Category Archives:DIY beauty

09
Dec

Homemade Food Gifts for the Holiday

cookiejar 002-001

vegan cookies-in-a-jar from Vegan Richa

There are so many reasons to choose homemade foods. Not only do homemade foods always taste better than their packaged, boxed and plastic-wrapped counterparts, homemade foods are infinitely more healthy. Processed foods are notoriously laden with sugar, salt, fats, oils, preservatives, chemicals and fillers. When you make your own goodies, you know where everything comes from, what the ingredients are, and you can infuse all your foods with love and positive energy.

One of the best ways to share homemade foods is to give food gifts for the holidays. I've already decided that my friends and family will be receiving either homemade granola, cookie mix or homemade sauerkraut for this year. Everyone is always asking after my recipes, so what better way to share my foods and hopefully inspire people to find their path to healthier living?! Here are some of the best ideas I found for homemade food gifts to share this holiday season (there are a few bonus homemade non-food items too!). What's your favorite homemade gift for the holiday?

Cookies in a Jar: Everyone loves cookies, but not everyone feels like they are qualified as bakers. Take the guesswork out of homemade cookies with cookie mixes in a jar. Choose your favorite cookie recipe, make a cute recipe card, and give away goodness! Here's a recipe and tutorial from Vegan Richa, one of my favorite vegan cooking blogs.

Homemade Granola: This is the homemade granola recipe that I will be sharing with my friends and family. It's so easy, wholesome and deliciously more flavorful than the stuff in boxes. Best of all, oats are pretty cheap, so this gift is a pretty affordable option for those of us on a tight holiday budget. Find unique jars at thrift stores to make it extra special, or use little fancy baggies with handwritten notes.

Homemade tea mixes: Show off your flair for spices and herbs with homemade tea gifts. Choose your favorite tea (red, green, black or white), mix in your favorite herbs (lavender, camomile, vanilla, spices) and place in a cute jar for months of happy holiday memories. Find small, cute jars lying around your kitchen or at the thrift store and get packing! Here's a cute tutorial for homemade chai tea from the Kitchn.

chai52548936dbfa3f2ca800fd1c._w.540_h.433_s.fit_

homemade chai mix from the Kitchn

Homemade Whipped Body Butter: Give the gift of natural beauty! Homemade body butter is made with awesome ingredients like shea butter, coconut oil and more for a luxurious treat for someone special. Here's a Mint Chocolate Body Butter from Mommypotamus. Yums!

For the dog-lovers, Homemade Doggie Biscuits: Even our furry friends need good food! Treat the canine in your life to special treats with this great list of homemade dog treats from the Kitchn.

And of a whole mess of other great ideas, check out this great post from 100 Days of Real food for instructions for making homemade vanilla extract, homemade breads, and homemade spice mixes.

dog506af36cd9127e3104001499._w.540_h.540_s.fit_

love your doggies

 

 

Posted:   |   Categories: DIY beauty, gifts, holidays, homemade, Living
0
19
Jul

5 DIY Bath and Body Recipes

DIY Bath and Body Products: Homemade Sugar Scrub

Treat yourself right with these easy DIY bath and body recipes!

Shopping for bath and body products can be tricky. So many commercial beauty products contain questionable ingredients, and it can be tough to stay on top of what is and isn't safe, can't it? Instead of rolling the dice with bath and body products from the big box store, you can make your own with some of these DIY recipes!

1. DIY Sugar Scrub

With some kitchen ingredients and your favorite essential oil blend, you can whip up a homemade sugar scrub in minutes. The scrub pictured above there is one that I made using the Meditation Oil from Aura Cacia. It's my husband's favorite.

Click here for the tutorial!

2. Make Your Own Perfume or Cologne

You can use rubbing alcohol, like the recipe calls for, or substitute grain alcohol if you're not partial to rubbing alcohol. Either way, it's a simple recipe that's much cheaper and less toxic than store-bought colognes.

Click here for the tutorial!

DIY Deodorant

3. Homemade Deodorant

Check out my new favorite recipe for making deodorant with just a few ingredients! You can make it stick-style or lotion-style. The best part? No aluminum, triclosan, or other harmful ingredients here!

Click here for the tutorial!

4. DIY Bath Bombs

Nothing says decadent like a hot bath and a soothing bath bomb. The trouble is that those fizzy wonders usually include mystery ingredients to make them smell nice. Boo! Make your own bath bomb to skip the chemical fragrances.

Click here for the tutorial!

