Learning My Craft

Spa Treatments

Let’s be honest this is the most stressful time of the year. With finals, Christmas shopping, and family functions we all could use some “me time”. These easy spa treatment recipes are sure to get you relaxed. You could also make them for a Christmas gift for someone who could use a break. 

Lavender Oat Infusion 

You’ll Need: 

• 1 cup uncooked oatmeal 
• 1 cup dried lavender blossoms or lavender essential oil 
• little muslim tea bag 

Combine the two ingredients and store in an airtight jar until your ready to use. When your ready to relax scoop some of the mixture into your muslim tea bag around 3/4 full then tie bag closed. Then drop the bag into the bath tub as it fills with hot water. Once, in the tub, you can squeeze the bag to help release the scent. After the bath, throw away the contents of the bag, turn the bag inside out and rinse it well. Hang it up to dry until you’re ready to use it again. 

Lemon Tea Sugar Scrub (for face and body) 

This scrub will make you glow. just put some on your palms and gently scrub your face with it, or scoop some onto a washcloth and give your body a scrub. It’s best to do in the shower or tub because it can get a little messy. 

You’ll Need: 

• 1 cup sugar 
• 3 tablespoons Epsom salt
• 10 teaspoons of olive oil 
• 2 teaspoons of honey 
• 3 green tea bags 
• 1 lemon to zest 
• grater or zester
• large mixing bowl 
• beautiful container 

The order of ingredients added is important because the other ingredients break down the honey so it mixes in evenly. First you need to grate your lemon rind and set aside the zest. Then in a large mixing bowl, combine and mix the sugar, Epsom salt, and loose tea (just rip open the bags and sprinkle the leaves in). Next add in the olive oil, and mix. Then add the honey, and combine well. Then add the lemon zest you have sitting aside and mix everything in the bowl. Lastly add all the mixture into your container. 

Relaxing Bath Crystal Body Scrub

This stuff is the absolute best. Who doesn’t enjoy kicking back and exfoliating after a long day of school?

You’ll Need: 

• 2 pounds of Epsom salt
• 20 drops of lavender oil 
• 5 teaspoons olive oil 
• 1/2 bar unused body soap of your choice (preferably unscented) 
• cheese grater
• large mixing bowl 
• glass container 

First you need to finely grate your soap, then set aside the shavings. In the big bowl, mix the Epsom salt, lavender oil, and olive oil.  At this point you can drop in some food coloring and combine throughly into the mixture, until you like the tint. Next pour in your grated soap. Pour the entire mixture into a glass container and scrub the stressful day away!

Light Canvas

Here is another painting project I have been working on. I’ve always wanted to incorporate lights into a painting and I have finally found a way to do just that. 

you’ll need: 

• canvas (9 in x 12 in) 
• silver acrylic paint 
• black acrylic paint 
• x-acto knife 
• paint brush 
• stencil 
• Golden- clear tar gel 
• Golden- glass bed gel 
• battery pack christmas light

This project does not require any painting skills just some time and patience. First you want to paint the whole canvas silver. You might need to do a few coats to get a solid color. 

Then tape down the chandelier stencil to the canvas using painters tape. 

Now you can begin painting the chandelier. I mixed the glass bed gel and the black paint with a palette knife and scraped it over the “metal” areas of the stencil. Then I mixed the clear tar gel and the black paint and applied it to the candles and jewels of the chandelier. 

You can see the different textures of the glass bed gel and clear tar gel in the picture below. 

I then peeled off the stencil and added some jewels for a little added sparkle.

I cut the canvas with an x-acto knife so I could push the light through the canvas.

I took out the extra lights from the christmas light battery pack and duck taped it all to the back of the canvas. 

Now sit back and enjoy the candle light! 

Wine Cork Memory Jar

On my 21st birthday this year my friend, Diane, told me about a different way to preserve memories of good times. All you have to do is collect wine corks from different occasions when you have splurged to drink some wine. Then write the occasion on the cork and have the people around you write something special about the occasion. I’ve just started my collection but I already love looking back and reading what people have written and reminiscing of the good times. Display them in a decorative jar and enjoy a journey down memory lane. 

Lace Cookies

you’ll need: 

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs  
• 2 cups oatmeal
• 1 cup finely sliced almonds 
• 1 tsp. backing powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla 

Preheat oven to 300°F. Cream butter and white and brown sugar in a large bowl.

Add beaten eggs and other ingredients to the same bowl and stir. Spoon the batter on the baking matt (only 8 cookies on each baking sheet). 

Place in oven for 9 min or until the cookie appears golden brown and like lace. Allow the cookies to cool down and then remove the cookies from the baking sheet.

Simple and elegant cookies that are sure to make you look like a skilled chief. 

Digital Painting

This semester I’m taking a painting class for beginners (I was unaware that “beginner” meant years of experience). My teacher assigned a really cool project that I thought I would share. The assignment is to take a picture and on photo shop make the photo digital so it broke the picture into many little squares. You can make the squares as big or as small as you wish (the bigger the easier). I decided to take a picture of my dog, Homer, to use for the project. 

I have yet to complete the final project but I wanted you to see how you can start and once I finish mine I will post the final picture. 

You’ll Need: 

• acrylic paint 
• paint brushes 
• palette
• canvas 
• photo that is broken into pixels on photo shop 

When you do the pixel treatment to your photo you don’t want to go to big that you can no longer make out the subject matter of the photo. Once you have created the pixel version of your photo count all the squares horizontally and vertically on the picture. Then I took the canvas and created a grid to match with the photo. 

Once you have completed drawing your grid you can now start painting. My teacher told me the best way was to start in the upper left corner, but due to my impatience I’ve been painting all over the place. 

Here are some close up pictures of my painting. 

This project takes a long time but the end result is very stylish. My one big tip to speed up the process would be to make the pixicals as big as possible. I think I have worked a little over 20 hours and I’m only half way done. When I finish I’ll let you know. Here is what I have so far. Stay tuned! 

Bow Wreaths

This project is easy and fun. All you have to do is arrange the bows, ribbons, and ornaments however you would like. The more layers and textures you add to the wreath the better it looks.  

you’ll need: 

• craft ring 18” (at Michael’s) 
• bows
• ribbon 
• ornaments 
• hot glue gun 

The bows below add lots of sparkle to your wreath. You can find these at Michael’s. 

Here is a wreath that I did with a green and pink theme. I would suggest that you lay out the arrangement you want and then to hot gun each bow to the craft ring.

For the next wreath I found scrap ribbon in my house and knotted it around the craft ring. Before I started the wreath I wrapped a red ribbon around the craft ring to cover up the brown coloring of the ring. This wreath is a great way to get rid of all the ribbon you have been collecting over the years.  

Enjoy making your house festive for the holidays!