Category Archives: DIY

Almond Shea Butter Body Scrub

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Manicure in a Jar Lemons & Petals

This post is written by my 11 year old daughter. 

I was inspired by this scrub when I went to Sephora and saw the Loccitaine Almond Paste.  I just had to make it!  It smelled so delicious!  It smelled like cookies….yum!  So today I decided to make a moisturizing almond shea butter body scrub.  I really love how this smells like a cookie and it makes me want to eat it!  It smells so good.  And it leaves your skin feeling so smooth and soft.  This scrub is gentle enough for your body and face too and it’s especially awesome for your hands. It’s like a manicure in a jar!   Let’s get started 🙂

Almond Body Scrub 3

What you will need:

  • 1/2 cup raw shea butter
  • 1/3 cup carrier oil (I used avocado oil)
  • 1/4 tsp vitamin E oil
  • 1 cup almond meal
  • Almond extract and vanilla extract

Directions:

Melt the shea butter in a double boiler or microwave with the avocado oil. 

Once melted, add the vitamin E oil, the extracts and the almond meal.  Mix well.

Put into a jar or container and you’re good to go with your cookie smelling scrub!

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Almond Body Scrub 5

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Almond Body Scrub

Hope you make this body scrub soon!!  It’s so soothing!

Thanks for reading! 🙂

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Homemade DIY Sunscreen (chemical free)

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Homemade Sunscreen Lemons & Petals

In my efforts to free my household of all chemicals, I decided to make my own sunscreen as well.  I googled “homemade sunscreen” and saw lots of recipes.  One that caught my eye and seemed like exactly what I was looking for was from Scratch Mommy.  So I decided to try my hand at it as well.  And it is a wonderful recipe!  It works and my kids love it!  

What you will need:

Melt the coconut oil, carrier oil, beeswax and shea butter in a double boiler or microwave.  I use a glass bowl on top on a pot with water.  Once melted, take off the heat and wait 2 minutes.  Before you add the zinc oxide, you must use a mask or a tshirt to cover your mouth and nose.  You don’t want to inhale the zinc oxide!  So cover your mouth and nose and slowly add the zinc oxide.  Mix and then add the Vitamin E and essential oils.

Pour into your container of choice.

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It’s a nice thick smooth consistency that rubs into the skin completely.  And it moisturizes while protecting your skin from the sun.  You should definitely try this!  

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Thanks for reading 🙂

Moisturizing Tinted Lip Balm DIY

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Moisturizing Lip Balm Lemons & Petals

What you will need:

  • 1 TBS coconut oil
  • 1 TBS beeswax
  • 1 TBS shea butter or cocoa butter
  • 15-20 drops of essential oils
  • Mica powder (use whichever color you want your lip balm to be-optional)

Melt the coconut oil, beeswax and butter in a double boiler or in the microwave.  Add in the essential oils and mica powder if using.  Quickly pour into empty lip balm containers and place in the fridge for 30 minutes until fully hardened.

Now they’re ready to be used as you would any lip balm or lipstick.

homemade lip balm

Rose Petal Body Scrub (moisturizing & homemade)

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Rose Petals Body Scrub Lemons & Petals

I’ve been thinking about using dried rose petals to make a body scrub for quite some time.  Something about it sounds so luxurious!

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I happen to receive these flowers at the perfect time!  After the petals started wilting, I pulled them off the stems and let them dry.

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Then I put them in my food processor and ground them down to small pieces.

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Then I was ready to make the body scrub.  So let’s get started.

What you will need:

  • 1 cup of epsom salt or sugar (whichever you prefer)
  • 1/2 cup of coconut oil (or any other oil you prefer…olive oil and avocado oil are good choices too)
  • 20 drops of essential oils (I used lavender and geranium)
  • 1/4 cup of lightly ground rose petals

Mix all the ingredients and place in a jar.  It’s that simple 🙂

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Hope you make this!  It will leave you with soft smooth skin.  Thanks for reading 🙂

Homemade Bug Spray

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homemade bug off spray Lemons & Petals

I am a mosquito magnet.  They will find me no matter where I go.  They love me.  But I don’t love them.  And I don’t like using commercial bug sprays with all the chemicals and nasty smell.  So I just made my own.  It works extremely well!  No bug bites even in the woods.  I encourage you to give it a try too.

What you will need:

  • 4oz spray bottle
  • distilled water
  • witch hazel
  • 1/2 tsp vegetable glycerin
  • essential oils (I use Insect Shield which is a blend of Citronella, Eucalyptus, Cedarwood, Lemongrass, Lavender, Litsea, Tea Tree, Patchouli & Catnip)

Directions:

  • Fill bottle half full with water and half full with witch hazel
  • Add vegetable glycerin
  • Add about 40 drops of essential oils
  • Shake bottle and spray on your skin as needed when outdoors

What I love about this recipe is that it’s so easy to make and ingredients are recognizable.  It’s really cheap and it actually works. It’s safe to spray on your skin and in the air and you’re not breathing in nasty chemicals when you do.

