Yes, I am a crazy person.  I’ve got that look in my eye.  However, I am not crazy with junk sticking out of my head.  That is just the door hinge in my very unprofessional office/photo studio.  Anyhoo.  Back when it was sunny and warm outside, I wrote this Concoctions post that told you about my DIY proclivities.  Well, I’ve got an update for you, along with a couple recipes for new goodness you can try at home.

To start, the Queen of Hungary water is awesome.  It really does make my skin feel super tight and smooth as a baby’s bum, with one caveat.  It smells like vinegar, so I have to dilute it with water or I smell as crazy as I look in the above photo.

Angry Chicken’s deodorant has been terrific for the hubster, but after about a month, it made my pits get a rash, so I stopped using it.  I am now deodorant free, and it isn’t as scary as I thought it would be, even Gregory agrees.  I am guessing the fact that I shave is the reason for the rash.  So, if you don’t shave, I think you are golden with this stuff.  Maybe try it without the baking soda, too.  Just a thought.  Also, I did use her suggestion for glycerin to make it softer.  I used a couple tablespoons, and the consistency is quite nice.

Kombucha – still going strong!  I love it!  If you are a local yokel and want to try it, give me a holler and we’ll hook you up with a SCOBY.

Birch Water – my original intention with this was to replace shampoo.  Initially this was great, but then, even though I had just washed my hair, it looked, well, dirty, mostly oily.  So now I use it as a body wash and am super happy with it.  You can’t beat the smell of rum in the shower.

So you might be wondering if I returned to the shampoo.  Nope.  I have, since September, been cleaning up with baking soda and Queen of Hungary Water.  Here’s the “recipe”:

Mix about a teaspoon of baking soda in about a quarter cup of hot water.  Swirl around until the water is clear.  Pour the water over your head, concentrating on the scalp.  Close your eyes, too.  This stuff burns a little.  Once you’ve gotten all of it on, give yourself a nice scalp massage.  Let it sit for a minute or two, or comb through it.  Rinse very well.  Seriously, very well.  Even though you’ve only used a little, it will dull your hair if you don’t get it all out.

Next, take about a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, or even better, Queen of Hungary Water, and mix it with about a quart of water.  Pour this over your head, comb through, and rinse, rinse, rinse!  Nobody wants to smell a vinegary head, nobody.  I am speaking from experience.

Finally, the reason for the title and the kooky photo above.  I recently made lip balm and it turned out really well – like well enough to surprise everyone who’s used it, including me.  I got the ingredients from a few places, but this awesome website (Mountain Rose Herbs) has it all, and most of it is certified organic.  Yippee!

Pucker-Up!

12 teaspoons castor oil

9 teaspoons grated beeswax (pack this and the cocoa butter into the measuring spoon)

9 teaspoons grated cocoa butter

9 teaspoons sweet almond oil

9 teaspoons jojoba oil

9 teaspoons glycerin

1 teaspoon vitamin e oil

Essentail oils – I used spearmint (10 drops), rosemary (8 drops), and peppermint (6 drops).

15-20 1/2 ounce metal tins – I used 20 but didn’t fill them all the way.  I didn’t know how much the mix would expand as it cools – not very much, so I’d use 15 next time.

Place all ingredients in a heat proof glass measuring cup.  Place that in a pot of hot water over low heat, and stir, stir, stir, until melted.  It takes a while, but I read that melting it too quickly could cause everything to be grainy.  Nobody wants grainy lip balm.

This turned out medium firm, I’d say.  If you like it really soft, more like lip gloss, change the ratio of castor oil (more) to beeswax and cocoa butter (less).  Do the reverse if you like it a bit more firm.  You can also use any combination of essential oils.  Lavender, orange, or lemon would be nice, too!  Finally, if you want it tinted, add some lipstick or food coloring at the end.  It will look much darker in the tin than it does on your lips.

**I forgot to tell you that I filled my tins with a turkey baster.  Just be sure to get it really clean because it will smell like your lip balm or get a baster to dedicate to unusual home projects.

Have fun, and if you do try something, let me know how it goes.  I’d be eager to hear.

But not a dollar short!

I had intended to show you some of this yesterday, but my camera batteries were dead, and by the time I got them recharged I wasn’t fond of the light.  Hence the title, but, as everything has a lovely way of working out in these parts, I got to paint a little more whilst sitting in the gorgeous light you see above.

I love when the light looks like that, shining through the apple tree.  Judging by the shape of the fruits, we think it is a Red Delicious. It didn’t bear as many as usual this year, which is a bit of a blessing.  Trying to keep up with the fruit can be a little crazy – applesauce, cider, chutney, butter, sliced and dried, piles to give away.  You get the idea.

Anyway, you will also notice a little watercolor station on my jammied lap.  Yep, jammies.  It is 3:11p.m. and I have yet to get properly dressed.  I have, however, worked out, gotten two loads of laundry out on the line, and painted in the shade of the aforementioned apple tree.  I’m not a total slacker.

As for the painting, I took some classes in college, but hadn’t really touched a brush since.  When I worked at Clark College, I attended a conference in the Seattle area.  We stayed in a kind of icky dormitory, but man-oh-man, did it have lovely grounds that were right on the Sound.  In the early mornings, I spied my colleague out sketching, and envied his air of peace and contemplation, really seeing his surroundings. It got me thinking that I’d like to to that someday.

Then, when we were in New Mexico this past summer, admiring the landscape, I wished for watercolors to magically appear, so I could capture my interpretation on paper.  It’s popped in my head a few more times since, so yesterday, after dropping a package off at the post office, I walked to the art supply store and hooked myself up.  In addition to what is on my lap, I bought another pad of paper.  A good start.

I’m already having a grand time, which is certainly helped by my willingness to let go.  When I painted before, I was so wrapped up in getting it right that I didn’t have a whole lot of fun.  Now I can let it be play.  What happens when I do this?  Neat!  And that?  Ooh, not what I was expecting.  As the kids say, “It’s all good.”

Is there anything you’d like to get back to doing or just try someday?

Hi there!  I’m giving you a little preview of our updated guest bedroom.  I need to make some watercolors for a couple of empty frames before it is ready for viewing, so, in the meantime, I’m showing you two of my favorite features.  The first is the billowing curtain.  I find few sights in a home more pleasing.  I can’t really say why.  I guess there is something peaceful about it, carefree.  The other photo is the top corner of the door, illustrating the paint colors.  Both pretty and soothing, I love them.

This was the first room we painted after we bought the house ten years ago, and though I didn’t know it at the time, we were quite lucky with the paint selection.  Despite Gregory’s initial raising of eyebrows, “A purple room?”  It was just right.  There was no dread as we applied the first roll of color on the wall, as was the case in the living room, bathroom, and hallway.  Oy vay, what a hassle to spend all of that time poring over chip after chip, getting excited at how lovely they will look to being in utter shock that it just isn’t right.  How can that be?  It’s too mustard, too nursery room, too Amityville Horror!

Since we had to paint the newly installed window, we decided we might as well do the whole room again.  After all, it had been ten years, and it looked it – a bit dirty where the cats jumped from the window and quite faded, save where there had previously been pictures (though that did look kind of neat – like something out of an old mansion).  Since I really did like the color, I saw no reason to change it, with the exception of buying an eggshell instead of a matte finish.

So there you have it – a little peek.  I promise to show you the rest very soon.