Pomegranate Sugar Scrub ~ You MUST make this!

A few of my friends from work were here Wednesday night for a little Christmas party and we made these great gifts.  I had been looking for a great sugar scrub and came across  this recipe on  greenbean's crafterole.  It is really fantastic!  I also modified it to make what I like to call MAN SCRUB.  It's a nice gift for the guys and honestly, isn't hard to come up with something to make for men? 

So you'll start by aquiring some containers.  I bought the 12 pack of jelly jars at the grocery store for $6.96.  Mine have plain silver tops.

Next you'll need a bag of sugar and a bottle of this:

It's hard to see in the pic but it has Oil of Olay in it and promises to soften your hands with just 5 uses!!!   Well, maybe.  But it does moisturize and the scent is Pomegranate, smells amazing!

So you'll take a mixing bowl and measure in 1 1/3 cups of sugar.  Now add some of the dawn, a couple of tablespoons or so and start mixing it in.  Add more a little at a time until you get the consistency of wet sand.  Spoon it into your jelly jar and seal with the lid. 

Add a pretty label and a bit of jute or ribbon and you're done. 

For the guys, I bought some of this shampoo/conditioner/bodywash stuff.  It smells really nice and after shavey and has added moisturizer.

Mix it with sugar the same way (in a different bowl) and since it's white, you can add a couple of drops of blue food coloring.  It gets a grungy stamped label and no ribbon or jute.  You can tell them it's for after they' ve worked on the car or in the yard.  Or if they're in touch with their feminine side, tell them it's great in the shower on the rough spots.  LOL!

Be sure to keep a jar for yourself.  It really leaves your hands so soft and smooth and if you use before shaving you'll get a much closer shave, since it removes the layer of dead skin cells.

Thanks for visiting!    Your comments are treasured! Linking up to the fun parties below!

Burlap & White

What is it about burlap that makes me love it so? It makes me itch and I don't like the feel of it but I love so much pairing it with white and the end results are just gorgeous.

This little project was so fun and came together in about 1/2 hour. I found the cute little oblong frame for a dollar at the thrift store. I had planned to make it into a chalkboard but after painting it heirloom white it just sat for awhile.

I have really been wanting to get some of my old black and white photos of my parents up and thought how great they would look against the burlap.

So I cut a piece to fit the frame back and glued it down then just added my photos with double backed acid free tape. These pics are from their wedding day in 1952 and their first few years of marriage. They're both with the Lord now but I love keeping their memory alive and seeing the joy of their wedding day. If you could see up close my mom is laughing as my dad feeds her the cake. Just makes me smile to look at it.

Another recent burlap & white adventure.   But I sold it in my etsy shop so now I get to make another!

Linking up to the fun parties below. Have a great weekend!



Little French Number Bottles

When life is crazy busy, as it is right now~ Christmas shopping, finishing up the gifts I'm making, basketball games, choir concerts.... my therapy is going into my craftroom, turning on my music, lighting my favorite candle and creating something.  So after 3 super busy days, I took Maddy to school and came home put my jammies back on and got to work.

I saw some gorgeous little french labled bottles in a boutique awhile back and thought I must make those sometime.  So I started out with these:

Next I played around in MS DIP and came up with my design:



I used a permanent glue dot runner to attach the labels and here are my pretties.  What do you think, burlap tie or no?   

Thanks for stopping by and your comment would make my day!  I hope you'll consider being a follower as well.  Linking up to the delightful parties below.  Be sure to visit!



 



Caramel In A Can

I am having some girlfriends over next week for a little Christmas party and gift crafting.  One idea I'll be sharing is the Caramel In A Can.  I am sure alot of you have seen this idea before but if not, it is such a fun gift to make.

You'll start with a can or cans of sweetened condensed milk, like Eagle brand, though the store brands are great too.  Just be sure it's NOT plain evaporated milk! 

Remove label from can. Place UNOPENED can in the bottom of a VERY DEEP pot, like a stock pot. Add enough water to cover can or cans by at least 3 to 4 inches. Bring the water to a boil and boil gently for four (4) hours.

BE SURE THAT THE CANS ARE ALWAYS UNDER AT LEAST 3-4 INCHES OF WATER THE ENTIRE TIME.  IF THE CANS ARE NOT COMPLETELY IMMERSED THEY CAN EXPLODE.   Add very hot tap water as needed to keep them under under 3-4 inches of water at all times.   I set my oven timer to go off every 30 minutes to remind me to check water level.

