Hello beautiful people!

It is that time of year again. No not spring cleaning but fall feathering of the nest. As the days get cooler I feel it's a good idea to clean things out and prepare my home for the extra time I'm going to spend cocooning in it over the winter months. It's a time when all those little places that may get forgotten or missed during the business of summer get a once over and refreshed.

Essential oils and natural products are great for this. As we close up our house for the winter, we'll want to be sure we're using natural cleansers and scents that will not only clean things but actually support out health.

Here is a really great all purpose, natural cleaner you can easily make at home. I've been using it for years, for everything! Don't forget that most essential oils are also anti-bacterial and have a profound affect on our emotional health as well. Feel free to make your own blend. In the recipe I've included my favorite but I'll suggest a few more as well.

The Recipe
What you need:
A clean spray bottle
2 tablespoons liquid soap (preferably natural castile soap like Soap Works or Dr. Bronners)
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 cups warm water
essential oils (4 drops patchouli, 4 drops orange, 2 drops peppermint)

What you do:
Put all ingredients into your spray bottle, shake before use. Spray on, wipe off. Breath deep, it's all natural!

Other blends you might like:
A-5 drops eucalyptus or tea tree with 5 drops lemon
B-5 drops lavender 5 drops chamomile
C-4 drops orange, 3 drops tea tree, 3 drops cinnamon

Have you tried this recipe? Let us know what you think. Do you love mdm products? Let us know by emailing your story to bonnie@mainsdemariposa (dot) com and as a thank you we'll enter you into the monthly draw for a great product gift pack!

When it comes to beauty products one of the most amazing products I've ever used is body polish. It's a busy girls best friend. A major multi-tasker and you get quite the bang for your buck. Everything a Beauty loves.

A body polish is basically something that will exfoliate your skin and moisturize at the same time. It removes dead skin cells to reveal the bright healthy skin layer below. It usually contains some type of oil to hydrate the skin as you rub it in. By sheer virtue of how you have to scrub it in, it increases circulation,helping to aid in detoxing of the skin. (Detoxing can = less cellulite btw.) Wow! What more can you ask out of one product! Add some well chosen essential oils and you've just boosted the power of your polish!

No matter how many times I use my body polish I'm always amazed at how wonderfully soft and glowing my skin is after. It's the quickest, easiest way I know to raise the health of my skin with almost no effort at all. It's great to moisturize our face everyday but nothing makes you feel more like a Goddess than having baby soft skin... everywhere.
This holiday season mains de mariposa will be releasing the first in the line of all natural body scrubs. The main ingredient in our body polish is organic cane sugar. Sugar contains natural alphahydroxy acids. These help to chemically remove dead skin cells while the scrubbing action will physically remove them. Again, what a multi-tasker! Cane sugar was also chosen over salt. This way you can feel free to shave and then finish off with your body polish without the worry of getting salt scrubbed into any tiny cuts or nicks the razor may leave.

The mdm body polish also contains sunflower oil which is high in vitamin E. It is easily absorbed by the skin but doesn't leave you feeling like a french fry. Just a touchable, dewy glow. Specially chosen essential oils elevate the entire experience making every shower like a trip to the spa.

For those of you who are DIY Beauties, here's a great recipe to try at home!

Simple Scrub Recipe

What you need:
1 container (even an old yogurt or sour cream container will do)
2 parts sugar (or salt)
1 part oil (any oil will do but keep the 'french fry' factor in mind)
a few drops essential oil (optional)

What you do:
Mix everything together.
When you're done your shower, turn off the water.
Using small amounts rub the mixture over your body, starting at the feet and moving towards the heart.
Turn the shower back on and rinse off.
Gently pat dry.
Glow like a Goddess!

Use this scrub every 2 to 3 days, a little less if you have sensitive skin.

Don't forget to scrub your hands with it while you're in the shower. You'd be amazed at how far this will go to keeping your hands looking great!

Have you tried this? Have you tried mdm's body polish? Let us know what you think. Do you love mdm's body polish? Let us know why and how it worked for you. Email your story to bonnie@mainsdemariposa dot com and as a thank you we'll enter you in the monthly draw for great mdm products!

