This years "Christmas Make and Take" was a ton of fun. I took it up a notch with some of our projects. We made gifts which were a little more time intensive but overall are fairly easy and truly make great gifts for everyone on your list.
Comfort and Joy Lotion Bars: First up is my all time favorite lotion bar. I have been gifting these for years and I always get tons of compliments. These bars were seasonally scented with Joy and Orange essential oils to create a fun and luxurious bar. They are
great for dry cracked 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.
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, silicone muffin mold for round shapes 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- for this project we used 25 drops of Joy EO and 25 drops of Orange EO
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 it is cooled completely before adding the cap.
Using the mold above I generally get 10-11 bars.
Essentially Infused Sea Salt Trio:Second we made Essential Infused Sea Salts in Rosemary, Basil and Oregano. I found some
super cute jars (wedding favors) and some great coordinating stickers and
boxes.
1.
Rosemary bowl combine: 2 level Tablespoons sea salt with 1 drop of Rosemary EO
2.
mix well then add 1 level Tablespoon dried Rosemary
3.
mix in bowl and then scoop/pour into jar with a funnel
4.
place the cover and label it, repeat with each herb, (keep separate bowls for each herb)
Diffuser Bracelet:Third up is diffuser bracelet. Using natural stones, Amazonite and Lava we created super cute bracelets and paired it with a mini dropper bottle so each person could share their favorite scent with the receiver.
1.
Cut 9-10" of
magic cord (1mm)
2.
use 16
amazonite stones (8mm) and 3-5
lava stones (8mm or 10mm) to make your bracelet (don't fill the string or you won't be able to tie it!!!
3.
triple knot it (hardest part)
4.
put one dab of superglue on the knot
5.
once dry, cut ends.
White Christmas Bath Bombs:These Luxury Bath Bombs with White Angelica EO and Lavender EO were like heaven....oh they smelled sooooo good. When you are ready to use them, fill your tub, climb in and drop in the bomb!
1. Combine in a large glass or stainless steel bowl until well blended:
- 8 ounces Baking Soda for your skin and the bathwater
- 4 ounces Corn Starch
- 4 ounces Epsom Salts
2. Add the following ingredients and blend well:
- 2-3 tsp. witch hazel
- 15 drops of Essential Oil for scent (more or less depending on how strong you want it and what scent you are using)
- 2 tsp. almond oil for your skin
- Food coloring if you want colored bombs and water.
3. At this point, your mixture should resemble wet sand. Adding the food coloring helps you figure out if it’s well-mixed, an even color means a good mix. When you squeeze some in your fist, it should hold together. If it doesn’t, add witch hazel a teaspoon or less at a time until desired consistency is reached. ***Don't add too much liquid or it expands... a lot.
4. Add 4 ounces Citric Acid (this is what gives you the fizz). Mix well, but use a spoon for this because the pure citric acid can irritate your skin.
5. Once well mixed, tightly pack it down into your mold. Let it dry 24 hours in the mold before removing.
Christmas Spirit Scented Soap: Finally we made Christmas Spirit Scented and swirled soap. I have wanted to do a soap for a long time. We used a
glycerin melt-and-pour soap with shea butter. Its important when shopping for soaps that you look at the ingredients and choose one that you are comfortable with.
- Chop the soap into cubes and melt slowly in a double boiler or microwave.
- Once melted, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Add your essential oils and mix well. (We used approximately 5ml bottle of Christmas Spirit for 2 1/2 pounds of soap.)
- Pour into molds.
- Let it set slightly, when a skin starts to show on the top is the best time to add liquid soap colorant. I used 5-7 drops in each muffin cup. stir slightly with a popsicle stick.
- Spray with rubbing alchohol to break surface tension and pop a y bubbles. Leave to cool and harden. Do not place in fridge to speed it up- this will result in sweaty soap.
- Once completely cooled wrap in saran wrap.
- This recipe made 12 bars of soap, but will vary depending on molds you use and how much you fill them.
Let me know what you are making this Christmas. I would love to hear about it!
Blessings!!
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