Herbal Sachet Recipes - Part 1

Freshening the Home

Drawer and closet sachets, moth repellents, vacuum fresheners, and dryer sachets are all popular natural products that you can provide for your customers, give as gifts, or use yourself.

The following sachets can be made quickly and easily with a sewing machine and some cotton fabric, cheesecloth or even old pantyhose. If you don't sew, you can easily make sachets using ready-made organza bags sold by packaging and soap suppliers alike. You can even make sachets using heat sealable tea bags.

Vacuum Freshener Bags

1/4 cup dried lavender
1/4 cup dried rosemary
1 tbsp whole cloves
1/2 cup cedar shavings
1 tbsp baking soda
7 drops of essential oil of your choice
Pantyhose, cheesecloth or heat sealable tea bags

Mix ingredients. Sew sachets using pantyhose or cheesecloth approximately 3x4 inches. For nonsewing, use tea bags. Add 3 tbsp of the mixture. Sew or seal shut. Place a sachet into each new vacuum bag as it is replaced.

Natural Moth Repellent Sachets (Recipe 1)

¼ cup dried rosemary
¼ cup dried mint leaves
Cotton fabric, organza bags, or heat sealable tea
bags

Mix ingredients. Sew 3x4 inch sachets or use bags with 3 tbsp mixture.

Natural Moth Repellent Sachets (Recipe 2)

¼ cup dried lavender
¼ cup dried rosemary
2 tbsp dried lemon peel
1 tbsp whole cloves
Cotton fabric, organza bags, or heat sealable tea
bags

Mix ingredients. Sew 3x4 inch sachets or use bags with 3 tbsp mixture.

Natural Moth Repellent Sachets (Recipe 3)

¼ cup dried lavender
¼ cup dried lemon peel
1 cinnamon stick, broken
Cotton fabric, organza bags, or heat sealable tea
bags

Mix ingredients. Sew 3x4 inch sachets or use bags with 3 tbsp mixture.

More recipes to follow.

The Bonnie Bath Co.
Natural, handmade bath and body products

Love-ly Valentine Soap

Love is in the air! In celebration of Valentine's Day, I have gathered some fabulous soaps from some talented artisans. From simple to extravagant, I am sure you will enjoy this. Valentine bath products and candles will be featured later this week. Each artisans name is a link to their site.

English Rose Soap by A Breath of French Air Floral Truffle Soap by Urban Eden

Clearly Lovely Soapy Pop by SoapyLove

Valentine's Hearts by So Stinking Sweet

Love is in the Air Shaving Soap by Simple Delight

Captive Heart Soap by Silk Creek Soap

Fresh Cut Roses Soap by Sherri's Scents and Soys

Strawberries and Cream Soap by Lishus Handmade Soaps

Rose Geranium Soap by Ladybug Soapworks

Flowers and Chocolate Soap by Krugsecologic

My Heart Dark Chocolate Raspberry Soap by KB Shimmer

My Sweet Heart by Inner Earth Soaps

Rose Buds Soaps by I Like Pink Woo

Organic Heart Soap by Etta and Billie

Candy Hearts Felted Soap by Engelfelt

A Rose is a Rose Soap by A Slice of Delight

Be Mine Soap by Anhoki

Briar Rose Spa by Alchemic Muse

I'm always on the look out for gorgeous soaps and other bath products. If you have something you would like to show off, please add it to the Sunday Spotlight on Flickr (click here). We'd love to see what you've got. Be sure to include your web address so I can find you.

The Bonnie Bath Co.
Natural, handmade bath and body products

Just for Fun - Photos from the FL Everglades

Totally off the soap topic. I really enjoy looking at other people's photos, even if it has absolutely nothing to do with their blog. It gives me a glimpse into their life, and I feel I get to know the person sharing tidbits of themselves. So here are some photos from this past week in the day and life of me, I thought may be of interest to someone.

