A few months ago we did a post on Discovering 12 New Ways to Use Baking Soda. Well, we are going to break it down further and see what baking soda has specifically to offer us in the beauty realm. Who knew there were so many wonderful things you could do to treat yourself to a personal spa day in your own home!? All because of baking soda. So with out further ado, let’s check out these 9 Beauty Tips That Will Change The Way You Use Baking Soda.

Have you tried any of these? Let us know which one is your favorite in the comments below!

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There is this fancy little household item that can do more things than just cook. I think it is safe to say that most everyone has it in their home. It’s tucked back in the baking cupboard between the salt and the cocoa. That box that you always get mixed up with baking powder. Yes, you guessed it…baking soda! Did you know there are numerous DIY tricks you can do with baking soda? A lot more than I thought! So let’s Discover 12 New Ways To Use Baking Soda!

There are countless ways to use baking soda so I narrowed it down to three sections. For beauty. In the garden. And for cleaning. Enjoy!

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PROJECT SUPPLIES

Epsom Salts
Lavender Essential Oil
Baking Soda
Almond Oil
Rock Salt
Mason Jar (or other decorative) Canister

Step 1: Measure the proper amount for your canister. 

I typically make this in 12 ounces jars, but if you are using a different sized canister you’ll want to measure out the exact amount of epsom salts you need for each jar. I fill mine about 5/8 of the way with epsom salts and then toss it into a large mixing bowl to add the rest of the ingredients.

Step 2:  Add Rock Salt and Baking Soda

The rock salt and baking soda are additional softening agents  and help hold onto the scent of the essential oil. Add 1 tablespoon of each to the bowl. Stir with an old spoon or paint stick until everything is combined. I don’t like to transfer the favor of essential oils into my cooking so I like using something that is disposable.

Step 3: Add Almond Oil

The almond oil helps all the ingredients stick together and when added to bath water will act as an extra softening ingredient. For a 12 oz jar, use 1/4 cup.

Step 4: Add the Essential Oil 

For this project, I am using lavender oil. You could use any essential oil you prefer but I love how calming and relaxing lavender is. As an alternative, if the gift is for a man, rosemary is a great scent. For a 12 ounce jar, I add 15 drops of oil. You can use more or less dependent on how strong you’d like the scent to be when added to bathwater. Mix together until well combined.

If lavender is in season you can also add dried lavender directly to the salt at this stage. It adds a bit of fun color and texture to the finished look. Be careful when adding actual lavender to make sure not to overdo the amount – a little goes a long way and the flowers won’t dissolve in the bathwater like the rest of the salt.

Step 5: Return to the Jar

Fill up your mason jar or canister with the salts. You may find you have slightly more salt than space in your jar, just pack it down to fit more in.

Step 6: Decorate your Gift

One of the things I love about mason jars is that it has space where you can add a paper label to the top. You could also tie a bow with instructions or a label that mentions who the gift is from. I traced the top of the mason jar onto a piece of scrapbook paper. Once I decide who I’ll be gifting this jar to I’ll add their name to the top.

In less than 15 minutes, you can finish a whole set of gifts for the neighborhood or create the perfect bath soak for you to enjoy the next time you have a relaxing night at home.  What other scents might you want to try with this project?

Did you like this project? Check out some of other fun projects and recipes over at RockyMtnBliss

Sweet Hot Mustard Chicken

Cookie Dough Protein Bites

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In fact, I feel so excited when I purchase a new piece, because it I get to combine it with my other pieces and get way more use out of what I already have. I am totally hooked. To really understand how fun this jewelry is (and get my little pun about being “hooked”) you have to see the video! If you love it as much as we do, click the buy now button on the right hand side of the page and start shopping!

You can order now or call 1-800-982-3189 for more info. You can even start your business with us and start selling Versastyle jewelry yourself.

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Hello everyone.  Amber from rick•a•bam•boo here again with another crafty installment.

Today I am sharing a super dee duper simple craft. Homemade hair ties. I found them on The Superettes. These are great because you can make them in any color you like and you can customize them to your hair type.

I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time finding good hair ties. My hair is super, crazy thick so there are only a couple that I have found that really work for my hair.

Plus these make fantastic gifts. I am keeping a bunch on hand to add a little something extra into gifts for friends. Especially for a new mom, because if you have long hair you are rocking a top knot for the first few months until you have the energy to actually do something with your hair. Or at least that was me.

I think these would also make an awesome make and take for a party or a girly event. They are so easy that even those who are not crafty can make them. If you can tie a knot you can do this.

All you need is fold over elastic, a ruler, and scissors. You can get fold over elastic at any craft store. It comes in all sorts of colors and even some printed patterns. If you can’t find what you are wanting at your local store tons of places online sell it. I ordered mine from Elastic By The Yard. They have a ton of colors. Pictured here I have aqua, silver, ballet pink, and bright red.

For a hair tie you simply cut a piece of elastic 9 inches long. Then you fold it in half and tie a knot near the ends. You can trim the ends flat or at an angle to make them look nice and even.

You can even make headbands the same way. You will just cut 18 inches for a child and 20 inches for an adult. These make great baby headbands for little girls. They are soft and comfy.

To give as a gift you just slide them on to a card. The size of the card will depend on the size of your bands. My card is 2 ¼ inches. I just printed a message on a piece of cardstock and cut it down to fit. Be sure to make your card smaller than your hair ties. They will stay in place with a little tape on the back of the card. Tip: If you are printing a card, measure your tie openings and use the ruler at the top of you word processing program to make sure your message will fit once the card is cut down.

Done! See? That wasn’t hard at all. The hard part is stopping at just a handful.

Be sure to follow me so you can see all my current projects.

