DIY Whipped Vanilla Body Butter

 

And I'm at it again folks!!! If you haven't seen my coffee scrub -> check out the post below on how to DIY your own scrub. After you scrub what's super important? Moisturizer! What a perfect little pairing for some spa-r-ific gifts this holiday season!

Ingredients used:

Castor Oil

Almond Oil

Coconut Oil

Vanilla Oil

Shea Butter

Directions: I used the infamous 75% 25% rule on this body butter creation from rawmazing blog - 

http://www.rawmazing.com/homemade-body-butter-recipe/

But instead of the 1/2 cup almond oil, I used 1/4 almond oil and 1/4 castor oil and instead of rosemary, I used vanilla oil. You can use whatever essential oils you prefer as long as they are skin friendly! Feel free to add in cocoa butter for a chocolate kick or a little beeswax for more stability. 

I mixed the ingredients together as her blog reads and it is crucial for you to make sure the product is chilled properly or it won't set up. I made enough to pair with my scrubs this holiday season for the ladies in the family. After using the salted caramel coffee scrub, this vanilla whipped body butter smells and feels heavenly! 

I suggest putting this on at night. The oils need to soak into the skin and a little amount goes a long way! You'll also notice it looks solid but when you keep it on your hands and rub it in, it will turn to an oil. Just like buddaaaahhh! Enjoy! 

- Emma 

DIY FRI-day! Salted Carmel Coffee Sugar Scrub

Christmas is fast approaching! Believe it or not we are almost a month away from the most wonderful time of the year! Checking to make sure we get everyone on our list and some spare change would be nice too. Enter this little DIY- to save the day! It's great because you should have most of the ingredients in your home, if not- don't fret- they are pretty inexpensive and can be found at your local grocery store or Walmart. 

This mixture made about three 1/2 pint mason jars full. Here's how I made the scrub:

Ingredients:

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup coffee grounds (nay to decaf-ay)

1 cup Epson salt

3 tbsp honey

A little vanilla essential oil

A little caramel extract

1/2 cup oil (skin friendly, of course, think: jojoba oil, almond oil, olive oil, coconut oil)

Directions: In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients. Mix together with spoon. Drizzle in your honey, hun-ay! Top it off with your oil and add in your vanilla and caramel.mix all together until the consistency or wet sand. You may need a little more oil. Place into 1/2 pint mason jars or container of choice. 

This scrub is intended for body only. Do I need to go over the specifics? Okay, I will. Please do not use this scrub for your eyes, nose, ears, mouth or lady parts (yea, I just said that) because you know some people can get a bit crazy. 

To use: Shower as you normally do. After washing body turn off shower. Grab yourself a helping of the scrub. Start with your feet and scrub your way up to your arms and hands. You can also take some extra time focusing on dry areas like your feet, heels, knees, elbows and cellulite. The coffee and Epson salt act as a detoxifier and the coffee will do wonders to tighten and firm cellulite trouble spots. Rinse off and pat dry with towel. Your skin should be soft from the oils but you can also double up on your body cream boo boo!

For gift giving: I wrapped mine up in some tulle, yarn and a sparkly snowflake. You can also pair this with a body butter for a more luxurious gift or you can add in a face mask and nail polish to make it more spa-la-la if you want. 

For $34 I purchased these ingredients. I spent the extra at the health food store for the oils and for the essential oil and extract. Everything else came from Walmart. I still have left over to make the other 12. So for $34 dollars you can make 12 wonderful mostly all natural, handmade, body lovin' gifts for Christmas time or whenever! Look at you being all crafty and DIY! So proud! 

-Emma 

Easy DIY Holiday Gift Wrap for Etsy Sellers or Homemade Gifts

I have been preparing the shop for Christmas on time, actually, considering last year I didn't have any gift wrap planned. Kudos to me, right!? I wanted something easy, inexpensive, a little bling and something handmade with cardstock. All of it came together perfectly thanks to the help of my graphic-etsy-craft-friend Maggie of DesignsByMaggieL and a few inexpensive items that I found at the craft store and already had on hand.

