DIY Face Wipes

Well slap my knee and call me crunchy because well this is…crunchy! I’m all for saving money (turn OFF the lights when leaving the room) especially if it means the end result will be more natural or environmentally friendly (hello cloth diapers) so I was a bit surprised it took me this long to make my own face wipes.

 

I checked out a few internet recipes but found they weren’t working and here’s why. Yes it’s great to make 200 wipes at one time but I’m only one person and after about 30 days I noticed they carried an odor I did not want on my face. So I adapted and perfected the cheap, easy, crunchy face wipe! And yes all you skeptics, I’ve been playing around with these for months now so they've been tested and tested again and look my face is still wonderfully fresh!

Here’s the breakdown of what you’ll need:

• Water
• Coconut oil (please tell me this is already in your pantry because it’s the crunchy girls version of Greeks and their Windex)
• Gentle liquid body/face soap; I used baby shampoo but I’m sure any toddler or gentle brand wash would work great.
• A good roll of paper towels; don’t skimp! I went all high roller and got the $2 roll of Viva at Target because you need sturdy for this project.
• Small container with a lid.

Instructions:
Melt 1 tsp coconut oil.
Add ½ tsp of soap and 3/4 cp water to the oil mixture and set aside.
Cut paper towel roll in half…yes as in get out a knife and slice right down the middle. Put one half in storage for 6 months down the road when you’ll need to make more.
Pull off 30 sheets of paper towels and fold into squares (half then half again) and stack in your container. Its okay if they practically don’t fit because they still shrink down when wet.
Pour liquid mixture over paper towels, close lid, and flip around until it’s soaked through.

Price comparison

Store Brand:
I used to buy Target’s Up & Up brand which came in a pack of 30 for lets say $3 (I’m being super generous).
$3 x 12 months = $36/ year to wipe makeup off my face every night

My DIY version:
I had everything except the paper towels which costs $2 at Target.
1 roll of paper towels = 400 wipes (200 per roll and we cut the roll in half)
400 wipes lasts 13 months
$2 divided by 13 months = 16 CENTS a month

So $3 a month or 16 cents a month?

Not to mention you know exactly what’s going into your face wipes and your face still feels great! I take off mascara as well as wipe all over my face each night for an overall crunchy clean!

Christmas {DIY}

Headed into the third week post Christmas I figure it’s a great time to start talking about how ours went! I knew I wanted to give gifts to Moses’ teachers but I didn’t want to be the 10^th child to hand them a coffee mug with a gift card in it. So I turned to Pinterest, crafty ladies I know, and inspiration I had picked up shopping to come up with three unique gifts. 

First up, the felt Christmas tree. Using a cuddlebug I cut out about 40 400 felt circles which I glued together in the center to resemble a tree. Then using a felter needle thingy softened up a few small felt circles to make the ornaments 3D and a nice and fluffy star. 

 

Second, a felt ball ornament. With a large glass ornament ball as the base I cut out different size felt flowers to mix and match. To finish them up I used an assortment of white buttons for the flower’s center. This present was for his college-aged class aid that is very bubbly and likes loud fun things; you could mix up the colors or design for someone more sophisticated. 

 

And lastly, for his main teacher, wooden snowman. These are a hybrid of two different similar snowmen floating around Pinterest. They are blocks of wood painted white, distressed, and dressed up. The faces are hand painted and their hats are small mittens. We ended up loving the fun simplicity of these guys and made a ton of the sets for friends and family. Each set was customized depending on the person’s favorite colors and style.

 

You can be my Punk Rock Princess {I'll be your Garage Band King}

No reason for the silence, just quiet lately. It seems I’ve been more in the mood to look forward to what’s to come (and happened) this week that I’ve been lacking on reflecting back to last week’s events. Last week’s biggest (and most frustrating) accomplishment was completing my second sewing project. I cannot believe I didn’t take any pictures of the finished products (even though I was reminded repeatedly by my sister!) so I have nothing to show for. They were two gifts for Moses’ two favorite lady friends. One was a Thomas the Train themed blue and red tutu with a red/white checked waistband that had a red tulle hair bow with a toy Thomas car in the center. The other was a pink and orange tutu with a beautiful printed fabric waistband and a long sleep white shirt with a matching fabric “T” placed on the front then cross-stitched down. At the end of the project I understood why it had been so frustrating; learning to sew (while sewing a present) requires extreme concentration and I wasn’t letting myself have any! I was coming over late at night or with the boys and it was too much to handle. Thankfully I did the Thomas tutu all by myself while my mom led by example with the first one. It wasn’t easy but I’m thankful I did it; next time I will make sure to practice on something personal that way it’s not so much pressure!

So what am I looking forward to? So much is going on in a 7 day time span but thankfully it’s nothing but fun. Last night, I got to take my little sister to her first [real] “rock show”. You know, the whole smoke filled college bar venue filled with Scene Beans, drunk girls, punk rock princesses, and oh those boys in the bands. I tried my hardest to make sure she was having a good time even if it meant shoving our way towards the front and jumping up and down with my muffin top falling out of my skinny jeans. I have incredibly fond memories of being in high school / early college and doing the band thing so this was so much fun to “chaperone” her living out these experiences.

I’ll share the rest of this week’s glory as it unfolds but I wanted to write in the moment because before I know it this moment will be over and we’ll be flying into the next one.

Ps. I have this totally wonderful giveaway to post and if I ever give myself time to sit down and write it I’ll post it this week! It’s one of those things you may not think twice about but once it’s in your arms you’re going to be all “oh my gosh this is won-der-ful!!”