Updates on Homemade Products

Here's an update of some of the homemade things I made earlier this year and my progress with them.

Deodorant: I'm still using my homemade deodorant. No one has made any comment about me being extra stinky. I've made it two or three times in 2015.
In the summer it was easy to use because the temperature kept the coconut oil soft. At one point it got too hot and separated the oil from the other ingredients. Now that it's winter, it's challenging to use again. If I heat it with my hair drier or hold it up to the heater in the bathroom for a minute, it's easy to use again.





Acne wipes: This is a new thing I've been using for two months. Put a bunch of cotton rounds in the jar. In a separate measuring cup, mix something like 1/3 c of straight witch hazel with 15-20 drops of tea tree oil.  Carefully pour it over the cotton rounds. I watched to make sure the cotton rounds at the very bottom got soaked too. If it doesn't soak through, just add more witch hazel. If it feels too diluted, add a bit more tea tree oil. I like to add it into the witch hazel before I pour it over the rounds because I feel like it helps get the tea tree all the way to the bottom of the jars.




Face wash: I love my face wash so much. My friend closed her website for a while and didn't have her recipe handy, so I had to make it up. I put it on the label. It's roughly a 1:1.5:2:6 drops ratio of honey : castille soap : vegetable glycerin : tea tree oil.




Dry shampoo: This isn't specifically dry, but I like to use it on days between washings. It's a 1:4:1 ratio of cornstarch : water : rubbing alcohol. This has to be shaken really well before it's used, and it needs to be sealed up pretty well or the rubbing alcohol will evaporate.


Headache salve: I've used it a bit, but honestly I forget about it most of the time. I don't know if I think it helps, but it doesn't hurt to use.

Face powder: I still have it and use it occasionally. Normally it just goes over my liquid foundation to set it, but I don't wear liquid foundation very often.

Body wash: I made body wash twice this year, once with peppermint soap and once with rose soap and cinnamon. The peppermint was lovely, but I was just glad to see the end of the homemade body wash once I was done with the rose. Overall, the soap was stressful to make thanks to fears of not having everything clean enough and contaminating everything. Instead, we're trying this Soap for Every Body. We're enjoying it quite a lot, tho I'd like to get a non-coconut scent next time.




This year was fun to test new homemade products. I'm hoping to make some lotion soon. We'll see how that turns out.

What a year it has been

What a year 2015 has been. It's been very busy between getting engaged then married, my sister-in-law's wedding, three deaths in the family, far too many wedding receptions, remodeling at work, a honeymoon to Harry Potter world, and in general living my life. I meant to update my blog for it all, but it was too much or too fast or too whatever. Here'a  quick look at some pictures from this year.

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February: My engagement ring. White gold and sapphire. It is beautiful and not too much of anything. My birthstone is a sapphire, and I've had an affinity for the stone since a childhood make-believe game with my best friend.

March: a peculiar combination of nail polishes produced the effect of nails covered in orange highlighter and dunked in glitter. I haven't repeated this combo, but it's interesting.

April-May: I made a blanket from old jeans I cut up. It was a massive project, but the blanket is pretty great. We use it primarily for camping or outdoor activities since it's durable. I also have far too many cut up bits of denim left, so I have to do something else with them eventually.

May 23: We got married. One of our friends performed the ceremony and only 12 people were involved including us, our photographer, and officiate. I'm so glad it was small. Sadly, my father-in-law passed away three weeks before the day.

June: My sister and her partner graduated college, so we went to Corvallis, Oregon to celebrate with them. We took a few extra days for a camping trip to the coast.

July: Fawkes' first two baths. Over the summer, the cat wandered around outdoors on his own. Twice he came back covered in too much dirt for us to let him inside or allow him to clean off himself. He really doesn't like baths and has a minor fear of the bathroom now.

We've been playing around with cooking a lot this year. This was for a stir fry we made using some cashew carrot ginger soup.

September: Fawkes hates his skunk Halloween costume. The cat is fine wearing things, but not if it has a hood and messes with his ears. He hides every time we put this on him.

October: Face masks from the co-op. I like them quite a lot, even though I look scary when I wear them. 

November: Honeymoon to Harry Potter world! We went to Universal Studios/Island of Adventure in Orlando, Florida for our honeymoon. Every time we started trying to plan the wedding, I just came to the conclusion I didn't want a wedding. I just wanted to be married and spend our money going to Harry Potter world. So we had a small ceremony, several receptions over the course of a few months, and went on our trip. It was a lovely week, though I now feel little desire to ever return.

November: Business Taco Cat. We got the taco costume on clearance after we returned from the honeymoon. This is one of my favorite pictures of my cat from this year. He is such a little businessman. 

December: 2015 ornaments finished. I used perler beads to create little candy canes for our families. Mine is the first one on the bottom row, my husband's is next to it, our cat's is the one next to that. I think they all came out pretty darn cute.

It's been quite a year for the books. Many times I've thought we deserve an award if we survive the entire year. Only a few more days left of this year, so I guess I better start thinking about some kind of award.