Tips and Ideas : Where I get my Supplies for DIY Bath, beauty, and skincare items.

Hello Lovelies, Taz here again, and I have had commentary privately asking where I get my stuff for my Products I use on here.. that is a difficult answer because it really depends on the product.  I will list some of my main suppliers here and what I get from them, I will state that I write reviews for products on Amazon, and thus I am offered a discount on several of my items like Essential oils.


Herbs - I ALWAYS Get my Herbs from Monterey Bay Spice Company   They have the best prices for bulk herbs and spices, and Honestly it is something I think you should ALWAYS buy in bulk.. invest in a vacuum sealer if you are worried about space.

Essential oils - Before I started getting my Essential oils at a discount, I looked around for the best prices on them because well honestly they are freaking expensive.. the cheapest place I have found for good quality Essential oils is Majestic Mountain Sage,

Beeswax - Honestly if you live on your own land I would say beekeep. free beeswax and honey.. but if you don't want to or can't.. Go to Amazon.. that is where I get mine, and usually I do pay full price for my beeswax.

Oils - and now this is where it gets complicated.. because it depends on the oil.. Some oils I get from Sams in bulk, or our local Kroger.. because its cheaper than buying online, same with Big things of coconut oil, Several of my less common oils like Evening Primrose oil, and pumpkin seed oil etc, I get from Amazon because Honestly Amazon is my main go to place.

Butters - Again Amazon is my go to place.

Containers - depends on the containers.. some I have gotten for discount, some I have gotten on clearance at various sites, and some I go to the Dollar tree for, because you can't beat 1 dollar for 10 containers, some I get from my local store.. like glass jars.

I sort of collect and hoard supplies, whenever I can find a great price be it because it is on Clearance or I found an EXCELLENT site for prices, or because I am able to get something at a discount because I give an honest review for that item.. Just keep your eyes peeled.. You would be surprised at where you can find certain stuff.  I get Lye from my local Ace Hardware store, Pet stores have Pine Tar which is great for pine tar soap, which is amazing for skin conditions.

My Biggest advice I can give is to SHOP AROUND, go to thrift stores, and Craigslist, and your local buy and trade, even yard sales, are great places to find stuff. There are some excellent sellers on etsy for soaping supplies, and if all else fails.. check Amazon periodically you will find some really really great sales, and I would suggest if you find a sale.. invest.. because it is in investment.. it took a while for my husband to figure out that it really was an investment, I make lotion bars for his dry skin issues, and Lip balm he swears by.. I make Bath teas, and bath bombs.. you do it right you can pamper the crap out of yourself without spending too much money, and the best part is YOU KNOW WHAT YOU PUT IN TO YOUR ITEMS.. and to me.. That is the best thing ever.  So there you go Lovelies, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

My Peach Mango Salsa Recipe

Hello My lovelies, I hope you are all doing well today,  Since I just got done making Peach Mango Salsa for my husband I thought I would share the recipe.

Now My recipe made 4 cups give or take.. and this is what I used, so be sure to take it and make it your own. 

What you will need : 

1/2  Red onion 

1 Lime 

Fresh Cilantro or Cilantro paste 

1 Fresh mango 

1 14 Ounce Can of Peach slices 

1 Large Jalapeno (you can use more if you like it spicy.. we really dont) 

1 Tsp Kosher salt 

4 medium to large Tomatoes 

1 Bell Pepper (I used Yellow) 

you can use your food processor or a knife, I used my Ninja Food processor for the Mango, and a combo of my Mandoline, and my Vidalia Chop Wizard for the rest of it. 

I chopped up my entire mango, and Gave it a few taps with my Food processor and plopped it in the bowl,

I then added my onion chopped with my Vidalia on the fine setting (which is what I used for the entire thing) 

Sliced my Bell pepper with my Mandoline and then chopped that up with my Vidalia

I sliced my Tomatoes with my Mandoline and chopped that up with my Vidalia 

I cut my Jalapeno in to 4ths after deseeding it and chopped with.. you guessed it my Vidalia 

finally I added my peaches then moved on to the seasonings so to speak 

I added 2 Tbsp of Cilantro paste, 1 tsp of Kosher salt and the entire Limes worth of Juice.. Mixed it up and there you go.. it took me about 20 minutes total but totally worth it. it taste delicious, and that is coming from me who does NOT like fruit in my Salsa other than the Tomatoes. 

so easy peasy I hope you make it and let me know what you think.. any questions please feel free to ask. 

***** Edit****

This recipe is very strong of Onion, and to get it right for my VERY picky husband we did test..

He did not like it chunky, he thought it was too oniony, and he didn't Know.. SOOO I added 2 more cans of peaches, a bit of the Juice, half a Clove of Garlic, two tablespoons of sugar, a Tablespoon of Honey and some Stewed Tomatoes.. Blended that to a finer consistency and he is a Happy camper..

SO If you like a more salsa type salsa.. Go with the first one.. if you want a very sweet slightly savory salsa.. go with HIS version.. I don't eat salsa since I have GERD, so this got made for him.. I hope you  figure out what works best for you.. Just Go with what makes you happy, get dirty, and experiment.

Oatmeal Milk and Honey Recipe 1

Hello Lovelies, It's Taz here with another Soap Recipe for you. I will Again remind people that this is NOT a How to Blog post, it is simply the Recipe I use to make my soaps. Look on my Blog post for Vinolia soap, or Favorite Youtubers, posts for Where to go to learn about soap making and never attempt to make soap without proper Precautions and knowing at least the basics of soap making, and ALWAYS run any recipe through Soapcalc to make sure that you have it right. . With that said. HERE we go.

The Ingredients you will need are

Water
Lye NaOH
Coconut Oil 76 Deg

Vegetable Shortening 

Soybean oil 

Canola Oil 

Tussah Silk (If you choose to use )
Himalayan Pink Sea Salt (if you choose to use) 

Milk - 1/3 liquid 

Ground Oatmeal 

Honey 

Optional - Oatmeal Milk and Honey Fragrance oil 

The Percentage Recipe for this is as follows

Water as a percentage of water weight  38% 

Super fat discount 5% 

Lye 26.712% 

Coconut Oil 20.45%

Vegetable Shortening 54.55%

Soybean Oil 13.64%

Canola Oil 11.36% 

For my 2 Pound loaf Recipe this is the Amount of Lye, water, and oils That I used. Please Note that in EVERY Soap Recipe I add 1 TBSP of Pink Himalayan Sea salt and a cotton ball sized pinch of Tussah silk to the Lye water.

This Recipe is different than most recipes and I will do my best to explain.. I just kinda do my thing.. 

Water - 8.86 Ounces 

Lye - 4.46 ounces 

Coconut oil - 6.54 ounces

Vegetable Shortening - 17.46 

Soybean Oil - 13.46

Canola Oil - 11.36 

Okay AFTER you have Combined these to a VERY LIGHT trace you will add the following 

Milk/goat milk/ or Heavy Cream - 3.3 Ounces 

1/3 Cup Finely ground oatmeal 

1 TBSP Honey 

1 Ounce of Fragrance oil IF YOU CHOOSE to add this.


Okay I will give a Warning about this Recipe.. The Sugar in the Honey make this get REALLY REALLY hot.. so it has a possibility of Volcanoing.. so Stir in completely and be sure of watching this Closely.. I never had issues with my Small 2 pound Batches but I made a Large 8 pound batch that went haywire. So there is your warning..


The Soap Bar Qualities of this soap are as Following : 

Hardness - 33 

Cleansing - 14

Conditioning - 62 

Bubbly - 14 

Creamy - 2 

Iodine Before salt in lye - 83 

INS - 130

if you have any questions please ask in the Comments, I always reply.. if you want to see more let me know what you want to see and I will see what I can do. 

I hope you like this recipe if you do please let me know and if you make this recipe show me pictures I want to see your creations! 

Basic Soap Recipe 1

Hello Lovelies, It's Taz here with another Soap Recipe for you.  I will Again remind people that this is NOT a How to Blog post, it is simply the Recipe I use to make my soaps. Look on my Blog post for Vinolia soap, or Favorite Youtubers, posts for Where to go to learn about soap making and never attempt to make soap without proper Precautions and knowing at least the basics of soap making, and ALWAYS run any recipe through Soapcalc to make sure that you have it right. . With that said. HERE we go.

What Ingredients you will need :

Coconut oil 76 Degree
Vegetable Shortening for Cooking
Soybean oil
Lye
Water
Himalayan sea salt (if you choose to)
Tussah Silk (if you choose to)

The Basic Recipe using Percentages are :

Water 27.8%
super fat 5 %
Lye 33.333 %

Coconut oil 20.69 %
Shortening 55.17 %
Soybean oil 24.14 %



For my 2 Pound loaf Recipe this is the Amount of Lye, water, and oils That I used. Please Note that in EVERY Soap Recipe I add 1 TBSP of Pink Himalayan Sea salt and a cotton ball sized pinch of Tussah silk to the Lye water.

Water - 8.9 Ounces
Lye - 4.45 ounces

Coconut Oil - 6.62 ounces
Vegetable Shortening - 17.65 Ounces
Soybean Oil - 7.72 Ounces

Fragrance oil or essential oil 1 ounce

In this recipe The only thing you need to physically add heat to to melt is the Shortening, after that is melted the Coconut oil will melt with the heat of that and the Soybean oil is already at a liquid state.


The Soap Bar Qualities of this recipe are as follows :


Hardness - 35
Cleansing - 14
Conditioning - 60
Bubbly - 14
Creamy - 21
Iodine  without salt in lye water - 85
INS - 132

I hope that you enjoy this recipe and if you make it Please share pictures and let me see and comment!

Laundry Butter Ala Taz..

What is Laundry butter? well it's laundry soap.. really really AMAZING awesome Laundry soap. There are several places all over the place online that have recipes but I make mine kind of differently than other people.. So let's see if I can't explain this and show pictures and break it down cause I completely Screwed up my first attempt at this but got better so THIS is how I* Do it 

First you will need some Ingredients .. 

Fels Naptha Soap/ or Zote. you can get both in the Laundry Aisle at your supermarket.. or you can make your own soap out of lard and Coconut oil, but that is a post for another time.. 

Washing Soda.. NOT BAKING SODA! there is a distinct difference and trust me you don't want to get that wrong.. 

Borax 

Purex Crystals or if you want to go natural way 20-25 drops Essential oil of your choosing. 

I went with Purex Crystals 

1 Quart Regular mouth Jar For each jar of Laundry butter you will be making.. I made 10 jars.. given my family of 3 takes about 2 months to use one jar when done properly.. this will last you a while. 

a Standard Blender you can usually pick one up at a thrift store for next to nothing 

Something to make hot water in.. I used my coffee pot. 

1st step.. Cut your bar of fels Naptha in half.. take half and grate it or cut it into very small chunks.. I personally found it easier to grate it.. 

Add that to one of your 1 Quart Jars ONLY half a bar for each jar so you will get Two 1 quart jars out of each bar of Fels naptha soap. 

Heat up water.. you can do this step on the stove, In the microwave or like I do.. COFFEE MAKER!!! 

okay.. so I personally used my coffee maker to make super hot water.. and poured over the soap enough to just cover it to about the levels you see in these pictures.. which.. aren't mine cause you can see these are cubed.. I shred my soap for better melting.  (This is from The Trailer park Homesteader so all credit for that image goes to them.. I forgot to take a picture at this stage.) 

Okay.. swirl it all together to make sure everything is emmersed.. DO NOT SHAKE.. trust me on this

.. it's not pretty..  ooh the foam the Foam.. it's just bad. 

Let sit for anywhere from 6 hours to 3 days.. your preference.. but let it cool down and gel. This is a VITAL step.. do not skip it. 

All Gelled.. isnt it pretty.. okay it's kinda gross looking at this point.

This is how you tell if it was done right.. its solid. thick gel

Okay.. Cut this into chunks.. to get it to separate from the bottom of the jar.. it kinda feels like you are chopping up a gummy bear.. and this is another pic of how thick it is.. seriously.. standing straight up..

All cut up.. isnt it.. well slimy and disgusting? but the point is it no longer sticks to the bottom of the jar.. and this will make the final step later easier.

see now when you turn it over it all SLORPS to the top of the jar.. unlike before.

Okay I made one of these bags for each jar because well I am OCD and it made mixing and keeping track of stuff easier for me.. 

Each little bag has 1/8 Cup Purex Crystals  if you choose to use it, you can also add 20-25 drops essential oil in at this stage if you choose to add a scent 

1/2 cup Borax 

1/2 cup Washing soda.. 

See isn't that easy? but with me being nuts.. I needed to do them this way cause other ways thanks to my memory I forget what I added and such.

This also makes it easier to store if you want to make one jar at a time instead of 10 at a time like I did.

Add your Borax, washing soda, and Crystals or Essential oil if you choose to use them to your jar..

PLEASE NOTE YOU SHOULD NOT USE OXYCLEAN! This will make your jars explode.. no really your jars will Blow up.. all over the place.. just NO OXYCLEAN or off brand versions there in. 

All Added.. isn't it just lovely? Okay now go get your pot of hot water ready again. I have figured out that one pot of hot water is enough to do 10 jars with a bit left over.

see..Full pot hot water.. (I never use this pot anymore because I use my keurig.. so it finds a use again)

At this point I should note that you should NOT do what I did and add the powder to all your jars at once and then take your time blending.. cause that ended badly.. do one jar at a time keeping your water hot.

Grab this off your Blender .. you know.. the carafe thingie.. just unscrew it off the bottom.. it fits standard mouth 1 quart jars like mine perfectly.

Add water enough to hit the curve.. and stir with a knife again just to get it all mixed up.. and place the Blender thingie on to the jar

Aren't I technical? yeah.. I know.. anyway.. so this is what it looks like at this point

PUT IT ON THE BLENDER!!! yeah.. hard.. now this part can get tricky.. if you do it weird.. some parts will mix and other parts wont.. or whatever.. I tend to hit the white button on mine.. you know the Pulse button until it gets nice and solidly mixed and then I hit the 3rd or 4th button to get it nice and going.. you don't need to do it too long.. it gets really thick really fast and you don't want to burn out your motor.

This is what it should look like after its all whipped.. nice smooth off white color all the way through.

there it is.. it will thicken up more as it sets.. But you have just made Laundry sauce that is WAY cheaper than anything you will get at the store.. you don't need anymore than a tablespoon per load of laundry.. seriously.. don't use more.. it gets messy.. use a measuring spoon.. just run it under the water it pops right out.. 

Hope this was helpful. love you guys.. if you have any questions just ask.