Showing posts with label Tutorials and DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tutorials and DIY. Show all posts

4.30.2015

DIY: Handmade Sugar Scrub - Great Gift Idea!


Sugar may not be good for you when you eat it, but it's definitely great for your skin.  Sugar scrub is a fantastic exfoliation method, and personally, living here in Utah with a very dry climate, it's a MUST for my skin needs.  It needs to both moisturize and scrub away dead skin cells-and to be completely honest, it has to smell amazing at the same time or I want no part of it.

When Kristina and I got together to make our handmade bath salts last Christmas as gifts, it occurred to us that some of our friends didn't have bathtubs-so giving them bath salts would be kind of a crappy gift.  That's when the idea of putting together a sugar scrub came to life and it was almost as easy and inexpensive as the bath salts.  

  • Sugar (white or brown)
  • Base Oil (I prefer coconut, but Olive or Almond are also great)
  • Essential Oil (make sure it's not just a scented oil-it needs to be essential so it's safe for skin and not chemical)

Your ratio for this mix is going to be 2|1.  2 cups Sugar to 1 cup base oil.  Coconut oil is pretty responsive to temperature so I had to heat mine up for about 30 seconds to make it mixable.  As for the essential oil it can take quite a bit more to stand out with this mix, so I put about 20 drops of essential oil in mine to make the smell stand out.  For this tutorial I'm using Lime, which goes wonderfully with the coconut.  I also threw in about 2 drops of food coloring.  I used green to match up with the lime.

When we picked did our bottles of sugar scrub in bulk for gifts we hit Costco and bought a huge bag of sugar (25lbs-I still have about a quarter of it in my cupboard) for about $10.  The Coconut oil was a little more money, we bought 2 giant jars of it for about $25 at costco, but I've since picked up some smaller jars (which are great for a batch or two) at Trader Joes for only $5 each.  They probably even out to about the same cost in the long run.

Olive oil was definitely cheaper, but it doesn't smell nearly as good.  However, it was totally necessary since I have a friend who's allergic to coconut and I really wanted to make her some sugar scrub.  I also used olive for my dad since it smelled a little more "manly."


Put it all together and mix it up.  It smells amazing and it's totally natural and safe-it's even edible, though I don't recommend eating it-it's not necessarily good for you even if it does taste kind of awesome.  Throw it in a jar and put it in your bathroom.  It has a shelf life of about 2 months (or more if you keep it in a cool dark cupboard so the oils don't sour) but you'll probably use it all up before that time.  It's so inexpensive and easy you can use it like crazy and not worry about breaking the bank.


What flavor would you want to make/use?



4.09.2015

15 DIY Kitchen Projects I'm Dying to Try In My New Home

Many of you may know by now that I'm am UNDER CONTRACT (whoa) for a house right now.  It's a cute little starter home, meaning I recognize that I'm not going to live there for the rest of my life but instead make it work right now, and it has a tiny little kitchen.  The kitchen is pretty, but very very small and there is no pantry...

UPDATE: I am not longer getting that house, but these tips are still ones I want to try when I find one!

So while I can't start on anything yet (you aren't supposed to spend money while under contract plus I don't have keys yet so I can't get measurements) I've already begun pinning projects to help with small kitchens.  For some reason all the pinning is actually easing my stress levels-probably because I'm just getting so excited!

15 DIY Kitchen Projects I'm Dying to Try In My New Home

1. I wont have a pantry in my new place, but I'm thinking I could make this cute little pull-out pantry for my kitchen!  Though the walls seem smaller so I might want to adjust the measurements, but it seems pretty doable!  I also found this version without the backing as well, though I like the first one a bit better.

2. I think these slide-out cabinet organizers for under the sink are a brilliant way to keep everything tidy and accessible under there, don't you? I'm not 100% sure I have the woodworking or carpentry skills to do this one though...

3. Another fabulous idea is to utilize the space above kitchen cabinets and I love the idea of putting wine up there, but instead of buying one, I'd totally try this DIY wine rack instead.

