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Valentines 2009 Edition
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Silk Floral Selection & Design
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Rose Care....Lucky enough to get roses and want to arrange them professionally? Pick a vase 1/2 as tall as the roses. Make sure you have a vase ready of cool water ready before your start. (Warm water will cause them to bloom too fast.) Be sure you cut each stem at an angle so they can drink as much as possible. I also use a utility knife to get rid of any thorns and give each rose more ways to drink! Remove any leafs that fall below or near the water line. If you do not, you will have a smelly mess a few days later. Click here to watch floral design in a vase-if you are REALLY into it! Simple to arrange: To arrange, put one rose on on side at a slant, and then another rose on the opposite side, at a slant. Keep working your way around--spinning the vase to make it even. Keep your longest rose for the middle. When they are in place, spin your vase around to pinch off any "working" petals. These are petals that make look bad and have defended the flower. I am not big on Baby's Breath--except alone in it's own vase. Alone it looks breathtaking and simple, like snow on winter tree limbs.
If you use Baby's Breath in your rose design, it is placed in last as a "filler" for empty spots. Just spin the vase around to fill gaps and make it all look even. Crushed Aspirin and 1/2 can of Sprite--to the rest water-they sure do love. Try to change water every fourth day.
Silk Flowers a Long Lasting Luxury
Candle Recycle: Making Marbleized Pillars
Industrious projects I would pursue in this economy is like Chunk Pillar Candle; making candles from "spent" ones, and making "chunk" type pillars. Here you are simply pouring clear hot paraffin over old chunks of spent candles. You would need a mold-so invest in a good one. Depending on what colors you arranged together, you can have a gorgeous expensive looking candles. The hot paraffin "melds" everything together and gives a marble effect. Two draw backs: It may "smoke" depending on the quality of prior used materials. Pillars and even Votives have a "lava" effect where the wax goes somewhere. Have SAND on hand for your base and clean up will be a total breeze. I arrange all of my stand alone votives and pillars in sand and/or shell-in a gorgeous glass bowl. This way I have beauty and little clean up to speak of. I simply swap out candle colors/scents as the seasons change. You can get sand from places where they sell kids sand boxes.
Caring for Your Precious Perfumes, Scents and
Butters If your lucky enough to get real perfume, keep in a cool, dark place. This is why real perfume should stay in the nice box it usually comes with--and not displayed out in the light. Unless you use a lot of it, in that case you may not worry. When someone gives me an ounce of real perfume, it may take me a year to use it. When it is 3/4 full, I will add a 1/2 teaspoon of ROE (Rosemary Oleoresin Extract) and 1/4 teaspoon of Dendtritic salt, because it will extend my shelf life another good year once opened. I did this with an ounce of Channel #22 (a rare and hard to find scent) I received a few years ago. I just used the rest of it over the past holidays and it was still perfect in scent. Casmir, by Chopard, in another favorite of mine. To remind you of what our essential oils guru, LeAnn Ketcherside wrote some time back, Dendtritic Salt and ROE is great for a natural form of preservation and the biggest bang for your buck. Click here for her former article on ROE and here for her former article on Dendtritic Salt. These two ingredients truly are classics and weather the test of time.
Turning
Your Oils and Butters into Soap As a start to the new year, time to do some "spring cleaning" on your raw materials. I always loved the Rumpelstiltskin story spinning straw into gold. In this case we are spinning aged oils and butters into soap! Before I get going on "Soap" I hope you all started your "craft gift basket area" and pillaged and salvaged every bow, decoration and box you could during the holidays! I went to the dollar store and picked up candles just for the pretty shape of the jar! Pretty glass is so expensive to ship in. After burning the candle, I reuse them to make my own soy candles. Cold Process Soap I am talking to some women who have had carrier oils over a year. Yikes. First, smell them. If they are "ok" get ready to make a lot of soap with them. The old fashioned lye type. That is about all you can do when you are up against a good carrier oil about to meet rancid. Rancid is a smell you will never forget--the smell of vomit may be a good key indicator. So, easy to tell when an oil is becoming "off." If your oil is old--but still not nearing the "off" smell--say hello soap day. I think a year is way old for oils and butters. And when oils and butters are not kept cool, and in a dark place, they are easily compromised. Even my Bee Pollen Oil, after a year, should be made into soap. Someone called me with a gallon of it and wanted to make lip balm, (after a year.)
