Monday, December 18, 2017

Awesome DIY All Natural Gifts for Christmas with Essential Oils!



It's coming faster than I could ever imagine!!! Christmas is only a week away! But no fear you can put these easy but high quality gifts together in no time! Links provided for reference are also affiliate links which means I could earn a little money if you buy from them but it does not cost you any more. (Thank you for your support!)


ALL NATURAL HEATING PAD: For this project you need all natural cotton fabric such as flannel, rice and a sewing machine.

1. Cut cotton fabric to make a pouch.

  • for each pad you need to cut 2- 8x20 inch pieces. 
  • place two pieces together right side in
  • sew three sides shut, leaving one end open for filling
  • turn them right side out

2. Add 6 cups rice.
3. Sew end shut.

  • If you wish you can divide it up into three parts with 1.5 cups in each part. You would simply add 1.5 cups rice, sew it at 1/3 line, add 1.5 cups, sew at 2/3 line, add the last 1/5 cups and sew it shut. This does make sewing the end a little harder.

4. Include instructions for the receiver: Microwave about a minute to desired temperature (careful it gets hot!) Add a drop of essential oil to the pad then place pad on skin. Enjoy!
5. Include a sample bottle of essential oil and a special note! (I recommend including lavender for relaxing or peppermint for pain)


Sterling Silver Diffuser Necklace:  For this project you need pliers, a chain necklace (I used 20" Sterling Silver), a 3 inch eye pin and 5 lava beads (I used 8mm size).

1. Find the center & cut your necklace in half with wire cutters. It helps to wiggle it when in the cutter.
2. Attach one end of the eye pin to one end of the cut necklace. It helps to open it slightly. Then once on, close it again so it does not slide off.
3. Add 5 lava beads.
4. Curl the end with the jewelers tool, but don't close the loop yet.
5. Add it to your other end of the cut necklace then close the end.
6. Wrap with a sample bottle of your favorite blend and a special note!


Yuletide Reed Diffuser: For this project you need a small bottle with a narrow neck, sunflower oil (or similar thin carrier oil), your choice of essential oils and reeds. (I really liked these wavy reeds which are naturally dried in the sun and not died or bleached.) Note: I found my bottles at Michaels. You want one with a small neck and wide base to limit the evaporation and reduce the chance of it getting knocked over.

  1. Wrap a ribbon or jute twine around the 10 reeds for gifting. Add a note with instructions for the receiver: Remove cork and insert reeds in top of bottle. In 24 hours turn reeds over to help oil saturate entire reed. Turn reeds once a week or as desired.
  2. Using the funnel, add 1/4 cup oil to the bottle.
  3. Add 40-60 drops essential oils. We used equal amounts of pine clove and orange. A second options being abundance and peppermint in equal amounts.
  4. Seal bottle well with cork. 
  5. Wrap and add tag. 



Bath Truffle: For this project you will need baking soda, citric acid, white kaolin claycocoa butter, Shea butter, essential oils, a mold, lavender essential oil, dried lavender buds (optional) and pink Himalayan salt (optional).
1. Measure by weight 4 oz cocoa butter and 2 oz Shea butter into glass jar and put in a double boiler to melt.
2. Prepare mold by adding dried lavender buds, Himalayan sea salt or other top like rose petals to the bottom.
3. Mix in a separate bowl:

  • 2 cup baking soda
  • 1 cup citric acid
  • 1 cup kaolin clay

4. Once oils are melted remove from heat and add 20 drops of lavender & mix.
5. Pour oils over dry mix & mix with spoon. Once mixed kneed with fingers to finish mixing.
6. Press into molds. In my mold it made about 19 cubes.
7. Refrigerate about 30 minutes then remove from mold.
8. Wrap with tag & instructions for receiver:
Drop one bath truffle into your bath as you fill it. Enjoy!


Snow globe Cookies Top: You will need the lid and ring off your mason jar, white paper, hot glue, miniature ornaments or other small decorations, decorative snow, clear plastic ornament.

  1. Trace lid onto white paper and cut out.
  2. Hot glue white circle to top of lid to form your base. 
  3. Hot glue ring to lid. (Lid on bottom).
  4. Cut off thread hangers off the miniature ornaments and hot glue them standing up & facing forward onto paper the on lid.
  5. Place a small pinch or two of snow in center.
  6. Put hot glue on the edge of one half of ornament. Center on lid with hook towards the back.
  7. Allow to dry while you fill jar


Snow globe Cookies Jar: You will need a quart mason jar, orange essential oil, measuring cups and the ingredients for the cookies. It also helps to have a jar funnel for this project.

