The hat I knit for hubby was a total flop. It came out of the washer looking like a pancake. I consoled myself with some other craftiness. I worked on Bill's sweater and my socks a little, but my biggest accomplishment was making a salve like Burt's Bees Farmers Friend. We love this stuff, but I can't see paying a ton for it when I have all the ingredients. Plus we're using up all of my brother-in-law's stock
We went to our trailer and I got some of my oils, waxes and essential oils and I was ready to go. Here's the recipe for my version.
4 parts calendula comfrey infused olive oil
4 parts sweet almond oil
1 part Vit E
2 parts Beeswax
My parts were tablespoons. Normally I would weigh everything, but I couldn't find my scale.
Melt and add 1/2 teaspoon Lavender Oil, 1/2 teaspoon Rosemary oil, and 1/4 teaspoon tea tree oil (I substituted this for the Eucalyptus oil shown on the ingredients list)
The best way to infuse the olive oil is to let the herbs soak in it for a few weeks in a warm sunny spot. Or you can simmer the herbs over low heat. I wanted this stuff ASAP, so I did the simmer method. I just heated up the oil and turned the stove off actually, after I cooked the first batch with the stove set on warm :) Have fun. Your hands will thank you.
Posted by tonya at February 03, 2003 06:52 AMA-ha! See, you couldn't stay away from your healing desires, could you? ;-) I wish I could have had an extra set of hands helping with the soap this weekend. I've never made so many batches in such a short amount of time!
Now, how am I gonna package 100+ bars.... (I know you've battled that one before hehe)
Posted by: Shetha on February 3, 2003 05:30 PMWhen you call for calendula infuse olive oil, do you just put the petals of calendula flowers into the olive oil? I grow calendula (like a weed), every year, and always have way too much of it. If I can use some of the flowers this way, it would open up a whole new door for me.
Thanks
Posted by: Janet on February 11, 2003 12:03 PMPretty much. I pack a quart mason jar full of the petals and pour the oil over until the jar is full. I normally put this in a sunny spot for a couple of weeks, then I strain it into another jar so I'll have it on hand. If I'm in a hurry I just simmer as I described in my post.
Posted by: Tonya on February 17, 2003 02:15 PM