Crafting & DIY

We all know that aloe vera is great for your body inside and out, but did you know you could use your aloe vera gel and coconut oil from the pantry as the best shaving gel ever? I used to use body wash to shave my legs,  and occasionally I would treat myself to a can of fancy ladies shaving cream. That is until I discovered this amazing Lavender Coconut Aloe Vera Shave Gel.

LAVENDER COCONUT ALOE VERA SHAVE GEL

Besides the fact that it gives you a great, smooth shave, it leaves your legs silky, moisturized and conditioned.  Even in the driest winter conditions you probably won’t even need a lotion when you get out of the water.  Another bonus? No weird chemicals on  your body. Finally, you can use essential oils to create any combination you want.. I love lavender which is also known for its skin healing  and soothing properties. Lemongrass, lime, and almond also pair well with coconut. So let’s get started making this homemade shave gel using lavender, coconut oil, and aloe vera!

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Ingredients:

3/4 cup Aloe Vera gel

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 vitamin E capsule

10-15 drops essential oil

Directions:

Heat coconut oil for 15 seconds at a time until almost melted- this usually only takes about 3o seconds total in my microwave.

Combine aloe vera and coconut oil, stir well until combined.

Poke a hole in a vitamin E capsule and squirt the contents into your mixture, if you buy it by the bottle instead add in 1 tsp.

Stir in your favorite essential oil until it smells good to you.

Place in an airtight container.  I like to  use plastic since the contents are slippery and it s kept in the wet shower just in case it gets dropped I don’t have to worry about glass. I found this plastic pump bottle at Hobby Lobby for $1.50 and it works perfectly and  just holds the amount the recipe above makes. You can also use this inexpensive pump dispenser.

Shake well before each use.

This will clog up your razor quicker than standard shaving cream, you can make your blades last longer by rinsing well and swishing it around in alcohol to help remove the oil, dry it well.

Not only is this a great product to make for yourself, you could easily whip up batches of this to include in gift baskets for your friends and family!  Throw this Lavender Coconut Aloe Vera Shave Gel into a great basket and add in a pack of nice razors, one of our shower scrubs, a bath gel or a body wash and poof and you have a great semi-homemade beauty product gift basket for your friends!

More Homemade Beauty Products: 

• Rosemary Clove Beard Conditioner
• Lemon Lavender Foot Scrub
• Orange Ginger Detox Bath Soak
• Sore Muscle Body Scrub
• 20 Homemade Sugar Scrub Recipes
• Refined vs Unrefined Coconut Oil – Which Is Better?

> If you’re taking care of your body, might as well take a look at your insides as well…by that, I mean pay more attention to what you eat!

Check out our pro tips to succeed in the weightwatchers online!

One of my favorite things to make is a homemade sugar scrub.  They leave your skin feeling soft and smelling amazing, and since the ingredients are so inexpensive, it is easy to whip up a batch anytime.  In fact, you probably have most of the ingredients already in your pantry!  This list is perfect for pampering yourself, or giving as gifts to your friends and family!

20 Homemade Sugar Scrub Recipes

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I usually make my homemade sugar scrub recipes in small batches since I don’t use them every day.  However, they are gentle enough for your skin to use daily if you wish.  While some use basic vegetable oil, I much prefer coconut oil in my homemade sugar scrub recipes.  It always leaves my skin feeling soft and I love that added coconut scent!

DIY Bubblegum Lip Scrub from Hairspray & Highheels

Lemon Sugar Hand Scrub from Fiber Artsy

Lemon Sugar Scrub from Natural Fit Foodie

Citrus Basil Sugar Scrub from You Brew My Tea

Homemade Peppermint Sugar Scrub from Simplistically Living

Homemade Brown Sugar Scrub Bars from A Cultivated Nest

Orange Citrus Scrub from Summer Scraps

Brown Sugar Vanilla Body Scrub from Fiber Artsy

DIY Rose Sugar Lip Scrub from Philzendia

Coffee & Cacao Brown Sugar Peppermint Scrub from The Rising Spoon

DIY Pomegranate Body Scrub from The Latina Homemaker

Vanilla Mint Sugar Scrub from Frugal Family Home

Homemade Lavender Body Scrub from Midwest Modern Momma

Homemade Apple Spice Body Scrub from A Cultivated Nest

DIY Honey Lavender Lip Scrub from The Rising Spoon

DIY Berry Sugar Scrub from Mommy’s Bundle

Strawberry Lemonade Lip Scrub from Hairspray& Highheels

Honey Almond Sugar Scrub from You Brew My Tea

Homemade Raspberry Sugar Scrub from Six Dollar Family

Rose Scented Sugar Body Scrub from Frugal Family Home

When making these homemade sugar scrub recipes to give as a gift, consider using a glass container to store them.  Since many contain essential oils, you want to consider if they will cause reactions on plastic.  When in doubt, a classic mason jar is ideal for gifting in.  Half pint mason jars are just the right size to give as a gift!

