A couple of weeks ago, early in the morning, my friendly postman rang the doorbell. And I trudged. And trudged.
And trudged.
Down the 10 stairs to my front door.
(TRUDGED.)
He handed me a pretty box and said, “Good day, morning-faced lady.” And I mumbled, “Good day to you, fine sir! How are you this gorgeous morning. You’re looking swell!” “Uh-huh.”
Inside this box was a booty full of surprise (just for me!) from the gorgeous Stephanie. Nothing has made my day quite like it since. Inside was a spot of tea, some sea salt, and a little lavender.
By a little lavender, I mean an effing flotilla full of it.
Earlier this summer, Stephanie had visited a lavender farm, where she had the fun of picking, stripping, and drying her own lavender. These are the kinds of things that happen in California, which I can only think of as the land of magic and whimsy now. So she had a lot. And she sent me a lot. And now … I have a lot of lavender. Hand-picked by a crunchy goddess.
Now, as you know, I have the Pike’s Peak Community Swap coming up on Sunday, and I’ve decided that there would be nothing better than to use lavender for one of my swap items. If you don’t know what a community swap is, here’s a post detailing it. Basically, it’s just a fun get-together where you swap homemade/homegrown things WITHOUT using any money. Total barter. It rocks.
(I’m also doing echinacea-elderberry syrup and Nutty Butt Butter bars … and, yes, the recipes for those two things WILL be forthcoming this week, all of you who’ve asked me for the butt bar recipe.)
Quandary: I have so many ideas of things to do with this lavender, I need you to help me decide what to make. The best part about this is that you’re also going to get some great gift ideas for the upcoming holiday festivities, too.
Wait. No. THAT wasn’t the best part. The best part is, I want you guys to pick which one of these I’m doing for the swap, and I’ll make extra of the winner to mail to one or two of you. So you tell me what to do, and then one or two of you will also get something good out of the deal. And then we’ll all thank Stephanie for her generosity, kindness, and general perfection.
Here are the choices:
Lavender Shortbread Cookies with Bonus Lavender Sugar
In her card to me, Stephanie mentioned using it to make some lavender shortbread cookies, and I’ve been obsessed with this idea ever since.
The best recipe I could find comes courtesy Joy the Baker. It employs lavender sugar.
I went ahead and made some lavender sugar, because that’s something I’ve always wanted to do (and it takes 10 seconds). Basically, you just mix together equal parts dried lavender buds (organic preferably) and raw sugar and then grind it all up in a food processor or spice/coffee grinder. I sifted the bigger parts out, just to make it more palatable.
With this lavender sugar, you can sweeten tea, bake, add a little oil and use it as a body scrub … really just about anything. So lavender sugar, alone, would make for a really fun gift.
But we’re talking about lavender sugar AND lavender shortbread cookies here. That’s the first idea.
Lavender Floral Facial Mask
Not only do I have a, um, tiny bit of lavender, but I also have extra rose petals and chamomile. So I was thinking … why not make a face mask base?
Here’s what it looks like (the only instruction will be to add water or milk and spread it on your face, so it’s a dry mask to start out with):
Lavender Floral Facial Mask (softening, healing for all skin types)
- 2 Tbsp combined (equal parts) ground lavender, rose buds/petals, chamomile – sifted through a fine-mesh sieve
- 2 Tbsp bentonite clay (or any cosmetic clay)
- 1 Tbsp full-fat powdered, organic milk
- 1 Tbsp finely ground oats
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Store in a tightly lidded container. Keeps, dry, for up to a year (or more).
To use: Take 1 Tbsp of the mixture and combine it with 1 Tbsp water, milk, or organic fruit juice. Mix until you have a thick, combined paste. Apply to a clean face and leave on 15-20 minutes. Rinse well, washing off gently with a warm washcloth.
Okay. That was option two. It will come in a small jar and contain about 5-6 applications. It also doubles as a facial scrub to wash your face with (like the no-nonsense daily facial scrub).
Lavender-Rosemary Infused Honey (for Face Washing)
Luckily, I just started another huge batch of lavender-rosemary infused honey last week.
It is, by far, my favorite way to wash my face. Ever. It also makes tea taste like bliss-covered joy.
So I’ll do small jars of lavender-rosemary infused honey to swap.
If you don’t remember how to infuse honey, here are the instructions. But in a nutshell: Just add your favorite dried herbs/flowers, equal parts, to raw honey and let it sit for a week or two (turn it over every day). When your honey is infused, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth – a cheesecloth if you want it REALLY strained, unlike the picture above.
Eat, put it on your face, roll around in it for funsies.
What do you think of that?