It's no secret to my clients, customers or readers that I'm always reading labels and analyzing what goes in my body. Recently I've been searching for nutritious teas. Yes, water is important but if I'm going to drink, maybe there's a way to get even more out of that drink. Part of being a babe and accomplishing, what appears to others as super human, is really just being organized and getting more done with less effort. Rooibos tea helps us do that.

Green tea has exploded in popularity over the last few years because of it's health benefits. But what if you want to (and I strongly suggest you do) avoid the stimulating affects? More about that soon in another post. A while back I suffered from adrenal exhaustion and now, anything stimulating, eventually just makes me very tired. Herbal teas are fine but I like a tea with a bit of body, that's earthy, complex and, if I can help it, with no "flavours" added.

Enter red rooibos tea.

Rooibos is an Afrikaans word meaning 'red bush'. Rooibos tea is not really a tea, in that it doesn't come from THE tea plant (Camellia sinensis). It is however, made from leaves and stems of Aspalathus linearis. The oxidization of these leaves gives it it's red colour. In this case oxidization is not a bad thing. In fact Rooibos tea is full of anti-oxidants! Not quite as many as green tea, but close and remember, there are no stimulating effects what so ever! (Check out the Adrenal Fatigue post coming soon to learn why babes do not want to drink stimulants).

Okay so we have our flavonoids for anti-oxidants. Great. It's got a one up on water. But studies have also shown that it is also anti-inflammatory and helps prevent DNA damage. Wow. Not bad for a little cup of tea. For more scientific information on Red Rooibos benefits check The Inhuman Experiment blog.

Red Rooibos is a mild tasting tea and contains no tannins. Tannins are the part of tea (Camellia sinensis) that makes it taste bitter if you let it steep too long. I love Rooibos because you can leave it in while you drink and you don't have to worry about the steeping time! One less thing to worry about is a bonus in my book!

Some people claim that it's very high in vitamin C and minerals but I haven't found enough evidence to believe this. Let's stick to our green leafy vegetables for that shall we?

If you're just switching to tea and drinking less of other beverages I have a great all natural iced tea recipe for you. Our family loves this so much that we actually don't make it too often. When we do we just drink it until it's gone! But it's a great way to start drinking tea. Eventually changing the ratio to have more tea and less juice.

So, if you're going to drink something, why not drink something with heaps of flavonoids, no tannins and absolutely no caffeine? Why not Red Rooibos? Try is as part of the All Natural Iced Tea Recipe and let me know what you think.

Be well,
Bonnie

As part of Bootcamp, Beautiful people are drinking more tea. They're making the choice to drink more nutritious beverages. Here is an easy recipe to help adjust to drinking tea and get you away from juice and pop. It's also a great substitute for juice for the little ones. Try making it with Red Rooibos tea (see below for the benefits of Rooibos tea) for great anti-oxidants and no caffeine so everyone can drink it! Slowly start to increase the amount of tea and decrease the amount of juice until your taste buds adjust.

Recipe
What you need:
4 tea bags of Red Rooibos (or other herbal) tea
teapot or pot
4 cups (1L) unsweetened apple juice
1 tablespoon grated/minced ginger root
4 cups boiling water
1/2 of a lemon, sliced
Large jug or pitcher
ice cubes (optional)

What to do:
Prepare your 4 teabags with the boiling water either in the teapot or regular pot with the lid on and let cool.
Meanwhile combine the other ingredients in the jug or pitcher.
When the tea is cool, add it to the pitcher and stir.
Add the ice cubes if using.
Enjoy!

Notes: our family uses only 2 cups of apple juice now and replaces the other two with water. As you get used to it you may find that 4 cups makes it too sweet. Adjust to taste.


Have you tried this recipe? Let us know what you think!

We were so pleased to receive this lovely email from a beautiful mom in Ottawa, Ontario, we just had to share it. Thanks S.B! A great gift set from mdm is being prepared for you!

Hi Bonnie,

We met a few weeks ago at the Carp Garlic Festival (I'm the triplet mom!)

In any case, for the Light Facial Moisturizer, I'd like to share that I use this daily in the morning as a refreshing spritz that really gets me going! My sensitive skin feels soft and moisturized immediately. I use it again to set my make-up after application, which gives my skin a fresh, dewy look. Another spritz finishes my day - it absorbs so quickly, and I don't have to rub it in. Fast, effective and easy! Following a suggestion from Bonnie, I also use it to tame my frizzy hair on humid days. The moisturizer is not greasy and doesn't weight my hair down. Rather, it leaves a little bit of shimmer and excellent frizz control! I love the versatility of this product.

