Warrior Salve & Foot Soak Combo for Tired, Aching Muscles and Feet

Back in 2010, when I trained over 500 miles and walked 60 miles in the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure, I started developing what would eventually become my first herbal products for sore muscles.  The first and most popular to date has been my sore muscle salve but a really great complement to it is my foot soak.

I had a really great team captain for the 3 Day who taught us well to stretch and stretch often.  I have to thank her for that because after walking 60 miles in 3 days, I was a little sore after the fact but I was not in pain and I think that it largely has to do with the stretching.  I did something else immediately after the walk that I believe contributed to my quick recovery: I took a nice, long, hot herbal bath (and then followed it up with my sore muscle salve!).

My foot soak was formulated based on that herbal bath concoction.  It includes Epsom salts, baking soda, mugwort, sage, rosemary, and lavender.  These natural ingredients are anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, pain relieving, skin softening, detoxifying, and aromatic.  Lavender is a wonderfully relaxing herb.  Mugwort is used to invigorate tired feet (and was once used by Roman soldiers to relieve aching feet on their long marches).  Sage helps relieve joint pain and is strengthening.  Rosemary helps increase circulation.  Baking soda softens the skin.  Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate which, absorbed through the skin, not only increases magnesium levels in the body but also acts as a sedative for the nervous system, reduces swelling, and relaxes muscles.  It also draws toxins from the body and is a natural exfoliant.  A really great way to massage your feet in the foot soak is by adding smooth river rocks or marbles to the basin!

Whether you're a seasoned athlete, training for an event, or just sore from over doing it over the weekend, my Warrior Salve and Foot Soak are fantastic, all natural ways of caring for your aching self!

My Warrior Salve and Foot Soak also come as a set and makes a really great gift for the Pink Warrior in your life.

You Can Help Me Make More Soap!

Wow.  The first time I tried to make soap was back in September of 2009!  I can't believe it's been that long!  My first couple of attempts at soap making were, shall we say, not quite that successful.  But they certainly were learning experiences!!

I started with a recipe from my copy of Better Basics for the Home by Annie Berthold-Bond.  By the way, this book rocks!  My first forays into green cleaning, among other things, came from the recipes in this book.  I highly recommend it.  Anyway, the soap.  I didn't really know much about what I was doing, but I figured if I could just follow the instructions I'd be all right.  Right?  Wrong.  There were little things (and some not so little things) that I missed that made a HUGE difference.  I didn't realize that I should be stirring the lye water to dissolve the lye crystals.  I didn't realize that I should be weighing my oils/ingredients instead of measuring them.  And let me tell you the difference a stick blender makes over trying to mix it by hand!  It's a good recipe.  I've since used it to much success.  In fact, it's one of my favorite recipes for conditioning and lather.  My inexperience was really the only problem.

After those first couple of unsuccessful tries, I was still determined to figure out how to do this right and started wondering if there was a class in my area.  Call it coincidence, call it synchronicity, call it divine intervention, call it what you will but at my next Herb Society meeting, I found out that a friend was teaching soap making classes.  I signed up!  All those little/huge things I mentioned getting wrong... I found out about during Rebecca's class.  I gained the knowledge and confidence to give it another try.  This time I used the recipe that she demonstrated and I got it!  I was so excited!  I made soap!!

Needless to say, I didn't stop there.  I made her recipe numerous times with different scents, I made the original recipe that I played with (successfully, this time), I started experimenting with different additives (like ground oatmeal and apricot seeds)...  All of the soap that I make is all natural.  I will NOT ever use any chemical fragrances or dyes and all oils are sustainable.  I handed out samples to EVERYONE and was absolutely thrilled with all of the positive responses that I received.  It got to the point where people were asking me daily when I was going to get it listed in the shop.

Back in May, I finally announced the addition of the Apothecary to the shop as I started listing some soap.  At the moment, I have four scents listed: Lavender Oatmeal, Creamy Castile, Tangerine Lavender, and Cinnamon Clove Spice.  These are scents and recipes that I've been testing out for about a year.  I love all of them, but my favorites are probably the Cinnamon Clove Spice & Creamy Castile.  They may seem to be slightly odd sizes at the moment but that will change.  I hadn't been making full size bars for my testers and I stuck with what I had been doing for starting them off in the shop.  Once I get through this batch, you will start to see a more standard 4-6oz size uniform throughout the shop.

I have so many ideas of different scents and additives that I want to play with, there are different recipes that I want to try, I have plans for gift combos, there are ways of making plant dyes to color bars that I can't wait to try...  But there's a catch and this is where you come in.

Supplies for soap making can be very expensive.  Since I left my full time job back in January, money has been tight and I've run out of the luscious oils I use to make soap.  If you thought about trying out my soap, if you've never tried handmade soap before (there is a HUGE difference, but I'll save that for another post), if you're a friend and want to help support me and my shop, if you need a gift, or maybe you just need a shower...  check out the Apothecary section of my shop and make a soap purchase.  All proceeds of Apothecary items will go towards the purchase of soap supplies so I can offer you a wider array of goods.


What's in it for you?  All Apothecary purchases will come with a sample of my new Foot Soak, you'll smell pretty, and you'll feel good knowing that you helped support a handmade business.