Lavender Sleepytime/Bath Sachets
This one kind of feels like a cop-out to me, mainly because I’ve given these things as gifts about eighty-quadrillion times in the last two years.
But it’s an excellent standby use of lavender. I keep one of these in my pillow now and have noticed a decent change in my restless sleeping habits. Namely, I can sleep for three hours now without waking up. Go, lavender!
Here’s a rather lengthy instruction on how to make these, but condensed:
Mix together dried herbs/flowers (I will use lavender, hops, chamomile, and roses) in a small bowl. Add appropriate essential oils, if desired (I will use a little lavender and rose).
Tie it up in a cheesecloth or sew it up (if you’re handy like that) in a small flannel pouch. Place under your pillow and enjoy the lightly soothing scents – or pop it in the bathtub with you before you go to bed. It’s like sleepytime human tea.
There was option four.
Natural Lavender Air Freshener
Last idea, folks. What about a natural lavender air freshener?
This is the easiest option. So easy. And it works!
How to do it: Mix together equal parts dried lavender buds and baking soda in a small jar. Shake well. Drop in 20-30 drops lavender essential oil, shaking after every two to three drops. Punch small holes in the top of the jar (or you could leave the top off the jar for extra amazing air deodorizing/freshening).
That’s it!
I keep one of these in the bathroom to mitigate the cat litter smell, and it works like a charm. Mostly. Depending on what they’ve had to eat that day. Ahem.
Which One Should I Make For The Swap?
So tell me …
If you were at a swap, which one of these things would entice you to swap with me?
Everyone pick one, and the winning choice will not only be what I take with me to the swap on Sunday, but I’ll choose one or two of you to send the winning selection to, as well. If you don’t like any of these choices, and have a mind-blowing dried lavender gift idea of your own, hit me with it. If my mind is blown, I will make TWO lavender things to take with me.
And, y’know, if you want to swap back … I’m totally game for it. Now that the postman knows what I look like first thing in the morning.
(Oh, and PS. You don’t have to have a Stephanie in your life to receive a boatload of lavender. Mountain Rose Herbs carries it at an extremely affordable price, and you’ll also find dried lavender buds at your local herb shop or food store. I have to mention it, because without a doubt someone would have asked where to find a Stephanie to mail them lavender.)
Hello, I stumbled upon you–well, your writings anyway–when looking for natural cat litter tips and tricks. You are hilarious, well-versed, and, my favorite (so far) well punctuated! (I am an Editor.) 🙂 I have never written to tell anyone about their site before. Not that you need the kudos, as you seem wildly popular, but well done. I love the oil on the bottom of the box; I am trying it today.
I think you should make lavender/ raspberry jam… it is so easy….and DELICIOUS… TRY IT, YOU WILL LIKE IT!!!!
Anything with lavender is a great gift because it smells sooo good!! I am trying the lavender shortbread cookies later this week. I have wheat flour on hand but want to make it with white flour. (even though I know the wheat is better for you ) Also you could make lavender heating pads. I am new to following the posts and love them!
I am opting for the lavendar honey face wash!! I use raw honey to wash my face as well as make a mask and absolutely love it! The lavendar would make it extra special.
Wow, I really love the ideas! Especially… no, all of them! I currently live as an au-pair in a really huge house and the lady who owns it has a garden full of lavender! I guess I’ll start to reduce that amount quite quickly… 😀 I just never know – for the sachets and cooking and everything, do you use only the purple bits from the top of the plant or all the stem and leaves? I’ll need to dig more into the articles…
You know, breast milk would make a fantastic substitute for the organic milk in the face mask! I know people are weird about breast milk, but it is packed with tons of vitamins and it is a well known fact it is great for skin (it’s the #1 recommended thing by lactation consultants to use for chapped, sore nipples when breast feeding). I have some extra frozen breast milk in my freezer that is going to go bad if I don’t use it, think I will give the face mask a try with it! 😀
do the sugar and the cookies -that would be the best one –although everyone loves a lavender bath bomb or satchet, honey infused would be delightful to
my favorite place to get lavender is Hood River Lavender in Hood River, Oregon. Their website is loaded with recipes too…yummiest stuff ever!
I have all this lavender that I harvested out of my garden, sitting in large jars. So, I will put some of this to use making these sachets. Thank you
The lavender-rosemary honey face wash sounds yummy! Or the lavender floral facial mask, hmmm, decisions!
I love the shortbread and the air freshner since smell and taste are so linked
The Lavender – Rosemary infused Honey sounds Heavenly! I love a cup of hot tea anytime of day and I know that honey is wonderful for your skin, very moisturizing and antibacterial properties!
