Fun & Pretty

I recently made some super cute herb coffee/tea cup sleeves that I LOVE (I'll try to post a tutorial and pics soon)! After this, I started getting a bit of a crafty bug. I am looking forward to painting a set of canvases with the 5 freedoms (as soon as I find my paintbrushes). But here are a couple things I stumbled upon when surfing my bloggity-blogs today that I'd like to make get. I think they're fun and pretty.

1. First Aid to Go

I realized earlier this week that if Elliot got hurt when I was gone, no one else would know where anything was. So I gathered some supplies and made a first-aid kit for our house, which is now sitting on our dryer (random, I know but it's a central location). Then I realized how many extra supplies we had. I have a first-aid kit in each car but it's somewhat limited. I'd also like to have one for my, Ev's and Elliot's bags. I also thought these would make super-cute momma gifts. Find instructions at Fireflies & Jellybeans.

2. Spa Headband

I think this one pretty much speaks for itself. I think I'd want to make mine with some green ribbon or some cool embroidered fabric strip, instead of the lace. But I would just feel pretty using one of these when I get ready in the morning. Find it at Flamingo Toes. She has a fun oatmeal scrub on this post too.

3. BLOOMIES!

I think these are SOOOOOO COOL!!!!! I think I can figure out how to make them, but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't turn out as well as these and that it would cost just as much to get the supplies each time to make the notes. They are encouragement notes that bloom into wildflowers!!! What a cool cool idea huh? LOVE it! Find them at I Love Bloomies.

Christmas Creations!

This Christmas I made my award-winning "Christmas Calabaza Cookies" (they won the Christmas cookie competition at work - ha!), honey vanilla caramels, lotion bars and bath ornaments...which I dubbed "Bain d'Ornament." Yes. Cheesy, I know! Here are the pics and recipes! :)

Christmas Calabaza Cookies
Dry Ingredients
1 c all-purpose flour
1 1/4 c whole wheat flour (just started using Bronze Chief and LOVE it...chemical & GMO free, slowly ground to maintain a low heat, keeping in tons of protein, vitamins and minerals)
1/4 milled flaxseed
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t pumpkin pie spice
Wet Ingredients
1 c raw honey
1/2 c butter softened
1 c pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 t vanilla extract
Glaze
2 c powdered sugar
3 T milk
1 t vanilla extract

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with aluminum foil. (This is a "pro-tip" that my hubby has been asking me to use for awhile. If you line the sheets with aluminum foil, you can immediately pull all the cookies off the sheet at once and the foil cools almost immediately, so the bottom of your cookies don't get any browner. Plus, virtually no clean up.)
SIFT dry ingredients into a large bowl.
BLEND wet ingredients in another bowl until smooth.
COMBINE (slowly) the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture.
DROP by the tablespoon onto cookie sheets.
BAKE for 15-18 minutes.
COOL for 5 min.
MIX glaze ingredients above and DRIZZLE over cookies.
ENJOY!

Honey Vanilla Caramels
(yeah, just realized that I can't find this recipe anywhere! Basically, I just replaced the corn syrup with raw honey from a local farmer. I figured, why not fight allergy instead of cause them. They were pretty tasty too! :))

Luxury Lotion Bars
(note: lotion bars can be made with equal parts of just about any wax, butter (shea, cocoa, mango, kokum, etc.), and oil (olive, avocado, sweet almond, sunflower, etc.) I'm looking forward to trying many more combinations in the future)

3/4 c filtered beeswax
3/4 c virgin organic coconut oil
3/4 c organic unrefined shea butter
18 drops lavender essential oil
10 drops ylang ylang essential oil
10 drops geranium essential oil
7 drops patchouli essential oil

MELT beeswax in a double boiler, add in coconut oil and melt, add shea butter and melt (shea butter should be heated just to a "melted" point, otherwise it can become grainy).
REMOVE from heat and add in essential oils.
POUR mixture into silicone mold and let cool. Then pop out and rub it all over! (Elliot loves his "Christmas Tree" lotion)

Bain d'Ornaments

1. Pick up some glass ornaments from your local craft store...or ask a friend to do it for you. :)
2. Gather ingredients - I used (in order of layers) citric acid, french green clay, baking soda, powdered yarrow, epsom salts, and lavender flowers
3. Craft a funnel out of piece of paper if you don't have one small enough for the ornament opening. (I was actually thinking, I might pick up some of those free paper funnels at the gas station just for these sorts of purposes)
4. Add your ingredients in layers

Isn't it pretty? Now you can just dump it into your running bath water and feel all wonderful!