Add ingredients to jar in order, do not over fill or it won't all fit.
1. 1/3cup sugar
2. 10 drops of orange essential oil- you can mix slightly but try to keep it level
3. 1/3 cup brown sugar (pack it in)
4. 3/4 cup flour
5. 1/2 tsp baking powder
6. 1/8 tsp salt
7. 1 cup oats
8. 1 cups cranberries (a little less than 1 cup, do not pack it in the measuring cup. this ingredient is important to not over do it or your chocolate chips will not fit!)
9. 1 cup white chocolate chips (may end up being a little less)
10. add snow globe lid (instructions above), ribbon with cooking instructions.

Instructions to tie to jar:
❄❄Snowglobe Cookies❄❄: Pour cookie mix into a large bowl; stir to combine. Beat in 1/2 cup melted butter, 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Drop by the tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: 3 dozen.


I hope you have a blessed Christmas and enjoy making these fabulous gifts. For more ideas, see my other posts on Christmas gift ideas here: 2016 Gift ideas and 2015 Gift ideas and 2014 ideas and Men's ideas.

Merry Christmas!

If you enjoyed this post, I’d be very grateful if you’d help it spread by emailing it to a friend, or sharing it on Google+Twitter or Facebook.

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Green your Clean Series! Laundry room

Let's get real. Cleaning is one of those things either you love or you don't. I do not like to clean but I hate a mess. What a predicament?? I really want to challenge you (and myself) to look at the products you use around the house to clean and to try something new.

Lets start off this Green your Clean series in the laundry room.

Confession time... I used to be a fabric softener-aholic (yes that is a word). I used several dryer sheets and liquid softener! I had no idea what horrible toxins I was absorbing by putting on my (and my family) clothes daily. The chemicals found in fabric softeners are known neurotoxins, hormone disruptors, allergens, asthmagens and carcinogenic. Just Google it... no lie. You will be a bit overwhelmed. Needless to say, I stopped several years ago and went green. Lets talk about options.

Option 1: Vinegar
Several years ago, I went cold turkey. I changed over to using vinegar in my rinse cycle. In my old washing machine I would add it at the end or use my old dryer ball (until I decided to give that old thing up too). Then I got a machine that had a fabric softner dispenser so it was a no brainer. Pour my vinegar right in there- easy peasy.  Super cheap and soft clothes. Its been about five years now and I have not had any problem with static. Honestly, I can no longer stand the smell of laundry softener. I went through some old bins of clothes last summer that were from way back in my softner days and I just about choked on the smell.

Option 2: Wool dryer balls
Another option is to use wool dryer balls. They help speed up the dry time, soften, decrease static and can also be used with essential oils to add a scent to your laundry. 

I recently made some and was amazed at how easy it was! I have been leaving them in my dryer to help speed up the process (save energy). My clothes have certainly been drying faster.

You need to buy the kind of wool that is not made for washing so it will felt. No blends. I used two skeins of roving wool to make six balls. Super simple. You wind them into tight balls. Once you get the size you want, cut the yarn and tuck in the end.

Then you place them into old pantyhose and tie them off. Put them in with the wash and dryer for a few loads. Then remove them from the pantyhose. They should be felted. (You should  not be able to pull the strings apart.)

They are so cute and simple! If you want to add scent just add 3-4 drops of essential oil right onto each ball. You can add more or less depending on the level of scent you desire. Lavender or purification are great ones to start out with but the possibilities are endless.




Option 3: Home made dryer sheets

This one is the newest of the three I am trying out. My cousin has been using these for awhile and highly recommended them. I quite honestly love the smell! Seriously, it is so simple to make your own dryer sheets.

I had several receiving blankets in the donation pile. So I decided to use one for this project. You can also use old flannel sheets or t-shirts.  I cut them into squares. But generally dryer sheet size around 6x6 is good. Nothing fancy, just chop chop.








Stuff the pieces of fabric into a mason jar. In a separate bowl mix one cup of vinegar and 20-30 drops of Young Living essential oils then pour over fabric. Make sure oil mixture is evenly distributed over fabric, then shake to distribute.


Add a cloth or two to your dryer load, then throw them back in the jar. You can reuse them as much as you want!


