DIY Soaps made with Essential Oils

The past couple weeks I've been dabbling into making all-natural bath and body products with my DoTerra essential oils. I've been on a crunchy, earthy, healthy kick lately and I'm already addicted to finding new ways to use essential oils. One of my favorite handmade soaps came from a lady at the Nashville Farmers Market a few months back and it consisted of lavender and melaleuca. Ever since I used the bar to its entirety, I decided that I should start making my own. 

I use the melt and pour method, which is super quick and easy! I have tried using both goats milk soap and shea butter soap base. They are equally great and share the same consistency.  

This recipe makes approximately 4 full bath bars, but you can adjust the batch and use whichever molds you'd like. Once you're comfortable with the melt and pour method, you can start creating some of your own recipes based on your favorite essential oils. Here are some of my favorites:

Lavender Coconut Bath Bars:

What you need:

 + double boiler

+ silicone spatula

+ soap mold

+ 1 tsp. DoTerra fractionated coconut oil
+ 1 tsp. coconut oil

+ 6-8 drops DoTerra Lavender essential oil
+ 1 tbsp. lavender seeds

+ approx. 14 cubes of goats milk or shea butter soap base

 Directions: 

Put cubes of soap base into double boiler and stir with spatula until completely melted. 

Add fractionated coconut oil, regular coconut oil and lavender and stir until well-blended.

Remove from heat and pour into soap molds slowly and carefully.

Put in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Remove from molds after chilled.

Lemon Poppy Seed Bath Bars: 
 

What you need:

 + double boiler

+ silicone spatula

+ soap mold

+ 1 tsp. DoTerra fractionated coconut oil 

+ 6-8 drops DoTerra Lemon essential oil
+ 1 tbsp. poppy seeds

+ approx. 14 cubes of goats milk or shea butter soap base
+ (optional) 2 drops of yellow food coloring

 Directions: 

Put cubes of soap base into double boiler and stir with spatula until completely melted. 

Add fractionated coconut oil, Lemon oil and poppy seeds and stir until well-blended.

Remove from heat and pour into soap molds slowly and carefully.

Put in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Remove from molds after chilled.

Orange Creamsicle Hand Soaps: 
 

What you need:

 + double boiler

+ silicone spatula

+ cupcake pan

+ 6-8 drops DoTerra Wild Orance essential oil
+ 1tsp. vanilla
+ 2 tbsp. orange peel 

+ approx. 18 cubes of goats milk or shea butter soap base
+ (optional) 2 drops of orange food coloring 

 Directions: 

Put cubes of soap base into double boiler and stir with spatula until completely melted. 

Add Wild Orange oil, vanilla, and orange peel and stir until well-blended.

Remove from heat and pour into soap molds slowly and carefully.

Put in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Remove from molds after chilled.

Soap will maintain it's shape at room temperature. 

I'll post more soap recipes soon, so stay tuned!

Homemade Lavender Whipped Body Butter

I became a wellness advocate for DoTerra back in November and have since been researching new ways to stay healthy using holistic methods. Since using essential oils I feel refreshed, energized, clean, and health conscious. It is amazing. 

I can't wait to share different recipes and experiments I've tried since using these oils. First and foremost, I'm going to share a recipe I used for whipped body butter that I pulled from the DoTerra Blog. The great thing about these recipes are that you can substitute your favorite essential oil for a scent you prefer. If you don't like lavender, try grapefruit, wild orange, citrus bliss, or lemon! I personally love lavender because it calms my nerves and helps me sleep soundly through the night.

What you need:

Double Boiler

Hand Mixer

1/2 cup Shea Butter

1/2 cup Cocoa Butter

1/2 cup Coconut Oil

1/2 cup Fractionated Coconut Oil

20 drops DoTerra Lavender Essential Oil

Directions:

1- Measure all butters and oils in glass jar.

 1. Measure all ingredients except for lavender oil in double boiler. 

2. Place double boiler over skillet/pan with 1-1.5 inches of water. Bring to boil.

3. Stir ingredients frequently using a rubber scraper or wooden spoon for about 10-15 minutes, or until all ingredients are 100% melted into liquid form. 

4. Once melted, remove from heat for 10 minutes.

5. Add 20 drops of lavender to mixture. 

6. Stir and place in refrigerator for approximately 1 hour or until mixture becomes solid.

7. Once chilled,  remove from refrigerator and blend with hand mixer. Start on a low setting and slowly progress to high-speed. Whip mixture until consistency is light and fluffy (3-5 minutes).

When finished, add to a glass jar or container and store in a cool place. If you need to re-whip, you can do so with hand mixer again and again. It's that easy!

