Your new must have for fall winter 2015

Your new must have for fall winter 2015

 

Today is a post by Caron (the other bloom of Two Blooms)

The essential oil of lemon is going to be your new ‘must have’ for winter 2015 and at the end of this teeny, tiny blog post you’ll be wanting to send me presents.

First of all, ALWAYS ask the origin of your essential oils and are they steam distilled (you never want chemically distilled oils). Secondly, Do. Not. Ingest. essential oils.  These are for topical use only and never use them neat (straight out of the bottle onto your skin).  ALWAYS use a carrier oil to blend them with.

Now on to the star of the show…Miss Lemon Essential Oil 2015!!!

 Lemon Essential Oil

Feeling a little stuffed up?  Congested?  Put a few drops of our lemon essential oil in your diffuser and if you don’t have one, put a few drops in a pot of water and put on the stove to simmer.  Try and stay in the same room and inhale (do not inhale the burning hot steam coming off the pot, just a reminder).

Works as a wonderful room freshener and can help increase alertness and concentration.  Add a few drops to a spray bottle and spray frequently, astringent properties mean you can use it as a face toner for oily skin and as a hand cleaner, even use it in the kitchen to wipe down all your surfaces.  Your kitchen/bathroom/living room will smell so fresh and pure. 

Don’t have a spray bottle?  Dip tiny cotton balls in our lemon essential oil and put them in a bottle cap and place on bookshelves or behind lamps (out of the way).  This way the air will be permeated with the scent of fresh lemons and you’ll reap the benefits including calming and distressing.

Lemon is a powerhouse for its cleansing properties but it also has calming effect.  We only sell steam distilled lemon essential oil and yes, its ‘therapeutic grade’.  We use this term to state our essential oils are the highest quality that we have personally sourced and are not diluted.  Also it’s a widely used term that customers look for when purchasing essential oils.

Here’s to a winter of less colds/flu’s and seasonal stresses, all thanks to the lemon!!

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Caron is one of the blooms of Two Blooms Design Studio Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.

Can beauty save the world?

Can beauty save the world?

I was stumped on my next blog post, particularly for this Tuesday where the two blooms tend to delve into deeper issues. Usually I have so much to blog about because things are always happening around me. So this Tuesday I had no idea what to post and then it happened. I was at a service this past Sunday and I heard the speaker answer someone’s question by saying “Does beauty save the world?” by Dostoevsky.  That phrase and my answers to that question stirred something within me and suddenly I had my blog post!

Let’s look at the definition of beauty according to a dictionary reference: the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful designor pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high  spiritual qualities are manifest).

Why? There is an eternal hope and optimism. There is joy, there is wonder, there is passion, there is love, there is a pause in whatever else is going on at the moment, there is enraptured pleasure, it’s transcendant. You experience an explosion of endorphins at that moment.

So I think if the world was dying and there was enough of us that believed in beauty and experienced it’s sheer wonder, then I believe it could save the world. If I was the sole person left I like to think my eyes, soul and spirit that had seen so much beauty could carry me through no matter what.

Can anyone see this beauty? I believe it’s possible but there have to be some key things in place: a willingness to look and see beyond what is right in front of you. An openness to interpret what you see and not get caught up in what you think you should see or what you think others want you to see. For that moment you have to let go and surrender to the awe and wonder around you. Cynicism has to be swept aside and you have to allow yourself to experience it.

Where do I see beauty? There is no one answer but a good place to start is in nature. I get inspired to create all our products from the beautiful west coast where I live. When I walk in the forest I think about the smells around me. While I’m at the ocean I think of the different notes that make up that marine like scent. I’m inspired by fashion, by artistry of any kind, by architecture, by words, by music. Beauty is really endless once you’ve experienced it and have opened your heart to it.

Where do you find beauty?

An interesting link for the definition of beauty is the Urban Dictionary. The first description by Bulletproof Marshmallow is a great one but I think it can be found without someone sharing their soul with you. I’ve experienced beauty alone.

If you like this post and want to stay up to date on our blog posts. Stop by here.

