Tuesday night the air inside the Nature Center smelled of lavender, cedar and rosemary. Women chatted and laughed in small groups as they made herbal salves, oils, sprays, tea blends and other goodies. The herbal gift making class was led by herbalist Linda Conroy of Moonwise Herbs. Linda started the program by introducing herself and talking about using plants for medicinal properties. She explained the plants used in the program were gentle, nourishing herbs that work well for gifts. Then she explained what we were going to make, divided us into smaller groups and had us spread out to the different stations to get started.

My favorite product I made was the salt scrub. Many of us are familiar with sugar scrubs, but salt scrubs can also be used to exfoliate and moisturize our skin. Linda had several infused oils to chose from such as lavender, plantain, cedar, calendula, comfrey and more. She made the oils by steeping fresh plant material in olive oil for 6 weeks. I mixed fir infused oil, salt and some juniper berries to make my scrub. I packaged it in the lovely tin provided by Linda and labeled it Christmas Salt Scrub because it smelled just like a fresh evergreen tree. I am sure my friend will love this addition to the holiday package I plan to send her.

Linda proved how fun it can be to make homemade, natural gifts for the holiday…or any time of year!

Linda introducing herself and explaining the flow of the night.

Melting beeswax to make the salve. Infused oils were added to customize the salve, which could also be used as a lip balm.

Bundling small branches to make cedar wands for air fresheners or embellishments for gifts.