Supplies you'll need:
 

* Cute Holiday Cardstock Cutouts

* Scissors

* Hot Glue Gun

* Peaches N Cream Cotton Yarn

* Small Glittered Snowflakes or other glittered Holiday Cutouts

* Tissue Paper 

I started placing a small gift in the center of the tissue paper.

You can purchase these awesome bling bobbies here.

I wrapped it nicely around the gift.

Take your yarn out, I measured 36 inches but used way less, depending on your size of the gift. You're going to have to eyeball estimate this one.

Place it across the square like so...

Flip over the square like this...

Cross over your yarn so it makes a cross...

Move your thread so it's perpendicular to the other string...

Flip over the package and tie a knot.

Then tie a bow...

Snip the ends with your scissors...

Take a glittered cut out and place a small pearl size dab of hot glue and place over the knot.

Take your cardstock printed holiday card and place it under the knot and you can secure with a little hot glue.

And there you go. Simple, sweet and looks like a handmade holiday well done! 

I hope this helps you whether you are last minute gift wrapping, an etsy shop over or just want a simple and pretty gift wrap. 

Let me know what other DIYs you're looking to do this holiday! I'd love to help and share a DIY!

-Emma

Pin and Pair

Introducing a new tradition on my social media (Facebook and Instagram).....

Recently I have been loving all the pretty pins on hairstyles on Pinterest! Being a hair accessory creating kind of gal- I find that you can incorporate a ton of different styles, lengths, shades and textures of hair with some flhair. I have paired some lovely and price perfect hair accessories from my shop and currently some fav pins on Pinterest - love the short dark pixie with a simple, sparkly headband!!! Total hair envy right thur <3 I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think. Christmas is just around the corner and these pretties make the perfect gift or stocking stuffer! Did I mention the hair ties ship perfectly in the mail (for birthdays, get well, congratulations and more)? Love how you can just sneak them in a card and mail it out! I just mailed these for my niece's birthday <3 so cute and she absolutely loved them! 

Butternut Sweet Potato Squash Ravioli and Turkey Bacon

So since it is the first day of fall, I thought I would share a quick post on my fiancé's fav fall meal.... Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sweet Potatoes and Turkey Bacon (I always add in pecans but due to his but allergy I omit them).  

Ingredients: (6 servings)

Two scoops of Ghee (you can also use butter)

1 package of premise butternut squash ravioli (I got mine at Safeway)

1/2 package of turkey bacon (also from Safeway)

2 sweet potatoes (diced - I used one white and one orange)

A spoonful of Raw Sugar

A pinch of Cinnamon

A pinch of Black Pepper

A pinch of Italian Seasoning 

A pinch of Cumin

Directions:

Heat one large skillet in med high heat add in the butter, seasonings and sugar. Brown up the butter and add in your turkey bacon (in small pieces). 

In separate pot bring water to boil and throw in your sweet potatoes. Continue to boil. 

Once your turkey bacon is crisp remove from heat. Fork test your sweet potatoes. If they fall off the fork when you stab them - they are ready. Throw in your ravioli and continue to boil until the ravioli pieces float to the top. 

Strain the sweet potatoes and ravioli and place into pan with butter and bacon. I cook them until the potatoes and ravioli are starting to crisp up. Remove from heat and place two ravioli pieces on a plate with a bit of sweet potato and turkey bacon on top. They are very filling. I served this with a light onion, apple spinach salad (1/2 my plate) with some pecans sprinkled over the pasta and salad. I served a light dressing. 

Now this isn't the most healthy of meals BUT it is good and if its just the two of you- you'll have leftovers to boot! Woo-Hoo! And the leftovers are GOOD! 

What are your fall favorite recipes? 

