Ingredients

Herbs (such as oatmeal, coffee, spirulina, or clay)

1 pound (16 ounces) Bramble Berry ‘melt and pour’ soap, organic base

1 ounce essential oil (such as lavender or eucalyptus)

Soap mold (or any kind of empty container such as an empty yogurt container, old tofu container, empty soy milk container, etc.)

Rubbing Alcohol

Making Soap

1. Prep your herbs and make sure they are the right size for gentle exfoliation. Sharp herbs may be too abrasive on the skin.
2. Cut the ‘melt and pour’ soap into 1 x 1″ cubes.
3. Using your microwave, heat the soap in 30-second increments until the soap is fully melted.
4. Add .25 ounces to .50 ounces of essential oil. Remember, if you use a yellow or orange colored fragrance, your soap base will look less clear and look more yellow/orange.
5. Mix in your herbs or additives. Stir until the herbs seem mostly suspended.
6. Pour your scented and herb’ed soap into the make-shift mold.

Tip: Don’t fill your make-shift soap mold all the way up. It helps for easy release to fill 85% of the way to the top and not the entire way.

7. Do one finishing touch of rubbing alcohol to finish off your soap and give it a nice smooth surface.
8. Wait for the soap to harden, pop or unwrap the soap out of the mold, wrap soap with saran wrap, label and enjoy the compliments you get!

An Eco-Friendly Fall Foliage Getaway

I think it’s safe to say that I’m a big fan of nature.  On any given day, I can usually find beauty (and even a little peace) by checking out a shadowy patch of trees or listening to the crickets chirp outside my window.

But all of that pales in comparison to the enjoyment I get out of a crisp fall day, when nature just explodes with color…scarlet maples, orange sassafras, and golden poplars all on a backdrop of vivid green conifers. It’s enough to take your breath away.

Most folks think the only way to enjoy fall foliage is by taking a drive to see the colors.  Sure, that’s one way to do it.  But if you really want to see something beautiful, park your car, pack a lunch, and immerse yourself in the canvas.  Here are the greenest ways to see all of those beautiful fall colors:

Take A Hike: You don’t need to be an expert hiker or have a lot of expensive gear to take a lovely walk in the woods.  Just head to your nearest state or national park, chat with a ranger to find a hike that meets your needs, and hit the trails. 

Take A Bike: Grab the kids and the bikes and pedal your way through your favorite fall foliage sites.  Check out Bicycling magazine’s 10 best fall foliage rides.  Or head over to the Shenandoah Valley’s Fall Foliage Bike Festival to hear good music, eat great food, and see the colors with with bicyclists of all ages and abilities.

Take A Boat: Want to see the fall colors from a whole new angle?  Rent a canoe and paddle your way along the color-drenched shores of your favorite tree-lined body of water.  It’s double the beauty when you see the fall colors reflected in a mountain stream!  Check out the Appalachian Mountain Club‘s canoe and kayak schedule to find trips throughout the Northeast.

Getting There: The fact of the matter is that if you don’t happen to live in a forest, you may just have to travel to see some fall colors.  Check out my previous post on eco-friendly travel to keep it green and minimize your trip’s impact. If you’re coming from overseas it’s a good idea to invest in travel insurance.  Seriously.  Bizarre weather is the norm over on this side of the pond.  Don’t let a freak storm mess up your leaf peeping plans.  Be sure to shop around (Money.co.uk has good deals) to find an insurance plan that covers everything from hurricanes to emergency medical coverage.

Green Your Hair

Here’s a little known fact about me…I once had green hair. No, it was not on purpose. Yes, it was one of those home-dye-jobs-gone-bad scenarios. And no, it was not attractive. It was so long ago that I can’t quite remember what I did to remedy the situation, although I’m pretty sure it had a lot to do with baseball caps and ponytails.

Fortunately, that’s not the kind of green hair I’m talking about today. I’m talking about organic, all-natural hair care products like those you’ll find in today’s giveaway. Why green hair care? Because the stuff you put on your head affects your body and your planet as well as your hair…why not keep them all healthy and clean and beautiful?

Learn more about green beauty products by checking out my previous post, .  Ready for some green hair of your own (minus the ball caps and ponytails?)  Enter today to win a complete regimen of organic, all-natural hair care products from .  I’m giving away the complete line of shampoo, conditioner, leave-in conditioner, hair nourishing serum, and hair nourishing creme .  That’s $65 worth of all-natural, all-beautiful, all-green hair care!  Enter today.  Here’s how:

After you’ve done one of these things, leave me a comment below telling me what you’ve done. That’s it, you’re entered. Do as many of the things above as you’d like and leave a new comment for each one. The more you do, the more times you’ll be entered. Need more info? Check out the official here.

UPDATE 9/7/08: Due to a computer glitch (probably caused by a green parent glitch) some folks had a problem finding the “Comments” section for this post and didn’t know how to enter the contest.  I got entries in several different places, some via email, some on other posts and some here.  Never fear, ALL entries were submitted for the contest.  I used a traditional, scientific method to choose the winner…I wrote all entries down on a piece of paper, tossed them in a hat, and let my daughter pick!  And the winner was….

Congrats!  And thanks to all for entering!!