All Natural Baby Safe Dryer Bags

SO...ever since I started using Soap Nuts for my laundry (read info here and here), I've been trying to figure out a way to get my clothes to smell lovely and fresh. There were some suggestions on adding some essential oils to the muslin bag that I put the soap nuts in, but that didn't really work. And I didn't want to use dryer sheets, because they just coat my clothes with chemicals that irritate our skin.
But then I saw these HUGE fusible tea bags on From Nature with Love, where they say one of the uses is dryer bags. What?! What a stinkin' good idea! So I bought some lavender, chamomile, and orange peel (all safe for babies) from the Bulk Herb Store, and started experimenting.
My first bags last for about 5 loads, then the tea bag gets too thin to hold it any more but the herbs are still fragrant, so I can use it then in my pillowcases or dresser drawers. :) Here's how I made them:

Gilmore Baby-Safe All-Natural Dryer Bags


1/2 c orange peel (cut)
1/2 c chamomile flowers (german)
3/4 c lavender buds
12 drops each orange, chamomile, and lavender essential oils
5 Large Tea bags


Shake all ingredients in a tupperware container with a lid.
Scoop approx. 6 tablespoons of the herb mix into each Tea bag.
Throw in the dryer with your laundry.


The laundry (and our laundry room) smell great! I'm trying to see how I can get the bags to last for more than 4-5 loads, because a busted dryer bag is not a good thing. For now though, I'm very happy with this solution.

TIP: If you're still using dryer sheets because of static cling, just throw 1/4-1/2 cup apple cider vinegar in with your clothes during the rinse cycle of the wash. It gets rid of static like a charm and the vinegar smell completely dissipates when the laundry is dry. So here's the laundry routine --> Wash: Soap Nuts (oxygen bleach for nasty stains), Rinse: Apple Cider Vinegar, & Dry: Herb Dryer Bags. All-natural, gets rid of all dirt, bacteria, fungi, and viruses, and keeps your clothing looking and smelling great!

Naturally Free Soap Recipes

Here are two of our latest soap recipes! French Green Rosemary and Exfoliating Oatmeal.

French Green Rosemary

3 oz lye

8 oz rosemary hydrosol

22 oz oils (7 olive, 7 coconut, 7 palm, 1 jojoba)

1/2 cup French Green Clay

1/5 cup Rosemary

0.25 oz Essential Oils (1 part bergamot, 2 parts geranium, 1 part peppermint)

Exfoliating Oatmeal

16 oz distilled water

6 oz lye

44 oz oils (15 coconut, 15 palm, 10 olive, 4 jojoba)

0.25 Essential oils (2 parts sweet orange, 2 parts lavender, 2 parts chamomile, 3 parts tea tree, 1 part patchouli)

Ground Vanilla Bean & Oatmeal (approx. 1/2 cup oatmeal and 2-3 vanilla beans)

Stuff I Made this Morning

Sorry it's been awhile since I've posted. I've been busy BUSY trying to start a business with Sarah and Evan and I have both had to work late nights over the past two weeks.
This morning though, we finally had a little time to breathe and I was able to finish a few projects I was working on and start a few other ones. The picture shows my morning creations: Nutty Pancakes (recipe), Kefir Cheese (recipe), and Rose Infused Olive Oil! The rest of the stuff is what my kitchen table looks like after a morning of culinary and healt creations.
The Rose Infused Oil I'll be using in my next soap! Speaking of soap...who wants some?! I have two batches that I'm giving away before we start selling it. So if you want any more for free, speak up now! :)
Also, you'll notice that you can now subscribe to the Alive, Radiant, Free RSS feed, and I'm adding pages at the top soon, so you can access the more popular areas of the blog more easily.

Kefir Cheese!

I made Kefir Cheese! Like....there's cheese in my fridge that tastes good, that I made! :) So fun, right? Here's the recipe.

