Monthly Archives: March 2012

Mar
05

Kid Friendly Craft

Natures Garden March 5, 2012
This entry was posted in crafts as a hobby, crafts to do with your kids, creative, Fragrance Oils and tagged , , , , on by .

Thanks to the eyes of a child, something as simple as adding a few Spring stickers can make a huge difference to the look and feel of your product.

Anytime I get out all of my goodies to start crafting, my little ones are all about helping.  Sometimes I think that they love creating and crafting just as much as I do!  (Yeah for me, I passed on the right genes!!!)   This past weekend I thought it would be fun for them to help me make and decorate some smelly jellies for our Spring baskets, and as it turns out, they even taught me something.

Having two small children, I can count on family members showering them with gifts around any holidays.  As a thank you to them, I always make sure that the girls help me to make them something to give in return.  I love this concept for several different reasons.  They are learning to become crafters themselves, we have lots of fun working on these projects together, and people love to receive gifts that the little ones helped to make.

There we were working away on making a dozen or so smelly jellies in my kitchen.  All of the smelly jellies were completely finished absorbing, and I had just finished packaging them.  The fitments and lids were on tight.  My final step was to tie the festively colored pastel ribbons of white, pink, blue, and yellow to the tops.  (Secret Frugal Tip:  The Dollar Tree is a wonderful place to find lots of cute, decorative, and perfectly priced items (Everything is $1.00) to add that extra element of love to your products.)

I swear, and as I am sure that you all know, I only turned my back for a second which was just long enough for my youngest to swipe a jar.  When I finally found her, she had already gone to town adding her own decorative touch to the jar.  As it turns out, she said she wanted to make one special for her Grandmama.  Riley had used some Spring stickers to “decorate” her grandmama’s smelly jelly.  It was just so adorable that I thought that I needed to share this with everyone!

So, moms and kids, get ready to have some fun and get crafty!  CAUTION:  Anytime you are using fragrance oils around your children or pets, keep a close eye on your children so that they do not drink the fragrance oil.

Here is the list of items that you need:

Here are the Instructions:

  1. Clean your work area and prep it by setting up all of the smelly jelly jars that you are going to use.  For this project, we are using 3 fragrances, so I selected to set my jars up in 3 rows of 4 to allow for no fragrance confusion.
  2. Take 2 level teaspoons of smelly jelly crystals and carefully add them to each jar.
  3. Using room temperature distilled water. Add 10 ounces to each jar.
  4. The next step is to add the soap colorant to the jars. Since I was striving for a pastel color, I only added 2-3 drops of color per jar.
    1. Here is the cheat sheet that I used for the coloring:
  • Easter Bunny Burps- Neon Green
  • Lilac- Fun Soap Colorant Ultramarine Violet
  • Jelly Beans- Fun Soap Colorant Yelp Yellow

5.  As always, feel free to be creative and swap out the colors and/or the fragrance oils.

6. It is fragrance time!  Using 1.5 Tablespoons of fragrance, slowly pour your fragrance into each jar.

7. Add the Diamond Dust Mica- the amount of sparkle is all up to you!

8. It is time to get your mix on!  Using a mixing spoon, carefully mix each jar.

9. Let the smelly jellies work their magic and swell away.  This will take about 15-20 minutes.

10. Finally place the fitment and lid on the jars.

11. The last step and most fun… get your decorating on.  Use stickers and ribbon, or whatever you want!

Smelly jellies are by far one of my favorite projects to make by myself or with my girls.  If you have not tried them, you need to try some today.  Your best bet, although I know you are going to love it… is to try Natures Garden Smelly Jelly Kit.

Fragrance & Fun for Everyone

Inspire, Create, and Dominate!

Sparkles!!! Nicole

(Corporate Manager of Natures Garden Candle Supplies)

www.naturesgardencandles.com

 

Mar
02

New Body Butter Recipe

Natures Garden March 2, 2012
This entry was posted in body butter, crafts as a hobby, creative, fun fragrance oils, homemade, Natures Garden Fragrance Oils and tagged , , , , , , on by .

Trying the homemade conditioner recipe 2 weeks ago has kick started my crafting gears into full force.  I had so much fun making my own hair conditioner from scratch that I decided that I was going to ride this wave for awhile.  I mean, making your hair smell like Monkey Farts, now that is a conversation piece.

Made from scratch, there is something about that statement that just makes me feel proud.  To create something from scratch and have it actually work is such an amazing feeling.  Items that are created this way almost take on a life of their own.  In fact, I am nearly tempted to slap a huge giant sticker on my containers screaming… “Yes, I made this from scratch.  I know, sometimes I don’t believe it myself but it is so true!”  I do realize that this is a lot to have on a sticker, but I want to shout it from the roof tops anyway.

Seeking bragging rights over my sisters, I shared my new homemade recipe delight with my mother.  She was very pleased and quite impressed.   To let you in on a little secret, I must admit that I haven’t even made dinner from scratch in 2 years.  The last recipe I tried was a homemade chicken paprikash that did not really turn out.  It was more of a chicken cream soup with dumpling like foam.  And, in case you are wondering, being members of the clean plate club, I did make my family eat it anyway.

Well, this week I wanted to give a from scratch body butter a try.  I turned to the bath and body recipe link on the Natures Garden’s Homepage to find something that was not too daunting, yet still contained elements of a challenge.    The Depth of Winter Body Butter caught my eye.  To give you a little background on why, my skin lately has been very dry even though I lotion constantly.  I have struggled to find a good quality body butter that will quench my skin’s thirst.  I was hoping that this recipe would solve my skin’s issue.

Spoiler Alert…Oh yes, I am in love again!  Hey, what can I say, the heart (skin) wants what it wants.

The recipe has a total of 4 ingredients and of course the plastic containers.  As a side note, I would suggest the low profile jars for these body butters.  They are the perfect purse size, and they just look so adorable on the bathroom counter.  I even hot glued a fake flower to the top of the straight smooth lid for an added touch of cuteness; showboating my anticipation for the spring season, HOLLAR!

The overall ease of the recipe, I would have to say, is simple.  The hardest part of the whole recipe is to watch the clock and remember to whip the butter every 20 minutes.  Staying true to form, I found the perfect song to listen/dance/sing while you prepare this body butter; the 1980 hit Whip It, by Devo.  It will have you rocking your new body butter all day.

Now, I realize that this is a Depth of Winter Body Butter, so I playfully renamed mine “Spring Fling Body Butter”.  My intention is to prep my skin to seeing the sun again.  I know that they have missed each other profusely.  Feel free to use the name too!

I used Smiley Face fragrance oil in my body butter.  However, you may use any of Natures Garden body safe fragrance oils, but get a fragrance that you know that you love, because once you start putting this butter on your body, it is going to quickly become a ritual.

On a final note, my favorite aspect of the body butter is how quickly it absorbs into my skin, and how smooth and gorgeous I look after applying it.  This is one 5 star recipe that you are not going to want to miss out on.

If you are interested in other fun recipes, check out the recipe box on Natures Garden Homepage.

Fragrance & Fun for Everyone

Inspire, Create, and Dominate!

Sparkles!!! Nicole

(Corporate Manager of Natures Garden Candle Supplies)

www.naturesgardencandles.com