Things to Make - Shea Butter Lavender Bath Bombs

In the past, the kids and I attempted bath bombs a few times, all of which, until now, have been drastic failures (i.e. huge bubbly messes that overtake our counter tops). But we finally figured out a recipe that works for us, just in time for last week's teacher gifts (T had three teachers in his classroom this year, as did F. P only had one, but that's still seven teachers overall, which equals A LOT of gifting).

SHEA BUTTER LAVENDER BATH BOMBS (adapted from this recipe):

Ingredients:
* 5 drops lavender essential oil (feel free to use more or less depending on how strong you want the smell)(available here)
* 1.5 cups baking soda
* 2 tablespoons epson salt (available here)
* 3/4 cup citric acid (available here)
* 2 tablespoons melted shea butter (available here)
* 1/4 cup water (though you won't use all of it)
* A few drops of food coloring if desired
* Minced lavender (optional)

1. Mix the baking soda and salt. Then add the fragrance. Mix well.
2. Add the shea butter and mix again.
3. Add the citric acid last (because it will react with the liquids if the liquids aren't well mixed). Mix.
4. Add the water about 1 teaspoon at a time. Mix well after you add each teaspoon, as to avoid a reaction.
5. Once the mixture feels like wet sand (clumpy enough that you can mold it into balls), stop adding water. DO NOT OVER ADD THE WATER OR YOU'LL END UP WITH A BUBBLY MESS, TRUST ME; if you think you're almost there then start adding drops of water instead of teaspoons).
6. Either use molds to make the bath bombs (like an ice cube tray) or form the mixture into small balls using your hands (we found that making balls worked best, as everything tended to stick to the molds).
7. Let dry overnight.

Things to Make - Peppermint Body Scrub (so Christmassy)!

After learning, this spring, how easy it is to make body scrubs (check out the recipe here for our wonderful rosemary sage scrub), the kids and I keep experimenting with different recipes. For winter, peppermint seemed like a much needed ingredient, perfect for teachers' gifts.

Here's our (rather imprecise) recipe:

PEPPERMINT BODY SCRUB

1. Fill a mason jar approximately 1/2 to 3/4 full with sea salt (the coarser, the better).

2. Slowly pour Almond Oil Sweet Oilover the salt, until it just covers the top. (Note that the scrubs photographed above have way too much oil, so we drained a lot of it off (and added more salt as well)).

3. Add about 5 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil

4. Shake.

5. Smell. Add more peppermint if necessary. If the scrub is too oily, pour off some of the top oil.

6. Scrub.

If you don't want to use this as a body scrub, it also works great on hands (just keep it next to the sink). I love making it with the kids because they can "help" and it's almost impossible to mess up.

HAPPY TUESDAY EVERYONE!!

Things to Make - Rosemary Sage Body Scrub

Since beginning this blog, I have received various emails and requests for guest posts, press, advertising, etc. Most of which did/do not seem like a good "fit" (though I always appreciate the asking). But every once in awhile, a perfect request comes a long. A few months ago, a woman named Michelle Pino** asked if I'd be interested in blogging some homemade body care recipes. Since I'm trying to cut down on excess spending (i.e. Red Door), this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

I decided to try Michelle's rosemary sage body scrub and ordered all of the ingredients through Amazon (except for the sea salt, which I bought at Trader Joe's). It only took about five minutes to mix is all together. The results were incredible. I think I'm going to make a few more jars for end of the year teacher's gifts.

So thank you very very much Michelle! And readers, let me know what you think! I'm hoping to post more of Michelle's wonderful concoctions in weeks to come . . .

Here's the scoop:

Ingredients:
1 cup Sweet Almond Oil
2 cups Sea Salt
Rosemary Essential Oil
Sage Essential Oil
Airtight Jar for Storing (Mason Jar recommended but not required)
Spoon for Mixing



Fill your jar with the fine sea salt. (If you have sensitive skin, you can replace it with brown sugar.) Then slowly add your sweet almond oil a little at a time since you might not need all of it. There should be just enough oil to hold the mixture together, so try not to make it too oily. Then add 6 drops of your sage and rosemary essential oils. Mix everything together with the spoon. Done!

It's really simple to make your own natural scrub at a fraction of the cost of store bought ones. Feel free to experiment with different exfoliants, essential oils, and carrier oils to find one that you like the most.
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And if you want to experiment with different scrubs, here's Michelle's advice:

Every scrub has a basic recipe consisting of an exfoliating base, essential oils, and carrier oils. Since the skin on your body is rougher than the skin on your face, sea salt is a great choice for a body scrub. If you want to make a face scrub, use finer exfoliants such as sugar or oats.

Essential oils serve to add delicate fragrances for your scrub. Each bottle of essential oil should last you a relatively long time, as you only need a few drops. When purchasing them, make sure that the oils have been cold-pressed, come with a stopper to minimize spillage, and are in a dark colored bottle to prevent oxidation. Some personal favorite essential oils to choose from include: rosemary, lavender, grapefruit, sage, and bergamot.

Carrier oils are the base oils that moisturize your skin and keeps your mixture together, anything from sweet almond oil, to grape seed oil, to olive oil. Personally, I prefer sweet almond oil since it's easy to find and doesn't leave an oily film.


***Michelle Pino, is a Spa Manager at Skana, a spa in upstate New York at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY. She enjoys DIY projects, healthy recipes, exercise, and all things related to skin care. If you have any comments or questions feel free to contact Michelle via email at michellepino@turningstone.com.

Things to Make - Homemade Pumpkin Yogurt Facemask

Welcome to Day 2 of GROWN UP WEEK on the blog. Today I'm going to make something myself for myself. How fun. In winter my skin tends to get a little "blah" looking, sort of grayish if you know what I mean. In order to solve this problem, I usually treat myself to microdermabrasion at Elizabeth Arden (or buy a Groupon for it somewhere else). But this year I'm working on frugality, which requires a new skin-improvement plan as microderm is a little on the pricey side. A year or so ago, I read about a homemade face mask recipe on DesignSponge and a few weeks ago I finally decided to give it a try, all I needed was 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree (available at every grocery store) and 2 tbsp whole-milk yogurt (harder to find, but available at farmer's markets and Trader Joe's and some grocery stores). When I mixed them together I had the best face mask ever. If you want to try it, leave the mask on for about 15 minutes and then rinse with water. You will glow. Trust me.

For more homemade bodycare recipes, check out this post. I haven't tried any others yet, but they look wonderful.