Hope you enjoy <3 

Sunday Challenge! Shabby to Chic Vintage Makeover and DIY Chalk Paint Recipe

So I had a moment at the junk store and bought this bad boy for little to nothing. It was wobbly, tarnished and was missing pieces. My fiancé thought I was CRAZY when I said I wanted to fix it up. He offered to pay for a furniture piece that I would love and didn't need a miracle but I saw the potential in this little guy. So after the gal rang me up, he was mine! I loaded him into the car and drove him home. He sat in my garage for a few weeks. My fiancé was cleaning out the garage and asked if I wanted to toss it. That is when I decided to take things into action, reserve a day to finish it (today) and complete the challenge.

Now my mom is amazing at repurposing and selling vintage furniture as well as her  business partner, Sandy. In fact they have their own stores as well as an amazing Vintage Show called Wild Women's Vintage in Spokane, Wa! I had some direction and guidance from my mom but being 3 1/2 hours away from there I thought I'd just give it a go on my own.

Here's the Before and After:

I purchased my own ingredients to make chalkpaint for a fraction of the cost for the Annie Sloan kind (which is absolutely amazing but being in a small town far away from a retailer I had to make due!). 

I bought sand less grout, primer+paint (all -in-one) behr custom colored some cheap brushes, sandpaper, a large bucket and trewax (a soft furniture wax to seal in the color as well as protect the paint from water, dings and dents). 

In case you are wondering. Here's how to make your own chalk paint:

2 Cups Behr Primer + Paint Flat Paint in the color of your choice

1 Cup Sand Less Grout

1 Cup Water

Step 1: In a large bucket, mix 1 cup water and 1 cup sand less grout. 

Step 2:Mix until smooth. 

Step 3: Add in your 2 cups paint and mix together.

Step 4: Paint! 

Here's the after photo with detail shot as well....

I sanded off some of the paint to make it smooth and sanded the edges to give it a shabby chic vintage look and applied my wax over the top. 

I don't know about all of you but it felt really good to push myself doing something new and creative! I was tired, hot (100 degrees today!) and there were times I wanted to give up but I am happy I didn't. I even finished a few other pieces to sell at the vintage show coming up. I hope this inspires others to push themselves as well and encourage others to do some shabby to chic adventures as well! Try it, you just might love the end result like me! 

How To: DIY Mini Floral Bun Cover Wrap

Hello! I am sorry I have been so neglecting on my blog! Lots of new items and orders in my shop, so I haven't been able to get new posts up BUT I hope this little DIY will make up for some of it!

So with all the lovely gals out there that are rocking these adorable floral "mini crown" bun covers for those beautiful top knots, I thought I would make a quick tutorial so you can see how these are done! I also have them available in the shop for purchase as well (in case you are not wanting to be so crafty).

 

All you will need to get started are some small silk flowers (I buy mine at hobby lobby - they have the prettiest silk ones ev-ah!). Also you will need scissors, a hair tie and a glue gun. So let's get started!

 

 

Take the back plastic holding the flower together and snip off the end with the scissors. Make sure to leave just a tid bit of plastic. Using your glue gun make a pea-size dot over the plastic and on the flower and place on the center of the hair tie. Make sure your glue is not too hot or it can burn your skin and ain't nobody got time for dat!

 

 

Make sure it is centered for your bun. I am using five flowers and glued the largest one in the middle and will layer on the smaller ones at the end. You can use however many you would like but make sure there is still elastic so you can have it stretch.

 

 

To secure the back of the flower place a pea-sized dab in the back and place the green "leaf" piece to the back of the hair tie and press firmly to secure. Now do the same for the other four flowers.

 

 

The front should end up like this. I placed my flowers pretty close together so they are more floral-y if that even makes sense.

 

 

Here is what the final product looks like in a messy top knot. Easy and inexpensive little DIY! If there is anything you would like to see in DIY form please feel free to comment below. I would love to do more of these! I think they would make great gifts for your friends as well! And with an array of pretty colors - I am looking at doing some in a pretty plum or burgundy for fall and winter.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Fl(h)air Headscarf Giveaway over at Love me, Danie Marie!

