DIY Bathroom Baskets
Have you ever been at a party and suddenly became self conscious about your breath from the garlic you just ate; maybe spilled something on your dress, or a sudden gust of wind blows your perfect hair in all directions. What did you do? I bet you ran to the ladies room; looked in the mirror and screamed…eeekkk! You most likely looked around for help but there was nothing there.
Don’t let this happen to the guests at your wedding. Why not make a cute bathroom basket for the reception hall bathrooms. These baskets are simple to make and your guests will appreciate them.
To get started purchase a few baskets (local thrift stores are a great source). These baskets can be as simple or as fancy as you like. Keep them natural, paint them to match your colors, and decorate with ribbons or flowers.
Start shopping early for items so can watch for sales at your local stores and maybe save some money. You don’t need to put anything super fancy in your basket…keep it simple.
Here is what I would suggest…
Ladies Basket
- Deodorant (use can spay as people won’t want to share roll on or solid)
- Female Hygiene products…tampons, pads
- Things for hair…Hairspray, Bobby pins, something for quick ponytails, brush & comb
- Aspirin, and antacids such as Tums, or Alka Seltzer, cough drops
- Band-aids
- Kleenex
- Things for Breath…Any type of Gum, or Mints, maybe Mouthwash (be sure to provide small cups for rinsing.)
- Maybe some body spray (vanilla scent is a good choice), hand lotion, and lip gloss. Clear nail polish might also be useful for stopping runs in nylons.
Men’s Basket - The Men’s basket will be very similar to the Ladies except remove the personal ladies items. The Mens basket should also maybe have a very light scented cologne, and add some toothpicks (for some odd reason men like them.)
One great item you may want to include in both the men’s and ladies room is “Shout Wipe and Go”. These are great in case your guests spill food or drink on their fancy clothes. And a special note to the bride…have some of these nearby you at all times.
Before you assemble your baskets please either remove all items from the packages or at least open the packages before you put them in the baskets. Unopened packages may intimidate some guests from opening them.
Next to the basket you can put a simple note or maybe a sweet poem in a picture frame telling the guests to help themselves to the items.
Here are a few poem ideas you might want to play around with.
#1
Compliments of the newlyweds
To help you feel your best!
Just use a little…freshen up,
And leave for other guests!
#2
If your skin feels dry, your hair out of place,
Your throat is parched, or whatever the case.
We’ve put this together to help you along,
Now get yourself out there before the next song!
#3
So happy you’re here to share in our special day!
But should something happen to go astray,
Please help yourself to the contents within,
Wet wipe, hand lotion, and even aspirin,
Use only what you need and leave the rest,
It may also be useful to another guest,
So repair the damage that may have been done,
Then hurry on back and join in the fun!
Compliments of (Type in your names)
DIY Skincare: Body/Pre-Shave Oil and Moisturizing Cream
15 May 2011
Somebody on one of my favorite boards started a thread about recipes for all-natural skincare products, so it brought to mind a recipe I developed years and years ago. I have to dig it up again, or redevelop it, because I can’t remember the proportions, and I haven’t made it in awhile because I don’t access to my lab anymore, but here’s a brief overview:
The first five ingredients are easy to remember, because they were the first ingredients I settled on, and they make a wonderful body oil or pre-shave oil all by themselves:
sweet almond oil (emollient) Prunus dulcis
apricot kernel oil (emollient) Prunus armeniaca
avocado oil (emollient) Persea americana
evening primrose oil (emollient, lubricant) Oenothera spp.
Vitamin E oil (emollient, antioxidant)
plus, since everybody seems to be raving about it these days:
argan oil (emollient) Argania spinosa
Next, I decided to make a moisturizing cream out of the basic ingredients by adding a few more:
aloe vera gel (healing, water-bearing) Aloe vera
aloe vera juice (healing, water-bearing) Aloe vera
cucumber juice (soothing, water-bearing) Cucumis sativus
vegetable glycerin (hygroscopic)
honey of your choice, I like lavender (hygroscopic, antibacterial)
vegetable lecithin (emulsifier)
ethyl alcohol, 190 Proof, undenatured (tiny bit, helps with absorption and emulsification, too much alcohol is drying to the skin, but a little bit is a good thing. Buy this at the liquor store, resist the urge to drink it. It’s not strictly necessary if you are underage or avoid alcohol for any reason.)
…come to think of it, you can just toss in pretty much anything that’s good for skin!
You can add whatever essential oils you like for fragrance, I like lavender (Lavandula spp.). Change it for each season, if you like!
You can also add or substitute different emollient oils if you like. Jojoba oil (Simmondsia chinensis) comes to mind, olive oil (Olea europea) is good, coconut oil (Cocos nucifera) and cocoa butter (Theobroma cacao) add consistency/viscosity, etc.
If you intend to use it on children, be especially careful of phytoestrogens! Avoid lavender or flax (Linum usitatissimum) products, especially, as these are very high in phytoestrogens.
All ingredients should be vegan, cold-pressed, food grade or better, fair trade, organic, local, and as fresh as possible, if you can at all manage it.
Blend to a smooth consistency (you’ll probably want to use a stick blender, or whatnot).
Add more aloe vera juice for a thinner consistency, depending on how you want to package it (pump/pour/pot/whatever).