Ingredients
6 Tablespoons Kefir Starter or 1 packet Kefir Grains/cultures
1 quart milk (unhomogenized works best, a lot of people use raw milk, but I haven't found a provider for that yet)


Supplies
1 quart container with lid (or some sort of cover - plastic wrap works)
Cheesecloth (or unbleached linen)
Strainer
Bowl


Directions
1. Heat milk to skin temperature (around 90 degrees)
2. Stir in kefir cultures and pour into quart container
3. Cover and leave on a countertop (do not refrigerate!) for 2-4 days, until the curds are separating from the whey
4. Line strainer with cheesecloth, set strainer in a bowl (so there is space for the whey to drain and collect)
5. Pour the kefir mixture into the cheesecloth (whey will immediately begin to drain off)
6. Wrap cheesecloth tightly around the curds
7. Set strainer, bowl and all in the refrigerator for 1-2 days
8. Unwrap cheese and put in a sealable container. 

The kefir cheese will be the consistency of cream cheese and you can use it in any function that you would use cream cheese. We've had it as a cracker spread thus far. I left half of it plain and half of it I mixed with a bunch of herbs (marjoram, oregano, thyme, basil, dill, garlic, salt). You can use it on bagels, for dips, etc.

I ordered by Body Ecology kefir starter cultures online from Amazon.com here. Here are a couple links on the benefits of kefir - here and here. One benefit of using raw milk was pointed out to me by a friend the other day. Raw milk, doesn't spoil - it cultures! SO...when raw milk starts to taste sour or less creamy, that means it's time to use it for other things, like yogurt, butter and cheese. I'm still doing a bit of research on the whole thing, but I think we'll be switching soon, if I can find a place close by where I can by a share.

Enjoy!

Coconut Milk Soap Recipe

Coconut Milk Soap

Makes 8-10 bars

3 oz lye

8 oz coconut milk

10 oz extra virgin olive oil 

7 extra virgin organic coconut oil

3 oz all natural shea butter

3 Vanilla Beans (chopped)

1/2 cup Oatmeal

Essential Oil Blend (2 parts lavender, 1 part patchouli)

**TIP: When working with milk, whether it be goat's milk or coconut milk, add the lye to the milk little by little so you don't scorch the milk as the lye reacts with it. If you scorch it, you're soap will smell like you did! So give it a little extra time.

Green Tea Soap Recipe

I've waited awhile to put this up, because I needed to make sure it would cure and turn into a good soap. And I personally think it's great! One of my friends made soap with red tea instead of water when she was making her lye solution. After reading how goat's milk soap is made, I figured I could do this recipe and the following one with coconut milk. I'm really excited about possibly making a soap where the lye solution is a hydrosol instead of another liquid. Wouldn't that be cool?!

Green Tea Soap Recipe
Makes 8-10 bars

3 oz lye

8 oz green tea

10  oz extra virgin olive oil

5 oz extra virgin organic coconut oil

5 oz palm oil

2 oz all natural jojoba oil

Green tea extract

Essential Oil Blend (5 parts rosemary, 2 parts tea tree, 2 parts spearmint)

For more info on soap making procedures, refer to this post.

My Christmas Eve Eve Eve Projects

Yesterday was the first day home away from work and anything work related. Except for a few frenzied emails, since I'm the only Leadership faculty in the country. This post will include lots of pictures! Hope you're ready.

Project #1: Super Chocolatey Hot Chocolate-on-a-Stick

I started on the hot chocolate on a stick, my recipe was inspired by Givers Log. You can find the recipe here. She has lots of helpful tips! And I will tell you what she does...do NOT get even a DROP of water in your chocolate!!!! I'm SERIOUS! Bad things will happen if you do.
I used candy canes instead of sticks and drizzled white chocolate over all of it and then topped it with crushed candy canes.

Step 1: Get your molds and sticks (or stick substitutes) ready, while your water heats up in your double-boiler (or makeshift double-boiler like I use)

Step 2: Melt the chocolate and add in the other ingredients. I had 16 oz of chocolate, 1/2 cup cocoa, and 1 cup powdered sugar. Mix it all up (it will be very thick! So use your muscles!)

Step 3: Dump that deliciousness into a ziploc bag and snip off the corner with a pair of scissors. Then pipe the chocolate mixture into your molds and wait for it to harden (it will obviously harden faster if you pop it in the fridge)

Step 4: Pop your chocolate sticks out of their molds and place them on some wax paper for their finishing touches.