Hope you will give it a try.  Thanks for reading! 🙂

DIY Poo pourri Spray

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Homemade Poo pourri spray

This is a must have in all households.  Plus I keep one in my purse for pubic restroom for when nature calls and you don’t want to stink up the entire bathroom stall (especially at the gym!)  This spray is so super easy to make and it really works.

What you will need:

  • 2oz empty spray bottle (like this one)
  • distilled water
  • 1/2 tsp witch hazel or rubbing alcohol
  • 1/2 tsp vegetable glycerin
  • essential oils of your choice

Directions:

  • Add witch hazel (or rubbing alcohol) and the vegetable glycerin to the bottle
  • Then add enough distilled water to almost fill the bottle
  • Add in 20-30 drops of essential oils (I used 10 lavender, 10 bergamot and 10 orange)

Shake the bottle and you’re ready to go.  Spray 4-5 sprays in the toilet BEFORE you go.  Flush as normal.  You can customize the scent to your own preference.

This costs about $.50 to make.  The original Poo pourri costs $9.95 for a 2 oz bottle.  That’s a 20-fold price difference.  Make it at home and save yourself some money 🙂  I would love to hear your favorite essential oil combinations.

Thanks for reading 🙂

DIY Face Mask for glowing smooth skin

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face mask lemons & petals

Besan (also known as chickpea or gram flour) has been used in India and Southeast Asia for hundreds of years as an exfoliant and homemade beauty agent for smooth glowing skin.  This recipe uses only ingredients found in your kitchen and is so easy to make.  Tumeric is a natural skin brightening agent.  It is thought to reduce melanin production.  Honey is a great moisturizer for skin.  Yogurt contains anti-bacterial and anti-microbial properties, as well as alpha hydroxyl acids, which kill acne-causing bacteria.  The nutrients in egg yolks work to hydrate, nourish, and moisturize dull skin.

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The ingredients:

  • 2 TBS Besan (chickpea or gram flour)
  • 1 TBS honey
  • 1/2 TBS yogurt
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/8 tsp tumeric powder

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Mix all ingredients together into a paste.

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Apply to face making sure to avoid the eye area.  Leave on for 20-30 minutes and rinse off with warm water.  You’ll be left with smooth glowing skin 🙂

Thanks for reading!

DIY Moisturizing Body Lotion Stick

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body lotion stick

I wanted something moisturizing for my daughters’ dry skin.  They don’t like getting their hands “greasy” and therefore don’t use lotion or creams or even coconut oil to moisturize their skin.  So I came up with a solid moisturizing body lotion in a stick!  You can actually use any mold you would like for these solid lotion bars.  I chose an empty deodorant stick so my girls’ hands won’t get greasy as they apply the lotion.  I am so happy with this recipe.  And I love that it’s chemical free!

You will need:

  • 2 TBS coconut oil
  • 2 TBS shea butter or cocoa butter
  • 2 TBS beeswax
  • 15-20 drops of essential oils (I used lavender)

Melt the coconut oil, butter and beeswax in a double boiler.

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Then once melted, take it off the heat and add your essential oils.

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Quickly pour the liquid into your mold of choice before it hardens.  Set it in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes to firm up before use.  To use in a deodorant stick like me, just roll up and apply on your skin.  You can customize this to be less greasy but using a bit more beeswax and by using different essential oils.

I hope you will give this a try.  Thanks for reading 🙂

Homemade Solid deodorant in a stick

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lavender deodorant lemons petals

I stopped using Secret 4 years ago after realizing how harmful it is to use.

Ingredients in Secret: Aluminum zirconium trichlorohydrex Gly 15% (anhydrous), cyclopentasiloxane, talc, stearyl alcohol, dimethicone, hydrogenated castor oil, fragrance, polyethylene, dipropylene glycol, silica, behenyl alcohol

There is nothing natural in that!

  • Aluminum – has been linked to Breast Cancer & Alzheimer’s Disease.  Ugh!
  • Propylene glycol – This is a petroleum based compound. In large quantities, this stuff can cause damage to the central nervous system, liver, and heart.
  • Cyclopentasiloxane – (cyclomethicone) is a silicon-based cyclic compound.  This stuff is a highly environmentally toxic compound.  It is also known to cause non-reproductive organ toxicity along with endocrine disruption and neurotoxicity
  • Dipropylene glycol – this stuff is used as a plasticizer, an intermediate in industrial chemical reactions and as a solvent.  Gross!

No thanks!  So then I thought I was being “natural” and started using Lavanila deodorants.

Ingredients in Lavanila: Aloe barbadensis leaf juice (Aloe juice, water/aqua), Propanediol (Corn derived), Zea mays (Corn) starch, Sodium stearate (Coconut derived), Silica, Carrageenan (Seaweed derived), Stearyl behenate (Coconut derived), Citrus medica limonum (Lemon peel oil), Inulin (Artichoke derived), Saccharomyces ferment, Alpha-Glucan oligosaccharide (Sugar derived), Yeast beta glucan, Lonicera caprifolium (Honeysuckle) flower extract, Usnea barbata (Lichen) extract, Valeriana officinalis root extract (Valerian), Hydrastis canadensis (Goldenseal) extract, Melaleuca alternifolia (Tea tree) flower/leaf/stem extract, Lycium barbarum fruit extract (Goji berry), Botanical fragrance blend.

