DIY Lavender & Lemon Facial Cleanser

Greetings Everyone! Michelle here, the gal behind the blog, On A Wing And A Prayer. I feel especially honored to have been asked to guest post here with Paula. When I found Paula's blog I fell in love with her recipes for making your own bath products. And if you haven't tried her natural garden soaps, you're missing out!

One such gift I would like to share with Paula’s readers today is a facial cleanser you can make yourself with just 4 simple ingredients. I used a recipe originally posted by Aubrey @ Homegrown & Healthy.

DIY Lavender & Lemon Facial Cleanser

1 Cup of Distilled Water

1/2 Tablespoon of Unscented Glycerin Soap

5 Drops Lavender Essential Oil

5 Drops Lemon Essential Oil

1. Chop or shred the glycerin soap.

2. Using a double boiler, bring the water to a boil.

Remove from heat and stir in soap chips until melted. Cool.

3. Add essential oils and stir until well blended.

What I love about DIY projects is you can tailor them to suit your needs. I used distilled water because all of the impurities have been removed. Glycerin soap helps the skin absorb the moisture in the air, causing it to stay softer. Lavender essential oil has antibiotic properties making it perfect to treat acne, blemishes and skin infections with a calming and relaxing effect. Lemon essential oil has astringent and antiseptic qualities. Plus it's loaded with Vitamin C, a necessary to healthy skin.

There is one thing I would like to point out. If you regularly use a commercial facial cleanser, you will be use to lathering up with lots of suds and/or foam. Foam is the result of chemicals such as sodium laureth sulphate in the product which actually strips your skin of all oils. When the oil is removed, your skin will actually produce more to replace what was lost.

Take control of your health. It's really pretty easy. Your body, and your wallet, will thank you!

Signing Off, Michelle

I hope that you will take a few minutes to visit Michelle online at the links below.

Blog / Facebook / Pinterest / Google+ / Instagram / Online Shop

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog.

Smiles, Paula

Guest Post By Helen

Hello everyone!

I am so very honored to be a guest posting here today!

It has been ages since I've guest posted at Living A Blessed Life,

but I am truly blessed to be back! :)

For those of you who may not know me very well here are a few things about myself:

1. I love doing beauty experiments!

This was inspired by my findings on Pinterest and different ideas, but the very first experiment was with using baking soda and vinegar to wash my hair.  Which is how I wash my hair all the time now and I absolutely LOVE the results!

2. I love DIY beauty products!

Which is one of the reasons I love Paula's blog SO much! She is always posting some of the best recipes I've ever seen or heard of and I love giving them a try when I can!

3. I love chocolate!

I mean seriously what girl doesn't love chocolate?! I will eat just about any type of candy bar with chocolate in it, and that goes for cookies, cakes, ice cream, brownies...ALL of it! :)

On to business for today!

I have a slight obsession with having really white teeth. This started when I was 16 and has never really slowed down. At that point in my life I was a working girl and had plenty of green dollars in my pocket to afford whitening strips...but in 2010 I was in a terrible car accident which pretty much put me out of working order...so now all I do is blog, cook, bake, clean house, and wait for my man to come see me. :)

So, since I have no money and haven't really spent much time trying to find a way to make money I decided it was time to try a beauty experiment (Pinterest inspired of course!), and figure out how to whiten my teeth without spending a fortune on whitening strips, mouthwash, and toothpaste. I figured it out, and am now here to share this with you. I will admit that if I had the money I'd probably still do a once a year whitening strip treatment on my teeth, but I'd never use the mouthwash or toothpaste again! That would be a waste of my precious money for sure!

Now I will show you two photos which were taken about two months apart. They are important because I was looking through the photos some time after I started using the toothpaste recipe. I'm about to share and realized just how much of a difference I was able to see in the whiteness of my teeth. If you're planning to use this toothpaste as a whitener then I would suggest having a before photo so you can compare later on down the road to see how well it's working for you! 

July 25, 2012.
Sorry for the blurry photo; I had to crop it in so you could see my
teeth very well.

September 4, 2012.
Yes the lighting is a bit brighter in this photo, but you can
still tell that there is a major difference in the color of the teeth.
They are less yellow and more white!

I use this toothpaste recipe on my teeth every day, and have been using in for about four months now with no side effects or problems to report. I have used regular toothpaste on occasion, but usually I just use this toothpaste mix because I like it better honestly.

What We Are Making Today

 

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon baking soda

2 teaspoons peroxide

1 teaspoon Peppermint extract

OR

Peppermint essential oils

 1 small plastic container with a secure lid

Directions

If you've never had/tried homemade toothpaste before...some people don't like or can't handle the strong salty flavor of the baking soda, but with the peppermint I've added to the ingredients this does help mask that awful flavor, and within a short time of continual use you get used to it.  It rarely bothers you at all! In fact regular store-bought toothpaste is disgusting to me now!

1. In the container pour the baking soda.

2. Add in the peppermint and mix together.

3. Add the peroxide last and stir until it makes a thick paste.

4. Let the mix sit for at least 30 minutes before using.

To Use

I've always rinsed my toothbrush before brushing my teeth and with this recipe that works perfect! So just rinse your toothbrush and then dip it into the container to pick up just a light layer of the paste. After a few days the paste may not be as soft so the water will help it stick to your brush so you can brush your teeth.

