For Busy Moms Who Want to Be Creative

January 21, 2015 by Aliesha

*SALE NOW OVER*

It sometimes feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day, right? With all the mundane tasks of the day, preparing meals, cleaning up after everyone, and putting on yet another load of laundry, there’s very little time for sleep – let alone DIY and crafting!

But do you look at that bare wall in the living room and those old curtains in the kitchen, and just wish you had a few hours to do something about them? Or do you browse through those wonderful crafting successes on Pinterest and think to yourself that “one day” you’ll have a few more minutes to yourself so that you too can create something incredible?

You’re not alone – there’s a huge community of people out there who are feeling just as frustrated as you are!

It’s frustrating, because you know just how satisfying it can be to create something of your own – that sense of accomplishment and fulfillment can’t be beaten. What you need is for someone to pull together everything that you need to get started, to make it as easy and painless as possible.

Thankfully though, there’s an exciting new resource to help you quickly and easily get into (or back into) the creative projects you’ve been desperate to start. It’s called The Ultimate DIY Bundle, and it’s a collection of carefully curated DIY and crafting eBooks and eCourses from the world’s leading authors and bloggers in the industry.

***SALE NOW OVER***

For the crazy low price of just $34.95, you get access to a carefully curated library of over 76 eBooks and eCourses. And let me reassure you that this really is great value: the Ultimate Bundles team (who produced the resource) has spent MONTHS seeking out the most respected experts in the industry and asking them to contribute their premium-quality eBooks and eCourses. These really are the best of the best when it comes to DIY and crafting advice and information.

Topics in the bundle include:

Home decor
Furniture painting
Photography
Chalk pastels
Handmade gifts
Homemade skincare products
Cake decorating
Photography and photo-editing
Paint colors and interior design
Becoming a better writer
…and a whole lot more (76 eBooks and eCourses in total) – to help you be inspired or get started with your next DIY or crafting project!

There’s no need to worry about information overload though: The Ultimate DIY Bundle comes with a complete guide to getting started, so that you can know exactly which resource to use for your specific crafting or DIY project and jump straight into it with confidence! Want to see all the books and bonuses? Click below!

You’ll want to hurry, though! The Ultimate DIY Bundle will only be on sale for 6 days – from 8am EST on Wednesday, January 21 until 11.59pm EST on Monday, January 26.

You can buy with complete confidence because you’re covered by the Ultimate Bundles 30-day money-back guarantee. That means you have a full 30 days to enjoy all the eBooks and eCourses in the bundle, and if you don’t think they provided enough value, you’ll get a full refund.

Not only that, but The Ultimate DIY Bundle comes with 4 awesome bonuses, worth over $155. That’s four times the price of the bundle alone! These include…

A free $15 Store Credit PLUS an 8×10 Art Print from Hope Ink ($43 Value), a free online class from Craftsy (up to $60 Value), free $15 store credit to Fawnsberg.com, and a free sewing pattern PLUS a Premium Video Class from UpCraft Club ($19.99 Value), and free, full digital copies of Where Women Create Magazine and Greencraft Magazine ($20 value) from Stampington and Co.

So, don’t miss your chance to grab The Ultimate DIY Bundle, and get 76 incredible eBooks and eCourses for just $34.95. All you need to do is take action before midnight on Monday, January 26!

This amazing deal ends in just…

Pick up your copy right now, before it’s too late. Or, learn more about what’s included right here.

***SALE NOW OVER***

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, but all opinions expressed in this post are my own. I wouldn’t recommend this to you if I didn’t think it was a great value! Thank you for making a purchase through my links and supporting my family and this blog. Read the fine print about this bundle and see answers to frequently asked questions here.

Ginger Spice Cookie Soap

December 11, 2014 by Aliesha

I’ve been experimenting with all kinds of homemade soap combinations, and I really liked how this particular one turned out! Ever since my Homegrown Collective box came last month, I’ve really been enjoying soap-making. I made a bunch of different bars to give away as gifts, and I decided to share this “recipe” with you!

This soap really reminds me of a cookie. It’s sweet, but not too sweet, and the ginger scent is so Christmasey. The goat’s milk soap base I used is very moisturizing, and to top it off, there is oatmeal in it as well for added moisturizing benefits!

