DIY Sugar/Salt Scrubs

I know I have posted my own scrub recipes before but I thought it would be cool to share some of the scrubs I have seen others make.  They are super super simple, most of the ingredients you should already have on hand, they are easy on your wallet, make great gifts and....boy do they ever leave your skin feeling super soft!  I cannot say enough good things about them.  So, without further ado:

Chocolate peppermint scrub

Pumpkin spice sugar scrub

Lavender sea salt scrub

Vanilla brown sugar scrub

Not that I would suggest doing so, but some of these sound good enough to eat.  Enjoy!

Peppermint Mocha Lip Balm

One of my favorite drinks of the season is Starbucks peppermint mocha.  I love it so much that I order it all year round.  Well, even when you order the 'skinny' version of this drink, you still have to be careful as to how much you consume.  The calories still rack up quick!  So, how can I get the 'sensation' of drinking those lil' yummies without consuming the calories?  Make my own lip balm of course.  While this recipe does call for alot of ingredients remember that, in most cases you can substitute oils for what you have on hand.

Recipe:

.5 oz. almond oil

.5 oz. shea butter

.5 oz. cocoa butter

.5 oz beeswax

1 tsp veg. glycerin

1 tsp.  shaved or chopped semi-sweet chocolate

1 tsp. of powdered sugar

10 dr. peppermint oil.

Melt the butters and beeswax over low heat or in a microwave until melted.  Add chocolate and sugar. Stir until dissolved or continue to add a little more heat.  Once all combined and melted, add peppermint oil and glycerin.  Pour into sterilized containers.  Allow to cool.  Use as often as needed or whenever you want to enjoy that mocha freshness.

*one option for purchasing containers is www.specialtybottle.com.  I have nothing but good things to say about this company.



Merry Christmas

Wishing each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas!  Christ is born!  Celebrate that birth and the real meaning of Christmas today!  You are dearly loved!

Family Favorite Christmas Cookie: Rugelach!

Ever since I was a little girl, my mom always made us, what we would call, 'walnut roll ups'.  I never knew there was a fancy name for these cookies until I was an adult.  All I knew is that I loved them and could make my entire diet focused just on them.  They are a buttery, yummy, sweet, nutty cookie that we roll in powdered sugar.  My mother used to make hers entirely by scratch and nothing could ever come close to hers. 

As I am now grown with my own kids, I wonder how my mother ever found the time to make these from scratch and always have them turn out perfect.  Oh, I tried.  But if I made these cookies, they would be the only ones I would ever make, aside from the traditional sugar cookie one.

Until about two years ago. I had a subscription to womans day and found a recipe for raspberry-walnut-rugelach .  I have never had much success with magazine recipes but had to give this one a try.  It uses the refrigerated ready-to-use pie crusts for the base of the cookie.  Let me tell you what a time saver that ONE step has saved me.  I was really skeptical at first but, was delighted with the outcome of this recipe!  It has now become a family favorite that I am able to make every year, even when short on time.  I thank God for that one!  I hope you will try it, especially, if you are a rugelach lover like we are.  You still have time, believe me!  We are making ours today. 

Enjoy and have a very Merry Christmas!

TP snowflakes

I'm sure many of you have seen a plethera of ideas when it comes to toilet paper rolls on pinterest.  Lord knows, I have.  I wanted to try my hand at a few projects with them, especially since they cost nothing.  I chose to start out with some simple snowflakes.  I wanted to use them as ornaments and also decorations on some of my Christmas packaging.

Supplies for 4 included 4 toilet paper rolls, cut into 5 pieces each.

Once cut, I glued the pieces together at a point. I then spray painted them with white spray paint that I already had.  While the paint was still wet, I applied a translucent glitter and then sprayed it with a clear glaze.  I gave mine a few coats to seal in the glitter.

To bring the flakes together, I added a snowflake button in the middle to cover up the glue.

I waited a good day before doing anything with these snowflakes. 

Here they are attached to one of my gifts:

Peppermint Snow 'Bombs'

I cannot even begin to tell you how many 'bath bomb' recipes I have tried and have always failed at them for one reason or another.  This one stuck to the mold, that one crumbled, another was too wet, yet another too dry.  On a wimb, I decided to make up my own recipe to see if I could do any better.  It actually worked!  I stayed away from using any water or witch hazel and I did have to wait a few days for them to dry but the recipe turned out perfect and I can't wait to share them.

