Tag: diy

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3 of the best essential oils for upset stomachs

Three best essential oils for upset stomachs

Essential oils are one of many all-natural remedies to help with a tummy ache. They are pure, powerful and effective. If someone in my family complains of tummy trouble, I use a blend of three essential oils for upset stomachs.

As with any treatment, consult a doctor before using essential oils if you are allergic, pregnant or nursing. Only your doctor can tell if you if essential oils might interact with any other medications you are taking.

Natural remedies for upset stomachs

When you think about it, most people already use all-natural remedies to combat an upset stomach.

As a kid, the school nurse used to give me peppermint candies when I complained of a tummy ache. Lots of people try ginger ale or ginger soda for indigestion.  You may even brew ginger or mint tea to combat an upset stomach. Turning to over-the-counter medicine, those little chalky little tablets (if you’ve been pregnant, you definitely know what I’m talking about) are actually calcium carbonate, which occurs naturally.

Collecting essential oils

Hubs was no believer. He found my collection of essential oils to be pretty annoying. Yeah, I understand. If you have enough of them, those tiny brown bottles take up entire shelves in your bathroom and appear in bags, drawers and cabinets all over the house and car. If you live with someone, that person might get a little frustrated with your essential oil collection. Until…the moment comes when she or he needs them.

This blend of three essential oils works so well on my husband’s upset stomach, it changed his perspective on my whole collection of little brown bottles. Whenever he isn’t feeling well, he asks me to blend these oils for him to rub on his belly, and it hasn’t failed him yet.

Where do I buy essential oils?

Your friends and family may have strong preferences for a certain brand of essential oils over another. I don’t. Just do a quick search online to learn more about the reputation of the essential oil company before you buy. If it’s an established, trusted essential oil company, then you will probably get your money’s worth. 

Essential oils are expensive. You can easily spend $15 to $50 on a single bottle. If you can afford them, they do last a long time. I’ve had many for several years, which is why I built up such a large collection that they are all over the house.

You can find a huge variety of essential oils online direct from the manufacturers, via local sellers through multi-level marketing or on Amazon. I don’t sell them, but my sister does. Here’s a link to her site, if you want to check it out. I really don’t know why she has a photo from 10 years ago on there.

Three best essential oils for upset stomachs

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Best essential oils for upset stomachs

My favorite essential oils for upset stomachs are:
peppermint
ginger
fennel

You can use any one of these three essential oils for an upset stomach by rubbing them on your stomach. I blend a drop of all three, but they are expensive. If you can afford it, the blend of all three is marvelous! Alternatively, if you have a friend with a collection, check and see if he or she has all three of these and can make you a roller ball. 

A roller ball filled with just a few drops of each essential oil blended into a carrier oil, like fractionated coconut oil, will go a long way. Fractionated coconut oil is processed so that it remains in liquid form at room temperature. You can roll the roller over your stomach as needed.

Here are my top picks for the three best essential oils for upset stomachs.

#3 Fennel

Fennel essential oil has a mild, sweet licorice scent. The essential oil is derived from fennel seeds using a steam distillation method. During the steam distillation process, the part of the plant from which the oil will be extracted is placed inside of a contraption that looks like something straight out of your high school science lab. Water is heated so that steam passes through the plant material for anywhere from a few hours to more than a day, depending on the plant. The essential oil is released and separated from the water.

#2 Ginger

Ginger essential oil is peppery and powerful. If you have sensitive skin, you should blend ginger with a mild, carrier oil before applying it to your skin. There’s a chance it could irritate your skin if applied directly. The essential oil is extracted by steam distillation from the rhizomes of the ginger root. Rhizomes are pale, thin shoots that branch out from the root system.

#1 Peppermint

My favorite go-to essential oil for stomach aches, big breaths and sore muscles. If I could only choose one essential oil for my cabinet at home, it would be peppermint. The entire plant is put into the steam distiller to make this essential oil. You are probably most familiar with the strong scent of peppermint oil in chewing gum, candy and toothpaste. Like ginger, peppermint is a strong oil that you should consider blending with a neutral, carrier oil before applying to your skin.