You can boil several cans at one time.   When 4 hours are up, carefully remove pot from heat and allow to cool several hours.  Remove cans to a rack and allow to further cool til room temp.  DO NOT OPEN while hot unless you want to be sprayed in caramel!

The sweetened, condensed milk will have turned into the most delicious caramel inside the can.  It is great for apple dipping, ice cream topping, any dessert or treat you can dream up! 

Now, I know you'll be skeptical, I was too!  So make a can, and after it cools open it up and place in a dish.  Stir in 1 tsp vanilla and nuke it for a few seconds.  Now dip some apples, or cookies and you'll be a believer!   After you have inhaled it, go buy some to make for gifts!

To give as a gift, dry cans well and glue on a label you've made.   Here are my creations from last Christmas.  You can make a fun gift basket by adding an apple cutter and some apples.  Makes a great hostess or teacher gift!

Here is the label page.  If you'd like a copy, I can send as a png file so you can make it your own.

Thanks for dropping by!  Your comments are treasured. See you at the parties below!



 



Easy Christmas Gifts

This time of year I must start some posts with a warning:   If you are my sister~ STOP reading and come back after Christmas!  Is she gone?  Okay, now I can finish.  LOL! 

I have been working hard at getting all my Christmas gift projects done.  Burlap table runners, dessert stands, memory games, satin capes for the grands and these little magnets.   They are super easy to make and you can do so many creative themes.

You'll need a 1" circle punch, some flat clear marbles approximately 1" (Dollar Tree has them right now, compared to $3.99 for a bag at Michaels!), a bottle of Glossy Accents, (available at craft stores), some round magnets and whatever you plan to use for the art~ pictures, clip art, maps, colored and/or patterned scrapbook paper.  You can see below I have some frenchy clip art and words I printed out on cardstock.

I am also making my sister magnets with every city she has ever lived in.  I cut the circles out of an old atlas.

So after you've cut your circles, take a flat marble and put a dot about the size of a a tiny pea on the flat back.  Press the printed side of the circle onto the marble.  Press out from the center and the glue will spread to the edges.  Turn over, lay on flat back on a table and press firmly from the front to make sure it adheres well.  Turn over to dry, so they won't stick to the surface of the table.  When completely dry, glue a circle magnet to the back with E6000 or Gorilla Glue.  Let dry thoroughly before using magnets.

I have to apologize for my poor photography, my camera leaves much to be desired.  But you get the idea.  I also want to give credit for the map magnets.  I saw it on someone's blog and cannot remember where.  So thanks for the great idea!

Thank you for visiting and please also check out the parties below. 



Christmas Decor

I have really been enjoying decorating the house for Christmas.  I have both trees up and am finished with most of the other decor.  I have been collecting apothecary jars and other containers to do the top of my armoire.  I even got the glitter out to do some chipboard letters!

 

Yesterday at TJ Maxx I saw these gorgeous silver topiary trees that were $20 and of course there is no way I would pay that!  I remembered I had a little urn at home I picked up while thrifting, so I decided to hit dollar tree and see what they might have~ JACKPOT!  Found the perfect little tree!  So here is the urn before: 

 

And here after some white paint and glitter~ $2.00 topiary!:

I hope you're enjoying the season!   Stop by again soon, I have a couple of fun projects in the works! And be sure to visit the fun parties below!



Black Friday Deals

Do you have a Real Deals where you live?  I am absolutely in love with this store!  Today's Black Friday Sale was so cool.  First off, I had purchased a  Groupon which got me a $30 gift certificate for $15.  (Groupon is great, every day you get one incredible offer for a business in your area.  Check it out!)

Being sensible business owners, the Real Deals Door Buster sale began at the civilized hour of 10:00 am.  Maddy and I got there at 9:30 and were number 22 & 23 in line.  YAY!  First 25 in line received goodie bags with $5 store cash and lots of other treats.  The also had some amazing specials.

So for $30 I ended up getting over $70 in awesome stuff!  Here's a pic of part of my haul:

The birdcage, cloche, fluer de lis and basket are for myself.  The tray is a Christmas present for my daughter.  The little votives, ribbon and popcorn/cranberry ornaments were in our goodie bags.  I also got a scrumptious candle. 

The other day my daughter bought me this charming wire cloche there for my birthday.  Love it!!!!  They always have some new, gorgeous item I must have!

Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend.  I just finished putting up one Christmas tree and am trying to summon the energy to do the other.  We'll see.