Christmas on the Thrift.

Christmas is around the corner and in my head little me is kicking my ass for not having started shopping last month. Every year in my family, my siblings and I have a competition to see who can give the best presents. In past years, I've emptied my pocket down to the last cent-the day of Christmas. This year, since I am trying to turn the page, I've decided to make MOST of my gifts. And no, I don't mean making an arts and craft macaroni picture frame. I mean going to Home Depot & Jo Ann's hauling-a-wood-cart-and-carrying-Sophia-on-my-hip-while-handing-the-cashier-my-debitcard-with-my-mouth-b/c-my-hands-are-full to construct-an-entertainment-console-craft ...er, yea.


While shopping around for ideas, I found this list of links for homemade scrubs and bath salts from Laurie at Tip Junkie. Using a pretty simple tutorial, I bought a 12 pack of pint sized canning jars from the local grocery store and made several different scrubs for anyone and everyone.

Cane sugar, Olive oil, & your preference oil ( i love Almond Oil)

The recipe for the one I used, again, is very basic. You pretty much use any fragrance oil you'd like, just make it's compatible with the oil base (olive, coconut, etc...) you opt for. I used Classic Olive Oil with Almond Oil in a few, and Lavender in others. I actually had some dry lavender from a friends garden so I pulled the buds from the stem and mixed it in to the sugar.

Lavender

Mix three ingredients and...

 

Voila! (you can't see the Lavender in this one b/c its Sweet Almond Scrub)

This recipe is inexpensive and easy to make for any last minute gift. I used to work for an apothecary brand that sold a lavender scrub for $16 a pop. Did I mention that I love Lavender? Yay for more money!


In addition to these, I'm also making some furniture, pjammies, Mod Podge shoes, candles, purses, clothes, diaper bags...and food of course! I'll provide links for any D.I.Y's I use.