All Things Herbal Blog

Bird of Paradise

2012-02-24T17:27:00.002-08:00

I have the most wonderful surprise! Our Bird of Paradise is BLOOMING! Take a look-

Last night, right at midnight, I discovered these blooms. David was with me and he turned to me and said, "We better take a picture of it right now, it won't be here in the morning." It really seemed that magical!

I've had this plant for a few years, ever since our son spent a summer working at the Treehouse, a local garden center. One day after work, he arrived home with the back seat full of unwanted tropical plants. Brian, knowing that I love all things green, and himself, wanting to bring along something exotic for his dorm room that fall, knew we could take on these plants.

And if I'm counting back correctly, it's been four years now. Four long years of carefully and faithfully taking care of the Bird of Paradise and begging it to bloom. All summer I hope and am on the look out for flowers. I place it in full sunshine and made sure it has lots of water. With our Minnesota summers as humid as they have been the past few years, I've thought for sure that I would be able to coax it into blooming. But it never did. Until today, in the middle of February.

This plant has been and still is in our basement. Lots of other plants are down there too. All sharing the light from the patio doors and waiting till spring and the warm weather when I'll bring them outside again.

My kids tease me about this forest of green. But I just hate letting the plants go in the fall. I like to bring them into the house and give them a chance to make it though the winter. Most make it till spring, but not all. We're not down in the basement all that often and sometimes I forget to water things as often as I should. Plus, we've closed off all the heat vents for the winter.

That's why I was so shocked to see these gorgeous blooms. I could not have been more surprised. But, isn't that just like life, when you least expect it, that is when something wonderful happens. It's fantastic and magical and makes me so happy.

The only thing that could surprise me more is for our Banana Plant to produce fruit. Maybe I'll go take a look.

Christine Kennedy

simple ingredients, extraordinary benefits

http://www.allthingsherbal.com/

Herbal Gifts that say I Love You - Valentine's Day 2012

2012-02-01T16:18:00.000-08:00

It won't be long until Valentine's Day. It's almost here!

For many years now, Valentine's Day has held an extra special meaning for me as it was the day our son was born! Such a perfect expression of love. I've always looked forward to planning something special for him and our family. Here's a favorite photo from the past - I just couldn't resist that red velvet outfit! (but I will resist showing you the heart cake).

I still look forward to creating something special just to celebrate Valentine's Day! I get busy in the workshop and have fun with all the shades of pink and red (with some herbal green thrown in too), lots of ribbons, bows and specialty papers. This year I tried to make it all about something sweet and romantic.

Our Valentine soaps ~ now available for a limited time!

With peppermint essential oil and dried mint leaves, Peppermint Kisses is an invigorating experience for your skin and your senses. Treat a loved one to a Minty Kiss with this soap. It's even wrapped with a XXOO ribbon!

From The Heart Soaps ~ These "pretty in pink" clay beauties have sweet notes of citrus, neroli, orchid, jasmine blended together with earthy amber and musk.

A wonderful Valentine scent, perfect for the tea or latte lover. Vanilla Chai Herbal Soap is swirled it with cinnamon and spices, and the warm brown color comes from the vanilla. The extra cocoa butter in this bar is very moisturizing.

Something new this year - hearts inside of hearts. First, I made a small pink heart. Then, I made a second batch of soap and nestled the first heart inside of larger heart. A stunning blend of mimosa, florals, amber and vanilla. Absolutely precious smelling!

I love this photo. I took it outside a few weeks ago after a snowfall. Those are fresh snowflakes in front of the Sweet Chocolate Bar! If you love chocolate, you'll love this handmade soap. It's scrumptiously made with the irresistible richness of cocoa butter and chocolate. All of the wow with none of the guilt!

Sweet Rose Buds features pink kaolin clay, flecks of rose hips and a comforting essential oil blend reminiscent of a rose garden. This Valentine soap comes wrapped in a beautiful iridescent heart ribbon, all ready for gift giving.

Those are a few of my favorite handmade Valentine's Day gift ideas. For more ideas, check out our Valentine's Day Gifts page on our website.

Since Valentine’s Day represents love, why not pamper your lover, best friend, son, daughter or favorite aunt with some pure herbal decadence? The gift of handmade will be well enjoyed by the one you hold dear!

