Birdz and Beez, Baby.

Two years ago April Lacher was a stay-at-home mom and wife. That alone was hard work _ taking care of her son, paying bills, cleaning house, running the day-to-day errands. Still, she wanted more.

She'd discovered she had an artsy side when she was planning her wedding. To save money, she took on the task of decorating the facility, designed the floral arrangements and helped create the invitations.

"I realized I loved creating beautiful things that other people could appreciate," says April, 32.

So when a family member couldn't use a lip balm because of an allergy to almond oil, April figured she could make some.

After hours of online research, experimenting with recipes and testing them out, she made her first tube of lip balm. It cost $150.

She thought she was going to give her husband, Brian, a senior estimator for a Kansas City, Mo., contractor, a heart attack. But through trial-and-error, the costs of her experiments went down, and she soon learned to make other things such as belly butter and hand cream.

"I'm surprised at how many things I have come up with," she says. "I had no idea that I could turn all natural ingredients into products."

Last summer while getting her hair done, April pulled out some homemade butter creme-scented hand lotion. Her stylist loved it so much she wanted to carry it in her salon.

Just like that, April went from stay-at-home mom and kitchen chemist to a business woman. That weekend, she added webmaster to her duties. She launched an online store, Birdz and Beez Baby (www.birdzandbeezbaby.com), and her late-night kitchen creations ($4 to $20) became a hit.

Over the holiday season, she brought in about $7,000. But the rise in gas prices and the worsening economy has begun to hurt.

"I've seen certain nonessential products, like the soap petals, fall off," she says. "But the diaper spray and nose balm are staying steady. I have no intention of raising prices. I will do my part to keep my expenses down. That way it won't cost my clients more."

Another way she saves money is with the help of family and friends. They help with packaging, shipping, testing and creating. Her dad enjoys placing the candle wicks, while her brother helps in the kitchen. Even her son, 7-year-old Alec, pitches in _ the sugar-cookie bath salts was his idea.

"He tests everything," she says. "Nothing leaves the kitchen until Alec gives it his seal of approval."

Her goal is to open a boutique with a commercial kitchen. But for now, everything is made-to-order and packaged in her Independence, Mo., home.

Every day, she puts on her apron and pulls out mixing bowls, spatulas, spray bottles and a double boiler. Ingredients such as shea butter, olive oil, vitamin E, coconut oil, lavender and aloe have become part of her daily experiments.

"The best part about it is that I have taken something from my own imagination and turned it into something successful."