Just making some homemade stuff....

Hello dear hearts... 

Hope all is well with thee.. smile.. 

Welcome to the Blessed Hearth tonight.. 

Glad you dropped by.. 

Do you see those purple flowers in the photo above?  

They are Monk's Hood and do you know what I think when I see them blooming?  

Yup... Summer is half over.. sigh.. 

I love the Summer and all that it brings with it..

Don't you? 

Sunny days, kids laughing as they pass by, breezes in the trees, fresh strawberries, sampfire greens, beach walks, family and friends, the crash of the tide, grandsons running up and down the old stairwell, summer salads, sitting out with a nice cold goblet of lemon cordial,  the smell of the BBQ and oh so much more.. 

But... 

It is already half over... 

Life goes on... 

Someone was in my shop today or yesterday.. I forget which.. 

And he made the statement that all that counts is that you die happy... 

Which is sort of true.. 

We all want to die happy..

 If we have to die..smile.. 

I spoke before I thought (as usual) and said.. 

So long as you die ready... 

He didn't say anything else and neither did I... 

But I am glad that I am happy and ready... 

Ta..DA... 

My sermon is finished.. Thank the Lord, eh?

You know you love me.. grin...

I have been trying this week to get caught up on my making things list crossed off... 

I ran out of homemade salves last week so they were first on my agenda...

I gathered some comfrey, lavender, roses and rosemary..

Some olive oil...

Grated some beeswax... 

Put out some sterile jars...

Made some Gardeners Salve.. 

Then with oil that I had infused in the Spring I made some...

Violet Salve.. 

Took them to the shop and labeled and priced them.. 

And sold several before they hit the shelf.. 

thank you, Lord..smile.. 

Then I decided to make some foot soaks... 

Yeah... they are lovely..

We made them in Keepers earlier in the Spring.. 

Then took them to the shop and labeled and priced them.. 

Yes, they too are selling... 

Would you like the recipe.. 

My Mom came in the shop on Friday and the first thing she wanted to know was whether I had some of that foot stuff made.. smile.. 

Foot Soak

2 cups of sea salt.. 

1 cup Epsom salts

Whisk together well and then add...

4 tsp. peppermint oil

3 tsp. lemon oil

several drops of tea tree oil..(opt.)

You can replace the oils with pure extracts if you like.. 

I was blessed with the oils from a dear friend.. 

1 tsp. sweet almond oil or olive oil.. 

Whisk together again and add..

1 tsp. cornstarch 

1 tsp. soda...

Whisk again and place in sealed jars... 

Place 1 Tablespoon in a few quarts of warm water and 

SOAK your feet.. 

So refreshing ... 

Your feet will feel so soft, too.. 

I found this recipe on my Pinterest.  It is on my Toiletries Board.. 

I changed it around to suit me, though as they added peppermint tea and such.. 

My Pinterest is on the sidebar of my blog... OK?

Tonight I came home to this for supper.. 

Chicken cooked in the crock pot and then some Spanish Rice put together very quickly... 

It is cool here tonight.. 

I had to put a throw across my feet as they were cool.. 

It is cloudy and I am sure the fog will roll in here in a bit.. 

I was talking to my sister on the phone who lives up home and she said it was sunny and scorching hot.. 

Poor dear.. grin.. 

No really.. 

Anyway, sweet ladies thank you so much for you visit and your little notes that you leave me.. 

You are all so dear.. 

I am not doing so good getting back to you though.. 

Please know that I read every word and appreciate so much hearing from you either on the comment or emails.. 

It is just that when I get to the end of my post I usually head for the stairs.. 

I can't sleep in here at all as the sun rises and shines in my window and Sammi starts clicking his nails on the wood floor and wants out and the crows start cawing... 

Oh dear Lord.. I  will just get up..   

Yes... it is that bad... grin ... 

Love to you all...

A GIVEAWAY FOR YOU..

A GIVEAWAY FOR YOU..

I just wanted to thank all of  you dear girls for following this blog..

I really appreciate it..

There are now 100 followers:-)

Thank you, Lord..

In the giveaway are four vintage napkins, a salad bag, gardeners salve and lip salve and a bag of homemade laundry soap...

and.... a surprise will be added..

These are just a few things of which some have the recipes or how tos on this blog...

Now for the rules.. Very Simple..