In fact I agreed with these customers we would all aim for the same day
to dedicate to soap making, so we can support each other long
distance. I need to make 180 pounds of soap, because I have
fresh stock in and will not sell "iffy" dates. I noticed I am
stuck with the high end oils--like borage, rose hip, because it is so
expensive--it does not rotate as I want it too. I called Leeann
Ketcherside, our former essential oils expert who is the guru. She
is about to have to make a whopping amount also-her stash of oils and
butters are nearing a year. But her back is
We have a soap mill who already makes our Castile and Goats milk, more set up for such a large scale project. I had given some thought to shipping that 180 pounds to the mill. But the shipping would probably be outrageous. Melt and Pour, you can shred or chunk old designs and make new ones, or melt them back down and make soap on a rope incorporating fresh essential oils. So grab a cup of coffee, or tea and set a day aside to create! Click here for how much money you save making your own products. It was a newsletter after thought based on feedback I am hearing.
The best way to care for your skin is to keep it
hydrated! Water, green tea, Rooibos, and lots of it!
The Orient has always been state of the art in
skin care. They were one of the first developing cultures and
I deeply respect their values. I will be flying to Tokyo and
Singapore for Harry's Teas, so I am studying up fast on culture and
customs. For starter's you can powder Jasmine rice in a
food processor for basic powder. Tapioca is also another neat
ingredient.
When making lotion or crème, Green Tea can be
infused and look a tint of green, depending on what type. It
will be very light in color. The way we make lotion and crème
in a blender has not changed.
Click here for that and
here to buy
EmulSoy. We also sell
Green
Tea Flavor oil, I use in my own lotions and crèmes.
 Matcha
powder is basically the finest ceremonial green tea in a powdered
form. We now use "Matcha" powder to make face masks.
This can also be infused to achieve a natural bright green color for
lotion making infusions. Delicate Matcha powder
has a rich sweet taste and is naturally pure . It contains rich in
vitamin C, E and many minerals. It also contains an important
element of Polyphenols.
Matcha is an excellent source of rejuvenation. A new
beauty treatment for refreshing and revitalizing the skin is to
apply a mask of fresh green tea powder mixed with natural
ingredients. This is a natural and inexpensive way to a fresher,
clearer skin. You could do a 1/2 matcha and 1/2 green clay
base, and make a paste with a little liquid. Remember, hot
steaming towels are always an elegant trademark of the orient.
If you cannot afford the Matcha, try buying a bright green tea in
bulk and making a powder form in your food processor. You can
also buy
Matcha Powder here.
Green Tea With Egg White Facial Mask
Place 2/3 teaspoon Matcha with 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl, Add 1 teaspoon egg white, Mix into green paste, Use 2 cotton buds to apply green paste on face, avoid eye area, Wait 10 minutes, Clean face with warm water.
Green Tea With Lemon Juice / Milk Facial Mask
Place 2/3 teaspoon Matcha in a small bowl, Add 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice or milk, ½ teaspoon clear honey, Mix into green paste, Use 2 cotton buds to apply green paste on face, avoid eye area, Wait 10 minutes, Clean face with warm water.
Green Tea Milk Bath
1/2 Matcha Powder
1/2 Dry Milk
Mix well and enjoy with candlelight!
When using any infusions, whether it be herbal or teas, for
lotions and crèmes, you will have to add a
preservative at 1% of the entire formula. And take care
not to get the
preservative on you. We wear gloves when handling any
preservatives.
Blue
Malva petals make the most beautiful purple infusion for the
water side of
lotion making. Plus, Blue Malva purportedly has a slew of
properties ranging from aphrodisiac to anti-inflammatory. I
would use Evening Primrose oil as my carrier oil. Infusing dried red
rose petals on the water side also produces a beautiful pink lotion.
I used our
Rose
Flavor oil for the pink lotion that was infused with red rose
petals.
Green Tea and Rose Lip Balm
Yes, we actually have green tea flavor oil! I also use it when
I make green tea lotion. Rose flavor is popular and mixes
nicely with the green tea flavor oil.
Oriental Theme Body Care
Buzz words include: Almond, Bee Pollen, Coconut, Coconut Milk,
Cassia, Cajuput, Ginger, Green Tea, Honey, Lemongrass, Lime, Lychee,
Mango, Patchouli, and Rose.
