First Snowfall Diffuser Blend

Winter often comes with mixed feelings. Sometimes it can be dreaded because it is associated with coldness and darkness. At the same time, winter often contains many wonderful memories of beautiful snowfalls, warm fires, holiday parties, and family and friends. Make the memory of the first snowfall last all winter long with this diffuser blend!

If you need a diffuser, take a look at these diffusers from Abundant Health.

Candy Cane Sugar Scrub Bars

Do you like exfoliating with a sugar scrub? You may want to give this recipe a try!

While you are in the shower and ready to wash up, just grab one of these and rub it all over your body like you would soap. The soap helps get you clean, the sugar helps exfoliate your skin, the coconut oil replenishes moisture, and the essential oil refreshes the skin and provides a lovely scent. It’s a great way to pamper yourself while showering!

These sugar scrub bars make a great stocking stuffer or addition to any “pamper yourself” gift!

• Servings: 20+
• Time: 10 minutes active; 30–60 minutes inactive
• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup solid unscented soap, shredded
• 1/4 cup (48 g) Coconut Oil
• 1 cup (200 g) white sugar, divided
• 5 drops peppermint essential oil
• 1 drop red food coloring (optional)
• PET Jar or other airtight container

Instructions:

1. Put the unscented soap and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for 10-second intervals, stirring in between, until melted. You can also melt the ingredients on the stove top with a double boiler if you prefer.
2. Mix 1/2 cup (100 g) white sugar with 1 drop red food coloring, if desired.
3. Allow soap/oil mixture to cool for a couple minutes before adding in the white sugar, dyed sugar, and peppermint essential oil.
4. Press the mixture into a silicone mold, muffin tin lined with paper cups, or a glass dish (to cut into cubes).
5. Let sit in the fridge or freezer to allow mixture to firm up before cutting into cubes (if needed) and transferring the cubes to your PET jars or other airtight containers.
6. To use, simply rub a sugar scrub bar over your skin while showering. Rinse off with water.

Extra Scent Ideas:

• Autumn Spice: Use brown sugar instead of white sugar and 5 drops cinnamon essential oil instead of the peppermint essential oil. Add 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) maple syrup to the mixture.
• Pumpkin Pie: Use brown sugar instead of white sugar. Add 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) honey, 1 tsp. (2 g) pumpkin pie spice, and 2 drops cinnamon essential oil instead of peppermint.
• Grapefruit Mint: Use 3 drops grapefruit and 2 drops peppermint essential oil. Add 1 drop red food coloring (optional).
• Create your own scent! The possibilities are endless.

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.

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!

 

Holiday Diffuser Blend: Candy Cane Mist

This holiday season, try this refreshing blend in your diffuser! It’s a great way to fill your home with the wonderful scents of the season!

DIY Dog Shampoo and the Abundant Health™ Holiday Gift Guide

It’s time to start thinking about holiday gifts, and we’ve got some great ideas for you! The Abundant Health™ Holiday Gift Guide will help you give your holiday gifts a new spin this year with lots of exciting essential oil gift ideas!

The holiday season is a great time to introduce others to the the wonderful benefits of essential oils! The gift guide contains ideas for both beginner and experienced oil users, so you are sure to find something to give to the people in your life. The gift guide could also be given as a gift because it contains various essential oil–related recipes and ideas. The recipe below is featured in this holiday gift guide.

Click here to view a pdf of the Abundant Health™ Holiday Gift Guide.

DIY Dog Shampoo

• Servings: 8 oz.
• Time: 5 minutes active
• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbsp. Castile Soap
• 1/4 tsp. Vitamin E Oil
• 3 drops peppermint essential oil
• 3 drops lavender essential oil
• 1 drop melaleuca essential oil
• 1 drop lemongrass essential oil
• 1 drop cedarwood essential oil
• 2 drops Roman chamomile essential oil
• 8 oz. Plastic Bottle with Disc-top Cap

Instructions:

1. Mix all ingredients together in an 8 oz. Plastic Bottle.

Note: The mixture is watery but works great for keeping your dog smelling great. It can be a support to your dog’s fur and skin.

