The Simplicity Of Lavender

The Simplicity Of Lavender

The lavender plant has been used for thousands of years.  It’s Latin root, lavare, means to wash.  In fact, lavender was passed down through the centuries as a cleansing agent and disinfectant against demons as evil as the plague.  Born on spikes of beautiful purple flowers, the fragrance of lavender is soothing yet stimulating all at once.  Lavender essential oil is the most versatile and useful of all plant essences.

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Natural Living Monday

Natural Living Monday

Thank you for joining us on Natural Living Monday!  I am excited to see the great things you have been doing to live a more natural, whole, holistic life.  We have some great featured posts this week including this wonderful post from Simple Life Mom that has fun inventive ways to naturally color your own lip gloss.  

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10 Kid Projects Using Roses For Valentine's Day

10 Kid Projects Using Roses For Valentine's Day

Roses are great for crafting with especially with kids who really love the little dried baby rose buds.  These projects and activities provide a great way to to enjoy the beauty and joy of roses with children, as well as giving them hands on experience with a wonderful healing herb.

Use these crafts to make unique Valentine's for friends and family instead of passing out the traditional junky candy!  (Well, a little dark chocolate is ok though, right?)  They also make a great Valentine's gift for the little ones in your life!

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Rose Tea Tasting & Rose Bud Salt Art

Rose Tea Tasting & Rose Bud Salt Art

We are playing with roses during February so we decided to make rose bud salt this time.  We also added sparkly red glitter and glued whole baby rose buds to finish off our art work.  I just love baby rose buds, don’t you? 

Use this lovely rosy salt to create unique Valentine’s for friends and family!

 

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Lavender Blossom Salt Paintings

Lavender Blossom Salt Paintings

The other day it was frigid fifteen degrees outside and we found ourselves cooped up with 15 wiggly, silly preschoolers.  Luckily I had the perfect project for such a day.  Armed with mortar, pestle and a large supply of lavender blossoms, the kids and I settled down for some serious grinding and pounding work.  As we passed the mortar and pestle around our little circle, I encouraged the kiddos to smell the flowers while they pounded.  Within minutes our circle became peaceful with everyone looking on and inhaling the beautifully calming fragrance of lavender.  When we were done playing with the mortar and pestle we took our ground up flowers combined them with salt and lavender essential oil to create a fun art supply.  

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Detoxify Your Medicine Cabinet & A Recipe For Elderberry Syrup

Detoxify Your Medicine Cabinet & A Recipe For Elderberry Syrup

This week we are talking all about how to remove toxins from your medicine cabinet!

"There used to be a time, not too long ago, when people knew how to treat common maladies without taking a drug.  In fact, using drugs may relieve symptoms, but in most cases they inhibit normal body function and cause other health issues.  This is called a “side effect” and every drug has at least one.  The good news is that humans and plants have been living on this world with each other since the beginning and we have learned to use the bounty the natural world provides to help treat common problems like coughs, colds and flu, indigestion, stress and sleep issues, skin problems and much more.  By using natural remedies for “little things” and reducing our toxic load, we prepare our body to respond well to the drugs the doctor prescribes when we have a real problem, like a bad infection, broken bone, surgery or other major medical issue."

- From Chapter 4 of 31 Days to Detoxify Your Life

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Herbal Infusions for Pregnancy and Lactation

Herbal Infusions for Pregnancy and Lactation

Herbal infusions are incredibly useful during pregnancy and lactation.  Gentle, nutritive and tonifying herbs act mostly as food for the body.  Examples are nettles, raspberry leaf, chamomile and oatstraw. The high nutritional value helps mom to grow a healthy baby, prepare for birth, promotes and enriches breast milk, aids in healing and steadies the nervous system.

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