4. I've seen a few different versions of this, but hanging measuring spoons inside your cabinet definitely saves drawer space.  You can also add nifty vinyl conversions to your measuring cup cupboard for an easy chart to refer to when cooking or baking.

5. This is another that I'm not sure I possess the skills for, but a hidden slide-out knife drawer?  I'd love to get my knife block off the counter!

6. I have a pretty spinning spice rack I intend to keep, so while I love these fancy magnetic spice rack options, I still don't know what to do with some of my other oddly shaped bottles.  This super easy and inexpensive magnetic spice holder option looks like a great way to store them without stealing space from my cupboard.  Goodness, you can even make a magnetic spice rack inside the cupboard!

7. Adding a Lazy Susan to your fridge seems like a no-brainer.  I mean check out this Fridge Butler.

8. In case I can't pull off the knife drawer, I'm probably going to make a magnetic knife strip.  I'm not entirely sure I can pull off this lovely rainbow wood magnetic knife strip, but I'm feeling like I could do something similar... With maybe fabric that's removable for washing?

9. When in doubt, defer to Martha Stewart.  Always.  Easy-peasy add some tension rods to a cupboard to separate boards and pans.  Even more simple?  Re-purpose a desk organizer to sort those cutting boards and shallow pans.

10. Along the office-supply line, re-purpose some CD organizers to hold Tupperware lids.  I mean what else do you use them for?

11. Put your garbage bags on a roll under the sink.  Out of the way and easy to access!

12. I was already thinking I'd need to use a hanging rack to store pots and pans since I wont have space for them otherwise, why not save some money and make a pot rack out of a bicycle wheel? Brilliant!

13. The new house doesn't have a fridge, meaning I need to find one quick, and I'm not sure I can afford a really nice one off the bat.  There was some talk of my brother buying a new fridge and giving me his old one, and at first I was like "Ew, it's white and all my other appliances are black!" (I know, I know, beggars can't be choosers), but now I think I'll paint the fridge with chalkboard paint and love it!  It'll basically match, plus it'll be a lot of fun.

14. Another great use for the inside of your cupboards-use a curtain or towel rod to store pot lids! Genius!

15. Okay, this wall attached picture table is to die for-but soooo expensive.  I mean if you can afford it, go for it, but I can't.  It looks like wall art until you fold it out to use it as a table.  Seriously, why didn't I think of this?  I honestly think this could be made pretty easily with the tools and hinges... Or you could pick up one of these cute fold out desks and just put a picture on the bottom of it.

Have any tips for a future small kitchen owner?

3.11.2015

DIY: Make Your Own Bath Salts - Great For Handmade Gifts!

DIY: Make Your Own Bath Salts - Great For Handmade Gifts!

Making your own bath salts is not only inexpensive, but it's a relatively quick and easy process to do. Last Christmas, Kristina and I got together and made a ton (like 50 or more jars worth) in many different scents and colors to use as holiday gifts.  I mean we did Lime (which I called Margarita), Peppermint, Eucalyptus, Lavender, Orange, Mixed Citrus, and lemon grass.  We even took the time to think about who would like which scents better and I made adorable little labels for them.  They were a huge hit! 

DIY: Make Your Own Bath Salts - Great For Handmade Gifts!

  • Epsom Salts
  • Sea Salt
  • Essential Oils (don't just use scented oil, it needs to be safe to put on your skin)
  • Food Coloring (optional)

Jasmine Essential Oil Handmade Bath Salts

For this tutorial I decided to go with Jasmine.  It's one of the few scents I don't use a lot, and I thought it would be lovely to have at least one floral thing in my bathroom for when the mood strikes.  Honestly, the scent I use most is Lavender for relaxation/sleep, but Jasmine is great for mood boozing (it's an "antidepressant" scent), and it's great also for relaxation and relief of sore muscles & cramps.

No, I'm not going to sell you essential oils-seriously I bought this one for $5 at a health store-there is no need to spend $30 plus on essential oils for this project.