At $14.00 for 2oz container, I was shocked to see some of these ingredients.

  • Carrageenan – it is controversial but this is thought to cause ulcerations and inflammation in the colon which can lead to colon cancer

  • Propanediol & Zea mays – These are both corn based compounds and 90% of the corn crops in the US are GMO

While these ingredients are not horrible, why pay so much money for controversially harmful products.  Plus, it didn’t even keep me dry or odor free!

So I ventured out and tried to make my own…..and I had GREAT success!  My very first attempt was a simple one but one that worked.  I simply add baking soda and arrowroot to coconut oil and made a paste that I stored in a 4oz masor jar and applied with my fingers.  While that worked really really well, I wanted something that I didn’t have to stick my fingers in and get both hands “dirty”.

I finally came up with a homemade solid deodorant that I can use in a deodorant stick!

What you will need:

  • 3 TBS coconut oil
  • 2 TBS beeswax
  • 2 TBS baking soda
  • 2 TBS arrowroot powder
  • 15-20 drops of essential oils (I like using lavender) – optional

Melt the beeswax and coconut oil in a double boiler.

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Once melted, add in the baking soda and arrowroot powder and then remove from the boiler.  Then add your essential oils and mix.

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Pour into your empty deodorant container and allow to harden for 12 hours. That’s it!  It’s extremely easy to make. But what really surprised me was how incredibly well it worked!  The baking soda helps absorb odors while the arrowroot powder helps absorb wetness.  Plus the coconut oil is antimicrobial so helps to ward off the bad bacteria that cause unpleasant odors.  The beeswax is mainly to help keep the deodorant in a solid state.  The essential oils are for pleasant aromas but they also help to ward off bad bacteria especially tee tree oil and lavender.

This deodorant kept me dry and odor free even after wearing this deodorant all day AND doing a one hour spinning class…..and I didn’t even apply right before my workout. Trust me….this works wonders AND it’s organic, natural and healthy!  Even my husband switched (minus the lavender of course ;)).  I added cedarwood and patchouli essential oils to his and he is delighted!

Hope you guys try it out.  Thanks for reading 🙂

Oil Pulling Chewables

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So I started oil pulling about 3 months ago.  What is oil pulling?

Oil pulling is an ancient Ayurvedic practice of swishing 1-3 teaspoons of oil in your mouth for 15-20 minutes daily.  This is thought to draw out toxins from your body which not only improves your dental health but your overall health as well.  It also reduces harmful bacteria that are present in your mouth.  Oil pulling can reduce plaque formation, gingivitis and even bad breath.  It can also relieve sinus and nasal congestion and pressure as well as headaches.

I prefer to use coconut oil for my oil pulling as coconut oil has been shown to be antimicrobial, tastes better than the other oils and…..it’s easy with these chewables!  I first started out by just digging a spoon in my coconut oil jar and sticking the oil in my mouth and letting it melt in my mouth as I slowly swished the oil between my teeth.  Then I started adding some tooth healing and breath freshening essential oils to the coconut oil before I swished.  So I would melt a tablespoon of coconut oil and add in a few drops of the essentials oils and then swish.  This became somewhat cumbersome to do on a daily basis.  Since coconut oil is solid about 76 degrees, I thought about making premeasured coconut oil chewables.  These chewables make it so easy to oil pull every morning.  Just pop one out of the fridge and swish.  The coconut oil is easier to handle texture wise because it’s cold and the taste and smell is improved because of the essential oils.  Win win situation!

What you will need:

  • 1/4 cup of melted coconut oil
  • 12 drops of peppermint essential oil  (like this one)
  • 12 drops of germ fighter essential oil (like this one)

The essential oils are not only for taste.  The germ fighter essential oil contains Lemon, Clove, Eucalyptus, Cinnamon and Rosemary oils.  These are known for their “germ fighting” abilities.  Peppermint essential oil helps to combat bad breath.

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Mix the coconut oil and the essentials oil together.  Pour 1-3 teaspoons into a silicone mold.  Stick the mold in the fridge for 20-30 minutes until the coconut oil has hardened.  Pop the coconut oil chewables out of the mold and stick them in a mason jar or any container of your choice.  I prefer to store mine in the fridge during the summer months as the coconut oil can melt.  It’s fine to store at room temperature during the winter months.

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Every morning before brushing or eating, take one chewable and pop it in your mouth.  Wait a few seconds for it to start melting, then start swishing it between your teeth for 15-20 minutes.  Then spit in a trash can so you don’t clog our drains with the oils.  Rinse your mouth with warm water and brush your teeth as usual.  You’re done!

Quick easy simple remedy to improving your oral and overall health.