Smashed Pumpkin Pie Soap

Fall is upon us which means lots and lots of pumpkins. Pumpkins inspire, yummy pies and creative fall decor. Did you know? Pumpkin high in many nutrients that are wonderful for healthier skin.

Pumpkin is packed full of the following:

Vitamin A which acts as a mild cleanser that soothes and softens all skin types.

Zinc can help soothe irritated skin.

Alpha-Hydroxy acids gently exfoliate dead skin cells, revitalize the skin and draw out unwanted impurities.

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant which help to preserve healthy skin cells.

All of these nutrients means that pumpkin is a natural and healthy way to care for your skin. It helps with sun spots, premature aging, clogged pores, and a dull, and uneven complexion. Fall is the perfect time to give our Smashed Pumpkin Pie Soap a try.

Nourishing Lip Balm

Who doesn’t absolutely LOVE Lip Balm? I DO! You are missing out if you haven’t given my homemade lip balm a try. It’s made with Shea Butter, Mango Butter, Vitamin E, and beeswax. It’s available in three yummy flavors, coconut, lavender and grapefruit.

Repair and nourish your lips with this moisturizing lip balm formulated with wonderful plant based ingredients.

Shea Butter lip balm is a great choice for treating cracked, dry, or aging lips. This amazing butter contains nutrients which help heal lips and improve appearance.

Mango butter has natural emollient properties, healing power, and is highly protective against UV rays. All of these properties and it’s sweet smell make it the perfect additive in lip balm.

Vitamin E is a great way to bring dry lips back to good condition. This is a powerful antioxidant and is soothing, and healing.

Beeswax is known to lock in moisture, foster cells, and protect your lips from damaging environmental factors.

Give our Healing Lip Balm a try! Natural Garden Soaps

Homemade Gift Ideas

Make your holidays more meaningful by making your own gifts! Try these Bubbly Bath Salts that you can whip up at home with little money, and very little time. They are guaranteed to wow that special person in your life. Plus as we all know, homemade gifts have much more meaning.

Who doesn't love a little pampering time? I know that I DO! These Bubbly Bath Salts can be used in a foot bath and in the bath to relax, ease stress and unwind.

Give a array of skincare goodies by pairing up the bath salts up with a bar of handmade soap and a crocheted washcloth.

DIY Bubbly Bath Salts

Ingredients:

6 Cups of Kosher Salt or Sea Salt

¾ Cup of Liquid Soap

1 Tablespoon of Sweet Almond Oil or Olive Oil

2 to 3 Drops of Lavender or Jasmine Essential Oil

3 to 4 Drops of Food Coloring (optional)

Instructions:

Stir the soap, oils, and food coloring together thoroughly. Evenly pour over the salt, and stir until the salt is evenly coated. Feel free to custom your bath salt with a essential oil of your choice. Spread bath salt out in a thin layer on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper, and allow it to air dry overnight. Pack into a container of your choice.

Directions:

To use, pour ¼ cup of the salt under running water while drawing a bath. Enjoy a foot bath with warm water and add a ⅛ cup of bath salts. Soak your feet until your heart's content and the water cools.

Green Tip:

In place of the food coloring use one tablespoon of dried rose petal powder as a natural colorant.

To dress up my bath salts I made a pretty tag with card stock using the font Susie’s Hand that I download free from daFonts.com. I punched out the tag with one of my favorite decorative Stampin’ Up punches, and tied it on the bottle with string.

Thanks for popping by my blog and read my post.

New Botanical Bath Bombs

Who doesn't love a warm relaxing bath? I know that I am a bath nut. I have exciting news to share.

Natural Garden Soaps “New” Bath Bombs are the best way to enjoy bath time, drop one in your bath to make it instantly relaxing and aromatic.

Our new botanical bath bombs are a whopping 7.5 ounces each. Use a whole bath bomb in one bath or break it in half to enjoy in two baths.

We've added 3 awesome smelling bath bombs to our list of organic and natural skincare. Be sure to try our new bath bombs, now available in Rosemary Mint, Jasmine and Lavender.

Our bombs are scented with the finest essential oils, no artificial fragrances used. The essential oils are sure to soothe and relax your mind, body and spirit.  Our botanical bombs are beautifully infused with organic dried rose petals, lavender buds, and peppermint leaves for a wonderful natural scent.

Lie down and soak up the moisture from the nourishing organic sweet almond oil and skin softening ingredients.

Shop our new Bath Bombs { Natural Garden Soaps }.

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you will stop back by often.

{ Follow Me on Pinterest } Paula Parrish

Laundry Detergent ReVisited

For the last four years I have been making my own laundry soap. I made the switch when the store bought Tide bottles kept getting smaller and the price getting bigger. I kept thinking in my head. Why is store bought laundry detergent SO expensive? Plus making my own laundry detergent was a great way to take additional steps into natural living.

