Quick & Easy Gifts ~ Hand Cream

Quick and Easy Gifts seem to be the theme here lately. My hope is that you'll find something that will help inspire you for a last minute gift. I'm always looking for those. :-) Pinterest is my inspiration for quite a few of these finds.  Please tell me I'm not the only one that's completely hooked!

I found the recipe for the homemade hand cream on Patchwork Times. So thankful I did! I get seriously dry hands (and heels, gross...I know). Sometimes the skin on my fingers will split and bleed around the fingernail. Again, sorry for the detail. :-) Must be the dry air out here in West TX. Anyway, all you need is 3 ingredients! I found them all in the lotion aisle (or whatever it's called) at Walmart.

Ingredients:

16 oz baby lotion - I used Johnson's Shea & Cocoa Butter Baby Lotion)
8 oz Vaseline
8 oz. Vitamin E cream

The Vitamin E jars are 4 ounces each.

Put ingredients in a medium/large bowl and use electric mixer. Mix until it looks like frosting. Warn the kids to not lick the bowl. :-)

I found this hand mixer at Ace Hardware for $13. That is AWESOME. : -)

Here comes the messy part if you have containers with small openings ( I used a small funnel and a small medicine dropper to kind of poke it down into the container). Put the hand cream in containers. I bought the small hand lotion bottles (3 oz each) in the travel size section at Walmart. The white containers are the ones that the Vitamin E cream came in, with the labels removed. There was about 12 ounces left over that I put in the green container. I ran out of bottles. :-)

I tried this right after making it, and it is the best hand cream I've ever used. Not joking! My hands actually felt softer, not like the lotion was just sitting on top of my hands. It seemed to sink in. I could see the difference. Sounds like  a miracle cream, huh? Pretty sure it's not, but it's what I'll be using from now on, and I know I'd be thrilled to receive this as a gift. Do you have someone on your list that would feel the same way? It would be a great stocking stuffer, too. It smells good just the way it is, but you could use a lavender baby lotion, or add a fragrance of your own. Mix it up! Have fun!

Have a blessed day, and thanks for stopping by!

~ Jaime


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Yes, I Want Egg On My Face: Mama Time

Mama Time. It's a rare thing, but when I find 5 or 10 minutes to spend on ME, I enjoy every second. This face mask takes a little longer than 10 minutes, but if you have the time, it's worth it. I don't have any photos to post (would be kind of scary looking), but maybe the next time I make this mask, I'll get brave and take a few. :-)

What You'll Need:

1 egg white
a few drops of lemon juice
approx. 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil

Whisk together in a small bowl and apply to your face and neck. I use my fingers to apply the mask, but I think a small brush (maybe a soft basting brush??) would work as well. Leave on for 10-20 minutes. I found that after 10 minutes, the mask gets really tight on your face, and itches a little bit. You may want to go ahead and wash it off at that point.

If you're able to lie down and relax while the mask is on, put a cucumber slice over each eye, and really get the most out of your Mama Time. The last time I did it, I was doing laundry and dishes while it dried. Ahhhh well. :-)

After you wash off the mask, put on some moisturizer. I could see a visible difference in my skin. My pores were smaller (insert happy dance here!).

Let me know if you try it!

~ Thanks for stopping by! ~

Jaime