Since this is not an industrialized formulation, you’ll probably want to keep it in a cool or cold, dark place, like the fridge, and use it up as soon as possible.
Oh, and if any of you entrepreneurial types decide you want to sell this stuff, just give me credit for the original recipe, and make sure you share your mods.
One of these days, I need to come up with a good name for this stuff. Suggestions are appreciated and, if used, will be fully credited.
©2011 Gemma Catherine Seymour
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
No-Sew Shirt Scarf & Necklace
No-Sew Shirt Scarf & Necklace Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at 4:37PMI’ve seen these before and always thougt they were adorable. I did not know, however, how incredibly easy they are to make. The cotton-shirt scarf is what you’ll find me working on this weekend (via FANTASTIC blog A Pretty Penny.) I love it because I’m kind of obsessed with scarves. I have at least 40 in my closet- probably because it’s hard not to buy them at flea markets when they’re only $2 a pop… but sometimes it’s hard to find just the right color- so, this is an easy fix. A trip to a thrift store- a few cuts and knots here and there- and voila- a super chic new scarf for your ever expanding collection. Next thing you know- you’ll have to get one of these organizers from Ikea like me!
Find a cotton shirt your ready to cut into many pieces.
Lay the shirt on a flat surface and smooth it out with your hands.
Start by cutting off and discarding the hem.
Beginning at the bottom of the shirt and working your way up, cut 1-inch strips to make loops. Vary the width of your strips based on your desired necklace thickness. I wanted a lot of tubes, so I kept my strips small. You can also cut a variety of sizes for one necklace if you want a less-uniform texture.
Stretch out the loops you just made so the cotton curls in on itself and forms long tubes.
Double up each tube, matching up the seams at one end.
If you break a loop at the seam while you’re stretching it out, just tie it back together with a simple knot and trim the excess. {This really is a fool-proof project}
Group all of your tubes by size, keeping the seams together at one end.
I used a women’s tee, so the tapered fit resulted in a great variation of tube sizes. If you’re using a men’s tee, you can cut the tubes into various sizes and tie them back together as shown above.
Gather them all together, with the longest tubes on the bottom and the shortest on the top, but save one!
Cut the tube you saved in half to make it a long string. Tie the string in a knot near one end of the section of seams. Tightly wrap the string around all of the seams to cover them. Be careful not to get the tubes twisted or tangled as you’re wrapping.
When everything is smooth and covered, tie off the other end of the string in a knot (using one of the necklace loops if you need to).
YAY You’re Done!! Enjoy your new scarf :)
T-shirt DIY
I took this shirt:
Removed the sleeves and made this shirt:
Here are some additional shots:
This was really just an experiment to see if I could take a shirt and lower the neckline while adding a bit of shaping to the sides and changing up the sleeves. It worked!
Now I have a pile of t-shirts in my drawers that I’ll turn into things I can, and will, wear.
Very excited!
Homemade Face Stuff(Acne Help)
Ok, So I have been fussing about in my kitchen this last week trying to create some homemade treats for my skin. I was not going to share anything until I gave it a pretty good test drive.
So here goes.
- 2 shots vodka
- juice of half of a lime
- 2 tablespoons dried basil(or a few sprigs of fresh basil)
- I used 10 cherry tomatoes. I’m sure this can be adjusted
Let the basil soak in the vodka and lime for an hour or so. Then toss it into a blender with the tomatoes. Puree the ingredients.
Clean your face and rub this tonic on face, being careful of eye area. let sit for 20 minutes and wash with warm water.
I have noticed the redness from my acne scars have diminished a bit, and there have been no new breakouts this week(for me, that is rare).
It smells like pizza and booze. It has made my skin really healthy feeling, and healthy looking.
I used it on my shoulders in the shower this week as well and its made them clear up and suuuper soft.
Let me know if you try it.
Turn an Old Credit Card into the Perfect Earbud Holder
This solution is great because it neatly coils everything up to fit right you your pocket or bag.
Instructions:
- Find an old, expired (or new if you want but we wouldn’t recommend this) credit card.
- Use a utility knife to cut a trapezoid into the two long sides of the credit card. These cuts should ideally start after the corner’s radius as to avoid sharp corners.
- Use a drill and a drill bit to make two holes in the credit card at one of the short ends. This is where the earbuds will go. The size of the hole will depend on the particular set of earbuds. Generally 3/8” to 1/2” will work well.
- With the utility knife, cut a line from each hole to the outside edge. This will be used for sliding the earbuds and their cord into the hole.
- Use a slightly smaller bit (again this depends on the individual earbuds, but 1/4” generally works) to make a hole in the opposite end of the card. This will be where the earbud plug will go.
- Cut a thin (about the thickness of the wire) channel from the bottom edge of the card to hole for the plug.
(via Unplggd)
DIY Botanical Print Jacket
We are smitten with Stella McCartney‘s floral ensembles from her Spring 2011 collection, inspired by 18th and 19th century botanical prints. The studies by notable botanists Robert John Thornton and Pierre Joseph Redouté are so incredibly lovely and vibrant that we too were inspired to add a bit of floral flair to our own clothing.
You’ll need:
- an old jacket or blazer (we used a vintage army coat)
- iron on transfers for dark clothing
- botanical images (we used images from Redouté)
- a printer
- a pair of scissors
- an iron
