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A honey bee is a eusocial flying insect within the genus Apis of the bee clade, all native to Eurasia but spread to four other continents by human beings. They are known for construction of perennial, colonial nests from wax, for the large size of their colonies, and for their surplus production and storage of honey, distinguishing their hives as a prized foraging target of many animals, including honey badgers, bears and human hunter-gatherers. In the early 21st century, only seven species of honey bee are recognized, with a total of 44 subspecies, though historically seven to eleven species are recognized. The best known honey bee is the western honey bee which has been domesticated for honey production and crop pollination; modern humans also value the wax for candlemaking, soapmaking, lip balms, and other crafts. Honey bees represent only a small fraction of the roughly 20,000 known species of bees. Some other types of related bees produce and store honey and have been kept by humans for that purpose, including the stingless honey bees, but only members of the genus Apis are true honey bees. The study of bees, which includes the study of honey bees, is known as melittology.
Scientific name: Apis
Biological rank: Genus
Higher classification: Apinae
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Lifespan: 0.1 years on average (Western honey bee, Worker) · 3 years – 4 years on average (Western honey bee, Queen)
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Lily Wild is gobsmacked by the collection of origami flowers.
Lily: Did you fold these for me, Jefa?
Jefa: Yes, just for you, Sweetie. I picked the colours to complement your outfit. But the inspiration came from the Giant who lives with your friend, Petal, in Australia.
She asked what your least favourite food was. I know that most of you would eat anything. In fact, the suggestion of SPAM got a unanimous request to buy some more. It is a big favourite in this house.
I decided to answer this one for myself. I hate cilantro and anything that tastes like perfume, including most edible flowers and botanical infusions in drinks. Not all flowers are horrible. I do like a nice spicy nasturtium in a salad.
"They found that those people who said cilantro tastes like soap share a common smell-receptor gene cluster called OR6A2. This gene cluster picks up the scent of aldehyde chemicals. Natural aldehyde chemicals are found in cilantro leaves, and those chemicals are also used during soapmaking. " (from allrecipes)
In my research I came across a book called Edible Flowers: From Garden to Palate by Cathy Wilkinson Barash.
"Edible Flowers showcases 280 recipes using edible flowers from herbs, vegetables, and ornamentals, including culture information for each of the 67 flowering plants."
Since my guys are reading books, I thought I'd throw this out there for anyone interested. The colourful flowers on the cover inspired me to do some pretty origami to counteract the insects from my last project. Enjoy.
A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus Apis of the bee clade, all native to Eurasia but spread to four other continents by human beings. They are known for construction of perennial, colonial nests from wax, for the large size of their colonies, and for their surplus production and storage of honey, distinguishing their hives as a prized foraging target of many animals, including honey badgers, bears and human hunter-gatherers. In the early 21st century, only seven species of honey bee are recognized, with a total of 44 subspecies,[1] though historically seven to eleven species are recognized. The best known honey bee is the western honey bee which has been domesticated for honey production and crop pollination; modern humans also value the wax for candlemaking, soapmaking, lip balms, and other crafts. Honey bees represent only a small fraction of the roughly 20,000 known species of bees.[2] Some other types of related bees produce and store honey and have been kept by humans for that purpose, including the stingless honey bees, but only members of the genus Apis are true honey bees. The study of bees, which includes the study of honey bees, is known as melittology.
A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus Apis of the bee clade, all native to Eurasia but spread to four other continents by human beings. They are known for construction of perennial, colonial nests from wax, for the large size of their colonies, and for their surplus production and storage of honey, distinguishing their hives as a prized foraging target of many animals, including honey badgers, bears and human hunter-gatherers. In the early 21st century, only seven species of honey bee are recognized, with a total of 44 subspecies,[1] though historically seven to eleven species are recognized. The best known honey bee is the western honey bee which has been domesticated for honey production and crop pollination; modern humans also value the wax for candlemaking, soapmaking, lip balms, and other crafts. Honey bees represent only a small fraction of the roughly 20,000 known species of bees.[2] Some other types of related bees produce and store honey and have been kept by humans for that purpose, including the stingless honey bees, but only members of the genus Apis are true honey bees.
