Hopefully you were able to get some good inspiration from Handcrafted Christmas Gifts (Part 1), if you haven’t seen it yet, make sure to check it out!
While I love filling my home up with as many green, living plants as physically possible… I realize this might not be the case for everyone I’d like to bless this holiday season! I know that 2020 has been stressful for so many people (myself included) in a myriad of ways.
With many of the gifts I will be giving this year, I wanted to help spread some self-love and self-care with some homemade products that hopefully everyone could use.
I have provided affiliate links for these DIY’s if you are unable to find them nearby, but I would strongly encourage you to purchase as many ingredients as you can locally and from small businesses to support your community!
There are affiliate links in this post. Read my disclosure policy to learn more.
Peppermint Mineral Salt Foot Scrub
I always save my empty essential oil bottles. Once you’ve used the last drop, they definitely still pack a punch! All the residue on the inside of the bottle, cap, and dispenser will do wonders to scent and infuse salts for your bath or body scrub.
There’s been an empty peppermint bottle lurking on my shelf for about 3 months now, so that is the scent I decided to go with! Now I don’t recommend using peppermint in the bath (Yowza! – ask me how I know…) but for a foot scrub paired with mineral salts, a moisturizing oil, and some warm water to soak my feet in after…
Just sounds heavenly!
If you don’t have and empty essential oil bottle on hand, simply add in a few drops of your chosen oil.
The recipe is written to make two 8oz containers for gifting; however, you can adjust the amounts based on personal preference and gifts you will be making.
This recipe could also be turned into a body scrub by using a mild essential oil such as lavender.
What You Need
- 2 cups of fine mineral salt as your exfoliant (I prefer Himalayan Pink Salt)
- Empty peppermint essential oil bottle or 5-10 drops of peppermint essential oil
- Glass jars for gifting (I could not find similar ones that I used online for a decent price, but these were adorable, and I think would make a great vessel!)
- Moisturizing oil (I prefer using grapeseed or avocado as they are decently shelf stable, moisturizing, and have don’t have much of a scent)
- Optional: dried peppermint, lavender essential oil, dried lavender
What to Do
- Place your salt in a jar with an air tight lid.
- Open your empty essential oil jar, remove the rubber dropper, and submerge the bottle, lid, and dropper into your salt.
- Close your jar and shake gently, allow this to sit for 2-3 days. The residue leftover will infuse into your salt overtime.
- Remove all three parts of the bottle and gently brush off any salt that has stuck onto it.
- Add in your dried herbs (if you decide to use them) and mix well.
- Pour your mixture into the jars you will be gifting, and add in your desired amount of moisturizing oil. I prefer only 1-2 TBSP per cup of foot scrub. It’s just enough to help everything lightly stick together without drenching your salt.
- Mix well, the texture should be similar to brown sugar.
- Add on our lid and any labels or ribbons to get ready for gifting!
To Use
- Soak your feet in hot water.
- Gently massage salt scrub onto your feet and lower legs.
- Use the hot water to rinse off the extra mineral salt, and feel free to soak your feet for another 5-10 minutes. (And maybe a mug of hot tea and some dark chocolate!)
- Gently pat your feet dry.
Lavender Body Oil
I prefer body oils over commercial lotions and only recently started using whipped body butter infused with garden herbs. The body oil is definitely something mild, relaxing, and super easy to put together!
What You Need
- Moisturizing oil (Again, I used Avocado oil)
- Dried lavender
- Glass bottles
- Optional: Lavender essential oil
What to Do
- Fill your glass bottle about 1/4 of the way with dried lavender buds.
- Cover completely with avocado oil, fill to just above the shoulder of your bottle.
- Optional: add 1 or 2 drops of lavender oil for extra fragrance.
- Cap, and store in a cool, dry place for 6 weeks to allow your lavender to infuse into the oil. Gently shake every few days to ensure all the herbs are continually covered in oil.
- I don’t plan on straining my oils, as I love the charm the lavender buds give. But will include on the labels to use within 3 months.
Breath Easy Shower Melts
Energizing, refreshing, and great if you have the sniffles. These shower melts will definitely be appreciated during the seasons when drainage and stuffiness tend to creep in. I chose to make these using eucalyptus, lavender, and peppermint; however, they would probably be just as refreshing with only peppermint!
Ingredients
- 2 cups of baking soda
- 8-10 TBSP of filtered water (we use a reverse osmosis system!)
- 15 drops of your chosen essential oil (We prefer using Young Living oils for many reasons, feel free to contact me for more information if you’re interested in more information!)
- Silicone molds (I loved these honey bee and honey comb molds!)
- Glass mixing bowl
- Wooden or silicone spoon
What to Do
- Pour in your baking soda into a glass bowl.
- Slowly add in water, mixing well. You want the baking soda to start clumping in order to press the mixture into your molds. Too much water will drastically increase the drying time.
- Add in your choice of oils and mix well.
- Place your mixture into your molds and press well.
- Allow the shower melts to dry completely before removing from the molds. It took mine about 12 hours to dry, and they weren’t quite completely dried when I removed them. I used about 8 TBSP of water, so you may decide to use less water!
- Package in an airtight, glass container with a cute holiday bow and tag for gifting!
To use
Place 1 melt on the floor while you shower, allowing the water to fall over the shower melt.
Stay tuned for more DIY gift ideas for the season coming up in a few days!
Be sure to share in the comments any of your favorite DIY gifts!