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I’m starting with SLS toothpaste first as I recently made the decision have six large amalgam fillings removed.  I chose this toothpaste recipe because it calls for bentonite clay which is rich is potassium/calcium and effective at removing toxins. The coconut oil and baking soda help to whiten and clean teeth, while the stevia and peppermint provide a sweet minty flavor.

Before you get started making this toothpaste, it is important to note when mixing bentonite clay you need to use a wood or plastic spoon and a glass or plastic bowl. If Bentonite clay comes in contact with metal, it will be deactivated and lose it’s ability to help remove toxins.

The consistency of your toothpaste will depend on the temperature of where you store it due to the nature of the coconut oil. It softens almost immediately when you start brushing your teeth.

I’ll update this post in a few months with my long term results. A big thank you to Kristin from Living Simply for the recipe.

This Pin Rocks!

This awesome post has been shared with Tatertots and Jello and Whipperberry

Print

SLS Free Toothpaste

Author Adapted by Made From Pinterest

Ingredients

• ¼ cup + 2 TB coconut oil soft, but not liquid (where to buy)
• ¼ cup good-quality baking soda where to buy
• ½ tsp Real Salt where to buy
• 1 tsp bentonite clay where to buy or (where to buy)
• ¼-1/2 tsp liquid pure stevia depending on taste, I use ½ tsp (where to buy)
• 5-7 drops peppermint essential oil the amount will depend on taste preference (where to buy)

Instructions

• Remember when mixing bentonite clay use a wooden or plastic spoon and non-metal bowl. Bentonite clay should not come in contact with metal because it deactivates the clay.
  
• Using a medium non-metal bowl, mix the coconut oil and baking soda until throughly incorporated.
  
• Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
  
• Can be stored in a jar or a squeezable toothpaste tube like these.
  
• **The consistency of this toothpaste will vary depending on the temperature where the toothpaste is stored, due to the nature of coconut oil.

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It goes without saying that little hands should be able to get involved in their gifts for mom and teachers.  Making something to gift that could be a source of relaxation – like a fizzy cupcake bath bomb — is the perfect thing for kids to craft.

In making this post, I’m going to admit to you I actually had a few Pinterest fails trying to find a recipe that worked. (Gasp!) And I consider myself pretty accomplished at crafting and in the kitchen. I was inspired by this pin for Fizzy Bath Bomb Cupcakes on MakeandTakes.com.

Lovely little cupcake bath bombs there, no? Sweet and perfect for gift-giving I thought.

For me, the execution didn’t go so well. I think my point of failure was with the water spray. Was also a tad humid that day, so my bath fizzies completely took on a life of their own. Thought for a minute I was going to have to whack them with the spatula to keep them from crawling across the kitchen.

So I looked on for another recipe. The second one didn’t require a spray bottle, but they came out so crumbly, they were hard to handle let along package to give away.

Luckily, third time was the charm. This recipe from Soapy Hallow was just perfect, and it was something the kids could easily do with a little supervision.

I didn’t give up completely on that first pretty cupcake pin, though. Once the bath fizzies came out of their molds, I tried out the royal icing “frosting” and it all set up just great and picture perfect.

After tweaking a few Pinterest recipes and blending them together, here’s how to make some sure-to-be appreciated Fizzy Cupcake Bath Bombs!

Vanilla Fizzy Cupcake Bath Bomb Recipe

Makes 3 large round bombs or 7 cupcake bombs

Cake ingredients:

• 8 oz baking soda
• 4 oz citric acid
• 4 oz corn starch
• 4 oz Epsom Salts
• 2 ½ tablespoons coconut oil
• ¾ teaspoon water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 drops food coloring

Frosting ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons meringue powder
• 6 tablespoons warm water
• 1 lb powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Step 1. Measure your ingredients.

Yes, you’ll want to use a little kitchen scale to measure your dry ingredients out. The good news about this is that kids are fascinated by this part and will be more than happy to measure the ingredients.

Get them off to a good start making the bombs by mixing together the baking soda, citric acid, corn starch and salts into a large GLASS (it’s non-reactive!) bowl to create the bath bomb base.

In a separate very small bowl, combine the coconut oil, water, vanilla extract and food coloring. Oil and water don’t mix very well, so don’t worry if they aren’t 100% combined.

Step 2: Combine wet and dry ingredients.

Here’s where this recipe really was different and what make it work: mixing the wet and the dry ingredients. The citric acid in the base fizzes up when it makes contact with water. You can see where there might be a problem combining the wet and the dry. Tell the kids they’re going to have to work really fast to get this project done!

Add one teaspoon of the wet ingredients to the dry at a time. You’ll have to work really quickly, and mix it around with your hands. Pinch at the little bits of stuck together pieces to get them to come apart.

If your mixture is bubbling up, you’re adding the wet to the dry too fast. When this happens, just be sure to mix the wet pieces to the non-reactive dry really fast and it should stop.

At the end, your mixture should feel a lot like slightly wet sand. It will stick together, but it’s going to be crumbly. Mold the fizzy bath bombs immediately after you’re done mixing—this doesn’t keep!

Step 3: Molding your fizzy cupcake bath bombs.

Bath bombs can take pretty much any shape you want. If you want to make cupcakes out of these, line each cup in a muffin pan with plastic wrap. Hard pack the bath bomb mix into each of the cups. I mean, really REALLY pack that stuff in there, pushing it down as hard as you can.

With this recipe, you only have to let them sit for about 10 minutes before you unmold them and let them dry for a few hours.

If you’re going to skip the frosting aspect of this recipe, use the clear plastic ornaments that split into two you can find at the craft store (for less than $1) for molds.

Step 4: Making frosting.

Basically, what we’re going to do is make a royal icing frosting. The kind that you put on sugar cookies that gets really hard. Personally, I can take or leave the frosting when it comes to putting it in the bathtub, but it does make the presentation pretty.