Using a melt and pour soap base makes soap-making SO easy. You can easily triple this recipe to make three bars at once, if you like! That’s what I usually do, since I have three soap molds.

Ginger Spice Cookie Soap

4 oz. melt and pour soap base (I like this kind)
5 drops Ginger Spice essential oil blend (if you don’t have this blend, see note below)
1 Tbsp. oatmeal

Prepare soap mold (this is the one I have) by sprinkling oatmeal in the bottom. If you don’t have a soap mold, you can use something else, like a muffin tin, a bowl, or a small box, as long as you line it with freezer paper. (Here are a few clever ideas.)

Grate soap base with a grater (it’s nice to use one that is dedicated to soap-making). In a double boiler or a glass bowl placed securely over a pot of water, melt grated soap base. Stir constantly with a popsicle stick or thin wooden dowel while it is melting.

Remove from heat. Add 5 drops of Ginger Spice essential oil blend. Stir to combine.

Pour melted soap into the mold. The oatmeal may float to the top, and that’s okay!

Allow to cool at room temperature until hardened. Pop out of the soap mold. If you have trouble getting it out, stick it in the freezer for 5 minutes and then it should come out without a problem.

You can wrap up the soap to give it away (I love to use brown kraft paper), or you can use it immediately!

Note: If you have a stash of essential oils, but not Ginger Spice, you could try making your own blend using orange, cassia or cinnamon bark, ginger root, and clove bud. I’m not sure about the ratios, but play around until you like the fragrance. Then add 5 drops of your blend to this soap recipe!

Don’t forget: shipping is now free on all orders at Rocky Mountain Oils!

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Disclosure: I was not paid to write this post, but it does contain affiliate links to the essential oil company I use and love. If you choose to purchase oils through my links, it will help support my family and this blog. Thank you!

Aliesha Caldwell is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Adventures in Soap-making {Review of Homegrown Collective’s October Box}

November 7, 2014 by Aliesha

Last Friday, I made some bars of soap! I can’t take much credit for this project, since I had a lot of help from a wonderful subscription box. This was a fun way to relax on a Friday afternoon, and I enjoyed knowing I could fully complete a project from start to finish!

Homegrown Collective is kind of like “Pinterest in a box.” Each month they send a special curated box filled with everything you need to make eco-friendly projects. Key words: everything you need. No more rounding up supplies only to find you’re missing an “ingredient” when you go to start the project!

This month’s box contained a melt & pour soap kit.

I was really excited about everything in the box! Melt and pour soap is very easy to make, since you just have to… yep… melt the bar (grated first) and pour it into the mold along with any add-ins.

Here’s what was included:
-directions and recipes for three kinds of soap
-goats milk melt and pour soap base
-clear melt and pour soap base
-white melt and pour soap base
-metal grater
-loofa
-mason jar
-stirring sticks
-pipette (for transferring oils)
-essential oils: lavender/chamomile, cedarwood, and tuberose
-rolled oats
-chamomile flowers
-dead sea salts
-activated charcoal
-three plastic soap molds

The first kind of soap was charcoal and cedarwood. This is a nice, manly soap that Tad will definitely enjoy using! The charcoal is detoxifying to the skin, and the cedarwood has a woosdy scent.

The next soap was dead sea salt and chamomile soap. This bar also included a loofa to cut up and put in the mold if you wanted. I got a little crazy with this one and left out the dead sea salts and loofah and swapped out lavender petals (from another box). So what I really made was lavender chamomile soap! The clear base allowed the flower petals to be visible and suspended in the soap, which was neat!

The last kind of soap was oatmeal, luffa, and tuberose soap. The tuberose essential oil smells amazing, and this was definitely my favorite soap. The oats add moisture to the skin, and the loofa exfoliates. I liked the goats milk base as well!

Here are all three soaps I made!

There were plenty of leftover add-on items to make many more bars of soap, so I ordered more soap base from an etsy seller so I can make more soap for gifts!

Homegrown Collective sends out a completely different box every month, so I can’t wait to see what next month’s box contains! As a busy mom, having everything all together in one kit really helps me out, plus I get to try new things that I maybe wouldn’t without this little “push”!

Learn more about the Homegrown Collective here!

Have you ever made soap?