Thursday, March 23, 2017

Lip Balm and someone is in trouble.......



My lovely friend Deborah at Araignee's Tangled Web makes the most wonderful soap and lotion bars.  I have a few here at my house and they are gorgeous.  Well a while back she wrote on her blog that she also makes lip balm.  Really?  I mean I LOVE lip balm.  I am actually a lip balm freak.  See these are the things you don't know about me.  She most graciously had a tutorial on her blog about how to make this wonderful lip balm, you can find the link here.  As soon as I saw her post I went to the online store that Deb orders her supplies from which you can find at Wholesale Supplies Plus.  I ordered Shea Butter, Candelilla Wax, Beeswax, mica for color and 12 little containers for the balm.  My supplies arrived really fast, actually getting to my house on Tuesday.  I was way too busy with paperwork on Tuesday, and working on Wednesday to make my balm, but I had time today.


I printed out the directions from Deb's post and got busy.  Can I tell you that this was just the easiest thing imaginable?  Now that is not to say I did things perfectly, I did not but it was still so much fun.  I used Shea Butter instead of the Almond Butter suggested by Debbie.  I was afraid the almond butter would have a flavor, silly I know.  I heated up my ingredients, melting it slowly in a jar that was in a pan of heated water.  I added a few drops of vanilla and a tiny bit of pink mica.  I poured it into my six little containers and watched it harden.  I tell you I was so excited.


It looks so pink here in its liquid stage but it really wasn't pink at all.  I pored a bit out of each container to fill up number six and make them all even.  Well that just left a rim of balm around the edges that I did not like at all.  


Above you can see the rim forming as the balm solidifies.   Besides my lip balm and toilet paper obsession I have to admit I am a bit obsessive to get things right.  I HATE to be wrong, just ask my sister.  And when I feel like I can do better I obsess until I do it again.  I went to pick up Little Buddy at school, more of that story in a bit, came home took the balm out of the containers and remelted it.  This time I added about 10 drops of  100%  pure peppermint essential oil, a few drops of pure vanilla, and about 1/2 teaspoon of agave to give it a sweeter flavor.  I put in more mica, this time red the other color I ordered, and heated it all back up again.


Look it is done!  I am loving the way it looks and the red gives your lips just the faintest, faintest hint of color.  I should have added more color but live and learn.  I am not going to make another batch until this is gone, I am making myself behave.  Yet all I want to do it make lip balm now.  Maybe if I give it all away I can make more tomorrow!  I need to order more containers, how about little metal tins next time, and some flavored oils.  I see a watermelon mint lip balm in my future.  Please visit Araignee's Tangled Web to see the tutorial on making lip balm, and to see her weaving, knitting, soap making, cross stitch, spinning, I know it sort of makes me crazy how good she is at everything.

As for Little Buddy, well he is in the dog house.  Never a good thing when you arrive at school and the teacher takes you aside and says she had trouble today.  Apparently my darling was ramming the boy ahead of him in line with his walker.  And after being told to stop, he did not.  He had to sit by himself at lunch as he was doing this on the way to the cafeteria and again on the way back to the class.  He missed 5 minutes of playground time, too.  When I asked him what happened he covered his mouth and told me he was not talking, and then growled at me because he was mad!  So he is napping and I think I have sprouted a few more gray hairs.  This boy makes me laugh and infuriates me all at the sametime.  Typical little boy.  And as the saying goes, Thank God He Is Cute!

35 comments:

Mylittlepieceofengland said...

What a lovely idea for a gift, though like you I rather like lip balm myself, I keep one downstairs, one by my bed, one in my handbag and I probably have various others dotted about xx

CJ said...

Oh dear, boys are always up to something aren't they. I hope he is talking again soon! Love the lip balm. I'm addicted to lip balm, I have one in EVERY ONE of my pockets and bags. Can't function without it. Hope you have a good weekend. CJ xx

Between Me and You said...

Boys will be boys. My youngest just commented on his cousin's FB page that he'd like to send his Mother to NZ, on a one way ticket!(I think he was only joking!). Suits me, I said, though I'd probably have to pay for it myself!!I love your lip balm. You've given me an idea. I spend a fortune on lip balms too!

Bridget said...

Clearly Little Buddy is having a moment.

Oh I love your lip balm! It's so pretty, and I'm glad you got it to work. :-)

gigi knits said...