DIY: Make Your Own Bath Salts - Great For Handmade Gifts!

Your ratio for the salts is going to be 1|1.  1 cup Epson salt to 1 cup sea salt.  We went to Costco and bought in bulk-I think we paid about $6 for several pounds (more than enough) of Epsom salt and $3 per large jar of Sea Salt (it took about 3 jars of Sea Salt for each bag of the Epsom salt-but was still inexpensive.) I think to make about 50-75 jars cost s around $30 in salts and oils.  The jars were another story, we picked up a bunch at the dollar store which was nice.

So a single recipe is 1 cup Epsom salt, 1 cup Sea Salt, 8-10 drops of essential oil (more or less-some scents will be stronger and some will need a few extra dashes to smell like you want them to), and about 2-3 drops of food coloring.  Doubling or tripling is easy-we did a lot of that with big batches.  Pour it all together and mix it up well.  Your house is going to smell amazing.

DIY: Make Your Own Bath Salts - Great For Handmade Gifts!
DIY: Make Your Own Bath Salts - Great For Handmade Gifts!

Here are some of the cute gifts we gave out for the holidays-they were a huge hit.  We put some ribbon on them, matched them up with some handmade sugar scrubs (recipe coming soon!), and put these cute labels on them.  The labels were just in the printer section and I used markers-they're not waterproof at all, but they worked just fine for a gift.

DIY: Make Your Own Bath Salts - Great For Handmade Gifts!
DIY: Make Your Own Bath Salts - Great For Handmade Gifts!
DIY: Make Your Own Bath Salts - Great For Handmade Gifts!
DIY: Make Your Own Bath Salts - Great For Handmade Gifts!
DIY: Make Your Own Bath Salts - Great For Handmade Gifts!

Which scent would you want to make or bathe with?


 

12.04.2013

Super Easy DIY Cork Ornament

Super Easy DIY Cork Ornament

I'm helping celebrate the 12 Days of DIY Ornaments which the lovely Tawny from Tawny's Tid Bits put together.  There are so many cute DIY ornaments-and here we are for Day 3!  I'm going to show you how to make Super Easy DIY Cork Ornaments-these are really easy!

Super Easy DIY Cork Ornament

You'll need:
  • Corks of various sizes
  • Ribbon
  • Glitter Glue
  • Glue Dots
  • Sequins/Confetti/Gems

Super Easy DIY Cork Ornament
  1. Use your glue dots to glue the corks together in the shape of a tree.
  2. Use your glue dots to glue the Ribbon to the back to hang it from.
  3. Use glitter glue as tinsel, or use more ribbon to wrap around it.
  4. Then use your glitter glue to attach any little trinkets as ornaments.
Super Easy DIY Cork OrnamentSuper Easy DIY Cork Ornament

It really only takes a few minutes and they look really cute!  Also really inexpensive and has lots of options.

9.25.2013

My 10 Favorite Halloween DIY Crafts & Decor Tutorials

It's inching closer to my favorite time of the year-Halloween!  I love Fall in general, as the air turns crisp and the leaves start to change and drift to the ground, but Halloween is where my heart is.  Ghosts and ghouls, skeletons, and more-it's the best time of year to be young at heart!  Today I'd like to share 20 of the best DIY crafts and decor ideas I found from Pinterest:

        Creepy Crawlies by Good Housekeeping               Stylish DIY Halloween Wreath by Shelterness   
xoxo Miss Angie
Linking up with:

9.11.2013

My 10 Favorite Fall DIY Crafts & Decor Ideas

It's that time of the year again!  The air is starting to turn crisp, the leaves are starting to yellow and drift from their perches atop the trees, theirs a distinct scent of cinnamon and fireplaces lingering in the air... Fall.  One of the best times of the year!  It always feels like something exciting is lingering just around the corner, and like big change is coming.  It's also one of the more fun times of the year to decorate, so here are some fabulous Fall Decor & DIY Craft ideas for you to try!



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