The little face scrubbies I made as part of my recent giveaway are ideal for both cleansing and toning.  The best part? They were surprisingly easy to make (which is good news for someone as uncrafty as I tend to be), so if you don’t win the giveaway or you do and you simply want more…you can totally make your own!

Here’s how I did it:

• First, I cut a bath cloth (or cloths) into as many 3×3 inch squares as I wanted scrubbies. I managed to get nine squares out of one standard bath cloth. I used a post-it to get the shape right.

• Next I cut out nine squares of a pretty floral jersey fabric Danielle let me use. I made sure the fabric squares were large enough to fold over the cloth about 1/2 inch on each side to keep the cloth pieces from fraying. My fabric squares were 4×4 inches. To get the best shape, I used a ruler and a washable marker. Heads up, you might want to use something more cooperative than jersey. I had to sew my scrubbies by hand rather than using a sewing machine because jersey tends to bunch up with sewing machines. I learned the hard way by destroying two potential scrubbies with Danielle’s sewing machine. Had I thought about this possibility beforehand I might’ve used something else or avoided the sewing machine altogether.

• I laid the fabric squares decorative side down and put a cloth square in the center of each fabric square, or as close as I could get to the center.

• Since I sewed my scrubbies by hand, I used the following tools- scissors for cutting the embroidery floss, a thimble to protect my little finger, a needle threader whose purpose should be obvious, a needle, embroidery floss in a beautiful shade of turquoise, and a hair pin to place at the end of each row I sewed (pictured below). I found that the pin kept the fabric still and helped me sew straighter lines.

• In the picture above, I’ve just finished sewing the far left row and am about to begin the bottom row, which is which is why the pin is located at the end of it. Sewing the fabric to the cloth was definitely the most time consuming part of this project, but it was nothing a little music couldn’t make more interesting. I tried several different stitches, but I settled on a Split Stitch, which seemed result in a sturdier scrubbie.

• As a final step, I washed and dried the scrubbies to get the marker off of them and test their durability. As you can see, the little guys made it!

So there you have it. Please let me know if I’ve left anything important out or if you have any questions. If you guys make your own scrubbies using my tips or another tutorial entirely, I’d love to see pictures (even and especially if they’re better than mine)!

Danielle and I made homemade bath soak for some of our friends and gave them away as Christmas presents this year. The scents that we ended up with were appropriately named Tangerine Raspberry, Lavender Vanilla, Lemon Jasmine, Lavender Spearmint, and Lavender Peppermint. We used old wine, whiskey, Irish cream, and gin bottles as containers, and the fact that we had ten of those with lids just lying around may make us seem like a bunch of lushes…but, in our defense, we have a lot of parties at our house. For the labels, Kirby modified a set of West Elm holiday tags and cards that Danielle found on How About Orange. I’m really happy with the way that they turned out!

The adorable stamp that I used for the labels on top came from a cute little Etsy shop called cupcaketree. I should’ve taken a closer picture of them, but the birds are wearing Santa hats in case you can’t tell. How adorable, right?!

That’s our friend Robert holding his lavender spearmint bath soak. He’s an alright guy.

This is me with my pretty friend, Allie

Your eyes aren’t playing tricks. That is a fancy Christmas vest that I’m wearing.

Preparing to travel home, Christmas parties, Christmas shopping, Christmas crafting (which I will post about eventually), and fighting off a cold have been keeping me pretty busy lately. I honestly didn’t have much time to throw together anything even kind of original today. Still, I think you guys should check out Care2′s list of 20 Green Gift Ideas. There are some real winners here and there. I love a list that includes animal lovers.

I really enjoy buying health and beauty products, even when they're not for me.

Danielle and I love the way Mrs. Meyers Clean Day cleaning products smell, so I bought her some Geranium-scented room spray.  I hope she uses it in the kitchen just once so I can get to experience it. Is that selfish? Fragrance is the only questionable ingredient listed, but I figured that she’d be okay with it since she wouldn’t be spraying it on her body. I also tend to assume that fragrance in products that are supposed to be natural would be less harmful than fragrance in Tommy Girl or some other ridiculous perfume.  Still, I could be totally wrong. I’ll admit that.

