Homemade Natural Deodorant

I started a new etsy shop in addition to The Felted Fern called Nature's Cupboard. From it I sell natural alternatives to store bought chemical filled items such as tooth powders, playdough, hair teas (that's tea for hair!) and deodorant. I've sold a few tins of everything but the shipping is KILLING me. So much so that I don't think I'm going to sell online anymore and either just sell it locally or not at all. I can't decide.

But what I do know is that I want to share my recipes with you! Natural deodorant had me skeptical at first when I found the recipe. I have tried every single natural deodorant out there and they have all failed me. But this... this stuff works!

Make up a batch for yourself and let me know if it works (or if you're local or dont' mind paying an arm and a leg in shipping let me know and I'll sell you a tin!).

Natural Deodorant

In a small mixing bowl combine:
6 tablespoons organic unrefined coconut oil
1/4 cup kaolin clay
1/8 cup baking soda
1/8 cup arrowroot powder
Optional: you can also add a few drops of essential oil. My favourite combo is 3 drops each of lavender and peppermint e.o. So yummy!

Mix until a thick paste much like convential deodorant is achieved. Put in a tin or even an old deodorant tube. Apply a dime sized amount with fingers from tin (use as regular deodorant if using tube). I buy my kaolin clay from Island Artisan Supply. You can use 1/4 baking soda and 1/4 arrowroot or even cornstarch but baking soda has a very high ph level so many people get rashes from it.

Nature Dyed Easter Eggs

It's a little late to be posting pics and how-to's for dyeing Easter eggs with natural ingredients, I know. But I'm a little late for everything so really, this is just how it is. You could use this technique for dyeing all sorts of other things like silks, wool, food, etc. :)

This cup has water, a tablespoon of vinegar and a tablespoon of turmeric in it that has been boiled for a few minutes. I should have let it boil longer until the turmeric dissolved but we were in a hurry. And it washed off so not a big deal!

 This dye was made using the same method above but instead of powdered turmeric, I used a handful of frozen blackberries. Just strain before using.

 This cup of dye was made with beet root powder. You could use cut up beet pieces but I happened to have some beet root powder so I used that!

 Sophie liked colouring on her egg before putting it in the dye bath!

And here's the finished Easter eggs!

I enjoy using natural materials to dye our eggs with over the chemical filled dyes you can get at the grocery store and I felt better about my kids eating the eggs afterwards. But you don't get the instant satisfaction that you get with the store bought stuff... these sat in the fridge overnight to get this colour. It probably didn't need quite that long (an hour or two would have worked) but I kinda forgot about them. :)

Sick again...

I never really used to get sick. Maybe once a year I'd catch something and that'd be it.

But this year, this year is the complete opposite. I blame sugar, stress and inactivity.

I've gotten so lazy with our diet, especially since we've moved and I've started driving Dave and Ally into town. I'd literally get breakfast from Timmies or Starbuck's every morning and then a coffee or a frap in the afternoon/evening. Sugar sugar sugar! All horrible overprocessed white sugar junk that is a nightmare to our bank account and even worse: to our immune systems. So no more drive through. That alone should give our immune systems a boost.

Stress has been a huge struggle for me this year. Having a third child killed my patience, lol. I get angry quickly (having a crap diet certainly adds to that too) and overwhelmed even quicker. I have a hard time with noises I'm learning. I really struggle with crowds and don't like too much visual stimulation. Having three children in the house (and one who isn't aware of their noise level) has been tough. I really need to learn to tune things out. And I also get stressed when I'm unorganized which we've been unorganized since we've planned on moving last summer. I like simplicity but right now my life feels anything but.

Both stress and poor diet with too much overprocessed sugar has led to inactivity. When I'm stressed or deperessed I have a hard time motivating myself to do anything. When the house is unorganized and a disaster, I don't want to do a single thing. I need to get over that and just go... when it's not pouring out we do get outside daily now which is an improvement but I miss hiking.

So we're no longer getting drive through and I'm hoping the easter chocolates get eaten soon (we didn't buy much but were given too much by family, I need to learn to say no to it). And I want to get outside regardless of weather, even if it's just a walk to the mailbox or to pull some weeds. I'm sure that once we improve on those things, we'll start feeling better and get sick a lot less.

But tonight, I'm drinking my vitman C tabs and vegging on the sofa.

It's been a long time....

...... I think you can always tell when life is a bit crazy with me. When I have alot going on, I don't blog. Some people tend to blog more, using their blog as a way to clear their heads and hearts, to get it all out. Not me. But I'm here today and I hope to start blogging more regular again.

So let's recap the last few months as there's been many changes:

~ we moved. this is good, very very good. We moved from downtown to closer to my oldest's dd's school. We hated it literally from the minute we moved in. It was overpriced, in a cookie cutter neighbourhood and with a difficult landlord. We broke our lease and moved to just over half an acre in upper Lantzville and we're so happy. It's bigger, more private, lots of gardening space and it's cheaper. I still dream of having a small hobby farm but for the next few years I'm very happy we're here. :) I'll post pictures another time (I'm on a new computer with no pictures on it yet!).

~ my husband's grandmother passed away. It's been sad, our children no longer have a great grandmother. Their only living great grandparent lives in Manitoba and they'll probably never meet him.

~ my uncle passed away. We weren't close but it's made me very sad for the lack of relationship I have with my family. I found out about his death through facebook and I coulnd't help but wonder if that was how I'd find out of my own father's death.

~ in happier news, we have a new cat. Her name is Tubbs. She's gorgeous, timid but very loveable. I hope she'll become good friends with our other cat, Chancho but for right now: they're not so much friends.

And my kiddos are finished in the tub and are calling my name (they're not alone, they're with their dad upstairs, fyi).. so I'll come back soon....