If this list doesn’t have enough options for you consider buying one of these great books on making homemade sugar scrubs:

• Homemade Sugar Scrubs Made Simple
• Amazing Sugar Scrubs For Better Skin
• Invigorating Sugar Scrub Recipes

Many like to use fresh flowers or herbs in their sugar scrubs.  You may even see some of the citrus homemade sugar scrub recipes including juice or zest.  When you make a recipe using fresh ingredients like that, you do need to consider they have a shelf life and could spoil.  Oils and sugar usually stand up for a considerable amount of time with essential oils, but that fresh zest or herb can easily get moldy if you aren’t careful.  I always recommend telling people you gift these items to, that the should use them within one month.  Just for safety!

Check out our other great gift ideas!

• 15 Unique Star Wars Gift Ideas
• 25 Flower Craft Ideas For Adults
• 5 Reasons To Hold A Girls Night In Tea Party

This list of fun and frugal Valentine’s Day activities for kids are so fun to share!  My friend Katie from The Homespun Hydrangea brought us some more fun ideas to make your Valentine’s Day frugal and easy.  I love her great ideas and how she always seems to find something fun to share with us that is frugal and kid friendly!

7 Fun And Frugal Valentine’s Day Activities For Kids

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Valentine’s Day is an excellent time to get active with children and get their brains and bodies moving! But where do you start? Take a look below at 7 fun and frugal Valentine’s Day activities for kids that you can enjoy either as a family or a classroom. Each of these is an excellent way to celebrate the season without spending a great deal of cash. Here is how you can get started!

1. Make a Valentine’s Day countdown banner.
Grab some clothesline, clothespins, and paper hearts from your local dollar store. Write the numbers 1-14 on each heart. Then, clip the hearts in numerical order to the clothesline. Let children remove one heart each day to count down the days until Valentine’s Day.

2. Make Conversation Heart crafts.
You can use Conversation hearts for all sorts of crafting ideas. Glue them to picture frames, small boxes, headbands, and other items to add a little Valentine’s Day flare. A little glue and a bag of hearts is all you need to get crafting. So easy!

3. Guess the candies estimation station.
Take various jars and containers and fill them with Conversation Hearts. Be sure to have one person count them as you fill the containers. Then, let children take turns guessing how many hearts are in each container. The closest one wins, of course!

4. Make Valentine’s for a local hospital or nursing home.
Give your children a variety of crafting supplies and let them make their own valentines. Then, take them to deliver the valentines to a local hospital or nursing home. They are sure to love getting creative, and are sure to love making others smile.

5. Make paper flower bouquets.
Give children tissue paper for crafting paper flowers and green pipe cleaners for stems. Let them create their own bouquets and arrange them in a dollar store vase. They can use the bouquets to decorate their own rooms or to give as gifts to teachers or friends.

6. Decorate your own mailboxes.
Take an empty cereal box and craft it into a mailbox for all of your valentines. Simply cover it with craft paper, add stickers or stamps, and create a slit to slide the valentines into. Kids will love designing their own box, and they will come in handy once those cards start coming in.

7. Make heart critters.
Take paper hearts and see how many critters you can turn them into. Add googly eyes, pipe cleaner arms, and other embellishments to make people, animals, and other critters. They are only limited by their imagination!

As you can see, Valentine’s Day can be a fun and frugal time of year. Give these Valentine’s Day activities for kids a try and see how much they enjoy them!

Check out our other great Valentine’s Day posts for fun and frugal inspiration! 

7 Non-Candy Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas

Free Valentine’s Day Color Pages

Simple Frugal Valentine’s Date Night Ideas

Printable Coupon Book For Valentine’s Day

Printable Valentine’s Day Word Search For Kids

Nothing feels as good as looking around your home and seeing it sparkling clean and smelling fresh after a deep clean.  Spring Cleaning comes around each year and you either tackle it head first or dread it because it seems so overwhelming.  As someone who has been in both places I know how much fun, rewarding and also dreadful this task can be.  Here are 12 Steps To Easy Spring Cleaning that help me to manage the task and truly take care of my home and possessions better.  We take this chance to purge as well as do literal physical cleaning of things like ceiling fans, baseboards, closets, etc. that may not get as much daily or weekly attention in our cleaning schedule.

