Whipped Coconut Body Butter

This project couldn't really be much easier, and boy is it satisfying! Did you know you can make your own luxurious, custom, fancy, good-smelling body butter at home? With as little as ONE INGREDIENT and a little time?

Whipped Coconut Body Butter
1/2 cup of coconut oil
optional: few drops of your favorite essential oil(s)
optional: 1/2 a teaspoon of vitamin e oil

Here is all you have to do.

1. Make sure it isn't too hot in your kitchen - the coconut oil needs to be solid to whip up (trust me on this one - no amount of ice packs around your mixer bowl will help if it is too hot!). 
2. Next, just dump the coconut oil (and few drops of essential oil if you'd like) into your mixer with the whisk attachment, turn it on medium, and let 'er rip. 
3. Slowly turn the speed up to high and watch the coconut oil expand as air gets whipped in. 
4. Let the mixer run until your oil has doubled in volume, about 5-7 minutes. It makes the most heavenly textured body butter, and you control the ingredients! 

I often use plain coconut oil as a lotion or to moisturize my nails, but whipping it makes it go further and really pumps up the pampering factor. You just need a tiny bit, and it smells great (I like to use unrefined coconut oil because I love the smell of coconuts!). Store the finished body butter in a cool place. Otherwise, if it melts you will have to whip it again to incorporate the air back in.

Enjoy!

Pinterest Love

Thanks to the awesome instructions on Code It Pretty, I was able to add a "Pin It" button to my pictures. Hooray! For many bloggers, this isn't a big deal and might be "all in a day's work." But for me, the super newbie, this is such a cool accomplishment. My computer scientist/programmer husband would be so proud (and would probably laugh if he knew how long it actually took me to figure out).

Seattle fireworks from New Year 2013 - a fitting celebration photo to test out the new blog feature.

So now, I hope it is easier for you all to go forth and PIN!

Follow me here: http://pinterest.com/meganmecrafty/boards/

Lemon Buttermilk Baked Doughnuts

Sunday morning is a good day for doughnuts. I have been experimenting with baked doughnuts a lot lately and had some buttermilk in the fridge to use up. Not wanting to repeat any recipes yet, and craving something bright for the spring morning, I searched online and in my cookbooks for different buttermilk baked doughnuts. I used a recipe I found on The Sweet Life, and am very pleased with the results! 

Check out the recipe here: Baked Lemon Buttermilk Donuts

See the process after the jump

DIY Dishwasher Detergent

I'm sick of rewashing dishes due to that filmy, white, cloudy residue from all the new detergents. (I miss the phosphates, but I know the environment doesn't.) I started doing some research online to see if anyone else had found a fix. I've tried white vinegar in the rinse aid dispenser, and that helped some, but I still needed a better solution.

Like many DIY'ers, I turned to the internet to get ideas. DIY Mamas had a simple mix and convincing photos! So, I gathered my supplies and made a small batch, then ran a test load.

I found everything on Amazon, but I'm sure most of it is available in the grocery store too.

The cool thing is, I can use the Borax and washing soda for some other DIY recipes I've been meaning to try. So, the total cost isn't too expensive, and I'm not at a loss if it doesn't work.

See the results after the jump

May Photography Challenge - Days 11 - 17

May Photography Challenge

This batch of photos was taken completely out of order. Such is life, but I still got them in! I'm loving the creative challenge and practicing with a lot of different subjects.

Day 11: A Smile

Flowers at work from my bestie 

See the rest after the jump

May Photography Challenge - Days 4 - 10

Updates for the May Photography Challenge

Day 4: In my cup

A little vodka for the vanilla extract recipe.

See the rest after the jump

Homemade Vanilla Extract

This is a game changer. 

I never knew that vanilla extract wasn't always just vanilla extract. Turns out some of it is artificial - okay I knew that. But some of it is also mixed with corn syrup and artificial colors. In a quest to save money, and get crafty in the kitchen, I searched online to find a way to make my own. Hello, Pinterest!

Get the scoop after the jump

May Photo Challenge - Days 1 through 3

May Photography Challenge

1 - I bought this!
My new tomato-red pants.

See the rest after the jump

May Photography Challenge

My husband sent me this link this morning, and it was excellent timing. I think a photography challenge is just what I need right now. Get out your cameras & camera phones and start snapping. 

The weather in Seattle has been sunny lately (shhh, don't tell anyone), so it feels good to get outside and capture some great shots and enjoy the great lighting for indoor photos too.

Photo courtesy of http://fatmumslim.com.au/may-photo-a-day-a-challenge-that-will-change-your-life/

Coconut Oil Face Wipes - Easy Step By Step

I've been using these DIY coconut oil face wipes for about a year now, and I'm in love with them! My skin has "normalized" and has a much more smooth texture. They are inexpensive, natural, and travel well... what's not to love?

Let's gather our supplies.

For each batch you will need:

• 2 cups warm water - I use distilled to cut down on the chance of mold
• 2 heaping Tbs. coconut oil
• 10 drops tea tree oil
• 1/2 roll select-a-size paper towels
• 7 cup container with a tight fitting lid

See the steps after the jump

Coconut Oil Face Wipes

Directions coming soon.

Super Creamy Mac 'n Cheese

I sort of feel like Sandra Lee with this recipe: semi-homemade. It is much faster than making macaroni and cheese from scratch (make a rue, build a sauce, temper the egg(s), etc.), and is better than the boxed stuff. It's a great in-between recipe and has fewer mystery ingredients than the box. 

I found this recipe via Pinterest, and I'm a sucker for good mac 'n cheese, so it was really a no-brainer. Full recipe at Clever Crafty Cookin Mama, and fantastic photos of the process.

Gather your ingredients - pasta, cheese, cheddar cheese soup, evaporated milk, butter, and salt & pepper

Did you see that my salt is called "Magic Unicorn salt" in the picture? It is an awesome blend from Beautiful Briny Sea. This is my favorite of their blends since it goes well with everything.

Get the details after the jump

2 Ingredient Banana Cookies

I've seen a bunch of recipes for 2-ingredient banana cookies on the web recently, and decided to see what all the hype was about. Well technically, I made three ingredient cookies. Ooops.

get your ingredients ready - seriously, that's it

Banana Oatmeal Cookies
2 ripe bananas
1 cup of oats
Handful of the mix-in of your choice (optional)

Get the steps after the jump