Boys will be boys . No matter their ages .

Betsy said...

I have lip balm's everywhere in the house and both the cars, in my purse, probably dozens of them. I would love to try making my own. I had to laugh at your little guy. Boys! It's so hard to discipline them sometimes because they're so cute, even when you know it's the right thing to do. Thanks for sharing with us today Meredith. And thank you for your comment on my blog. At my appointment today the physical therapist took two of the exercises away again. He said my muscles are just not ready for it yet. But I am enjoying walking. Thank you for your care and concern. I am blessed.
Betsy

Araignee said...

You are so funny! Now you know why I obsess over my little potions. It's so addicting to get them just right. I play with ingredients all the time looking for the perfect recipe. I like your idea of color. I am going to have to try that next time. Goodness knows I have plenty of mica here.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes little boys just don't KNOW why they do what they do.

Sometimes HUSBANDS are the very same way! Hope Little B has a better day tomorrow.

The lip balm looks very good. Have fun wearing your own good stuff!!!

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Oh those boy moments. Tiger will not talk about it when he gets in trouble, he will say not now Grandma. As you say, Thank goodness they are cute!

Love the lip balm. I always have to have some with me but can't stand any flavor or sting to it.

Andrea Ostapovitch said...

Oh my, that lip balm looks luscious! Poor little buddy, but we all have to test our boundaries don't we? Even, it seems, when we already kind of know what's going to happen, as though we need to be reminded.
My little Monkey got into trouble today too. He likes to very sneakily get out of homework, and he caught by his piano teacher today. This resulted in a nice long speech and he got grounded from the computer. He really is such a wonderful little guy, I hate to do it, but again, we need reminding sometimes.
I do hope you enjoy the rest of your week and weekend and get plenty of time to make more lip balm. I will be looking into that recipe as I have recently inherited a ton of bees wax!
All my best,
Andrea

Rose said...

I love your lip balms! I know how you feel, because when I made candles with my daughter, I had so much fun! Thanks for sharing!

mynestofyarnandbuttons said...

What a fun post Meredith, love the lip balm. The color is great and I hope you like the favor and smell. Sounds yummy! Oh that LB such a little boy! Thank goodness he is adorable.
xoxoRobn

Teresa Kasner said...

Ohhh.. I loved seeing your lip balm making. I also love to make practical things, like my rolled beeswax candles and such. I also love lip balm so I might have to look into trying this. I got a kick out of hearing about little mister's misbehaving today. I hope he decides not to do that again! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Delighted Hands said...

I loved hearing about your lip balm adventures! It sounds wonderful! (Now you know why Deb gives so much away-then she can make more! lol)
School adventures are always a challenge while we laugh on the inside and have to keep our 'teacher' face on the outside!

bittenbyknittin said...

What an imp Little Buddy is! Sometimes I feel like ramming people in line and growling when I'm mad, too.

A local woman who makes lotion bars changed her formula and it's not as healing anymore. One of the missing ingredients is caster oil, which I find is great all by itself for cracked heels.

Lorrie said...

Your lip balms are so pretty. I use lip balm a LOT!

Poor little buddy - we all have our grumpish days.

Grandmabeckyl.blogspot said...

Hopefully it's just a "phase" that Buddy is going through and he'll be nice again?! Making lip balm sounds interesting and I'm sure it tastes good and feels good on the lips. Nice thing to give away as gifts. Not alot of people making that. Yet! Happy week!

Anonymous said...

Your lip balm looks so sweet, I never use it but on your pictures it looks so beautiful that I'm tempted to try it on. :-)
About Little B... there must be a reason that he was doing that.
Although boys (and girls!) sometimes just misbehave for no reason.
But perhaps he was frustrated about something, or maybe the other kids weren't nice to him, or perhaps he was not feeling very well...
Poor thing, reading more and more about him on your blog makes me want to protect him against the big bad world <3
Hope this phase passes quickly for you.
Take care, Sigrid

Christina said...

Oh yes, lip balm, I have been making this, too. Not for a while now and I hope that I can think of anything else today, now that I have read your post. Your little pots are so sweet!

Little boys eh? They are but trouble... but we love them so. Have a wonderful weekend xx

Jo said...

Oh dear, I'm sorry but I did have a little chuckle at Little Buddy covering his mouth so he didn't have to answer you, yes, he's a typical little boy, bless him. The lip balm looks wonderful, I think you should give it all away as gifts as I'm sure anyone would love to receive one and then you can get on and make some more!

