Wednesday, February 1, 2012

playing catch up

Well, it's been a while since my last post...i was swept up and away by the holidays, then Emma's first birthday...so i have MUCH to blog about...from Christmas crafts to a DIY Birthday Party...

First, Christmas...i love giving gifts! well, let me rephrase...i love giving GOOD gifts. that mean something. or that i made with care...so this year, since I've been a pinterest maniac, i scoured for ideas starting waaaay back in october. I tried a few things and found one i reaaaaally loved. Ho'made Hand Scrubs! so easy, so cool...and i was able to develop my own spin on them. so...with out further ado...

ingredients: I try to keep things natural...because well, it's better :)
sugar (or brown sugar)
extra light olive oil (the lighter the better, because the darker the oil the darker your scrub color will be. my first three batches were a darker yucky yellow...not. cute.)
essential oils in your favorite scent (i did a lavender, peppermint, and citrus for this set. also, i did one natural, cinnamon oat scrub, and left the scent alone)
and any extras that match your scent (i.e. i bought dried lavender to put in with the lavender scrub, and dried orange peel for the citrus, i put ground cinnamon in one, and it made the color a dark rusty brown!) you can also add a few drops of food coloring if you don't like the white look, but again...natural is nice :)
air tight jar/container

Honestly, at this point, i don't do too much measuring. every link on pinterest had different ideas, but most of them said: (just make it to the texture you like). not much help. :) but you'll get it. start out with a cup of sugar, and slowly add oil while stirring. your sugar is going to clump up some, but it'll even itself out as you stir. i left mine pretty dry, because once you put it in your jar, the oil seeps up and it's a lot wetter than you'd think!
then you add a few drops of your essential oils...(or oatmeal) i used about three. then you add your extra goodies (if you have them)! and...viola! scoop your mixture carefully into your jar and enjoy! this stuff is amazing...it left my hands (and feet and elbows) feeling baby soft, and the oil doesn't stick around in a bad way :)
now i know this is the easiest recipe to follow, but i found that a lot of it was trial and error...i have about 4 jars of this stuff sitting around that i didn't like in the end...but i made about 8 jars that turned out WONDERFUL. i would say do little jars, also, because this stuff only has about a 3 month shelf life.
if you have questions, feel free to shoot them my way! here's my photos of the process...

the dried lavender and orange peel
sugar rush!
 lavender scrub
citrus scrub
i used modge podge, scrapbook paper, and a sharpie, to make labels!
finish product! 

again, it's all up to you! do what you like! they make fantastic gifts, 
but make sure you keep one for yourself! 

things i've learned lately: 
1. family comes in all forms...friends, co workers, church...God created us to be in fellowship and community, and that doesn't always mean staying where you're comfortable, or with people that you share DNA with...sometimes, family means strangers. 
2. little girls in christmas dresses are THE most precious things ever. example: my daughter...
Emma's First Christmas!
3. first steps are often the hardest...in more ways than one...watching Emma learn to walk the past few weeks, means watching her fall...a LOT. watching her struggle to get back up, sometimes shed a few tears, and KEEP GOING...has taught me so much...she encourages me to keep going and keep pushing and keep taking those steps, because at some point...you'll be up and running. (and chasing your kid all over the place!)

that's about it for today, but don't worry...I'll Be Back!

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