The Chinese New Year
The Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade. In 2009 the Chinese New Year starts on January 26th. Prior to New Year's Day, Chinese families decorate their living rooms with vases of pretty blossoms, platters of oranges and tangerines and a candy tray with eight varieties of dried sweet fruit. On walls and doors are poetic couplets, happy wishes written on red paper. These messages sound better than the typical fortune cookie messages. For instance, "May you enjoy continuous good health" and "May the Star of Happiness, the Star of Wealth and the Star of Longevity shine on you" are especially positive couplets. Etiquette dictates that you must bring a bag of oranges and tangerines and enclose a lai see when visiting family or friends anytime during the two-week long Chinese New Year celebration. Tangerines with leaves intact assure that one's relationship with the other remains secure. For newlyweds, this represents the branching of the couple into a family with many children. Oranges and tangerines are symbols for abundant happiness. Superstitions and Customs The entire house should be cleaned before New Year's Day. On New Year's Eve, all brooms, brushes, dusters, dust pans and other cleaning equipment are put away. Sweeping or dusting should not be done on New Year's Day for fear that good fortune will be swept away. After New Year's Day, the floors may be swept. Beginning at the door, the dust and rubbish are swept to the middle of the parlor, then placed in the corners and not taken or thrown out until the fifth day. At no time should the rubbish in the corners be trampled upon. In sweeping, there is a superstition that if you sweep the dirt out over the threshold, you will sweep one of the family away. Also, to sweep the dust and dirt out of your house by the front entrance is to sweep away the good fortune of the family; it must always be swept inwards and then carried out, then no harm will follow. All dirt and rubbish must be taken out the back door. Shooting off firecrackers on New Year's Eve is the Chinese way of sending out the old year and welcoming in the New Year. On the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, every door in the house, and even windows, have to be open to allow the old year to go out. Making your own lanterns is easy and fun. Click here for a site that shows children how to do it. Fortune Cookies (an excerpt of Making Fortune Cookies by Judea Bentley)
The fortune cookie, like chop suey, is a U.S. invention that is often thought to be from another country. Fortune cookies actually come from Los Angeles, where Canton-native David Jung, a baker and restaurateur, began making cookies with thin slips of paper inside sometime around 1920. Jung founded the Hong Kong Noodle Company, which was producing more than 3,000 cookies an hour in the 1920s. Jung handed out these cookies, which contained words of encouragement, to the poor and homeless people on the streets.
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I
love Ting Ting for almost every holiday arrangement and gold ting
ting and/or red seems to work for all occasions. What is ting
ting? It is like glitter sticks you add three or four of to a
finished arrangement. Ting ting adds flow, movement, height and a
sparkle of "fun." A beautiful bow also can be added to make the
arrangement exceptional. I mainly keep gold ting ting and gold
ribbon on hand because it suits almost any occasion. Florists at
the grocery stores can usually give you a few that you can reuse.
Luxury
you can afford. Fresh Roses are not considered a necessity
and why the prices drop to a realistic mark up in a down
economy. Fresh cut flowers at a reasonable price is one of
the many opportunities. Even in a down market, when
Valentines [my birthday] hits and roses become $22 a dozen at
minimum for weeks into Mother's Day. Hello SILKS! From
February to June I will arrange silks, pretty much the same way
I arrange fresh.
Find your stash of spent candles or hit your friends up for their
"spent" candles-or start making them save them now. Buy some
votives at deep discounts to whack and chunk. Do a one week
collection and just separate by colors into bins. Everyone has
spent candles. Pick the RIGHT wick. A metal one when
using paraffin. And fat enough to burn uniformly. You can
get paraffin wax right in the canning section of your grocer store!
It is like $2.99 a pound. Sure I am into natural but in this
economy, paraffin is cheap and makes a gorgeous finished product. 
still
not recovered and she needs a day when her husband can take off work to
help her lift things. She said she adds so much ROE to her oils
when they come in, she does not worry as much. We do also, we
learned that practice from her--but still, I am determined to make soap.
The big issue is where to get the Lye. Lowes does have it,
it is called Roebic and look for the crystal form--not
the liquid form. It comes to $3 a pound since it comes
in a two pound container. Look in the plumbing section. Make
sure it says Sodium Hydroxide as the only ingredient as Roebic sells
quite a line. Above is my first go around, just to get back in the
groove. The Marble technique I wrote about in
I have usually associated the United
States New Year with the celebration of the Chinese New Year, and
decorate accordingly. I recently learned the Chinese New Year is
much longer than ours, and the date depends literally on the moon!
I never really discuss how much money you save by making your own custom
products. In this economy, it is really important. That 180 pounds
of oil I am about to render will be about 250 pounds when water is
added. So, this will produce about 750 bars of great soap. A
street value of $3,000 or more. I will most likely donate it all
to the Salvation Army. I do not mention it much, but we donate a
lot. Such as all the floral arrangements produced in my video's
went to retirement homes as a surprise and it was a lot of fun to visit
each room and give a quality arrangement.
