corn (Zea Mays) Starch; Vegetable Oil (Olus); Glyceryl Oleate; Propylene Glycol; BHT; t-Butyl Hydroquinone; Citric Acid .

Them’s chemicals, ’nuff said.

OK let’s look a little more closely.  Here’s the full analysis of this deodorant on the EWG site.

Aluminum is found in most anti-perspirants to physically block sweat from leaving your pores.  It absorbs into your skin cells, causing them to take on more water and swell, thereby blocking the sweat glands – read how it works here.  But isn’t sweating how our body releases toxins?  Yes.  This is why aluminum in anti-perspirants is so controversial.  Speculation is everywhere across the internet about whether it causes breast cancer or Alzheimers or a variety of other  conditions … but the truth is, we just don’t know yet.

Fragrance the big mystery ingredient which could contain anything from safe essential oils (which it probably doesn’t, because they’re expensive) to toxic, carcinogenic chemicals.  Companies are allowed to hide all of these ingredients in their proprietary fragrance.  It’s just a big question mark what you’re getting with this!
Stearyl Alcohol is drying and a potential skin irritant.

Talc is questionable because of risk of contamination with asbestos.

BHT is classified by EWG as causing cancer, endocrine disruption and potential reproductive toxicity.  Awesome!

Plus a slew of other questionable ingredients you can find in the full analysis link above.  And this deodorant only ranks a 5 on the EWG scale of toxicity!

Fortunately, there is a better and more natural alternative.

Anti-perspirant stops you from sweating.  We can’t make this at home, and we might not even want to (if you believe it’s good to sweat out toxins!)
What we can do is make a natural deodorant which inhibits bacterial growth so you smell sweet all day long.  Hooray!
This deodorant is simple and it works for me.  Variations of this recipe are all over the internet, but after a lot of experimentation, this is the blend that I love and use regularly.


This lovely, tropical-smelling homemade deodorant contains 4 ingredients:

• Coconut oil.  Coconut oil is moisturising and has a natural antibacterial effect.
• Arrow Root Powder.  Silky smooth for a nice texture.  I prefer Arrowroot powder to cornstarch, because cornstarch may encourage yeast growth? Not good.  Stick with Arrowroot.
• Baking Soda.  Absorbs odors (you know how Grandma kept a box in the fridge to make it smell nice … same idea in your underarms!)
• Essential Oils.  Antibacterial again, and odor-busting.  I use lime essential oil for a tropical fragrance!

And here’s how to make it:

DIY Coconut Lime Deodorant

2 Tb. coconut oil
1 Tb. baking soda
3 Tb. arrowroot powder
5 drops lime essential oil

Just mix it all together and put into a container.  If you want easier mixing, melt the coconut oil first and then let harden before using.

Always always always label the container!





To use, scoop out a little bit (maybe 1/4 tsp) on your finger, press against your underarm for a few seconds to soften, then rub in.  Repeat on the other side.



My little secret: the top of my deodorant did not look this good at first.  So, I melted it down with a hairdryer for a few seconds, then smoothed it with a knife.  Yes, I admit it.  Pretty beauty products are more fun though!

Troubleshooting:

• Coconut oil melts at very low temps, so if you live in a hot climate, you might want to store this in the fridge.  Or add a bit of beeswax to hold it together.
• Baking soda can irritate some people’s skin.  If you want more odor-fighting, increase the amount of baking soda.  For a gentler deodorant, decrease the baking soda, or leave it out alltogether.
• Don’t like coconut lime?  Use a different essential oil like tea tree or lavender.

Effective deodorant seems to be a very personal thing, so change the ratio of baking soda and arrowroot powder until you find what works for you!

Recycle...

Oh What a Beautiful Morning.....

Hello Spring

Joke - A burglar broke into a house one night. He shined his flashlight around, looking for valuables when a voice in the dark said,

A burglar broke into a house one night. He shined his flashlight around, looking for valuables when a voice in the dark said,

“Jesus knows you’re here.”

He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight off, and froze.

When he heard nothing more, after a bit, he shook his head and continued.

Just as he pulled the stereo out so he could disconnect the wires, clear as a bell he heard:

“Jesus is watching you.”

Freaked out, he shined his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice.

Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot.

“Did you say that?” he hissed at the parrot.

“Yep,” the parrot confessed, then squawked, “I’m just trying to warn you that he is watching you.”

The burglar relaxed. “Warn me, huh? Who in the world are you?”

“Moses,” replied the bird.

“Moses?” the burglar laughed. “What kind of people would name a bird ‘Moses?’”

“The same kind of people who would name a Rottweiler ‘Jesus.’”

All in the Familly

Beautiful shoes!!!!!

Kim Kardashion All ure....

Home Remedies for Graying Hair Want to get rid of your gray hair naturally? Try these home remedies for graying hair.

Not ready to be a silver fox? Sure, you can color your gray hair, but coloring your hair and maintaining the new shade can be time-consuming, expensive, and damaging to the hair itself. While you can’t stop nature from changing your hair color to gray, you can reverse the graying with some simple home remedies.
Hair grows gray naturally, so why not reverse it naturally as well?
First, you need to understand what turns your hair gray. There may be a variety of causes, such as stress, illness, heredity, vitamin and nutrient deficiency, or any combination thereof. But the key issue is a rapid decline in melanin, which gives pigmentation, or color, to the hair. When the melanin molecules separate from each other, the hair takes on a gray appearance. When the body’s production of melanin decreases, the hair turns gray. So to increase your body’s production of melanin you need to fortify yourself inside and out with these home remedies for graying hair.