I totally want to try making that facial mask! but where in the world can i buy dried lavender?
MOUNTAIN ROSE HERBS is where I buy mine. I usually buy other items at the same time to help with the shipping costs.
I make sachets with my lavender and use them in my clothes dryer! Needless to say, my clothes, and especially my linen and towels smell heavenly…! AND you can re-use the sachets until they stop smelling…and I can’t count how many times I have used each sachet before finally tossing the lavender from the old sachet on the carpet just before I vacuum and it STILL makes my house smell wonderful…
Very awesome!! Totally trying this 😉
My mom loves to make some “herbs provincial” which is in essence a french herb mix with -gasp- lavender that you can use to cook with just about anything. It basically has 4 Tbsp dried thyme 3 Tbsp dried marjoram 3 Tbsp dried summer savory 2 Tbsp dried rosemary 1 Tbsp dried tarragon 1 Tbsp dried basil 1 Tbsp dried fennel seeds 1 tsp dried chervil 1 tsp dried mint 1 tsp dried lavender flowers all mixed together. And you can literally put it on anything! (except dessert of course)
Gotta try this one 😉
Lavender is my all time faaaavorite of all floral flavors. Mmm!
If I were on the receiving end of a swap, I’d be most looking forward to the honey. But that’s just me. I’m a honey maniac. A honey fiend. A honey nazi. I’m pretty sure people can tell just by looking at me.
Lavender Facial Mask! As an oily-skinned gal, I LOVES me a good mask =)
I’m sorry… I stopped reading after I got to the honey – it sounds AMAZING!!! Must go find some lavender plants somewhere…
Oooo, they all just sound fantastic but I’m voting for the honey. It sounds divine.
I vote for the lavender facial mask and thanks for all the wonderful ideas!
Soooo very much the honey!
Just wondering…is there an expiry date on this mix with lavender and rosemary?
I LOVE THIS SITE!
Ooooo! They all sound so good – it’s hard to choose! I think I’d go with the lavendar floral facial mask, though. That one really caught my attention!
I’m totally going to have to try that lavendar air freshener, though! I need one for the kitty litter smell in our bathroom, and one for the diaper pail smell in the baby’s room 🙂 Maybe I have enough lavendar left out in the garden…..
Stephanie IS the best! 🙂 I vote for the lavender floral facial mask…but they all look great. I made lavender sugar cookies this summer and they were delish! And I have some lavender infused honey in the works right now…wish I would have thought to add rosemary. Can’t wait to see what you choose.
Infused honey! I’m new to the honey washing, and was surprised at how luxurious it was. An infused honey can only make it better.
I love both the cookie/sugar idea and the infused honey idea. They both sound divine!!!
P.S. My current favorite “treat” use of lavender: top vanilla ice cream with it. Add honey. Yum!!! (or, if you have more time, just make lavender ice cream).
Best of luck!
I would swap just about anything I made for that lavender rosemary infused honey to wash my face with!
That’s my vote!
I say you go for the lavendar honey. That just sounds divine! Has anyone ever made lavendar chocolate? A friend brought some back from a trip overseas and it was fabulous! I’ve never been able to find it though. I would love to get my hands on some one of these days!
I made lavender bath salts (super duper easy) with the lavender I harvested this year….and lavender goat milk soap. The soap didn’t turn out, but I hesitate to toss it since it smells heavenly, even though it’s taking up room and I keep yelling at the kids not to touch it, lol. For a swap, I’d prefer the honey or the sugar…..but I’m sweet like that! (HA!)
I love the lavender short bread cookies.
2nd runner up would be the face mask.
Some great ideas here!
Natural Lavender Air Freshener
You should choose the lavender-rosemary infused honey. You should make lavender infused oil by putting equal parts of dried lavender buds and a carrier oil.
I like all the ideas and can’t pick just one…but it seems like the cookies and/or little sachets would be a cute accompaniment to whatever you make, rather than being the star. You could bake some cookies and pack up 2 or 3 together on each item, or tie a sachet to the item. You could use some cute twine or ribbon. Fun!
I think the cookies might be the most successful swapping item. But the honey face wash would be so good at getting the word out! I still have half a jar of last summer’s lavender. Now to decide which recipe to make…
Well, its really hard to decide under pressure like this, but…I have to vote for the honey face wash. It looks inviting : )
My vote is for the cookies with the sugar or the air freshener! Though all of the options sound amazing! I have so many ideas now for holiday presents- thank you!
They ALL sound awesome!!!! Any one of them would be an awesome swap item, Betty!
