Essential oils

Citronella time

~ guernseyjane ~ Leave a comment

A quick citronella spray to keep those biting bugs at bay …

Into a little spray bottle I put a good 40 drops of citronella then a few drops each of of tea tree, eucalyptus and rosemary essential oils. About half of the bottle was filled with witch hazel and then I added a slug of vodka and a couple of teaspoons of glycerine. (It isn’t recommended to put citronella essential oil directly on skin).

While the citronella was on hand I put some in the diffuser mix and dabbed some on the bedroom curtains …

DIY perfume project

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My current use it or lose it challenge is to wear perfume every day and finish some of the less loved scents . But now I reckon I only have enough to last me until October!!! So a little scented craftiness is today’s project.

I will be refilling some of the tiny bottles I have recently emptied with essential oil blends using a recipe ‘collaged’ from various sites

  • Base Essential Oils:Cedarwood, Vanilla, Ylang Ylang, Sandalwood 20 drops or 20% of the essential oil mix
  • 50 drops of middle tone oils like Rose, Lavender, Chamomile or Geranium ie 50% of the ess oil mix
  • 30 drops of top note oils like Bergamot, Wild Orange or lemon ie 30% of the ess oil mix
  • 3 parts of alcohol (unscented vodka) either on its own or with one part of carrier oil such as almond oil or coconut

Apparently it takes a few weeks for the blend to meld so I will report back later.

‘No pill – ache ease’ rice pad

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4B6C132C-48C1-43C6-BD82-315CFB9F5A0BA quick and easy sew that is very practical…

1. cut two rectangles of a cotton or fleece, any size that suits you. Hand or forehead size about 4” by 6”, neck size a bit wider, up to 12” by 8” for a big tummy comforter.

2. With right sides facing,  sew along the edges of both long sides and one short side. A small seam allowance is fine as long as you don’t leave any gaps. Start and finish 1” inch from the end to give yourself wriggle room at step 7

3. Turn right sides out and press. Fold in a half inch hem on the remaining raw edge and press.

4. Sew a straight line along the middle of the rectangle from one closed short side to the open short side, again stop 1” from the open end

5. Sew two more lines, each equally spaced between the centre line and edges so you end up with three parallel lines that form four tubes in the fabric.

6. Fill the tubes with rice that is scented with your choice of essential oils. I chose peppermint and lavender but whatever you have that will soothe and relax you. Fill to create a firm pad but don’t fill over the end of your lines. You might want to pin or clip the open end closed to avoid rice spilling out.

7. Sew closed the remaining edge closed.

I keep my rice pads in sealed bags until needed and then pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds bursts until warm then hug until aches are soothed.

Oil pulling experiment

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Another experiment that seems a bit wacky… swilling coconut oil around one’s mouth for a few minutes to help remove plaque.

Proponents say that using a teaspoon or so each day is good for mouth health so I thought I would try it. I like coconut oil so wasn’t expecting to gag when I put the cold oil in my mouth and started to swoosh it around a bit like a mouthwash. But the gag reflex soon passed and it became an inoffensive taste to work with.

While swooshing for the suggested 10 – 15 minutes I decided to look up the possible downsides (why not do this beforehand I hear you ask?) and found that inhaling or swallowing could be problematic and that many people recommended keeping the swilling to 3 minutes to avoid dryness afterwards. So I didn’t inhale or swallow and spat out after a few  minutes.

OneGoodThingByJillee suggests adding tea tree oil to the oil to boost the benefits but I am keeping it simple for now.

The research I should have done beforehand also suggested that there aren’t any proven benefits beyond plaque removal and possible halitosis or gingivitus avoidance but just in case the whitening  – without the risks of enamel damage – and remineralising claims are right, the plan is to do this twice a week.

 

 

 

Essential oil scenters

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I ordered a bag of wool felted balls to try and expand my use of essential oils.

To make a car scenter that will clip on an air vent-  hot glue four 1cm balls on either side of a wooden clothes peg. Positioning as I did, leaving tip and base of the peg free, is the most practical.

Drip on essential oil or perfume and clip in place. Top up when you think the scent has dissipated.

To make a bracelet style scenter that will hook around the rear view mirror or clothes hangers in a wardrobe –

Take about 60cm or 24 inches of strong cotton and fold it in half. Double knot about 3cm or an inch in from the folded end to make a loop as shown on the left of the pictures above.

Thread both strands of cotton through your needle and then thread through the balls. I used 10 per bracelet. Finish by threading on a button and secure it well before cutting off  any spare tails of thread.

When ready to use drop on chosen essential oil and hook button through the loop.

DIY beauty products

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A new direction for the crafting adventure after an afternoon mixing up moisturisers, balms, sprays , scrubs and rice pads.

Anya’s mixing of essential oils makes using them extra special…

pillow spray: just 2 parts distilled water to 1 part vodka and 1 part glycerin plus relaxing essential oils in a misting bottle

Lip balm: unused old chap sticks with melted beeswax, coconut oil and essential oils in mini pots

sugar scrub:  equal parts coconut oil and brown sugar with essential oils in big pots

Moisturiser: to aqueous cream add a squueze of aloe Vera gel and a little softened coconut oil with essential oils to suit

headache soother pad: 2 cups rice with 5 drops peppermint e.oil and 5 drops lavender in a cotton pouch

period pain soother pad: 4 cups rice with cypress, ylang ylang, lavender and Melissa ess. oils

uplifting body spray probably the most successful: 2 parts distilled water, 1 part glycerin, 1 part vodka then 1 drop mandarin essential oil, 4 drops sandalwood, 4 drops benzoin, 2 drops grapefruit

P.S. found this post in my drafts although we made all this a couple of months ago!