Results for Category: DIY
Homemade Honeysuckle Syrup & 6 Ways To Use It
Honeysuckle. Nothing signifies summer to me like seeing thousands of honeysuckle blossoms along the creek bank here in the South. Honeysuckle not only smells and tastes great, but it can be used to create herbal remedies that are good for your body, too. Honeysuckle flowers are the most commonly used part of the plant. They […]
11 DIY Herbal Wedding Favors To Gift To Guests
Looking for the perfect favors for your wedding? Nothing says “thank you” to your wedding guests like making something...
4 Ways To Use Leftover Orange Peels
If you’re a fan of oranges, you may find yourself with an overabundance of leftover orange peels in your home, especially when o...
DIY Rosemary Memory Elixir
“You have to begin to lose your memory, if only in bits and pieces, to realize that memory is what makes our lives. Life without memory is no life at all, just as an intelligence without the possibility of expression is not really an intelligence. Our memory is our coherence, our reason, our feeling, even […]
How To Strengthen Bones With Herbal Infusions
Six months ago, my then six-year-old son fell off a set of monkey bars at the park and broke his elbow. As soon as I saw it, my nursing instinct said to get him to the emergency room fast as his arm was either dislocated or broken, and we’d need X-rays to tell. It was, […]
DIY Herbal Skin Steam and Aloe-Calendula Cleanser
We all want great-looking skin. A quick skim through any fashion and style magazine gives plenty of evidence that healthy, clear, ...
DIY Mother’s Day Tea Bags
Mother’s Day is right around the corner, and what says “I love you” better than a handmade gift of herbal goodness? Maybe th...
How To Make Fresh Dandelion Blossom Oil
I have many favorite things about spring—one of them being the fresh, sunny faces of dandelion blossoms popping up everywhere. Dandelions are one of my favorite herbs. Not only are they readily available, but they have so many uses such as dandelion fritters, roasted dandelion root coffee, dandelion kombucha, dandelion syrup, floral crowns… even freshly […]
How To Make Pine Resin Salve
One of the thrills of exploring the plants in my local materia medica is stocking my first aid kit with locally sourced herbal preparations. Here in New England we are blessed with more than our fair share of evergreen trees, and in particular an abundant helping of white pine (Pinus strobus). The bark, leaves, and […]
4 Herbal Recipes For Everyday Skin Care
With farm season and warm weather coming our way and the brisk cold winter air at our backs, stocking the bathroom cabinets with c...
How To Roast Herbs For An Herbal Coffee Substitute
If you’re anything like the majority of people in the U.S., you drink coffee on a regular basis—maybe even every day. This isn...
A DIY Herbal Grief Tea For Loss
I can honestly say that I have never experienced raw, breath-taking, life-halting grief as some people have. Yes, I’ve lost friends and family, and while some of these losses have taken time to heal, they have healed. Sure, the memories and the feelings of loss are still there, but the grief itself is not. Over […]
How To Grind Herbs In A Coffee Grinder
As a beginner to herbalism, you will most likely start by learning about common herbs, making basic herbal preparations, and learning how herbs can be used to support or bring balance to the body. However, as you continue on in your herbal journey, you will come across pieces of information that will change how you […]
How To Use Essential Oils For Hair Care
As you walk down the drugstore aisle, you can be overwhelmed with the number and variety of hair care products. Their costs range ...
Nettle Beer: A Delicious, Healthy Herbal Ferment
Registration is open for our new Short Course—The Craft of Herbal Fermentation. Today we want to give you a little sneak peek in...
How To Make Herbal Homemade Wine and Mead
With the explosion of the DIY movement in recent years, more people seem to be returning to old-school food and drink traditions, many of them involving fermentation. The HuffPost’s hilarious list of “The 22 Most Hipster Foods On The Planet” includes a great many of these, from kombucha to pickles, craft beers to kimchee. But […]
Rose Petal and Rhodiola Valentine’s Day Herbal Lollipops
Although sugar shouldn’t be a regular feature in a healthy diet, homemade candy making can be a delightful way to celebrate Valentine’s Day without the artificial sweeteners and dyes found in typical store-bought candy. Roses, hawthorn, and Rhodiola are the herbs that take center stage for these special Valentine’s Day herbal lollipops, and they bring […]
Love Potions, Charms, and Such (+3 Recipes!)
Back in the days when I co-owned an herb shop at a Renaissance faire, a great many of our sales would be used as components of amu...
How To Make Essential Oil Solid Perfume to Warm Your Winter Romance
Winter, in many places in the world, means shorter days, longer nights, and cooler temperatures. We tend to stay indoors more and ...
5 DIY Floral Body Polish Recipes
“The earth laughs in flowers” Ralph Waldo Emerson Flowers are delightful, bringing joy to a weary soul. Savor the beauty of flowers and enjoy a bit of summertime in your self-care routine with a floral body polish. Filled with the goodness of flowers, a floral body polish offers sensuous fragrance and beauty while bringing the […]
How To Make and Use Rose Infused Honey
Tranquility, love, and contentment are some of the emotions triggered when inhaling the beautiful aroma of the humble rose. For thousands of years, roses have been powerful symbols associated with love and beauty. Not only are roses an elegant way to say “I love you,” but they offer extraordinary health benefits, both for our bodies […]
Homemade Marshmallow Root Lip Balm
Whether it’s the parching of the hot summer sun or the blustering cold wind of our Michigan winters, my lips always seem to be i...
18 Herbal Teas To Help You Stay Healthy This Winter
Keeping our bodies healthy and strong during winter can be a challenge! Thankfully, there many wonderful herbs that we can use to ...
Lavender Sachets and Dream Pillows
A delightful, calming herb, lavender is a great addition to any home during the holidays. Lavender sachets and dream pillows are a very simple yet lovely craft that can be whipped up in a snap as a last-minute gift. Whether used to impart a fragrance to clothes or as a nighttime companion, lavender provides a gentle aroma that […]
How To Make Homemade Fire Cider (With Video!)
While some think of this time of year as the holiday season, I tend to think of it as the season to make homemade fire cider! Fire cider is a traditional immune support with deep roots in folk medicine (but most popularly championed by herbalist Rosemary Gladstar). At its most basic, it’s a zesty infused […]
Clove Pomanders: An Old Fashioned Holiday Favorite
Clove pomanders are a seasonal delight! Made with numerous little cloves, pomanders are a wonderfully fragrant addition to holiday...
Homemade Squash Cinnamon Dough for Holiday Decorations and Ornaments
What spice reminds us more of the holidays than cinnamon? The smell of cinnamon cookies baking or perhaps a few cinnamon sticks br...
How To Make Your Own Fresh Rosemary Wreath
With its fragrant aroma reminiscent of fresh pine, rosemary is a wonderful herb to enjoy during the winter holidays. Bring rosemary into your home and adorn your walls with this beautiful aromatic herb. A fresh rosemary wreath is easy to make and will add a special herbal flare to your holidays. Be sure to make extras to […]
6 Natural Beauty Herbal Gifts For The Soul
This article is reprinted with permission from the Nov/Dec ’03 issue of The Essential Herbal magazine. Herbal Gifts That Are Good For The Heart Every year around this time, we find ourselves searching for that special homemade herbal gift to give our friends and relatives. I’ve been told by all who receive my gifts that […]
How To Make Immune Stimulating Elderberry Syrup
Holy shi…………itake! We are being invaded by cold and flu viruses! But, that doesn’t mean that we are helpless. Instead, w...