I also got Danielle some John Masters Organics Dry Hair Nourishment & Defrizzer. The ingredients look so dreamy (jojoba oil, olive oil, evening primrose oil, flax seed oil, lavender oil, cedarwood) bark oil, rosemary leaf oil). And they’re all organic!

I have never used any MyChelle products, but Guava Orange Vanilla chapstick sounds super tasty. Also, the ingredients are both safe and vegetarian.

Everyone needs treats on their birthday, right?

I decided that Danielle needed some Bob’s Red Mill Vanilla Cake Mix so that she would have an excuse to use her new KitchenAid stand mixer (that bitch!) I’m not allergic to gluten and neither is she, but I like that this cake mix is dairy and trans fat free.

That Pumpkin Flax Granola was mega cheap, and I couldn’t pass it up. I may have test-tasted it. It may have passed the test. I figured that Danielle could put it in her desk at work for snacking or something. I mean, I guess she has a desk?

Since Danielle tends to like lemon-flavored anything, I bought her a Lemon Zest Luna Bar and a lemon-flavored LaraBar. From everything I’ve read, Luna Bars are vegan, which is nice. They’re also packed with fiber, protein, iron, folic acid, and other stuff that is often missing from women’s diets. I can usually count the ingredients in  and given LaraBar on one hand, and this particular LaraBar has exactly five ingredients. I can get on board with that.

As an afterthought, I made her a little birthday headband out of a huge spare button and an orange headband that I had lying around.

That headband did not want to act right while I was taking the picture.

My boyfriend is good at what he does.

Kirby made Danielle an adorable birthday card.

Here's Danielle's basket full of birthday goodies.

Hopefully I can talk Danielle into reviewing the hair oil, lip butter, and room spray!

Danielle suggested hanging them in the living room beside my painting of Clementine and Winston, and I was all for it.

Next in line are my friends Taylor (who has an adorable dog named Nellie) and Katie (who owns two beautiful dogs named Sam and Mia). I’m pretty excited; dogs are my favorite.

Several health and beauty related posts are on the way, I promise. Between looking for jobs and the frequent trips to target/marshalls/kroger/walmart, I haven’t had much spare time for posting anything more substantial than a picture with a few words. Things will settle down soon.

To me, buying health and beauty products is almost as exciting as buying a new dress.

Burt’s Bees Herbal Insect Repellent- I’ve been meaning to try this for a while now.  I always forget about until I’m at a cookout and the only stuff available is Off!  I usually just suck it up and let the bugs bite me.

Living Foods Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil- This is a definite upgrade from the jar that I just finished (which had a picture of shrimp on the label, and was found tucked between the olive and vegetable oils in Walmart).

Burt’s Bees Vitamin E Body and Bath Oil- I already know that I love this body oil.  I’ve almost finished my current bottle.  Btw, I love glass bottles and I can only find this in a glass bottle at the health food store that I frequent when I visit home.

I even snagged Kirby a few treats. I'm a good girlfriend.

Jack Black All-Over Wash- I bought this for Kirby for Christmas, and he loved it.  He just ran out, so I did the right thing and bought him some more.

Anthony Logistics for Men Glycerin Cleansing Bar- I could smell this bar before I even picked up.  It is so citrusy and delicious! I love  walking into the bathroom while Kirby’s showering and smelling good smells.

Badger Organic Healing Balm- Kirby is a manly man, and his hands get pretty beaten up sometimes. I think he’ll enjoy this balm.

I also bought a stamp for making stationery and some fabric flowers for making cooler headbands.

Be sweet to me and I might send you a letter or make you a headband.

I’ve been really wanting a fancy headband in my life, but I’m a little broke right now.  Today I cut a flower out of an old dog shirt and sewed it onto an old headband with a button and some thread.  It was easy; it only took about ten minutes. I’d really like to make more, but I need to get my hands on some pretty fabric first.