The holidays are fast approaching and as you look at your budget you are noticing that you have more people to give gifts to than money - I hear that - so here are a few 'homemade' gifts that make people smile and more than likely you have most of the items at home - look around it's there. I am going to show you how I put it together for myself - you can get as creative as you want with it and also the packaging. Most of these items I already have - the oils (mostly olive or olive combo) I get at the dollar store (if I don't digest it - I won't spend the money on it) and I get the essential oils from the health food store (I have received a few from people but again - since I am a novice I just buy the cheaper brands - once I get more into aromatherapy then I will know which company is best but for now why waste good money). I am a slight hoarder =p so I keep the small jars from old candles that have lids on them, buttons, ribbons, ect. Don't fret if you don't have items - I have found numerous treasures at the dollar store.
This one is something I make for myself allllll the time and it couldn't be easier. This after bath oil is super perfect since it doesn't spoil and you can make various scents and give it as a pack. I fill a small bottle with a flip top (which I purchased a pack of 4 at the dollar store) with oil (olive, olive combo, even mineral oil -like baby oil is fine) and add a few drops (depending on the size of the bottle an even 5 drops of each scent if fine or favor one scent over another 3 drops patchouli to 7 drops of lavender - it depends upon you) of essential oil(s) (I like lavender-patchouli or sandalwood-clove these scents aren't too flowery but if you don't like the more 'musky' scents then you can do lavender-sweet orange or rosemary-lime for a 'clean' scent). Put a cute lable and you are done!
This perfect body scrub is something else that can be made in a few minutes. For this you will need sugar (brown or white it doesn't matter - the only difference is that brown sugar has mollassas and it gives it abit of color). Add about a cup of sugar in the jar, mix with about 1/4 cup of oil, add your essential oils and mix. YUP! That's it! **Why use sugar instead of salt? Well (a) it isn't as coarse and it doesn't scratch the skin - you want to gently exfoliate the skin ... not scrape it up and (b) some people have hyper-tension or are on a low sodium diet and the sodium can penetrate the skin and raise their blood pressure.**
Now this next recipe can either be used as a scrub or added to your bath water to help soften dry, itchy skin. Add 1:1 powder milk and quick oats to a jar with a lid. If you only have rolled oats - then put them in a blender until the oats are in pieces but not pulverized into powder.
If you want a lotion to go with your set but don't have the time (or money) to get all the ingredients here is a super quick 'cheaters' recipe. Buy a non or neutral scented lotion (I like St Ives with Oatmeal), put in a flip top container and add your essential oil (roughly the same combination as your oil), shake really well and that's how it's done.
OK ... this little baking trick I do whenever I bake cookies from the pre-made section (where the biscuits are at). I usually buy the large 12 cookies and cut each cookie into 4ths - so that instead of just making 1 very large cookie, I get 48 regular size cookies =D I make sure that I roll them in my palm (they spread better) and then bake like the instruction say - since they will vary in size everyone will think that you took the time to bake them their favorite turtle carmel swirl cookies and nobody is the wiser ;p
Remember this time of year is about the moments between breaths ~ be there (active and present) with those around you especially loved ones. Special moments can be like dragonflies ~ fleeting ~ cherish every second.
No comments:
Post a Comment