Seasons greetings, ladies and gents! ‘Tis one of my favorite seasons, but not for spending time at the mall. Don’t get me wrong, I love to shop, but whenever it comes time that I actually need something, I get too overwhelmed in stores and can’t ever seem to settle on a purchase. I’d much rather put my time and effort into making things myself. As backwards as it sounds, even for dances in high school, I ended up making my own dresses rather than buying them. When it comes to holiday gifts, DIY self care kits are my go-to!
What’s even more gratifying than making something for myself is being able to give a handmade gift to someone I love. It seems like this semester has been particularly ~rough~ for my closest pals, and I thought wellness kits would be the perfect Christmas gifts to make for them. My kits include lavender facial spray, rose-sugar body scrub, and a microwavable rice bag for aches and pains. Each of these is quick and easy to make, but the most important ingredient is…LOVE!! (Did you just gag? Don’t worry, me too.) Just scroll on down past my cheesiness to see how I made each item!
Lavender Spray
No DIY self care day is complete without lavender! I love to have a toner or face spray with me at all times to give myself a little re-fresh throughout the day. With this simple homemade spray, I know exactly what’s going on my face rather than harsh mystery chemicals. To make the spray I used:
- 4 cups filtered water
- 1 cup of dried lavender
- 30ish drops of Lavender essential oil
- 1 cup Vodka or Witch Hazel
First, I brought the water to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan and added the dried lavender. I mixed it in so that all the lavender was submerged and let it simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on. After taking the pot off the heat, I let the lavender water sit and cool overnight.
The next day I strained out the dried lavender and mixed in the essential oil and vodka. As you can see in the photo below, my dad was keeping close watch of me with the alcohol. Don’t worry, folks! I didn’t have any since I’m on antibiotics (and underage hehe). Also, I seriously don’t know where to buy witch hazel, so I didn’t use it, but I’ve heard it works great too.
I got 3oz spray bottles from the container store and was able to fill 8 bottles with some left for myself!
Rose Scrub
This rose scrub is one of my go-to gifts. It leaves my skin feeling silky soft and I’ve never had anyone complain that it was rough on their sensitive skin. All I needed for this scrub was:
- Food Processor
- Rose petals
- Sugar
- Baby Oil
I’ve made this scrub so many times that I don’t use measurements anymore, but I tried to keep track for the sake of this post. Ok. Here’s the long and arduous process for making this scrub: place 1 1/3 cups of sugar, a hand full of rose petals, and a table spoon of baby oil in the food processor and blend. I like to leave the petals somewhat intact for the aesthetic. Since the food processor fluffs the sugar and the oil and petals add a little extra mass, 1 1/3 of sugar cups will expand to about 2 cups of scrub. I store the scrub in glass jars and suggest using a spoon to scoop it out since it clumps a bit.
Rice Bag
Rice bags are a godsend for period cramps, back pains, and sore necks from sleeping in a funky position. My mom used to make them when I was little for my sister and me, and I didn’t realize until I went off to college that they were not a common item in every American household. At least once a month, one of my friends will complain about an ache and I reveal to them the wonder of the rice bag.
To make these rice bags I used:
- Two 8×14 in rectangles of fabric
- 3 cups of rice
- Sewing Machine
- Needle and thread
- Straight pins
- Fabric scissors
After cutting two identical rectangles of fabric, I pinned them together with the right sides of the fabric facing toward each other. I used a sewing machine to sew along 3 sides with a 3/8 inch seam leaving one of the 8 in sides open.
I then carefully poured in the rice and fastened the opening with a tight whip stitch. Please enjoy this fabulous behind-the-scenes shot of me in my natural habitat wearing my slippers and sweatpants.
I usually microwave rice bags this size for about 1 minute, but it’s all personal preference. You can also freeze them for a flexible ice pack!
I can not wait to give my friends these DIY self care kits to help them ring in the new year and new semester with their health and wellness in mind. I hope you have a holly jolly and blessed holiday season.
Love,
Hel
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