Test before you slather

The FDA does not regulate essential oils, as they are generally not considered to be pharmaceuticals. Always test a small patch of skin with any new topical treatment to check that you are not allergic or sensitive to the ingredients.

Everyone is different, and allergies may occur. Coconut oil is usually a good carrier oil, but some people do develop a sensitivity to it over time. You can also consider grapeseed oil, almond oil or even a light olive oil to use as a carrier oil, if you prefer them to coconut. Almost any mild, unscented oil will work just fine.

Three of the best essential oils for upset stomachs

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Tips for Hot Process Soap Making Beginners

Once. I admit it. I bought all the stuff, designated a hand mixer and a stainless steel pot, and made soap from scratch with my sister, just once. Now the soap-making equipment sits in my basement. But, after reading this post on hot process soap making, I’m starting to feel inspired to get another batch going. It’s really a fun bonding experience, as long as you have patience. Homemade soap takes about a month to cure before you can use it. We did not use a crockpot, but I really like the idea. A professional soap maker on Twitter assures me she uses a crockpot. It’s not cheating.

Check out this pressed article from Natural Beauty Workshop for more about hot process soap. Source: Tips for Hot Process Soap Making Beginners

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DIY dry shampoo for red hair

One of my coworkers confessed to me that she tried a store-bought dry shampoo and just didn’t feel like she used it right. It either left white residue in her hair or wore off midway through her day. Meanwhile, she had to breathe in a dust cloud of aerosol spray just to use it. There has to be a better way. As a lover of all things natural, including hair care, I felt inspired to find an easy recipe for DIY dry shampoo for red hair that worked.

Looking for a different color?

for brown or auburn hair click here
for blonde hair click here
for black hair click here
for white hair just use the cornstarch alone

My personal test of homemade dry shampoo

On Thanksgiving morning, I got up early to finish making a blueberry pie. This is a true story. The rolling, mixing and baking took longer than I thought it would. By the time I finished the pie and looked at the clock, I only had 20 minutes left before we had to leave.

Now we’re all in a rush, and my second-day hair was in need of some attention. All day, I would be hugging relatives and taking family photos. My hair should at least look and smell fresh.

In the past, I’ve used trial-sized, store-bought dry shampoos, but we didn’t have any in the house. What I did have was some spices and cornstarch I bought for the pie filling. How skeptical are you right now? Probably about as skeptical as I was. But, with limited options, I took a risk and tried a DIY dry shampoo recipe that worked great! Read on for the full recipe and my review.

It turns out, homemade dry shampoo is fantastic! You can make dry shampoo with just a couple ingredients that are probably already in your kitchen pantry. For a lot of reasons, homemade dry shampoo is better than store-bought dry shampoo. Another great discovery…by just tweaking one or two ingredients, you can change the color of the dry shampoo. No more white dusty roots!

It is really shampoo?

Not really. It’s not foamy. It’s not liquid. It’s not washing your hair. You don’t rinse it out, but it’s not a leave-in conditioner.

Dry shampoo is a powder that you use to absorb oil, make your hair look fresh and add a pleasant fragrance to your hair.

Five reasons to use DIY dry shampoo

  1. Works great, absorbing oils and leaving hair looking fresh
  2. No chemicals harming your scalp or bloodstream
  3. No aerosol deteriorating the ozone layer
  4. Inexpensive, whip up one batch and store it (pretty much) forever
  5. Easy to make with stuff you probably already have

When to use dry shampoo

It might be that your hair is clean, but you used an oily sunscreen and just want to get rid of the greasy look that’s built up around your hairline. Maybe you didn’t have time to wash your hair or just don’t wash your hair that often, rub a little dry shampoo through it so it doesn’t look greasy or flat.

