Friday, August 7, 2009

diy bath salt/scrub

{Guest Post}: Jenn Shares Her Salt Scrub

During your engagement you will likely attend multiple showers and parties held in your honor. A great way to thank your guests/hosts is to send them home with a little handmade pampering. Salt/Sugar scrubs are a great way to do this.

Bonus – these recipes are so easy you can make them for any occasion i.e. Bridal Party gifts, Birthday’s, Mother’s Day, Baby Showers, Holiday gifts or even as a way for you to relax after a stressful day or week of wedding planning.

As far as DIY projects go this one is pretty simple. You should allot yourself about one 1/2 hour of time to prep and complete this project, more if you intend to increase the batch. Good luck, happy planning and congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

Salt Scrub
You will need 4 ingredients to make a scrub
1. Epsom Salt or Organic Sugar*
2. Carrier Oil (Olive Oil*, Sunflower Oil or Grape Seed Oil)
3. Essential Oils
4. Food Coloring
scrub1

Tools:
1. Mixing bowl
2. Plastic or metal mixing spoon
3. Pipette (This is for your essential oils, most store bought oils will have a dispensing top you can use instead.)
4. Canning jars

To make:
1. Take 2 cups of salt/sugar and put into a mixing bowl and combine 1 cup of oil with the salt/sugar mix well.
2. After salt and oil are mixed put in 8 drops of essential oils in whatever scent(s) you choose. Mix well.

scrub2

3. Add one drop of desired food color and mix together.scrub3

4. After everything is mixed together spoon the mixture into the canning jars.

scrub4

Yield: 1 pint or 2 1/3 cups

• *Tips:
- Some extra virgin olive oils can interfere with the smell of the scrub it is best to use a carrier oil with little or no smell; sunflower oil or grape seed oil work best.
- Organic sugar usually costs more than Epsom salts and doesn’t have the same skin care qualities. However it is a finer texture to your scrub.
- If you have never mixed essential oils before it is best to stick with citrus scents they mix best together or use one basic scent like lavender or peppermint. (I like to make grapefruit – I put in 6 drops of the grapefruit oil and 2 drops of lemon. *Lemon is a great oil to mix with other citrus scents and eucalyptus.)
- It is best to choose a color that is corresponding with your scent i.e. pink for grapefruit
• Packaging Ideas:
- For larger groups of people it is easy to spit the mixture up in to 1/2-pint jars and display the gifts in a large basket.
- You can decorate to jars like you would if you made jam by putting scraps of fabric between the lid and the jar rim. You can also tie ribbons around the jar rim and loop a label with the scent through the ribbon. Circular jars lend themselves well to sticker labels as well.

Jenn K. and all of her crafty goodness can be found at http://abridesbrain.blogspot.com

Jenn’s rockin’ bio: I am a 25 year old wannabe crafter, dork, rocker, lover, feminist and recent LA convert navigating my way through a new city while forging a career and planning a wedding with the love of my life.

where to buy diy flowers

Where to Buy DIY Flowers

Here’s my list of sources to buy bulk wedding flowers:

diy rock crystal chandelier

DIY Rock Candy Chandelier

DIY

rock candy wedding ideas

Laurie’s DIY project this week is another great example of taking something very ordinary and transforming it into something absolutely beautiful and unique. Can you believe those are just bits of rock candy strung on a piece of wire? Oh, and don’t you love how Laurie referred to it as “natural bling”…

diy wedding chandelier ideas

diy rock candy wedding ideas

What You’ll Need
Rock Candy Strings
Bailing wire (I used 16 gauge) ( 1.5 inches for each)
Seam binding or ribbon (about 10″ for each, 1/2″or so wide)
Wire cutters
Scissors
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Resources:
Rock Candy can be found at stores selling bulk candy. It can also be ordered through online resources like Oh, Nuts and Candy Warehouse.
Seam Binding can be purchased at any fabric store. There are also a lot of vendors on Etsy selling it too.
Bailing wire is available at any hardware store.
diy rock candy chandelier

Directions:

1. Begin by using your wire cutters to cut 1.5 inch lengths of wire. You’ll need one per crystal. (see figure 1)

2. Bend your wire into a “Shepard’s hook” shape. I bent mine over a pencil to make a nice curve. (see figure 1)
3. At the very end of one of you rock candy strings, put a generous glob of hot glue. Stick the end of the hook into the glue, and hold until it has cooled. If it wiggles a bit, add another dab to secure it. (see figure 2)
4. Cut a length of ribbon, about 10 inches long and tie a knot, then a bow around the wire at the top of the crystal. Trim your ribbon tails.
5. Hang your completed crystals anywhere that needs a little sparkle; on bare branches in a vase, from a tree, in a floral arrangement, from garland or an arch. If you’re feeling extra crafty, construct an armature and hang the crystals from it like a chandelier. (see pic below)
A Tip:
If you have a lot of short candy strings, you can join them together using hot glue to make longer strands
What it cost:
Rock Candy – $5 a pound (I bought 1.25 pounds, and got about 25 strands)
Bailing Wire – $3 for a 50 ft spool

Seam binding – $.25 – .50 per yard (from most Etsy sellers)

diy rock crystal chandelier

DIY Rock Candy Chandelier
DIY

rock candy wedding ideas

Laurie’s DIY project this week is another great example of taking something very ordinary and transforming it into something absolutely beautiful and unique. Can you believe those are just bits of rock candy strung on a piece of wire? Oh, and don’t you love how Laurie referred to it as “natural bling”…

diy wedding chandelier ideas

diy rock candy wedding ideas
What You’ll Need
Rock Candy Strings
Bailing wire (I used 16 gauge) ( 1.5 inches for each)
Seam binding or ribbon (about 10″ for each, 1/2″or so wide)
Wire cutters
Scissors
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Resources:
Rock Candy can be found at stores selling bulk candy. It can also be ordered through online resources like Oh, Nuts and Candy Warehouse.
Seam Binding can be purchased at any fabric store. There are also a lot of vendors on Etsy selling it too.
Bailing wire is available at any hardware store.
diy rock candy chandelier

Directions:

1. Begin by using your wire cutters to cut 1.5 inch lengths of wire. You’ll need one per crystal. (see figure 1)
2. Bend your wire into a “Shepard’s hook” shape. I bent mine over a pencil to make a nice curve. (see figure 1)
3. At the very end of one of you rock candy strings, put a generous glob of hot glue. Stick the end of the hook into the glue, and hold until it has cooled. If it wiggles a bit, add another dab to secure it. (see figure 2)
4. Cut a length of ribbon, about 10 inches long and tie a knot, then a bow around the wire at the top of the crystal. Trim your ribbon tails.
5. Hang your completed crystals anywhere that needs a little sparkle; on bare branches in a vase, from a tree, in a floral arrangement, from garland or an arch. If you’re feeling extra crafty, construct an armature and hang the crystals from it like a chandelier. (see pic below)
A Tip:
If you have a lot of short candy strings, you can join them together using hot glue to make longer strands
What it cost:
Rock Candy – $5 a pound (I bought 1.25 pounds, and got about 25 strands)
Bailing Wire – $3 for a 50 ft spool

Seam binding – $.25 – .50 per yard (from most Etsy sellers)