So there you have it... three easy ways you can green your clean today! Try one out and let me know what you think! I will be back with more ways to clean up the toxins soon.

Blessings!

If you enjoyed this post, I’d be very grateful if you’d help it spread by emailing it to a friend, or sharing it on Google+Twitter or Facebook.


Saturday, April 1, 2017

Spring Inspection of the hives!


Going into winter I had three hives. If you recall from my post last fall, I was hopeful, but they were all in different stages and there are so many factors that come into play over our long winter months here in Minnesota.

Throughout late fall and early winter I would go up the hill at least once a month to just check and see if there was any signs of activity at the entrances. In February, I was very surprised to find Alveare (left) the shortest of the three still alive. I peeked inside Panj as well. Both hive's bee cluster were in their top box, which generally means they ate all their stores already. I set up mountain camp feeding on Alveare and Panj since they were the lowest on food. I left Kosnica knowing they should have had tons of food. They were active out front but I did not see bees on the top of the hive.

Going into March I checked Panj and Alveare two more times on how the feeding was going and if there was need for more. I added to Panj as they were eating it up really fast. They were definitely more active outdoors even when it was colder than the other hives. They would be flying outside even when I saw nothing with the others. Must be the Russian bloodlines. We had some up and down weather and checking the outside of the hives it appeared that Kosnica was most likely dead. I peeked inside and saw no movement. Late March I suspected that a cold snap may had also taken Alveare as I saw no movement and heard nothing when I knocked outside. Today I went in to look....

The above photo is from today's inspection the first day in April.

You can see Alveare (left) is shorter than the other hives. They had only two boxes going into winter and they were not full. It should have been a recipe for disaster. Upon opening them up today, they still had lots of feed on top and were very much alive! They are raising brood (babies) and taking in beautiful yellow pollen. My weakest hive going into winter made it!!! I am amazed at their resiliency.

On the other hand my Russians, Panj (middle) had eaten all the feed I had given them. More than twice as much as Alveare. They were raising brood and filling in the extra space for more! In the picture below is some of the burr comb I removed that they were building. It had eggs in it. You can see the little white dots. Those are bee eggs. Another thing to note is their hive was so clean. When I went to clean the bottom board there was barely anything there to clean up. These bees are really good bees.


Kosnica (farthest away, on the right) had a third deep box FULL of honey going into winter.  They should have had enough food to last them until March/April easily. There was activity outside the hive but from my recent visits and outside observations, I was suspecting it was bees from other hives robbing the honey from inside. Upon opening the hive there was virtually no bees inside. The top box still was full of honey, easily eighty to one hundred pounds. It was tough to lift. I checked all the way down. No cluster. They were dead. Most of the bees were on the bottom board. I am suspecting moisture as a reason they may have perished. I had the bottom entrance open to the smallest opening and it should have been the three inch opening. They most likely did not get the ventilation they needed to be able to remove the moisture even with the moisture board on top.

It is sad to loose a hive but I am super happy to have the other two doing so well. I will be dividing the colonies in about a month from two to four. This will be a new venture and I will be happy to share when it happens.

That's the buzz!

Blessings!

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Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Minnesota Beekeeping Mama, behind the scenes part 3: wax harvest and uses

The following is part one of a three part series I wrote for The Mother Hive last summer (2016), with a few updates and links. I hope you enjoy this behind the scenes look into beekeeping. If you are looking for honey or garden products feel free to check out my page at Good Karma Honey & Apothecary.

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I used crush and strain method for harvesting honey so I had more wax than most would at the end of the season. I did not have any old windows laying around but did find an electric roaster oven at a garage sale so I decided to use that to clean my wax. Here is a breakdown of how I cleaned my wax to get it ready for use.

  1. I placed all my wax in a 5 gallon bucket. I added water and let it sit for a while to help dissolve the honey.
  2. After it sat for a few hours I mixed it well and broke up any chunks which could be hiding honey.
  3. I strained the wax through a metal strainer and rinsed as about two more times to really clean it up. (I did this all outside... it's a really messy job)
  4. I setup my roaster with about 1-2 inches of water in the bottom. I used metal window screen and cut a piece of screen to fit over the top and tucked it under the inner liner of the roaster.
  5. I placed a few paper towels on top of the screen. Then wax on top of that. I covered it and let it sit and roast.
  6. I kept the temperature low (around 110-120) as I did not want to heat up the wax too much until I found a temperature that melted the wax and allowed it to filter through the paper towel and drip into the water bath below.
  7. The paper towel caught all the gunk. I would add more wax as the wax melted through.
  8. Once all my wax was filtered I turned it off and let it cool so the wax would harden in the water below.
  9. Once hard you can break it loose. The wax was beautiful and smelled wonderful. From one hive I ended up with over seven pounds of wax using this method.  I broke it into pieces and put it into a bag for use to make chap stick, lotion, candles or whatever else I choose.

