Handmade Gifts: Lotion Bars & Lip Balm

Hi! Today I thought I'd share a great homemade stocking stuffer in case there's still anyone on your list.  I found this lotion bar recipe from Being Frugal by Choice. You can visit her blog for more pictures and info, but basically lotion bars can be made with just three ingredients: almond oil, coconut oil, and beeswax. If you want to add a fragrance, just use several drops of your favorite essential oil.  I love these lotion bars, because I know what's in them and because they are all natural they work great on cracked skin or eczema, which my boys struggle with. 

I bought the beeswax at Hobby Lobby, using a 40% off coupon, and waited to buy the oils until they were on sale. To make the bars you melt equal parts of each of the three ingredients in a double boiler, starting with the beeswax. Once it's totally melted you add the almond oil, then the coconut. Measuring is a little tricky since each ingredient is all different consistency. I cut off a chunk of wax that looked like (if chopped) it would be a half cup, and used a half cup of the other two. Once it's melted and combined you just pour the liquid into silicone molds and let harden overnight. I used some silicone muffin liners (which I filled about 1/3 of the way) and a star-shaped ice cube tray. 

Now, I am a firm believer that the key to good homemade gifts is in the packaging. I like my gifts to look handmade, but like something you might buy at a craft fair or on Etsy, know what I mean? So here's how I packaged them up. 

You can buy mini clear plastic bags in different sizes and with or without zip-tops at craft stores. I printed on some scrapbook paper and cut them into bag toppers. You want your printing to be on the bottom half, so you fold the plain part (the top half) behind. Slip the bag inside of your bag topper then staple.

Then they should look like this. You could also buy little tins for them or recycle some altoid containers into cute lotion bar holders. 

One batch will give you lots of little bars, or double the recipe to a cup of each if you want a lot of the muffin size.

I gave some to my grandma last year and she said she loved these as lip balm, so this year I also bought some chap-stick tubes and poured some into those. Homemade, natural lip balm. Happy last-minute gift making!

Thanks for reading!
-Haley