Christine Kennedy
simple ingredients, extraordinary benefitshttp://www.allthingsherbal.com/

Fighting Colds ~ The Natural and Relaxing Way!

2012-01-24T05:34:00.000-08:00

Its officially cold season.

Anyone in your family have a sore throat and stuffy nose duo? Here's my favorite trick for quick relief.

Bathe. I love nothing more than a hot bath when I am sick. There’s nothing like getting toasty in the bath and breathing in some essential oils to make you feel like you’re conquering that pesky cold. So, draw a hot bath, sprinkle in a scoop of our Aromatherapy Bath Salts and let them work their cold season magic. It’s best to start with a small amount, you can always add more.

Relax. Take deep breaths and feel your stuffy head start to lighten up. You are taking advantage of the steam in your bath to help carry the therapeutic essential oils of eucalyptus, rosemary, peppermint, spearmint and tea tree to your stuffy nose and lungs. I've spent years perfecting my Cold & Sinus - Breathe Ease bath salts. The essential oil blend, powdered herbs of rosemary and chamomile, along with sea salt, oatmeal and baking soda, all work together to improve respiration, fight bacteria, and ease aches and pains from a cold or flu. Other products that may help you breathe easier and feel better naturally, can be found online in our Cold Care Colllection. Here's to feeling better faster!

Christine Kennedy
simple ingredients, extraordinary benefits
http://www.allthingsherbal.com/

Winter Weddings

2012-01-15T06:48:00.000-08:00

In the chilly month of January, what's nicer than looking forward to a wedding? January is a time many of us envision ourselves snuggled in a warm cocoon of fuzziness with hot chocolate and a good book. Preferably next to a crackling fire.

Anticipating an event so joyous as a wedding was a little like comfort food for the soul for me, this past weekend. With hope for the first real snowfall of the season, it was still a quintessential Minnesota winter wedding. Here's a peek at what we gave, a gift basket filled with Minnesota handmade goodies. The wine and glasses are from Northern Vineyards located in Stillwater, MN. I was so happy when I found these because I knew they would be perfect to nestle alongside our Minnesota Ladyslipper Soap.

On the other end of the spectrum is a January wedding on a tropical beach. Imagine a wedding on Waimanalo Beach in Hawaii! Shown below are a few photos of the lip balms, soaps, and lotions we created especially for Hannah & John and their Hawaiian Wedding.

Although Hannah has been living in Phoenix for a while, she's originally from Minnesota. Her favorite soap from All Things Herbal is our Lakeshore Waves bar. With a wave logo sent from Hannah, we were able to create a custom label to go with her favorite scent. To help Hannah & John welcome and pamper their wedding guests, we made sets of soaps, lotions, and lip balms for them to put in hospitality baskets in each of the cabins along Waimanalo Beach.

Imagine sand under your feet instead of snow! Winter weddings ~ magical either way. If you'd like to see more custom wedding and shower soaps I've designed in the past, check them out here.

Christine Kennedy

simple ingredients, extraordinary benefits

http://www.allthingsherbal.com/

A New Year ~ A New Herbal Journey

2012-01-05T17:41:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the All Things Herbal Blog! This year, my New Year's resolution was to start a blog as a companion to our website, AllThingsHerbal.com.

The start of a new year does have a way of giving us a kick in the pants, doesn't it? It can give us a fresh start to begin a new project, drop an unwanted habit or the motivation to restart a tradition that fell by the wayside. I'm no exception to this yearly desire. I've been thinking about doing this for quite a while now. The motivation for me came from our daughter, Colleen. She's this wondrous blend of encouraging and demanding. Home from school on Christmas break, she took the time to set up the backbone of this blog. This morning, on her way out the door with friends, she told me that there better be a posting when she gets back!

Too, this year marks our fourteen year milestone in business for my husband David and I. So, to honor the years of toil, sweat and tears (no blood, that I can remember!) as well as the many rewards and deep satisfaction of creating a meaningful business, let's begin this blogging journey together.

I'll share new ideas and products as I work on them and offer a glimpse into my life as a soapmaker. This will also be the perfect place to share skin care recipes, post insider information about new products, specials, contests and let you know about the festivals we'll be attending.

Christine Kennedy

simple ingredients, extraordinary benefits
http://www.allthingsherbal.com/