As the hustle and bustle of the holiday season lurks in the periphery, you may be seeking ways to slow down; to experience moments of joy and gratitude.
Sometimes, those moments manifest when we make time for others or just take a moment for ourselves. Often, they coincide with a slowing of pace; come when we are focused on creating.
Here are three books offering creative practices that will help you slow down and experience gratitude in a multitude of ways.
FOLDED GRATITUDE
‘The Soul of Gift Wrapping’
By Megumi Lorna Inouye
Published by Storey Publishing
208 pages
$25
How many times have you rushed to wrap a gift at the last minute?
Did you care what the package looked like on the outside?
Gift wrapping and packaging artist Megumi Lorna Inouye believes you should care.
“A gift is an opportunity to show gratitude for someone we care about,” Inouye writes in the opening chapter of “The Soul of Gift Wrapping: Creative Techniques for Expressing Gratitude, Inspired by the Japanese Art of Giving.”
“The beauty of the presentation, the thoughtfulness of the materials and the loving intentions passed along in the act of wrapping are all gifts of care perhaps equal to the gift itself.”
This belief, she writes, is inspired by the wisdom found in the cultural values and giving traditions of her bicultural Japanese American upbringing.
“I vividly recall, when I was a young girl, the feeling of a summer breeze and smell of mothballs as I watched my mother open a chest full of kimonos. Layers of washi paper encased the kimonos and the undergarments that were wrapped with the air of a gentle confidence that seemed to say, ‘You, too, are worthy of appreciation and love.”
The kimonos were part of her mother’s dowry, which her grandmother had spent her life’s savings on. Her grandmother wanted to ensure Inouye’s mother would start married life with belongings of the highest quality. Inouye’s parents moved to the US, where the kimonos were not used, but still every summer, her mother pulled them out of the chest, aired them out and rewrapped them.
While she has no memory of the kimonos, she does remember the details of the packaging — the browned edges of the washi paper and how the act of unwrapping and wrapping them “transported her to a tranquil state of reflection.”
Wrapping was not relegated to holidays or birthday gifts, she writes in one of the many intimate stories she shares in the book. Her first initiation was at community picnics — the Japanese American version of the potluck. The tables were not only covered in plastic containers of food, but also containers wrapped in colorful furoushiki or “wrapping cloth.” As part of the festivities, the women gathered and unwrapped the food items, creating a sense of community that ended not only in a feast but also in shared experiences and recipes.
“We may never know the value of gathering until the ability to gather is taken away from us by unfortunate circumstances, by moving to different shores; by a global pandemic. Wrapping for gatherings is a visceral, visual and symbolic expression of gratitude, helping us to treat our social bonds as a gift not to be taken for granted,” Inouye writes.
You will find stories like these and more in the pages of “The Soul of Gift Wrapping,” along with a guide to making beautiful packaging with a few simple items — paper, scissors, bone folder and hole punch. You will not need tape. This is not the type of wrapping that requires tape. It it not done quickly. It involves a lot of folding.
In the end, you will create paper boxes, fold your own envelopes, learn to wrap bottles in a variety of styles, craft your own gift tags and bands. You will have taken time to create something beautiful; a gift enclosing your gift.
CHERISHED CALM
‘The Lavender Companion’
By Terry Barlin Vesci and Jessica Dunham
Published by Storey Publishing
176 pages
$26
Terry Barlin dreams big in the margins of her cookbooks, where she jots notes, recipes and anecdotes.
In her copy of “The Farm Journal ‘s Freezing & Canning Cookbook,” she has handwritten notes about the time she and her husband went on their first date; of the beautiful fall day when her son Aj went off to college; asides about cookies made for friends and recipes for a cake made for a beloved dog.
“I guess it’s fitting that my diary makes its home in a cookbook,” Barlin writes in the open of “The Lavender Companion: Enjoy the Aroma, Flavor and Health Benefits of this Classic Herb.”
“The recipes in that book, and the way it connected cooking, preserving, making and baking directly to hearth and home, inspired me. It gave me the dream of owning a farm one day and helped me imagine what that dream might look like. In 2015, that dream came true when my husband Rick and I bought a historical homestead in Pine, Ariz., boldly planted 5,500 lavender plants and opened Pine Creek Lavender Farm.”
She’s hoping “The Lavender Companion,” written with Jessica Dunham, will do just that for her readers — “become a go-to resource and journal for love of food, new ideas and home.”
“Please scrawl notes in the margins. Bend down pages of recipes and projects you want to make. Share it with a friend and save it for your kids and grandchildren so they’ll see what you loved, too,” Barlin writes. “… However you choose to use it, let it serve as an inspiration for all the ways you can bring the beauty, fragrance and flavor of lavender into your home.”