In your mixing bowl, blend together the meringue powder and warm water until it’s frothy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat on high until stiff peaks form. If the frosting is too stiff, add a teaspoon of water at a time until it’s a consistency you can pipe while still standing on its own.

I liked adding a few sprinkles on top to make them pretty. Let the frosting dry for a few hours before you attempt to wrap them up.

Step 5: Packaging!

A cellophane bag and a piece of ribbon is really all you need to wrap up these beauties.

If you want to get really fancy with your packaging, hop over to my blog and download these free “You’re the Bomb” printable tags!

Thanks again to MFP for asking me to be a regular contributor! I’d love it if you’d stop on by Frog Prince Paperie for party inspiration, and maybe find some tutorials and recipes for a few other holidays, too! You can also find me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Google+.

A FEW OF MY MOST POPULAR POSTS:

Graduation party ideas and free printables!

Angel Lollipop party favors

Beachy Shower on the Ocean

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Exfoliating your Skin Twice a Week and Before Shaving Helps to Prevent Razor Burn – This helps to get rid of any oils that are sitting on the skins surface and dead skin cells that can clog up your razor. Removing both gives you a closer shave. Close shaving can result in ingrown hairs and untreated razor burn can turn into longterm scarring. You can prevent annoying red bumps by using my exfoliating shaving cream twice a week to shed the skin that’s trapping your leg hairs.

Avoid Single Blade Disposable Razors Whenever Possible – Single blade razors have a tendency to drag on your skin causing razor burn, cuts and or rashes. You will get a closer, smoother shave using a multiple blade razor.

Best Time of Day to Shave – Legs will be smoother if you shave at night. As you sleep your legs swell slightly, which can make hair retreat back into its follicles.

Razors for Women with Sensitive Skin – Razors with moisturizing strips containing acai and jojoba give sensitive skin the extra protection it needs to help avoid allergic reactions and rash burn.

How to Avoid Razor Burn

• No matter how much of a hurry you may be in NEVER shave your legs while dry! NEVER use a bar of soap to shave, it will not provide enough lubrication for a razor to slide easily against your skin which increases the chance of getting cut. Using soap will aslo clog your razor and dry out your skin. Always use a good shaving cream or hair conditioner if you are in a pinch.
• On your first pass only shave in the direction your hair grows (down the leg), if you have extremely sensitive skin don’t shave upward at all. Going “against the grain” may get a closer shave, it also increases the chance of redness, rash and bumps. Once the hair on your legs are already very short, the skin is warm and lubricated, shaving against the direction of hair growth is much safer.
• If you want a closer shave reapply cream and shave again, however avoid shaving the same area more than two or three times.
• Clean your razor after every sweep, dirty or dull razors cause cuts and keep you from getting a close shave.
• Avoid cheap razors, you get what you pay for!
• Never shave skin that has rash, bumps, cuts or abrasions. Shaving over bumps misses the hair on your legs and will shave some of the skin off the tip of the bumps. This can cause scabbing, scarring and possible infection.

Treating Razor Burn – Place a warm compress on the affected area, the heat relaxes the hair. After showering, apply alcohol-free lotion/oil to soften the hair, this leaves your skin less prone to infections,

Your Legs Need TLC Post-Shave – Be gentle with your legs after shaving, avoid using a washcloth or loofa, the tugging at newly shaven skin can cause major irritation and can lead to redness, bumps and or rash. Always apply oil or alcohol free lotion after shaving.

When to Toss Your Razor/Razor Blade? – It depends on how often you shave. Each razor cartridge or disposable should be good for at least five uses. Sure signs your razor needs replacing is when the blade appears to be dull and you no longer get a close shave. Remember dull razor blades are more likely to cause bumps and redness and trap harmful bacteria, which can potentially cause infections.

Shaving Before Swimming at The Beach or in a Pool – Shave your legs at least 12 hours before going in the water. Several unpleasant things will happen if you don’t. The first thing that happens is your legs will sting/burn and turn red! This discomfort can last for to 24 hours for those with sensitive skin.  Newly shaved skin is sensitive, by shaving the night before or 12 hours before will avoid skin irritation and dryness caused by sun, salt or chlorine. If you are desperate and have to shave a short time before going swimming or to the beach, be sure to apply a good alcohol-free lotion, oil or shea butter after shaving. This not only makes your legs look smoother, it will soothe the skin and help seal out some of the salt water or chlorine. Some people use Vaseline for this, but it is very greasy and will cause sand to stick to your skin.

There you have it, everything you need to know to get the closest shave with healthy silky smooth legs!

A big thank you to Good Housekeeping for many of the great shaving tips and to Kristina from A Mother’s Niche for her coconut shaving cream recipe.

Print

Exfoliating Shaving Cream

Author Adapted by Made From Pinterest

Ingredients

• 1 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup shea butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 5 to 10 drops of your choice of Essential Oil

Instructions

• Mix coconut oil and shea butter until incorporated well.
• Add sugar until incorporated well.
• Seal in an airtight container
• Optional additions 1/4 cup of:
• Almond oil
• Grapeseed oil
• Olive oil
• Jojoba oil
• Or a few drops of vitamin E oil

This Pin TOTALLY ROCKS!

This awesome post has been shared with Home Stories A to Z and Living Well Spending Less.

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You see this cutie patootie? This is my baby girl who is 4 years old and she has the greatest hair! It is long. It is thick. It holds any style you put it in. It is everything I always wanted my own hair to be but I guess she was blessed with the rockin’ hair genes and I was blessed with something else in the gene pool. I’ll have to get back to you on exactly what that blessing is because I’m struggling at the moment to come up with something

Even though she was blessed with amazing hair, she was not blessed with the patience to have it brushed out on a daily basis. I have to keep her distracted by letting her watch Frozen on my iPad while I work through her hair every morning. I also lay on the compliments really thick such as, “You have really beautiful hair just like Elsa’s!” That gets her every time

My other trick I use to get her hair brushed out is this amazing detangle spray. I used to buy it by the case because with three girls, I needed A LOT of detangle spray in the Jones household. About a year ago, I got tired of paying so much for something I knew I could make for myself. After a few different versions, this is my no-fail recipe for detangle spray!

