Gone Coconutty?

Fads. I can't stand them. Almost to a fault.

Bacon? No. Get over it. We're unhealthy enough as it is.

Mustaches? I used to love them, I tried to avoid hating them, but when I heard about a mustache growing reality show, I started to tip.

Owls? I've collected them most of my life, the owl is my spirit animal and I wish I had them back (to myself), but those can stay (I think rainbows and owls might be the only fads I'll never get sick of. At least I hope I won't).

Tropical "super fruits"? Blueberries are better than most, and they're a native food (if you live in the US).

I recently realized, that when I start getting sick of hearing about something, it usually means that it's about to get really popular.

I'm not trying to claim I'm cooler than anyone because I get sick of things easily. Pretty much the opposite. Like I said, I'm against fads almost to a fault (my favorite band didn't get less awesome because more people liked them, so why don't I like them anymore?). I actually got nervous a while back when I started to hear about calendula in the media. Hating things because other people like them is not something to be proud of. Although I won't go as far as to jump on the hipster-hating bandwagon (see?).

What my dislike for fads does do, though, is help me be more critical of things. Critical in a positive way. Critical thinking. It helps me to be able to look at things objectively, no matter how much I'm surrounded by good or bad things said about them. It helps me cut through the hype (ok, it's also partly because I'm an over-thinking Cancerian).

About a year ago, I got my cholesterol levels checked. I'm a 16-year vegetarian who doesn't eat much dairy or eggs regularly, and is in love with fresh vegetables, so I was surprised to find out that my LDL (bad cholesterol) levels were so high that my doctor was thinking of putting me on medication. High cholesterol runs in my family, so I wasn't totally shocked, but definitely surprised. Especially since in the last couple tests, it was only slightly high, but "nothing to worry about".

What had happened to increase my LDL in one year?

I cut back on: drinking (no), fried foods (no), dairy & eggs (no). I started eating more leafy greens (no), and started replacing many fats with coconut oil (wait a second...). Those were my only dietary changes. Cutting back on "bad" things, and adding "good" things.

I had started eating coconut oil based on the hype. Against my better judgment. I could feel something inside me saying that solid at room temperature meant that it wasn't a good oil for nutrition, but I like experimenting. I wanted to see if my health would change by eating more coconut oil, and less of other fats. As I was eating the coconut oil, I couldn't stop thinking about how I had only heard good things about it, and how people claimed that old studies were wrong, and it was actually "good for you". Seriously, I hadn't heard one bad thing, which pretty much always means something is fishy. There's always a bad side, at least to someone. Even a rainbow, possibly the happiest thing in the world, needs rain (I happen to love rain, but lots of people hate it).

And it kind of seems that coconut oil did have a bad effect on my health.

Now, my scientific side was, and still is, telling me there is no way I could blame the high LDL levels entirely on coconut oil. I don't know for sure. There are other factors. I can't narrow it down to one without an official experiment. But, my intuitive side told me to stop eating it. Completely (well, not completely... I think I still eat it on occasion if I have a vegan dessert). And I started feeling better. I haven't had my cholesterol rechecked yet (soon!), but since then I've also quit smoking so I still won't know for sure if it was the coconut oil. I just have a feeling.

At the time, I sent out a post to Wunder Budder's Facebook fans telling them about my experience, and asking if anyone else had a similar experience. Unsurprisingly, the answer was no. "Coconut oil is the best", "coconut oil is a super food", etc. I don't blame anyone for believing the hype. It's hard not to. I even started to wonder if my intuition was wrong.

And then I forgot all about it...

until today.

I'm taking a COURSERA class on nutrition. This week, the first class, is an overview of nutrition. In the lecture on fats, the teacher mentions coconut oil. Coconut oil as being "heart unhealthy" fat and as raising LDL levels.

What? Yes! I knew it! (More than I hate fads, I love when my intuition is proven right.)

Good news for my intuition (really, I got so excited, that I took a break from class to write this blog), bad news for everyone who has been adding coconut oil to their diets based on the latest fads and "information".

The teacher also mentioned that we'd talk more about it later (since this was just an overview). When we do, and when I do more research on my own, I'll be back to share.

