{DIY} natural bum paste!

The {DIY} project today…home made diaper cream! This {DIY} has been a huge success and I can honestly say I will not be buying diaper cream from the store ever again! It works great, smells great and mostly importantly is SAFE to use on my little ones. You will be happy to know exactly what is in your cream, especially when your 2 year old decides to open it up and rub it all over himself (that may or may not have happened here yesterday) 🙂diaper rash cream

This stuff is so easy to make, and my 3 year old loved helping.
Recipe adapted from www.mymerrymessylife.com

What’s in it:

  • 1/2 c raw organic Shea butter
  • 1/4 c raw organic coconut oil
  • 1 Tbsp organic beeswax pastilles
  • 2 Tbsp zinc oxide powder (can omit if using cloth diapers)
  • 1 Tbsp pure aloe vera gel
  • 10 drops lavender essential oil
  • 8 drops melaleuca essential oil
  • 4 drops peppermint essential oil

STEP 1:
heat the shea butter, coconut oil and beeswax in double boiler over med heat until liquified. Remove from heat and let cool slightly (just so the temp is lower).
STEP 2:
Pour into stand mixer and add zinc powder, aloe and whip on high until smooth and completely blended. Drop in essential oils (make sure the mix is no longer hot as heat can break down the therapeutic properties of the oils).
STEP 3:
Mix thoroughly and pour into containers. Glass containers are best as the essential oils can break down plastic over time. Makes appx 8 oz of cream so I divided into two 4 oz glass jars. It will be thin when you pour it, but will thicken up quickly as it cools, so don’t plan on moving it to different containers after cooling 🙂 I keep a small one in the diaper bag, and at each changing station throughout the house!

The oils are are moisturizing and calming and soothing to baby’s skin. The zinc provides an excellent wetness barrier. The combination of ingredients is perfect for the little bums, and you may want to rub it on your arms and hands while you’re at it 🙂 If you like the recipe, I’d suggest doubling it next time and stocking up!

{DIY} foaming hand wash

So my list of things to ‘never have to buy again’ is growing and I LOVE it! Today’s {DIY} is so simple. Foaming hand wash. The secret to the foaming is to save and wash out former containers that have the foaming pump. You will see I had quite a few from a popular store that work really well to save and refill with your own natural ingredients, though I now order the containers from dōTERRA when I need replacements because it is so easy to throw that onto my essential oil order!

Before I list the ‘recipe,’ let’s take a look at a few of the ingredients in the original container that was purchased at a store for $5.50.

ORIGINAL INGREDIENTS:
Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate (read more about this), Parfum, PPG-1-PEG-9 Laurel Glycol Ether, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Propylene Glycol (read more about this), Cocomidopropylamine Oxide, Hydroxyethel Urea, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Triethelyne Glycol, Tetrasodium EDTA, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Citric Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzophenone-4, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Butalyne Glycol, Sodium Hydroxide, Yellow 6, Honey Extract, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Red 33, Olea Europea Fruit Extract, Cocos Nucifera Fruit Extract, Mangifera Indica Fruit Extract

——————————————————————-

foaming hand soapNEW INGREDIENTS:

Pour Dr. Bronner’s and vegetable glycerin into empty bottle, add essential oils and fill the rest with filtered water. Shake it all up and you’re ready to use!

—————————————————————————–

To be fair, here are the ingredients broken down for the Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Castile:
Water, saponified organic coconut and organic olive oils, organic hemp oil, organic jojoba oil, organic peppermint oil, organic mentha arvensis, sea salt, citric acid, and vitamin E.

Since my Dr. Bronner’s already had peppermint I used lavender to compliment the scent and for it’s skin soothing properties. Many essential oils have great constituents to support a healthy immune function, so you can use whatever oils you prefer to scent your soap. dōTERRA OnGuard is excellent for this and is my go-to for soaps this fall. It has an amazing cinnamon spice scent and is a very good choice to protect against environmental threats.

I’m working on a cost break-down for all my {DIY} items, but replacing this with all natural organic ingredients was less than 1/2 of the cost of the original chemical filled product!

 

Lavender Spray: don’t leave home without it!

My lavender spray has quickly become my go-to product for so many things! This stuff is SO useful. Just a mix of filtered water and lavender essential oil (8 oz water & about 12 drops EO), this refreshing spray has endless uses and is something that we don’t leave home without!

Here are just a few ways that we daily use this multi-purpose spray:lavenderspray

  • spritz linens and bed pillows at night for relaxing more restful night’s sleep
  • instantly freshen up a closet, mattress, room or car
  • spray on skin before heading outdoors to naturally repel bugs and mosquitos
  • sooth occasional skin irritations by spraying it on topically
  • after a hot day outside, spritz on neck and chest to relax and feel refreshed

disclaimer

{DIY} natural deodorant

Try this simple recipe for an all natural homemade deodorant that really works! No chemicals or aluminum to worry about!!

