We've been snowed in for a while now and since my husband is a teacher, he hasn't had to go to work. Today I decided to be crafty since he was playing with the kiddos. I made candles, hand cream, and hand scrub.
Craft #1 - Candles
When my son was still eating baby food, I would buy some jars to keep for days when we were on-the-go or I ran out of homemade baby food. (I'm not the most organized person so I've learned to keep something easy on hand.) Anyway, I kept the jars because I knew I could use them for something. That something happened to be soy candles that I made today.
In order to get the industrial glue off the jars, I soaked them in hot, soapy water. That didn't completely work so I tried rubbing alcohol. That didn't work. So I tried peanut butter. That worked! I put some peanut butter on the gluey area and rubbed it with the abrasive side of a kitchen sponge. After the glue rubbed off, I washed the jars again in the soapy water.
Earlier this week, I bought 4 pounds of soy candle wax and candle wick string at Michael's (using my 40% off coupons). To prepare for the candle making, I cut the wicks to be around 2 1/2" for the smallest jars and about 3 1/2" for the bigger jars.
Following the directions on the box of wax, I melted the wax using a double boiler on my stove. When it was completely melted I poured the wax into the jars and placed the wicks in the middle of the jars and kept them in place using clothespins. (It's a good idea to do this over newspaper or cardboard so you don't have to clean up wax drippings when you're done.)
For some of the candles I added some Grapefruit essential oil to the melted wax and mixed it before pouring into the jars. The box says to use 1/8 ounce of essential oil for 2 pounds of wax. I'm still experimenting with the amounts. I think it depends on the oil you use.
Here is my finished product. I did not use any coloring because I personally like white candles. I think they look more elegant. Besides the unscented and the grapefruit scent go well with a white color. There may be some scents that would be nicer with color such as a coffee or chocolate scent.
Let's see if it works well.
Ooooooo, pretty!
Craft #2 - Hand Cream
I've made this before but that was pre-motherhood so I thought I'd try it again. I took some beeswax (since I still had some left after all these years) and weighed it. Then I weighed three times that amount in olive oil. I put both in the double boiler and melted it together. When it was all melted together, I added some Grapefruit Peppermint essential oil. After that was mixed well, I let it cool. During the cooling process, I occasionally whisked it to keep in creamy.
It looks a little like vanilla pudding but DON'T EAT IT!!! It won't taste like vanilla pudding!
When it's finished cooling, spoon it into a wide-mouth container such as a canning jar or a pretty tin.
I recommend using this hand cream before bed or while doing dishes. It will feel greasy on your hands at first but if you put on cotton gloves or dishwashing gloves for 30 minutes, your hands will feel smooth and soft.
Craft #3 - Hand Scrub
Like the hand cream, I've made the hand scrub before but it's been a while. This was the easiest of all of my crafts today. I just filled a wide-mouth jar about 2/3 full with granulated sugar. Then I added olive oil and some Grapefruit Peppermint essential oil and mixed it all together.
To use, just put a tablespoon of scrub in your hands and rub them together well. Then rinse your hands in warm water. Your hands may feel a little greasy at first but if you follow it with the hand cream it makes your hands feel soft and smooth. I recommend using the scrub twice a week for best results.
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