Vera said...

Your lip balm looks great! Scrumptious!

Ahhh, Little Buddy - he is an independent fella isn't he? I would bet he might have had a reason for acting the way he did.....even if his actions were inappropriate. Hope his day is better today.

AnnieOBTextiles said...

I love your lip balm. It is something I often forget and then wonder why my lips are chapped and cracked. I had to giggle about Little Buddy and although I'm sure you would prefer him to behave well at least he has spirit which will no doubt serve him well in the future!

kathy b said...

At first I thought Lil B got into the lip balm. I expected to see him in a photo with cherry red lip gloss on his lips and cheeks. :) He has the perfect mother. You'll handle this . No doubt!

Love that you are excited about the lip balm making. Deb does an amazing job !!

The Well Fed Wheel said...

Making lip balm is just the coolest thing! I can't wait to try it too. When I saw the cute little jars I was all in. ;-) As for Little B...well let's just say I couldn't have held a straight face let alone practiced any discepline. He's just so darn cute! Sounds like he is a typical little boy too. LOL

Melanie said...

I love lip balm, too! Although I like mine in the stick form, not the tub. My mom used to have a business where she made (and sold) all-natural lye soaps, lotions and cremes, and lip balms. My favorite lip balm right now is the Burt's Bees tinted ones. Yes, I am too lazy to make them myself. ;-)

Uh oh on Little Buddy, but it sounds like he was having a bad day. Maybe soon he will feel like telling you about it. {{hugs}}

Karen said...

Making lip balm would be a fun hobby to do, not that I need another one, but I can imagine all the cute little containers you could use. I had to laugh at your Little Buddy story, him not wanting to talk about it! Yep, he's a cutie.

Lisa said...

The lip balm looks amazing. I want to make some too. It would be a fun project to do with my daughter. I know little buddy's behavior is not ideal. Good luck with your disciplining of him, I'd have such a hard time not smiling. He's too cute!

Judy S. said...

You are amazing, Mere! When do you have time to do all that you do? And now you are delving into lip balm making. Looks like you were very successful, too! Hope LB is back in your good graces again by now. He is a cutie for sure.

kristieinbc said...

I know I shouldn't have, but I laughed at Little Buddy's antics. Having raised three sons myself I agree. Typical little boy.

I'm almost afraid to click on the lip balm link. I don't need another hobby, or craft, or project to complete. Really, I don't. :-)

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

I'm impressed. I'd love to make homemade products but very hard to get the right ingredients here. As for Little B, little boys can't be perfect all the time, now can they? :)

Needles and Wool said...

Nice lip balms! they look very professional. It is fun to learn new things and making something we can use often like lip balm is so useful! aw that is kind of cute that Buddy was having a day like that, we all get in moods sometimes. He sure is cute!

Jo said...

I would be excited too. What a great little project. Now, I know you, you will be making them for everybody - teachers, therapists etc. take it easy. Jo x

Tanna said...

Isn't it wonderful to find a new passion?! Your second attempt turned out beautifully! Not sure what was up with Little Buddy ramming the guy in front. Maybe he had a reason. Maybe he was just being a boy. LOL! With our two grandsons, I've see a lot of that! Ha! Mischievous! And, so wonderful! Have a great week, Meredith. blessings ~ tanna

Jodiebodie said...

The lip balm idea is great. Coincidentally, I saw in my travels last week someone selling lip balm but was marketing it "for men". So lip balm does not need to be associated with women's lipstick amd make-up because men get dried cracked lips too! Your idea for metal containers might be especially attractive to masculine recipients. ;-)

Little Buddy and his walker! My goodness! There comes a time when all school children experiment with the social dynamics. Some of it is the discovery of autonomy and personal power and seeing how far they can exert it. Whether it is little girls trying manipulative language or little boys being boisterous, I suspect it is all a normal part of learning and cognitive development.

I'm sure all of us who have youngsters in our lives will be able to identify times where they just wanted to 'push the boundaries' and those phases usually coincide with a new stage of development and the need to have their sense of security reassured. How to balance the infuration and discipline with love and comfort is another thing! :-)

I love how you can keep your sense of humour during trying times.
Hugs xx

linda said...

I love lip balm too, my daughter makes it all the time and keeps me supplied. :) xx