Recipe:

4 oz. baking soda

2 oz. citric acid

2 oz. corn starch

2 oz. epsom salts

2 TBS. coconut oil

1/4tsp. Vitamin E. oil

1/4 tsp. essential oil (I used peppermint)

Combine all of the ingredients WELL with your hands and place in round molds.

I found some plastic round 3 inch molds that split in half that worked perfectly.  You really need to pack this in as tight as you can and remove from the mold s-l-o-w-l-y and carefully.  I placed mine out to dry where they couldn't be disturbed.  Because of the size, I waited three days to start messing with them and they were rock hard by then.  I didn't have to worry about them breaking at the point.  Wrap them up in any way you choose to give as gifts to friends.  These smelly wonderful.  They really are 'the bomb'.  :)

Deck the Blogs by Ninth and Bird

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Gingerbread Lollipop Bucket

I know this is going to come out wrong but here goes:  We are not putting up a tree for Christmas.  It's not that I dont want one, really I do.  But, we are headed up north for the holidays for a few weeks and I will be decorating THAT tree and two is just tooo much.  Especially if I can't really enjoy them both.

So, instead of pulling out all of my holiday decorations that I would normally do, I have been making smaller items to place around the house to continue to keep me in the holiday spirit until we leave. 

I love making anything with these crazy fan folds and this was the perfect opportunity to utilize them.  What's not to love? 

The bells came from the dollar store in a pack of 9.  All of the paper came from the same paper pack (I love getting more bang for my buck.) I stuffed the bucket with polyfil to make it look like snow.  There is no snow in sunny Florida so I will make-shift it any way that I can.

I used shish-ka-bob sticks for these 'lollipops' and kept them their natural color.  I didn't want to take anything away from the gingerbread men as the stars.  And the bucket had enough color on it on its own.

So, there you have it.  Just one of many quick, simple, frugal holiday decorations for the home.

Handmade Holidays: Gift Tags

One of the easiest projects to give your gifts a personal touch is the gift tag itself.  There are sooo many ways to make them.  I just so happened to have a paper pack that included them with the stack.  But, I didn't want to just cut them out and put them on a package.  I wanted to give them life and dimension.  I want them to really stick out.

For few of them, I chose to cut up other pictures in the paper stack to add that dimension with foam tape.

Others I chose to use my cricut to cut out additional shapes.

On others I added stickers found in any scrapbooking section at your local craft store.

And then on others, I decided to make the fans you see here with coordinating paper, once again, adding dimension.

All of these tages take literally no time to make, especially if you have a start off point like I did in the pre-made tags.

Merry Christmas!

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Handmade Holidays: Christmas Photo Books

When it comes to crafting, there really is no 'last minute' anything, at least not for me.  I need time to get my creative juices going and can't just come up with some new project on the fly.  Lately, I have been working on a cardboard Christmas album to give to one of my friends.  I made one for myself a few years ago and it is soo fun to look back on a Christmas past. You can find these albums in the dollar spot at Michaels.  (not yet decorated, of course)

I try really hard to add pages for things other than photos.  There is so much more to the holiday besides the pictures.

There are gift tags and favorite holiday recipes and music.

There are wish lists and traditions and the family Christmas tree.

There are all those family 'funnies'  and mishaps that make the holiday so memorable.

I want to capture every moment.  The journaling only adds enrichment to the project and the process.

Make it yourself Mondays: Card sets

For the first time this year, I participated in the craftaholics anonymous handmade gift swap.  Basically, we are paired up with someone in the states to swap gifts with.  The woman I am swapping with loves the color red, coffee, chunky picture frames, and more.  It's been really fun getting to know someone who I, otherwise, never would have met.  And I really hope she enjoys her gift.  I made her a stationary set incorporating her favorite color and her love of coffee.  The pictures are posted below:

I hope she receives her gift before she reads this.  I think she will but you never know.

Included in this little set is a bookmark, cards, gift tags, and thank you notes. 

I wanted to make a good variety of items for more than one occasion.  I purposely chose NOT to make christmas cards or products by the off chance that my 'partner' already purchased hers elsewhere.

