This article is a complete tutorial and guide to everything you need to know about Frankincense (Boswellia spp.) essential oil: The benefits, ways you can use it, where it comes from, its history, how to source it, PLUS some amazing easy recipes and essential oil blends you can make right now! I also share my NON-branded advice for finding quality essential oils that won’t drain your dollars. When I first started out using essential oils over 15 years ago, I really didn't give Frankincense essential oil much thought--except I thought it was pretty cool that it was one of the gifts of the ..read more

This article is about making natural handmade soap using the hot process method, a special method that uses heat. Hot process soap is my favorite method of soap making. It’s fast, simple & easy, and you can use the soap the very next day. This post is a detailed picture tutorial with complete instructions so you can make your own handmade hot process soap with confidence. The recipe I’ve included here is one of my most popular, BEST soaps. Other questions you’ll get answered here include how long does it take to make hot process soap? Can you make hot process soap on the stove top? Is it o ..read more

Inside: Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of both medicinal herbs and essential oils as therapies for wellness. This is an “herbs versus essential oils” commentary from an experienced herbalist and aromatherapist. In my interactions with students and sometimes clients, I usually hear one of two things: "I only want to use herbs....." or "I'm only interested in the essential oils...." The truth is, they're both special and wonderful. Let me share my views on this, but first I'll just say that I was a 100% herbal girl for years before delving into aromatherapy. Herbalism was my first foray ..read more

Our little apothecary office now resides in a little cottage. It's almost 100 years old, and in a quiet vintage neighborhood in our tiny town. Imagine our surprise when we showed up to work one early morning to find that the house across the street had burned nearly to the ground in the middle of the night! It was shocking for all of us on the street....but especially to the inhabitants of the burning home. We don't know them well, as we just moved our home office here (we still have our homestead up on the mountain where we live) and are just here to work in our herbalism and aromatherapy bus ..read more

NOTE: This article explains what bastille soap is, how to make it using the hot process method in a complete tutorial, and an amazing recipe that is perfect for sensitive skin and babies. What on earth is Bastille soap? I wondered the same thing when I heard that name. Bastille soap is a close relative of Castile soap, which is the traditional pure olive oil soap--no other oils are used at all. Castile soap is incredibly softening and good for your skin, due to the olive oil, however, it doesn't lather very well, and it requires a VERY long curing time. It can also be a bit finicky to make. To ..read more

This handmade hot process soap recipe tutorial is for a fall spiced soap. Scented with mandarin orange and spice essential oils, it’s perfect for the fall season and to have ready for holiday gift giving time! Oh...Autumn. It’s “almost” time for crisp air, candy apples, and the famous pumpkin spice latte’! I love this time of year! Cool, brisk temperatures just beg for warming cinnamon spice and pumpkins, right? It's also the time of year I start getting a little stressed out about the upcoming holidays.  Deciding what to give my friends and family every year is one of my biggest procrast ..read more

In Honor of Earth Day: Here are some tips to help you live a cleaner life, leave less of a carbon footprint, and do your part to help keep our earth beautiful and healthy…. I am a bit ashamed to admit this, but there was once a time when "green" living and helping the environment was not on my mind. I admit to once having been a complete consumer, and not a producer. Well, times have changed! Here are ways you, too, can live a greener, healthier life on your own homestead, no matter where you are. Just four decades ago, and other than the “Stop Littering” campaigns that ran when I was a c ..read more

Inside: When it comes to timing the harvest of your medicinal herbs, questions always arise: When do you harvest the roots? The flowers? The leaves? Are all the plants the same? Do some plants have different harvest methods? Here are your answers—-find out the best time to harvest your herbs to get the strongest medicine power from the plant. Timing is important for herbal harvesting in order to obtain the highest quality herbs for your teas, tinctures, infused oils, and salves. If you’re going to harvest and prepare herbal remedies, you want them to be as effective and useful as they can be ..read more

I created this herbal tea for male health and performance several years ago for my husband. I’ve updated it to include scientific and clinical studies to support my choice of plants included in this recipe. If you need energy, are looking for general male wellness and help for the reproductive areas, this is a wonderful tonic tea to drink daily! Note: Women can enjoy it too! One day my husband asked me to make him an herbal tea that would help him with his hormone balance, give him some energy, support his prostate gland, and other reproductive organs and general performance. I was only t ..read more

Note: This article is about how and why you can and should easily make your own healthy calcium powder using eggshells from chickens. Find out the science behind eggshell calcium and simple directions for making calcium powder to support your bone health, teeth, and body. I am a midlife lady, and I have watched the enamel wear painstakingly off my teeth over the years. Also, as women (especially) age, the threat of osteoporosis is real. I had no idea you could actually remineralize your teeth and bones with the right diet and supplements---but you CAN! According to the NIH (National Institute ..read more