You can use dry shampoo whenever your hair feels a little oily or not quite fresh enough. As a bonus, the dry blend helps lift your hair at the roots and adds volume.

I tend to use dry shampoo before I style it, but it doesn’t matter if you wait until after you’ve styled your hair. You just want to make sure you can still rub the powder into the hair a little bit, which might depend on the style.

If your hair is in an updo or a tight bun, you will probably have a hard time rubbing the dry shampoo through and getting the powder to blend evenly.  In this case, you can try using a make-up brush to dust the dry shampoo onto your hair. On the other hand, if you just straightened or curled your hair, you shouldn’t have much trouble using dry shampoo after styling it, especially my recipe.

Will tomorrow be second-day hair? Try my DIY dry shampoo recipe for homemade hair care right from your kitchen. Only three simple ingredients blend right into your red or auburn hair!

DIY dry shampoo recipe for red hair

for brown or auburn hair click here
for blonde hair click here
working on a recipe for black hair
for white hair just use the cornstarch alone

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
(optional) arrowroot (can be used instead of or to complement the cornstarch)

Need to restock your spice cabinet? I partnered with spicesforless.com to make it easy. Their site is so pretty to click through. It’s like an art gallery for spice lovers. They will have any color or flavor spice you might need.

Directions:
Mix together the cornstarch, cinnamon and ginger together.
Since we all have different hair colors, you might have to play with the color a little bit by adding a little more cinnamon for darker shades or a little more ginger for strawberry blonde or lighter hair tones. If your hair is more auburn than red, click here for a dry shampoo recipe for brown/auburn hair. Don’t worry. It doesn’t need to match your hair exactly.

Store in almost any convenient container or baggie.

To use:
Dip your fingers into the DIY dry shampoo.
Dust off any excess powder.
Your fingers should now be lightly coated in dry shampoo.
Rub shampoo dust through your hair at or within 2-3 inches of the roots.
Use the same motion you would if you just took your hair out of a ponytail and are trying to loosen up the roots.
Repeat all over your head. Pay special attention along the hairline, above and behind your ears.
Do not get the powder in your eyes. It might burn.
The shampoo should absorb oil and blend into your hair in seconds.
Your hair will have a light fragrance of cinnamon and ginger.
The cornstarch will help add lift and volume.
It should last all day and night.
Be careful if you are wearing a white shirt. Like any hair product with color in it, you might get a dusting of reddish specks on you if you are wearing a bright white shirt. As an alternative, just put a towel over your shoulders.

What happens when I rinse it out?

When you do go to wash or rinse your hair again, there is the faint scent of cinnamon and ginger root in the shower. Nothing else really happens. It rinses right out of your hair.

Please leave a comment and let us know if you’ve tried DIY dry shampoo. What do you think?

Looking for more DIY skin and hair care? You’ll find more of it here. I love this stuff.

DIY coffee scrub
3 reasons I just cannot get into coffee-based body scrubs
Top 5 handmade soaps – inexpensive!
Skincare advice from 80 years of glowing skin

Done with DIY for the time being? Then, I will share with you a convenient place to buy other people’s DIY’s. It only takes a few clicks to search verified handcrafted sellers on the Handmade Marketplace. Click the banner below. See what you think.

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What makes us buy so many things we can make easily?

Healing calendula herb infused olive oil in a mason jar

One of my professors told me that when he was a little kid in Pakistan, his mother would grab the olive oil out of the pantry, rub it on his dry skin and send him off to play.

That makes complete sense. Olive oil works well on dry skin, even the cheapest olive oil. Actually, cheap oil would be better because the scent is weaker and won’t leave you smelling like a pressed olive. What does a teaspoon of cheap olive oil cost? So little I can’t do the math in my head. You probably already have it in your pantry, too.

Olive oil as a body lotion:
1) works great
2) convenient
3) inexpensive

And yet, like me, you probably also have a bunch of store-bought moisturizers scattered around your house, car and office. If you’re anything like me, you might pull out your winter coat this year and find hand cream you put in the pocket a year ago. I have so many hand creams, I lose them.