Simply use an empty spray bottle and fill it 1/4 of the way full of hair conditioner. The cheaper the conditioner, the better. Slowly add enough hot water to fill the bottle half way. Screw on the lid and gently shake the bottle to dissolve the conditioner into the water. Add more hot water to finish filling the bottle. Done! Just shake it well before using it and you just saved yourself a ton of money Follow Carole from My Kitchen Escapades on Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram or Facebook!

We’re sharing this post with:

Living Well Spending Less

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To begin, put a little dab of glue on the end of the headband and glue the end of the thread to secure. Then, begin wrapping the embroidery thread over the end to cover the glue. Continue wrapping, making sure not to overlap the strands.

To add a second color, glue down one end of thread where you want a new color to begin. Cover the glued second color (I added gold) of thread by wrapping over it with the first color (my first color was purple). 

For double color or striped effect, begin wrapping the two colors at the same time. When you reach the end of the area where you want two colors, return to one color by gluing down the end of the second color (gold in this instance) and covering it by wrapping over it with the first color (Purple here).
Part of the fun of this kit is that there are so many ways to get creative. For my next headband, I decided to embellish the gold thread with pearl beads. First, I wrapped the entire headband in gold. Then I laid the beads down where I wanted them and wrapped once in between each bead. This secured beads perfectly and at the other end I finished off by gluing the thread, waiting to dry and trimming.

I used the same technique to create the black and diamond headband, but instead of putting the diamonds over the whole headband, I put them at the top.

Once I got started, I had so many ideas of different combinations. Black and gold with pearls would be beautiful. Pearls and diamonds on the same headband? You bet! You are only limited by your own creativity.

These headbands rock!

Head on over to Darby Smart. They are offering $10 off anything on Darby Smart for the next two days. Use the coupon code MADEBYME to save $10 Enjoy!

This post is sponsored by Darby Smart. Materials and compensation were provided. However, all opinions are my own and I only recommend products I genuinely think my readers will enjoy.

We are sharing this with: Living Well Spending Less, Lamberts Lately, What’s Cooking Love,Tatertots And Jello, Whipperberry, Sunny Simple , The Country Cook,Mandy’s Recipe Book,  Inside BruCrew Life, Hun What’s For Dinner

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Do you have a hair product graveyard under the sink in your bathroom? Is it full of products you tried, filled with hope that it would help you have the perfect hair day? Only it didn’t help you have the perfect hair day and now you don’t want to throw it away, because you paid good money for it. But you know you are never going to use it. Cause it didn’t work. I used to consider it my emergency supply. But there has never been an emergency so bad that I have ever used it. I finally threw it all away.

I have over the years found my favorite combination of hair products, but they cost a fortune. So I was intrigued when I saw several pins for homemade hair gel using flaxseeds. It claims to be perfect for naturally curly girls like me . I looked forward to all the dollars I would save, and then spend on mani/pedis, or clothes, or chocolate. The list was long.

To make this hair gel you boil 1/4 cup of flax seeds in 1 cup of water and then strain out the jelly. Add your favorite essential oil for scent and there you have it. Several recipes play with different add ins like honey, vitamin E, agave nectar, aloe vera gel, or citric acid. But they all have this recipe as their base.

The texture has been described as similar to egg whites, which is a nice of way of saying it is a lot like the consistency of snot. Egg whites is a better comparison, because it is not so gross. It’s just that snot is what came to my mind. It wasn’t until after I saw another blog use egg whites for comparison and I thought, yeah, that is better!

For this gel to be effective you need to really heavily load it into your hair and then let it dry naturally or use a diffuser. This gives nice shine, but for me, not enough hold. And the yield is so little, you would have to make it often. It does spoil after a week or so even if you add citric acid, so it is best to make it in small batches. Some people keep it in the fridge, but I think it would be a pain to run to the fridge every time I needed to gel my hair. I am glad it was not expensive, because it went in the product graveyard. Since there is no perfect hair product for everyone, this might work for your curls. So give it a try and let me know. It is very popular amongst natural curlies like me.

For me, this pin flopped!

Print

Homemade Hair Gel

Ingredients

• 1 cup of water
• 1/4 cup of flaxseeds linseeds in the UK
• Sauce pan
• wire or nylon fine mesh strainer
• Additional add ins: honey vitamin E oil, citric acid (to keep from spoiling), agave nectar, aloe vera gel

Instructions

• Combine water and flaxseeds and bring to a boil. Stir continually watching for a thin, white, bubbly jelly to form. Lower the heat as soon as you see that foam. Keep stirring until the seeds are suspended in the liquid instead of sinking. Remove from heat and put through the strainer with a bowl underneath to catch the gel. When cool, add essential oil and any other desired add ins. Store in a container with a lid.
• Apply to hair generously when wet.

Here are some great natural beauty products that Tracy really liked:

Coconut Milk Shampoo

DIY Eye Makeup Remover

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I have two options. One is to pay a small fortune for an expensive salon pedicure or two, use a home remedy to get my feet looking great for flip flop season.

I’ve seen both of these methods on Pinterest and always wondered if either worked at all or if one worked better than the other. Let’s get testing!

Pretty Summer Feet Care

Method #1 Listerine and Shaving Cream

Put shaving cream on the bottom of your feet.

Mix equal portions of very warm water and Listerine. Soak a hand towel in the Listerine and water mixture. Wrap around your feet and soak in mixture for 30 minutes.