I love to create homemade beauty products. Two of my favorites uses for beeswax beauty products are chapstick and lotion bars.

Lotion Bar: I have been making these for years. I just love them and give them as gifts to all my friends and family. They are great for dry skin. Rub them in your hands and the heat from your body will melt the oil. These bars are very moisturizing. I get cracked skin along my finger nails in winter and I will rub my lotion bar on the cracks at bedtime. By morning the crack will be gone. Happy dance!

You can use lots of options to make this with different molds. I use a small loaf silicone mold but you could make hearts for Valentines or pour them into deodorant containers for easy use as well!

You will need:
1 cup beeswax
1 cup mango butter
1 cup coconut oil
1-2 tsp vitamin E oil or about 5 capsules of vitamin E
50 drops of essential oil

In a double boiler melt the beeswax, mango butter and coconut oil. Once melted, remove from heat and add Vitamin E and essential oils. Then pour into molds. Let completely cool before removing from mold or if using deodorant containers make sure its cooled completely before adding the cap.

This project takes about 30 minutes to prep and get into the molds. Most of that time again being the melting of the oils. Using the mold above I generally get 10-11 bars.

Chap Stick:
You will need:
6-7 lip balm tubes
1/2 tablespoon beeswax
1 tablespoon Shea butter
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 capsules or 1/2 tsp vitamin E oil
10-15 drops essential oils of your choice (like lavender, or lavender and peppermint)

  1. First melt your beeswax, coconut oil and butter in a double boiler.
  2. Once melted remove from heat and add vitamin E and essential oils. Stir well.
  3. Gather your lip balm tubes with a rubber band for ease of filling. Slowly pour the balm into your tubes. Let it cool completely before capping.
  4. Add cute labels or use decorative tape.

This is seriously so much fun. There are so many natural color combinations and essential oils you can choose from. For instructions on how to color your chapstick check out this post: Everything's better with glitter lip balm  

If you try it out, let me know what you make. I hope you have fun with it!


If you would like to follow me and my journey with the bees and other fun stuff you can follow me here on the blog. Click on the follow button and you will be notified when new posts are up!


Blessings!

If you enjoyed this post, I’d be very grateful if you’d help it spread by emailing it to a friend, or sharing it on Google+Twitter or Facebook.

Minnesota Beekeeping Mama, behind the scenes part 2: crush and strain

The following is part two of a three part series I wrote for The Mother Hive last summer (2016), with a few updates and links. I hope you enjoy this behind the scenes look into beekeeping. If you are looking for honey or garden products feel free to check out my page at Good Karma Honey & Apothecary.
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So it's time to harvest but do not have the funds for an extractor? Does the idea of hauling your supers somewhere to extract them sound like insanity? Well, it did for me. So I decided to use crush and strain. Crush and strain is a bit more labor but I really do not think it is THAT much more.

First I want to say, there are many different ways you can do this. I am going to share with you what I did and you can decide how you want to adjust it to fit your needs.
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Location: I would recommend you choose a place that is REALLY warm.

I decided to do all my crush and strain in my greenhouse type garden shed. It gets very hot in there and is closed off from the bees so I will not be bothered. I know many who do it in their garage or even in their kitchen. It is messy work so be prepared for a mess. I thoroughly cleaned the area and put down clean cardboard on all surfaces for easy clean up afterwards. This setup worked wonders for me. The biggest factor was temperature.  If it was below 90 degrees the honey did not strain. It worked best for me to harvest ten frames early in the day and let it strain as it heated up. As long as it was above 90 degrees the honey flowed very quickly and easily.

Tools: I used a 5 gallon bucket with a honey gate, a bucket strainer, scraper and a jig I made to hold the frames.

To scrape I found it worked best to use a square spatula. I tried with a round wooden ones but it could not get the comb from the corners. I found a square wooden one I really liked at Target for cheap.