I do buy lots of natural skincare products…and pay through the nose for them. When my kids were born, I spent $20 on a bottle of all-natural baby lotion. It was a pretty big bottle but still. After every bath, I would take a couple of squirts of some insanely expensive tangerine and calendula baby lotion and give the kids a little baby massage before bedtime.

In case it sounded like I was exaggerating about the price…

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Lovely stuff, but really pricey.

Here’s a jar of calendula-infused olive oil I made myself for about a penny. All it took was time because I grew the calendula flowers in my organic garden, but at least I know what’s in the oil.

Healing calendula herb infused olive oil in a mason jar

US consumer spending

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the broadest measure of economic activity. In 2017, real GDP in the US increased by 2.2%; of that, 1.7% came from growth in consumer spending (source: US Bureau of Economic Analysis). In other words, people in the US buy a ton of stuff. Buying all that stuff, even if we don’t need it or just because the ad looked good, is like espresso to our economy.

Two main reasons we buy stuff we should make:
1) We didn’t realize we could
2) The ad looked good.

1) We didn’t realize we could

Until someone stumbles across a blog like mine or gets a friend like me to open up to them, it probably won’t occur to him or her to look around the kitchen or garden or farm stand before going to the convenience store. Plus, you know where the convenience store is. Until a few months ago, you probably didn’t know where this blog was.

Most people would be really confused to get a Secret Santa gift basket labeled, “Experience Spa-like Pampering”, and it’s a bottle of olive oil, a bag of cheap sugar and some vanilla. Are you going to bake me? How is this a spa experience?

Then, you read the Directions, “mix thoroughly and shower together”. Now, that’s really confusing. That’s like stunned-into-silence confusing. (Unless you spend a lot of time on Pintrest, in which case, you immediately envisioned a clear glass jar tied with twine and a little cardboard tag that read “DIY Sugar Scrub”.)

In just a few short generations, modern cultures forgot the uses for common herbs and oils. I did, too. It’s been 20 years of part-time study to learn the stuff I write about in this blog, and I will continue learning as long as I’m able.

What’s worse? We use some really gross stuff because we don’t know much about it. None of this was not covered in eighth grade science. You really don’t want to rub synthetic hormone disruptors on your bare hands. Oh but you have, me too. There are usually several of them in inexpensive lotions to extend the shelf-life (many are banned or restricted in the EU) so you can, I don’t know…find a hand cream in your coat pocket a year later, and it still looks the same.

2) The ad looked good

And here’s why we forgot about all this useful stuff. Marketing.

Most of the time, I think marketing is amazing and powerful. Who am I kidding? Without marketing, there would be zero eyeballs on this blog.

It can get out of hand though. Like anything, as a project explodes and makes big time money (i.e. economic profit), more people are attracted to it. The more competition there is, the more humans will feel pressure to compete, including stretching the truth and cutting costs.

There are only two ways to be successful as a business:
1) differentiate your product
2) compete on cost

I’m going to lump, “someone told me it was amazing” into this category. The ad got them to buy it; therefore, indirectly the ad got you to buy it, too.

Once you’ve used it, if there’s no immediate and obvious negative reaction. You assume it’s fine to keep using. It’s not your fault, you have no way of knowing what’s in that stuff. I’ve done the same thing so many times

How does this relate to farmstand culture?

My hope with this blog is to fill you in on all of these simple, quick tricks I’ve learned to make natural living easier. It is exactly what I do for free for all of my friends.

DIY dry shampoo for brown or auburn hair
DIY dry shampoo for blonde hair
Natural skin and hair care

As you keep up with this blog, you will find more uses and benefits for oils, spices and herbs you probably already have in your pantry or…the ones you can find at the end of your neighbor’s driveway available at a quaint, rustic farm stand.

Anyway, it’s Cyber Monday. Go have a guilt-free blast spending within your means.

