Tips and Hints Page Four           Eo's to avoid in certain situations:My Aromatherapy Book gives the following oils to be avoided by people with these conditions.  Doesn't say what might happen or "OK if used in soap"!  It's regarding direct inhalation of the oil, so I'm not sure if having it diluted in soap is completely safe...it just says "should be avoided by"...pregos or whatever. PREGNANCY Angelica Bay Laurel Cedarwood Atlas Sweet Fennel Hyssop Juniper Labdanum Sweet Marjoram Myrrh Nutmeg Rose (1st 4 mo.) Rosemary Clary Sage Common Thyme DIABETICS/EPILEPTICS Angelica Sweet Fennel Hyssop Rosemary CHILDREN Eucalyptus Blue Gum Sweet Fennel Hyssop Juniper Nutmeg  Canning Goats Milk                   Okay, since I have gotten so many request on the  art of canning milk,                    here goes! Now mind you I am not an expert, but I will say my canned milk                    got a blue ribbon and Best of Section rosette, at the Virginia State Fair last                    year. Not that I would brag or anything. LOL                    The way I did it was pasteurize your milk or heat it to 160 degrees and                    hold it there for 5 minutes. Then pour it into clean hot jars ( I used quarts).Don't forget to leave head space  Place ring and lid on each one and screw on.  Place in hot water bath, making sure jars are covered. When pot returns to boil, lower                    heat and boil for 1 hour. Remove from water and let set undisturbed for 24hours That's all folks! Really quite simple. As the milk sets you will see                    the cream start to rise at the top. Very pretty! You can also use pressure                    canner, but the color of your milk will change, so I prefer to take the time and                    do it this way. Anita.                   Using Perfume In Soap                     A friend of mine made some Polo soap by sort of infusing the cologne                     into oil. I can't remember the proportions....I think it was about 1/4 cup of                     cologne to 6 oz of oil.  Anyway, she poured the cologne into the oil and let it                     sit for a few weeks, then put the bottle in the fridge to solidify the oil and                     poured the cologne off.  When I smelled the soap she made with it, it was                     about 3 months later, and it still smelled very strongly of Polo.  Seems like                     this method holds the scent a whole lot better than just using the perfume or                     cologne directly as a scenting agent....and it eliminates the risk of                     the soap seizing.                     BTW....not all oils solidify in the refrigerator, so for ease of separating,                     use one that does!                     CHATZIE MASSEY                   Fire Ant Repellents                    This is great!  I tell you!  I live in the NW Florida Panhandle and                    they are really bad here.  I understand that Texas is their "Mother Land"within                     the US.  Anyways, getting back to answering your question......                     Cinnamon, ground up, el cheapo cinnamon does the trick.  Ants are scent                     oriented.  If they encounter a creature that does not have the nest's                     identifying scent on it, they attack it.  Ground cinnamon is so fine a                     powder,that they have to stop and clean it off their selves.  In so doing, the                     oil inthe cinnamon (the cheaper is it made, the more oil is left in it from                     the process since they weren't as careful about it and the spice was not                     dried as long) then they no longer smell like a member of the nest.  The others                     attack it, get the stuff on themselves, and this goes on for quite awhile                     until some little soldier ant will figure out to tell the others to stay away from                     the area because it causes so many to die.                     We sprinkle the mounds when we find them, and all the doors and windows                     have some run along them at the bases.  The cinnamon also messes up                     established trails which are also chemical scent agents and the  ants that are                     on the "wrong" side will eventually die, the ones on the "right side" will                     stay there and leave the barrier alone once they figure out that it causes many                     to die...even if they don't die themselves.                      If, after awhile cinnamon seems to become less effective, then switch to                     cloves (ground).  The oil is stronger still than cinnamon , but it                     doesn't grind as finely, so some ants will still manage to avoid it.  However,                     it is so different from the cinnamon that the ants go through the whole                     process again.  Now, if you do this fairly soon after it rains, and dig up just the top of the mound, some of the stuff will get carried to the queen and she will be                     killed as an outsider.  They don't "come back" by the way.                             Heather Stevens                             Here's some craft fair tips to help newbies and old-timers alike!                    1.) If possible, take someone with you that can look after things if                    you need to take a bathroom break. It can be a very long day otherwise :)                    2.) On one of your breaks, stroll around and look at the other items                    being sold. If you spot someone selling a similar item as yours, check                    out the pricing. People will price shop at craft shows, believe it or not.                    3.) Keep an accurate list of what you sold. This will help you to get                    an idea of which items sold the best and what colors, etc. were the most                    popular. Just like a store if you have what people are looking for,                    they'll come to your table first.                    4.) When you set up, try to set up your items so that they are easily                    visible. People love to pick things up, look them over, check out the                    craftsmanship. If you see someone mishandling your craft, just go over                    and ask if they need any help - this generally makes them stop.                    