Orange Mint Scrub

The uplifting aromas of orange and mint make this scrub an invigorating skin treatment. Exfoliate and moisturize at the same time!

• Time: 5 minutes active
• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

• 1 Cup sugar
• 1/2 C fractionated coconut oil
• zest of 1/2 an orange
• 5 drops orange oil
• 5 drops peppermint oil
• 12 oz. PET plastic jar

Instructions:

1. Gently mix ingredients in a bowl.
2. Scoop into the PET jar.
3. Keep jar near your bathtub or sink to use this refreshing scrub whenever your skin needs a boost.

Reindeer Noses

“You know Dasher, and Dancer, and Prancer, and Vixen, Comet, and Cupid, and Donder, and Blitzen. . . .” But did you know that their noses make an adorable decoration or gift for the holidays? Don’t forget Rudolph!

• Difficulty: Easy
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Supplies:

• Clear Plastic Tubes
• Malted milk ball candy
• Large red gumballs (make sure they’ll fit in your plastic tubes!)
• Curling ribbon
• Cute labels

Instructions:

To make these, simply place a red gumball at the bottom of each plastic tube, then add 8 malted milk balls. Close the tubes up, tie some cute ribbon around the top, and give away to friends and family. These also make a fun stocking stuffer for the kids!

Class Idea: Scented Wood Slice Ornaments

Would you like to hold a fun and easy make-and-take essential oil class? Though we call these ornaments, you could use this same idea and make wood slices to decorate any time of the year! You can even use larger wood slices and make drink coasters (if you use them with hot drinks, the oils will diffuse even better!). We also think these make fun gift tags, decorative labels, car diffusers, etc. The ideas are endless!

Here’s what you need for the class:

• A short lesson on whatever essential oil–related topic you desire. You can find many good ideas and information in the Reference Guide for Essential Oils.
• Wood slices. These can be ordered pre-cut (and even pre-drilled) online, purchased at a craft store, or made from a good tree branch. If you do make your own, you may want to sand them a little too.
• A drill. This is for adding a hole that you can use to string up your ornament. If you are doing a different kind of decoration, you may not need a drill.
• Decoration supplies. We chose to use a wood-burning tool to decorate our wood slices. You can also do a similar idea with string art using a hammer, small nails, and string/thread. If you are going to hang your wood as ornaments, you will also need ribbon or string.
• Essential oils. You may want to have little sample bottles available along with a few holiday-scented blend recipes and allow your guests to choose what oils to add to their sample bottle to take home with their ornament.

When doing this as a class, you may want to set up the make-and-take portion as a line of stations that your guests can go through. Here is how you could set it up:

• The first station could be a drilling station where someone is available with a drill to help your guests drill their wood slices. You can also have the wood slices pre-drilled, but doing the drilling at the class could allow your guests to choose whether they want to make an ornament or some other decoration.
• The second station could be a drawing station with pencils, scratch paper, and a few simple ideas (to help people get started).
• The third station could be a wood-burning station with a couple of wood-burning tools set up and plugged in.
  
• The fourth station could be the ribbon station with a variety of thin ribbons, a ruler, and scissors for your guests to cut a strip about 5–6 inches (13–15 cm) long.
• The fifth station could be the essential oil station where you could include a small selection of essential oils with a few holiday-scented blend ideas and small sample bottles for the guests to put their chosen essential oil or blend in. You may also want to include some dispensing tools (such as these 1 ml syringes and Adapta-caps™) to help with the transfer of essential oils to the sample bottles. You can even use these blank labels to make labels for the sample bottles.

Wood Slice Ornaments

• Time: 5–15 minutes active
• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

• Wood slices (cut and sanded, if needed)
• Power drill
• Pencils
• Wood-burning tool
• Ribbon
• Essential oil(s)

Instructions:

1. Drill a hole (at least 1/4″ or 1/2 cm from the edge) in each wood slice. If you are doing this with a class, you may want to pre-drill all the wood slices. (If you are making a decoration other than ornaments, you can skip this step.)
2. Draw an image (such as a snowflake) on the wood slice with a pencil.
3. Use the wood-burning tool to trace your pencil drawing. Be very careful not to touch the tip of your wood-burning tool, as it is very hot.
4. Cut a ribbon strip about 5–6 inches (13–15 cm) long, place it through the hole in the wood slice, and tie the ends together.
5. Add a few drops of essential oil to the wood slice, and hang your ornament on your Christmas tree (or wherever else you want to decorate). Add more oil when needed.

Extra Ideas:

• Use these as gift tags, car diffusers, decorative labels, drink coasters, or any other decoration!
• You can convert this idea into a child’s craft project by doing string art rather than wood-burning art. To do string art, just hammer small nails into the wood slices, and wrap string (or thread) around the nails to form an image. Easy ideas include stars, Christmas trees, snowflakes, etc.
• You can also paint one side of a wood slice with chalkboard paint and decorate it with chalk. Use the other side as a diffuser by adding essential oil to the wood.

