Products of the hive - what a beekeeper does in the winter

[tillie]

So I miss my bees and all the activity and I'm not happy building boxes and frames - gets a little boring. 

So this winter, I've made lip balm


and hand lotion
. 

Amazing what areas these bees send me into - I'm not a cosmetics person, but this lip balm is amazing and after several tries, the hand lotion today finally turned out OK.

Linda T with soft hands in Atlanta

[JP]

Linda, you never cease to amaze. Your products look good, nice and professional.

Taking a break from extracting, 2.5 gallons so far today, JP

[Understudy]

That is simply amazing. My wife wants to do the lipbalm also.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

[tillie]

The lip balm was easy - And it makes a ton.  I ordered 100 containers and then re-ordered 100 more.  I got little mirrors from Ebay and hot-glued them on the bottom of the container so you can see yourself as you put on the lip balm! 


I used the recipe in the Backyard Beekeeper - if your wife does it, don't follow that recipe. 

It calls for 5 T of vanilla and about that much honey.  That amount won't incorporate in the rest of the mixture.  It then pools on the bottom of the lip balm and is a sticky mess.  The second time I made it, I only used 3 T of honey and flavored with peppermint essential oil instead of all that liquid vanilla.  It turned out much better.  If I were to do the vanilla again, I'd only use 2 T and 2 T of honey.

I found out about the containers on this neat website called notmartha.org  :-D :-D :-D

Linda T in Atlanta (the person with the soft hands!) 

[Kimbrell]

Your lip balm sounds great and I love your packaging.  I wanted to try some in a "chapstick"like container.  Have you tried that?

[Cindi]

Linda, oh you are always up to something so cool and interesting.  Never a dull moment in your life eh?  That lip balm and hand creams look absolutely beautiful, you are an amazing woman, good for you.  Have a wonderful day, Cindi

[tillie]

I wanted to try some in a "chapstick"like container.  Have you tried that?

It's hard enough to fill the containers I used.  I think for me it would be extremely difficult to do the chapstick type container.  I did see on the Internet where someone devised this container to hold the lipstick containers upright while you fill them.

I went to Target to the pharmacy and asked the pharmacist if I could buy a syringe - she gave me one - the kind they give out with infant liquid meds.  It is perfect for filling my containers....but even so there were sloppy moments.

I have "essential tremor" that makes my hands shake, worse under stress - I can't imagine that I would be able to fill the small opening of the lipstick container - but go for it - people love the stick type chapstick.

Linda T in Atlanta

[TwT]

that's nice Tillie,

here's the free recipes on betterbee page, maybe you can mix some of their with yours and make even a better product, or try one of the other products they make....

Soap Recipes

A quick word of caution regarding lye. Lye, if mishandled, is dangerous. It is important to take care and follow the necessary safety precautions.
Below are a few things that we have found useful in making soap:
Glass jar for mixing water and lye - canning jars work great
Hand held mixer - not a blender but the type with a tiny mixing blade at the bottom.
Scale accurate to tenths of an ounce.
Pyrex measuring cups
Pan for heating oils
Mixing utensils


Basic Starter Soap - Joanne Steele


This is a basic soap making recipe to get you started in the soap making craft. It is an excellent first recipe since many of the oils you may already have in your kitchen. This recipe will make about 1 pound of soap.

Recipe

1 cup distilled water
2.4 oz of lye
5 oz coconut oil
6 oz olive oil
5 oz shortening
1 Tbs castor oil
Essential oil
1 Tbs Honey
Heat the coconut oil, olive oil, and shortening until entirely melted and then place in a bowl or bucket to cool. In a glass jar mix the water and lye. Once both the oils and lye mixture have cooled enough to carry the containers comfortably with bare hands, combined the lye with the oils. Blend the two mixtures with a hand mixer until it begins to thicken to a gravy consistancy. Add the castor oil, essential oil, and honey and mix throughly. Pour the mixture into a mold of your choice. Wait 24 hours before removing the soap from the mold and then let it cure for at least 2 weeks.



Skin Cream Recipes

Lemon Cleansing Cream - Joanne Steele

1 Tbs beeswax
3 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs witch hazel
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/8 tsp borax
2 capsules vitamin E
6 drops lemon essential oil
Over low heat, gently melt beeswax in the olive oil. Beat for 5 minutes until mixture has a creamy, smooth consistency. In a separate pot gently warm the witch hazel and lemon juice and stir in the borax until dissolved. Add the witch hazel mixture to the cream and beat steadily. After the cream has cooled stir in the lemon essential oil, then spoon into jars.

This is good for eliminating excess oil and smoothing wrinkles. Plus the lemon gives it an antiseptic quality.



Lotion Bar - Joanne Steele

Lotion bars are the latest crazy. They look like soap but instead of washing with it you rub the bar over your hands and body to moisturize.

2 oz Beeswax
2 oz Cocoa Butter
2 oz Sweet Almond Oil
Melt everything together in a double boiler then pour into molds (whatever shape you choose). Once they have cooled, remove from the molds. These should be stored in an airtight container.


Lip Balm Recipes

Basic Lip Balm - Joanne Steele

2-1/2 tsp Beeswax
7 tsp Sweet Almond Oil
1 tsp Honey
1 capsule Vitamin E
5 drops of an essential oil
Melt the oil and beeswax together in a little pan over low heat until the beeswax is melted. Take off the stove and then add in the honey and whisk it all together. When the mixture is nearly cool add in your essential oil. Mix it up again and then pour into your lip balm container.

[DayValleyDahlias]

I'll put a great recipe for Sandalwood Foot Balm...when I can find it!  Gifts from the hive, amazing~*~

[Understudy]

A quick word of caution regarding lye. Lye, if mishandled, is dangerous. It is important to take care and follow the necessary safety precautions.

You mean not everyone saw Fightclub.  ;)

Sincerely,
Brendhan

[tillie]

Thanks for the recipes, TWT - this is so much fun that I am sure I'll try them.  I gave the lip balm to my 6 grown nieces and nephew along with my usual present to them - which is a contribution of six hives of bees to the Heifer Project in each of their names - they are doing quite well and don't need presents and this seems like a great way to recognize them at Christmas and still do some good....Almost all of them have contacted me about the lip balm - including my nephew who has a crawfish cooking business on the weekends in Memphis and needs it for the cayenne drying out his lips! 

It's so much fun that I'll put your recipes to use as long as I have beeswax.

Linda T in Atlanta

[Cindi]

Ted, awesome that you took the time to put the recipes in this thread for us.  Have an awesome day, Cindi

[tillie]

I really want to try the lotion bars - I have one that someone gave me for Christmas and it's miraculous in that it maintains its molded shape and is such wonderful lotion on your hands - I have all the ingredients in the list and can't wait to try it!

Linda T apparently in the lotion business in Atlanta

[bassman1977]

You mean not everyone saw Fightclub.

I'd tell you if I did or not but the first rule of Fight Club is, "Do not talk about Fight Club".   :evil:

This is a cool thread.  I would like to try that solar melter this summer.  Looks great.  The bee products made look like something my wife could get into.

[abates99]

I made lip balm for Christmas this year and everyone loved it.  It was expensive to buy all of the components but it will make a huge amount of lip balm, so it will pay off.  The lotion is the next step I am interested in.  Thanks for another good post Tillie!