User post: Easy DIY Holiday Gifts

While the White House and Wall Street state the recession is almost over, here on Main Street that does not seem to be the case. Seems like everyday I hear about more layoffs and people struggling to get by. So what can you do in this tough economy when discretionary $$ are scarce and the holiday's are just around the corner.

Below are easy DIY holiday gifts that will please and delight any recipient. Additionally they are eco-friendly.

Relaxing Lavender Sugar Scrub

1/2 cup of jojoba oil
3/4 cup of white cane sugar
1 teaspoon Vitamin E
1/4 cup almond oil
6 drops of lavender essential oil

Directions: Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Mix until combined, and then pour into desired container.

Rejuvenating Body Scrub

3-4 drops of Peppermint Oil
5 tablespoons of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon carrier oil such as almond or grapeseed.

Mix the peppermint oil and sea salt together. Add the carrier oil and then add enough water to moisten the mixture.

Candy Cane Bath Salts

3 cups of Epsom salts or sea salts
3 Teaspoons of Sweet Almond Oil
9 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil
1 drop of red food coloring (more if you like)
1 drop of green food coloring

Get three bowls, in each of the bowls add 1 cup of salts, 1 teaspoon almond oil, 3 teaspoons of peppermint essential oil. Add 1 drop of each of the food coloring to two of bowls. You will end up with a bowl of red, green and white. Let sit a few hours.

To create the candy cane effect layer layers of each color, a layer of red, a layer of green , a layer of white, over and over until you fill the jar.
Decorate the jar with red and green ribbon, candy cane gift tags or several small candy canes.

Euphoric Fizzy Bath Salts

Sea Salt--3 tbsp
Baking Soda--3 tbsp
Citric Acid--1 tbsp
Essential Oils--8 drops
Jar--4 oz

Choose 3 or 4 oils from these essential oils: Champaca absolute, Clary Sage,Grapefruit, Jasmine absolute, Linden absolute, Myrrh, patchouli, Rose, andYlang Ylang. Add sea salt, baking soda, citric acid and oils to jar. Gently shake to mix ingredients. Add to tub of running water.


Get your essential and carrier oils at:
For more skin care recipes and skin care articles visit Complete Skin Care Therapy


Klutz - Natural Beauty Book - A celebration of beauty without artifice, The Natural Beauty Book is filled with wonderful ways to treat your skin, hair and nails. Think of it as a complete home spa experience in a book. It features more than 60 simple recipes, for everything from bath salts and facial masks to tub infusions and hair rinses, all made using easy-to-find ingredients from your kitchen cupboard. Attached to the book is a complete personal home spa kit, including a facial loofah, a nail brush, a pumice stone, and vials of fragrant essential oils.



In Making Faces, Kevyn Aucoin, North Americas preeminent makeup artist, shares his secrets, explaining not only the basics of makeup application and technique but also how to use those fundamentals (sometimes in unconventional ways) to create a wide range of different looks.


Mountain Rose Herbs. A herbs, health and harmony c
Mountain Rose Herbs. A herbs, health and harmony c


Oh yeah, check out my "green" gift ideas here on Shine at Go Green This Christmas