A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus Apis of the bee clade, all native to Eurasia but spread to four other continents by human beings. They are known for construction of perennial, colonial nests from wax, for the large size of their colonies, and for their surplus production and storage of honey, distinguishing their hives as a prized foraging target of many animals, including honey badgers, bears and human hunter-gatherers. In the early 21st century, only seven species of honey bee are recognized, with a total of 44 subspecies,[1] though historically seven to eleven species are recognized. The best known honey bee is the western honey bee which has been domesticated for honey production and crop pollination; modern humans also value the wax for candlemaking, soapmaking, lip balms, and other crafts. Honey bees represent only a small fraction of the roughly 20,000 known species of bees.[2] Some other types of related bees produce and store honey and have been kept by humans for that purpose, including the stingless honey bees, but only members of the genus Apis are true honey bees. The study of bees, which includes the study of honey bees, is known as melittology
My first batch of cold process soap.
Olive Oil, Hemp Oil, Palm Oil, Coconut Oil, Castor Oil and Shea Butter.
Aromatherapy is the use of the essential oils of botanicals for their healing and aromatic properties. Extracting the essential oils from the plants is an intricate process of pressing and distilling, with low yield. Pure essential oils, then, range from those at reasonable prices to those that go into the hundreds of dollars per one hundred millilitres. Exotic jasmine, neroli, frankincense and rose are amongst the highest in cost. Because they evaporate rapidly, essential oils are secured in carrier oils which allow the healing oils to be used in mists, soaps, bath oils, creams and related products.
An essential oil, then, is the soul of the botanical - precious, unique, healing and lovely.
In my two passions, psychotherapy and soap-making, I am privileged to work with souls - the psyches of people and the essences of plants. Psychotherapy and aromatherapy are related, I’ve found, and they teach lessons to each other. And this is where the alchemy comes in.
In approaching aromatherapy or psychotherapy, the purpose, the end result, the desired healing, must be clarified first. For instance, essential oil of ylang-ylang would be chosen where soothing and luxurious skin care were in order. In psychotherapy, a Rogerian positive regard would be applied to the psyche suffering from wounded self-esteem. Wise and caring creation of context and ongoing assessment are essential to each domain. Finally and most importantly, results must be seen and felt!
... part of an article written for a magazine, during my tenure as a soap-maker, and, oh, how I loved the art! I miss it greatly; but had to let it go when my sone was ill and we moved to a condo. I still have some of my soap, as evidenced by this picture, and am immensely particular when I buy soap...
"The common name glasswort came into use in the 16th century to describe plants growing in England whose ashes could be used for making soda-based (as opposed to potash-based) glass.[1][2] The glassworts are succulent, annual "halophytes", or plants that thrive in saline environments, such as seacoasts and salt marshes. While the original English glasswort plants belong to the genus Salicornia, the term has been extended over the years to halophyte plants from several genera, some of which are native to continents unknown to the medieval English, and growing in ecosystems, such as mangrove swamps, never envisioned when the term glasswort was coined.
The ashes of glasswort plants, and also of their Mediterranean counterpart saltwort plants, yield soda ash, which is an important ingredient for glassmaking and soapmaking. Soda ash is an alkali whose active ingredient is now known to be sodium carbonate. Glasswort and saltwort plants sequester the sodium they absorb from salt water into their tissues (see Salsola soda). Ashing of the plants converts some of this sodium into sodium carbonate (or "soda," in one of the old uses of the term). The sodium carbonate can be purified by washing ("lixiviating") the ashes and boiling the solution dry." From Wikipedia.
Yesterday, 2 August 2024 (can't believe it is already August!), I did a long, exhausting day drive, covering NW and SE of Calgary. I haven't edited any photos yet, but I also wanted to first add five photos taken on 31 July, so that I can make an album to remind me of where I went that day.
On 31 July, my main destination was the Saskatoon Farm. I love their breakfasts, so enjoyed a fully-loaded omelette with chunky hashbrowns. I was a little disappointed to find that almost all the garden flowers have already died, but I guess I need to remember to go earlier next year.