You can find my original Laundry Detergent Recipe here, Suds or No Suds.

My original recipe included using a Fels Naptha Soap bar but because of my concerns of the ingredients in the soap bar. Plus I was not crazy about the smell of the Fels Naptha soap bar. I swapped it for a homemade oil based Lavender Soap Bar.

Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe

1 Bar 5 ounce bar of Handmade Lavender Soap

2 cups of Washing Soda or Baking Soda

2 cups of Borax Powder

A few drops of Lavender Essential Oil

Simply grate the soap bar, then mix it with the wash soda and borax. I put the three ingredients in a food processor to create a fine powder.

Directions:

Use 1 Tbsp of Laundry Soap per load.

I love the new heavenly smell of my laundry detergent. Plus, I am happy to be taking additional steps towards avoiding possible harmful chemicals.

Why I ditched the Fels Naptha soap bar?  It contains petro chemicals, stoddard solvent, artificial color and artificial fragrance. Just like most commercially made laundry products Fels Naptha can irritate sensitive people or pets.

Let’s break down what’s in these ingredients?

Borax is a naturally occurring mineral made up of sodium, boron, oxygen, and water.

Washing Soda or Baking Soda which is sometimes called sodium carbonate or soda ash, is made from common salt and limestone or natural deposits.

Handmade Lavender Soap is created with pure olive oil, palm and coconut oil. Scented with lavender essential oil.

Happy Washing and Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Smiles, Paula

{ Follow Me On Pinterest } Paula Parrish

I have linked this post up to the following parties:

http://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com / http://www.oneartsymama.com / http://www.the-chicken-chick.com /

http://bacontimewiththehungryhypo.blogspot.com / http://www.shakentogetherlife.com

Natural Pest Control Tips

In my opinion there is no need to use toxic chemicals to control pests such as ants, flies, or cockroaches.  Let me tell you, the cockroaches down here in Florida are large enough to be listed with the post office to receive their own mail.  Eeekkk!  To keep these unwanted visitors from setting up a resident in my home, I do everything I can to make my home an un-appealing destination for them to live.  If a few creatures do make it into our home, natural homemade deterrents and traps will quickly make them want to leave.  It puts my mind at ease that our at home pest control is natural and doesn't danger myself, my family, our kitty Midnight or the environment.

Here are a few ways in which I control those unwanted pests.

Planted Herbs to Keep Ants Away

I plant lavender and peppermint around our house to keep the ants away.  I place them in ground and in pots around doorways, and I place small pots of mint in window sills.

Natural Ant Powder

Dried peppermint, cayenne, and borax help to deter ants.

¼ Cup of Dried Peppermint

¼ Cup of Powdered Cayenne

¼ Cup of Borax

Mix the ingredients together; and sprinkle the powder around the area where ants are entering.

Essential Oil Cockroach Repellent

Cockroaches don’t like the scent of eucalyptus or rosemary essential oils.  I place a few drops of essential oil on a cotton ball and place it in an area where I have seen a pesky roach.

Homemade Fly Paper

It is super easy to create your own fly paper by spreading molasses onto strips of bright yellow poster board.  Punch a hole at the top and hang the strips with string wherever the flies are a nuisance.

In effort to control bugs on a daily basis here are few things that I do.  I cut off their food source by cleaning up dishes immediately after meals.  Everyday I wipe down my kitchen counters for crumbs, often more than once.  I wash out all of the bottles, jars, and cans that I place in my recycling bins.  I try very hard to eliminate hiding places, getting rid of unneeded paper, bags, and cardboard boxes.

I hope that you found this natural pest control tips helpful.

{ Follow Me on Pinterest } Paula Parrish

Garden Rosemary Soap

Rosemary has a long history as a popular scent,

and as a natural remedy.

No wonder it is one of the most beloved soaps by our customers

of Natural Garden Soaps.

This soap’s scent is created by a wonderful blend of rosemary essential oil,

and our own dried, crushed garden rosemary leaves.

Your skin will love this Garden Rosemary soap bar

with a light exfoliation just as much as your nose.

The three tropical oils of olive, coconut and palm

provides your skin a lavish moisturizer.

This aromatherapy soap, Garden Rosemary bar will pamper

you with many amazing benefits.

Rosemary soap will have positive effect on your performance and mood.

This soap will help re-hydrate and tone the skin, keeping it taut and healthy.

The rosemary acts as an astringent, reducing wrinkles.

The rosemary oil in this soap will help stimulate blood circulation when you wash.

After you shower with this soap you may notice a boost in your concentration,

focus, memory and mental awareness.

Once you try this soap, you may fall in love with it’s

refreshing herbal aroma.

Have you ever used our Garden Rosemary?

{ Follow Me on Pinterest } Paula Parrish