My daughter is in the 4th grade. In social studies, the 4th grade curriculum in most places in the US, centers around learning about your home state, which in our case is Florida. So, after she learned about the land in our area and the native people of our state, I decided to take her down to the southern tip of FL to visit the Everglades and the Miccosukee Indian Village. We had a great time.

We saw alot of birds, alligators, turtles, and open marsh lands. The Everglades is LOADED with alligators (50,000, with 2 million total in the state). I literally could have tripped over a line up of gators as I took some photos had it not been for my daughter's warning. Seriously, you could walk up and grab one, although you'd have to be insane. We took a 2 hour tram through the Everglades National Park. Here are some impressive shots of just a few of the sites we had the opportunity to experience.

Check out the baby turtle sharing a tree branch with this bird.

An eerie picture of some gators taken from a tower. Right out of view is a very small building for restrooms. Just on the other side of the restrooms, totally accessible to the gators in this photo is a busload of elementary students having lunch on the grass.

Now here is a photo of a python swimming through the Everglades a mere 2 feet from our tram. I'm actually not afraid of snakes, or gators for that matter. However, I do have a respect for ALL wildlife and their incredible powers. My husband IS afraid of snakes and would have been quite upset to have seen this site in person had he been with us.

This is one of several invasive species set loose in the Everglades by people who no longer want them as pets. The problem is they are destroying the ecosystem. Our guide said they have not seem a native marsh rabbit in 10 years or native river otters in 4 years because of the pythons. How sad is that? He also told us of the battles between gators and pythons as apex predators. I do not have photos of that though.

The rest of the photos were taken at the Miccosukee Indian Village and Museum, whose reservation is located in the Everglades National Park. They had some beautiful artifacts and structures rich with amazing history that they share with anyone interested. I was disappointed to see that the museum had very few visitors.

And that's about it. Tomorrow I will have some soap photos. Woohoo!!

Farewell to Basil

This is certainly not a tragedy, but a bit of family sadness that I feel I can share with my online friends. Today I had to put my cat, Basil, to sleep. We are terribly sad to lose him, but found that after 14 long years, he was in the final stages of congestive heart failure. To spare him the misery of the final days, I set him free.

My daughter and I are taking it hard. We had him before she was born. He was my favorite birthday present ever, and brought me joy each and every day. We miss him greatly.

Farewell, Basil...

Our Hearts Go Out to Haiti

I usually place some sort of memorial on this blog for tragedies, and Haiti is no exception. Words cannot express the unfathomable suffering this country must face. Between the massive death toll, the endless injuries and amputations, and the destruction of a city, it is hard to tell a country to hold on and you will get through this. Since words fail me, simply know I care.

On a slightly personal note, I had the opportunity of getting to know my neighbors directly across the street from my home under the most tragic of circumstances. I live in Boca Raton, FL where a number of Lynn University students set off to Haiti to do humanitarian work. The earthquake struck the Montana Hotel in Haiti and 4 young girls and two professors went missing. The others in the group were safely returned home.

My neighbor is Courtney Hayes, one of the students that did not survive the earthquake. She left a mourning family and fiancee. Although her body has not yet returned home, her parents informed my husband that a Navy seal found a lifeless body in her crumbled hotel room and she is now confirmed dead. She is believed to have died instantly. Although, I knew this young lady merely with hellos, I can't help but be broken hearted for the young man left alone across the street.

To all those lost to this earthquake, may you rest in peace. To all those suffering in this catastrophic tragedy, may you find peace.

Yay! HSMG Conference, Here I Come

I am very excited!! I wanted to attend the Handcrafted Soapmaker Guild Conference in Denver, Co. this spring, but wasn't sure that I could swing the bill. While the conference price is very reasonable, combined with hotel and travel expenses, I didn't think I could budget it this year.

Luckily, Stratus Insurance offered to pay for 2 scholarships for the conference this year. I applied and today I received word that I had been selected as one of the two recipients. I get to attend the conference with 4 nights hotel stay plus $500 in travel expenses for free. You would have thought I had won the lottery.

