Thursday, September 30, 2010

Bananas and Kefir for Healthy, Beautiful Hair!


Bananas are rich in potassium, an ingredient that temporarily gaps in hair's cuticle, so strands feel smooth. Vitamins B5, A, E, and C in the fruit preserve hair's natural elasticity, lessening breakage and split ends over time.

The lactic acid in kefir helps maintain your hair and scalp's pH balance, so they stay moisturized and shiny naturally; fatty acids coat and soften hair. If you would like to make your own kefir for your hair, you can find the organic, probiotic kefir grain cultures in my etsy shop...all you need to do is purchase them once and you can make healthy and delicious kefir indefinitely!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/54411910/kefir-a-cultured-dairy-product-full-of

Banana and Kefir Hair Treatment

1 banana
1/2 cup - 1 cup kefir

In a blender, whip the banana and kefir until they have a smoothie-like texture (about 45 seconds). Work the hair mask into wet hair, wrap a wet towel around your head and let the mask soak in for 10 minutes. Rinse, shampoo, and style!

Tester Tip: You might want to try making kefir cheese (or "labne") for this hair mask because it has a thicker consistency that won't slide off wet hair. Add a few drops of vanilla or lavender essential oil to de-stress while you wait. ;-)

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

How to Make All-Natural Food Coloring!


The lovely image above is a close up of a necklace pendant called, "Rainbow Colorful Whimsical Woman Necklace" and is created by Whimsies Folksies. Please check out her beautiful, fanciful original mixed media paintings, art prints, and other handcrafted art pendants in her Etsy shop! http://www.etsy.com/shop/whimsiesfolksies


There are harmful ingredients in artificial food colorings which are in many different kinds of foods including a plentiful array of children's foods. Please check out this informative article about how food companies fool consumers with food coloring ingredients made from petrochemicals:

http://www.naturalnews.com/022870_artificial_colors_food.html

However, have no fear there is a healthy, NATURAL solution...All-Natural Food Colorings! You can either purchase them at a health foods store or you can attempt to make your own! My sister, Andrea, and I have made several natural, "from scratch" cakes with our own all natural food colorings. We have used natural ones that we purchased from a health food store, but our favorite ones that we like to use are the natural food colorings that we make ourselves. We have made natural food coloring from red cabbage, spinach juice, and beet powder...however our ultimate favorite natural food coloring ingredient is turmeric because it produces such a vibrant yellow and it is very easy to achieve. Here are some pictures of our natural food coloring cake creations:


Princess and the Frog Cake


Sponge Bob Square Pants Cake


Pac Man Cake


Big Bird Cake


Mario Star Cake


Barbie Cake

...and here is our newest cake creation; for our Nana Sharee's birthday we made her a high heel and martini cake! The beet powder we used made a beautiful pink speckled frosting!


Here are the two sites with information on how you can create your own all-natural food colorings at home! Best of luck to you and happy cake creating! :-D

http://hubpages.com/hub/make-food-coloring


http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2010/03/colorful-baking-with-homemade-natural.html

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

A New Grandmother's Love


My twin sister, Andrea, and I visited our mother, Vicki, with her first grandchild little baby Bobby (Andrea's sweet son) on Thursday at the nursing home where she lives. It was a precious and beautiful moment seeing how happy our mother was to see Bobby again; she is so fascinated and in love with him! Despite the challenges with her battle with complete paralysis due to her severe Multiple Sclerosis, our visits are still cherished and fulfilling. Andrea and I love her so very much. :-)



Here are a couple pictures of me with Mommy and Bobby:




...and a couple of Andrea with Mommy and Bobby:


Sunday, September 26, 2010

This Halloween Become a Witchy Woman with These Love Spells!