I personally don’t care for the taste of lavender that much. I adore dark chocolate, but gave my lavender-infused dark chocolate to a friend. Eh. Lavender infused toothpaste. Same, except I gave that to my daughter because SHE thought it rocked the world! (I’ll be making all those with rose petals!!!!)
I do, however, love the smell of fresh or dried lavender, so I’d be inclined to swap for the face scrub first and the air freshener second. LOVELY!!!!
P.S. My water kefir grains I won have grown enough to share. I invited a friend over this morning and we had fresh scones and tea before I taught her all about water kefir and sent her home with 1/4 cup. We had a fabulous morning and she is so excited! In fact, she just texted me saying she is making her first batch on her own right now. (I had her make my second batch at my house for me as practice.)
P.P.S. I have another 1/4 cup of live kefir grains I can share with someone locally (San Diego), which yields one quart of water kefir daily. Thank you so much, Betty!!!!!
Karin, I’m jealous of your happy kefir grains! Mine SEEM happy but have not grown or multiplied at all yet. Would you share your process? Or have you posted it already somewhere?
I’ll post in the community, Stephanie.
Well, I’ve been trying to sign in on the community for 10+ minutes and it’s just not happening.
The turning point for me was when I started adding molasses to each batch for the first fermentation. I am using 1/4 cup organic sugar (least processed I can find locally) and 1 teaspoon molasses and 1 quart (4 cups) water. I use a mix of tap water and reverse osmosis water, stirring like crazy to dissipate any chlorine in the tap water (before adding the kefir grains).
i can never resist lavender-flavored foods, so of course the cookies or sugar! i’m excited to see how easy it is to make lavender sugar, i’ll have to try it.
here’s a recipe for lavender sorbet that i’ve been meaning to try: http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/lavangustifoilia.htm#LavenderSorbet
and finally, i love lavender earl grey tea. i’m not sure if they just throw some dried lavender in with the tea, but it smells and tastes amazing.
I vote for the lavender and rosemary infused honey. I have just started cleansing with honey because my skin has been a mess recently, and I loved all the rave reviews you had.
I live in CA, too, in Silicon Valley. The climate is such that they use lavender and rosemary for shrubbery here. Yes, shrubberies a la Monty Python. They grow that easily and that big. Our house has two big rosemary bushes in the front yard. Yes, bushes. A large, unkempt, effectively unlimited supply of rosemary to delight our noses and our tastebuds. I’m from the Midwest, & we’ve only been here a few years, so it still amazes me some to see rosemary and lavender used in landscape plantings outside of office buildings and such.
I too say the lavender honey face wash!
Honey!!! I always want to make some and never remember. So I would go for honey even though I could do it myself 🙂
I vote for the lavender-rosemary infused honey. I’ve been washing my face with honey since you wrote about it AND I will be at the swap on Sunday. Just in case this information is any incentive …. I’m trading cocoa bombs; which can be eaten plain, turned into amazing cocoa or used as hot fudge. 🙂
I love love love all the ideas. Where can I get some awesome lavender? My favorite is the air freshener because I really love the smell of lavender.
I like all of the options, and I’m guessing that if you smooshed them all together in one big Gift Basket of Lavender Love, people would be pushing each other over just to swap with you. BUT. You don’t seem the type to want to start a riot, so I will say that the cookies and sugar would probably garner the most interest from other swappers. (People always wants edible treats. Like, 100% of the time).
The infused honey face wash would rock my personal world.
My oh my! Thank you Betty for all these amazing ideas… now I know what to do with the rest of that lavender! Hee hee! The face scrub sounds divine.
PS… add some dried orange peel to the lavender sugar. It’s out of this world.
loving the face mask, especially since i’m guessing i’m not the only one who doesn’t keep organic dry powdered milk in the house. that would be a special treat were i the swappin’ kind.
p.s. lavender sugar, where have you been all my life?
I got to lavender shortbread cookies, and my brain sort of stopped there. I forced myself to skim the rest of the article, but you had me at shortbread.
If anyone is going to GIVE me cookies in trade, then why look a gift horse in the mouth? Cookies all the way!
Lavender Facial Mask FTW
I love the cookies and sugar idea!
I vote for the infused honey! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE honey! And honey infused with lavender is divine!
yummy, this makes me want to run home and make some lavender shortbread cookies. That and the honey are my favorites (it’s not my stomach talking, i swear!)
Oh My Crunchy Betty –
Normally, I would not choose the cookies – Honestly, I wouldn’t, but the sound of these, the mere throught of these has me all a titter. Add the Lavender Sugar and I am literally beside myself with curiosity.
Hugs From Laurie AKA Idgie
I adore the lavendar face mask! It would last forever!!!
