Lemon Mirror & Glass Cleaner (& A 6 Brand Comparison)

September 5, 2016 Sarah

If you dabble with essential oils, you might have heard about the ‘paper test’, which in theory can show if an oil has impurities. Does it always work? Not always (for example, if an oil is an absolute, where alcohol is used, it would leave a mark – Rose and Jasmine being two of them), but it can for many others. I did a 6 brand test of lemon essential oil recently to see how it would fare. My test includes one well-known MLM brand, one house brand, and 4 ones that can be sourced in stores and online.

I compared:

dŌTERRA Lemon

Aura Cacia Lemon

Nature’s Alchemy Lemon

NOW Lemon

The Vitamin Shoppe Lemon

Plantlife Lemon

This was after 30 minutes of the test. All had dried clear but the Plantlife brand, in the lower right corner.

It might be hard to see, but there is a light stain. 3 days out and I can still see the stain.

My thoughts on the 6 brands, which includes prices I paid for them (the links out might reflect different prices), color of the oils, scenting, and other things I noted.

dŌTERRA Lemon:

Wholesale $10.00, Regular $13.33 15 ml

This may seem biased, but it isn’t – this is my first choice. For all the MLM marketing hype, their oils do have the best smell. It is vibrant, and smells like a freshly zested lemon. The color is yellow. It is also the most expensive when done by size, at 66 cents a ml for wholesale price. The bottles are well made, and the lids don’t leak. They drop well, not too fast.

Aura Cacia Lemon:

$4.99 15 ml

This would be my second choice for this oil – and it is easily sourced locally, and on Amazon. Stores like Super Supplements, and natural food stores carry it. Aura Cacia oils tend to have a medicinal aroma, but in a diffuser, or other application similar, it loses that edge. The color is pale yellow. At 33 cents a ml, it is very affordable. The bottles are well made, and don’t leak at the top. They drop well, not too fast.

Nature’s Alchemy Lemon:

$4.79 15 ml

32 cents a ml. Pale yellow, very faint aroma. I was not overly impressed with this one. There just wasn’t a lot of “smell”. This isn’t a brand that excited me. The lack of aroma is what let me down.

NOW Lemon:

$13.99 118 ml

While the price is highest, this bottle is also ginormous compared to the others. It’s price is 19 cents a ml. It has one major drawback: no built in dropper. A large bottle, with a large opening. To use it properly, you will need to get a pipette to pull out. I didn’t know this till I opened the jar. It was intensely yellow in color and the aroma was faint lemon cleaner. Not a favorite of mine, but I could see that people might get excited over-size. Personally, I won’t buy it again.

The Vitamin Shoppe Lemon:

$7.99 30 ml

26 cents a ml. This can be found at The Vitamin Shoppe and Super Supplements stores and online at their website. I added them in to try, since these stores are easy to access. I found of all the ones with built-in droppers, this one poured too fast. It is very pale yellow in color, with a light smell that I didn’t find “natural”. But for its ease in finding, and it’s price (this month they have a buy one, get one 50% off deal on their house brands), it is a great way to source oils for cleaning. As for body applications, I am not sure I would, but that is me.

Plantlife Lemon:

3.64 (it was on sale, normally $7.29) 10 ml

Plantlife was my least favorite. It left a stain on the paper test, but more so, the smell was very off to me. I felt like I was smelling commercial lemon cleaner product. It is not one I want on my skin. The color was also very yellow, which left me wondering was the color why it stained? Not one I would buy again.

Lemon Mirror & Glass Cleaner

Ingredients:

1 cup filtered water
1 cup rubbing alcohol
1 Tbsp white vinegar
3 to 6 drops lemon essential oil

Directions:

Add everything to a 16 ounce clean spray bottle (that has not been used for commercial cleaning products!), seal lid firmly and shake before using. Use a lint free towel, or white paper towels, to clean surface. It may not completely wipe off when cleaning, but dries in short time, and leaves no residue.

FTC Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.

Crafting · crafts · DIY · Homesteading · Soap Making · Urban Homesteading

Handcrafting Melt and Pour Soap: Milk and Honey Soap

June 29, 2016August 21, 2016 Sarah

Handcrafting Melt and Pour Soap is an easy way to learn soap making, without having to invest into a lot of gear, or commit a lot of time. The Milk and Honey Soap recipe is a wonderful gift, and stores well. It is a natural, warm honey color. You can use clear or white colored soap base (I used clear).

Milk and Honey Soap

Needed:

1 pound melt and pour soap base
½ cup olive oil
½ cup purified water
½ cup dry milk
½ cup raw honey
1 Tbsp vanilla essential oil

To Do:

Cut the soap into small pieces. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer, in a pot. Place the soap into a heat safe glass bowl (such as Pyrex), and let it gently melt, stirring with a silicone spatula as needed.

Meanwhile, mix the olive oil, water, dry milk, honey, and vanilla essential oil in a bowl, until smooth.

Once the soap is melted, take off the heat, wipe the outside of the bowl off. Add in the mix to the melted soap, till mixed in, then gently pour into molds. I prefer a ladle to do this. For ease in moving, have your molds on a rimmed baking sheet.