I'm not telling anyone to stop eating coconut oil, or that I know more than some of the "experts" (are they really experts?) out there, but I do find this information interesting and important enough to share. Especially with the amount of people basing their diets on coconut oil. If you haven't heard about it, some people even add it to their diets where there were previously little to no fats, like in smoothies. Seriously. The hype is that good. But, it seems that might be all it is... hype.

Now, back to class.

XoXo,

Lisa

www.wunderbudder.com

EDIT: I should probably clarify things and mention that one of the main reasons people say that coconut oil is ok for cholesterol is that it increases the levels of HDL (the "good" cholesterol). This is true, but it's only a half-truth. The full truth is that it increases ALL cholesterol. The good and the bad. If you're looking for a healthy oil, this is not it, no matter what the hype says.

Good News & Bad News

Ok, friends...
I have news that affects each one of you who use Wunder Budder.

As you may or may not know, I'm not a business person. I mean, yes, I'm learning, but it's been something I've only been learning for a couple of years.

I'm a maker of things.

I've always made things, and I've always wanted to create a business out of making things.

I started as a kid with lemonade stands at the bottom of my driveway. I moved onto making patchwork hats and beaded dread wraps as a teenager, selling them to a shop in Faneuil Hall. In my early 20's I made jewelry and sold it on the streets, spread out on a blanket, of a city I lived in. Mixed in were lots of trades: my work for someone else's.

After studying herbalism and essential oils, my path was clear. Even though I still make other things, my business was formed around my obsession: plants and things made from plants.

I started Wunder Budder many years ago, but it was just a hobby-business for a long time. I had no idea what I was doing, business-wise. In early 2010, I decided to just go for it, and try making Wunder Budder into a full time business.

Most of the time, I still don't know what I'm doing, but I am finally starting to learn from my mistakes.

One of the mistakes I've made, and continued to make for the last three and a half years, was to underprice Wunder Budder.

I like cheap stuff. I shop second hand. Most of the furniture in my apartment (and in my studio) was first owned by someone in my family. In fact, I'm guessing about 90% of my stuff has either been owned by someone else first, or it's something I've made.

One big reason is that I just like things with history. But, the other big reason is that I went from a full-time adult student to a full-time bootstrapping business owner. Which means I haven't had a full-time paycheck in eight or nine years. I've had to live as frugally as possible, and I have a bad habit of thinking other people are like me. Not that anyone is swimming in money, but if it weren't for my husband, I'd be living in my studio, hiding from my landlady, and eating nothing but Ramen noodles.

I've been out of touch. I've been trying to keep Wunder Budder "cheap".

Well, I'm learning that, like most things, Wunder Budder can't be cheap and high quality. It just can't. I tried. And I'm failing. I'm heading towards low-pricing myself out of business.

Another thing I'm learning, is that as the demand for natural products grows, so do the prices of natural ingredients. The price of jojoba oil has nearly doubled in the last two years. Nothing else has gone up quite that much, but every single ingredient is more expensive now than it was two years ago. Increasing demand is just one reason.

Natural ingredients are completely dependent on Mother Nature. If there is a drought, a flooding, a heat wave, an early frost, or any other major weather event, crops are effected. Which means things like apricot kernel oil and lavender essential oil, for example, are affected. In a good season, prices will fluctuate slightly, but loss of crop in addition to increasing demand, means major increase in price. I haven't kept up.

After a few months of cost analysis and market research on similar products, I've realized that not only have I been nearly pricing myself out of business, but Wunder Budder prices were far lower than similar products, even products that are not handmade.

Realistically, what I should have done is started with much higher prices, and then increased them slowly and steadily as prices for ingredients rose. But, I was caught up in trying to remain a lower-priced item, and to not offend all of you with constant price-raises.

It backfired. And if things went on as they had been going, I'd be at risk of total business collapse.

So, prices had to go up today. Some by a little, some by a lot.

I know this will affect people. I know some people will be mad and I'll lose some of you. But my hope is that you'll understand that I had only two choices: raise prices or close shop and lose Wunder Budder forever.

