Homemade Face Wash and Toner

So here's another couple of recipes that I have fallen in love with. The first is face wash. It's SUPER simple to make and my skin feels so good after I've used it. And no! My skin isn't oily after using it. Oil dissolves oil so it's great for getting out the dirty oil in your pores. And after using it I don't even need a moisturizer anymore. So here is how I make it. 

Take 1/4 cup coconut oil whip it with a mixer, I used my kitchen aid.

Then take some cold pressed caster oil and slowly stream it into your coconut oil while the mixer is running. The amount of caster oil really depends on your skin type. If you have super oily skin then you might want equal parts, but I find caster oil to be pretty drying so I just add about 1-2 tablespoons. 

After you slowly add you caster oil (you may have to scrape down the sides of the bowl) it should start to look like stiff egg whites.

Then you can add the oils of you choice and mix throughly in your mixer. Again this is up to you, but I use lavender and melaleuca. I am one of those lucky adults who still gets acne and this is a good blend of oils for that. 

When you're done mixing, put your mixture into a container. When you're ready to use this is what you do.

Apply to dry skin and throughly work it in. Take your time! Don't rush this! Then take a hot wash cloth, as hot as you can handle, and hold it on your freshly oiled face for a good minute! Enjoy this time. Breath in those amazing oils! When done just wipe off thoroughly and dry your face. Then follow with toner.

 And this is how I make the toner. I blend about 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 tablespoon witch hazel to a small bottle. I then add essential oils of my choice. I still just use lavender and melaleuca and sometimes add frankincense or geranium. I love the combination of the lemon juice and witch hazel and they work way better than any commercial toner I have ever used! And I know exactly what's in it and I LOVE that!

To apply just take a cotton ball or round and apply a good amount of toner to the cotton ball or round and then rub liberally on your face. I find that it has a slight tightening effect and it has also lightened quite a bit of my scarring! BONUS!!!

It's important to note that you might have to play around with these recipes to find what's just right for your skin! But thats whats great about these is it's so simple to make it work for your needs! So go try it out! You won't be sorry! 

Carpet Deodorizer

So I just made my own carpet deodorizer and it ROCKS! And it only takes a few simple ingredients. Baking Soda, Borax, and essential oils of choice! That's it! For me I went with Lavender, Eucalyptus, and Lemon. What's great about this is that not only does it deodorize but also serves as pest deterrent such as ants, spiders and dust mites.  So here's how you make it... 

Combine 1/2 cup soda, 1/2 cup and several drops of oils of your choice depending on how strong you want the scent. I did quite a few drops because I like to be able to really smell it. 

Sprinkle your mixture on your carpet and let sit for about 15 minutes and then vacuum it up! It's that simple! Now go! Clean your carpets! Your home will smell AMAZING!!!

Bake Sale

Last weekend the kids had a bake sale. Honey has a church activity at the end of the month and they have been encouraged to try and earn the money to buy fabric for blankets they will be making at the activity. I thought this would be a good way to make some money. Here are just some of the treats we made . . .

Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies

White Chocolate Chunk and Dark Chocolate Mint M & M Cookies

I happened to pick up a plethora of lemons at Costco so we had to make some goods with lemon in them.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins with a Lemon Sugar Topping

Lemon Pound Cake with a Lemon Glaze

 Here are the kids helping pit the cherries for the cherry crisps in a jar.

 Oh! And if you happen to see a pin on Pinterest where they use a straw to remove pits from cherries, let me save you some time and frustration and tell you IT DOESN'T WORK!! Chopsticks however do.  I know I have a cherry pitter somewhere, but I couldn't find it, so this is what I could come with and it worked pretty well other than the cherry stained fingers.

And here are all the goods packaged and ready to go!

 We had several advertisers. This is my brother. Ladies . . . He's available!

 I think these guys have a future as the Jamba Juice Banana advertiser! 

What do you think?

Update on the Uh-Oh Jar

So it's been a little while since we first started using the uh-oh jar and blessings jar and let me just say it's AWESOME! It's worked soooo well! I mainly started doing this for Porkchop due to some listening and whining issues he was having and this has been a great solution. The first couple days I wasn't so sure though! He wasn't quite getting it. 

He first got a slip for not cleaning his room and then whining about it. I said, "Do you want an uh-oh jar slip?" His reply was, "Sure." So he got one. It was mopping the kitchen floor. Then he whined about that so then I said, "Do you want another uh-oh jar?" To which he replied, "Sure!" 

Anyways, this continued several times until he finally realized his chores were continuing to pile up and he was missing out on outside playtime. He quietly finished his uh-oh jar slips . . . all FIVE of them, plus cleaning his room, and then went on with his day.

The next day, he again complained about cleaning his room. I said, "Do you want an Uh-Oh jar slip?" Anyone want to guess what he said?  Porkchops reply was "Sure!" So he took a slip and it was clean the kitchen floors . . . AGAIN! After his first complaint about cleaning the floors I said, "Do you want another slip?" He quickly said, "NO!" Ahhhh... SUCCESS!!! 

Since that second day, all I have to say is "do you want an uh-oh jar slip" and he quickly says "NO!" and moves on without attitude! HOORAY!!

I'm one happy momma. As for the blessings jar, I have to be honest. I haven't been as good about handing those out. That's partly because of our chore system which I will touch on later, but mainly because I'm probably more of a negative Nelly. :) I'm working on that though!

Summer Fun

As homeschoolers we actually do school through the summer, we just keep it more low key. I like to keep them going on just some basic subjects, especially math, so that we don't have to spend a bunch of time reviewing in the fall. But we LOVE summer around here and this is the reason why . . .

Fun with cousins! Now we are pretty lucky to live close to cousins which gives us the opportunity to see cousins often, but there is something special about summer and cousins! Can't wait!

Back to Europe

For the last few weeks I have wanted nothing more than to sell every possession I own in order to go back to Europe. Truth be told, it's mainly for the food! But really it was an AMAZING experience and I cannot wait to go back! And this time I MUST take my hubby! And not because he whined about me being gone for so long, but because I want to show him all the things that I got to see and TASTE! Maybe I could sell an organ or two? Just kidding . . . maybe. :) In the meantime, I will just have to learn to make my own croissants, nurembergers, schnitzel, and fish and chips!