Stay tuned for more recipes and ways I use essential oils.

1/2 cup Shea Butter
1/2 cup Cocoa Butter
1/2 Cup Coconut Oil
1/2 cup Fractionated Coconut Oil
15 drops Grapefruit Essential Oil*
15 drops Wild Orange Essential  Oil*
Double Boiler
Hand/Stand Mixer
- See more at: http://doterrablog.com/diy-whipped-body-butter/#sthash.XTGslNxX.dpuf

1/2 cup Shea Butter
1/2 cup Cocoa Butter
1/2 Cup Coconut Oil
1/2 cup Fractionated Coconut Oil
15 drops Grapefruit Essential Oil*
15 drops Wild Orange Essential  Oil*
Double Boiler
Hand/Stand Mixer
- See more at: http://doterrablog.com/diy-whipped-body-butter/#sthash.XTGslNxX.dpuf

1/2 cup Shea Butter
1/2 cup Cocoa Butter
1/2 Cup Coconut Oil
1/2 cup Fractionated Coconut Oil
15 drops Grapefruit Essential Oil*
15 drops Wild Orange Essential  Oil*
Double Boiler
Hand/Stand Mixer
- See more at: http://doterrablog.com/diy-whipped-body-butter/#sthash.XTGslNxX.dpuf

Proposing to Your Bridesmaids

Here comes the first post in the long series of wedding posts to follow throughout the next 11 months. I am so excited to share wedding plans and updates over the next year with you all. It's going to be a wild ride!

As some of you already know, I hit the ground running when Steve proposed. Due to him being a Canadian, we have our work cut out for us with legal matters, visas, green cards, etc. I wanted to make sure all my ducks were in a row so that we could get down to business with the important things. 

First things first: bridesmaids.

 Although I knew who I wanted to stand by my side on my wedding day, I didn't instantly know how I would ask them. I wanted to do it in a creative and fun way, so I thought of some cute little things I could put into different shaped boxes for all the girls to open. 

Each box included mints, chocolates, mini bottles of wine, suckers, dye cuts, and mini card tags that read "I'll say 'I do', will you too?"

I'm so excited and honored to have eight very important women in my life stand up next to me on my special day. <3

xoxo,

Laura

Silk Tie Eggs

Happy Easter!

This year, my mom, sister and myself decided to make silk tie eggs.  We did this two years ago and decided to give it another go since we enjoyed the process so much.  It's a more unique and fun way to make beautiful designs on your not-so-traditional Easter eggs.  We did, however, still do the traditional egg dying afterwards. :)

Materials needed:

• 100% Silk Ties
• White fabric (we used a cut up white tee)
• Rubber Bands
• Large Pot
• Vinegar (3 Tablespoons) 
• Scissors
• Tongs

Cut open the silk ties and wrap the egg until it's completely covered.

 Use rubber on both sides to keep the egg completely wrapped in the fabric. It will look like a fat tootsie roll.

 Then, wrap the egg in a layer of white fabric. This will prevent the silk tie color from bleeding while in the pot of boiling water.

Once all of your eggs are rolled, gently place them into the pot of water with 3 tablespoons of vinegar.  Let the water turn to a boil and keep them in for 20 minutes.

 

You will start to see the water color change while boiling. When the 20 minutes are up, turn off the heat and use tongs to gently take the eggs out.  

Let the eggs cool before unwrapping. Once cooled, slowly take off the rubber bands and unwrap the two layers of fabric.

Voila!

And, of course, the standard dyed eggs: 

We hope you all have a wonderful Easter. 

xoxo, 

Laura

Laura's Sweetheart Pies

I've been doing some experimenting with cooking & baking lately because I've set some new goals for myself.  I am cutting out processed foods, so anything that comes in a box is prohibited in the Bachelorette Pad.
I also cut out red meat (and Starbucks, but that's a different story).  This is actually incredibly easy for me since I was a vegetarian last year and just started eating meat again this past autumn.

So the other day I made my roommates and I some turkey chili and strawberry-raspberry pies.

And no dinner is complete without one of Katelyn's incredible lattes.

The pies turned out better than I could have imagined.  I've been buying an excessive amount of fresh produce lately, but have such a hard time eating it all before it goes bad.  I took all of my strawberries and raspberries out of the fridge and threw them into some pie crust with ricotta and sugar, and VOILA! Pies!

I decided to make them extra feminine and cute by using my heart-shaped cookie cutter.  ;)

 

The recipe is super simple and they turned out to be delicious! They are also great for on the go.
:)

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

xoxo,

Laura Follow my blog with Bloglovin