I chose Wunder Budder.

I hope you will too.

XoXo,

Lisa

www.wunderbudder.com

I'm back!

Well, we'll see how it goes.

As you may have read in my last post (you know, the one I wrote over a year ago), I created a new website.

Which I love.

And so do Wunder Budder fans, it seems.

Except....

for the blog.

The format is different, and unless you're searching for Wunder Budder specifically, I'm basically talking to myself.

And that's not really that fun.

So, articles about herbalism, aromatherapy, living naturally, etc will be staying over at the website, and the bloggy blogs are staying here. The one's where I ramble. Hopefully not to myself.

XoXo,

Lisa

www.wunderbudder.com

New!

Have you seen the new Wunder Budder website?

It's new and improved for searching and contains additional information.

With the new website comes a new blog. Actually, two blogs!

One, that contains news and ramblings from yours truly, and one that contains articles on general information about skincare, aromatherapy, and living naturally, among other things.

Add both to your RSS Feed, and stay tuned for Facial Care returning this week!

XoXo,

Lisa

www.wunderbudder.com

Finishing a Pine Table, the Natural Way... Part III

(continued from Finishing a Pine Table, the Natural Way... Part II)

So, there I was with the table, perfectly stained, but looking like a hand without Wunder Budder.

It needed wax.

So, I thought about it.

Beeswax, of course.

Candelilla wax to harden it up a bit?

Jojoba is a liquid wax, so why not?

Remember, this was my first try!

I put the waxes in a glass measuring cup, put it in a pan of water, and melted them on low heat.

As this was melting, I went back to Google and did some more searching. Then I found out that flax (often called linseed oil when used for painting) is what is known as a drying oil.

What the heck is a drying oil? I wanted to know that too. What I found out was that it's an oil. A wet, easily applied oil, but through oxidation it becomes hard. How cool is that!

I had some flax oil in my fridge, so I added some of that to the mix. But, I was running out of room in my melting cup, so I just added as much as could fit, then for fun I added some rose and chocolate extracts that were too old for use in skin products, but still smelled amazing!

I poured the new furniture wax into one of the ex-peanut butter jars I always have around my house, and let it cool, but in true Lisa fashion, I couldn't wait anymore and started using it while it was still warm.

This turned out to be a good thing, because as it cooled more and more, it became almost too hard to work with! So, I did what I don't suggest you do (but it was really fun!)... I applied the wax with my hands instead of a cloth! Scooping out large amounts of wax, I used the heat from my hands to soften it and make it easy to spread over all surfaces of the table, even the hidden ones. Although the danger of splinters is a real one (especially if you put as many coats of water based stain on your table as I did!), it's a pretty amazing, grounding feeling to work with raw wood and waxes with my fingers.

I massaged the wax in a circular motion, giving it a nice thick layer. I left it to dry, buffed it with a soft cloth, then applied another thick layer of wax with my hands. Once more, I left it to try, then buffed it with a soft cloth. After the third application, I used all my strenght to buff it down as much as I could. To remove as much excess wax as possible. I buffed it until my arms hurt.

Then I left it alone.

Heavy coating of wax on the table

At first, no matter how much I buffed, a thin sticky film remained, but luckily, due to a mixture of procrastination and being too busy, I left it for days. Somewhere within those days, the stickiness changed to a unique softness that felt neither wet or dry, to just a nice and smoothly finished table.

I'm in love.

And I'm proud. So proud of it, I've put off actually switching the tables out and using it as a full time coffee table. I know my life will have to change once it's out!

No more Stuff being left on it. No more forgetting the coaster. Daily cleaning.

But this weekend... it's happening.

The giant table is going into the attic, and we start using our awesome new table.

And with more space, I can start working on the second table. And with the second table, comes more experimenting and learning, two things I love doing.

Did I make the stain too weak (definitely!)? Did the jojoba sink into the wood (maybe)? Did I use too much candelilla (yes!)? Did the flax help it turn from sticky to smooth (I think so!)?

I'll share what I find with you, and when I do, I'll be sure to include the recipes and formulas I chose and tell you exactly what and why I did or didn't do differently.

