Babies!

I love creating things from paper crafting to cooking to making my own powders, oils and soaps. I've found a couple of recipes that have worked well for me. One is Calendula baby oil . My first two children did not have much cradle cap, but my third and current baby has had it a lot. I have previously just taken some olive oil and added a few drops of lavender essential oil. That worked as it is the oil that softens the cradle cap. A while back I came across a recipe that uses calendula, which I love. Calendula is also called pot marigold or garden marigold. It is not the same as marigolds that are used as ornamental plants. Calendula is a great antiseptic herb. It can also be used in cooking. Some use it as an inexpensive substitute for saffron. There are many more uses for it. Check this page out for more information: Calendula.

The recipe is very easy. Just eight oz of olive oil and 1 ounce of calendula flowers. Put them together in a slow cooker on low for about four hours. Let the oil cool, strain the calendula. If you want to (I did), try adding 5-10 drops each of orange and lavender essential oil. Orange also has antiseptic properties and lavender is calming.

The recipe for baby powder that I have used for a couple of years now is found here: Organic baby powder. You will need some sort of grinder for this, as the lavender, calendula and orange peel (all dried) need to be ground into a fine powder. This powder is good for all ages (my brother says it works better than Gold Bond :D ).

Use 3 1/2 cups of corn starch (I prefer to use organic to avoid GMO corn); 1/3 cup dried lavender flowers, 1/3 cups dried calendula flowers and 1/3 cup dried orange peel (I save my peel from oranges that we eat and dry them). Grind the lavender, calendula and orange peel to a fine powder. Mix into corn starch. Easy!

I love knowing that the things I am using aren't full of harsh/harmful chemicals. These two recipes are some ways that I can accomplish that.