All this really takes is some cardstock, embellishments, and some imagination.

If you have a chance, check out the craftaholics website.  There will be a flikr set up and links to other participating bloggers.  Enjoy!

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

I just finished designing our Christmas Card for this year.....and here it be! Our family took a trip to Atlantis this year and I just had to find a way to show off that beautiful dolphin, so this was it! What do ya think?  I'm trying to get on the ball for the holiday season as I am going out of town for Christmas and will need to get them out a little early.

I think I have used shutterfly for over 5 years now and have never been disappointed with their quality or service.  If you are considering printing your own, they have many many designs to choose from, using 1 or more pictures. 

**My opinions are strictly my own. I am not paid for this post, but may be compensated in product. **

Handmade Holidays: Peppermint Soap

For a woman who does not like to eat candy canes, I sure love the smell of peppermint.  Aside from the aroma, peppermint can aid in minimizing headaches and migraines-all the more reason to use the essential oil.  The smell can help clear your sinuses too.  As far as using it in soap, it is antibacterial and antifungal; great additions without the use of harmful chemicals such as triclosan.

Soap is sooo simple to make using a melt and pour base.  For this soap I used a goats milk base.  Once you have melted the base in a double boiler or in 30 second intervals in the microwave ( you don't want it to boil), you simply add 1 tsp of peppermint essential oil to 1 pound of goats milk soap base.  I even added a tsp of vitamin E oil for softness.  Pour the soap into molds and spritz with alcohol to get rid of the bubbles on top.  Once the soap is solid and completely cooled, remove from the mold and package accordingly. 

I can't wait to give these as gifts.  I have a few friends who are peppermint crazy and will love this!  Now, you try it!

Handmade Holidays: Vanilla Extract with a Twist

There are many people/places on the internet that are showing you how to make your own vanilla extract to give as gifts for the holidays.  The basic ingredients are vanilla beans and vodka.  I wanted to 'jazz' this project up a bit to make it all my own. 

I'm a cherry fan:  dried cherries, cherry pie, cherry soda, fresh cherries....basically the 'bubba gump' of anything cherry.  So, the last time I was at the liquor store, I bought CHERRY flavored vodka instead to do a little experimenting with.  I still had to let my mixture sit for a minimum of two months.  It is finally finished and ready for a taste/smell test.  Let me tell you, this is yummy.  There is just the right hint of a cherry background flavor to perk it up.  I guess you could also use the juice from your maraschino (?) cherry jars but I couldn't give you an exact measurement.  Cherry flavored vodka took the guesswork out for me.  These little treats are ready for Christmas gifts now. I'm thinking black forest cake is the first big dessert on the menu with the extract!

***Just as a little side note:  I also tried to do this with orange flavored vodka but wasn't thrilled with the results.  For whatever reason, the vodka wouldn't soak up as much flavor from the vanilla bean so I just totally canned that one.

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Handmade Holiday: 3-in-1 Gift

I am so excited to share this that I am about bursting at the seems.  Ya know those days when you are out at the craft stores and not really having a plan but hoping something strikes your fancy to create with?  Today was one of those moments.  On my way to the checkout at Michaels, I perused the dollar spot and found some antique looking keys.  I instantly knew exactly what I was going to do with them!  I thought of my kids, Christmas, and the traditional gifts we give them every year.  My kids still believe in santa, yet, I think this is probably the last year so I want to really make it count.  I have a fireplace but I know not everyone does.  Hence, the key to hang outside for Santa to make his way in! It's tradition for my kids to get an ornament every year.  This year, it will be the key that serves double duty.  What's the third you ask?  Say your kids are grown, or you don't share in the ornament tradition.  Use these keys as gift tags on your packages!  How great is that!

Handmade Holidays

I don't know about the rest of you, but the Christmas bug has already hit me.  It is my favorite time of year to create.  I daydream of all the gifts I can make, who I can make them for, and what's the best way to go about accomplishing them.  I can't wait to share them and have a file of it all to look back on myself.  For the time being....RUN to your nearest Michaels store and check out their dollar spot.  They have these antique looking keys that I am working with right now.  I am creating a multi-purpose 3-in-1 gift and I am soo excited about it.  Stay tuned......