Hi, I’m Michelle the founder of Two Blooms Design Studio Est. 2002. I’m in charge of production, designing all of our labels in house, photography, customer service, alchemist behind all of our scent blends, designer, creator and pretty much whatever else needs to be done.

5 Things You Didn't Know About Coconut Oil

5 things you didn't know about coconut oil

   

Coconut Oil (if it’s pure) smells like coconuts and has that warm almost sweet scent. Most of you are familiar with the scent from suntan lotion (well at least that is the kind I used when I was younger).  Now it’s very trendy as coconut water.  Why is it popular? It’s a great drink high in Vitamin E and it works wonders for dehydration.

It provides shine to your skin and hair due to it’s high Vitamin E content.

Did you know that Coconut oil:

• melts at 250 C (760 Fahrenheit)?

• It’s smoking point is 1770 C (3500 Fahrenheit)

• Ithelps with hair loss. In India it is used to keep hair black, prevent hair loss and also keeps it from going white (I think we all want to use it for that alone).

• prevents dandruff

• Has Anti-Aging and Antioxidant abilities due to it’s saturated fats including Capric, Capryllic Caproic & Acid Acid

• You can use it to clean your face before using a cleanser.

In a study that came out in 2006 subjects with Alzheimers were giving medium chain triglycerides (found in coconut oil) and after 90 minutes there was improved cognitive function.
A recipe I found while researching said it cleared head lice by combining coconut oil with anise spray.

Here is another recipe you can try to rehydrate dry skin.

• Take 2 TBSp of oats and coconut butter (the solid form of the oil)

• Place in a muslin bag

• Heat for 30 seconds or less until it becomes a paste

• Take the bag and roll or massage all over your body.

The ingredients from the coconut oil and the oats will bring back your skins pH levels and you skin will feel smooth.
We love using it as a replacement for oil or non stick spray.

Looking for beauty products with coconut oil?

 

 

Try our Organic lip balms and soaps.

How do you use coconut oil? Let me know in the comments. 

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Hi, I'm Michelle the artist, visionary, creator and designer of Two Blooms Design Studio. I moved from a big city to Vancouver Island and fell in love with the west coast. My world is surrounded by beautiful scents, on trend design and endless possibilities.

Travel Tuesday - Amazing Arizona

Grand Canyon National Park Photo Credit:  should-know.com

I received my B.A. in English in California and 3 of my friends were from Arizona so naturally I visited more then once.  While I have so many memories of Arizona one of my fondest is visiting the Grand Canyon. My friend Clarissa lived in the Grand Canyon National Park and I remember we would walk to this area and sit on a ledge and watch the sun set over the magnificence of the Grand Canyon. The colours of the canyon were amazing and I remember trying to soak every second of that scenery into my brain.

One of the things I envied about Clarissa, was that she worked at the Grand Canyon park every summer, and was able to read all the literature books we were assigned each year, ahead of time. Of course those of us who hadn’t read the books yet would pepper her for information to find out plots of the most important parts of the book, in an effort to save some time.

Arizona has a stark beauty to it and I was fascinated by cactus growing everywhere.  You would see huge ones in front of people’s homes and as I’d never seen this before I fond it looked cool. Amidst the hot temperatures, and the cactus and what seemed like barrenness in areas ,we would drive to a coffee shop and immediately I felt like I could be anywhere.

Clarissa’s mom served us the most amazing ‘Buttermilk Pie’ and I’d never had it before. This was swoon worthy and had an almost caramel taste. To this day it’s one of my fondest memories.  She graciously gave me the recipe and I still love it.

We didn’t take continue here. 

About Michelle

Michelle is one of the blooms and founder of Two Blooms Design Studio Est. 2002. She is in charge of production, designing all of our labels in house, photography, customer service, alchemist behind all of our scent blends, designer, creator and pretty much whatever else needs to be done.

Through Her Eyes Don't Judge What You See

Maui, Hawaii Photo Credit:  Caron Somers

As some of you know, I have a teaching degree which I received from the University of Victoria.  I’ve had many great experiences with children but after my degree I had the opportunity to work as a teacher’s assistant with a special needs child. Now why would I want to do this when I was a teacher? Well I wanted to work in the background and work one on one with a student. I had not worked with a special needs child before but I had worked at a deaf camp as a teenager and had studied Sign Language.

