Friends, let’s give make something thoughtful, and handmade to offer as a gift!
Better yet, let’s make it with easy to find, budget-friendly materials that both adults and kids can create in less than 15 minutes. Sounds too good to be true? Here are three DIY bath and beauty projects that not only fulfill all of those qualifications – they’re also perfect ways to help the recipient enjoy the day and relax.
Simple DIY Body Scrub
Materials:
1 cup of brown sugar (turbinado sugar or fine salts also work wonderfully)
½ cup of olive oil (feel free to substitute almond or grapeseed oil)
5-10 drops of spearmint essential oil (other great options are peppermint, orange or lavender)
pipette or eye dropper
plastic bail jar or other non-breakable container
Directions:
1. Select your oil, sugar or salt, and essential oil. I used brown sugar, olive oil and spearmint. There are so many options, feel free to experiment and select an essential oil that you know your recipient will love.
2. Add your oil to your sugar or salt.
3. Add 5-10 drops of essential oil. Using a plastic pipette or eye dropper make quick, precise work of this step. It goes without saying, but if you use an eye dropper for measuring your essential oil – it should never be reused as an actual eyedropper. Also, please note that you never want to apply an essential oil directly to the skin.
4. Stir all of your ingredients to combine and then spoon your mixture into a air- tight, non-breakable container. Plastic bail jars are a perfect option as are recycled plastic containers with screw top lids.
5. Your handmade body scrub is now ready to be gifted! If you’re feeling extra fancy, tie a ribbon around your container and add a gift tag.
To use, apply the body scrub to wet skin and rub in a circular fashion. Sugar and salt serve to exfoliate the skin, the oil leaves you feeling smooth and soft and the essential oil adds an element of aromatherapy. One word of caution, oils can make your shower floor slippery – swirl a bit of shampoo on the tub/tile to remove excess oil or apply a daily shower cleaner.
Simple DIY Foot Soak
Utilize ingredients found in your pantry (or your local health food store) to create this pampering foot soak. I’ll show you how to create a version featuring tea tree oil and three types of peppermint – but, as with most bath and body DIYs, you can easily customize the scent! Find complete written instructions here.
Simple DIY Sugar Scrub Cubes
A wonderful variation on the traditional sugar/salt scrub! Sugar scrub cubes incorporate melt and pour soap to create a solid single use cube that both exfoliate and clean the skin. These package beautifully for a great gift. Find complete written instructions here.
If you love these projects and want to learn more, check out the talented Anne-Marie Faiola’s CreativeLive class and learn How to Make High Quality Bath and Body Products!
