Wednesday, August 27, 2014

An Apple For Teacher!

It's that time of year again, back to school! That means fall and all of it's fantastic fragrances. This month I will be making a few simple gifts for the teachers in your lives scented of course in Apple, more specifically Enchanted Apple which is also on sale in September at BCN!

I am always looking for $5 gifts for teachers, something to say "Thanks for what you do every day!". In the past I have found lip balms, room sprays, hand sanitizers, lotion and  sachets were great little gifts!

We will make two products this month. Corn Cob and Aroma Bead Sachets. Both are great but as you will see they are totally different. 

Supplies List:
Crushed Corn Cob

Aroma Beads
Liquid or Powder Red Candle Dye

BNL Enchanted Apple Fragrance Oil
Sachet Bags
Cello Bags for packaging
Envelopes (I got these at a local Scrapbook/Stamping Store)

How to make Corn Cob Sachets:
  1. Put 1 cups corn cobs into jar and add 1/4 oz fragrance. This ratio is just a good starting point and can be adjusted according to your desired strength.
  2. Cover the jar and shake it often for a couple of days to allow the corn cob to absorb the oil and to give the fragrance time to cure.
  3. Once the corn cob is dry, you can place it in the Sachet Envelopes and package in Cello Bags. DO NOT DO THIS BEFORE THE CORN COB HAS ABSORBED ALL THE OIL! It will leach through the paper and make a mess. :)


How To Make Aroma Bead Sachets:


  1. Weigh out 3 ounces of Aroma Beads
  2. In a Mason Jar, with a lid weigh 1 ounce Enchanted Apple Fragrance Oil.
  3.  Add 8 drops Red Fragrance Oil or a half a Smidgen Spoon of Red Powder Dye. 
  4. Pour the beads into the Mason Jar with the Fragrance, seal well and Shake to distribute the oil and beads. 
  5. Shake often as you walk by the beads to speed up the process. Once the beads are done, they should be dry to the touch. 
  6. Place in Sachet Bags, package in a cello bag and they are ready for giving!  



I hope you will make some of these for teachers this year weather it be to sell at shows or to give as gifts. Both will let the teachers know they are the apples of our kids eyes!
Happy Crafting!
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Tuesday, August 12, 2014

The perfect pedicure, at home!



The perfect pedicure, at home!

A trip to the nail salon is fantastic but often, it’s not in the budget! I worked in a full service spa for a few years. You can do your own salon quality pedicure at home, any time, for a fraction of the cost. You can also make the kits to sell to others for the same! I spend average with a tip, of about $55 each time I get a pedicure. Imagine being able to get 4-5 for the same price! It’s possible and I am going to show you what you need to be able to make a kit for you and your customers alike!

The Soak: This part is actually more important than people may realize. It does more than soften the feet, a foot soak, of Epsom Salt and warm water soothes aching feet, reduces swelling, removes odor and other impurities and softens the skin!
  • To make a foot soak, use 2 cup of Epsom salts. Add fragrance (or essential oil, but be sure to research your EO choice or contact a reputable Aromatherapist to suggest the best and safest choices!) to this to scent. You can also color the salts for visual appeal in the package. I recommend our Lavender Fragrance for this, lavender is very relaxing!
  • To use the soak, fill a foot bath, wash pan or professional foot spa with warm water. Add ½ cup of the Epsom Salt Mix (Foot Soak). Soak feet as long as you want, about 10-15 minutes is typical. Rinse feet and dry. A foot soak precedes a pedicure to cleanse and soften the skin.

Prep the Toes: After the soak and drying off the feet, you will want to take off any remaining
nail polish. Be careful doing this if you have acrylic or gel nails and only use non-acetone remover. That will only remove the polish, not damage your expensive manicure!  Include in your kit a bottle of non-acetone polish remover & some cotton balls or cotton pads for this. Once this has been done, trim and file the nails. It may seem like something we should all know but many people in fact do not know how to trim nails correctly here are the basics of doing the job right!
1.      Cut straight across
2.      Use appropriate toenail clippers
3.      Leave nails a little long
4.      Cut nails when they're dry, not wet
5.      Make a few small cuts
6.      Try filing
7.      Don't cut cuticles
You may want to include a nail file (Files are not all created equally. try various ones to find the ones you prefer.), and an orange stick as well as a small bottle of cuticle oil. This product is generally made from Sweet Almond, Jojoba, Avocado or even Macadamia Nut or Sesame oil orblends with any of these great oils! If you can find small nail polish bottles online, this is the ideal packaging but any small bottle, even a 1 oz PET bottle will work fine. Just blend the oils with a bit of fragrance, I will again use lavender. 

Exfoliate: This part can be done two ways. First by taking a bit of the Epsom Salt and rubbing it directly on the skin OR by adding some oil, (I recommend Rice Bran or Grapeseed) to the salts and making a Salt Scrub and applying this to the legs from below the knee down to the tip of the toes and massaging it around to remove any dead skin. Once this has been done, wash the legs & feet using our Aloe Body Wash and rinse. Follow by massaging the legs again from below the knee down to the tip of the toes using our Hand & Body Lotion. This will leave the legs looking and feeling their best!


Finish: Now add the oil to the cuticles and using the orange stick, push the cuticles back to
make the nails look their best. Give the nails a quick buff to remove any ridges and finally wipe the nails off with a bit of nail polish remover to remove any residual oil. Now apply a base coat, two coats of nail polish and finally a top coat allowing each coat to dry between layers.

 



Bitter Creek South has Stand up Pouch Ziplock Bags that are EXCELLENT for packing the Epsom Salt. There is also a cute Wooden Scoop that they sell which is perfect for that finishing packaging touch as well! The Bottles & Caps for the Aloe Body Wash and Hand and Body Lotion as well as for the oils can also be found there. Bitter Creek North has Jars for the Salt Scrub, the Fixed Oils for the scrub and the Cuticle Oil. They also carry a good variety of cute Frosted Gift Totes to package the finished kits in and Loofah and Pouf Scrubbies to fill in.

If you have never had a professional pedicure, I strongly recommend having one done at a quality salon to show you how they do things. In the long run, there is no reason to spend the insane amount that they want every few weeks. Hopefully this kit will help you to save a few bucks and pamper yourself like you deserve! Even men can enjoy a good pedicure, your feet are every bit as important as the ladies! Just skip the polish. Nice looking feet look good on everyone!

Enjoy your pretty feet!
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