The countdown has begun—Christmas is just around the corner! So every 5 days until Christmas, I’ll be sharing a simple DIY you can make at home. The goal is for you to be able to give a reasonably priced Made by You gift. Two years ago I also shared a few little Christmas DIYs like this one—super simple. There was a leather travel organizer, baby booties, a jersey necklace, and hand warmers.
You know, in my home country, every Christmas we have a tradition of giving a small gift to the people around us—not just close family members, but literally everyone. The idea is to give a little something to someone you like, a way of showing them your affection. That little something is often food staples like a bag of rice, cereal, a fruit basket, oil, soap, costume jewelry… in short, something useful and not too expensive, that will make the person receiving it happy. So when life brought me to Paris, I wanted to keep the same habit (even though Christmas means something quite different to me than that), but I quickly realized that with my little bag of rice, it really wasn’t going to work—and doing it differently could get expensive fast. So I ended up putting that habit aside for several years, but every Christmas I’d feel a pang at the thought of not being able to give my little parcels. I was thinking in particular of my colleagues, my very discreet neighbor across the hall, the baker with the big smile, the building caretaker, or even the woman who, every day around 5:20 PM, empties the paper bins at the office. You get it: the intention is there, but the money often isn’t. Yes, that’s the problem. But haven’t we said that behind every problem lies a great opportunity? The opportunity to imagine, create, and share…
So I tried to come up with something simple—something I’m used to making, that makes my everyday life feel soft and pleasant. Something most people would appreciate and that I could give as a gift. And that’s how I came up with the scrub. Yes, my scrub! That little at-home beauty moment on Saturday mornings, the ritual that marks the start of the weekend—this scrub my body enjoys so much. Plus, it’s ultra simple and quick to make, not expensive, a real little favorite treat: “Made in the kitchen, with Love”.
So for soft, silky skin, here’s one of my go-to recipes that I use mostly on my body or on my feet. Last year I made 15 little jars (jars found here and there, but you can also find them in supermarkets), with oils and other ingredients picked up at Aroma-Zone.
Ingredients:
1 cup sea salt (or regular salt if you don’t have any)
1/3 cup sweet almond oil
1 lemon (zest + juice)
2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
A few drops of lemon essential oil (yellow or green)
Vitamin E (optional)
In a bowl, mix the sweet almond oil and the salt. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, grated ginger, a few drops of lemon essential oil, and vitamin E. Mix. Your mixture is now ready to be spooned into jars.
And since we love pretty things (right!), using a plate, we’ll trace a circle onto a fabric scrap (I usually throw away my fabric scraps because I’m short on space, but when I have scraps of Liberty London, I keep them and use them down to the very last thread!). Then cut out the circle with pinking shears. Place the fabric on the jar and tie it with natural sisal twine. A tip: Before using the twine, I hold the fabric on the jar with an elastic band.
You can make several types of recipes depending on what you feel like, but keep in mind the following trilogy: an exfoliant (sea salt, or sugar, coffee grounds, wheat bran, rice or oat bran, etc.), one or more nourishing plant oils (coconut oil, avocado oil, jojoba oil, apricot oil, etc.), and a scent (mostly essential oils).
I hope you enjoyed this post. I’m sure each of you also has your own little homemade recipes that work amazingly well, or small-budget gift ideas. So please don’t hesitate to share them in the comments—it would be so great if we could have loads and loads of ideas.
*keeps for 1 month in the refrigerator
Xmas DIY: 100% natural body scrub
My dear readers,
I thought of making this post to share a few DIY ideas before Xmas. A few ideas that can be great little gift ideas for friends, colleagues, neighbors… The context in mots francophone countries is a little different as people usually give presents to close family. Whereas in many Anglo-Saxon countries or cultures, one will give something to a neighbor, a friend, a colleague, the man who has been sitting at the corner of the street for the entire year. Please do get me right: I am not saying that no one does this here, it’s just that it’s a bit more rare to see this. When I first came to France I arevived with this culture of gicing a little present to kind of like everyone, but this became really costly as I was not earning much. This is how I came up with a few DIY gift-projects that made my friends really happy to my big surprise.
Thus from now until Xmas, every 5 days I will post a DIY project, starting today with this DIY body scrub project.
Ingredients:
1 cup sea salt (or regular salt)
1/3 cup almond oil
1 lemon zest (+jus)
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
A few drops of essential oils
Vitamine E (optional)
Combine in a bowl the almond oil and the salt. Add the lemon zest, the lemon jus, the grated ginger, a few drops of essential oil as well as the vitamine E. Mix. You are now ready to pour the preparation in your jars.
If you are sending this out as a present, you might as well embellish your jars: I used a saucer to trace circles on some left over fabric, then cut all around, placed it on the jar, secured the fabric with a rubber band, then tied a string all around and a knot.
I am sure you also have great DIY gift ideas for small budgets, so please do not hesitate to share with us especially if they can fit in the comment box below. Have a great week!
