Sugar Scrub Part 3- Peppermint

I’m back yet again, and with another sugar scrub!

This one might be my favorite; it’s the easiest and most straightforward. I chose this one to give as a gift! The recipe that I looked at is here. However, I adjusted the recipe quite a bit.

I added A LOT more sugar. Probably about 1 1/2 to 2 cups. I have decided that I prefer my sugar scrubs a little bit dryer, but I would still say that this recipe was too wet too begin with.

I also added more peppermint extract. After adding all that extra sugar, I had my sister smell it to see if it needed more peppermint extract. She couldn’t smell anything, so I added more, but I do not know how much.

I used food coloring to dye some of it, then layered it in the jar.

NOTE: It is best to melt the coconut oil all the way! You don’t have to, but it is much easier to mix, and there are no clumps.

 

Well, that’s it for the sugar scrubs, for now at least! It really is pretty easy!

~Joy

Sugar Scrubs Part 2- Coffee

Hello!!

So, this coffee sugar scrub didn’t turn out quite as well as I had hoped, but it is not terrible. I love the smell of coffee, so this was on my list of have-to-tries, but I have to say, I’m kind of disappointed. But my expectations may have been too high. It smells okay, but I would like something that smells a little sweeter.

One other thing that could make it better is if my coffee grounds weren’t quite so coarse. In all the pictures I’ve seen, they look much finer.

I do not remember which recipe I used either, but here’s a picture.

It’s kinda blurry. I didn’t realize that when I took the picture. I would take a new one, but I don’t want to get up. 🙂 You get the idea, though!

Anyways, that’s it for this one!

~Joy

Sugar Scrubs Part 1- Gingerbread and Coconut Oil

Hello again!

Like I said, I’ll post several times this week, but I probably won’t post for months after that.

I’m going to be trying sugar scrubs! I have never done this before, so I decided to write about this as I go so you can see what works and what doesn’t. It always makes me suspicious when it seems that everyone can make up their own recipes. Maybe it really is that easy. We’ll see…

First: I bought some coconut oil. I had no idea how much I would need or what brand was best, etc. I have never used coconut oil before, so this is all new for me. 🙂 Here’s what I got:

I have to admit, I was a bit surprised at the texture. I kind of thought that it was a combination of liquid and solid, but it turns out that it is all solid. Now I have to figure out what to do with it…

 

The first sugar scrub that I will try: gingerbread. I’m excited about this one! First, I had to figure out whether or not I had to melt the coconut oil. When I Googled it, I found answers including, don’t melt it, partially melt it, and melt it all the way. So, I made a guess and decided to not melt it for this one.

15 minutes later…

So after quite a bit of mixing, it looked good and smelled okay, but the gingerbread scent was not very strong, so I added more of all the spices. Now it smells great, and I tested it out. It works really well! I would say this one is a success!!

I’ll have more very soon!

~Joy

Gingerbread Whoopie Pies!

Hey all!

It has been a REALLY long time since I posted last. School has kinda taken over. So, I’m going to post several times this week, sharing my limited amount of Christmas inspiration, and then you won’t hear from me for several more months. (I would try to be more positive and say that I’ll post once a month or something, but I know that’s not going to happen. Maybe sometime during spring break.)

Anyways, to start off my Christmas posting, I have Gingerbread Whoopie Pies!!! This is a great recipe from Carlsbad Cravings.

My only note is about the crystallized ginger. I did not have any, so I took Jen’s suggestion and added a 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger instead. While she is probably right that they are much better with the crystallized ginger, I thought they were just fine without it.

Wait, I have one more thing to say. It is MUCH less messy if you put the cookie dough in a piping bag and squeeze it out onto the cookie sheet! I saw this tip when I read through what she said when I made them a second time. Let me tell you, it is SO MUCH EASIER!

That’s all I have to say. Here’s the recipe. They’re super yummy, even without the crystallized ginger!

Hope you love them!

~Joy

Binder Decorating!

Hi friends! It is that time again. School is about to start. Some of my friends are starting in only six days! This summer has passed so quickly. Sigh.

Anyway, school starting means that I have to gather all the binders and notebooks I am going to use. I found this plain brown binder and started looking for some cute ideas. I found one with mountains and snow, and I tried it, but it looked like the ocean with white islands scattered everywhere. So I decided to try a similar idea. Layers of mountains.

With my darkest color of paper, and a nice template I found on the internet, I cut an obvious mountain shape with more defined ups and downs than the other ones. (If that makes any sense.) I didnt get a picture of that layer on its own before I glued the second layer to it, but here is a picture.

The second layer (the lavender one) is less “jagged” than the dark layer. The further away each layer is, the less defined it is.

Now the third layer. I dont really like the color of this one, but I didn’t really have any other options. This one was pretty straight accross the top. Then I glued that one behind the others.

I wrote a quote accross the top. (More like traced, since I used stencils)

And glued the mountains on!

And thats it!

~Joy