Because I want you to Love Living Naturally!

Have you done this before using your own experiences? Did you try it based on mine? Are you looking forward to more specifics about how to do it? Let me know by commenting below!

Talk to you soon...

XoXo,

Lisa

www.wunderbudder.com

Finishing a Pine Table, the Natural Way... Part II

(... continued from Finishing a Pine Table, the Natural Way... Part I)


So, I had these two new unfinished pine tables that I didn't know what to do with, and I started Googling... I found lots of websites that all told me to do the same thing:

brew a pot of coffee and apply it to unfinished wood with a sponge or rag.

So, that's what I decided to do.


Kind of.

Hating to waste anything, I took the grounds out of the French press from the morning coffee, put it in a jar, and poured fresh boiled water over them.  Then, while wishing I had some hibiscus to add a warm reddish tone to coffee brown, I remembered I still had some dried elderberries left over from my ginger-elderberry syrup (which I still owe you the story for!) and I began to steep those in a separate jar.

The pink stain is just elderberries.
What a great color!

I spent a day or two adding different amounts of

coffee, elderberries and water to the jars,
occasionally testing it out on the underside of the table,
then steeping and testing and adding
and steeping some more.

Eventually, when my urge to start staining took over,
I poured them both into one giant jar, and let them steep
together as long as I could could take it.

I love how the coffee filter and elderberries
remind me of  a sunflower
with its petals blowing in the wind.

I strained half of the stain,
leaving the other half to steep,
and grabbed the only paintbrush I had around -
a crappy brush with loose bristles,
but it would do for the moment.


Applying the stain heavily, as the websites
told me to do,
I dripped coffee everywhere,
but gave the table a nice wet coat,
smoothing out the drip spots as I went.
And it smelled good!

I waited for it to dry,
and then covered it in stain again.


And then again
and again
and again.

I lost count after five or six coats.

Every time I painted on the stain, the table seemed to be almost exactly what I wanted,
but as each coat dried, the color grew lighter.

And then my husband brought home a sponge brush.  After two coats using the sponge brush, the color was exactly right and I realized that when I work on the next table, I will start out with a sponge brush for best results.

Another thing about painting so many coats of stained water onto wood is that it really dries it out!  It makes sense, and I was thinking of it as I applied coat after coat, but I didn't realize just how dry it had become until I was done staining and running my hands along the rough top.

Look at all the cracks!  It's like a hand without Wunder Budder!

So, it was a good thing I was also planning on making a wax.


To be continued...


XoXo,
Lisa
www.wunderbudder.com

Finishing a Pine Table, the Natural Way... Part I

I live in a small apartment, with an extra large coffee table.

I love the table.  It's the perfect game night table, with enough room for eight people to sit around comfortably and have plenty of table space.

The problem lies within the small apartment, which has shrunk over the years with the addition of hand-me-downs, family heirlooms, yard sale, thrift store and flea market finds, with a few new Things thrown in.  Because of all these Things, the room still fits the perfect game night table, but no longer has room to fit people around it.

Why not just get rid of the Things you might ask?  Isn't that really the problem?  You know your apartment didn't really shrink, right?

No, it has nothing to do with two Collectors of Things banning together to create the greatest collection of Things ever, the apartment really just shrank, magically.  I think it's a Salem thing.  Yeah, I'll stick with that.

Anyway, without the people, the extra large, perfect game night table has become a

Place to Put Things.

Lots of Things.

So, after Christmas, I decided enough was enough and we needed a new, smaller table, stat.  No more waiting to find the perfect used table somewhere, I wanted something Right Then.

So, I went online and ordered a coffee table, with a matching side table.

This is the new coffee table on top of the giant coffee table,
with plenty of room to spare!
I love that it's calendula yellow in this photo.

Two brand new, unfinished pine tables.

I've never finished a table before, but as well as being a lover of Things, I'm also a lover of Projects.  And being Me, I'm a lover of Projects, especially when they have something to do with Living Naturally.

So I decided to finish the table with items I had
at home.

To be continued... (go to Part II)

XoXo,

Lisa

www.wunderbudder.com