This will be my first time west of the Mississippi River! I can't wait to go, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to meet many of you in person.

Clean the World - Soap for Haiti

This is was taken from the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild's blog. I encourage other soapmakers to help those in Haiti (and other parts of the world) by donating their soap to this worthy cause, promoting better hygiene in less privileged countries.

HSMG Partners with Clean the World!

from Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild by

HSMG Pgms and Svcs

HSMG Partners with CTW!

Over 9,000 children will die today! With your help, we can reduce these needless deaths dramatically by donating something as simple as our soap. Clinical studies have shown that the simple hygiene practice of washing one’s hands with bar soap can reduce these deaths by up to 60%.

The HSMG invites our membership, as well as non-members, to join in our support of the Clean the World, Inc . Clean the World (CTW) is a non-profit, charitable organization that recycles soap, shampoo, and lotion discarded by hotels and distributes the recycled products worldwide to people who cannot afford these essential items. It is our pleasure to work with CTW and help to prevent disease throughout the world. HSMG and CTW are extremely grateful to you for any amount of a soap donation or monetary donation.

Here is how it all began. Clean the World Presentation

Together we can make a difference in the lives of people who really need our help. Why not send your soap that didn’t come out so perfectly? You know, the so called “ugly” soaps that are still usable can be donated. Even the old or soap ends are accepted. The soap is rebatched and purified at CTW before being sent overseas. Another way to donate is to couple with others or organize a soap drive.

Just ship your much needed donation to:

Clean The World
Attn. Steve Cooper
4625 Old Winter Garden Rd. #B7
Orlando, Florida 32811

Please enclose a note in your shipment that you are participating in the HSMG Soap Donations Program and let us know when you ship, mgelnett@soapguild.org , so we can recognize you for your generosity.

If you choose to do a monetary donation, just click the donate button on their website, www.cleantheworld.org , every $1 donation will recycle two hotel rooms for an entire month. That equates to 40 bars of soap and 40 bottles of shampoo that will not hit our landfills and water systems, but instead supply 5 needy families with a life saving necessity for ONE MONTH.

Shawn Seipler – Executive Director reports

Dear friend,

Today in Haiti a terrible tragedy struck. Just ten miles from the most populous area near the city of Port-au-Prince a powerful earthquake devastated the country. The government of Haiti is calling it a catastrophe and reaching out the world for help.

As you know Clean the World has been working to continuously deliver soap to Haiti through the Cap Hatien Health Network and the Evangelical Church of Haiti. We have made many friends and connections throughout the country. We are now hearing terrible stories of tragedy and death from these friends.

We knew the need was great before, now the need is greater than ever. In the coming days and weeks, aid will start to reach Haiti and Clean the World is determined to be there. We have soap ready to go. We need cash donations in order to deliver it to those that need it so badly. Some will deliver medical aid, some will deliver food and water, with your help Clean the World will deliver soap. This soap will be critical in saving lives.

Please go to our website and donate whatever you can. www.cleantheworld.org

Thank you. And pray for our bothers and sisters in Haiti.

Shawn

Immediate update as of 1/13/10:

We cannot reach any of our friends in Haiti. Pastor Brutus will update us as soon as he can get through. This is a terrible disaster. Haiti does not have California style building codes. The need for aid will be monumental in the coming weeks. Many will focus on food, water and medical attention. Clean the World is focused on soap. Without soap, many will die from preventable illnesses. We have stores of soap ready to go to Haiti. We need your cash donations to get the soap delivered. Please go to www.cleantheworld.org and donate whatever you can. And please pray for the safety of all our Haitian friends. Thank you.

Please consider helping us save the lives of children all over the world! Together, we can make a huge difference in this life saving element that can change history. Any questions, please contact Board of Directors, Public Relations Director, Delores Harris at deloresh@soapguild.org.