The cookies. Dear heavens. the cookies!!! Those sound amazing!
(Probably because I’m hungry. lol)
The honey is a close second. 🙂
Honey. It sounds the best and has so many uses. For your swap it would probably be the easiest thing to trade.
Okay, that’s it – I need to try and grow lavender. I want to try all of these. However the one I would try first and most want would be the facial mask.
I would love the facial mask and/or the infused honey. Or you could make something like lavender soap, which I think would be awesome!
Shortbread Lavender Cookies with Lavender Sugar – Yes, Oh Crunchy Goddess, There Is A God and he wants me to eat these cookies :o) yum This will be my addition to our Office Thanksgiving Party and a BIG thank you from PA
The shortbread cookies or the infused honey would be my picks
I’m kinda digging the idea of a lavender sugar – sugar scrub but my vote goes for the face mask!
oh dear,
can i first just say i am super new to this (just got my first order in from mountain rose herbs last night!) and you are changing my life on a daily basis.
my vote goes to the honey, honey! and thanks for all the amazing blogs and ideas!
One of everything. Oh, wait, that’s what I want to win! Okay, so for the swap, I think you should make the honey. That sounds amazing and very versatile. And I want some. 😉
Lavender Floral Facial Mask!!!
Before you even started listing what you might make, I thought, “Ooooooooh, lavender shortbread cookies!” And then, when I read your first option, I thought, “Yaaaaaay, lavender shortbread cookies!”
Those are so incredibly delish. I maybe heart them even more than dark chocolate. Maybe.
But. That lavender-rosemary infused honey? Oh. My. That sounds CRAMAZING. I would definitely swap you something for that (if I had anything to swap; I’m new to being crunchy!). I’ve never washed my face with honey before (have I mentioned I’m new?), so I’d love to try that!
The honey definitely gets my vote. : )
I have had lavender-infused dark chocolate. And it is worth having.
All of it sounds wonderful! If I had to pick 2 items, it would be the cookies and face wash.
I vote for the face wash!
they all sound awesome! i’m so glad you are doing lavendery things because i also have a surplus of this most wonderful herb! I was most interested in the face mask because it’s something that seems a little more unusual than the others but the air freshener idea is rockin’ too! i would say…go with the air freshener. so cool.
Immediately I would go to the Natural Lavender Air Freshner. Stephanie is such a dear and Betty you are too for sharing. Have great fun at the Pike’s Peak Community Swap on Sunday. It sounds like a blast!
I’m with everyone else, it’s a tough decision as all of these gifts sound amazing (thank you for all the ideas – pinned this to my gift ideas board!)!!! But I’d say the honey, it’s something I would automatically go for! Hope the swap goes well 🙂
I think the honey would be amazing. I was also torn between the cookies and the honey, but if i were at a swap I would probably go for the honey because I can never resist it!
My vote would be for the cookies….sounds delicious! 🙂
Sometimes I wonder if you’re psychic, Betty! Like just the other day, my mum walked in with a bowl of lavender from the garden and was like ‘You could make sachets with it, you like doing that sort of thing, don’t you?’. I’m not big on the idea of making my own lavender sachets because it sounds like the sort of activity that involves organisation and more than two supplies. Lavender honey sounds perfect! I’ve become bored with a plain honey wash. Changing it up a bit will make morning cleansing more exciting.
Mmm, lavender shortbread cookies. All of the options sound fabulous, but that’s the one that I think a swapper wouldn’t have heard of before.
I like the honey and the air freshener. They both sound amazing!! I have to make that air freshener!!
They all sound heavenly. (Let’s hope this is the most difficult decision I have to make today.) I’m really torn between the shortbread/sugar cookies (just looking at that jar of lavender sugar made me want to lick my computer screen) and the scrumptious honey. Hmm… I guess at a swap I’d go for the honey, since it would potentially last longer. I doubt the cookies would even make it home. Thanks for all the ideas, and have fun!
The honey sounds absolutely divine. Too too inspiring you are Betty (she said with a yoda-like voice). I am off to make my own lavender honey RIGHT NOW!!
Hugs from DK
(And for the non-abbreviation-appreciative, that’s short for Denmark)
The lavender shortbread cookies sound just amazing! I really want to try that sometime.
But I also have an idea myself.
When my grandmother’s garden is all covered by lavender, we usually pick them and make tons of lavender oils. That would be a pretty neat thing to swap too, I think. Just put the desired amount in a container, pour some sweet almond oil over, let it rest for a week or so. And there you have it! I bet it would be great for all sort of things!
I like the sugar and shortbread option!
THE HONEY!!!!!!!!!!