I had no idea what to expect but I was open to meeting this student. She had Williams Syndrome and had an outgoing personality.  I learned so much from working with her. Let’s call her Julie as a reference point.  What moved me most about her was her willingness to say it like it is however she felt and I admired that about her. She longed for friendships and wanted to belong like everyone else. It was hard for her because she was in a regular classroom and often other students didn’t want to work with her because she worked at a different pace or wasn’t able to contribute the way they expected her to.  What I grew to love about Julie was her outgoing nature, she wasn’t afraid to chat to people and she had such a vivid imagination.

Tom Hanks in "Castaway" with Mr. Willson ball. Photo Credit:  hdmovietrailers.au

She loved Mr. Wilson from the movie “Cast Away”  starring Tom Hanks in which his character talks to the basketball. Well Julie had a basketball in her locker and one day and she kept calling it Wilson. She would look at her wrist (which had no watch on it) and talk to it and the basketball.   It was quite comical and I played along of course. For me the challenge was to teach her and help her in her education but at the time I had to learn to work around her challenges and get involved in her imaginary world.

The bond that Julie and I made  was amazing and I wouldn’t change it for the world. In the end I really was her teacher and I did her whole curriculum and her report card but I was only paid a teacher’s assistant salary. I loved the job though so the following year I worked as a teacher on call and got to teach Julie several times but it was hard for her to see me in a different role then she was used too.

This was many years ago but I still see Julie from time to time and it’s like time has not passed because she chats to me just like she always did with that same outgoing personality and endearing nature.

The next time you see someone who looks or acts differently then you do, realize they are just like you and they want to belong and be accepted. Tweet This

They just see the world and you a little differently.  Look past what you see and recognize their beautiful soul.
Has someone in your life impacted you lately? #IBN30

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About Michelle

Michelle is one of the blooms and founder of Two Blooms Design Studio Est. 2002. She is in charge of production, designing all of our labels in house, photography, customer service, alchemist behind all of our scent blends, designer, creator and pretty much whatever else needs to be done.

"Let it Run"

Kona, Hawaii Photo Credit:  Caron Somers

This is a guest post by the other bloom and marks day 12 of our 30 Day Blog Challenge.

Year (and years) ago, the family unit decided that we all loved to row.  We knew about the lake nearby and we’d seen boats on it, so we phoned up to enquire about lessons and joyfully signed up.  

No doubt it was after seeing an Olympic event, but alas I am getting ahead of myself.  We show up the first night and get a tour of the boat house, learn the proper names and see all the awards lining the walls.  It didn’t dawn on me that the cigarette slim boats lining the walls were the actual vessels we would be getting into.  If you’re not familiar with these things, let’s just say its like slipping into a French fry, they are about that wide.  Then you’re expected to strap your feet in snugly and SIT BACKWARDS on the boat.  That’s right, the whole time you’re rowing in your teeny tiny boat you’re craning your neck back to make sure you don’t slam into the boggy part (we’ll get to that later) or into an Olympian practicing (yeah, that was close).

Thankfully they put the three of us into a quad (4 person boat), but just getting into the thing is perilous because it wobbles terribly and you can only grip onto the dock for so long before you lunge yourself into the itsy bitsy piece of molded plastic that is supposed to fit your bum (who designs these things?).  Oars are fitted into their slots and some demon actually pushes your boat away from the dock and forces you to do something.  If you dare breathe too hard the boat rocks perilously and you’ve got 3 other people to think about.

But then somehow you lift your eyes above the water and start to see the beauty.  You begin stroking the oars through the water and it glides you effortlessly through the lake.  The three others in your boat all get in tune and the wind is breezing through your hair.  Slowly your confidence builds and you sit tall and think “I can do this”.  That is until its time to head back to the dock and you have to figure a way to get out of the boat.

Check out our blog posts as soon as they are published.

About Caron
Caron is one of the blooms of Two Blooms Design Studio Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.