Salve Jar Advent Calendar

Do you want to make a cool advent calendar? Advent calendars are often used during the month of December for the days leading up to Christmas. They provide a fun way to count down to the holiday and are great for helping keep your holiday season focused around family and serving others. Advent calendars are a big hit with children because they usually involve family activities, but they can also be adapted to include a small treat that is enjoyed each night.

This cute advent calendar uses salve jars that allow you to put little things inside, such as chocolates, small candies, activity ideas, sample vials with oils, pictures, recipe cards, etc.

The idea is to glue strong magnets to the bottoms of the salve jars so that they will stick to a magnet board or refrigerator. Then you apply the numbered stickers to the tops of the salve jars and arrange them into a Christmas tree pattern. Apply the activity stickers inside the salve jars, and fill the salve jars with any correlated items for the activities you want to do each day. Starting December 1st, you take down the jar with the number 1, open it, and complete the activity for the day. Then you repeat each day with the jar that correlates with the date until Christmas day.

Feel free to use these downloadable files:
Christmas Tree Number Stickers (print them on these labels)
Activity Idea Stickers (print them on these labels)
Recipe Cards (print them on regular or card stock paper)
Christmas Tree Pattern (diagram of how we arranged the salve jars in a Christmas tree shape)

If you would rather design your own stickers, these labels fit the 1 oz. or 1/2 oz. salve jars both inside and out.

We hope you give this advent calendar a try this year!

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• Time: 30 minutes active
• Difficulty: Medium
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Supplies:

• Blank Circle Labels (use with this Christmas tree numbers template and this activities template, or create your own design)
• Super glue or magnet adhesive to attach the magnets (Note: hot glue seemed to work well for us, but we did have a couple magnets fall off if we accidentally dropped the salve jar.)
• 24 strong magnets (1/2″–1″ Neodymium magnets work really well (you could even do 3 tiny 1/8″ magnets on each salve jar), but 1″ ceramic magnets also work)
• 24 salve jars (the 1 oz. size work the best for hiding small objects, but the 1/2 oz. size will also work with the labels)
• Items to include inside, such as these recipe cards, small treats, sample vials for diffuser blends, etc.
• Magnet board for displaying your advent calendar

Instructions:

1. Use the templates to print the labels, or create your own.
2. Attach the magnets to the bottoms of the salve jars. Attach the number labels to the tops of the salve jars.
3. Decide what activities you want to do, and assign them to the day you want to do them. Then apply the activity stickers inside the associated salve jars. You can always rearrange the activities by changing the lids.
4. Add any other items associated with the activity, such as recipe cards, sample vials for diffuser blends, etc.
5. Arrange the salve jars on your magnet board.
6. To use, starting on December 1st, open the salve jar with the number that correlates with the date, and complete the activity. Continue every day as you count down to Christmas!

Update 11/18/2016: We now have these small tins that would work really well for this project! Check them out here: 2 oz. Tin Can with Window Lid.

Holiday Spice Popcorn with Essential Oils

Have you tried essential oils in your popcorn yet? Essential oils definitely add amazing flavor to this low-calorie snack. Try out the following flavor ideas, and enjoy some holiday popcorn this season!

Holiday Spice Popcorn

• Servings: 4–5
• Time: 5–10 minutes
• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of unpopped popcorn (12–16 cups popped popcorn)
• 1/8–1/4 cup unrefined coconut oil
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 2 drops clove essential oil
• 2 drops orange essential oil
• 2 drops cinnamon bark essential oil
• 1 toothpick nutmeg essential oil (dip a toothpick in the oil bottle, and then stir the toothpick into the coconut and maple syrup mixture)
• Salt to taste
• Cinnamon powder (optional)

Instructions:

1. Pop popcorn kernels, and then place popped popcorn in a large bowl or brown paper bag.
2. Heat coconut oil and maple syrup over low heat until liquified. Remove from heat, and let cool for a couple minutes. Stir in essential oils.
3. Pour coconut oil mixture over popcorn, and stir or shake to combine.
4. Add salt and cinnamon powder to taste.

Extra Ideas

• Throw in other food items such as coconut flakes, nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, slivered almonds, etc.
• Try making white chocolate peppermint popcorn by replacing the coconut oil and maple syrup with white chocolate or almond bark and adding 4–6 drops peppermint essential oil. Include crushed peppermint candy for a holiday look.