I don’t know about your family, but it seems like the second that kids go back to school (and mine are technically homeschooled) is when they all come down with their first cold of the season. It never seems to fail! I try to be thoughtful and we do our best to keep the germs at bay. We wash our …
Learn About Rosehip Benefits & Uses
We are all familiar with roses. They are beautiful flowers and they have many uses in the natural skincare world (like Scratch Mommy Founder Jess’s handcrafted and UhMaaaZing Pronounce Skincare Rose Water Spray). But did you know that there is more to roses than just their flowers? I’m talking about rosehips, and I am SO excited for you to learn about rosehip …
What Are Herbal Liniments (and a soothing muscle liniment recipe)
What are Herbal Liniments? Unlike a tea made with water or an extract that’s a concentrated, alcohol-based preparation designed for internal use, a liniment is a topical preparation of herbs that soothe and comfort the skin or muscles. Many herbal liniments use witch hazel extract as a base, but they can also be made with rubbing alcohol, apple cider vinegar, or …
DIY Poison Ivy Lotion Recipe
Before I had kids I loved to go on weekend long kayaking trips. One downside to spending so much time on the water though, is that poison ivy likes to lurk at the water’s edge. Needless to say I’ve gotten pretty good at both recognizing (and avoiding) poison ivy and treating the rash it causes. But I try to steer …
Garden Battle #1
If we are Facebook friends you may have seen a couple of posts yesterday and today about some uninvited visitors to my garden. How about I just show you a few pictures. Now, let’s look at this beautiful lettuce from above (picture taken this morning)… Cutworms I’ve learned a lot about these nasty boogers in the past two days. I …
Natural Tattoo Care
I have always loved tattoos, and I love hearing the stories behind them. I got my first tattoo 5 1/2 years ago, at the age of 17. My mom and I both got our black belts and we went in to get our first tattoos together that same day. I want every tattoo I get to mean that much. In …
DIY Herbal Bath Teas (recipes for stress relief!)
There comes a time in everyone’s life that stress invades and the search for some relief begins. There are, of course, numerous ways to bust stress – exercise, healthy food, time with friends, herbal medicine, and much more. A simple way to head that bit of muscle tightening emotion off at the pass is some stress busting herbal bath teas. …
Homemade Playdough (customize with natural colors and scents!)
What kid didn’t play with playdough growing up? I remember opening up a brand new tub of playdough and squishing it, rolling it, and molding it for hours on end. Growing up, I never thought about the ingredients that are used to make store bought playdough, I just new I loved the colorful stuff. However, once I became an adult …
How to Use Dandelion (for home, body, and food)
Dandelion, that sunny weed that is the bane of any perfect lawn seeking homeowner is so much more than something to be eradicated. In fact, dandelion is an herb with so much potential that it should be revered by the DIY homemaker. This amazing wildflower has tremendous medicinal, nutritive, and creative uses. Get started using every part of this ‘weed’ for body, …
The Healthy (holistic!) Dog Food for Your Furry Loved Ones
This is Bubbles. She’s our 8 year old shihtzu who doesn’t seem to be able to catch a break. Chronic dry eye… Yep, she’s got it. Chronic ear infections… Yep, she’s got those too and they make her always smell like a corn chip. Weird allergies that a vet has yet to conquer… Those as well. We have been wanting to switch …