I made a little wooden jig to hold my frames over  my bucket while I scraped the comb. It is a simple piece of wood where I cut grooves so it would fit on the top of my buckets without sliding. I put a screw in it pointing upwards to hold the frame while I scraped.

I used a 5 gallon bucket with a honey gate to strain the honey into and to also dispense my honey into jars once I was done. I placed the bucket strainer on the top, then my wooden jig. I would stand a frame on end and scrape it into the strainer. Flip it around the scrape the other side. I could fit about 5 frames of honey in each strainer. I used two buckets and would do ten frames a day. Then I would bring the frames back to the bees to have them clean them and take ten more. It took me about two weeks to get it all done this way. There were a few days where the weather was not warm enough which slowed things down. It may be wise to have more buckets so I can take advantage of the warmer weather when it is here.
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Some additional things I learned from doing this...

1. It is best to wait to bottle your honey until you are done. If you have some frames that are not completely capped they can mix with the capped honey to still ensure your moisture content is within limits. I had a refractometer to check the moisture content.

2. To get the maximum honey out of your combs you should squeeze it out when you think it is done straining. There is still a lot of honey in there. I know I missed a lot of honey in the first 30 or so frames because I did not try squeezing until my last harvest and was surprised at what came out!

3. Because I had multiple buckets of honey I was able to really see the difference in honey that the bees collected over the season. The supers from the end of the summer were darker.

If you would like to follow me and my journey with the bees and other fun stuff you can follow me here on the blog. Click on the follow button and you will be notified when new posts are up!

Blessings!

If you enjoyed this post, I’d be very grateful if you’d help it spread by emailing it to a friend, or sharing it on Google+Twitter or Facebook.


Minnesota Beekeeping Mama, behind the scenes part 1: hive set up


The following is part one of a three part series I wrote for The Mother Hive last summer (2016), with a few updates and links. I hope you enjoy this behind the scenes look into beekeeping. If you are looking for honey or garden products feel free to check out my page at Good Karma Honey & Apothecary.

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Greetings from Minnesota! Summers here are easily a 100 degree difference than cold long winters. Due to our short season and extreme weather, beekeeping practices here are certainly slightly different than southern United States or other countries.

I am in my third year keeping bees in Minnesota. My first year hive did not make it, they were killed off by an environmental spray late fall which was really sad to me. I harvested a hundred pounds and had a hundred in the hive for them to winter with. But I was determined to try again and the second year I had three hives. They really tested me the second year but all made it. We are now into the winter of the third year, the hives are all cozy and we keep praying they will all be there come spring!

I am a wife and mother of two young kids. The kids love the bees and especially the honey. They are caretakers of the fallen. Whenever they see a bee out in the yard they instantly want to help it or save it. My husband got involved late the first summer as the lifting was more than I could handle. Now he too finds himself loving these special tiny little insects.

I would like to share a little bit about how my hives run for our season and weather. Stands for our area are recommended close to the ground, just a wooden 2x4 stand.  I keep my hives running with three deep boxes. Two deeps are for brood. The top one is mostly honey stores for winter. Some people in the area run two deep boxes but many use three. If I could have known how heavy the full deeps would have been I may have looked into eight frame boxes or more mediums. I can not lift the top deep once its full. I have to remove frames to lift it, or more easily have someone there to help.



I use a queen excluder and honey supers for a few short months. Generally honey supers are on mid-June until to the beginning of September. Our honey flow is over around labor day and generally we harvest around that time. Because I do not have that many hives I decided to skip the extractor ($$) use the crush and strain method. I will share more details on that in another post.


In late fall we wrap our hives to help them over winter. This is done in many ways. Some people purchase pre made black cardboard wraps, others use two layers of roofing paper and still others get even more creative. It is also recommended to put up a windbreak in winter to help with the cold northern winds. Our biggest problem in this area is varroa mites. Besides that some people also have some problems with bears if they are farther out or smaller critters like raccoons.

If you would like to follow me and my journey with the bees and other fun stuff you can follow me here on the blog. Click on the follow button and you will be notified when new posts are up!

Blessings!

If you enjoyed this post, I’d be very grateful if you’d help it spread by emailing it to a friend, or sharing it on Google+Twitter or Facebook.


Sunday, December 4, 2016

Five New Fabulous Christmas Gifts you can Make with Essential Oils


I love giving homemade gifts! Below you will find all the details on how to make these five fabulous natural gifts with essential oils. These are such wonderful gifts to give and so easy to make!