Here’s a quick link back to a marketing machine, in case you wanted to see those principles of effective marketing in action.  The only thing I’ve done differently here, is highlighted their handcrafted marketplace, which features small batch crafters:

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DIY dry shampoo for blonde hair

DIY dry shampoo recipe for blonde hair

One of my coworkers confessed to me that she tried a store-bought dry shampoo and just didn’t feel like she used it right. It either left white residue in her hair or wore off midway through her day. Meanwhile, she had to breathe in a dust cloud of aerosol spray just to use it. There has to be a better way. As a lover of all things natural, including hair care, I felt inspired to find an easy recipe for DIY dry shampoo for blonde hair that worked.

My personal test of homemade dry shampoo

On Thanksgiving morning, I got up early to finish making a blueberry pie. This is a true story. The rolling, mixing and baking took longer than I thought it would. By the time I finished the pie and looked at the clock, I only had 20 minutes left before we had to leave.

Now we’re all in a rush, and my second-day hair was in need of some attention. All day, I would be hugging relatives and taking family photos. My hair should at least look and smell fresh.

In the past, I’ve used trial-sized, store-bought dry shampoos, but we didn’t have any in the house. What I did have was some spices and cornstarch I bought for the pie filling. How skeptical are you right now? Probably about as skeptical as I was. But, with limited options, I took a risk and tried a DIY dry shampoo recipe that worked great! Read on for the full recipe and my review.

It turns out, homemade dry shampoo is fantastic! You can make dry shampoo with just a couple ingredients that are probably already in your kitchen pantry. For a lot of reasons, homemade dry shampoo is better than store-bought dry shampoo. Another great discovery…by just tweaking one or two ingredients, you can change the color of the dry shampoo. No more white dusty roots!

It is really shampoo?

Not really. It’s not foamy. It’s not liquid. It’s not washing your hair. You don’t rinse it out, but it’s not a leave-in conditioner.

Dry shampoo is a powder that you use to absorb oil, make your hair look fresh and add a pleasant fragrance to your hair.

Five reasons to use DIY dry shampoo

  1. Works great, absorbing oils and leaving hair looking fresh
  2. No chemicals harming your scalp or bloodstream
  3. No aerosol deteriorating the ozone layer
  4. Inexpensive, whip up one batch and store it (pretty much) forever
  5. Easy to make with stuff you probably already have

When to use dry shampoo

It might be that your hair is clean, but you used an oily sunscreen and just want to get rid of the greasy look that’s built up around your hairline. Maybe you didn’t have time to wash your hair or just don’t wash your hair that often, rub a little dry shampoo through it so it doesn’t look greasy or flat.

You can use dry shampoo whenever your hair feels a little oily or not quite fresh enough. As a bonus, the dry blend helps lift your hair at the roots and adds volume.

I tend to use dry shampoo before I style it, but it doesn’t matter if you wait until after you’ve styled your hair. You just want to make sure you can still rub the powder into the hair a little bit, which might depend on the style.

If your hair is in an updo or a tight bun, you will probably have a hard time rubbing the dry shampoo through and getting the powder to blend evenly.  In this case, you can try using a make-up brush to dust the dry shampoo onto your hair. On the other hand, if you just straightened or curled your hair, you shouldn’t have much trouble using dry shampoo after styling it, especially my recipe.

DIY dry shampoo for blonde hair

DIY dry shampoo recipe for blonde hair

for brown or auburn hair click here
for red hair click here
for black hair click here
for white hair just use the cornstarch alone

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 to 1 tablespoon ground ginger root
(optional) a little bit of cocoa powder for a slightly different dark blonde tone
(optional) arrowroot (can be used instead of or to complement the cornstarch)

Need to replenish your spice cabinet? I’ve partnered with spicesforless.com to make it easy for you to find ginger and arrowroot and all kinds of other spices in a convenient click:


Directions:
Mix together the cornstarch, ground ginger root and optional cocoa powder.
Since we all have different hair colors, you might have to play with the color a little bit by adding a little more ginger root for darker or a little less for lighter hair tones. Don’t worry. It doesn’t need to match your hair exactly.
Store in almost any convenient container or baggie.