5. Sunburn Salve

Did you overdo it at the beach or by the pool? The faster you treat your sunburn, the lower your changes that the burn will do long-term damage to your skin and to your health. Soothe your sunburned skin naturally with a homemade salve.

Click here for the tutorial!

Do you have any favorite DIY bath and body recipes? Tell us about them in the comments!

Posted:   |   Categories: bath and body recipes, beauty recipes, DIY, DIY bath and body recipes, DIY beauty, DIY beauty recipes, Health+Beauty, Living
0
17
Jul

DIY Deodorant with Only 4 Ingredients!

DIY Deodorant

I am constantly on the search for safe deodorants, so when I ran across a recipe for DIY deodorant, I knew I had to try it!

The recipe comes from Chocolate and Zucchini, and it's the first of two homemade deodorants that she's made. You can check out the other recipe here. The one I tested only called for:

  • baking soda
  • starch of your choice - I used corn starch, because we had some
  • coconut oil

You basically mix these up and either chill it for a stick deodorant or put it in a container for more of a lotion-style situation. You can see her whole recipe here. I had all of these things already in the kitchen, so I pulled out a bowl and a tablespoon measure, and mixed this up!

The mixture ended up way too crumbly for my taste. When I shaped it into my mold, it cracked, and at room temperature it was not smooth enough to apply as lotion. This is the recipe that ended up working for me. It has 4 ingredients.

4 Ingredient DIY Deodorant

  • 2 tablespoons baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons corn starch
  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

This chilled nicely into the mold, as pictured at the top there, and is nice and creamy at room temperature. To mold mine, I used a foil cupcake liner that I had on hand (a paper one would work fine, too). I pressed the mixture into the liner, dropped it in a teacup, and pressed some more:

DIY Deodorant in Mold

Let it chill for about an hour, and you're ready to use! If you're wanting lotion-style deodorant, you can skip the whole cupcake liner step.

But does it work?

I applied a bit of the deodorant and was very impressed! There's no white residue once you rub it in, though I'd definitely recommend applying before you get dressed, since it's a little messier than chemical deodorants. It kept me unstinky for the whole day, despite me skipping a shower. (Don't judge! I'm a new mom. I'm lucky to get sleep, much less to fit in a shower some days.)

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this recipe! It came together in minutes, not counting the time to chill. If you're doing it lotion style, there isn't even any chilling required.

Do you have a favorite DIY deodorant? Tell us your recipe in the comments!

 

Posted:   |   Categories: deodorant, DIY, DIY beauty, DIY deodorant, Health+Beauty, homemade deodorant, Living
0
28
Dec

5 DIY Beauty Recipes to Treat Yourself

Home made sugar scrub

Indulge in a little self-care with these DIY beauty recipes!

Self care means taking the time to do for yourself. We get so swept up in obligations and our day-to-day routine that sometimes we sacrifice our own mental health to get things done. When we neglect ourselves, we can become irritable, exhausted, and even make ourselves sick. Self care doesn't have to take a lot of time. It's just about stepping away - even for just 15-20 minutes - and doing something nice for ourselves. It could be enjoying a cup of fancy coffee, listening to a favorite podcast, taking a walk, or indulging in a little DIY beauty.

No matter what holiday you celebrate, this time of year is incredibly stressful. Even if you don't observe any of the December holidays, chances are lots of folks in your office do, so your work days have been hectic from being short-handed all month. Whether your stress comes from getting gifts together and dealing with family or from fighting holiday traffic, we all need a little self-care this time of year.

Check out these five beauty recipes to pamper yourself!

1.    DIY Bath Bomb - A hot bath is a great way to sneak away for a short time and relax, and a bath bomb really ups the luxury!

2.    Homemade Sugar Scrub - Treat your dry, winter skin to a decadent scrub that will leave you smelling and feeling great.

homemade-face-scrub

3.    Simple Homemade Oatmeal Face Scrub - Relax with a soothing oatmeal scrub!

4.    DIY Face Scrubs For Any Skin Type - If all of that holiday stress is making you break out, try choosing one of these face scrubs according to your skin type.

5.    Mint Sugar DIY Lip Scrub - We sometimes neglect our lips in our beauty routines, but they need a little care, just like the rest of our bodies! Lip scrub to the rescue!

What do you do to care for yourself when you feel a little overwhelmed? Let's share more self-care tips in the comments! My favorite way to treat myself is a warm bath or a nice long walk with a comedy podcast. Take that, stress!

Posted:   |   Categories: DIY, DIY beauty, DIY beauty recipes, Health+Beauty, holiday stress, holidays, Living, self care, stress
0