Brown Bag Spa Gift

Handmade Soap and Bath Salts are always a welcome gift! Try my recipes for All Vegetable Soap and Vanilla Bath Salts. Don't forget to order the Holly Berry Bouquet paper before the Holiday Mini Cataloque ends on Jan. 3rd!

All Vegetable Soap

250 g. lye

650 ml. Water

Measure the water into a pitcher and add the lye to the water. It will get hot and the fumes are bad for you, so cover it and set it outside until the exothermal reaction stops. It will need to cool, too.

90 g. Castor Oil

450 g. Coconut Oil

810 g. Olive Oil

450 g. Palm Oil

Weigh the oils and melt on low heat just until liquid. Overheating can damage the oils!

When the oils and the lye solution each reach a temperature of about 110 to 120 degrees, begin mixing the oils with a stick blender and very slowly pour in the lye solution in a thin stream. Don't rush this part.

Keep mixing the soap to reach the trace stage. It will look like pudding and pile up a bit when you lift the mixer, leaving a trace.

Pour the soap into your form. I used a Pyrex baking dish and lined the bottom with parchment paper. Place it in a box and wrap a blanket around it. Leave it for a couple of days to cool and set up very slowly.

I place my pan in the freezer overnight and thaw it the next day. It falls out of the pan when I invert it over some parchment paper on the counter.

Cut the soap slab into bars and cure for about 3 weeks. Wrap them and add them to the gift bag.

Bath Salts

1 part Sea Salt

2 parts Epsom Salt

Mix together and add essential oils. I used Vanilla Absolute. Heavenly!

Supplies

Stamps

-Lovely As A Tree

-Winter Post

Ink

-Chocolate Chip ink pad

-Chocolate Chip marker

-Garden Green marker

Paper

-Holly Berry Bouquet DSP

-Real Red card stock

-Whisper White card stock

Tools

-1 in. circle punch

-1/14 in. circle punch

-Decorative Label punch

-Wide Oval punch

Accessories

-Real Red Satin ribbon

-Cherry Cobbler/White Baker's twine

-Brown Bag

-Small Jar

Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

Who can resist a gift of cookies?! Try my Chocolate Gingerbread Recipe with the Stampin' Up! cookie press. Then, fill a bag and give them in a decorated box.

Chocolate Gingerbread Recipe
1 cup butter
2 cups light brown sugar
1 tsp. each cinnamon & ground ginger
1/2 tsp. each allspice & salt
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup fancy molasses
4 1/2 cups flour
Cream butter and sugar. Mix in all spices, salt and baking soda. Mix in cocoa, water and molasses. Gradually stir in 3 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Continue adding flour 1/4 cup at a time until dough is stiff. Roll dough onto floured board and cut with cookie cutters or roll into balls and stamp with cookie press. Bake in 300 degrees F. oven for 10-15 mins. You can keep the wrapped dough in the fridge for 2 weeks.


Pleated Paper Lolli

Frostwood Lodge DSP 1 X 12
-score every 1/4 in. with the Stampin' Score tool

-accordion fold the strip and glue the ends together

-cut a card stock doily from Perfect Pennants die with the Big Shot-squeeze hot glue onto the card stock and press the pleated paper down to form the lolli

-hold until the glue cools

-use hot glue to adhere a punched glimmer doily to the top of the lolli

-adhere a Basic Rhinestone jewel to the centre and decorate your box

Supplies

Stamps

-Bright Hopes set 122690

Ink

-Cherry Cobbler ink pad 119669

Paper

-Frostwood Lodge DSP 124002

-Marina Mist card stock 119682

-Silver Glimmer paper 124005

Tools

-Big Shot 113439

-Perfect Pennants die123126

-Doily Triple Layer die 122465

-Simply Scored tool 122334

Accessories

-Basic Rhinestones 119246

-Kraft Gift Box 124106
-Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps 125152

Hug in a Mug

Perfect to make for a quick and easy gift! After you decorate the mugs with Decor Elements fill them with hot chocolate mix and a candy stir stick.

Instructions

-use the Big Shot with the Stocking Accents die to cut Old Olive and Real Red Decor Elements sheets
-use Snail to adhere the leaves and berries to scrap paper

 -cut a piece of transfer paper and cover your image with the sticky side

 -peel back the transfer sheet, leaving the backing from the vinyls stuck to the scrap paper

 -position the image on the mug and burnish with the applicator or a bone folder

-peel off the transfer paper

Supplies

-Big Shot 113439

-Stocking Accents die 124098

-Old Olive Decor Elements sheets 118803

-Real Red Decor Elements sheets 118802