You can visit the Apothecary in my Artfire Studio or Etsy Shop.

Happy Shopping!!

-Janine

Announcing Athena's Armoury & Apothecary

I'm very excited to announce that I've started incorporating the Apothecary into the Armoury!

This has been a long time in coming.  I've been fascinated with the medicinal use of herbs for as long as I can remember.  In historical stories (whether it be books or movies), I've always been intrigued by the knowledge of the apothecary and the seeming magic of the village wise woman.  Although I've always had an interest, I started studying the herbs in earnest nearly two years ago when I was doing a lot of soul searching to get out of my horrible job.  Lots of reading and researching ensued in addition to concocting, growing, and just getting to know the plants.  As any herbalist will tell you, we never stop learning but I do feel like I'm at a place where I can start sharing what I know about herbs.  After all, herbalism is the people's medicine.

In the future, I hope to share with you simple ways of incorporating herbs in your every day life; not just as remedies but also as nourishment.  I will share some plant profiles with you as well as recipes and projects that you can do with them.  I'll continue to share with you what I learn about growing herbs as we continue the raised garden bed project.  But also, I want to hear from you.  Herbalism is the people's medicine and we should be able to share our knowledge in this community.

The shop is only in the beginning stages of herbal goodness right now.  So far, there are a few different kinds of soap listed in my Artfire and Etsy shops.  I've been testing different recipes on myself and others for months now and have had my testers asking me to start listing it.  Once I get through the remainder of this stock, you will start to see a more unified size of soap, but this is what we have to start.

Coming soon, you will see salves including my sore muscle salve (with a new name!), sleep pillows, bulk herbs, incense, herb beads, and much more.

To celebrate the Apothecary, you'll see a new banner in my shops and the beginnings of a makeover here on the blog.  Also, once there are a few more items in the shops, I'll be hosting a giveaway of herbal products.  You don't want to miss this, so if you're not a follower yet, now's the time (Google Friend Connect and e-mail subscriptions are both available on the right side bar).

I'm so excited about this herbal journey that I'm on and look forward to sharing it with you!

My Disappearing Act

Wow, it has been way too long since I posted here and I have a lot to catch you up on!  To give you an idea of the last few months... Life was insane last year as I trained & fundraised for the 3 Day and then it took some time to get life back to normal afterward (after all of that, you kind of go into withdrawal for a little while!).  In December and January, not only was there the usual holiday craziness going on but I was also working a part time job on top of my hellish full time job (the tree was up with a topper & only one ornament).  Finally mid-January, I quit my full time job and, yes, it was a long time coming (it felt very surreal at first!).  Since then, I've continued to work my part time job as a framer at a popular craft store & I've also started working as a stagehand (which is new to me because I've always been management).  

I've been enjoying getting back to myself (it's amazing what a bad job can do to you) but also somewhat disconcerting.  I've never not had a full time job or a career that I've immersed myself into, so it has been an adjustment.  I must admit that I don't know what's next for me, but I took a big step just getting out and I'm sure I'll figure things out.  In the meantime, I'm enjoying working as a framer because I get to work with customers designing their custom order & I actually get to be crafty at work when I build the frames & assemble the orders.  Working as a stagehand has been great because it's allowing me to stay involved in theatre which is what I've done for more than a decade.  I really hate being stuck at a desk and this is far from it: I'm on my feet, working hands on building shows.  The first show I worked as a stagehand I was props but every show since then I've been an electrician.  I must admit: I'm really enjoying it.  =)

I've been spending a lot of time just getting things done around the house and also reorganizing & purging my workroom.  It's not exactly what I want it to be (that would cost more money than I can spare right now; lol)  but it's getting to a point where it's much easier to work in (and that IS the point afterall, isn't it?).   Along the same lines, I also have a little shop update...  I have some new maille that needs to be listed and new packaging!  I've also been taking steps to make the shop an armoury AND apothecary.  I must admit, my biggest stumbling block to making that happen is working on graphics, blog redesign, labels, etc.  Once I get that figured out, you can look forward to seeing soaps, salves, bulk herbs, teas, incense, and more!

We've also started tackling some house projects, too.  Among them, is dealing with our room that floods.  It hasn't been a problem since last summer, but we also haven't finished putting in a system to deal with it yet which means that all of the furniture & electronics are still in our living room (it hasn't been fun).  We have a plan in place and have taken baby steps already.  I can't wait to get going though for a few reasons.  First of all, I really can't wait to get things somewhat back to normal in the house.  Secondly, having this system in place will give both of us peace of mind.  And, last there a few yard projects that will go hand in hand with this.  One is replacing our fence; which desperately needs it.  The other, is a raised bed that Scott is going to build along the fence!  It's going to be filled with all kinds of beautiful, edible, & medicinal herbs!  There will probably be some shrubbery & flower plants in there, too, but I get a HUGE herb garden!  I haven't got a clue how to design one & I'm sure it's not going to happen overnight, but I'm really looking forward to this!!

So, it's been busy.  But I look forward to getting back into the groove of things.  I've missed it.  I hope things are going well for all of you and to hear from you!