Let the soap cool and set up, over night for best results. Don’t remove the soap from the molds until you are ready to bag it up. Glycerine soaps like to ‘sweat’ if exposed to air. It doesn’t affect the soap, but isn’t as attractive. I love the soap bags you can find on Amazon, however, if you are not feeling fancy, a snack bag zip top bag also works.

Using my favorite molds, I made 16 bars.

PS: To clean up, just fill your bowl with hot water, and let it wash itself 😉

Crafting · crafts · DIY · Sewing

Learning To Sew Kits For Children

January 6, 2016August 21, 2016 Sarah

Anytime I have a child in my life who wants to learn to sew, I am all for it. The story behind the why?

When I was a child, we had an old Singer treadle machine and a decrepit Brother machine. Neither of which I had any clue how to use. My Mom wasn’t exactly talented in the fiber crafts. But she could sew a button on fine, throw patches on, and darn a sock. She taught me how to hand sew, and later on I got lucky and was forced into taking Home Ec in Junior High (I just gave away my age in saying I took that…..). Turned out I was a natural with sewing. It came to me relatively easy. But the key was I learned hand first, then later on machines. So with kids, encouraging hand sewing is vital.

Learning To Sew Kits For Children? Yes! Sometimes a kit can be just the thing 🙂

Walker has really expressed a huge interest in learning to sew this year, and while I had taught him some basics using felt sheets, yarn and yarn needles, these kits are just so much easier (and fun). And they get to make 3 stuffed toys as well!

The Orb Factory Sew Softies Woodland Kit

The proof that we finished it and didn’t cause me to rip my hair out 😉 Walker is 5.5, so he needed my help still, but an older child of 7 and up should be able to do nearly all by themselves.

And the The Orb Factory Sew Softies Sea Creatures Kit is our next project.

My friend’s daughter just turned 9, and I saw this kit – Creativity for Kids Fleece Fashions Scarf, Gloves & Headband Making Kit – and knew it was a good choice. Heck, I would have had a lot of fun when I was a kid with this one. (Oh heck, I’d have fun now….)

Crafting · crafts · DIY · Homesteading · Sewing · Urban Homesteading

DIY Wool Felt Crowns

October 5, 2015March 16, 2018 Sarah

DIY Wool Felt Crowns, a project you can make simple, or be elaborate with. I chose to make it with two colors, one a felted color, the other a solid. While I used a sewing machine, this can be sewed by hand if you have the patience. It would be pretty as well top stitched with embroidery floss.

See Momtastic’s post on Birthday Crowns post for a printable pattern. I printed out two copies of the pattern to make cutting out faster. You will need to tape the pattern together, but easy enough. Using two 8″ x 12″ sheets of wool felt I cut out 4 pieces total (2 of each color). The pattern is designed to be put on a fold, but since my wool was smaller, you work around it! As well, due to my boys having ample heads I extended the lowest part of the pattern and just cut to the end of the fabric. If your child has a smaller head…..follow the pattern 😉

After cutting out, pin each set together (there is no wrong side with felt) and sew the middle together with a ¼” seam. Flatten the seam with your fingers (don’t use an iron though on wool).

Pin the 2 assembled pieces together, making sure the center seams match up and are flat inside. Sew together, around the outside, using a ¼” seam. You can use a standard seam or a zigzag. Felt does not ravel, so need not be finished. If you are feeling crafty, you can use pinking shears after, as I did. If you’ve never used pinking shears, practice on a sample of fabric first.

After it is finished, it is time to add Velcro® or similar as a closure to the back. Fit it on the child’s head, mark where, and sew it on. Use a softer Velcro, such as the baby style, so it doesn’t irate their skin. Do not use off brand, it is never as nice. You only need a 1″ to 2″ piece, although you can add more, so it is more adjustable.

It is actually a very easy project, and great for sewing beginners. Felt is forgiving and easy to work with. And honestly, kids won’t notice if you do have any mistakes 😉

And then….onto the fun part. Decorating! You can add more felt, do needle felting, embroider, add-on buttons, sparkles, jewels, whatever you decide.

Crafting · crafts · DIY · Gardening

Building a Gnome Garden

April 15, 2015August 21, 2016 Sarah

Every garden needs a garden or fairy grove – tucked into a corner, or maybe in the middle of everything.

This one is Walker’s lil’ garden:

It has 4 “ponds” with paths between them, with features:

Walker saw a fairy garden kit and asked for it – it came with a tiny metal fence to go around a tree, with an arbor & bird bath (Gnome Garden Starter Accessory Kit).

A little DIY project made with wooden finds at our local hardware store:

Using poster tack, you can attach the little wooden items to large corks. This allows easy painting. Here I used two wooden milk jugs.

Painted gold, and then glued on top are large shooter marbles.

This project is making tiny fences and or doors with wooden craft sticks (tongue depressors).

You can also make windows easily enough:

Another example of how to make doors, this one is a little more stylish (thanks to my husband!)

Fence sections can be made with halved sticks and the smaller coffee stirrer size wooden sticks. Make as many as you need!

Tucking in a small gnome garden is easy – just find a spot under a tree, and start decorating.

A path of aquarium rock, a few well placed pieces and if you love your birds n’ bees, have it end at a “lake” (a saucer with baubles and rocks, with water).

Another project is Kirk loves to paint miniatures so when I find gnomes that are plain…well, I let him have fun.