Thrifty Gifty #13—Spa Salt Scrub

After seeing it on several blogs, I picked up some epsom salt at Dollar Tree a couple weeks ago to use as “snow”, so I had some sitting around and at some point it occurred to me to make a salt scrub.

I discovered a whole bunch of “recipes” on the web, and no two of them were alike, so I just decided to wing it.

I used safflower oil, because Walmart didn’t have sunflower, and I didn’t want the olive oil smell. I think you really could use any kind of oil you wanted to, although I did see a couple warnings not to use mineral or baby oil (clogs pores or something).

I got the epsom salt and sea salt at Dollar Tree. This sea salt is very fine; I was expecting it to be a little coarser. Again, I think you can use any combo of salts you like. (As an aside: I don’t think I’d really want to use sea salt from San Francisco Bay for food purposes, but maybe that’s just me.)

With no hard and fast rules to be found, I just filled the jar with salt and added oil until the consistency seemed right. Essential oil can be used for scent. I tried pure vanilla extract, which is not the same as essential oil, and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.

This one is just a mock-up for this post. I’ve decided to make this for teacher gifts, so I’m going to head to Hobby Lobby to look for some nice jars (with my 40% off coupons, of course), and I think I’ll include a vintage spoon. I was going to search the thrift stores for jars, but decided it would be easier at this point just to go where I know I’m going to find what I need.

I’m also going to pick up some real essential oil at the health food store. I saw one person who used vanilla and orange for a Creamsicle scent. Doesn’t that sound yummy? Lavender would also be nice. Some people add a little food coloring too.

So, there are a lot of variables here, but the basic ingredients are just a few dollars. I think it will make a fun and appreciated teacher gift!

My Christmas House Tour

We were a little behind this year getting our decorations out, and I don’t know that we’ll bother getting caught up at this point. So I went a little lighter this year than last (2008 tour here), but I like it.
Our tree looks pretty much the same from year to year. I like that too. That’s how traditions get started. Years from now my kids will be saying “remember this ornament? that was the year we…”



Last year I did add a whole bunch of silver pinecones and antiqued silver ornaments I got at Dollar Tree, and I’m still in love with them.



This year the tree is in the room with the fireplace, so I didn’t do a garland on the mantel. I used some of the same elements as last year, but kept the look cleaner.



I was excited to find the two vintage aqua Shiny Brite ornaments at the thrift store a couple weeks ago. I love how they add a little pop to the otherwise all silver. I used blue books in place of the brown ones that are normally there to carry out the scheme.



I have a few things displayed on the accent table.



The white houses are actually candles, again from Dollar Tree. The little ones under the dome came in sets of three (trees/house combo).



A trio of Santas stands watch over my Scrabble tile message center.



In the front room, I have another Santa and another little house.



When I was a teenager, my dad took me to England and Scotland, and I bought a Lilliput Lane cottage as a souvenir, which are popular collectibles over there. That one is packed away somewhere, yet to be unearthed since our last move, but I recently found three of them at the thrift store for about $1.50 each. This one is called, appropriately, “Holly Cottage”. (I sprinkled fake snow around it, so I guess that’s what makes it Christmas-y.)



And finally, on my kitchen counter I have this display, simple and festive.



If you like the apothecary jars, I recently did a post about making them. It’s part of my ongoing Thrifty Gifty series of DIY gifts, most of which can be made for under $5 with supplies from the thrift and/or dollar store. I’m at 12 and counting, so check past posts, and I’ll have more this week.

Second Weekly Thrifty Gifty Round-up and Linky Party

This week, I presented freezer paper stenciling…

Washer necklaces…

Making a hat and mittens from a sweater…

And my personal favorite of the week, hand tinted vintage prints.

I decided to do an impromptu mini giveaway today. The prize will be a washer necklace “wardrobe”, which will include a leather cord and two 1” washers with a different decorative paper on each side (so 4 different papers).

For one entry, leave a comment and tell me which Thrifty Gifty out of all 12 is your favorite.

If you join the linky party with a post of your thrifty gift idea, or something you’ve made using one of my ideas, I’ll give you 2 extra entries.

Please follow the linky party rules. If you don’t I will have to delete your link, and that makes me feel like a big meanie. MckLinky will be open until midnight Sunday

1. use the code on my sidebar (upper right) to put my button in your post
2. your post must be an inexpensive (let’s say under $10, approximately) DIY gift idea or something you made using one of my ideas
3. link to your specific post, not your home page

Infarrantly Creative is having a party too!

The Inspired Room

Thrifty Gifty #12—Hand Tinted Vintage Prints

Joining DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land.

Okay, this may be the easiest, possibly cheapest, and coolest Thrifty Gifty yet! Go to vintageprintable and choose from a bazillion, you guessed it, vintage prints. Print one out in black and white; put the print setting on Standard or maybe even Fast, rather than High. You just need a light printout.