For the Healing Cream with Calendula, I'd like to share that I use this daily before bed as a soothing salve for my face and hands. It isn't heavy or greasy, and rubs into my skin within seconds, leaving a light, citrusy scent. When I was pregnant, I used it on my belly every night. It was part of a special ritual that I found relaxing and very helpful in relieving my dry, stretched skin. Once my babies were born, I've used it to control eczema and diaper rash. It really is my go-to cream for everything! After my post-partum doula saw how effective it was in managing eczema, she got some herself and recommended it to other friends and clients. I personally think there's no better testimonial than that!

And neither do we! Thanks S,B.

Do you love mdm products too? Let us know by emailing your story to bonnie@mainsdemariposa and to thank you, you'll be entered into the monthly draw for a great mdm gift pack!

When I mention the Oil Cleansing Method or OCM as it's known, most people screw up their faces and say "What? Wash my face with oil?" Most in disbelief, some in terror. The OCM is one of the best ways to cleanse your face, save money and, in the end, save time, that I've ever found.

The way this works is this: The dirt on your face is stuck there because of the oil in your skin. It comes in contact with your face, sticks to the oil and accumulates (or we put it there on purpose in the form of make-up). We don't want to strip the oil, we simply want to remove the excess that's trapped the dirt. Oil, can do this. Add clean oil, to old dirty oil and you dissolve the old oil washing away the dirt.

I can see you still don't believe me.

I'm not here to convince you. You'll just have to trust me on this one. But there are a few points to remember. Your skin needs oil. It is part of what makes it glow! Pimples and blemishes are not by-products of oil in and of itself. There are many factors that contribute to them. Secondly, not all oils are created equal.


Why it Works
The magic ingredient in the OCM is castor oil.
Castor oil is quite thick and sticky. It has been used for ages to draw out impurities and it can be drying. Don't believe me? Try this method using only castor oil and you'll be amazed how tight and dry your face feels! You can usually find castor oil at health food stores or at the pharmacy in the section with epson salts, glycerine, mineral oil and the like.

The second ingredient in the OCM is usually EVO (Extra Virgin Olive oil).
This provides moisture and lubrication to dissolve the dirty oil. You can use almost any oil you have on hand though in a pinch.

You can vary the amounts of the two oils to customize your blend. Start with the recommended tsp of each. If you find it leaves your face a little too oily, add more castor oil. If it's a little too drying add a little more of the other oil you've chosen. Just be sure as with all DIY formulas you create, to write it down so you can reproduce it! Once you've found your magic match, you can make up a larger batch.

The final magic ingredient is hot water. Not so hot you burn yourself. Don't use the kettle or the microwave. Just use hot/very warm tap water. The heat from the water will help to open up the pores and dislodge the dirt as well. I love the feeling of the warmth on my face. It's like a mini facial, a mini getaway I can do every day. Don't underestimate the power of these mini moments!

The Recipe

What you need:
Castor Oil
Other Oil - Extra Virgin Olive oil is recommended
Face cloth
Hot tap water

What you do:
1-Mix together 1 tsp castor oil and 1 tsp Olive oil

2-Get the tap water hot. Not boiling but as hot as is comfortable.Hotter is not necessarily better.

3-Put the face cloth in the water

4-Apply a generous amount of the oil mixture to your face and massage in well. Massaging also helps increase circulation. Increased circulation brings oxygen to the cells and helps your skin look (and function) better.

5-Wring out the water from the face cloth lay your head back and drape it over your face.

6-Relax for a few seconds until the cloth is cool. For me this is anywhere from 5-15 seconds.

7-Repeat steps 5-6 as many times as you like (at least twice)

8-Use the face cloth to wipe away the oil (and dirt).

9-Glow!


Have you tried this? Let us know what you think!

Don't forget to also stop by the website. Let us know why you like mains de mariposa product, how they worked for you and why and you will be entered into our monthly draw for great mdm gifts!

