Last Minute DIY Christmas Gifts

Ugh, I've been sick for weeks!! You know what that means? A lot less time to prepare gifts for friends and family! Also, lots less blogging. Luckily, the doc gave me some great drugs and I'm starting to feel better, whew.

Over the past several years especially, I've been leaning toward homemade Christmas gifts rather than purchased items. In my family, we always called it 'Make It or Bake It'. Some of the best gifts I've ever received have been handmade. They really come from the heart, and it shows.

I love giving out gifts to everyone, my neighbors and friends and family. Here are a couple suggestions if you're struggling with homemade gift ideas this year, and if you're as behind as me!

1. Homemade Taco Seasoning - This is one of my newest passions, mixing my own seasonings. Those packets in the grocery store? They can contain all kinds of weird stuff that I don't want in my body. Make a batch for your neighbors, and attach a set of directions, they'll love it!

2. We Whisk You A Merry Christmas - This is fantastic for teachers and neighbors. And I admit I totally got this idea from Pinterest. Fill a kitchen whisk with goodies, seal with plastic wrap and a bow, then attach a cute little card. Done!

3. Brown Sugar Scrub - Boy, do I love a homemade sugar scrub! This one smells like cookies, totally irresistible.

4. Naughty to Nice Chocolate Chip Cookies - Speaking of cookies, these are fab-u-lous! Despite being ill the past few weeks, I still made a double batch of these cookies, sick or not. They are that good peeps. In fact, this is one of the most popular recipes on the blog. Make a batch, wrap up those cookies, and start distributing to your neighbors and friends! I gave a bag out just this morning.

5. The Happy Jar! - This is, by far, the most popular post I've ever written. It might not be so good as a last minute gift, but it's still worth mentioning. You could always make mani version of this if you're short on time. Who doesn't love happy thoughts and inspiration right at their fingertips??

6. Homemade Caramel Sauce - You probably have all the ingredients for this easy sauce right in your fridge already! This takes no time to come together, and makes a great gift. And yes, I totally gave out a bunch of these this year too! Include a gift tag with my Quickie Apple Pie recipe, and you've got a hit. 

That's it for now folks! I'm planning to create more fun gifts throughout the year, so we'll add to this list next next Christmas. One last idea for you....

Attach a simple ornament to your gift bag for a little extra fun! You can find small packages of basic ornaments at the Dollar Tree that are perfect for this. Or, if you're in Europe and visiting the Christmas markets, seek out the small wooden ornaments that are so popular here.

Until next time, my friends.... Merry Christmas!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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Email me: armylifefromthewife@gmail.com

Pinterest Tested: DIY Natural Face Scrub

In keeping with our chat yesterday (ya know, about my journey to all things natural?), I've got a great guest blog for you today. My niece has been on a journey of her own, looking for natural solutions to basic beauty issues. And she's sharing some of those tips with us, yay!

So here's Ivy and her all-natural facial scrub:

… I started looking on Pinterest for some great face scrubs, and I was immediately inspired by Homemade For Elle's honey and oatmeal facial scrub. I tried this scrub first, and ouch! It totally dried my skin out, and I hated how the whole oats felt.

From there I started researching different ingredients for natural facial cleansers, mud masks, etc. I liked the idea of oats because they exfoliate, but I definitely needed them ground up more. Crunchy Betty had a similar facial cleanser, yet totally different in several ways. On a side note she talked about giving the scrub a turbo charge with neem powder. I was like.... what is neem?! I have to know about this basic ingredient! It's amazing for your skin.

I began to look into neem powder, which is available no where near me. I substituted neem oil, which is one of the worst smelling things in the world. So I'll definitely be ordering neem powder at some point in hopes that it won't stink SO bad! The lavender, tea tree, and lemon oils I added did cut the smell though.

I was hooked by then, so I kept looking for more way to improve my scrub. I wanted a super scrub that would help with my black heads too. So I researched calcium bentonite clay. It's main function is to pull toxins from your skin and replace them with the nutrients in the clay, such as calcium. Once I tried a basic bentonite clay/apple cider vinegar mask I knew I was on to something, it rocks! So hippie problems, on my day off or in my free time I roam around natural grocers for hours looking at everything, googling it and seeing what I can do to use it in my everyday life. Crazy right? It's my new hobby.

After a couple weeks of trying to perfect my scrub, I posted on my page what I came up with! I added the lemon essential oil for anti-bacterial reasons, and because I have semi acne prone skin. This scrub is soooooo good for me personally that when I got 3 minor pimples, I was shocked! Then, my time of the month started and I realized why… normally I get big neck pimples (so gross), and this time they were just minor blemishes.

Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it for yourself:

5 drops lemon essential oil
15 drops lavender essential oil
15 drops tea tree essential oil
5-10 drops neem oil (this stuff is thick, smells awful and is amazing for your skin)
1 tablespoon bentonite clay
1 tablespoon honey (Raw is best, but I'm using up what I have and it works great)
1/2 cup oats coarsely ground (I put them in the food processor)

Oats in the food processor

Mix up all the ingredients (I do this in my food processor). I use the scrub every morning. Pour about a half dollar size amount in your hand, get it wet, and squeeze it in your palm to get a ballish clump. Then I scrub it all over my face and rinse. Using oil on your face sounds scary but after my adjustment (a few days) it made a HUGE difference. My skin is brighter, more even, and way less breakouts! If you try it out, please let me know how it works for you.

