Last year we cancelled our Simple Living Toowoomba workshops in March after COVID-19 reached our Aussie shores. So we were very excited to be able to resume them this year and today we started off 2021 with an excellent one which was presented by Racheal from Birdsong Market Garden who showed us how to make an array of homemade cleaning products as well as personal products.
Due to COVID restrictions we had to cap our numbers at 30 and, at one stage, we had 29 people booked in but there are always cancellations or people are ill or just don't turn up, so we ended up with 24 attendees which was a good number for our first workshop.
Racheal started off with teaching us how to make our own sunblock. This is how the ingredients started off as the Almond Oil, Coconut Oil, Beeswax and Shea Butter were put into a saucepan to melt.
This does take a little while so she then moved on to making other products like washing powder, insect repellant spray, boot/leather polish etc. Did you know you could buy Bicarb Soda in bulk and it can be turned into washing soda? Here are the instructions.
Here is the finished product which is well worth the time and effort and will last quite a while. You can find the recipe below which I have copied from the Simple Living Toowoomba blog but you can find the rest of the recipes here.
DIY Sunblock
1/2 Cup Almond or Olive Oil (Natural SPF 5)
1/4 Cup Coconut Oil (Natural SPF 4-6)
1/4 Cup Beeswax
2 Tbsp Zinc Oxide Powder (Natural SPF 2-20 depending on quantity)
2 Tbsp Shea butter (SPF 4-6)
Essential oils (not citrus based!) for scent
- Combine almond oil, coconut oil, beeswax and shea butter in a glass jar. NOTE the jar you use will never be the same after creating and oil/zinc oxide concoction in it, so choose something you are happy to no longer use for other purposes!).
- Pour 2-3 inches of water in a small saucepan then line the base with a dishcloth or washer. This is to prevent rattling of the jar which could potentially break the jar.
- Put your jar into the water and allow the mixture to melt over a medium heat on your stove. Having the lid sit loosely on the jar helps speed the process.
- When your ingredients are completely melted, you can mix in the zinc oxide and optional essential oils. The zinc oxide needs a thorough mixing to incorporate properly.
- Once thoroughly mixed, transfer to desired storage container. Glass is best if you’ve used essential oils. Old Avon jars are very handy for this. Or old salsa jars. It is also possible to buy silicone squeeze bottles if you’d rather not have your blend in glass.
There were some very interesting swap/giveaway items as well today and I came home with the beautiful bunting Neralie and Valda made for our Bunting Workshop last year as well as...
... this tote bag made from recycled plastic bags which I believe is called 'Plarn'. There is a lot of work in this bag. If you are interested in seeing a Plarn Bed Roll made just click on the link. There are other YouTube videos available as well on how to make Plarn.
Our next workshop will be a sewing one presented by Valda and Neralie who are the most interesting presenters and always have lot of tips for us. They will be showing how to insert all kinds of zips as a lot of people seem to have problems with them for some reason. Like a lot of my friends, I used to sew my own clothes when I was a teenager so inserting zips was just part of the process that didn't faze us at all but now it seems to be an issue for some reason. Anyway, these two sisters will sort out any problems anyone has as they are very capable.
Our workshops are being held on the second Saturday of the month this year so if you live in our region or are visiting our area then do come along if you would like to. Hopefully we won't have to go into lockdown which is currently happening in Victoria once again if there is a COVID outbreak. Here in Queensland life is pretty much going along as normal apart from a few restrictions unlike in Victoria and overseas countries.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Great that the in person workshops can take place again...interesting that you can make the washing soda out of bi-carb...I think with having the oven on for an hour I'd just buy it already made from Bunnings however it's interesting to know it can be made. Have a great week. Kathy
ReplyDeleteKathy, our presenter has a big family and buys bicarb soda in bulk.She is very frugal so probably works around the electricity issue. I would probably do the same as you though.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting that the ingredients contain their own inherent spf in small amounts. I'd love to try her recipe sometime. The plarn market bag is really nice. I made one a few years ago and it has held up wonderfully. It always gets noticed at the grocery store check-out ;) Mine's not as pretty/brightly-colored as yours, though.
ReplyDeleteStay well~
Mary in San Diego
Mary, I think making Plarn would be a good subject for a future workshop. It is a great way to recycle plastic bags.
DeleteFunny thing I was wondering about if it was possible to make sunblock this week. Problem solved. Thank you
ReplyDeleteGlad to be of help, Bernie.
DeleteIt must be wonderful to resume your workshops Chel, and this one looks really interesting. I wish I could attend the one on zips! I bought all of the ingredients to make my own washing powder the other day, Rhonda's recipe,which you would know, including Lux soap flakes, and then I was worried that perhaps it wouldn't suit a front loader machine. I dreaded the thought of soap suds everywhere. Do you know if it is ok for a front loader, or is there another recipe that you know of for front loaders? Thanks so much, Hope you are well, Pauline
ReplyDeletePauline, I just checked Rhonda's book and she said the both her powder and liquid recipes are suitable for both types of washine machines.
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