• Beef up the protein. Be sure to eat protein-rich foods such as lean meat, soy, whole grains, eggs, and cereals.
• Be strong as iron. Each day, eat foods rich in iron, minerals, and vitamins A and B, such as green leafy vegetables, bananas, tomatoes, liver, yogurt, kidney beans, dried apricots, oysters, eggs, and sunflower seeds.
• Take a pinch of salt. Iodine, most commonly found in table salt, is essential for the production of melanin. Add iodine-rich foods to your diet, such as bananas, carrots, and fish. Avoid other types of salts (such as sea salt and kosher salt, for example) and use ordinary iodized table salt instead.
• Mellow out. Stress reduction is an easy home remedy for graying hair. Studies have shown that the link between psychological stress and gray hair is not folklore. Rest, exercise, meditate, and find other ways to relieve anxiety and stress.
• Slather on the butter — on your head, that is. Cow’s milk butter massaged into hair roots helps prevent additional graying. Melt the butter so it is pliable, then spread into your hair and scalp twice a week. Rinse well.
• If you live near a store that specializes in ethnic foods, ask the owner for Indian gooseberry. Cut the fruit into slices and soak overnight in water, then let dry. Set water aside and boil the dried fruit in coconut oil until the solid matter disintegrates. Rub the dusty paste on hair, then rinse with the coconut oil and water mixture.
• Try amaranth if you can find it (your best bets are Indian food stores). The fresh juice of the leaves of this vegetable as well as the grain varieties help hair retain its natural color and prevent it from graying.
• Add curry to your food and your hair. Eat lots of curry in condiments, sauces, or mixed with buttermilk. Boil curry leaves in coconut oil to form a hair tonic. Rub on hair to bring the color back to its original pigmentation.
• Grate fresh ginger, mix with honey, and set aside in a jar. Eat one teaspoon of the mixture every day.
• Mix one tablespoon of table salt (with iodine) into a cup of strong black tea (no milk). Massage into scalp and let sit for an hour before rinsing.
• Make a paste of henna powder, yogurt, and fenugreek seeds (also known as methi seeds). Or use methi seed powder, coffee, basil juice, and mint juice. Apply to hair, let sit for three hours, then shampoo hair.
• Try ribbed gourd, which is said to enrich hair roots and restore pigment to hair. Cut the gourd into pieces, let them dry, and then soak in coconut oil for three days. Boil until there is black residue in the pot, then massage oil mixture into scalp. Rinse and style as usual. 

 http://www.dailyglow.com/hair-care-tips/home-remedy-for-premature-graying-of-hair.html

Summer is on its way, great idea for dessert...

Refreshing Flower arrangement...

Raku

Here's a dozen of my favorite things never to apologize for:

1) Never apologize for acting on your instincts.
2) Never apologize for being passionate.
3) Never apologize for being smart.
4) Never apologize for demanding respect.
5) Never apologize for saying no.
6) Never apologize for not embracing someone else's agenda.
7) Never apologize for disagreeing.
8) Never apologize for your faith.
9) Never apologize for your own sense of creativity.
10) Never apologize for ordering dessert.
11) Never apologize for being funny.
12) Never apologize for living your truth.

Every one of us casts a shadow.

There hangs about us, a sort of a strange, indefinable something, which we call personal influence--that has its effect on every other life on which it falls. It goes with us wherever we go. It is not something we can have when we want to have it--and then lay aside when we will, as we lay aside a garment. It is something that always pours out from our lives . . . as light from a lamp, as heat from flame, as perfume from a flower.

The ministry of personal influence is something very wonderful. Without being conscious of it, we are always impressing others by this strange power that exudes from us. Others watch us--and their thinking and actions are modified by our influence."

"Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity." Ephesians 5:15-16

~J. R. Miller, "The Shadows We Cast"

Raku

Fazer raku é uma experiência que envolve os quatro elementos, terra, ar, fogo e água - todos contribuem para o resultado final.

Começa-se por modelar uma peça de barro poroso, cozendo-a a uma temperatura não muito elevada. Depois, aplica-se o vidrado na peça, e leva-se esta de novo ao forno, a uma temperatura de 800 a 1000 graus.

Atingida esta temperatura, as peças são retiradas ainda incandescentes do forno e colocadas numa atmosfera redutora - isto é, num ambiente com pouco oxigénio. Na prática, isto equivale a mergulhá-las numa substância orgânica como a serradura. É nesta altura que por vezes surge alguma chama; é necessário tapar rapidamente o recipiente da serradura, e deixa-se a peça ficar  durante alguns minutos. O fumo que vai escapando neste processo é um lençol espesso, quase viscoso, amarelado e muito tóxico.

Na terceira fase do processo, a peça é retirada da serradura e rapidamente mergulhada em água.

Quando a peça já está suficientemente arrefecida para podermos pegar-lhe, é retirada da água e esfregada de maneira a retirar a serradura carbonizada que ficou agarrada.

Todas estas acções permitem criar efeitos singulares: craquelês, brilhos e texturas especiais, e que - aí reside a magia - apenas em parte são controláveis. Não é possível fazer duas peças de raku iguais, já que não se consegue ter sempre exactamente as mesmas circunstâncias. A porosidade do barro, a quantidade de vidrado e a forma como este se aplica, a temperatura do forno, a madeira de que é feita a serradura, a temperatura da peça, o contacto maior ou menor da superfície da peça com a serradura, o tempo de imersão em água - um instante a mais ou a menos, e abrem-se mais uma rachas, o verde fica mais azul, o brilho fica mais ou menos intenso. As zonas da peça onde não foi colocado vidrado ficam totalmente pretas, o que permite criar contrastes muito interessantes com o vidrado branco, sobretudo quando há craquelê

Raku - glazing, firing, reduction and results