Finished scrub, waiting for use

I'm a natural mama when it comes to skincare and makeup now. I night moisturize with a combo of rose hemp seed oil and apricot kernel oil. Moisturizing with oil sounds scary, but it rocks! My face didn't have to work so hard to produce it anymore and it evens and brightens my tone. My daily moisturizer for morning is Brilliant by Younique, which is one of the products I sell through my Younique website. My skin has never looked better! It took a week or two (and a few mud masks) to detox from everything I've used previously, but that adjustment period was WORTH IT! No more spending a ton of money on cleansers that don't work for my troubled skin.



I hope y'all enjoyed this guest post today! I'm excited to try out Ivy's facial scrub as soon as I can. If you want to keep up with Ivy and her natural beauty tips, you can also follow her on Facebook. Until next time, my friends!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Follow me on Facebook @ OurArmyLifeAccordingToTheWife

or on Pinterest, my newest obsession @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

Email me: armylifefromthewife@gmail.com

Pinterest Tested: Brown Sugar Scrub

I've been curious about making my own bath products for quite a while now, but never seemed to have the time. I mean, first you need to find a recipe, then buy the ingredients, then make it, then test it…

But I found that this process was totally worth it!

After some recent medical issues, I started doing a little research. Your skin absorbs so much of what you put on it everyday - deodorants, lotions, creams, makeup, bath soap, etc. Most of these products contain harmful chemicals, and we don't even realize it! I could give you my long spiel here, about organic foods and natural cleaning products, and a whole host of other things… but I won't.

Just know that chemicals are bad, peeps. By making different choices, one simple choice at a time, we can decrease our exposure to these chemicals and hopefully make the world a better place for future generations. I've started my own journey down this path, picking one item to change at a time.

With that in mind, I was hard at work looking for a homemade bath scrub, minus as many chemicals as possible. And eureka, I finally came up with my perfect combo!

Brown Sugar Scrub

I scoured Pinterest for weeks, tried a few scrubs, but eventually created my own combination. Here are some of the people I took inspiration from:

The Pinterest Project

Simply Southern Mom

Homemade Ginger


To get started, this is what you need:

Brown sugar, white sugar, coconut oil, olive oil, Vitamin E, and vanilla. The basic recipe is quite simple: 2 parts sugar to 1 part oil.

Start by mixing together your oil and sugars. I use ½ cup coconut oil and ½ cup olive oil. The coconut oil is much more solid at room temperature. I like the contrast in consistency, I think it creates a nice scrub texture.

Oils

I use 1 cup EACH of brown sugar and white sugar. You can use all of one type of sugar, but I prefer the combo. You might also try raw sugar, as well. I think this would make the scrub extra exfoliating, and I may test it one of these days (*see my update below! Thanks to Abigail Austin Photography, this combo has now been tested). If you try this yourself, please comment below and let us know how it goes.

Once the sugar and oils are combined, you could definitely stop right there and have a great scrub. However, I also add a teaspoon of vanilla (smells delicious!) and 4 capsules of Vitamin E (just cut the capsule open and squeeze the liquid into your mix). You could also purchase straight Vitamin E oil, which wouldn't require the additional task of opening the capsules.

That's it! The recipe makes about 2 medium-size jars (this greatly depends on the type of jar you are using). I've been using the scrub for a while now, and I LOVE it. Your skin feels so soft after stepping out of the shower. I especially like how well it helps the dry skin on my feet and hands.

I've also added raw honey to the scrub before (about ¼ cup), and this makes a nice addition. Play around with the recipe, and discover what works best for you.

This also makes an excellent gift for birthdays or Christmas, or any occasion. Decorate your jar with ribbon and a label for a polished look. Heck, decorate the bag to match (credit for the decorations here go to my pal, Becky!).

I hope you enjoy the recipe. Please comment below with any tips you may have for fellow readers. I'll be back with more posts soon, my friends! I've included the full recipe below.


UPDATE: A fellow blogger and great friend of mine, Abigail Austin Photography, tried this scrub at home and was nice enough to share her results with us. This is what she had to say:

"I just finished trying your Brown Sugar Scrub, and I loved it! My skin feels soft, and I smell pretty.

I tried the recipe spontaneously without a trip to the grocery store, so I substituted brown sugar with raw sugar. The grains did not absorb the oil, so my texture was different than yours. I added more white sugar and the oils. As a scrub, the larger granules of the raw sugar did well exfoliating, but they were harsh in the ratio I used. A tablespoon of raw sugar would give the extra exfoliation power.

I'm very happy with this recipe, and I can't wait to make it again. A natural, chemical free scrub that leaves skin this moist is a must-have for any beauty queen in the north where heaters zap all the moisture. Thanks for this great recipe, Our Army Life!"

Brown sugar scrub with raw sugar

From Abby's test, I suggest only adding raw sugar for a little exfoliating boost, perhaps a tablespoon. Stick with either brown or white sugar for the main portion of your base. Thanks for the tips, Abby!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Follow me on Facebook @ OurArmyLifeAccordingToTheWife

or on Pinterest, my newest obsession @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

Email me: armylifefromthewife@gmail.com

The Standard Form:

Brown Sugar Scrub

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup coconut oil

½ cup olive oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 capsules Vitamin E 

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a bowl (open the vitamin E capsules and squeeze out the oil). Mix well. Store at room temperature.