DIY Vapor-rub with Essential Oils

As a life-long allergy sufferer I love my Vicks Vapo-Rub.  But it's expensive, and we seem to misplace it a lot... you know, you go lay down on the couch so you don't infect your spouse and it goes MIA.  Or Avi wanders off with it and it gets swallowed up into the great unknown that is where she hides miscellaneous "treasure" she finds and ferrets away.

With the AC on now thwarting all the spring pollen, it's dry and uncomfortable at night for me, so I found myself bemoaning a lack of Vicks and thinking about how to improvise.

I tapped my selection of essential oils, and used a drop or two of Eucalyptus, White Camphor, Tea Tree, and Peppermint mixed into a dollop of petroleum jelly I put in the middle of a plate.  I worked the essential oil into the petroleum jelly with a silicone spatula so that it was very well mixed.

Determining how much essential oil to add and the ratio of oil to petroleum jelly is a personal preference.  If you have been shoving Vicks up your nose for the last decade, like me, you'll be adding more.  If you're more sensitive, you can add less and achieve a result you can live with.

Either way, essential oils are potent, and can irritate the skin, especially mooches membranes if touched directly to them.  You can always add more, but you can't take it away without diluting the mixture, and mix, mix, mix.  You want the oil to be enveloped in the jelly before you smear it on you.

I'm very happy with the home-made remedy, which is much MUCH cheaper, and can be whipped up quicker than you can drag the kids to the pharmacy to pick up a jar!

Recycle Craft: Reclaimed Floor Tile Trivets

Last weekend we here at Sine Metu Designs sponsored a free make-and-take demo at the 4th annual EcoChic Craftacular which featured local artists and artisans who have an eco-friendly spin to their art, crafts, and business practices.  The event is sponsored by Etsy Team Columbus, a collaboration of local indie artists, and of which I'm proud to be a member!  The Team worked very hard to bring the community this fantastic event and it was a huge success:  raising $1000 for the Whetstone Community Center, $250 for two local animal shelters, ADOPT Pet Rescue and Colony Cats and Dogs, and $100 for a local Arts foundation, all serving Columbus-area and Central Ohio.

In the spirit of being eco-friendly, we chose an arts & craft project that made use of reclaimed building materials--which are often in ready supply this time of year as folks get to work with home renovation projects. The reclaimed tile we used I found for free on FreeCycle, which I continue to mention often because it's such a great recycling resource.  

We transformed reclaimed ceramic floor tile (ours are 9-inch by 9-inch) into artsy trivets in a few easy steps, then showed all who cared to learn how to do the same; then we went wild with the enamel paints and produced some functional masterpieces!

Supplies:  Reclaimed tile, cork or felt, spray adhesive, thin quick-tack glue such as super glue or jewelry glue, wooden furniture buttons (optional), enamel acrylic paint for ceramic or "patio" grade acrylic and brushes, Sharpie or permanent marker (optional) and clear spay sealant (optional, but recommended).

First, we removed as much grout as possible from the tiles, using a pair of channel lock-style pliers to remove the line of grout along the edges.  The way these pliers "bite" provide a lot of torque, and it's very easy to snap the grout right off the edge, whereas it was impossible to do so with the bare hand.  Thanks to my hubby for always knowing which tool to use!

Next, I trimmed a pice of cork to the size of the tile.  I purchased a roll of thin cork with a self-adhesive sticker-back at Hobby Lobby for less than $5 and it was enough to make more than a half dozen trivets and several coasters.  If preferred, simple craft felt can be used and adhered to the back with spray adhesive.

To add "feet" to the trivet (optional) I used a thin layer of jewelry glue to adhere round-top wooden furniture buttons to the corners of my tile after I attached my cork.  You can find wooden furniture buttons in the woodworking aisle of craft stores such as Hobby Lobby or at the hardware store--they are used to cover cam-screw holes and are inexpensive.  I purchased a pack of 30 for $1.47 at Hobby Lobby.

Once the feet have dried, you can flip over and begin to paint! Because of the sealant glaze, I recommend ceramic paint or "patio" grade acrylic paint as it's more permanent than general-purpose craft paint.  If you plan to use the tile as a garden marker or step stone, or as an actual trivet for hot pots and pans, you want a more durable finish to take weathering and scratching.  If the tile is strictly decorative, it likely doesn't matter.

Get your inspiration and plan your painting.  If using enamel, you can't just "wipe-off" if you mess up, so draw carefully.  I outlined my images in Sharpie.  A couple layers of paint will cover the marker, or you can use permanent marker to add fine details over the dry painting.

With enamel, build your painting in layers. You can add light colors over dark colors if you let the bottom layer dry first.  It is better to apply two coats of thin layers to build up blocks of color than to try to glob on one thick coat.  You can also paint the sides of the tile for a more finished look.

When the paint is dry and you're finished with your design, spray with a clear glaze or sealant, let dry, and repeat.

Other ideas:  Make a bold geometric print by spraying with a textured spray paint (pictured, hammered copper) and paint acrylic lines in a complementary color when dry (I used cobalt blue enamel).

Make a chalk board server and tell your guests exactly what they're eating by painting several layers of chalkboard paint over the tile.

Let your kid go nuts with the paint for a recycled art experience!

Try some garden tile markers, like the below "Avi & Daddy's Garden" we made.

Make your own flavored coffee creamer: Control the fat, sugar, and taste!!

Think flavored coffee creamer is ____________ ?
a. Stupid expensive
b. ungodly sweet
c. full o'fat and sugar (and by sugar I mean high fructose corn syrup)
d. full of random other ingredients like artificial flavors and preservatives, and other strange things
e. ALL of the above

ME TOO!