After the Farm, on the spur of the moment, I drove a short way south and then came home via a few back roads in the SE. One place I wanted to call in at was Frank Lake, to see if there were any Maximillan Sunflowers growing. This species is non-native here, but I love the flowers and any insects that might be on them. There was just one flower (at least, so far). Another plant that is interesting at the lake is Glasswort / Salicornia bigelovii.
I was going to walk the short boardwalk to the birding blind, but there were four shorebirds that most definitely did not want to move from the path, because of me. They won!
Not a long day, but it felt good to escape the awful heat inside my home. Thank goodness for car air-conditioning!
Crazy Fruity Handmade Soap
This soap is so much fun you will have to get the smile surgically removed from your face! It's a banana base loaded with fruit polka dots! Raspberry, Apricot, Lime, Kumquat, Coconut, Cucumber Melon, Apple, Lemon, Watermelon… It's a beautiful and crazy bar of soap, and it's moisturizing too! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do :-)
You will receive one bar of appoximately 4+ ounces.
It's good to let your soap air out between uses for a longer lasting bar. Store your handmade soaps in a cool dry place letting them breathe. I cut mine in quarters to make them last longer :-) and this way I can use a different soap everyday - yay me!
Hand crafted soaps are so good for your skin. No added chemicals and all the natural glycerin is retained. I'll never go back to buying store bought chemically infiltrated soaps.
Allergies? Please read the listed ingredients. Thank you.
::ingredients::
Coconut Olive Palm
Shea Butter
Lye H2O
Fragrance Oils
Essential Oils
Seeds
Oxides
Tea Tree French Green Clay Oatmeal Honey Natural Soap
All natural - no added fragrances or colorants - pure goodness, and enriched with shea butter for extra moisture!
Oatmeal: Natural oatmeal is also helpful for home solutions to treat acne. It is in fact wonderful for all skin irritations. Natural oatmeal is an acne solution and also an astringent because it removes oil and impurities off of the skin, keeping skin clean and acne-free.
French Green Clay: French Green Clay has enormous absorbent powers... It literally "drinks" oils, toxic substances, and impurities from your skin. Its toning action stimulates the skin by bringing fresh blood to damaged skin cells, revitalizing the complexion, and tightening pores. French Green Clay is marvelous for helping to clear problem skin.
Honey: Honey removes dirt, is antibacterial, soothing and smoothing, and regulates skin moisture. It is also protective and nutritive for all skin types, but especially for blemished, dry and sensitive skin.
Tea Tree Oil: Tea tree oil has been used effectively to treat acne, abscess, athlete's foot, blisters, burns, cold sores, insect bites, oily skin, rashes, spots, warts and wounds. You can use tea tree oil to cure sunburns, diaper rash, toenail infections and problems of smelly feet.
You will receive 1 bar approximately 4+ ounces.
It's good to let your soap air out between uses for a longer lasting bar. Store your handmade soaps in a cool dry place letting them breathe. I cut mine in quarters to make them last longer :-) and this way I can use a different soap everyday - yay me!
Hand crafted soaps are so good for your skin. No added chemicals and all the natural glycerin is retained. I'll never go back to buying store bought chemical laden soaps.
::ingredients::
Coconut Oil
Olive Oil
Palm Oil
Castor Oil
Sunflower Oil
Avocado Oil
Shea Butter
Oatmeal
Tea Tree Oil
Honey
French Green Clay
Lye
H2O
Ginger Pepper Citrus Musk Essential Oil Natural Soap
I've blended ginger, black pepper and an array of citrus essential oils including orange, lemon, lime and grapefruit to make up this essential oil delight.Those burgundy stripes you see are musk fragrance oil. The scent is wonderful together!
Here's a couple of things these essential oils have been said to help with:
Ginger oil is used in the treatment of fractures, rheumatism, arthritis, bruising, carbuncles, nausea, hangovers, travel and sea sickness, colds and flu, catarrh, congestion, coughs, sinusitis, sores on the skin, sore throat, diarrhea, colic, cramps, chills and fever.
Black Pepper is a warming oil can be used to great effect to help circulation and bruising and specifically to help with muscle tone, aching limbs and rheumatoid arthritis. It further helps to promote digestion, the colon as well as the kidneys.
