Nothing said I<3U like DIY. Make Mom smile this Mother’s Day with these homemade spa gifts. (She doesn’t have to know they weren’t expensive.)
DIY Mother’s Day Gifts
Vitamin E Facial Scrub Recipe
• 1 cup salt (fine)
• 15 drops vitamin E oil
• 2 tsp olive oil
• ¼ bar leftover glycerin soap (or regular gentle soap)
You know those scraps of bar soap that are so small that they slip through the shower caddy and don’t lather well at the sink? Don’t throw them out! Instead, use them to make your mom a moisturizing (yet exfoliating) facial scrub. She’ll never know parts of it were recycled.
Use a cheese grater to grate the bar of soap into a mixing bowl. It will probably clump. Pour the salt and oils into the bowl and mix thoroughly. Pour the mixture into a pretty jar. Label, slap a ribbon on it, and present. She can use this same scrub on her hands, feet, and joints, too.
Remind your mom that, as with all facial scrubs, she should never scrub her face so much as massage it, since scrubbing can damage and irritate skin cells, causing dryness and even blemishes.
Antioxidant Sugar Scrub Recipe
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp Epsom salt
• 3 green tea bags
• 10 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp honey
Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl (including the tea; pour in the leaves and discard the tea bags). Add the oil and mix, then the honey, and mix. Pour the homemade sugar scrub into a pretty jar, label, and you’re done. Green tea contains wonderful antioxidants to slow the skin’s aging process, as does honey. Olive oil (and honey) moisturize stressed skin while the sugar and salt will slough away dead skin cells.
Calming Rose Facial Toner Recipe
• 1 cup rose water (store-bought or homemade)
• ¼ cup chamomile tea
• ¾ cup witch hazel
The color won’t be rosy and pretty, but this facial toner will change Mom’s skin for the better. Witch hazel is a well-known astringent, and rose water and chamomile tea will together calm and soothe damaged skin.
To make your own rose water, place 2 cups of fresh rose petals (make sure they’re organic; Mom doesn’t need pesticides in her pores) into a saucepan with just over 2 cups of water. Let it simmer over heat until half of the water has evaporated. Cool, strain, and pour into a jar.
Brew a pot of boiling water, pour into a measuring cup, and walk away for 15 minutes. When the water feels like a warm bath to touch, add the chamomile tea. (Adding tea to boiling water is the surest way to burn the leaves and produce a bitter beverage. Plus, the best nutrients come out at lukewarm temperatures.)
Add the tea to the jar and then add witch hazel. Label and provide a small packet of cotton pads.
Mom’s Spa Door Hanger
• Felt (two colors)
• Fabric glue
• 30” Ribbon
• 3X5” index card
Cut two 9”X7” rectangles of felt in your mom’s favorite color and then a 4”X6” rectangle in white. Cut a 2”X4” window in the white sheet.
Prepare a 30” ribbon and glue to the short sides of one of the two larger pieces of felt. Continue applying glue along all edges of the felt, but leave a 2” space at the center of the bottom edge. You’ll add stuffing through there.
Place the second piece of felt in the same color on top of the one with glue and press down.
Glue the edge of the white piece of felt to the center of the larger felt to create a window, where you’ll write a message. Let the glue dry before continuing.
Fill the pillow with cotton balls or tissue (and a few pinches of potpourri, if you’re game) so it’s just barely puffed, not bursting at the so-called seams. Glue shut and let dry. Write a message, like “Spa Zone: Do Not Disturb,” on a card to display. See full instructions here.
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written by: Alexis Bonari
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Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