Good thing there's an alternative... you can Make It Yourself!!  << you may be seeing a pattern in my posts, snicker>>

Yes folks, the little luxury of having pre-mixed flavored coffee syrup can be yours with 5 minutes of prep or less a week, and you have control over the FAT content, SUGAR content, and FLAVOR. You can make it with things you probably have on hand!  Whoo hoo!

Today I was playing around with different proportions of these ingredients and I found what puts me in coffee bliss (I just got a like-new condition Senseo one- or two-cup coffee maker AND two bags of unopened pods...  for FREE, thanks to Freecycle! So I've been endlessly playing with cups of coffee).

By making variations to this recipe to suit your taste (it is do it yourself, after all) you can customize your own flavored creamer for that perfect coffee treat!

Before I begin.. let me just point out some stats for the commercial stuff:

Prices (via Google Shopping query)-
Nestle Coffee-Mate in french vanilla, $4-5.07 for 15 oz
Good Kind Natural Coffee Creamer, French Vanilla, $7.20 for 8oz
International Delight, French Vanilla, $3-4.50 for 13 mL

Ingredients for Nestle Coffee-Mate French Vanilla creamer 
(copied directly from their site HERE): 

WATER, SUGAR, HYDROGENATED COCONUT OIL, SODIUM CASEINATE (A MILK DERIVATIVE), FLAVOUR AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOUR, DIPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, SALT, MONOGLYCERIDES, ACETYLATED TARTARIC ACID ESTERS OF MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES.

Now to make your OWN you can use:

Heavy Whipping Cream (choose your fat version, organic, lactose-free, whatever)
Milk (choose your own milk alternatives, organic, lactose-free, fat percentage, etc.)
Sweetener (sugar, Stevia, I abhor non-natural artificial sweeteners, but if you like them- it's your body, agave                       syrup, etc.)
Flavor (I definitely recommend pure extracts, you can choose vanilla or whatever else you like, or mix and match, like vanilla & cinnamon, butter & rum, etc)

To make:

I recommend using a glass container with a lid for storage and ease of shaking up: recycle an empty glass jar, such as from pasta sauce or "canned" fruit or veggies, etc.!

To this container, add UP TO equal proportions heavy whipping cream and milk OR reduce the ratio of cream to milk to lower the fat content.  Obviously the less cream to milk, the less "creamery" it will taste. Shoot for one-cup total, or whatever you will consume in one week for best quality.

I recommend starting at 1:3 cream to milk and go up from there to taste.  I don't recommend more cream than half and half, because the fat in the cream will float slightly on your coffee--you'll see little "oil slicks."

Taste, Taste, Taste!  You can always add more of something!  Keep tasting, adding a bit at a time, because what I think is yummy, you might not.

When you've arrived at your ratio of choice for cream and milk, add your flavor extract(s).  For one cup of cream-milk mixture, start with 1/2 teaspoon of extract, shake well, taste, and go from there.

Next add your sweetener.  If you are adding a sweetener in crystal form (as opposed to liquid) it would be best to dissolve it in a little bit of warm water first.  The benefit of doing this is that you get an accurate picture of the sweetness, whereas the sugar crystals may not dissolve right away in the cold milk-cream mixture and you might keep adding more and more because you can't taste it right away, then end up going EW! Too Sweet!  later.

For one cup of the milk-cream mixture I started with one tablespoon and ended up going to about two and a half. Remember you're not going to be drinking this straight, but very diluted in coffee so think about how much you end up sweeting your coffee... if you use a whole spoonful of sugar in one cup of coffee you're going to want your stir-in much sweeter, whereas I normally add NO sugar to plain coffee, I just like my flavored creamer to have a *hint* of sweetness.

So there you go!  Have fun experimenting (and saving money, and avoiding yucky additives!) Remember to keep refrigerated and shake well before use!

Image credits (Featuring some of my fave brands!):  Heavy whipping cream, Kemps brand;  Organic low fat milk, Organic Valley Co-op Brand; Vanilla extract, J.R. Watkins Brand; Stevia, Stevia Extract in the Raw Brand.

A Mom's Kitchen Spellbook: $5 e-booklet with recipes & resources for creating homemade alternatives to commercial kits arts & crafts basics

We're proud to release our first e-book!  


Magically transform common pantry staples into children's arts & crafts basics with this e-booklet filled with ten different recipes for homemade alternatives for commercial products. Appealing to the DIY enthusiast, the frugal mom, and those who are earth-conscious and concerned about the quantity of commercial chemicals our children come in contact with on a daily basis--these homemade alternatives are a breath of fresh air. 

Time-tested recipes have been complied, tested, and tweaked to form the best recipe, with suggestions for alterations and substitutions. You will also find great ideas for reducing craft waste by reusing common household goods, create a recycle-craft friendly environment, how to turn making homemade craft supplies into an educational & enriching experience, and kid-friendly project ideas for what to do with the finished products. 

At a fraction of the cost of commercial, chemical-laiden products, you too can whip up some homemade alternatives with pantry staples with this informative instructional guide. Plus, at only $5, this resource is just as frugal as the recipes it offers, and saves you valuable time trying to research, adapt, and tweak all these recipes yourself! Find recipes such as watercolors, finger paints, craft clays, scented play dough, colored salt "sand", face paint, "flubber" and more.

Delivered via PDF attachment sent through email as soon as payment is received through PayPal. Check out ETSY listing for additional details. 

View this item at our studio HERE-- great ideas for a homemade holiday (whip up batches of chemical-free arts & craft goodness for a child in your life) or for a gift for a teacher or childcare provider!


Cheers!