Step 5: Finishing touches. This can be whatever you want. The chocolate looks a little chalky when it dries, so if you want it to be shiny and smooth you might want to dunk it in some more plain chocolate. I melted some white chocolate and drizzled it over the sticks, then I crushed the leftover candy canes and sprinkled them on top.
Who knows! Some of you might be getting one of these for Christmas. :)

Project #2: Christmas Wreaths

When I saw this wreath on Thrifty Decor Chick, I knew that I wanted to make one. Now, about three weeks later, I did. Mine isn't as pretty, but hey, it was worth a shot. If you're going to make one, PLEASE follow Sarah's advice and hot glue all the bulbs to their little toppers before you start. It will save you a lot of trouble. I thought that because mine were plastic and not glass that they were on there really good....not so. I had to go back and glue them all.

This wreath is hanging in our Christmasy Kitchen.

This is about step 3 on the wreath I've been promising Evan that I will make, ever since we put our tree up. We saved the branches that fell off or that we had to saw off our tree from the bottom and have been preserving them in water for the past couple weeks. They were still quite fresh. Then I took a wire hanger and reshaped it into a circle to be the base of the wreath. THEN... I tied all the branches around it and wove some of the branches through other ones, added a bow, some pine cones and couple ornaments....and VOILA!

Evan's wreath. We still need to hang it up, but hey. It's finished.

Project #3: SOAP! (of course)

I tried two new soap recipes last night (which I'll detail in another post). But it was a crazy adventure. At 11:30 my comatose husband was being a gem and standing next to me to help me stir. SO now, coconut milk and green tea soap are curing on my table. Hurray!

Project #4 was wrapping a ton of gifts, but I won't bore you with a picture and I still have more to wrap. So before my little guy wakes up, I better get to that.

My Desired DIY Projects

When I get about fifteen minutes to sit down, breathe and spend a little time in my DIY renewal zone. These are the things I will be making. I LOVE them! And they're super easy.

This Barney's inspired bracelet was made with some thread, ribbon, and some faux pearls by Tricia at Oh So Crafty. I love the classic black and white, but I also think it would be super cool with some wooden beads and a colorful ribbon.

I have been thinking about making this kind of headband for awhile. But Erin at Today I Made has a great tutorial for it. I think I'd want to do peacock feathers, but I really like the neutral tones she used too.

Trying Toothpaste - Homemade and Natural

So...at the Gilmore house we now make our own soap, deodorant, and laundry detergent. Next on the list, shampoo bars this weekend! But first, I think I'm going to try a homemade toothpaste.
Let's just say it, "The overabundance of fluoride that we ingest FREAKS me out!" So...:) I found several toothpaste recipes online and a way cool new blog (check out The Organic Sister).

Gilmore's Original Toothpaste Recipe:


3 T. Baking Soda
2 T. Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
1 T. Hydrogen Peroxide
1 t. Salt
5 drops of Tea Tree Essential Oil
5 drops of Spearmint Essential Oil

Since I haven't used it yet, I'll have to get back to you and let you know how it goes. From what I've read about the ingredients, it should be a killer combo, but I'm no chemist so we'll see! At any rate, it has to be better than fluoride and sodium lauryl sulfate, wouldn't you think?

(Author's note: Tried this toothpaste the day after posting the recipe. Worked great!!! Pretty salty to the taste, which most people probably will not like, so you can eliminate the salt from the recipe if you think that would be a turn off for you.)

Homemade Natural Soap!

Yes! It's true! I made soap....not just any soap, but soap I almost want to eat. (seriously!) If you'd like to try some, let me know. The bar above is for my friend Heather. :) It still has another week to cure before we can use it, but I think it will be just great.
If you'd like to try to make your own soap. There are a lot of great sites and books out there that are helpful. Little House in the Suburbs has some great links. At some points I will probably do an entry on diagnosing soap problem and the whole process. But for right now, here's the recipe that I used.

Gilmore's First Soap!

21.5  oz.=50% Extra Virgin Olive Oil
10.75  oz. = 25% Extra Virgin Organic Coconut Oil
6.45 oz. = 15% Organic Mango Butter
4.3 oz. = 10% OrganicGrapeseed Oil – 43 oz oils

6 oz lye

16 oz Distilled water

This recipe made about 15 bars, not quite 20 like I thought it would. Here are just a few quick tips. 

1) Your oils and lye solution need to be mixed when they are both between 95 and 98 degrees. For me, the oils cooled more quickly than the lye solution. This is great because the oils temperature can be altered more easily by placing it over heat or by placing the pot in some cold water.

2) Proper measurement is key. Measure by WEIGHT, not volume. So don't measure 16 liquid oz of water, but actually weigh 16 oz out on the scale. You can also convert your ounces to grams to make sure you don't mess this part up.