Moisturizing Body Balm

This recipe was submitted to us by one of our Facebook friends, Kristi Robinson. This is what she says about this recipe:

“I make a body balm that is great for dry hands/feet year round. I make a large batch to share with others, so this recipe should be scaled down to fit personal needs. Melt 2 oz. coconut oil, 2 oz. shea butter, and 2 oz. beeswax in double boiler. I add in 5 drops vitamin E oil, 20 drops lavender essential oil,  and 20 drops patchouli essential oil after the first ingredients are all melted. Then pour it into twist-up tubes (0.5 oz.–2 oz. size) .”

If you are wanting to give this away to friends and family this holiday season, feel free to follow Kristi’s recipe above. Or, if you would rather just make a little bit for yourself and a couple other people, we scaled down the original recipe and included it below.

• Servings: 3 small lotion sticks
• Time: 10 minutes active; 10 minutes inactive
• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

• 1/2 Tbsp. (6 g) Coconut Oil
• 2 tsp. (9 g) Shea Butter
• 1 Tbsp. (5 g) Beeswax
• 3 drops Vitamin E Oil
• 5–8 drops essential oil (we used 1 drop myrrh, 1 drop patchouli, and 5 drops lavender)
• 3 Small Deodorant Containers

Instructions:

1. Melt the coconut oil, shea butter, and beeswax in a double boiler over low heat. Note: you can create a double boiler by placing the oils and beeswax in a heat-proof glass dish, then placing the dish in a pan filled with an inch of water.
2. Once completely melted, remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Stir in vitamin E oil and essential oils.
3. Transfer liquid to deodorant containers, and allow to cool completely.
4. To use, twist up and rub on skin as needed.

Note: the easiest way to clean up is to wipe as much of the oil/beeswax as possible off all dishes with paper towels before washing with hot, soapy water. Feel free to rub the leftover lotion on your skin before cleaning up!

If you want a larger lotion stick, just double the recipe and put it in a full-sized deodorant container.

Essential Oil–Infused Potpourri

Enjoy the wonderful autumn and winter scents with this essential oil–infused potpourri! All you need to do is find some cute containers and fill them with potpourri ingredients. Add a few drops of essential oil to spruce up the scent, then enjoy for a couple weeks before recharging it with more essential oil!

This essential oil–infused potpourri makes a fantastic and simple gift for neighbors, friends, and coworkers this holiday season! Just attach a cute gift tag with ribbon or twine, and it’s good to go! If you would like to introduce your friends to essential oils, you may want to consider adding a small sample bottle of essential oil that they can use to “recharge” their own potpourri.

Don’t give all of them away though—you’ll want to keep a few to use yourself! We love placing these in the bathroom, the closet, the entryway, and many other places around the house. Try keeping a small container of this potpourri in your car as an easy car diffuser. You will love being welcomed with these aromas every time you get in your car!

• Time: 5 minutes active
• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

• Potpourri ingredients (such as cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans, dried apple slices, dried orange peels, bay leaves, candied ginger, whole nutmeg, whole cloves, whole allspice, cardamom seeds, and star anise)
• Essential oils (such as cinnamon, orange, ginger, vetiver, clove, cardamom, or holiday-scented blend)
• Salve Jars, Mason Jars, or PET Jars

Instructions:

1. Cut up bigger items such as cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans, dried apple slices, bay leaves, candied ginger, etc. as needed to fit in your containers.
2. Add 3–5 drops of desired essential oil(s) on top of the potpourri.
3. To use, simply leave the lid off of the container to enjoy the delightful aromas! Add a few drops of essential oil every couple weeks or as needed. You can also put the ingredients in a pot full of simmering water to spread the smell throughout the house.

Note: To gift, make sure contents fit inside the container. Screw the lid on, and decorate with ribbon, twine, or a gift tag. You can even include a small sample bottle filled with essential oil so your gift recipients can recharge their potpourri.

We added a little bit of everything to our potpourri, along with some cinnamon, orange, and cardamom essential oil, and we loved the result. But feel free to get creative and use whatever you have on hand for this recipe! All of these ingredients complement each other, so you really can’t go wrong here.

Edible Pumpkin Playdough

This is a fun and tasty Halloween recipe for the kids! Let this sweet treat bring out the creativity in your “little monsters.”

• Servings: Yield=2 1/4 cups
• Time: 10 minutes active
• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) pumpkin spice–flavored liquid coffee creamer
  
• 2 cups (250 g) powdered sugar
  
• Food coloring
• 2 Tbsp. (24 g) coconut oil
  
• 1 toothpick cinnamon essential oil

Instructions:

1. In a mixer, slowly mix powdered sugar with the coffee creamer.
2. Beat until combined into a stiff, dry dough. Add coconut oil and cinnamon essential oil.
3. Add in food coloring until you achieve your desired color.
4. The dough should be shiny, pliable, and ready to play with!