Orange oil can be used effectively on the immune system, as well as for colds and flu and to eliminate toxins from the body.It is a good diuretic and is most useful in balancing water retention and obesity. Its lymphatic stimulant action further helps to balance water processes, detoxification, aiding the immune system and general well-being.
Lemon oil can be very beneficial to the circulatory system and aids with blood flow, reducing blood pressure and helping with nosebleeds. It can help bring down fever, helps relieve throat infections, bronchitis, asthma and flu. It boosts the immune system and cleanses the body, improves the functions of the digestive system, and it is helpful with constipation, dyspepsia and cellulite. Lemon oil soothes and relieves headaches and migraines and is helpful for rheumatism and arthritis. It is also used for clearing acne, cleaning greasy skin and hair, as well as removing dead skin cells, easing painful cold sores, mouth ulcers, herpes and insect bites.
Lime oil is useful to cool fevers associated with colds, sore throats and flu and aids the immune system while easing coughs, bronchitis and sinusitis, as well as helping asthma. Lime oil can stimulate and refresh a tired mind and helps with depression. It can be helpful for arthritis, rheumatism and poor circulation, as well as for obesity and cellulite and has an astringent and toning action to clear oily skin and acne, and also helps with herpes, insect bites and cuts.
Grapefruit has a high vitamin C content and is therefore valuable to the immune system. It helps protect against colds and flu, has a very positive effect on obesity and also has diuretic properties, helping to remove excess water from the body and is therefore also great for treating cellulite. It has an uplifting effect on the mood and helps with stress and depression. It is used with great success to combat muscle fatigue and stiffness while stimulating the lymphatic system and thereby clearing the body of toxins. It helps to clear congested oily skin and also assists with acne, while toning the skin and tissues. Grapefruit is used in hair care to promote hair growth.
Mar 16 2021
My Patient Made This
It was a very cool gift from a college kid who took up soapmaking during the pandemic.
For WH: Soap
I made these shelves from driftwood I found on the beach. They're just the right depth for holding my jars of herbs and botanicals for soaping!
Over the past few months, my fiance' and I have been making and selling handmade cold process soap. Even started an Etsy for it. My product photography skills are being tested with each batch.
etsy.com/shop/PleasantAcres
Ingredients//
Olive oil, coconut oil, rice bran oil, avocado butter, macadamia oil, pink clay, black clay and essential oil blend.
This is one of the best purchases we ever made! This is only showing about half the shelves. It holds 20 trays, and each tray can hold at least 60 bars of soap.
After unmolding and cutting our soaps, they go on this rack to cure. After several weeks they are ready to wrap & ship!
A few of my vintage Ball jars, holding soapmaking herbs, on driftwood shelves made from wood I found on the beach, and quince branches being forced in a beautiful vase from lurearts' etsy shop which was a Christmas gift from my sweet husband.
"The common name glasswort came into use in the 16th century to describe plants growing in England whose ashes could be used for making soda-based (as opposed to potash-based) glass.[1][2] The glassworts are succulent, annual "halophytes", or plants that thrive in saline environments, such as seacoasts and salt marshes. While the original English glasswort plants belong to the genus Salicornia, the term has been extended over the years to halophyte plants from several genera, some of which are native to continents unknown to the medieval English, and growing in ecosystems, such as mangrove swamps, never envisioned when the term glasswort was coined.
The ashes of glasswort plants, and also of their Mediterranean counterpart saltwort plants, yield soda ash, which is an important ingredient for glassmaking and soapmaking. Soda ash is an alkali whose active ingredient is now known to be sodium carbonate. Glasswort and saltwort plants sequester the sodium they absorb from salt water into their tissues (see Salsola soda). Ashing of the plants converts some of this sodium into sodium carbonate (or "soda," in one of the old uses of the term). The sodium carbonate can be purified by washing ("lixiviating") the ashes and boiling the solution dry." From Wikipedia.
Finally, the weather today was forecast to only reach 23°C, quite a bit cooler than what we have been experiencing. At 10:00 am, it is 16°C (feels like 14°C). Sunrise was at 6:03 am and sunset is at 9:20 pm. Going to be hot tomorrow. Just as I was going to bed around 2:00 am this morning, I happened to catch an endless stretch of strange lightning, which filled the night sky with orange flashes. Took a bit of video, but I don't know yet if it has worked - no, it didn't.