What follows her introduction is the lavender book that you didn’t know you needed — offering a guide to herb’s history and varieties; instructions to create homemade craft and body products along with over 40 recipes for dishes that showcase lavender. And you’ll also find tips for planting, harvesting and drying your own lavender.
Among the things you’ll learn about lavender:
- The difference between culinary and nonculinary lavender and if they can be used interchangeably.
- The difference between different varieties of lavender and the products they’re best suited for.
- How to choose cultivars that are right for you to grow.
- What types of water and soil are best.
- Why mulch shouldn’t be used.
- How to harvest and dry lavender.
The book is also filled with directions for fragrant body care products, fun crafts and delicious recipes, including:
Body care
- Sugar scrubs
- Wellness soaks
- Face washes and oils
- Essential oils
- Bath bombs
Home crafts
- Culinary herb braid
- Lavender sachets
- Eye pillows
- Spray cleaner
Pantry Staples
- Lavender Himalayan Salt
- Herbes de Provence
- Lavender Lemon Pepper
- Lavender Sugar
- Lavender Simple Syrup
Savory Surprises
- Sticky lavender-honey chicken
- Lavender pecan salmon
- Vegetarian curry
- Lavender roasted potatoes
- Lavender cinnamon rolls
In addition to finding a new creative practice, lavender brings with it a calming fragrance. According to the book, a Japanese study found that linalool — one of 200 compounds found in lavender — acts as an anxiolytic to sooth anxiety.
SOOTHING SELF-CARE
‘The Mountain Rose Herbs Book of Natural Body Care’
By Shawn Donnille
Published by Timber Press
232 pages
$30
Self-care can mean many things to many different people.
For some, the act of self-care is spiritual — meditation, spending time in nature, unplugging. For others, the focus is on mental health — practicing gratitude, setting goals, relaxing activities. Still, others may see it as physical self-care or a combination of some or all the forms it takes.
Physical self-care can focus on exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, prioritizing health. It also can come in the form of skin-care rituals.
And what could be better for your skin self-care than knowing exactly what is in the products you are using? One way to ensure only the best ingredients are being used is to craft your own. And finding a guide by one of the leading and most respected organic, sustainable natural practitioners out there is possibly one of the best ways to dip your toes into beginning to craft your own herbal skin care products.
Mountain Rose Herbs was founded in 1987 by “the godmother of herbalism” Rosemary Gladstar as a small mail-order business in Northern California that provided supplies for students at the California School of herbal Studies. When Gladstar move to Vermont and founded Sage Mountain Botanical Sanctuary, Mountain Rose Herbs was passed on to other herbalists.
In 2000, now under the ownership of environmental activist Shawn Donnille, Mountain Rose Herbs gained its official organic certification and began its online retail website. It made the move from a garage in northern California to Oregon in 2001, relocating closer to its farm operators, wild harvester and processors. Mountain Rose Herbs is now the largest distributor of dried herbs, DIY ingredients, essential oils, teas and spices in North America.
“Sharing our three-plus decades of expertise and our unflinching commitment to sourcing the finest botanicals in the most ethical and respected manner is at the heart of this book,” Donnille writes in “The Mountain Rose Herbs Book of Natural Body Care: 66 Simple Recipes for Health & Beauty.”
Unlike other books in this genre, “The Mountain Rose Herbs Book” does not assume that the reader has had any prior experience or knowledge of making body care products. In fact, Donnille wants the reader to focus on the fundamentals before moving forward — ensuring safety, success and shelf life of small batches.
The book starts with “fundamental knowledge” — tools you’ll need and a guide to ingredients (dried herbs, carrier oils) as well as a guides to substitutions, proper sterilization practices and preservation.
As you progress through the book, you’ll find recipes for herb-infused oils, botanical hair care — liquid and dry shampoos, rinses, conditioners, hot oil treatments and even beard oil.
A chapter on facial care includes foaming hand wash, herb-infused makeup remover, facial toners and serums, undereye moisturizer and several types of face masks. Lip care recipes will have you creating lip balms and lip gloss, while another chapter focused on “glowing skin” includes body scrubs, toners and numerous massage oils infused with herbs. Shower and bath enhancements include themed bath bombs (think floral, woodland) and aromatic bath oils.
There’s also a chapter on “Herbal Remedies for Common Ailments,” which includes after-sun sprays, a fungus-fighting rose nail oil, an herbal sitz bath, salves and menthol vapor chest rubs.
It’s a great book for the self-care seeker who is just starting their journey in the realm of natural body care products, but also a great addition to the library of someone already on this journey.
This post was originally published on here