 

Cinnamon Orange Water Bead Diffuser

Water beads absorb water and scent really well, so they are great for making a fun DIY diffuser. We tried it out with an autumn scent, but you can really use any essential oil or blend you desire!

• Time: 10 minutes active; 6+ hours inactive
• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

• 1/2 Tbsp. dry water beads
• 2 1/2–3 cups (600–720 ml) hot water
• 10–20 drops essential oil (We used 8 drops each of orange and cinnamon.)
• Mason Jar Mug with Straw Lid (Another glass vase or container will work, but you may need to make adjustments to the recipe in order to fill your container.)

Instructions:

1. Place desired water beads in a large glass dish. We used about a 1/2 Tbsp. to fill our mason jar.
2. Add hot water, and allow to sit for at least 6 hours until the beads are large.
3. Strain out any excess water. Stir in essential oils.
4. Pour water beads into the mason jar, and set your new diffuser anywhere you would like a refreshing scent!
5. If you notice the beads drying out a little, just add a little bit of water to refresh them. You can also recharge the scent as needed by adding a few more drops of essential oil.

Note: If you have young children or pets who may try to eat the water beads, you can screw the lid on the mason jar. Make sure your lid has a hole or something to allow the scent to escape. If you get your mason jar from Abundant Health, it will come with a straw lid that already has a hole in it to allow the scent to be released.

Moisturizing Face Oil in a Roll-on Bottle

“This has really made my skin look so much smoother.” —Deborah

This night-time face oil recipe was submitted as part of our Facebook contest. The original recipe used 1/2 cup (120 ml) coconut oil and twice as many drops of essential oil as listed below. We adjusted the recipe to be suitable for all skin types and so it could fit in a roll-on bottle for easier application.

Roll-on Moisturizing Face Oil

• Servings: Yield=2 Tbsp. (30 ml)
• Time: 5 minutes active
• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

• 5 drops frankincense essential oil
• 5 drops lavender essential oil
• 3 drops ylang ylang essential oil
• 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) Fractionated Coconut Oil or Jojoba Oil
• 1 oz. (30 ml) Roll-on Bottle

Instructions:

1. Combine essential oils and carrier oil in the roll-on bottle. Place the roll-on top on the bottle, and screw the lid on. Shake to mix and, if possible, let the mixture sit overnight before using to allow oils to integrate.
2. To use, roll onto face, neck, and chest as needed.

Special thanks to Deborah Holden-Grogan for submitting this recipe!

Lovely Lavender Shaving Cream

Your legs will feel like a baby’s skin, and you will be left with the lovely scent of lavender, after shaving with this cream!

• Servings: Yield=1 1/4 cup (300 ml)
• Time: 20 minutes active; 1 hour inactive
• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients & Supplies:

• 1/2 cup (110 g) Shea Butter
• 1/2 cup (96 g) Coconut Oil
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
• 3–4 drops lavender essential oil
• 16 oz. PET Jar

Instructions:

1. In a double boiler, melt the shea butter and coconut oil together.
2. Once melted, transfer to a mixing bowl and add the olive oil.
3. Cool in the refrigerator until your mixture is the consistency of softened butter.
4. Whip for about 3 minutes, until the cream forms stiff peaks.
5. Add the essential oil 1 drop at a time as you whip, occasionally sniffing to get it to your desired scent.
6. Transfer to a 16 oz. PET jar, and seal.
7. To use, spread a small amount on legs, armpits, or other area before shaving. Enjoy a smooth and softening shave!

Note: If used in the bathtub, this can make your bathtub slick. Be sure to rinse the tub out well once you finish shaving, and be careful not to slip.

Autumn Simmering Potpourri

Autumn is here! Time for crisp weather, crunching leaves, and delicious baked treats. Fill your home with the essence of the season by simmering your favorite essential oils, spices, and fruits. Not only does simmering fresh potpourri make your house smell warm and inviting, but it also helps humidify the home a bit.

• Time: 5 minutes active
• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

• Water
• Cinnamon sticks
• Apple peels
• Orange rinds (Dry them ahead of time or use fresh peels.)
• Whole cloves
• Homemade Pure Vanilla Extract
• Cinnamon essential oil
• Clove essential oil

Instructions:

1. Fill a saucepan with water, and bring to a boil. Add the ingredients from the list and several drops of each essential oil.
2. Boil for a few minutes; then turn the heat down to simmer all day.
3. Add water as needed, and check the pot every half-hour or so to prevent burning.

This recipe is one suggestion. You can use different amounts and mix up ingredients as you like. Save your orange, lemon, and lime peels and apple skins, and add whatever spices and essential oils you love.

*Do not leave the house while potpourri is simmering.