Easy, fun, inexpensive, handmade Christmas Gifts

Well today I have been looking on how to make soap and I came across some great recepies for inexpensive and yet personal gifts. I love scrubs! here are some interesting and  can be great gifts!

Solid Brown Sugar Scrub

4 oz. melted melt and pour soap
8 oz. grapeseed oil or Avocado Oil
3-4 oz. brown sugar
1/2 oz. honey
Fragrance oils or essential oils (20 drops)
Mix your grapeseed oil, honey and melted melt and pour soap together. Add the brown sugar and mix together with hands. You can add your fragrance or essential oils at any point during the mixing process. Divvy up into wide-mouthed jars. Wait 24 to 48 hours for the mixture to harden into a semi-solid mixture.

How about some perfume.
Solid perfume is fun and easy to make and is a wonderful idea for a personal, hand-crafted gift! You'll want some stylish little butter pots to hold your creations and Bramble Berry, Inc. has a terrific selection. To make your solid perfume, follow these directions:
For a 9 oz. batch (which will fill about 36 pots), you would use, by weight:
2 oz. Beeswax
3 oz. Shea Butter
4 oz. Olive Oil
.5 to 1 oz Fragrance Oil of choice
Melt all fixed oils together, and add fragrance oil to melted oils. Pour mixture into small jars or twist-up tubes and sell as a solid perfume!

This recipe reminds me of one year my family gave out corranders as Christmas gifts. Here is another idea.

Scented Stones

Great as room fresheners! You will need:
One ceramic or glass bowl,
1/2 cup flour (do not use self-rising flour)
1/4 cup salt,
1/2 tablespoon alum (available in drug stores),
1 tablespoon essential or fragrance oil,
2/3 cup boiling water and
food coloring (optional).

In ceramic or glass bowl, thoroughly mix dry ingredients.
Add essential oil and boiling water.
NOTE: scent will be strong, but will fade slightly when pastilles dry.
For colored dough, blend in food coloring one drop at a time until desired shade is achieved.
Blend ingredients to form a ball.
Working with a small amount at a time, roll dough between palms of hands to form small balls.
Note: cover unused dough to keep it from drying out.
Allow pastilles to dry.

The beginnings!

I have over the last year loved learning about how to make your own style cheap but also natural. Who wants to put tons of chemicals on your face and hair if it can be avoided and maybe even cheaper?! coming up on the Christmas season, I want to look my best for all those picture to come.
My first product is makeup remover. It can get expensive and so here is an easy way to remove and hydrate your skin at the same time.

Ingredients:

• witch hazel

• olive oil

These two simple ingredients make a wonderful eye makeup remover. In a small container fill it 3/4 of the way full with witch-hazel. Despite the name, witch-hazel is quite harmless and can be easily found at any health food store. Then put about 3-4 Tablespoons of olive oil in the container.
For use shake well before applying with a cotton ball. The Olive oil will help remove the oil residue on your skin and leave it with healthy oils. "likes remove likes" The witch-hazel works as a toner and cleanser.

I also use witch-hazel as a toner.
Ingredients

• witch-hazel
• tea tree oil
• lavender oil 

The witch-hazel is the toner, this helps in clarifying your skin. The tea tree oil is used as a cleanser, like for acne or any blemishes. Tea tree oil is amazing. I will do a blog post about it later. The lavender oil helps to stop any irritation or redness that might occur. Lavender is known for its soothing qualities.