Super Cute & Super Easy Green Apple Hand Scrub!

Hey y'all! I have been meaning to post these for the past week...but, well, you know how things go sometimes! These are the little creations that I whipped up for Mother's Day gifts last weekend and I just love how they turned out! I wanted to make sure I shared them with you because not only are they super easy, but are adorable when decorated, budget friendly, you get the chance to recycle something (yay!) & who doesn't love to get a hand crafted gift?!

First, I must say that while I totally wish the idea was completely mine, it wasn't. I found the most amazing tutorial for the hand scrub at The Gaines Gang. It was such a simple recipe that I knew I wanted to try it out myself & I knew I could put my own personal spin on the whole thing, too. I just want to say thanks to Kate for posting such an awesome tutorial and having a wonderful blog as well!

So, you are going to need two ingredients for these bad boys...sugar and dish soap. Yep, that's it! Well, at least when it comes to the hand scrub part. You are also gonna need some glass jars, scrapbook paper, something to cut your shapes with, spray paint or craft paint, some strong adhesive, ribbon, jute, & a pen. Most of this you will already have around the house, which is were the super budget friendly part of this cutie pie gift comes in! I keep all my glass jars...yes, all of them. From pasta sauce to jelly jars, which is what I used above, they are in my cabinets. Thank God I have an understanding hubby when it comes to me never wanting to throw away anything! These little jars were Smucker's jelly jars in a former life and are the perfect size. I simply spraypainted the lid to give it a finished look (i love the ace hardware premium enamel spray paint - it has great coverage and dries super quick!) and made sure no gunk or label remained on the outside. You want these puppies clean!!

Next, I used some shabby crochet-type ribbon from my stash (it was originally from the dollar tree) and used Aileen's Fast Grab Tacky Glue to adhere it directly to the jar. I cut a scallop circle and plain circle using my Cricut & Mini Monograms cartridge. I used the Home Accents cart for the apple, which I then embossed using the Cuttlebug Divine Swirls & Swiss Dots folders. The black cardstock is The Paper Temptress (love, love, love embossing this paper...so fabulous!), the pink paper is American Crafts, & the patterned paper is from the Recollections Summer Flower collection. I love this paper and it's beautifully shabby chic look! And, the last I checked, they have it at Michael's for 2 for a $1...definitely a bargain! I used some pop dots to give the apple some dimension, and I also inked the edges of all the papers with Stamp Craft black ink to add a little more shabbiness. After adding the title to the tag, I tied some jute (dollar tree as well and this stuff lasts forever!) around the top to complete the look.

Now, on to the hand scrub. Simply pour approximately 2/3 of jar full of ordinary sugar and then add your dish soap. I used some nice green apple scented soap that would be gentle on the skin and have a wonderful aroma while exfoliating. I also loved the pink grapefruit scent and will be making some of that in the near future! While I definitely wouldn't use anything harsh, such as a dish soap with bleach, my son asked me to make these for his teacher's when Christmas comes around again. For them, I believe I will find a nice antibacterial soap to kill a few more germs in the classroom! And, this is definitely a kid friendly project! My son had a blast mixing and adding more soap and sugar as needed, which is what you will probably need to do in order to come to the right consistency...which will be like paste, not too thick and not too thin. I did find however, that you will have to stir these little scrubs every so often to keep it mixed up well. I wanted to add some vintage baby spoons tied to the jar for that purpose, and to scoop out the scrub, but didn't have a chance to get to the thrift store before Mother's Day arrived. Will make sure to do that next time though!

Whew! This was definitely a longer post than I thought it would be! If you hung around with me for this long, you are a dear! Thanks so much for taking the time to read my post and I would love to know if you decide to make your own hand scrub! And, let me know if you do! I would love to see what design you come up with and how you make it unique! I will be back in a few more days with a yummy post...a little something I whipped up for teacher's presents. Lord knows they all deserve a medal after putting up with my teenage terror throughout the year! LOL! Happy Scrappin'!

And, I am also linking my lil' project up to some very cool DIY sites below! Make sure to check them all out and be totally inspired!