To use:
Dip your fingers into the DIY dry shampoo.
Dust off any excess powder.
Your fingers should now be lightly coated in dry shampoo.
Rub shampoo dust through your hair at or within 2-3 inches of the roots.
Use the same motion you would if you just took your hair out of a ponytail and are trying to loosen up the roots.
Repeat all over your head. Pay special attention along the hairline, above and behind your ears.
Do not get ginger root powder in your eyes. It might burn.
The shampoo should absorb oil and blend into your hair in seconds.
Your hair will have a faint scent of ginger.
The cornstarch will help add lift and volume.
It should last all day and night.

What happens when I rinse it out?

When you do go to wash or rinse your hair again, there is the faint scent of ginger root in the shower. Nothing else really happens. It rinses right out of your hair.

Please leave a comment and let us know if you’ve tried DIY dry shampoo. What do you think?

Looking for more DIY skin and hair care? You’ll find more of it here. I love this stuff.

DIY coffee scrub
3 reasons I just cannot get into coffee-based body scrubs
Top 5 handmade soaps – inexpensive!
Skincare advice from 80 years of glowing skin

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

 

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DIY dry shampoo for brown or auburn hair

DIY dry shampoo recipe for brown hair

One of my coworkers confessed to me that she tried a store-bought dry shampoo and just didn’t feel like she used it right. It either left white residue in her dark hair or wore off midway through her day. Meanwhile, she had to breathe in a dust cloud of aerosol spray just to use it. There has to be a better way. As a lover of all things natural, including hair care, I felt inspired to find an easy DIY dry shampoo recipe that worked.

Testing out homemade dry shampoo

On Thanksgiving morning, I got up early to finish making a blueberry pie. This is a true story. The rolling, mixing and baking took longer than I thought it would. By the time I finished the pie and looked at the clock, I only had 20 minutes left before we had to leave.

Now we’re all in a rush, and my second-day hair was in need of some attention. All day, I’ll be hugging relatives and taking family photos. My hair should at least look and smell fresh.

In the past, I’ve used trial-sized, store-bought dry shampoos, but we didn’t have any in the house. What I did have was some cinnamon and cornstarch I bought for the pie filling. How skeptical are you right now? Probably about as skeptical as I was. But, with limited options, I took a risk and tried a DIY dry shampoo recipe for my brown hair. Read on for the full recipe and my review.

DIY dry shampoo recipe for brown hair

It turns out, homemade dry shampoo is fantastic! You can make dry shampoo with just a couple ingredients that are probably already in your kitchen pantry. For a lot of reasons, homemade dry shampoo is better than store-bought dry shampoo. Another great discovery…by just tweaking one or two ingredients, you can change the color of the dry shampoo. No more white dusty roots!

It is really shampoo?

Not really. It’s not foamy. It’s not liquid. It’s not washing your hair. You don’t rinse it out, but it’s not a leave-in conditioner.

Dry shampoo is a powder that you use to absorb oil, make your hair look fresh and add a pleasant fragrance to your hair.

Five reasons to use DIY dry shampoo

  1. Works great, absorbing oils and leaving hair looking fresh
  2. No chemicals harming your scalp
  3. No aerosol deteriorating the ozone layer
  4. Inexpensive, whip up one batch and store it (pretty much) forever
  5. Easy to make with stuff you probably already have

When to use dry shampoo

It might be that your hair is clean, but you used an oily sunscreen and just want to get rid of the greasy look that’s built up around your hairline. Maybe you didn’t have time to wash your hair or just don’t wash your hair that often, rub a little dry shampoo through it so it doesn’t look greasy or flat.

You can use dry shampoo whenever your hair feels a little oily or not quite fresh enough. As a bonus, the dry blend helps lift your hair at the roots and adds volume.