Happy soapmaking!

The Sickness and Soap

Evan has been sick for just over a week. We went back to the doctor today and they said he probably got a viral infection first, and then a bacterial infection on top of that. I say...test the boy for the flu! They say that if he doesn't start feeling better in a couple days, they will. Heavens!
Elliot seems to be feeling much better. Back to his old playful self with no fever. Praise the Lord. I have also been thinking, that in spite of all of this, I am so thankful for the health insurance and benefits we have at IWU. I can't imagine having the stress of trying to figure out whether we could pay to go to the doctor or not on top of just worrying about my family getting better. But so many people do worry about that, or don't even have medical care readily available to them. These are times that I am so glad to be living in America AND so glad that our healthcare system hasn't changed...yet.
On another note, I JUST MADE SOAP...I think. It's out there sitting in it's containers wrapped in a blanket. I'll be able to tell by tomorrow evening whether or not it worked. I REALLY hope it did. So hopefully, by tomorrow evening, I'll be able to offer you my lovely homemade bars of soap. If not, we will be using a very moisturizing creamy liquid soap in our showers for awhile. Because this stuff is not cheap to make. I figured the batch cost about $40, so regardless of whether or not it firms up - we'll be using it. However, if it does firm up, I think I can get at least 20 bars from it, which is definitely cheaper than buying 20 bars of handmade, natural soap from somewhere else.
So look for me tomorrow with an update on family health, soap, and possibly the how-tos so you can make a batch yourself.

Going Greener - Cloth Diapering & Homemade Wipes

The past several days have been an adventure! A diapering adventure. Lots of cloth, lots of oils, and lots of trials at leak prevention with cloth diapers. I think we've finally got it going! :) Elliot is now on about day 6 of cloth diapers. We started out alternating between cloth and disposable, and after we received our diaper covers things really started happening at the Gilmore house. We purchased the Bummis brand and are pretty satisfied with it, but I'm also going to try Thirsties covers, and the Gro Baby system for when we're out and about. If you're interested in cloth diapering the benefits are explained well at Sprouts Babywear and there are tons of reviews on products at The Diaper Pin.
In addition to cloth diapers, you can also use cloth wipes. I'm not quite to that point yet, but I did make my own wipes yesterday, and they are working splendidly! Here's how:

Homemade Wipes
Supplies
10 squares high quality paper towel
1/2 cup water
3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Organic Coconut oil
5 drops each of lavender, geranium, and tea tree organic essential oils

Instructions

1. Cut paper towel in half, then fold those pieces in half.
2. Stack cut & folded paper towel pieces on top of each other
3. Melt coconut oil, by microwaving in a Pyrex measuring cup for 30 sec.
4. Add water and essential oils 
5. Pour mixture over stack of paper towel, by pouring on all sides of the stack and allowing liquid to absorb through entire stack
6. Place in recycled wipes container, tupperware or another airtight container

These wipes have been GREAT at removing everything gently from my son's bum. And the oils are soothing, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral. They're also very safe in this diluted form.

So the adventure continues on, but I think I'm about convinced that cloth is the way to go. I'm already saving money and not having to deal with trash cans with stinky diapers piling up that will later go in a land fill.

Re - Paint Chips

Reduce - Reuse - Recycle!!! So from now on - for any of my posts that have to do with making something that has to do with the 3 aforementioned "R"s - I will be tagging it with a "Re." Not to be confused with a reply or in regards to.
Anyway, to kick this off. Check out the site that Heather highlighted on her blog. It's a slideshow that shows you 50 New Uses for Old Things.
Re-Nest. I love this website! Check out how they made pixelated artwork from paint chips! ACK! I want to do this so badly in my hallway with a huge picture of Elliot's face.

DIY Removable Wall Decal & Planters

SO...I love wall decals. You know, the vinyl ones that say things or make your walls look like a forest. Like the ones here. But they're pretty expensive. I've been using clear contact paper for a lot of different crafts, and I thought I might be able to make my own decals. One problem. I have clear contact paper. All the other contact paper I've seen are primary colors or weird patterns.
So I looked around online and found a place that said that you could paint contact paper if you did it with acrylic paint. After trying it, I'm sure that a regular wall paint would work as well.

Like it?

It's my first one, so I think I can do even better next time, but I like it a lot! Here's how I did it.

Just cut off a long piece of contact paper and paint it your desired color.

Then trace your design on the backside and cut it out.