I somehow managed to delete the picture with my daughters foot wrapped in a hand towel soaking in water and Listerine. Please use your imagination here! You will know we really did this when you see her after picture below!

After 30 minutes rub your feet with the towel and some of the calloused skin should come off.

Results:

Here is our after picture. As you can tell my daughter has a BLUE foot! About half of it came off with one cleaning. She is headed to a swim party tonight and I’m pretty sure the chlorine from the pool will remove the rest of blue color and she will not come home with a Smurf foot.

She mentioned that her foot was tingling and burned slightly while it was soaking. She said “it didn’t hurt, but it didn’t feel good.” Her left foot was softer, smelled fresh and minty. Did it remove some of the dead calloused skin? A little but not very much.

Sorry to say that good old Listerine and shaving cream for calloused feet for our Pretty Summer Feet Care…….

Is a Flop!

Let’s move on to our next method.

Epsom Salt and Vaseline.

This pin comes from How – Living Well Articles. Let’s hope this one works for our Summer Feet Care

1. Mix 1/4 cup Vaseline with 2 cups Epsom Salts. Set aside to use later.

Here is how it looks mixed together.

1. Pour 1 cup Epsom salt into 3 cups water and soak feet for 30 minutes.
2. Scrub with Vaseline and Epsom salt scrub. Some of the calloused skin should come off.

 Before

After      

As you can tell from the before and after photo from above at least half of the calloused skin was removed from the left heal/foot. We used cocoa butter scented Vaseline, so not only did this method remove dead skin and soften the foot, it also smelled like cocoa butter!

What do you do to remove all of the calloused skin for your Pretty Summer Feet Care? Use this method first and then get out your pumice stone to finish the job! Then it is important to moisturize your feet on a regular basis to avoid calloused feet in the future.

If you are like me, you will forget to moisturize your feet on a regular basis. Which means each spring you will need to use this method to get your feet pretty for sandal season. Good thing….

This Pin Totally Rocks!

For a great healing foot balm, click HERE!

Awesome Link Parties! ShareAtopia, Memories by the Mile, Nap Time Creations, Ladybug Blessings, Inside BruCrewLife, Today’s Creative Blog, Cupcakes and Crinoline, Chef in Training, A Bowl Full Of Lemons, Carolyn’s Homework, The Blackberry Vine, Home Stories A to Z, Adorned From Above, The 36th Avenue

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The supplies you will need are:White nail polish, Natural pink or beige polish, Top coat, Paper Hole reinforcerments, wood manicure stick, cotton, Nail polish remover

Place the hole reinforcement over your nail in the desired place. Paint the edge of your nail and then carefully remove sticker while paint is still wet. Right before painting the edge, I made sure to press the sticker down really well to get a good edge. Top with natural looking clear coat and then top coat. Done! Easy professional looking results. I kept a wood manicure stick wrapped with cotton ready. Dip the cotton tipped stick in the nail polish remover and use it to immediately remove any mess while the paint is still wet.

I have seen a variety of stickers used on Pinterest, and I think any of them would work. Circle stickers, circle band aids, and some people stretched their hole reinforcements by cutting them in half! I liked mine whole. It made it easier to peel it off.

Often, it is hard to a manicure on yourself, because of being right or left handed. When you move to your less dominant hand, it is hard to stay steady. With the stickers in place, it makes it simpler to do on yourself. The stickers help with the straight line if you have shaky hands. This was simple and quick. Skip the salon, save some cash, you can do it yourself!

This Pin Rocks!

We are happy to be linking with: A Glimpse Inside – What’s Cooking Love – The Mandatory Mooch – seven thirty three – Momnivore’s Dilemma – 52 Mantels – Gingerly Made – A lil Dash of Diva – Glued To My Crafts – Live Laugh Rowe – 36th Avenue – House of Hepworth’s – Katie’s Nesting Spot – Somewhat Simple – Living Well Spending Less

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I’ve seen many pins about Biotin, but my first thought was “if it sounds too good to be true, don’t try it!”. Well, I found a new stylist that is wonderful, and guess what she told me to start using? Biotin! She said to get it from my local grocery or drug store, take one 5,000 mcg pill a day. She said I should see results in 2 to 4 weeks. I really like my stylist, she is a personal friend and my daughters babysit her kids. But, I was still a skeptic. The thinner your hair gets, the more desperate you become. I figured I had nothing to lose by trying it (Haha no pun intended).

Imagine my surprise when 2 1/2 weeks later I found new hair growing along my hairline! My first thought was, well it’s probably just some breakage. I held onto my skepticism. Prior to taking this, my hair loss had progressed to the point that you could actually see my scalp in the bang area of my head. Another week went by and what I thought was breakage was new hair growth that was getting longer! IT WORKS! Did you hear that……BIOTIN WORKS FOR NEW HAIR GROWTH! I am thrilled! Even my husband starting noticing that my hair was thicker. After 6 weeks you can no longer see my scalp in the bang area of my head. I have also been CURSED with paper thin nails. The result with my nails is not as dramatic as with my hair, but there has been improvement.

So, as always, before trying something new check with your doctor, especially if you are already taking any medication(s). My advise; if he/she tells you it’s OK to take it, but warns you it won’t work, RUN, don’t walk to the store and start taking some ASAP! Since it can’t hurt, it is worth a try. Leave a comment and let me know if it works for you as well as it has for me!!! Good luck

THIS PIN TOTALLY ROCKS!

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Well, after reading Deanna’s post, I quickly found out why I am going to want to continue to make these bars.  Did you know that some of the bath and body care products contain formaldehyde?

Isn’t that the stuff that they use to embalm dead bodies?

Major.

EWWW.

All you need to make these is a shaped pan, vegetable shortening, vegetable oil and beeswax.  I purchased my beeswax through Amazon.

