How to make Orange Peppermint Lotion. Recipe to make at home.

Orange Peppermint Lotion Recipe
1/2-cup mint water
1/8 tsp. borax
1/2 c. grapeseed oil
1 tsp. coconut oil
1 tsp. beeswax
8 drops orange oil
3-4 drops peppermint oil

Make the mint water by boiling fresh or dried mint leaves in water and then letting the mixture cool. Strain off the mint leaves. Use 1-cup fresh mint (1/4 cup dried mint leaves) to 1-cup water.

Then mix together the mint water and the borax, stirring until well mixed. Set aside. Mix together the grapeseed oil, coconut oil, and beeswax in a glass measuring cup. Place the cup with the oils--beeswax mixture in a pan of water (about 1 to 2 inches of water), making a water bath. Heat over medium heat until the beeswax is melted (8 to 10 minutes), stirring occasionally.

When the wax is melted, bring the mint solution almost to boiling (put the glass cup with the mint water/borax in the microwave on High for 1 minute, or use a water bath on the stove top).

Remove the oils-beeswax mixture from the water bath. Slowly add mint water/borax to the mixture in the blender and whip.

Allow the lotion to cool completely. The consistency may seem a bit thin, but it will thicken as it cools. Now add the peppermint and orange oils. Pour the lotion into a clean container with a lid.

VOILA you have Orange Peppermint lotion!

DeShawnMarie.com

Hotel soap, guest soap, handmade soap and more!

Soap I got when staying at a hotel in Napoli (Naples, IT)

I've always loved those cute little soaps you get when you stay in a hotel or a bed and breakfast.  I even collect them as my souvenir when I travel.  I've been making my own handmade soap for 12 years now, but still love all other soaps and toiletries.  I have several other blogs featuring my soap and other peoples soap, for instance I have a Handmade Lavender Soap blog that shows off handmade lavender soap from all around the world.  I also have 2 similar ones dedicated to Coconut Milk Soap and Handmade Rose Soap.  If you stop by those blogs you will see some of the soaps I love.  Today I wanted to show you a little of my travel soap collection.

Here are some of the soaps I've collected over the years.

Soap from Hotel Alba in Firenze (Florence,IT)


One from Hotel Saint-Honore in Paris


This one is from Agli Artista Hotel in Venezia (Venice, IT)


and one of my favorite experiences the night train from Venezia (Venice, IT) to Amsterdam.  I love this little logo they have on the soap.

I have a whole collection from many different places throughout the USA, Europe and the Caribbean.  I hope to make it to Asia this year to start a collection from there.  I've always just thought they were so adorable and such a great souvenir since most of them have the Hotel address and phone number on them some where.  It's also a great thing to bring home to kids as the soaps seem so exotic when they are from a foreign land.  I love to use them to show kids about other languages and cultures.  Since they are small, they are an easy thing to bring back and they look like little chocolates to kids which intrigues them.  Just make sure that they aren't so young that they try to eat them ;-) 

I'm curious what things my readers collect when traveling?  Would love to hear some of your stories.

If you are reading this in a reader or on facebook you can see the original blog post at Handcrafted Soap Blog

Technorati Tags: travel, guest, soap, handmade, handcrafted, italy, florence, paris, milan, naples, rose, lavender, coconut milk, deshawn marie, souvenir, soaps, hotel

DeShawnMarie.com

Fromage Blanc made at home

I've recently discovered cheese making and have been having a ball with it. I never realized you could make fresh cheese in a day. I had always wanted to try and make my own cheese, but thought it must take a lot of time and work. Then there is the aging, waxing, etc. Well I was wrong. You can make your own fresh Fromage Blanc in a day right at home and eat it the very next day. It's delicious!

First you heat up 32 oz of whole milk to 165F degrees. Here is a photo of the beginning stages of cheese.



Turn off the heat at 165F and add 1 cup of buttermilk and 2 tsp. of lemon juice. Wait 10 minutes and you should see curds forming like this photo.



You then pour the curds and whey into a strainer lined with cheesecloth.



Let strain completely. Little by little you will see the cheese solidifying.





When it looks like this you can cover it up and put it in the refrigerator overnight.



In the morning take it out of the refrigerator and mix 1/2 tsp of salt into it. Then scoop it in to ramekins. Smooth it out with a spatula and cover with plastic.



You can eat it right then, but I usually like to wait until the evening so that the flavor has a little more time to develop.

I've really had fun with this over the past week. I thought some of my readers might be interested in trying this themselves so wanted to pass this along to you all. I've almost enjoyed it as much as my soapmaking, but the fun part is you get to eat this!! Let me know if any of you try it. Would love to hear about it if so.