Storage

I keep my container in the case behind the bathroom mirror. At one point I had the same mix in the bathroom for three weeks. It got a little dry, but I just had to make sure I had plenty of water on my toothbrush before I got some toothpaste!

Extra Notes

~NEVER brush  your tongue with this toothpaste!!! Trust me you will regret it!

~Make sure to rinse out your mouth really well after you've finished brushing.

Closing

Thank you all for reading along with me today! I hope you've enjoyed this post! I know that it's been quite popular on my blog and many people don't even realize that it's possible to make your own whitening toothpaste so this is both a frugal and a DIY post all in one! :)

Thank you Paula for having me today!

If you would like to visit with me you can find me at my blog: Blue Eyed Beauty Blog,

or you can find me at one of these other awesome places:

Bloglovin, Facebook, Pinterest, and Tumblr!

Thank you all and have a wonderful week!

{ guest blog post }

I am super excited to introduce you to Helen a talented craft diva from Blue Eyed Beauty.

She has agreed to sharing with us her tutorial on how to make a "Denim Flower".

I love this green and thrifty craft project.

Creating a denim flower from an old pair of jeans, no trip to the store required for this project. Love That! I am planning to make a few of these flowers, one for my hair and another to embellish my handbag.

Take it away Helen . . .

DIY Denim Flower
I decided to use the bits of scraps left over from my Layered Denim Skirt to make a flower to wear in my hair when I wear my skirt. This is the second fabric flower I have ever made (my first one was a different style which I am still perfecting).

What You Need:
8-9 pieces of fabric, cut in circle shapes, a hot glue gun, a large needle, and a bobby pin.

1. Taking the large needle and one of the circle pieces, poke the needle through. Insert the top part of the bobby pin. For each circle repeat this process until they are all done.

2. Fold the circle in half.

3. Fold in half again. Cut off the point at the bottom.

3. Scrunch the fabric. Make it more or less ruffly as you want it.

4. Hot glue in between each fold near the bottom piece that was cut out.

5. Put a good size glob of hot glue on the circle piece around the bobby pin. Work quickly to press the flower petal piece down in the glue to get it secured.
6. When you get the whole flower put together, use little bits of hot glue to secure the flower all the way down.
7. To add the sparkles, use a dot of hot glue and quickly press the sparkle into the glue. Add as many as you want. I only added a few to mine.
Now your flower is done!
Enjoy wearing it with any outfit you want.
The nice thing about the bobby pin is you can put it in anything!
Thanks Helen for sharing this awesome tutorial with us. ;o)
This is a great project to make with the kids. It’s also a great way to give kids a lesson in the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling while keeping them busy this summer.
Smiles, Paula

DIY Chocolate Chip Lip Balm

Summer is swimming in the pool.

Summer is play on a beach.

Summer is camping trips.

Summer is riding bikes.

Summer is…”Mom, I’m bored”?

Oh no, those soooooo dreaded words no Mom ever wants to hear.

How do you keep the kids busy during summer vacation?

A group of us crafty blog Moms have gotten together to offer some help.

Keri is doing a summer blog series called "Make Summer Funner",

which includes all sorts of easy and fun ideas to do with kiddos during the summer.

I was super honored when she asked me to take part,

and write a guest post for her blog.

Be sure to head over to Keri's blog, and check it out at Shaken Together.

I am sharing with you a DIY tutorial, on how to make Chocolate Chip Lip Balm.

Chocolate Chip Lip Balm Recipe

5 ounces of Olive Oil

2 ounces of Beeswax, grated or shaved

½ Capsule of Vitamin E

2-3 Chocolate Chips

In the microwave carefully melt the beeswax and the oil together.

Do not boil. If the mixture starts to boil,

carefully remove from the heat and allow it to cool.

Once the beeswax and oil is well blended,

pierce the vitamin E capsule with a needle,

squeeze out half the contents, and stir in.

Drop in the chocolate chips and mix.

Then, pour the mixture into clean containers with lids.

Thank you!  Keri for inviting me to write this guest blog post.

I love sharing my DIY natural skin care recipes.

I feel so lucky go happy!

I hope that I will meet many new blog friends and make new connections.
Smiles, Paula

{ Follow Me On Pinterest  } Paula Parrish

{ rustic chic style }

I'm, so lucky lucky.

I won this lovely chic pillow made by Ashley with Rustic Living.

This pillow is just the perfect addition to my cozy reading nook.

Ashley is a country girl from Boise, Idaho

who has a rustic chic style!

She loves handmade projects that have a country feel

but are still a bit girly and simple.

Ashley creates handmade rustic chic goodies,

which include pillows, frames, and table runners.

Check out all of Ashley home decor items in her online store.

Rustic Store

She also has a Etsy shop at It’s Rustic Living.

{heart your favorite items}

Make sure you head over to Ashley's blog to say hello.

You will simply adore her, just like I do...I promise!

Her blog is filled with heartfelt stories,

plus wonderful images of her, Michael her hubby

and their loved puppies Whiskey and Banjo.

Rustic Living

Thanks for stopping by and meeting Ashley.

Smiles, Paula