One big problem I have found is that other crafters come over and                    attempt to pick apart your craft, to create their own. I find that if                    you just go over, say: "May I help you?", and it generally flusters                    them enough so that they run away!                    5.) Get a good adding machine, or get a receipt book and calculator -                    you don't want to rely on adding in your head, and some customers like                    to get a receipt. You don't need a real cash machine unless your doing                    big shows, and think it's a good investment.                    6.) Bring at least $50 in change, and make sure you have at least 1 $20                    bill - you'd be surprised how many people walk around with $50's and                    can catch you without change.                    7.)  Use a colorful display - but make sure it's not tacky or                    distracting to other vendors.  By tacky I mean using tinsel or metallic                    garland - it may look 'neat', but gives an overall cheap impression for                    customers.                    8.) Go with the intent to have fun.  Don't get discouraged if it's a                    bad show - it's nothing against your products, it just wasn't that 'type'                    of crowd.  Just chalk it up to a learning experience, and keep on crafting! Emu Oil Emu oil is very effective in all products that would have oils for ingredients.  Just substitute 10-30% of the other oils with emu oil.  Visit our website for the SAP values of emu oil, which you would want to know if you are going to incorporate it into any soap formulations. Emu oil is non-comedogenic (doesn't clog pores), hypo-allergenic (which means very few people suffer alllergic reactions using it), and emulsifies quite readily with other ingredients. Adding emu oil to lotions is one of the best uses of the oil!  It's benefits can be enjoyed with as little as 10-25% emu oil in the lotion recipe. And of course, salves, balms, and other healing remedies all benefit from emu oil, especially because it's a very penetrating oil, and takes other  beneficial ingredients (herbs, essential oils, etc) deep into the tissue.  A pharmacist who raises emus and uses a lot of emu oil in his business claims the synergy of emu oil with other products raises the effectiveness of the combined ingredients by 3-4 times! Emu oil is incredible blended into massage oils.  We have an article on our site about massage therapists, and why they like emu oil in massage oil.  It seems to helps the treatment last longer. It's AWESOME in soap.  All our soap customers, and people who purchase the oil for soap comment that it makes a very rich creamy soap.  Of course,wecan't make any CLAIMS about the benefits in soap (according to the FDA,soapis soap... it cleans!)  But we do have many people who love using emuoilsoap on several different types of skin conditions. Bath salts, I'm told are best without any oil, as you don't want to coat the skin while the salts are working on your skin.  Use the oil AFTER youbathe,to moisturize and protect the skin after the salts treatment. If you have other questions, I'm happy to answer them for you. Deena EMU OIL & EMU OIL SOAP Gentle Ridge Enterprises ~ Wisconsin, USA  mailto:gentle@gentleridge.com ** Lots of new emu oil information on our website! ** Craft Show Ideas had a pretty productive weekend and thought I'd share my finds with all-a-youse-guys...Been having a wee bit of trouble with table top displays for small local craft shows that consisted of your basic 6' long banquet table and I think I've finally got it licked!...here's what I did: I purchased 1/2 and 1/4 peck baskets (ya know, the kind you might see filled with apples or produce) for displaying my soaps....I've seen the display racks that go with these and they were a bit out of my budget so instead, I got wooden holders meant to hold video tapes (the kind with wooden dowels)...when I put my baskets on them, they tip slightly outwards so that you can see what's inside without having to peer into the basket from directly above...these I got for 5$ each at my local Nat'l Wholesale Liquidators (surplus store, much like your local dollar shop)...a sight better than what the manufacturer of the baskets wanted for the same type set up (upwards of 40$ for a tabletop display rack that held 3 baskets or so depending on the size)... You can also use shoe organizers that have those dowels...same concept and it tips baskets so that you can see what's inside...the trick is to find the wooden ones as opposed to those white plastic, wire coated or melamine types..... Then, I purchased mini shopping baskets, just like the ones you use in the market, but these are chrome and they'll hold about a shoe boxful of products (just to give you an idea of their size)...got 5 of them for about 7$ each (saw these same baskets for 11$ at Fortunoff's)...I've found that people stop shopping when their arms are full, so I'm thinking this will be of help to the people who come to my table and say things like, ...'ok, the Lavender's for Cheri, Oatmeal for mom...mmm....Sandalwood for Henry...' etc. Purchased a mini easel about 10" high with a small framed chalk board for about 7$ at Target and a wooden box meant to hold CD's with a lazy Susan thingie on the bottom to put my potpourri pies on top....the little chalkboard will proclaim the 'Blue Plate special potpourri pie of the day'.... The end result looks like a mini 'Farmer's market' complete with Mason Jars filled with doggie cookies, which I used a set of cupboard organizers (ya know, the kind that look like mini steps or risers meant to go on your pantry shelf so that you can see the cans in the back)..covered the ugly white melamine with unbleached muslin for a unified look... Everything is in a natural pine finish and I was able to get a *very pulled together look from a number of different items not necessarily meant to go together...It's really neat! I'll have to take a pic at my next show so that anyone who's faced the same problem of a setup that does'nt eat up your budget can get ideas regarding displays.... For my next trick, I'm thinking of purchasing unfinished wooden shutters (cafe style) if I can get them on sale, I'll hinge 3 together, then stand up on table in a U shape, slip thin plywood boards between spaces (with shutter in open position) for tabletop shelves to display other light weight items like sachets.... Happy Soaping! Regards, Antoinette Next Page Copyright Notice! All content provided on this Web site, excluding button icons,  graphics, images, noted original author's works is the copyright of Rebecca Erisch, and is protected by applicable U.S. and international copyright laws. Information may be used for personal use only. Any other use--including display, distribution, modification, republication, reproduction, or transmission--of the content on this Web site is strictly prohibited. Copyright (c) 2005 Rebecca Erisch. All rights reserved.