The recipe from Deanna is as follows:

1 part vegetable shortening
1 part vegetable oil
1 part beeswax

Melt the shortening and beeswax a double boiler or a little pan in a bigger pan of simmering water. Stir in the vegetable oil. Pour into cups/molds and let cool. Pop out of “mold” and it’s ready to use. The beeswax will fragrance the bars with a nice, light honey smell, or you can stir in a little essential oil before you pour it into the molds. I didn’t have a double boiler, so I put the wax into a mason jar and then into a pot of water.

I didn’t have a double boiler, so I put the wax into a mason jar and then into a pot of water.

It took about 20 minutes until everything melted and it was time to pour into my mold.

I was surpised at how fast this started to firm up.  It wasn’t long until they were completely solid and looked like this:

I was worried that maybe these would stick to my mold, but they popped out beautifully:

All you need to do is rub this gently in your hands letting the warmth of your skin soften the bar.  It does feel just a tad bit oily at first, but it is absorbed into your skin and then feels MAH-velous.

Much better than embalming yourself with formaldehyde.

This Pin Rocks!

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I was visiting a friend for coffee when she noticed me pawing at my sore thumb. I was floored when she tossed together this hand scrub in less than 2 minutes right in her kitchen, and IT WORKED! I will never be without this home remedy for chapped dry hands again, and neither should you!

How to Fix Dry, Chapped Hands

Hard water and cold weather dry out everything, and my skin is no exception. 

I have tried what feels like hundreds of different lotions and creams to help prevent, protect, or repair my poor damaged hands. All these products either work for a short time or not at all. Some have even left my hands worse off than before I put them on, and the price tag on some of these creams can be pricey. 

If you are tired of throwing money at solutions that aren’t working for your dry chapped hands, it’s time to try this home remedy. All you need for this amazing remedy is Petroleum Jelly, granulated sugar, liquid dish soap, and any kink of mild lotion. Whenever I tell people about this paste, they think it’s kinda weird, and they skeptically don’t believe me that it works.

UNTIL THEY TRY IT!

What Causes Dry Chapped Hands?

Winter weather tends to get the brunt of the blame for drying out our skin, but did you know you can get dry chapped hands ANY time of year?

There are many different culprits which can cause our skin to dry out, chap, and crack. Some of them you may have heard of, others might be new to you.

We are constantly using our hands and exposing them to all kinds of materials and chemicals. I don’t know about you, but I tend to not keep myself hydrated enough either, and this adds to drying out my skin. My hands feeling stiff and itchy are usually my first indicator that a bit of chapped irritated hands is soon on the way.

Check out our list of other culprits that are often overlooked when we think of causing the skin to dry out.

Is your skin exposed to any of these factors regularly?

Sneaky Skin Irritants 

• Cold, Dry Winter Weather
• Dehydration (are you drinking enough water?)
• Underlying Health Conditions (these can make your hands extra sensitive)
• Medications 
• Hard Water (my nemesis) 
• Environmental Factors (air pollutants, pollen, dust, sun exposure)
• Your Profession (do you wear plastic gloves all day, work with chemicals, money, or paper?)
• Hand Sanitizers 
• Diet (caffeine contributes to dehydration) 
• Your Pet (yes, things your pet has on their fur can dry out your hands)
• Washing Dishes (some dish soaps are pretty bad for our hands)

Most of us don’t tend to pay much attention to all the ways we are using our hands every day. If you seem to feel like your hands dry out more often than not, stop and think about what you touched recently. What have your hands been doing? Do you notice a change in your skin after doing certain tasks you haven’t put much thought into? 

What habit might you want to look at changing to have fewer episodes of dry chapped hands?

Frugal, Kid Friendly, and Safe Remedy

Another great reason to love this amazing home remedy for dry chapped hands is because of how much money it will save you! No joke, I have likely saved hundreds of dollars a year switching from all the fancy and expensive products for my hand condition, to this simple two-ingredient scrub. 

Petroleum Jelly and granulated sugar, two inexpensive items you likely already have in your kitchen and bathroom, are all you will need. This makes this home remedy great for your wallet and kid-friendly. 

My grandkids have needed to combat the chapped hand problem on several occasions (usually after playing in the snow),  and I love how easy it is to get them to use this scrub. The little ones find it fun when I put sugar in their hands and then a glob of Petroleum Jelly. It is kind of like making mud in their hands, and they giggle. 

Keeping things simple is always better, and I love how simple this remedy is. I feel safe using it on myself and my grandkids because it doesn’t have all chemicals and unknown in it that I frankly can’t pronounce, let alone know if it is safe for prolonged uses. 

This paste takes care of the unknown. 

Mixing Your Chapped Hand Home Remedy Paste

Now that I have shared a few of my favorite things about this wonderful home remedy for dry chapped hands, let’s get to making some! 

It is super simple. Like I said, my 4-year-old granddaughter, can do it. 

Grab your ingredients, (Petroleum Jelly, granulated sugar, dish soap, and a mild lotion of choice), and let’s get started!

1.  Glob the Jelly

Place about 1/2 teaspoon of petroleum jelly in the palm of your hand. A little bit goes a long way, so don’t get over-excited and overload your hand or you will have a very difficult time washing it off. The first time my granddaughter did this she spent 15 minutes at the kitchen sink scrubbing off the mound of Petroleum Jelly she had used. Go light, you can always add more if needed, but you can’t take any away.

2. Sprinkle the Sugar

Second, sprinkle about a teaspoon full of sugar onto the petroleum jelly. Heed my advice and pay close attention to not overdo it at first. Too much sugar will not allow the paste to spread evenly. Plus, the scrub will then feel like you are scrubbing large boulders across your knuckles instead of pebbles. So, if you find the paste too thick, barely add a little more jelly to your palm. Sparingly, only a little at a time.

