Friday, August 7, 2009

diy bath salt/scrub

{Guest Post}: Jenn Shares Her Salt Scrub

During your engagement you will likely attend multiple showers and parties held in your honor. A great way to thank your guests/hosts is to send them home with a little handmade pampering. Salt/Sugar scrubs are a great way to do this.

Bonus – these recipes are so easy you can make them for any occasion i.e. Bridal Party gifts, Birthday’s, Mother’s Day, Baby Showers, Holiday gifts or even as a way for you to relax after a stressful day or week of wedding planning.

As far as DIY projects go this one is pretty simple. You should allot yourself about one 1/2 hour of time to prep and complete this project, more if you intend to increase the batch. Good luck, happy planning and congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

Salt Scrub
You will need 4 ingredients to make a scrub
1. Epsom Salt or Organic Sugar*
2. Carrier Oil (Olive Oil*, Sunflower Oil or Grape Seed Oil)
3. Essential Oils
4. Food Coloring
scrub1

Tools:
1. Mixing bowl
2. Plastic or metal mixing spoon
3. Pipette (This is for your essential oils, most store bought oils will have a dispensing top you can use instead.)
4. Canning jars

To make:
1. Take 2 cups of salt/sugar and put into a mixing bowl and combine 1 cup of oil with the salt/sugar mix well.
2. After salt and oil are mixed put in 8 drops of essential oils in whatever scent(s) you choose. Mix well.

scrub2

3. Add one drop of desired food color and mix together.scrub3

4. After everything is mixed together spoon the mixture into the canning jars.

scrub4

Yield: 1 pint or 2 1/3 cups

• *Tips:
- Some extra virgin olive oils can interfere with the smell of the scrub it is best to use a carrier oil with little or no smell; sunflower oil or grape seed oil work best.
- Organic sugar usually costs more than Epsom salts and doesn’t have the same skin care qualities. However it is a finer texture to your scrub.
- If you have never mixed essential oils before it is best to stick with citrus scents they mix best together or use one basic scent like lavender or peppermint. (I like to make grapefruit – I put in 6 drops of the grapefruit oil and 2 drops of lemon. *Lemon is a great oil to mix with other citrus scents and eucalyptus.)
- It is best to choose a color that is corresponding with your scent i.e. pink for grapefruit
• Packaging Ideas:
- For larger groups of people it is easy to spit the mixture up in to 1/2-pint jars and display the gifts in a large basket.
- You can decorate to jars like you would if you made jam by putting scraps of fabric between the lid and the jar rim. You can also tie ribbons around the jar rim and loop a label with the scent through the ribbon. Circular jars lend themselves well to sticker labels as well.

Jenn K. and all of her crafty goodness can be found at http://abridesbrain.blogspot.com

Jenn’s rockin’ bio: I am a 25 year old wannabe crafter, dork, rocker, lover, feminist and recent LA convert navigating my way through a new city while forging a career and planning a wedding with the love of my life.