Hey guys and Happy Monday! We’re thrilled to bring you one of our fave ever last minute gift ideas: our DIY spa kit.
If you’re dropping by this morning, as you’re reading this, we’re honored to be on the Nashville news again. And this time we’re sharing one of our all time fave projects. We figured it was the best time to share our DIY spa kit – whether it’s to keep little hands busy or a great last minute gift or something for you to chill and enjoy {or escape the craziness of} the holidays!
Watch us live in the Nashville area on NewsChannel 5’s Talk of the Town Monday at 11am CST – and live streaming online here: www.newschannel5.com!
And if you’re just checking in because you caught us on the segment, we have a DIY for each element in the spa kit, and all the free printables, here!
These are great for all things bath time, and first up: Handmade Soap!
Making soaps is super easy. At first when I was looking into it, I found some big complicated chemically method and I knew it wasn’t for us. Lye is scary. Doesn’t that jazz burn people? So we decided to go the simple route: those soap molds + supplies at the local craft store always seemed simple enough… here’s {the basics} of what you’ll need.
A goat’s milk soap base + a soap mold {I scooped ours up at the local craft store} + ingredients of your choice. We also used a paint stirrer, a few plastic containers + a measuring cup.
For the base: Cut the soap mold into individual shapes, and put into a plastic container or measuring cup. Our molds held exactly four little squares for one soap rectangle, and yours will vary depending on what you use.
Then we {carefully} heated the goats milk base in the microwave {or you could use a double boiler on the stove.} We went with so many different scents, it was easy to do one at a time in the microwave.
Be careful not to burn the soap, and watch it carefully. We did ours on 30 second increments.
When we were finished stirring the melted mixture, we added all the extras. See; the fun parts. {Essential oils, exfoliating ingredients, zest, etc.} Watch out with little hands, though the soap never got past an unbearable heat kind of phase for us, it’s always good to be careful.
We mixed it together, and poured it into the mold.
In a short while the mold will be hardened {I placed ours in the fridge to speed up the process} and it pops right out. Tada! You have your soap. Below are a few of our fave ingredients you can add in with the stirring phase.
1. Lemon Peppermint: 5 drops peppermint + 7 drops lemon + lemon zest
2. Lavender Peppermint Poppyseed: 2 drops peppermint + 5 drops lavender + a dash of poppyseed + dried lavender.
3. Lemon Lavender {basically a different version of my very favorite sugar scrub} 5 drops lavender + 3 drops lemon + lemon zest + a touch of dried lavender
4. Pure Lime: Lime zest + 3 drops Purity essential oil
5. Lemon Poppyseed: 5 drops lemon + lemon zest + poppyseed
6. Cypress Lemon: 5 drops lemon + 2 drops cypress + poppyseed + lemon zest
You can add or subtract whatever ingredients you want to your own tastes and preferences… they’re just so clean and fabulous it’s kind of addictive to see what we can come up with next!
It kind of feels like old fashioned artisanal soap from Europe or something. We’re fancy like that.
Oh, and because we wanted to package them up extra special, we did a few labels, as well.
Soap Labels: Get them {handmade soap labels 1 handmade soap labels 2}- just click + print!
For the Sugar Scrub:
Sugar scrub. It’s an all natural way to exfoliate those icky places from your face to your feet that need a little extra polishing before a big event… or just because. I’ve been making it for a while when I was frustrated with what I could find at the store… and I’ve been in awe at what a big difference it can make in giving everything from your face to your elbows that extra glow. Minus a whole lot of chemicals. Here’s my fave three recipes.
What you’ll need:
Coconut oil. You can purchase it at any whole foods store, but I when I’m not using the fractionated version {it stays in liquid form and is a great carrier oil for use with essential oils} I prefer to use this for bigger quantities. (I scooped up ours at Costco.)
Sugar {use finely granulated for a softer scrub with use for sensitive skin}
And any scent you want.
Here’s what I start with – I recommend eyeballing all of it, depending on what kind of container you plan to place your mixture in/how much you wish to make at once. This will be your base to decide how much to use. But I start with a generous helping of coconut oil. It’s what moisturizes and gives the scrub that silky feeling. I use one part coconut oil with two parts sugar. Mix it in well, and make sure all the lumps are gone.
If you wish to make one simple batch, the ingredients are 1 cup coconut oil + 2 cups sugar – just to give you an idea.
If you don’t use essential oils, you can stop right here with a great, basic sweet scrub. But I love adding essential oils for that extra added benefit of aromatherapy… amongst other things.
Once all the lumps are mixed in well, I use 3 drops peppermint + 2 drops lavender {peppermint lavender}
Adjust to your own preferences, but this little scrub has a nice tingly feeling to it, and a touch of the relaxing as well.
Vanilla Lavender: Vanilla extract {I use a 3-5 drops with a larger mixture} + a 2-3 drops of lavender essential oils}
Or Lemon Lavender {This one is my personal fave: 4 drops lemon + 2 drops lavender} I could eat it, it smells so wonderful.
Again, use sparingly, and decide on the number of drops you want to use as you go. You can also use things like lemon zest for a bit of added zing. The beauty of this stuff is that it has a pretty nice little shelf life.
Simply lather up, and wash off with water and soap. {Be careful not to get it in your eyes} I use this in the shower all the time – it’s like an in-house spa treatment.
And of course, our sugar scrub printable labels here!
If you’d like the labels: sugar scrub. Just print and click {heavier stock recommended for tags!}
For the salt soak:
• 1 cup Mediterranean Sea Salt • 3 cups Epsom Salt • 2 cups Baking Soda
{It makes a generous helping, more than enough to fill a lot of those little bottles.}
If you want to do one {medium sized} bottle for one gift- 1/2 cup sea salt + 2 cups epsom salt + 1 cup baking soda.
Add some scent it with a few drops of your essential oil of choice. Stir it all together and package it up for someone special- it’s great for achey muscles! I combine it with this label {salt soak labels} for the perfect gift combo!
As always, let us know if you give any of these a whirl. We love them and think they make one yummy gift!
Have an inspired day!
Bonnie says
Ashley, thanks for the great ideas. Where do you purchase the cute little jars and spoons that hold the Sugar Scrub? Merry Christmas to you and your sweet family!
Krystal Herrera says
This is such a lovely idea! Thank you so much for sharing this. It’s fun making these kinds of DIYs! 🙂
ashley @ the handmade home says
Thanks, Krystal! Hope you can use some of the ideas! ;}
Christin says
H! I can’t wait to make these and try them out. I am curious though what the shelf life is for each of these? Thanks!
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey! They last a pretty long time. Let’s just say that I’m pretty sure my Mother In Law still has hers that I made for her about 3ish years ago??? ;} Hope that helps!