With the Holiday season almost complete (seriously, could that have gone any quicker?!?) it's time to check those lists and check 'em twice! Hmmmm.....missing something? Don't worry, I've got you covered with something super easy and super awesome!!!
Normally, I am that person that has everything done (minus gift wrapping) by this time every year as I loathe last minute crowds and rushing around. This year, however, taking a long vacation and contracting a nasty head cold (yep, I'm that person that gets sick on vacation), infecting the Monkey with said head cold while teething, and getting everyone back into the family routine has totally taken a toll on Santa's List, preparations, and my mental state this year. So to help me get my booty and head in gear, I naturally turned to Pinterest for some inspiration as I totally LOVE DIY GIFTS.
After some random searches, I stumbled upon a great gift idea: Body Scrubs and Spa baskets. It was an epiphany moment for sure! I mean honestly, who doesn't love to pamper themselves whenever possible? I'm all about taking on a difficult DIY project, and initially that is what I thought this was. Amazingly enough, making your own spa treats is super simple and I'm willing to bet you already have the basics in your pantry! Needless to say, this discovery led to very little sleep that night and a ton of new pins.
For my baskets, I decided to add:
Alright, enough rambling....lets do this!
List of items used/needed:
To create the scrubs, I used this Coffee Sugar Scrub recipe with a few tweaks found below:
With both of these scrubs, my measurements ARE NOT exact! Both bathces yielded enough scrub to fill 4, 8ish oz jars each. Once you're done mixing, spoon the mixture into your jars and create your packaging...VIOLA and amazing gift done!
Keep in mind that these scents can be changed so easily depending on the extract or essential oil you choose. If you use plain granulated sugar, you can also jazz your scrub up with food coloring for a little extra visual appeal. Its also important to know that these will last a few months in the jars and shouldn't really be used more than once a week. After any exfoliation, you should also lather up with a great moisturizing lotion or body butter to really nourish the skin! These baskets are also great for ANY and ALL gift giving situations! Valentines Day.....done! Co-worker birthday....done! New or expecting mom.......done! Mother's Day.....done! Pumpkin Spice scent for Sweetest Day.....DONE AND DONE! See, literally perfect for everything!
I hope you all enjoyed this little DIY and HAVE FUN turning your kitchen into a small lab as much as I did! Please feel free to share your experience/pictures/comments below! I LOVE seeing and hearing about everyone's personal touches <3
Normally, I am that person that has everything done (minus gift wrapping) by this time every year as I loathe last minute crowds and rushing around. This year, however, taking a long vacation and contracting a nasty head cold (yep, I'm that person that gets sick on vacation), infecting the Monkey with said head cold while teething, and getting everyone back into the family routine has totally taken a toll on Santa's List, preparations, and my mental state this year. So to help me get my booty and head in gear, I naturally turned to Pinterest for some inspiration as I totally LOVE DIY GIFTS.
After some random searches, I stumbled upon a great gift idea: Body Scrubs and Spa baskets. It was an epiphany moment for sure! I mean honestly, who doesn't love to pamper themselves whenever possible? I'm all about taking on a difficult DIY project, and initially that is what I thought this was. Amazingly enough, making your own spa treats is super simple and I'm willing to bet you already have the basics in your pantry! Needless to say, this discovery led to very little sleep that night and a ton of new pins.
For my baskets, I decided to add:
- Coffee Sugar Scrub
- Holiday Scented Sugar Scrub
- Crocheted washcloth (free pattern coming soon!)
- Small bottle of wine
- Small candle
- Chocolates
Alright, enough rambling....lets do this!
List of items used/needed:
- Scrubs
- Ground Coffee
- Light Brown Sugar
- Granulated Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Ground Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Coconut OIl (I used almost 32oz)
- Medium - Large mixing bowls x2
- Spoons
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Baskets
- sold here)
- Whatever extra goodies you'd like
To create the scrubs, I used this Coffee Sugar Scrub recipe with a few tweaks found below:
- Omitted baking soda and cinnamon
- Add approx 2 1/2 cups of coffee and 2 1/2 cups light brown sugar
- Add Vanilla extract to desired scent. Start by gradually adding the extract because there is no going back once it's in there. I would also highly suggest looking for a coffee flavor that already has undertones of vanilla or use an essential oil as the extract can quickly overpower.
- Add approx 1 1/2 cup of Coconut Oil. Any carrier oil (grapeseed, avocado, olive, almond, etc. will work). You can also add more or less to your liking. The more oil you add, the more pasty the mixture will become. I prefer mine a little more "crumbly" so I just slowly added and mixed until I was happy.
- Omitted coffee and baking soda
- Add approx 2 1/2 cups light brown sugar and 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- Add cinnamon, nutmeg and Vanilla extract to desired scent. Once again, go super slow with these because you don't want the scrub to be to overwhelming. As above, the same suggestions apply to the Vanilla extract.
- Add approx 1 3/4 cups of Coconut oil. Once again, any carrier oil will work and you can add more or less to your desired consistency! This produced a little more softer texture compared to the coffee scrub.
With both of these scrubs, my measurements ARE NOT exact! Both bathces yielded enough scrub to fill 4, 8ish oz jars each. Once you're done mixing, spoon the mixture into your jars and create your packaging...VIOLA and amazing gift done!
Keep in mind that these scents can be changed so easily depending on the extract or essential oil you choose. If you use plain granulated sugar, you can also jazz your scrub up with food coloring for a little extra visual appeal. Its also important to know that these will last a few months in the jars and shouldn't really be used more than once a week. After any exfoliation, you should also lather up with a great moisturizing lotion or body butter to really nourish the skin! These baskets are also great for ANY and ALL gift giving situations! Valentines Day.....done! Co-worker birthday....done! New or expecting mom.......done! Mother's Day.....done! Pumpkin Spice scent for Sweetest Day.....DONE AND DONE! See, literally perfect for everything!
I hope you all enjoyed this little DIY and HAVE FUN turning your kitchen into a small lab as much as I did! Please feel free to share your experience/pictures/comments below! I LOVE seeing and hearing about everyone's personal touches <3