1.  You must be a follower and if you arn't then you are welcome to become one..

2.  You must post  a comment saying you would like to enter..

Please leave your email address if you don't have a blog..

3. If you post about this or post it on your sidebar you get 2 extra extries..Please let me know...

This is open until May 30 and I will let everyone know on May 31..

Have a wonderful Sabbath...

 God bless..

A Prim Heart Garland and Gardener's Salve Recipe...

Hello my dears... Another beautiful evening here beside the Bay of Fundy.   I was just speaking with our oldest son who is working in the city and he asked me what I was doing.  I told him I had just come in from potting some plants. He was saying it was very foggy in there so I guess we  must be living right out here...lol... I know we get our share of fog but not tonight.....
You girls have been very patient with me  as I have not been posting but hopefully I am back to normal!!  Okay, as close as I can get to it...lol...
The shop is up and running... Thank you, Lord!!  Each day I need to keep adding and changing but that is just part of the business.  My friend, Lynn says that I don't really work as anyone who enjoys doing what they do as much as I do cannot class it as work... Funny, eh?  She should feel these old bones some nights and perhaps she would change her mind.. Although, God has certainly blessed me with my work and any talent I have comes from Him.... and I am thankful!

But back to the rest of the story... I thought I would show you the little kitchen window in the shop.. The keepers made these at one of our craft sessions and I decided to use it this way.. I believe it is Linsay's idea as she sent me a pic of hers so I copied her.. Thanks Lins....

They are hearts made out of old wool coats and such and then embroidered with the words hope, faith, joy, love and peace I think... We had great fun making them..

The window really isn't quite fixed right here but I do love my little House of Henry stitchery that Christine made for me..

The stars on the bottom can be used as a valance also...

I know some of you girls are home for the summer so I have a little idea here for you to do.. You can make this and add it to your gift pantry... It is not that complicated and your kids would probably want to help you with it...

I call it my Gardener's Salve and I sell it in the shop.  The recipe is so easy and there are probably lots of gardeners on your Christmas list or for a gift for someone...

By the way, the girls in Keepers are reminded to fill their gift pantry with the seasons.. Such as right now they could make jams ... there are so many berries ready right now.. I made 40 bottles of cooked strawberry last week...

As the time goes on I will try to give you some ideas for you to do this summer.. You will feel much better if you do some creative projects especially with your kids and you will be saving money also..

Okay here is the recipe...

Gardener's Salve

2 cups olive oil

2 T. chopped comfrey

2 T. chopped calendula

2 T. lavender flowers

2 T. roses

1/2 C. beeswax

I also added a stem of lavender leaves

lavender essential oil  --a few drops or as much as you like...

Now you put this all in your slow cooker and give it a little stir..

I know.... I can just hear you ... Where will I get the herbs?  Most of them are available from your garden centers and herbs only cost a buck apiece right now... Lots of people you know probably have one of these growing in their gardens and it just takes a few leaves...

Anyway,   I just put this on low and left it for 5 hours while I was working..

This is just an old slow cooker that I use to do this kind of stuff in but it will not hurt your good one if that is all you have..

Ok now 3 - 5 hours later or whenever you get to it....

 in a separate little pot add some water to simmer and in a tin or glass bowl just melt your beeswax.. Just use old beeswax candles if that is all you have.  You can get them at the dollar store sometimes...

Meanwhile, strain your oil mixture into a sieve with some cheesecloth or cotton in it..  Squeeze tight and get all the oil.. Add your lavender oil....

Then just combine the two and pour into little mason jars or such....

This is 2 batches as you can see.  Try not to be as messy as I am..lol...

Let it cool and then cap them...

Then I just put some brown paper and a pic from a magazine and a tag explaining that this is great for scratches, bruises and wee scrapes...

For you girls who live close by I have lots of comfrey and lavender...

Also, there are pics of the shop on Primitive Lace if you are so inclined...lol..

I will be adding more as the days go by...

I hope you enjoyed this little lesson and are having a great summer..

You will find the summers come and go so quickly as you get older.  When you are young you  don't always realize how precious these days with your little ones are.. Really, you will turn around twice and when you look there are your grandchildren coming through the door instead of your own wee ones.... Your grandchildren are lovely but they are not yours... That only comes once.... So enjoy it while you can... ok?

Love ya...

Faye... xoxo