Basic lotion recipe

Basic Lotion Recipe
written up by Jennifer Adler M.S., C.N.
from Conscious Choice

In 1962, Rachel Carson wrote in her groundbreaking book, Silent Spring, “For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subject to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception until death.” We are exposed to synthetic chemicals in foods as well as in skin care products. The following lotion recipe comes from Jennifer Sundstrom of Natural Resource Herbals and contains high quality safe ingredients that can make winter skin glow, naturally.

1 heaping tablespoon grated beeswax
2 ounces pomace olive oil, or infused oil (extra virgin olive oil will work, but may leave your lotion smelling more like your salad dressing.)
1 teaspoon coconut oil (optional)
2 tablespoons water
1–2 drops essential oils (optional)

Melt beeswax in a double boiler. I recommend a glass measuring cup in a small pan to make pouring your finished product easier.

Add oil(s) and heat until everything liquefies. Heating olive oil promotes rancidity, so only heat as much as necessary to re-melt the beeswax.

Remove from heat. Using a hand-held stick/immersion blender, begin whipping the oil/beeswax mixture. Slowly drizzle in the water. Continue mixing for another minute or so. The lotion will be quite runny and hot at this point and will thicken over time as it cools. As your lotion cools, give it a whiz with your hand blender every 10–15 minutes until fully cool.

Pack lotion into the jar of your choice. Amber glass jars are ideal.

If you prefer a heavier cream-style, add more beeswax, or substitute coconut oil for the olive oil. If you prefer a more liquid lotion, add less beeswax.

Recipe can be doubled/tripled/quadrupled.

Optional: If you use essential oils, add 1–2 drops when adding the water.

Olive oil is highly regarded for its ability to hold moisture on the skin. It has a very long shelf life if not exposed to light or heat. For a high quality product, freshness and a lengthy shelf life, only buy olive oil in tins or opaque containers. To infuse olive oil: Place fresh cut-up plant material in a jar and cover with pomace olive oil. Store in a dark place for 6 weeks. Strain plant material and your oil is ready! Herbal possibilities for infused oil: lavender, rosemary, elderflower, rose petal, or your favorite plant ally.

As a knitter, I love a good sheep motif, so let’s take a look at some cute sheep cross stitch patterns.

If you want to stitch a little sheep, this mini square from Good Dog Needleworks is a nice choice. It uses just three colors and measures 32 by 32 stitches. That’s 2.2 inches or about 5.5 cm square if you stitch it on 14 count fabric.

I also love these two little sheep, which you can stitch together or in individual hoops and shown. The designs are form Threadbound Art and use six colors. They are slightly different in size, with one being 21 by 17 stitches and the other 21 by 20. They fit in four inch frames if you work them on 14 count fabric.

You can stitch a sweet sheep bookmark with this design from Kits by SA Stitch. This is not for the person who doesn’t like back stitch, because there’s a lot of that here, but it is really cute. It measures 30 by 91 stitches and uses 10 colors. That will make your bookmark about 2.4 by 6.5 inches, or 6 by 16.5 cm on 14 count fabric.

Stitch a pretty scene of sheep in a meadow with this design from Motok Nytok. It uses 21 colors and the design is 99 by 73 stitches. On 14 count fabric that makes it about 7.07 by 5.21 inches, or 17.96 by 13.24 cm.

This yarn full of cross stitch sheep has a bit of a knitting twist because the sheep all look like they have sweaters on. The design is from Soda Stitch Design and it measures 179 by 216 stitches. The full design uses 27 colors. On 14 count fabric it will work out to 12.78 by 15.42 inches, or 32.48 by 39.19 cm.

Another great one with a knitting theme is this one where the wool is coming off the sheep and straight onto the needles. This one is from Happy Cross Stitchers and uses 12 colors. The pattern is 137 by 137 stitches, which comes out to 9.7 inches or 24.86 cm square on 14 count fabric. This would be a fun one to stitch for the knitter in your life (even if that is you).

Or you can stitch the field of sheep of a knitter’s dreams with the Happy Sheep chart from Charts and Stuff. These per-colored sheep can be stitched as shown or worked in any colors you like. The eyes are French knots but you can just stitch them in white if you’d rather.

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