"How to be a Sensuous Witch" (written in 1971) is a combination of time-tested rituals and bewitching recipes guaranteed to satisfy you and your lover. There are spells to attract both men and money (poverty is counter-sensuous), to arouse passion, or (if you desire) to separate your lover from you. The recipes range from elegant dinners to restorative breakfasts...this book is sure to teach you some tricks with its tasty and mesmerizing treats! Along with this book, I would love to feature some other tools you can use to inspire and create your witchy woman love spells from vendors on Etsy!


This is a dazzling gift for you and your lover, it's a "Love Witch Bottle Kit" by White Magic.


A tantalizing aroma sure to put your lover in a trance, this "Practical Magic Room Spray 2oz - Love Spell" is created by MicheleSeraphim.


What an adorable little tool to add to your love spell kit, this "True Love Red Heart Altar - Sigil Stone" is created by Dryw.


This witchy woman paper weight is sure to inspire your love spell experiments; it is called "Halloween Love Potion Large Rectangle Glass Paperweight" created by BixlerandJohnson.


Oooh la la, this stunning red candle will allure your lover; it is called "Love Spell Candle Handmade by White Witch" and is created by FreeWillMagick.


Wow, what a gorgeous love spell bottle! This item is called "Altered Bottle Love Potion No. 9" and is hand-crafted by WindandHoney.


An eye-catching pendant with a rhyming love spell will surely give you success with your spells! This is titled "Love Potion Pendant Necklace" by phings.


This might possibly be the ultimate love spell for your man! "Love Potion -Beloved for men - ORGANIC Aromatherapy Blend" is created by lotusflowerherbals.

Speaking of the lotus flower, from personal experience and from the famous Egyptian goddess of love, Cleopatra; the blue lotus flower is said to be one of the strongest known aphrodisiac herbs. You can make a tea out of it, or could make it like Cleopatra: by soaking the blue lotus petals into wine...doesn't the "Love Spell No. 9" rhyme speak of a love spell wine?! Well, I think this blue lotus wine is it!

If you are interested in purchasing some high-quality Egyptian Blue Lotus, please come to my shop "Eco-Friendly Freckles", I have some wonderfully potent and fresh blue lotus for all of your witchy woman love spell needs!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/55914981/egyptian-blue-lotus-lily-aphrodisiac

Friday, September 24, 2010

Stroller Baby!


Little baby Bobby got to go on his first stroller ride in the park this week! He looked so happy as the breeze blew across his face and the sun peeked through the clouds to say "hello". I had a joyous time munching on homemade blueberry muffins on a picnic blanket with my (best-friend) twin sister Andrea and her darling baby boy Bobby. After our leisurely visit we took Bobby out for a stroller ride in the park and then later we went shopping for play toys for the sweet little guy. ;-) It was such a precious and pretty day!


Loving Momma Andy pushing baby Bobby in his stroller.


Andrea and I with darling little Bobby...he is so loved!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Organic Freedom Farm Feature: I'm Happy as a Goat!


The above painting is titled "Bill the Goat" from Walking Quail. This delightful little goat is so adorable and brings a smile to my face. It reminds me of how much my husband and I would love to have some goats of our own someday! It also reminds me of Cherri's cute little goats on the Organic Freedom Farm website...by the way, she featured me and my art on her wonderful blog today! Please check it out:

http://www.organicfreedom.com/


Here are Cherri's darling little goats from the Organic Freedom Farm!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Pamper Your Face with a Kefir Mask


Kefir is wonderfully beneficial for your skin; it naturally contains Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) that is said to reduce wrinkles or the signs of aging, and improve the overall look and feel of the skin. In kefir, alpha hydroxy acid is in the form of lactic acid.

Lactic acid naturally harmonizes with the slight acidity of our skin and hair. The lactaic acid in kefir softly dissolves the lipids that hold old skin cells together and helps to remove dead skin particles so that new skin can emerge into new radiance. Other miracles of alpha hydroxy acid found in kefir include reducing the appearance of wrinkles and scar tissue, and fading aging spots and freckles (pigmentations from sun exposure).

