Balm of Gilead

Balm of Gilead

(This is educational use, not for medicinal purposes.)

So this winter the kids and I have been making balms and salves.  What a blessing it has been, we are hooked and love it!  The longer project has been Balm of Gilead.

First we picked some buds of several downed trees.

 

  We then filled our quart jar 3/4 full with organic virgin olive oil.   Making a double broiler system, we boiled the buds in olive oil for 3 hrs.

  (The fresh picked buds covered in oil begin to heat and this helps release the resin.)

 

Removing the jar carefully from the heat we placed the lid and screw band over top.  We then placed it resting near the wood stove.   Each day when we fill the wood we shake it around.

Balm of Gilead is used  for many purposes.  (This is educational use, not for medicinal purposes.)  I can only tell you what we love it for.

 An example would be my husband wounded his hand.  There was an open gash and a lot of swelling with pain.  Only a few weeks ago the boys and I made a mixture salve with a few different oils and herbs to compliment the tree oil.  We purchased little tins like this:

 

Each one of the boys can place it in their first aid compartment of their backpack for hiking.

The salve we made was applied to my husbands hand.  The swelling seemed minimal, it started to “numb” it a bit, and with the chamomile and lavender, he was very relaxed. 😉  All in all, it looked a lot better 14 hours later.

As always, check with a doctor first, but for education purposes NOT MEDICINAL, here is a basic recipe:

 Balm of Gilead

1 Cup oil (extracted oil)

9 oz of beeswax

4 drops of Vit. E

The balm can be mixed with different oils, this is just a basic recipe.  Grapefruit seed oil, lavender, lemon, chamomile, or your carrier oil to palm, coconut, etc.  Just remember by altering (adding or starting with a solid at room temp. oil) will change the texture and properties.

Whether it’s a project when the kids are asleep or a family project, have fun experimenting!

DIY- 2 Ingredient Lip Balm

2 Ingredient Lip Balm

You will need:

Vaseline (small jar is fine)

A handful of chocolate chips- I use Nestle Miniature Milk Chocolate Chips

Glass measuring cup

A shallow saucepan (or an extra small fry pan with 1 inch + sides will work fine too)

Something to place your lip balm in (tin, mason jar, mint tin, etc.)

*This is flexible too, if you do not have an older measuring cup you want to use, a clean reusable small glass jar of any sort will work.  When doing several different kinds at once or large batches or gifts, I have reused the glass Tostito’s jars too.

So here we go:

Find your glass measuring cup

 or glass jar…

When you have your glass container then place enough water in the pan covering as much of your glass cup as possible about 1/4 to 1/2 is best for this batch.  This will create a double boiler system to melt your Petroleum Jelly in. When you are set place your dry (make sure there is no water) measuring cup in the pan of water.

Then to add 1/2 cup of Vaseline or Petroleum Jelly to the measuring cup…

On medium heat, allow the water to start to boil.  When the water starts to boil (your Petroleum Jelly has already begun to melt) be sure to stir it.  You can use a chopstick, skewer, any wooden utensil that you do not mind if it gets “greasy” and you can set aside for future crafting only.   (I use plain old wooden chopsticks).

Then add 2 Tbls of mini chocolate chips.

 These can be heaping, who doesn’t love chocolate?  We use Toll House, num!!!

As all your ingredients melt, continue to stir.  When everything looks smooth and evenly blended , remove from heat. The pour into your old lip tin, a jar, etc.  I pour them into these:

Whaaallaaa!  Cute little tins to accent a gift, or make a pack of various flavors as a cute gift, maybe as a party favor, etc.  Experiment and have fun!

Variations:  Use different flavored chips, combo of chip flavors (PB & Choc.) and you can always add essential oils ( just check their grade value)  We just made a large batch of Mint Chocolate Chip Lip Balm.  Just stir in a few drops of peppermint essential oil before pouring into the containers.