3. Mix it as you Mean It

Mush the sugar into the jelly to make a paste. You want to make sure it is all a good consistency and blended well. Doing this will allow the sugar to get dispersed evenly across your fingers, so you don’t miss a spot. You’ll want the scrub soft but firm enough it will hold an imprint if you pushed your finger into it.

4. Briskly Scrub

Then briskly rub this mixture over both of your hands. Briskly, meaning rubbing in with as much pressure as you can stand. The sugar will act as an exfoliate to get the dry skin cells off your hands.

Next, wash your hands with tempered warm water and your favorite liquid soap you have around the house.

Finally, finish by applying your favorite lotion. I tend to use a mild-based lotion with little or no fragrance or additives. Sometimes, some creams with aloe or shea butter will overly dry out your hands even more, or over oil them and cause more problems for your hands which are trying to heal.

Try it for Yourself!

Now it’s your turn! If you don’t have the Petroleum Jelly and sugar handy, take a quick trip to the store. You can pick up what you will need for under $5. If you don’t notice a difference the first time you do this, I will come over and give you a pedicure! I don’t enjoy touching feet. That’s how confident I am that this will work for you.

After repeated uses, the cracks in my fingers disappear, my skin feels less tight, and the redness and irritation disappear.  

During the winter, I mix up a larger batch of this chapped hand remedy and store it in an air-tight container. The reason is, that I go through it much more often. However, in the other months of the year, I simply grab it right off my shelf and mix it right in my hand. Rub down your hands and if you are feeling fancy, try it on your sore cracked feet too. You can thank me later. 

What are you waiting for? Trust me. This tip is a lifesaver!

Looking for More Health and Beauty Tips?

If this post got you thinking about how you are in desperate need of a spa day, don’t feel bad. It did the same thing to us. Pamper yourself. Discover a few more great home remedies and beauty hacks that we love. 

• Baking Soda Beauty Hacks never looked so easy!
• When you need a little rest or even a little relaxation, try a DIY Lavender Bath Soap
• Looking for something to leave your legs soft and smooth? Try this Homemade Shaving Cream!
• This DIY Coconut Milk Shampoo leaves your hair healthy and smelling wonderful.
• Treat yourself to a manicure with this French Tip Manicure Tutorial.

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I chose this pin because I have spent my adult life in search of hair products than can manage my fine but very curly hair. Let’s just state here and now that I have spent a small fortune over the years! I have tried over the counter products, and as a licensed cosmetologist I have tried what feels like all of the “professional” products. While many of them work well, I haven’t found one the I’m in love with yet. Having naturally curly hair is both a blessing and a curse. We grew up in Seal Beach, CA, where going to the beach happened all the time. Even if we did not go to the beach, we lived close enough the get the “beach breeze” (humidity) outside our home. For girls without curly hair it means you get that oh so cool “wavy beach hair look”. For those of us blessed with curly hair, it means only one thing, FRIZZ, FRIZZ and more FRIZZ. Growing up my Mom paid to have my hair chemically straightened. I then had straight but very dry, damaged hair. Over the years I have learned how to “control” most of the frizz by blow drying and straight iron. Which again means dry damaged hair :(.  So at the ripe age of 50 something I have gone back to wearing my hair without blow drying/straight ironing it and I’m trying to “work” with and not “against” the curl. The problem is that some shampoos are too heavy while others are too light. When I found this pin I decided to see if coconut milk shampoo could “tame” my “mane”!

Ingredients: 1/4 cup coconut milk (store bought or make your own), 1/3 cup baby shampoo, 1 tsp. vitamin E, olive or almond oil and 10 to 20 drops of essential oil.To make your homemade coconut milk: place 1/2 cup coconut flakes into your blender with one cup of hot water. Pulse the mixture about 20 times. You do not want to run your blender continuously. Strain milk through a fine sieve or cheesecloth. The cheesecloth worked great for me Press down on the cocunut flakes to  get all the liquid out. Spoon back into your blender, add another cup of hot water and pulse 20 times. Do this four times and you will end up with 4 cups of fresh coconut milk! My kitchen is smelling pretty good right now!So let’s make some shampoo! I used a ketchup bottle purchased from the grocery store to put it in. Pour in your wonderful 1/4 cup coconut milk. Next I added in my 1/3 cup baby shampoo, sorry but I got so excited I forgot to take a picture of it. Please use your imagination for that step.Next add your 1 tsp of oil of choice (vitamin E, almond or olive oil).Last but not least add in 10 to 20 drops of your essential oil. I “rocked” the bottle back and forth to mix the ingredients.I am very pleased with my results. One thing I forgot to mention is that I color my hair. Pre-mature graying runs in our family. Mine started when I was in my late 20’s. So I have been coloring my hair for a long time. Any products formulated for color treated hair always cost more money! Big surprise! I love that this shampoo is so gentle it will not cause the color to fade, but strong enough to get my hair clean. It has a low lather but that does not bother me.

My hair is clean without getting dried out or weighed down. My hair and This Pin Rock!

Print

Coconut Milk Shampoo

Ingredients

• 1/4 c homemade coconut milk or canned coconut milk
• 1/3 c baby shampoo of your choice
• 1 tsp vitamin E olive or almond oil
• 10 to 20 drops of your choice of essential oils

Instructions

• Pour ingredients into container. Shaken gently before use.

We are linking up with these great blogs today: My Romantic Home, The Answer is Chocolate, Simply Designing, Shaken Together, Nap Time Crafters, Truly Lovely, Whipperberry, Chic on A Shoestring Decorating, Somewhat Simple, The Shabby Nest, Just Us Four, delicate Construction, Sassy Little Lady, French Country Cottage, A Little Knick Knack, Craftberry Bush, While He Was Napping

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When I was young (saying that makes me feel OLD!), my Mom used to wear a wig! She even had two wigs with different styles. Now that I think about it her hair always looked perfect in our family photos! Wigs have been replaced with extensions, thank heavens! But that doesn’t solve the problem of an oily scalp. When I ran across this pin from One Good Thing By Jillee I thought if this would be great if it works!