This evening, 2 August 2022, I added another five photos taken on 28 July 2022. On that day, I went for a drive out of the city. Having stayed home for eight days because of an extremely painful infected tooth, I just needed to get out for a few hours. It got up to 33C when I was out that day. For some reason, my tooth and jaw are almost as painful today as at the beginning. The antibiotics are finished, so I am obviously going to have to phone my dentist and make an appointment to get a root canal done as soon as possible. Just under two weeks of this pain has been more than enough! Later: going to get a root canal tomorrow, 3 August.
My trip on 28 July started with a visit to the Saskatoon Farm for a late breakfast. I knew that the Farm was going to get busier than ever and I wanted to take a few bright, colourful photos while I had the chance. Every time I go to the Farm, new things have been added. Hard-working, creative owners and staff! Everyone is so friendly there.
From the Farm, I drove further south-east and quickly checked out Frank Lake and area. It was too hot for me to do more than a very short walk just as far as the American Pelicans. Driving a back road or two, I only saw a few small birds. Maybe it was just too hot for them. I did see a Yellow-headed Blackbird at the lake, standing on a rock with its wings slightly open and its beak open, in order to cool down a little. I was also very happy to see a beautiful adult, dark morph Swainson's Hawk perched on a fence railing along one of the roads.
Brad put up the narrow shelving to hold my essential/fragrance oils. They are just deep enough to hold the bottle, but not block the light.
Pretty pastel homemade Easter Peeps chick soaps! These super cute handmade soaps are made using a silicone mold and melt and pour soap and are individually colored and scented. They make a great homemade gift idea for Easter baskets and are darling nestled with real Peeps candies. Plus they are super easy to make and are perfect for those last minute gifts! Find the DIY Easter Peeps Soapmaking Tutorial blogged here.
Three of my most popular soaps all in one sweet package! From left to right, we have Creamy Lavender, Oatmeal, Milk & Honey, and Chocolate Peppermint.
Nag Champa Blue and White Handmade Soap
Blue and white reminds me of the ocean. Living in WI I guess this as close as I get for now. I added extra nag champa fragrance for a scent lingering bar. Superfatted with my amazing concoction of oils and butters (see ingredients) and all extra large bars. A visual and fragrant festival of joy!
I use my soap as shampoo bars as well. It's a fun way to get clean from head to toe in one fell swoop ~ schwooosh! I then use a (very light) jojoba oil, shea butter and avocado butter mixture about every three days. I have very long, curly, unmanageable, frizzy, gnarly hair... and it actually pleases me. Not to mention no chemicals left to leech their way into my scalp!
My method: Lather up a wash cloth really REALLY good and squeeze it out onto your hair. This is easier then trying to lather your hands and then transfer. Scrub it up and use the remainder for your body. Close your eyes for the hair part though - or ouch! Then rinse and you are all done. You've saved water, time and smell great too. Ah…
*I only use my 'plain' soap bars for shampoo bars. I don't use any soaps that have clay, or oatmeal, coffee, poppy seeds, flowers, herbs… etc. You get the picture right? I don't want anything leftover hanging around making me look silly. I can do that by myself.
You will receive 1 bar approximately 5+ ounces. Some bars weigh more and these bars will go first. I am a terrible cutter, but I try...
It's good to let your soap air out between uses for a longer lasting bar. Store your handmade soaps in a cool dry place letting them breathe. I cut mine in quarters to make them last longer :-) and this way I can use a different soap everyday - yay me!
Hand crafted soaps are so good for your skin. No added chemicals and all the natural glycerin is retained. I'll never go back to buying store bought chemical laden soaps.
::ingredients::
Coconut Olive Palm Oils
Castor Jojoba Avocado Sweet Almond Hazelnut Walnut Rice Grapeseed Sunflower Safflower
Shea Avocado Almond Butters
Nag Champa Fragrance Oil
Oxides
Lye
H2O
Not sure why I hadn't tried this before but it's so easy. My first attempt at soap making was a success. 4 bars of orange/eucalyptus poppyseed, 4 of lavender with lavender flower and 4 of peppermint poppyseed.
I'm definitely doing this again and may seek out an organic base.