Now, get out some water colors. Your kids’ Crayolas would work fine. However, I also had a box of 30 yr old watercolors (seriously, they were my sister’s and she scratched 1979 on the case), and I don’t know what brand they were, but Crayola really is kid stuff in comparison. Prang also makes nice quality pan water colors that are reasonable.

Using the color picture on the website as a guide, paint the image. I chose the ever-popular eggs. The black and white print will provide most of the shading and whatnot for you.

Pay close attention to the subtleties of color in the original. At first glance, all the eggs looked gray, blue, or green. A closer look revealed some reds, yellow, purples, etc.

Here’s the original...

…and here’s my rendition.

Put it in a thrift store frame, and shazam! Impressive! (We’re reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and I had to get a shazam! in there.)

I paid about .75 for the frame and mat several months ago. I originally printed it out 8x10 and was just going to put it in the frame as is, because I forgot I had the mat. I like it much better this way.

If you can’t find a suitable frame at the thrift store (remember, you can always spray paint it and the mat), you could try Dollar Tree. I’m pretty sure they even have mats. Even if you went that route, you could still do a set of 2 or 3 for $4-$6.

I just used printer paper, and it’s okay, but a heavier paper made for water colors would be best.

Sure, you could just print it out in color, but I think hand-tinting takes it up a notch.

Joining the linky at Living with Lindsay.

Thrifty Gifty #11—Hat and Mittens from Sweater

Joining Works for Me Wednesday because up-cycling sweaters WFM!
Second Thrifty Gifty link-up party this Friday! Please join me with your thrifty gift ideas!

I told you to stock up on sweaters, didn’t I? This was actually a bit of a flop for me, but just because it turned out too small for the intended child. The idea is doable, and I’ll probably try it again, because Skippy really liked it.

I had this thrift store lambswool sweater in my stash. I washed and dried it once, so it wasn’t tightly felted because I wanted some stretch left.

Skippy wanted me to replicate his favorite hat. We tested it out, and the neck of the sweater was a perfect fit for his head, so I wanted to keep the neck intact to use as the bottom edge. I think that’s what caused the problem, because in order to avoid cutting the neck, I ended up with this weird shape.

Once I sewed up the sides and turned it right side out, it looked kind of like a gnome hat. The sweater wasn’t quite big enough to make it as long as the original hat.

For the mittens, I had traced Skippy’s hand, and I used the bottom edge of the sweater along the side seam to cut them out. They actually turned out pretty cute, but unfortunately, still a little small for Skippy. I guess I didn’t leave a big enough seam allowance.

The boy likes them a lot anyway, and took them to bed with him.

Well, the idea was good; the execution, not so much. I may try a different style of hat for Craig next.

Cost for this one, $2 for the sweater.

Thrifty Gifty #10—Washer Necklaces

This is #10 in an ongoing series of inexpensive gift ideas. Be sure to check out #1-9, and come back on Friday for a linky party where you can show your own thrifty gift ideas, or something you've made using my ideas.

This one would be a fun activity for tween girls to make for gifts for their friends. It’s fun, easy, quick and inexpensive. Again, this isn’t original with me, but this is the first time I’ve tried them.

The materials you will need are Mod Podge, Diamond Glaze, pretty paper (scrapbook paper, wrapping paper, whatever), thin leather cord or something similar, and plain old washers from the hardware store. I don’t think I’d go any smaller than 1” on the washers, but you could go bigger and bolder if you like.

Cut a small square of paper a little larger than the washer. Apply Mod Podge to the flat side of the washer. The edges on the other side are just slightly rounded off and smoother for laying against skin or fabric. Then apply the square of paper, design up, to the Mod Podged side.

That’s a terrible photo, but it’s the only one I took of this step. When the Mod Podge has sufficiently dried, use a craft knife to cut the paper, using the edges of the washer as a guide.

I used an emery board to smooth down any rough edges of paper.

Next is the Diamond Glaze. Just cover the papered side with it. This stuff is pretty cool and creates a smooth, rounded surface, but will not drip off the edges. If there are any bubbles, slide them off with a pin. Let it dry over night; it will dry clear.

Cut your leather cord to your desired length (found mine at Hobby Lobby with the necklace making stuff), tie the ends with a square knot, and loop it around the washer.

Washers are about 4/$1; if you buy scrapbook paper that’s another .50 or so, but you probably have pretty paper somewhere around the house. If you don’t have Mod Podge, I’m sure you could just use regular white glue. The leather cord was about $1.50 for enough for two necklaces, and Diamond Glaze was about $5 for a bottle that will last for many projects . As always, use HL or Michaels coupons.

Joining DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land.