I tend to use dry shampoo before I style it, but it doesn’t matter if you wait until after you’ve styled your hair. You just want to make sure you can still rub the powder into the hair a little bit, which might depend on the style.

If your hair is in an updo or a tight bun, you will probably have a hard time rubbing the dry shampoo through and getting the powder to blend evenly.  In this case, you can try using a make-up brush to dust the dry shampoo onto your hair. On the other hand, if you just straightened or curled your hair, you shouldn’t have much trouble using dry shampoo after styling it, especially my recipe.

DIY dry shampoo for brown or auburn hair

for blonde hair click here
for red hair click here
for black hair click here
for white hair just use the cornstarch alone

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 to 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
(optional) cocoa powder for a slightly different brown tone
(optional) arrowroot (can be used instead of or to complement the cornstarch)

Need to replenish your spice cabinet? I’ve partnered with spicesforless.com so you can find any spice you want – including arrowroot – and order online for less than you’d pay at most grocery stores! Click here to check out their beautiful gallery of spices.

Directions:
Mix together the cornstarch, cinnamon and optional cocoa powder.
Since we all have different hair colors, you might have to play with the color a little bit by adding a little more cinnamon for darker brown or a little less for lighter brown. Don’t worry. It doesn’t need to match your hair exactly.
Store in almost any convenient container or baggie.

To use:
Dip your fingers into the DIY dry shampoo.
Dust off any excess powder.
Your fingers should be coated in dry shampoo.
Rub shampoo dust through your hair at or within 2-3 inches of the roots.
Use the same motion you would if you just took your hair out of a ponytail and are trying to loosen up the roots.
Repeat all over your head. Pay special attention along the hairline, above and behind your ears.
The shampoo should absorb oil and blend into your hair in seconds.
Your hair will have a faint scent of cinnamon.
Do not get ground cinnamon in your eyes. It might burn.
The cornstarch will help add lift and volume.
It should last all day and night.

What happens when I rinse it out?

When you do go to wash or rinse your hair again, there is the faint scent of cinnamon in the shower. Nothing else really happens. It rinses out of your hair.

Please leave a comment and let us know if you’ve tried DIY dry shampoo. What do you think?

Looking for more DIY skin and hair care? You’ll find more of it here. I love this stuff.

DIY coffee scrub
3 reasons I just cannot get into coffee-based body scrubs
Top 5 handmade soaps – inexpensive!
Skincare advice from 80 years of glowing skin

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

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Three Fall craft ideas inspired by my trip to the farmers market

Three Fall craft ideas inspired by a walk through a local farmers market

“Three Fall craft ideas inspired by my trip to the farmers market” as featured on The Painted Hinge on the Farmhouse Friday Night Link Party #79.

3 Fall Craft Ideas

Food is not the only thing you’ll find at a farmers market. You can get do-it-yourself Fall craft ideas there, too! Not too crafty? No problem, you can still pick up a pumpkin or two or 10 to carve or paint.

Here are three craft inspirations I found during a walk through an Autumn farmers market. Several of these were also featured in a recent farmstand5, a series on my Top 5 picks from local farm stands.

#1
Vintage bottles repurposed

Bookworm Bottles vintage bottle craft DIY

A young woman creates these upcycled Bookworm Bottles for her mother’s corner gift shop, and you can visit her site to pick one up. But if you happen to have any old bottles at your house or in an antique shop near you, be inspired to create your own!

I’m seeing a lot of bottles used to decorate farmhouse shelves, dining room sideboards and glass door hutches. These will add a little interest and personality to otherwise minimalist decor.