Three simple ingredients are used:

1 tablespoon of cornstarch
4 tablespoons of water
1 tablespoon of rubbing alcohol

Mix it together, pour into a spray bottle, and give it a good shake before using.

This is on of those situations when more is not always better. You do not need to saturate your hair! Use enough to get your hair damp, then run your fingers through your hair and blow dry to style. If necessary, repeat the process.

So did it work?………Yes! I only needed to dampen my hair once and then style.

Glad to tell ya,

This Pin ROCKS!

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We have a condition at our house called “Raccoon Eyes”. Let me explain. If for one reason or another you have gone to bed without removing your makeup, you wake up in the morning with “Raccoon Eyes”. As you sleep through the night your makeup rubs off, some will end up on your pillow and the rest lands underneath your eyes. The result……Raccoon Eyes! I have a certain daughter who suffers from this condition on a regular basis. Her excuse, I’m out of makeup remover.  Thanks to Pinterest that is about to change!

Until now I’ve never really been one to do much of the DIY makeup items on Pinterest. I’m always skeptical whether or not any of them will  really work . If it works, is it worth the extra effort? Will I make and use it more than once?

With two teenage daughters, we go through quite a bit of makeup remover. I usually purchase mine at Walmart or Target for five or six dollars for 5.5 ounces. This is such a simple and inexpensive recipe that I had to try it out. I mixed it up yesterday morning, I kept wondering throughout the day if it was going to be worth it.

When it was time for bed I went to take off my makeup and almost forgot to try it out, old habits die hard! I remembered at the last minute and gave it a try. WOW, was I impressed! Not only did it work just as well as my old remover it worked better! What a pleasant surprise, and you can’t beat the cost.

So the answer to my questions…does it really work? YES! Is it worth the effort? YES! Will I make and use it more than once? Heck yeah!

Recipe

1 cup Distilled water  –  1 1/2 tablespoons Baby Shampoo  – 1/4 tsp. Baby oil

Place all 3 ingredients in container and mix well.

Let me just tell ya,     This Pin ROCKS!

The post DIY Eye Makeup Remover appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

And now I am revealing another deep dark secret.  About make up brushes.  Do you clean yours?  Have I cleaned mine?  Absolutely.  How dare you ask!  When have I cleaned mine?  Yesterday. For the first time. Ever.

Yucky.

I know.

But….NEVER again will it take me long to clean my own make up brushes.  After I read about all of the oils and bacteria that we re-apply back onto our faces from our brushes when they aren’t cleaned, I am on a course to wash them regularly.  And the great thing is….it’s so easy!

Taking my directions from The Beauty Book, all you need is dishwashing liquid, extra virgin olive oil and your brush or brushes.

And before I go any further can I just tell you how much I LOVE this makeup brush???  It is from Elizabeth Arden and it is my most favorite makeup accessory that I have.  When you brush this across your cheek, it is like angels from heaven coming down and fluttering their angel wings over your skin. Too flowery?  Yeah.  Gotcha.  But this brush seriously is my greatest daily luxury.  If you’re interested, you can purchase an Elizabeth Arden Face Powder Brush
just by clicking on the link.   Trust me, it’s worth the splurge.

Okay, on to being a little more clean and green! Pour 3 parts Antibacterial or Liquid Soap and 1 part Extra-Virgin Olive Oil on your plate or bowl.

Mix these two together until completely blended.  Then dip your brush in and swirl around while thoroughly saturating your brush. You will see the mixture froth up and some product from the brush begin to come out. See what I mean?  Yucky.

Next just run the brush under the tap water while moving the brush back and forth in your hand.

While under the water, take your hand and starting from the base of the brush hairs, gently squeeze downwards (you will see the product being forced out of the brush and land in the sink).  Continue until all product has been removed from your brush.

Prop your brush up in a cup or bowl to allow the bristles to dry.

The end result?  My brush looks like new and also feels like new.  And the best thing?  No more yucky!

I am so happy that This Pin Rocks!

We are excited to be linking up with the following sites today:

Cornerstone Confessions

Homes Stories A to Z

The BlackBerry Vine

Carolyn’s Homework 

Funky Polkadot Giraffe

The Kurtz Corner

The Rustic Pig

The post DIY – Clean your own make up brushes appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

Well, after reading Deanna’s post, I quickly found out why I am going to want to continue to make these bars.  Did you know that some of the bath and body care products contain formaldehyde?

Isn’t that the stuff that they use to embalm dead bodies?

Major.

EWWW.

All you need to make these is a shaped pan, vegetable shortening, vegetable oil and beeswax.  I purchased my beeswax through Amazon.

The recipe from Deanna is as follows:

1 part vegetable shortening
1 part vegetable oil
1 part beeswax

Melt the shortening and beeswax a double boiler or a little pan in a bigger pan of simmering water. Stir in the vegetable oil. Pour into cups/molds and let cool. Pop out of “mold” and it’s ready to use. The beeswax will fragrance the bars with a nice, light honey smell, or you can stir in a little essential oil before you pour it into the molds.

I didn’t have a double boiler, so I put the wax into a mason jar and then into a pot of water.It took about 20 minutes until everything melted and it was time to pour into my mold.

I was surpised at how fast this started to firm up.  It wasn’t long until they were completely solid and looked like this:

I was worried that maybe these would stick to my mold, but they popped out beautifully:

All you need to do is rub this gently in your hands letting the warmth of your skin soften the bar.  It does feel just a tad bit oily at first, but it is absorbed into your skin and then feels MAH-velous.

Much better than embalming yourself with formaldehyde.

This Pin Rocks!

The post DIY Lotion Bars appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.