Lilac Toner

The lilac trees are in bloom and that meant time for another project: Lilac Toner. Danny and I took a walk to the lilac tree at the edge of the property, near where his parents' original driveway began.

Even though I know that cutting lilac flowers 

for spring bouquets is a bit like pruning the lilac tree,

I hate to take away from the one productive lilac tree

we have in the yard.

Deer continue to nibble on the small lilac tree we have,

which means I'm not sure it will ever flower!

The old tree works perfectly for bouquets, and if I 

needed lilac leaves then I might as well cut some flowers

for an arrangement.

The recipe is very simple: bring 1 cup of water to a boil, add 1/2 cup of lilac leaves. Let steep until cool, strain, and pour into a container.

While the water heated, I arranged the flowers and stripped leaves. Lilac flower clusters lend themselves to simple, easy arranging; it is impossible to end up with an unattractive lilac bouquet.

Once the water was boiling, I poured it over the leaves. We ate dinner while the mixture was steeping; if I had worked on this project at a quieter time I would have made myself some tea instead.

 Here is the final product. The containers I have been saving and buying were either too big or too small; I ended up using a small jelly jar which isn't quite as convenient as a bottle would have been.

Lilac Toner is very mild. If I make it again, I'd like to fill a couple of small, pretty bottles. They would make lovely gifts!

Violet Cleansing Oil

My first herbal spring project was with violets, freshly picked from the lawn. I wondered about removing the sepals, but that wasn't specified in the instructions. Typically, I follow instructions the first time through a project then - based on the results - make adjustments in the future.

I warmed two tablespoons of coconut oil to liquid form and combined that with the sweet almond oil in the blender.

Next the violets were added to a half cup of water and brought to a boil. They smelled like spring!

Violets and water were added to the oils and blended until they had a creamy appearance. My instructions indicated that the cream would be a pale lavender color, but mine ended up lightly green. Evidence that I ought to have removed those sepals!

While I am disappointed that the oils separate, I have been using this in the shower and my skin has appreciated it! I shake it well before applying.