Homemade Lotion Bar

So...I have tried a few homemade lotions and it is hard to get exact measurements when you buy in bulk. So I sometimes don't get the exact consistency for a lotion that I put in a jar. And they frequently look slimy. Not appealing, I know. But...I finally found a homemade version that makes sense! A bar!  I know...lotion as a bar?

Granted...this isn't a good facial lotion because it may clog pores, but I use it on my kids and on my hands and such. I just rub it on my skin and it kind of just glides on perfectly. But even better than that is what I have been looking for in most of my homemade versions of things. The recipe is simple and only needs a few common ingredients--from wellnessmama.com.

If you are going to be making your own bathroom products, these are all items you should have on hand in bulk. Just add them all in equal parts. Here is an example for six thin bars.
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1/3 c coconut oil
1/3 c beeswax
1/3 c Shea or cocoa butter (I use Shea, but it is more stinky)
Essential oils (optional: i do about 15 drops. Lavender is the best for children and basic needs and skin healing. Tea trea for cleansing.)

Place the first three oils in a glass jar and put into a pan with water.
Then melt all in the jar.
Once melted, add the essential oils if you chose. And pour...divided into six muffin tin molds.
Let cool, then pop out and enjoy!

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You can use a double boiler, but it is messy once done...with all the melted waxy, oily things, so i prefer the glass jar. I did a lavender one for my kids. A lavender, tea tree, peppermint, rosemary one for me. And a spearmint, tea tree, lemon eucalyptus, cedar wood for my hubby (he doesn't generally need lotion, but it is to rub on his chest for sinus and congestion stuff). That is the fun part...mix and mingle the essential oils to your liking for whatever purpose you and your family need. They each can have their own bar. If I were really cool I would add some natural food coloring tints to them each so they looked different....like turmeric or beet juice. But...that is way too much work; and the lotion bars, on the other hand, weren't. So enjoy!

Funtastic Friday: Shelf Liners to Jewelry Organizers...

So, I've been pinning ways to organize jewelry on Pinterest for quite some time now...always thinking, "I'll get to organizing my jewel, that's crammed in a tiny jewelry box, someday."

Well, that someday has come! I found some cute shelf liner paper at the dollar store and thought I'd try it out in my kitchen. It was perfect and cute, so I bought a big thing of it at the local grocery store and redid my kitchen drawers, shelves, pantry, etc.

  I also did a wood-looking swatch under the sink, which looks great, I think.

Then I got paper-happy and put it all over my old ugly white dresser Paul doesn't like. He did say this was a step up (but I'm sure he'd rather see it go).

But, doing the kitchen shelves made me pull out the old shelf liner stuff we had in there before that is somewhat foamy and not adhesive at all. It moved around a ton. So I up cycled! Talk about inspiration. It reminded me of lace, and I had pinned a laced background in a frame for hanging earrings.

And voila, after reusing an old frame I had laying around and stapling the old dollar store foam shelf liner on the back, I now have a great way to see all my earrings. And talk about a sceptic...my husband thought I was so weird being a frugal junkie. But now he actually thinks it turned out nice and he doesn't mind looking at it...which is huge!

Now I just need to figure out how to hang my necklaces, bracelets and headbands. :)

P.s. the sticky shelf liner paper doesn't stick to chipboard stuff...but it sticks great to the shelves and is super easy to peel off and put back if placed down wrong.

Funtastic Friday: Homemade Cleaning (part 1)

So, I have officially decided to do projects on Fridays. And who really can do a whole lot of projects with two or more kids to take care of, right? But...where there's a will, there's a way. So I created a Pinterest board with various things I want to do this year. And those are what my Fridays are for. The key is doing things together with others. Our kids play together and we attempt to do a project. Sme projects may be split into multiple parts. Some Fridays we may have to cancel or be ok not getting anything accomplished, but hey...we shoot for the moon and at least land among stars, eh?

So I've made some more reusable snack bags with my sister for one Friday and some flowers awhile back with her too.

But my first official one was attempting air fresheners with Rachel.

Equipped with various jars, we made a scented baking soda powder in a jar with paper topper we poked pin holes through. I used vanilla in mine and sprinkled it n the carpet. smells heavenly!

Then we made citrus infused vinegar in jars for scented vinegar to clean with. I continue to just stuff my orange peels in there whenever i eat another. it will just keep infusing as it sits over time.

We also made gelatin filled jars with essential oils in them. I don't think they add much to the air's scent though. We'll have to see about this one.

I will leave comments on each pin we've done about their success and failure.  This is the fun part about these Fridays...we have fun trying crafts and new adventures, fully understanding that some may not work out and that there are no set rules to these activities. But we have fun.

Stay tuned for our next adventures...DIY wood blocks for kids.