Don't forget: you can read the interactive version of our blogg at mainsdemariposa.blogspot.com

These are exciting times for mains de mariposa. After a hiatus of almost a year, our transformation is almost complete. This holiday season you'll begin to notice the changes.

New Packaging!
We've kept the same great recyclable tubes you love but reduced the packaging.
They contain the same amount but less over all packaging.
We've got spiffy new labels thanks to Sarah Marshall at marshall design and editing (Ottawa, 613-828-2794).
We've even started adding bar codes!

New Website!
The same simple address www.mainsdemariposa.com but with a whole load of features to come.
Right now you can check out where we'll be at the craft shows and check out our 2012 workshop series.
Soon we'll be adding our on-line catalog and shopping cart!

New Products!
You've been asking for it and it's almost ready. A great, new, luxurious night cream!
This holiday season we'll also debut our deep cleansing, detox facial mask!
We now also have lily of the valley bath hearts!
Watch for our line of bar soaps coming in 2012 as well!
We will also be offering collapsible metal tubes (such as ours) for wholesale to small businesses!

More Gifts!
We love making people happy!
Send us an email letting us know how much you love the products and why and your name will be entered in a draw for more great products! There's a draw every month!
send your email to bonnie@mainsdemariposa.com

Don't forget to stop by one of the great craft shows to stock up on products and presents! See you there beautiful people!

Time Management
Time management. Need I say more. The very phrase conjures up all kinds of images and yes even emotions, generally not so positive. There are however some simple tactics that you can weave into your everyday life to help it run a little more smoothly therefore opening up a little more time here and there. Little bits every now and then add up to some serious savings for quality time (not to mention energy) left at the end (or any time) of the day.

Now, just because something is simple does not necessarily mean it is easy. I dare say though, if you persevere until these simple suggestions become easy habit, you will find yourself effectively managing your time and therefore, your life!

#1 You gotta have goals

Everyday have a focus, a vision. When you have a goal in mind for the day you're more likely to be focused (and more likely to achieve it) than if you just go into your day scattered and hoping things will get done. Make sure that these goals are realistic and achievable. Set out a brief plan of action of how to achieve these goals and asses the plan for it's practicality (reality check). Perhaps you might not be able to do an hour and a half workout AND jog for an hour AND loose 10 pounds all in the same day while you do the groceries, supervise homework and bath time and make supper and do the laundry. BUT what you may be able to achieve is to make some wise food choices, a 15 minute walk on your lunch break, 20 minute walk after supper with the kids and a few sit ups and push ups in the bathroom before your shower. See how we can sneak it in there? Without using up a huge slot of time we've at least maintained a semblance of our goal. If we had stuck with our grandiose goal we would have been dissapointed and less likely to even consider fitness in the future. By setting goals we are also sending a message to our subconscious. Our subconscious really, really wants to help us. We simply need to send it clear messages. So set your morning goals. Make them realistic and stick to them. Then you won't just be wafting around in the evening trying to decided or being side tracked into other things and finding at bedtime that you really didn't get anything done.

#2 Plan Ahead
Do today what you CAN do today, to save time tomorrow. This one is pretty obvious but once you make it a habit it will pay off big time. Let's just skip right to some common examples.
Garbage day. Empty the bathroom garbage, the office etc. dead food in the fridge, sort the recycling the night before. Then in the morning you've just to take it to the curb. Better yet, have a system in place for sorting the recycling as you go then you've only to take it out!
Laundry. Separate the laundry as it comes off your back. Even a two compartment (or bag) system will save time. Whites in one, darks/colors in another.
Dishes. Wash them as you make them. Don't sit down to eat until the pots are washed. You'll wash them faster because you're hungry and then you won't dread it afterward.
House work. Break it up. One small thing a day. It takes me 15 minutes to wash the main floor. 30 seconds to wash the bathroom counter. One thing in the morning and one at night takes little time or effort and avoids a big cleaning day. (Therefore freeing up my Sunday for walks in the forest!)
Other tasks? If you know you're making cookies on Saturday make sure to have the recipe printed out and buy the ingredients with the regular groceries to save yourself alot of time and an extra trip to the store.

#3 Git 'er done!

