Made with Love Lip Balm

Orange Apricot Lip Balm

Trying to come up with something other than candy for my kids for Valentines Day, I searched fun things to make for them.  ( other than crocheted hair accessories.  LOL  They have enough of those!)  I found a recipe for homemade lip balm and it turned out delightful!  The biggest plus to this recipe is that it's 100% natural. 

I had all the ingredients at home already, so I whipped it up in no time this morning. 

The recipe is

1 tsp beeswax
1 tsp apricot kernel oil
1 tsp calendula oil ( I used almond oil) 
5 drops of orange essential oil

You heat the wax and oils together in a double boiler, remove from heat.  While still hot add essential oil and coloring.  Now, This is a small amount of wax and oils, so it cools fast.  And the coloring did not blend fast for me.  So I had to heat it up for a few seconds in the microwave until I had everything blended well.  I also do not own a double boiler, so I made a make shift one with a glass bowl over some boiling water.  Just make sure your bowl leaves room around the side for steam to escape, you don't want a pressure cooker instead of a double boiler! 

Pour the hot liquids into a lip balm container and wait for it to cool.  I boiled my lip balm containers before I started this and let them air dry while I completed the lip balm.  I got my containers at Wal-Mart.  They are actually little plastic pill holders that I found in the travel size toiletries aisle ( .97 cents for 2).  Then I just let them cool and added a little orange sticker to the lid. 

These smell HEAVENLY!  They are not very shiny though.  A lot more like chap stick than lip gloss.  Which I prefer, because my kids are 5 and 7 years old. 


For the original recipe click HERE. 





  

52 Week Organized Home Challenge!!!

Back in January, I ran across a website offering help in challenging people to get their homes organized in 52 weeks. The name of the site is http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/organized-home.html. I have really enjoyed this challenge. I need it so badly. With a house FULL of pets, children, and us, we can mess some stuff up! So far we are on the week of recyclables and I am on track. Take a look at what I have done so far!

My kitchen has been completely over hauled. I cleaned all the cabinets out and organized them, the drawers, the pantry, the fridge, and my big craft closet that is in the same area. I also homeschooling in my kitchen at the table area and I organized that area as well. Like I said before, I am loving this. They give you one week for each section and I have practiced keeping it up everyday. Learning to be organized at 40 is a challenge, but the pay off is so relaxing!!