 12 STEPS TO EASY SPRING CLEANING

• Make A List.  Just like any project starting out prepared with a list of tasks you wish to accomplish will help you stay on task and focused until the “mission” is done.  This is also a great way to follow through with our second tip of getting the family involved by assigning different aspects to each person.
• Get The Whole Family Involved.  Assign each family member a task.  Kids can spend time going through their toys, summer clothes or simply helping by hauling trash to the dumpster or occupying younger siblings while mom and dad work.  Give Dad the shop, his office or the high cabinets to reach.
• If It Hasn’t Been Used In More Than A Year Get Rid Of It.  Unless it is a seasonal decoration or utensil, toss anything that hasn’t been used in more than a year.  That includes the kitchen appliance you thought you’d love but has only been the source of bruises when it fell on you or you bumped into it.
• Start At The Top And Work Your Way Down.  Start with tops of closets, ceiling fans, high banisters and crown molding first.  Dust falls to the floor to be vacuumed later.
• Clean In Sections or Groups.  Don’t stress doing everything in one day.  Tackle each room a day at a time over the course of a few weeks/weekends.  This helps you not be overwhelmed and allows more help from your family.
• Set Hard Rules.  If cleaning involves purging toys, clothes and junk that has been collected set hard rules of how many items must be gotten rid of or what things you no longer allow.  This helps kids to keep from saving every little thing.
• If It Is Broken Throw It Away.  While some items may need minor repairs, this rule applies to the bits and pieces of toys, games, etc. that we often say we will get around to or that kids tend to hoard.  Throw it away if you don’t see yourself able to repair it within 1 month of the day you clean.
• Create A Junk Drawer/Nook/Closet.  Inevitably we will all have an amount of junk that we just don’t have another place to put but can’t part with.  Designate one small area for those items.  Grabbing colored tubs at the dollar stores and labelling with family members names is a great way to give each person a “junk” space that is off limits when trash bags come around.  Do remember your hard rules in this and limitations.
• Sanitize While Cleaning.  Do double duty by using things like vinegar, antibacterial cleansers/wipes and bleach sprays to not only clean debris and dust but sanitize in the process.
• Organize By Color, Size, Style.  When it comes to things like closets, shoes, books and crafts organizing by color, size and style are the best direction to go.  Like things together and similar styles or sizes together will make it easier to find what you want at a later date.
• Avoid Comparisons.  One of the biggest issues we as women tend to have is comparing ourselves to others.  Don’t worry about what your girlfriend or neighbor has accomplished, focus on what YOU can and are able to accomplish.  If that only means going through 2 closets, that is a great place to start and something to be proud of.
• Treat Yourself To Something New.  Whether it be a few simple cheap bins for storing books, magazines and small toys in or a new area rug for the living room, treat yourself to something new as a reward for your efforts. This can also help you brighten a room and focus on better organization.

These 12 Steps To Easy Spring Cleaning are just a few things your family can do to put your house in order without feeling overwhelmed.  No matter how you tackle your household Spring Cleaning the results whether big or small will be rewarding and leave you feeling proud and ready to tackle a new fresh start in this year.

Are you a foodie looking for some suggestions for Christmas gifts for your spouse? Or are you on the hunt for the perfect kitchen gadget for your favorite chef?  I have gathered some of the coolest items in this list of 10 Must Have Kitchen Gadgets I could find for you to add to your collection. From the standard Kitchenaid mixer to spiral slicers you can find something that will enhance your cooking experience.

 10 Must Have Kitchen Gadgets

1.Cuisinart Immersion Blender– This is a must for the home cook when preparing  soups, sauces, drinks, purees, pancakes, crepes, and dressings.

2.  Kitchenaid Mixer– To me this appliance is THE most important one to have in your kitchen next after the refrigerator and stove.  I use mine easiy 4-6 times per week for mashed potatoes, cake batters, cookie, homemade whipped cream, and more.

 3. Ninja Mega Kitchen System– After the Kitchenaid I think this is a great general appliance to have, it is great for everything from a food processor, to ice chopper, to  drink blender, and even pulverizing things like cinnamon sticks or other dried spices.

4.Swissmar Borner V-1001 V-Slicer Plus Mandoline– Love thinly sliced white or sweet potatoes for frying or gratin? This is how you get them, it is just nearly impossible to get them thin enough with a standard kitchen knife

5.Hamilton Beach Breakfast Sandwich Maker– We are big breakfast eaters in my house, and this sandwich maker will make quick work of your morning sandwiches at home- no need for a run through the drive thru.

 6.Hamilton Beach Digital Steamer–  Lobster, fish, veggies, whole corn on the cob, potatoes, and rice can all made in a steamer, and even all at once. This is a great small appliance to have for busy, busy nights.

 7.Spiral Slicer– Have you seen the veggies cut into healthy spaghetti?  What if you could get your kids to zucchini noodles with marinara sauce? Would that change your dinner times or what? I had to throw this one in my cart, I have 2 picky kids here but I don’t think they can resist fun veggie noodles.

8. Oster Electic Can Opener– A great replacement for hand cranked can openers this beautiful stainless look one would be pretty on your counter, and save your hands.

9. Presto Fry Daddy– If you fry much, or even just a few times a month this is a convenient gadget to have on hand.  Oil stays contained, and you can get more accurate readings on the temp which saves you from burning.

10. Cake Batter Dispenser– This was something I am almost embarrassed to say I didn’t know even existed. Perfectly fills cupcake and muffin tins to the correct batter height. I also can see this making evenly dispensed pancakes and crepes too.