Dad always said, "Don't think about it, just do it". Have you ever noticed how sitting and thinking about a job or task you don't want to do makes it that much harder to find the motivation? The more we think about it, the more our beautiful brains can come up with ways that it will be awful or difficult etc. This leads to procrastination, which in turn leads to a lot of time used up doing nothing or at best doing things that are really not that important to us leaving us with a sense of having wasted our time. The answer? Just do it. Identify those things that just never seem to get done, those things you dread doing. Is it laundry on Saturday morning? Maybe your workout? Or those never ending dishes? Make it a habit to just get it done. Unfinished chores zap our energy because they require attention to keep reminding ourselves that they're not done. One option is to get it done first thing in the morning before you even have time to come up with excuses. Dishes? Do them as you go, immediately. Then you don't have to dread them while you're eating or worse, all day at work. It takes only a few seconds more to wash as you go and will save you that whole experience, not to mention the time, later on.

#4 Never leave a room (or your car) empty handed

This was a tip I learned from my mother. Sometimes it seems like a "stuff" bomb explodes in our house or, yes I will admit, our car. Stuff just seems to collect in all the places except for where it should be. The answer? Never leave a room or your car without bringing something to it's proper place. How does it work? If you're going upstairs, make sure to bring at least one thing with you that should go up there. If you're leaving the living room to go to the kitchen and there is a glass in the living room, take it with you (and even better wash it). Odds and ends can trail all over eventually leading to a big task (which will take up time) of cleaning it up. If you take one thing each time you go it will never amount to the dreaded cleaning session.

#5 Stop "trying"

Last but not least, stop trying. As Yoda said "There is no try. There is do or not do." Trying means that you feel for some reason you should but you really don't want to. You therefore do not have the commitment and emotion behind the task to effectively carry it out and accomplish it. It will suck your energy and waste your time as you procrastinate. You will use a lot of energy and accomplish little. Evaluate those daily goals and tasks. Commit right now to either doing things or not and simply stop trying.


So to sum our new focus for managing our time and cutting out alot of wasted space:

You gotta have goals.
to achieve those goals
You gotta plan ahead
when you plan ahead you'll
Git 'er done!
To git 'er done
Never leave a room empty handed
and for heavens sake
Stop Trying!

The short answer? Yes.

Often people ask me "Why the borax? Isn't that what you use to clean things?" In a word, yes.

But, the reason borax cleans is because it is very alkaline (pH approx. 9). Borax is a natural mineral salt. It is found in places where lakes have formed seasonally because of heavy rains but then evaporated. After many years of this the salt accumulates and can be mined. Most borax (sodium borate) comes from Turkey, Chile, Tibet or from Boron, California. Though it is found naturally it can also be reproduced in the lab.

So why is it used in skin care products?

It is an emulsifier. It is generally found in creams where beeswax is used. Bees wax is not an emulsifier on it's own. When bees wax and borax are combined in the recipe, a reaction occurs similar to that of soap making and a true emulsifier is created. This is a very tricky process to master because it is not a guarantee as to how much emulsifier will be created with each reaction even if the amount of bees wax and borax remain constant.

It is a constant in all bath bomb recipes because without it they would not hold their shape and crumble. Trust me, without borax your bath bombs simply crumble into fizzing bath salts!

Now, I understand peoples' concern with see borax listed on the ingredients. I also caution people that just because something is natural doesn't necessarily mean it's safe. Borax can most certainly be toxic if enough of it is ingested. It definitely needs to be kept out of reach of children and pets. However, the amount found in your natural skin care products, when used as an emulsifier, in my humble opinion is more than safe.

Borax also has many other uses you may be interested in.

It is used as a food preservative in some countries to preserve caviar. It is banned in the United States (thankfully) and so they simply use a lot of salt! So, if you're a caviar fan, you might want to check into that!

You probably already know about the myriad of cleaning options such as mold killer, laundry booster, dishwasher powder and all purpose cleaner.

Use it to prevent fleas from hatching in carpets and other bedding.

Mice really don't like it so sprinkle it around where you suspect the devils to be and they probably won't want to come back to that area. (Apparently the don't like peppermint essential oil either!)

So the next time you see borax on the label, think for a moment of the small amount vs. the benefit it creates (without an emulsifier you cream would look like homemade salad dressing) vs. the natural product compared to the chemical emulsifiers in the nasty skin care products!

I say, bring on the borax!

And now you know.