Layered Lavender Hot Cocoa:

You know chocolate fixes everything! Well now its lavender and chocolate fix everything. Relax and warm up with this wonderful blend. For this project follow these steps:

  1. Measure 1/2 cup sugar into a separate bowl and mix with 5 drops lavender.
  2. Using a canning funnel, put sugar/lavender mix in bottom of canning mug.
  3. Tap to get it all level and packed
  4. Then add in order to layer 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  5. 1/2 cup powdered milk
  6. 1/4 tsp salt
  7. 1/4 cup chocolate chips
  8. Push down on the chocolate chips with your hand to pack the jar well
  9. Then pack the top with mini marshmallows
  10. Add lid and label. For the label add the instructions: Empty contents into a large bowl. Mix well. To make cocoa add 1/3 cup of mix to 1 cup hot water. Store mix in a sealed container. 
Super cute, fun with a lot of yum!



All Natural Glitter Body Spray with a Silver Diffuser Necklace: 

This all natural body spray has some shimmer and some sass. Use your favorite essential oils or try the suggested ones below. Pair it with a fun diffuser necklace for a perfect combination! For this gift you will need:

4 ounce spray bottle
1/3 cup witch hazel
your choice of essential oils 
  • Beautiful- 8 drops ylang-ylang essential oil and 8 drops orange essential oil
or
  • Energizing- 5 drops grapefruit, 6 drops lime, and 5 drops lemon essential oils
1/2 tsp all natural mica powder (glitter)
1 tablespoon glycerin
1 tablespoon oil (like sunflower, grapeseed or almond)

Once you have added all ingredients to the bottle, replace the spray top and make a cute label for your bottle. Shake well before using.

Diffuser Necklace: for second part of this gift you will need a rope or chain for your necklace, a spiral pendant and lava bead or wool ball. Put the wool ball or bead inside of your pendant by gently pulling the wires apart, then add pendant to your chain. Super simple and really cute. We gifted this with a small sample bottle filled with essential oil blends we made to match the spray.

Eucalyptus Mint Bath Oil: 

A wonderful addition to any bath. Pour one tablespoon of this into your bath as you are running the water.  Improve your concentration, boost your energy, ease sore-achy muscles and oh yeah, kills germs on the side.  For this gift you will need:

4 ounce glass bottle
10 drops eucalyptus essential oil
5 drops peppermint essential oil
Approximately 4 ounces of olive oil
Add essential oils to the bottle. Then fill to neck with olive oil. Screw on the cover, shake well and add a cute label. We gifted this oil with a super fluffy white spa towel.

Peppermint Foot Rub: 

A great treat for tired and achy feet! We wrapped this up with a pair of fuzzy socks for a super cute gift. To make this gift you will need:
  • 2 ounce glass bottle
  • 4 Tablespoons of oil (like sunflower, grapeseed, or sweet almond)
  • 2 Tsp of Vinegar
  • 15 drops of peppermint essential oil
Add all the ingredients to you bottle, cover & shake. Add a cute label and wrap it with your favorite fuzzy socks.



Whipped Body Butter: 

This is not just lotion, it's butter! It is a wonderful blend of all natural oils to sooth your body. A little goes a long way.

1/2 cup sweet almond oil
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup mango butter
1/2 cup shea butter
1 tsp vitamin E (preservative)
Essential oils of your choice (we used 2 drops of joy and 3 drops of orange for each 1/2 cup)

Melt the coconut oil and butters in a double boiler until combined.
Remove from heat and add sweet almond oil and vitamin E. Then place in refrigerator to cool down for 2-4 hours. When it is almost solid put it in your mixer to whip it up. If it is not whipping well you may need to refrigerate it a little longer.

Once whipped add your essential oils to your preference and whip another minute to incorporate. Spoon into your jars and add a cute label.


Looking for more ideas? You can view previous years projects here:
Five more DIY gifts for Christmas using Essential Oils
5 Easy DIY Christmas Gifts with Essential Oils
Mens All Natural Bath and Body Products Using Essential Oils

I hope you enjoy creating these wonderful natural gifts for your friends and family. Do you have a favorite homemade gift you make? Share some of your favorites with us below. In the meantime have a wonderful holiday season and a very merry Christmas!

Blessings!

If you enjoyed this post, I’d be very grateful if you’d help it spread by emailing it to a friend, or sharing it on Google+Twitter or Facebook.