Fl(h)air Giveaway on our NEW Headscarves over at Love me, Dani Marie's Blog:

photo credit: www.lovemedanimarie.com

I am so excited to have the lovely and very fashionable blogger Dani, from lovemedaniemarie.com, model the new Fl(h)air Accessories Headscarves! I love to wear mine with a top knot or a messy bun since these days I am always on the GO becasue they are effortlessly chic even when you are coming back from the gym! I love how adorable Miss Dani is wearing hers! Seriously ya'll these are so easy to wear and there are so many ways to wear them! Dani is rocking the looks - Which one is your favorite?

Enter your chance to WIN one of these adorable headscarves here

Best of luck to all the contestants! If you are wanting to get your own, there are lots of designs in my shop on Etsy as well!! Here are a few more ways for you to wear and other design colors! Love the black floral print one - so cute with all colors!

Spring Essentials - Stripes

Now that the weather is getting warmer by the day and day light savings has come once again, it's time for spring essentials and favorites!

Today is all about stripes! Super basic and as you can see a basic black and white stripe tee doesn't have to be anything too trendy! I paired my stripe 3/4 length shirt tucked into a black floor length maxi with nude flats and a bit of coral punch color accessories and lipstick for some spring flair.

Don't be afraid if you are a bit more curvy (like myself) to add in stripes to your spring outfits. Make sure to look slim, yes even with stripes, if you keep the stripe smaller and more fitting up top with a basic (I love my black clothes) solid color on bottom. Also if you are petite to wear your heels and your skirts up a little higher on the waistline to make the appearance of longer legs and add to your overall height.

I love to keep most of my clothes pretty basic with trendy accessories like this custom set from my Fl(h)air line (emmaflhair.etsy.com) to add more color and glam to my outfits without breaking the bank on a super trendy piece.

 

 

Clothing worn: maxi skirt (thrifted), 3/4 length stripes shirt (Macy's), nude flats (Francesca's - Palm Springs), maybelline lipstick (coral crush), accessories (flhair)

Health Benefits of Lemon and Warm Water

It's a little secret that I have come across that has made a big difference in my health. I have started the mornings with a cup if warm water and lemon. I still have my coffee and continue on with my daily routine- could never give that up! But I am slowly converting to better health. Nothing drastic, just baby steps in the right direction.

I have noticed a change in all the things listed and wanted to share them with you as well. Usually I post a fun baking or cooking recipe but today this just felt like it should be shared <3 you can use limes lemons - whatever you prefer!

I jotted down a few notes (handwritten) from what I found on the Internet, what my doctor has told me and from a few inspiring health articles I have read. I hope you enjoy!

Giveaway Time! PROPRGIFT Girl's Night In Gift Set

I have had the lovely opportunity to talk with the owners of the amazing Proprgift! What is Proprgift you say? It's going to be the new etiquette quo for us young people! Yep, that's right, this amazing company is bringing southern charm and hosting etiquette back with their lovely and so simple placemats, cards and napkins- all hand-written prints - oh my god - I could die on how cute these are! How fun would these be for a simple Valentine's Night in with the girls or the special partner in your life! Go check out their etsy site - you won't be disappointed www.proprgift.etsy.com

I think this would make the most amazing gift for friends, wedding presents, new homeowners and so much more! Perfect For the hostess with the mostest. As always when in doubt, keep it Propr!

Also ladies and gents - Brett and Aubrey are so sweet they decided to host an amazing giveaway where you can win a FREE Girl's Night In Gift Set worth $50!!
To enter go on Instagram and follow their IG and if you don't have one or you want to earn bonus entries go over to their etsy site and like their shop www.proprgift.etsy.com
Giveaway entries will go until Tuesday and winner will be announced Wednesday, Feb. 13th!

If you have any questions contact me on etsy or on the comments below! Best of luck to all the entry participants!

Nail Art Challenge from Jan

Over at @californails on Instagram there was a little challenge on nail art. I posted my creative resolution and I'm sticking with it and the #nailartjan was the perfect thing to keep me going with pretty manicures for my new ring as well as keeping me from biting my nails. Here's the month of January nail designs - I hope you all enjoy!

Californails is also doing a valentines themed February as well - not too late :) get yours in as well!