Mild in the Country

Here is a link to my good friend Robs website Mild in the Country. 


As well as having absolutely all sorts to do on there they also run the craft fair in the village of Firbeck of which we are regular attendees.  The next one is this Saturday, so if you happen to read this and live nearby (you never know!) it is seriously worth a visit.

Coffee Samples

Kenco have recently stopped giving away samples of their new Millacano range however if you live in the US (which i dont sadly) you can find nescafe on facebook here and get some free samples from them; maybe you could try the body scrub I posted earlier!

How to Make: Coffee and Vanilla Body Scrub

(Not the best photo but not bad considering it was taken in the dark and on my mobile phone.)

These are some of things that we produce at home, a Rosemary and Geranium scrub on the left, some handmade bath salts in the centre and on the right we have our Coffee and Vanilla body scrub.

Now I dont do exact measurements, it all depends on the jar size but here is how we make it:

Fill a jar just two thirds full of a mixture of white sugar and coarse sea salt.  Add one teaspoon of coffee to the jar and mix well so the coffee is dispersed throughout.  Now slowly pour olive oil in and mix until a paste like substance is formed.  Add a couple of drops of Vanilla essence, mix well once more and you are done.  We would add in a few drops of Vitamin E oil in as well.

Of course you can vary this immensly, jojoba oil is quite popular instead of olive oil.  You don't have to go with a coarse sea salt but its fine to just use sugar, brown or white.  Instead of Vanilla essence you could use a fragrance oil or therapeutic grade essential oil.  The combinations go on and on.

Thats all there is to it. 

Using them is just as simple, simply scrub the skin for a couple of minutes, rinse well and pat dry.  We would recommend using a moisturiser afterwards as well.  Use the scrub no more than a couple of times a week.

Competitions

I intend to feature online competitions on this blog too. 

We started entering these a year ago and actually started winning rather quickly.  It takes a bit of effort but our prizes to date include a pack of pens, two cases of wine, a Artisan KitchenAid mixer (!!!), a years supply of vitamins and a limited edition pair of pepe reina joma football boots.

Please note, these are not the congratulations you are the one millionth customer etc etc competitions

Samples

Taking advantage of the many free samples that are on offer are an absolute must for thrifty living.  A personal favourite of mine, and one which you will find in abundance on the internet is free coffee.  This may seem odd when you consider that nobody in our house drinks cofee but apart from keeping it handy for visiting guests we use the samples in our handmade bodycare products.  Coffee and Vanilla body scrub anyone?  Of course, if we find a product that works particularly well then we will tend to use them again in the future.

I will post links to the samples I find and the recipes we use them in.

Handmade body products

Our sister blog, rustic treasures heavily features a lot of the items that we make for the various craft fairs we attend.  One particular type of item that also has a lot of interest is our organic bodycare products.  Since making a simple sugar scrub a year ago we started to experiment and now we create soaps, scrubs of all flavours, wax melts and bath oils...and then some!


We will feature a lot of content on this blog on how to make items for yourself, what to use and some little tips and tricks along the way.  Of course, you dont have to keep these items for yourself (although who could blame you!).  They make wonderful gifts for Birthdays, Wedding Favours you name it!  Money saving all the way!