Peel off the backing and stick wherever you want on your wall. If it's not just right, peel it off and try again. :)

I also worked on a project that I had been thinking about for awhile this weekend. I took my old formula canisters (yes, I saved some. I just thought, "seriously! I am throwing so many of these away! I'm sure I could do something cool with them. They're containers for crying out loud)...so I took them and nailed a few holes in them. Spray painted them with chalkboard paint and transplanted a few of  my plants that needed to come inside from the sun room since it's getting cold. I'm very please with the results!

Without chalk

With Chalk! :)

All-Natural, Homemade Laundry Detergent

Okay folks! It cleans dirt just as well as any other laundry detergent I've used, and it's dirt cheap (ranging from approx. 8-25 cents a load, depending on what you use).

So here's what you do. Get a container (tupperware, milk jug, whatever). Gather your supplies...

Supplies =

• Borax (in the laundry aisle, some people use 20 Mule. I used the stuff I ordered from Mountain Rose Herbs for my birthday)
• Washing Soda or Oxygen Bleach (Also, in the laundry aisle, you can find Arm & Hammer brand - like the baking soda. I am finding that oxygen bleach is a really great natural cleanser and it won't mess up your colors or make you dizzy like chlorine bleach does. The oxygen bleach is more expensive than the washing soda, but I had some for other household cleaning so I used it.)
• Grated bar soap (like Ivory, this is obviously not the all natural option) or Ground Soap Nuts (you can find these here and here and here)
• Favorite Essential Oils (I used grapefruit, sweet orange, and lavender)

Once you've got your supplies, you decide how much you want to make (I made about 2 cups). Then you measure out your supplies. 1 part borax, 1 part washing soda or oxygen bleach, 2 parts soap or ground soap nuts. Mix the dry ingredients until it's nice and powdery. Then add up to 10 drops of essential oils for scent.

(There are lots of recipes out there, but this one is pretty low-sudsing so it's good for both top and front load dryers.)

DONE! Now go do some laundry. It takes 2 Tablespoons to 1/4 of a cup per load depending on which ingredients you use. I have a fun little wooden scoop,

A New One

Found a new blog! EvaForeva shows you how to make these great recycleable fruit & veggie bags, and she has an awesome giveaway for a beautiful, big silk scarf! Check it out!

Homemade Natural Lip Balm & Scrub

I found these great little plastic containers at CVS a couple weeks ago. They're the perfect size for keeping all little masks and soaps and salts in the shower too.

One of my favorite little beauty rituals used to be using my Mary Kay Satin Lips set every night. There was a lip mask and a silky balm. Well, I've run out and while I could buy more, I have no idea what's in the stuff, and I've been wanting to make my own lip balm for a bit now. I also made my own lovely little scrub. I will use it and feel PRETTY! (Guys can also use this and feel _____ (insert masculine good feeling adjective here - sharp, cool, smooth, handsome, "hot as fire", whatever).

Megan's Lip Scrub

Ingredients:

Dead Sea Salt

Sugar

Carrier Oil (I used Grapeseed Oil)

1. Fill container about 3/4 of the way full with half sugar and half Dead Sea salt.

2. Put lid on and shake to mix.

3. Pour in carrier oil until salt/sugar mixture is covered.

4. Stir with a toothpick or chopstick.

Megan's Marvelous Lip Balm

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. Beeswax

3 Tbsp. Carrier Oil (I used Jojoba Oil)

2 Vitamin E Capsules (Prick the end and squeeze out contents. Great for your skin, and a good natural preservative)

1 Tbsp. Honey

1 Tbsp. Mango Butter (I'm sure you could use Shea Butter as well)

1 Tbsp. Coconut Oil

10 drops of Essential Oil (I put in tea tree, sweet orange, & grapefruit)

1. Put all the ingredients (except the essential oil) in a Pyrex measuring cup (or a similar pourable container).

2. Melt ingredients by placing the Pyrex cup in a half full pot of boiling water and stirring continuously.

3. Once all the ingredients are melted remove the Pyrex cup with a hot pad and add essential oils.

4. Pour mixture into containers and let solidify (you can place it in the freezer to speed up the process)

For other fun at home body products, check out Rachel's recent Bath & Beauty Roundup at One Pretty Thing

Cute, Customized Flats!

Found a new blog today via One Pretty Thing (love that site!). Ashley at Make It and Love It actually mod podged shoes!!! Aren't they adorable?! I want to make some!