Bookworm Bottles crafted brown bottle

How to repurpose vintage bottles:

Need:

Computer, printer, paper OR stickers to use as labels
Super glue, glue gun or rubber glue
Burlap or fabric swatches
Ribbon, broken necklaces/bracelets, or jute string
Cork stoppers or old wine bottle corks for tops

Print out colorful labels and glue or rubber glue them to your bottles. They look beautiful layered on top of burlap or fabric swatches. You can glue a jute string or cut ribbon around them as a border. To finish them off, tie a ribbon, string or upcycle a broken piece of costume jewelry by wrapping it around the neck of the bottle. Don’t forget to order some corks or reuse a wine bottle cork for the topper. You may have to cut the corks a little to get the best fit. Try to cut them on a taper or just two-thirds of the way to the top so most of your adjustments are hidden below the mouth of the bottle.

#2
Infused olive oil in a glass bottle

Flavored olive oil bottles

Get ready for the season of dinner parties, cookie swaps and holiday festivities with your own do-it-yourself flavored cooking oils. I use these oils to decorate the mantel above my range and window shelves in my farmhouse kitchen. You could even line them up on the tops of your cabinets or hutches. They are so pretty, like food art. My favorite oil is full of dried chilies and one sprig of rosemary. It is delicious with bread, for sauteing chicken or veggies and on pizza. Yep, it’s tres-francais to add flavored (usually spicy) oil to pizza.

Gift bags flavored vinegar and olive oils with dried herbs

How to infuse olive oil:

Need:

Clear glass oil bottle
Your favorite olive oil (inexpensive oil is better)
Dried herbs, dried peppers, dried hot chilies, whole peppercorns, fresh or dried garlic
Suggested herbs: bay leaf, rosemary, sage, lavender

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First, make sure everything is clean and dry – the bottle, the lid, the herbs, everything. Water droplets could spoil your oils. Put any mix of the dried herbs, peppers, garlic or peppercorns into the empty glass bottle. Pour in the olive oil. A funnel would be helpful if you have one to avoid spillage.

Online you can find lots of different recipes for olive oil infusions. Some of them require sauteing the ingredients in a pan. For gifts or making bottles that decorate your kitchen shelves, I don’t recommend the cooked infusions over just using herbs or peppers that were already dried out and preserved. Olive oil infusions you have to cook are quick and easy, but they don’t last as long as just letting dried herbs, spices or peppers slowly infuse into the oils over a week.

#3
Handpainted, dried gourd birdhouses

Handpainted dried gourd birdhouses

A display of handpainted gourds is both seasonal and inspiring at this farmers market stand. It reminds you not to neglect the outdoors while you are decorating indoors! Think about the feeling you would have every time you glanced out of your kitchen window and saw a handcrafted birdhouse in your tree. It will be exciting to see sweet little birds enjoying your hard work as the seasons change.

There are a lot of articles online about how to dry your own gourds for crafting. If you do that, you are our hero! It takes four-to-ten months though…oh, um, no. To get this Fall craft idea going before next Fall, you should probably just have one shipped to your house in two days.

How to make handpainted gourd birdhouses:

Need:

Large dried gourd with a hole drilled in the side…
OR gourd seeds, 10 months of waiting, and a hand-cranked screw for drilling
A pencil
Acrylic paint brushes set
Acrylic paint set (this one is under $10!)
Acrylic prep primer and paint sealer (look for fast-drying sealer)
Newpaper or an old blanket, towel or trap to minimize messes

You can use the Amazon links here to buy anything you need. Brick and mortar craft stores will also have the full rainbow of acrylic paints and brushes.

There is actually an American Gourd Society, and they have gourd-painting experts on hand to offer tips on how to template something fancy for your gourd. It sounds like I’m being sarcastic, but I’m not. Here’s the link.

The templates can be pretty intricate. I think you’re better off just priming the gourd, lightly penciling in a simple design or pattern, painting it and sealing it after the paint dries completely.

I would look for inspiration from blouses, plaid shirts, wallpaper and Pintrest patterns. The Pintrest patterns are great. I shouldn’t even have put that link in here because now you will likely forget about reading my next article and get lost in a world of patterned excess.

Come back and visit farmstand culture soon!