  • 4 Tbsp organic beeswax
  • 5 Tbsp organic coconut oil
  • 1/3 c baking soda
  • 1/3 c arrowroot starch
  • 10-15 drops of dōTERRA lavender oil
  • 10 drops of dōTERRA Purify oil
  • 5 drops dōTERRA cypress oil

deodorant*melt bees wax over low heat in double boiler along with coconut oil. Stir well until clear and smooth. Remove from heat. Mix in baking soda and arrowroot starch until well blended. When cool, add essential oils and mix well. When it starts to thicken, pour or spoon into empty deodorant container or you could pour into a mold and pop it out for a ‘stick.’

You can easily remove old deodorant from a container by rolling it all the way and thoroughly washing it out, then using it for your natural deodorant instead!

{my 100% Pure Organic Beeswax Pastilles, 16 Oz and Jarrow Formulas Coconut Oil 100% Organic came from amazon.com}

{DIY} Moisturizing Shaving Cream Recipe

Ok, here’s the new favorite shaving cream recipe. This is too thick to dispense in the foaming soap dispenser, but light and fluffy, and great just scooping it out of the jar! My husband is a good critic, and gives this one two thumbs up!
shaving_cream
INGREDIENTS:

~melt shea butter and coconut oil in double boiler until liquefied. remove from heat and let cool. add olive oil and mix.

~pour into stand mixer and mix on high, adding the rest of the ingredients. mix until light and fluffy!

~pour shaving cream into glass jar and enjoy!

{DIY} Wild Orange All Purpose Cleaner

My new favorite cleaner! Wild Orange Essential Oil + water in a spray bottle. Not only does it smell amazing, but it really cleans & cuts oil and grease. You can even spray it on your food if you want, so I feel much better using it on the table and in the kitchen instead of a bunch of chemicals! You can also spritz it around the room for a fresh, citrus scent.

To make this blend, add 15 drops Wild Orange Essential Oil to 8 oz filtered water. Shake and spray!wildorange_spray

Essential Oil Infused Olive Oils!

lemon_oliveA whole new way to use 100% CPTG essential oils – made some really tasty lemon infused olive oil tonight! Oh the possibilities are endless with flavored olive oils in the kitchen!

To make: add about 20 drops of 100% CPTG essential oil (make sure that it is an oil safe for internal consumption – we only use dōTERRA) to about 8 oz of olive oil.

Our most used infused oils are

  • lemon
  • wild orange
  • rosemary & thyme (I combine these two for an AMAZING herb flavor that makes any dish stand out. Just do 8-10 drops each of rosemary and thyme in the 8 oz of olive oil)

Some of my favorite ways to use these diffused olive oils:

  • over baked chicken or fish just prior to serving
  • drizzled over fresh popcorn and top with sea salt (Rosemary&Thyme, OnGuard, Lemon)
  • mixed into a batch of brown rice or quinoa after cooking for an instant custom side dish
  • on a plate with a splash of balsamic for dipping fresh bread
  • over salad as a fresh and light dressing (wild orange is amazing for salad dressing)
  • coat steamed or grilled veggies for fantastic flavor
  • mixed into homemade soups for an amazing boost in taste (rosemary&thyme oil goes into all our homemade chicken noodle and broth based soups)

Essential oil infused olive oils are best used at the end of the cooking process just prior to serving, as heat will break down some of the therapeutic properties of the oils.

TIP: Save old wine bottles or glass containers from purchased products to convert into olive oil dispensers! I purchased a set of 6 Chrome Bottle Pourers from amazon.com and have used them on my salvaged containers!

bye bye kitchen chemicals

3_cleaners3 natural cleaners I made in about 2 minutes with only a few drops of oil and water! There are multiple uses for each one, but I made ‘onGuard‘ as an all-purpose, peppermint as a caterpillar repellent (to save my tomato plants), and lemon + vinegar as an all-purpose kitchen/glass cleaner. They all smell SO good and you could actually ingest them if you wanted to, so not worried about leaving them out around the kids!

So long Starbucks….yeah right

In my obsession to save money and be as thrifty as possible I decided there’s not much out there we can’t do ourselves or make ourselves so why not apply that to our fru-fru coffee?  I got to the bottom of my fave – the caramel macchiato.  Turns out there’s not much caramel in it.  They should probably call it a vanilla macchiato but oh well.  So here’s what I’ve found, and after a few attempts my husband even agrees the taste is spot-on.  You should try it for yourself…

Ingredients: double shot of espresso (or a really strong cup of coffee) + 4 pumps of Vanilla flavored syrup + hot frothy milk or cream + caramel sauce

Caramel macchiato recipe

Caramel macchiato recipe

Step by step method without having a big fancy machine:

1) make espresso using a french press or you can make a really strong cup of coffee

2) add 4 pumps Torani (or any other brand) vanilla syrup

3) pour about 1/4 cup of milk or cream into a separate cup and microwave it for about a minute or until hot

4) use a nifty gadget like the aerolatte to froth your milk

4) pour frothed milk on top and drizzle with caramel sauce

That’s it!