A Peek at Homemade Christmas Presents

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This has been a fun and busy week!

Will and I are caring for 2 of our Grands while their parents are swimming with the sharks, going on safari, while vacationing in South Africa.

Now that Christmas 2012 is officially over, I can show you part of what I'd been working on as gift baskets for each of our 3 sons and their wives, our daughters, Will's Momma and 5 of our neighbors.

Way back in August 2012 I got the idea to make homemade shaving soap in jars for all the fellas in my life. I went on eBay and bid on a beautiful German-made chrome safety razor for Will. I visited wet shaving blogs to get a better understanding of the philosophy behind going back to safety razors and shaving brushes. While I was putting together a card on THE CARE AND MAINTENANCE OF YOUR SHAVING BRUSH, it dawned on me that I should have included a brush holder . . . so back to the internet I went and found a step by step tutorial on how to make razor/brush holders out of coat hangers. I was up until 2am making 4 holders for my men!

I ordered a couple books about making homemade beauty products, perused the Internet and came up with some great homemade beauty products! It was really fun creating 3 fun flavors of lip gloss/balms, scented massage oil, moisturizing complexion bars (complete with a botanic package designed using my flowers, trees and bushes!), whipped body butter, shaving bars, shaving soaps in a jar, eye cream, lotion disks,(stocking stuffers for the fellas), large knitted, manly washcloths for the men and dainty, round washing cloths for the ladies!

Making beauty products for our personal use is not a big deal, but when you make them as gifts or to sell, packaging becomes an important aspect of the process. We found a circle cutter at Michaels to cut out different sized labels, and JoAnn's had the perfect baskets and boxes to pack up all the homemade lotions and soaps etc. Office Max had the pretty cardstock for the botanical packaging. I ordered the lip balm containers, butters and jojoba oil through Amazon. The bentonite clay came from IHerbs.

The soaps were made a couple months in advance, but the butters, creams, lotion bars, lip balms and oils had to be made up fresh because they don't have harsh chemical preservatives in them. And then there were all the labels! Labels in varying sizes, and shapes, with moisture drops in the background, require a whole lot of time and know-how I don't have! Will worked tirelessly creating the beautiful labels to make my gifts have a polished, professional look . . . You're my hero, Will! We were up way past midnight 3 nights in a row putting it all together!

Will's Momma's "Beauty Box" . . . Lacy Washing Cloth, Raw Indulgence Body Butter, Moisturizing Complexion Bar, Rose Scented Soap on a Rope, Tropical Eye Cream, Elbow Grease All Natural Moisturizing Disc, and Choco Wintermint Lip Balm nestled in a reusable floral box with magnetic closure.

Matt and Jess's Basket.

Jason and Annie's Basket.

Homemade gift baskets for our Sons and Daughters!

Every Christmas we hang up and fill stockings for Gramma, Will, Julie, Jason, Annie, Benjamin, Deborah, Matthew, Jessica, A.J., Hannah, John Isaac, Matty, Emmy, and Jude! Will was in charge of whipping up multiple batches of cararmel corn for the 15 stockings, and for neighbors eagerly waiting for their yearly bag of caramel corn! I also made up a batch my peppermint popcorn to give to some special folk!

That's a lot of Caramel Corn!

I would love to hear about homemade gifts you gave or received. One neighbor crocheted Will and I lovely scarves for Christmas! My oldest sister made us counted cross stitch placemats with matching napkins!

I took a week off after Christmas to rest up, and then the Girls moved in for 2 weeks! This week I've been teaching my 8 year old Grand, A.J. how to knit, and I've been learning some new knitting techniques to broaden my capabilities for future gift-giving!

The Grands roasted our supper in the fireplace tonight . . . HOT DOGS! . . . Over at Julie's!!!

 

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