I put home-brewed kefir on my face all of the time and I love the way that it makes my skin feel; slightly tightened and soft. You can put kefir alone on you face for a therapeutic mask or you can follow this wonderful kefir-oatmeal face mask recipe below.

Kefir Honey Oatmeal Mask

½ cup uncooked oatmeal
¾ cup of kefir
2tbsp of warm liquid honey

Mix kefir and oatmeal and refrigerate for ten hours. Strain, keeping the liquid and discarding the oatmeal. Add the honey and mix well. Apply the mask and leave on for twenty minutes. Rinse well and apply a moisturizer to the face. This is a great mask for oily skin.

If you would like to make your own kefir for a calming and therapeutic facial mask, you can find the organic, probiotic kefir grain cultures in my etsy shop...all you need to do is purchase them once and you can make delicious, healthy kefir indefinitely!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/54411910/kefir-a-cultured-dairy-product-full-of

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Give a Special Gift to the Loving Man in Your Life!


Whether it's your husband, boyfriend, father, or brother these unique gifts are sure to please and surprise this wonderful man in your life! These are some new items that I have recently listed in my Etsy shop. Please take a moment, think of your sweet man, and look at these fascinating gifts for men!

Vintage 1980 Miller High Life Beer Sign Light - It's Miller Time!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/56470600/vintage-1980-miller-high-life-beer-sign?ref=v1_other_1

Vintage 70's Avon Liberty Bell Tribute After Shave

http://www.etsy.com/listing/56464286/vintage-70s-avon-liberty-bell-tribute

Dark Jade Indo Kratom Incense - Uplifting Herb with Aromatherapy and Medicinal Properties

http://www.etsy.com/listing/54107407/dark-jade-indo-kratom-incense-uplifting

Friday, September 17, 2010

Welcome to the Shop with Botanical Bliss!


I have just added three new listings of larger sizes of kratom herbal incense (Dark Jade Indo, Premium Scarlet Sumatra, and Royal White Sumatra) in my Eco-Friendly Freckles shop...also, I will be adding more to my kratom collection in the near future! Don't forget that I also have other exotic herbs in my shop; such as the Egyptian Blue Lily Lotus! Please check them out in the Exotic Herbs section of my shop. Get ready to be dazzled with amazement over these rare and fascinating herbs!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ecofriendlyfreckles?section_id=6794523

Monday, September 13, 2010

Trees of Love


The beautiful image above is an original watercolor created by chrissutherland called "Tree of Love". Please check out Chris's delightful Etsy shop of watercolor artwork!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/chrissutherland

We love trees, but don't forget that they love us back! One thing about creating my art that puts my mind at ease is knowing that I am recycling paper (magazines, yogi tea tags, etc.); whatever doesn't end up in my art ends up in a paper recycling bin instead of a gargantuan landfill somewhere harming our beautiful earth. To show your love for trees, please practice recycling paper, planting trees, and/or supporting crafters who use recycled paper in their art (like with my hand-painted upcycled decoupage canisters)! To remind us of all of the precious love that trees give, lets look into a few of their amazing gifts.

Trees lower Stress:
Research has shown that exposure to trees can decrease a person's blood pressure and muscle tension.

Trees reduce greenhouse gases:
One forested acre removes six tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and replaces it with four tons of oxygen, providing enough air for 18 people to breathe for a year.

Trees increase property value:
Healthy and mature ones can add about 10 percent to your home's value.

Trees cut energy costs:
Planting them around your house shades windows and walls; this can reduce air-conditioning costs by up to 56 percent.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Saturday, September 11, 2010

I Need Your Opinion About My Handmade Soap Picture Makeover!


I have been pondering over giving my All-Natural Homemade Golden Goddess Soap pictures a makeover and I am so glad I did...because they needed it. However, I would still love to hear other people's thoughts/opinions about the new photos. So please post a comment on this blog post and critique my soap picture makeover! Thank you!

Before:


After:


Before:


After: