10 Things I bet you didn’t know about Frankincense…

You might recognize the name because of it was mentioned in the Bible as one of the gifts from the 3 wise men in the story of the birth of Jesus.

Frankincense oil is extracted from the Boswellia tree. The tree is common in Somalia and other very dry climates. This type of oil has been used for thousands of years for healing and therapy. The natural antioxidant properties in this oil make it a top choice for natural remedies.

Boost your immune system – Frankincense has antiseptic properties. Organic Facts reports that the scent and smoke from the oil can have disinfectant effects. May I suggest adding a few drops of the oil to the palm of your hand and rub together, then inhaling it for a few breaths to ease cold symptoms.

Protect your mouth – Mix a bit of Frankincense oil with baking soda for an all-natural toothpaste. The antiseptic properties help prevent cavities and bad breath. These same properties protect against mouth sores, toothaches, and infections, according to Organic Facts.

Menopause relief – Try this oil to help reduce symptoms of menopause like nausea, headache, fatigue, mood swings and pain in the abdomen.

Clean your home – Freshen the air in your home naturally, by adding a bit of Frankincense oil in a diffuser to help deodorize your house.

Relieve stress – Put a few of drops of oil to your bath and let your stress melt away. The scent of the oil encourages relaxation.

Ease Anxiety – Frankincense works as a sedative because the smell can encourage relaxation. Add Frankincense oil to a diffuser when you’re feeling particularly anxious to calm your nerves.

Fight aging – Get some skin care benefits by applying the oil on your skin. Mix a few drops of the Frankincense with unscented oil (like coconut) and apply to your skin.(Remember to try a small area first to ensure you don’t have any negative reactions.)

Ease Tummy Troubles – Mix one or two drops of Frankincense Vitality with a glass of water and a bit of honey. Drink the entire glass to help cure tummy aches and digestive issues.

Reduce the appearance of scarring – Add Frankincense to a base oil (like coconut) or your favorite lotion, and apply directly to the skin. The oil helps reduce the appearance of scars, acne and stretch marks.

Reduce swelling in the joints – Frankincense has anti-inflammatory properties that make it a simple way to ease pain and swelling. Massage the oil onto sore joints. Alternatively, add some oil to hot water and soak a towel in the oil-infused water. Then apply the towel to your sore muscles or joints.

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5 ways to use Christmas Spirit

Fill your home with the timeless aroma of Christmas Spirit™!

This YL favorite essential oil blend combines Orange, Cinnamon Bark, and Spruce to create a warm, spicy, and sweet scent.

Here are 5 simple ways to use Christmas Spirit.

1. Diffuse it during the holiday and winter months. The familiar notes of this oil blend help evoke feelings and memories tied to the joy of Christmas and peaceful moments. Adding a few drops to your diffuser can help family and friend reminisce over the past and create new memories for the future. But be warned, you will want to diffuse this all year long!

2. Sprinkle it on logs in the fireplace. Enhance your warm, crackling fire with an aroma that screams comfort and joy. It doesn’t get cozier than that!

3. Add a few drops to cedar chips or potpourri. This is a great way to enjoy the aroma in any space.

4. Wrap it up for the perfect holiday gift. Think of a special someone who hasn’t enjoyed Christmas Spirit before. There’s no doubt that they will love it! You can also share our Christmas Spirit Foaming Hand Soap which is infused with this signature blend and free of harsh, drying chemicals.

5. Infuse diffuser ornaments with this warm, spicy scent. Christmas Spirit is just what you need to add to these festive decorations.

Do you love Christmas Spirit? Let me know how you use it!

My view…

I fully recognize that I’m the most fortunate girl in America. THIS is the view from my seat in the craft room…

A few moments before this picture was taken the rain and hail had ceased, the wind had blown the storm passed my house and a beautiful rainbow appeared in the east.

I stopped for a few moments to gawk at the hail on the ground, to watch the fluffy clouds slowly blow by and then I got back to manipulating paper into cards.

A good time was had by all…

CLASS: Recycled Wreath, handmade decor project

Special announcement on an upcoming class…

Friday – February 4, 2011

Please join me to make this beautiful piece of art for your home, or office… or as a gift. (After you make it you’re not going to want to give it away, though!) Look at this beauty…


CLASS DETAILS

When: Friday – February 4, 2011 @ 6:30 pm
Where: Rancho Bernardo Radisson, Montedura conference room
Address: 11520 West Bernardo Court, San Diego, CA 92127
Class cost: $20, includes all supplies/instruction to make project
What to bring: a thimble, if you have one

RSVP by Tuesday, February 1
Call me at 619-889-6268 or email tisdalestamps@yahoo.com

Christmas gifts for my kitchen…

For Christmas this year I received a beautiful gift (one of the beauties below) and then I purchased my kitchen a gift, or two (yes – the rest of the beauties below). In fact, I will openly admit that I love to buy gifts, for myself.

When my hero-of-a-hubby asked me what I wanted for Christmas I couldn’t think of anything except for kitchen stuff. I wonder if Gloria Steinem (or any of the NOW leaders from the ’70s would be disappointed at this wish list.) All I could think about was how upset some ladies used to get when they received a blender (or other small appliance) as a gift. But I digress… and now I’m thinking of a writing new blog post!

Anyway, I had my eye on most of these items for months… researched, and saved up my “allowance” to buy each one in the months leading up to Christmas. While I had already been using them I still wrapped their empty boxes and placed them under the tree! My hubby just laughed… “Another gift from ‘Santa’, huh?!” (and yes, he made the quotation marks with his fingers…sigh!)

The first perfect fit I found was this Lodge Logic cast iron 5″ skillet (pre-seasoned)… perfect for frying eggs, toasting spices and so many other things!!! Love, love, love… (the image below looks much larger than 5″… but 5″ it is.) (Approximately $15 at Walmart.)

I also found a Lodge Logic cast iron chicken fryer (also pre-seasoned), with lid… in this you can also make cinnnamon rolls, chili, cornbread, and so much more… (Approximately $25 at Walmart.)My hero-of-a-hubby bought me this early Christmas present: Kitty – the KitchenAid stand mixer. (Yes, I’ve finally named her!) This is something I have told him for years I wasn’t ready for you. You see… it’s a bad problem to have. I only have about 4 feet of counter space in our tiny/nearly antique kitchen. And I wasn’t sure I wanted to dedicate 1 of those feet to a mixer. This year I finally decided it was time. (Bought it at a great discount on Amazon.com several days before Thanksgiving… and the day after Thanksgiving it was only selling for $10 cheaper. I had it by then and couldn’t have been happier.)

We had the money set aside for it… so we took the plunge. It’s definitely an investment of both money and time… there’s more cleaning involved (I mean, ones DOES want to shine it up after every use – unlike the little handheld beater I’ve been using for over a decade), if you’re really into it you want to buy some of the accessories and additional attachments so you can grind meat, make your own pasta, etc… I’m not there yet. But I have a feeling I might want the pasta attachment at some point in the near future.

Um… and because I now had a stand mixer and could make some good doughs, then I also bought myself a Pie cutting board … but my hero-of-a-hubby still thinks that was from Santa. (Shhh!) (Approximately $28 at Walmart.)

And lastly I stumbled across these Matryoshka dolls (Russian nesting dolls) that also serve as measuring vessels. And when I think of nesting dolls I think of my childhood… and I feel happy. So I bought them.

Aren’t they adorable?!

Like I said, aren’t they adorable?! I’m going to put them out on the cupboard and see how long it takes my husband to ask when the babushka’s arrived… anyone want to place any bets? (These beauties were purchased at World Market, approximately $13.)

But lastly let me introduce you to a true gift… from an actual friend (not from “Santa”). A dear friend gifted me this adorable little porcelain birdy perched over the most perfect little porcelain bowl with the tinniest of porcelain spoons… from Anthropologie!!! (< — love that place!)


This truly is adorable!

But I’m afraid to use it… ‘cuz I’m notorious for dropping and breaking things. So, if you never see it in my kitchen again it’s either because I entered it into witness protection program (for it’s own good) or I have already smashed it to smithereens.

Love the porcelain birdy Mariam! Thank you for thinking of me and trusting me with this beauty…

enjoy your time in the kitchen…

A new kitchen toy …

Paula Deen … I already loved you. But now I love you more!!!

Thank you for making this nice board available at a very good price (under $30)! In my small kitchen I did not have a large enough flat surface to work with… and this is the perfect remedy to that problem.

This is an 18″ x 20″ x 3/4″ board made of acacia. On one side is a visual guide for rolling out pie crusts… as well as a helpful guide for dry and wet measurements.

Take a gander… click on the picture below to enlarge it.




And the opposite side is even more beautiful! I can see myself using this as a cheese/fruit board when entertaining… this will help to make a very nice presentation!

Love it! And when I pulled it out from behind the tree and unwrapped it my hero-of-a-hubby asked who it was from. I simply said “Well, it’s from Santa… of course!”

He knew better than to ask anymore questions…

enjoy your time in the kitchen…

Perfect for a rainy weekend…

Well, with a broken camera it’s difficult to take pictures of food and complete blog posts. And I doubt you only want to READ about what I’ve been making – the succulent pork roast served with an amazing mushroom gravy or the crunchy mashed potatoes or the nice mushroom ravioli I stumbled upon.

So, I’ll get working on getting that camera problem figured out… and keep you posted. I can’t go through Christmas with a broken camera. Now can I?!

It’s raining this weekend… so of course I’ll be making this:

YUM!!! I can taste it already… so simple, buttery-rich and warms you to the bone!

And if you and I are lucky (aka, I can get that camera fixed) and find another great deal on a pork roast maybe I’ll do that again this weekend… just in time for you to check it out and make it for Christmas!

Cross your fingers and toes… I’ll go get working on that camera problem.

enjoy your time in the kitchen…

Decking the halls…

The holidays are all about making hand-crafted decorations (and cookies, and gifts, and… and… and…)

So I started with a simple banner. It reads “Merry & Bright”…

These are individually cut triangles, strung up with a very thin silver string (through holes at each top corner of the triangle).

The “fringe” or “pleat” across the top is a 1/2″ x 12″ strip of thin scrapbook paper. I ran adhesive across the back of the strip and then roughly folded / glued it to the top of each triangle.

I ran the edge of the scrapbook paper along the edge of a stamp pad to give it some color and depth. And then used a friends letter cutting tool cut out the letters! The letters are then capped off with some silver glitter/glue to make it resemble a frosting of snow (sorta).

Are YOU making any decorations, gifts, etc this holiday season?

And yes, I think I’ll be hanging some twinkle lights with this banner… but that will have to wait for the weekend…

Welcome to the family…


I am so excited today!!! After waiting for years and year, justifying the expense, saving up my pennies, and foregoing extra counter space in my tiny kitchen

I decided I didn’t want to live without one of these anymore.

Rewind to a couple weeks ago, when my hero-of-a-hubby asked me what I wanted for Christmas I said “Nothing.”

He said “Really? Nothing?” (I know he was thinking “Yay! I’m going to get off scott-free! I don’t have to do any Christmas Eve shopping this year?!)

And I said, “Well, maybe just one thing.” (pause for effect…)

“Anything you want…” he answers…

Me: “OK – I think I’d like that KitchenAid stand mixer I’ve had my eye on for years… ”

::: silence :::

Then we saw a great deal on Amazon.com… soooo, I get to put it to use for this holiday season! It IS quite the investment. But I hear these things live on FOREVER!

Fast forward to today… I could hear Mr UPS driving up the street… and ran to the front door. I barely got the box inside the door and had to set it down and take a nice loooooooong look at it.

Here’s what came in the box… a user manual that also includes recipes.

A spiral dough hook…

A paddle…

Also included (but I was too excited and quit taking pictures): 11-wire whisk and a plastic piece that fits onto the bowl called a “pouring shield”.


So, here’s all the pertinent details for the new addition to our family….

Name: undecided
Length: 16 1/2 inches
Weighing in at a hearty 25 lbs!

This is a 6 quart bowl. The bowl sits on a lever that moves up and down. Some people like this style, others prefer the kind where the top tilts up. I’ve never used either… so I didn’t have a preference.

Now… time to find a place for it on my itsy bitsy countertop.

…all tucked in nicely between the knives and the utensil holder and I can pull it forward easily for baking purposes.

And here’s a fantastic tip: Today someone told me she put her mixer on a placemat… then it’s super easy to simply pull the placemat (and mixer) toward you when you’re ready to use it! GENIUS! I tell you, I have genius friends!!! (Now – I have to find my stash of placemats and find just the right one!)

Color me happy!!!

(Can you see my reflection???)

enjoy your time in the kitchen…