Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

My kids love hot chocolate. In fact, it has been the number one requested beverage around here for a few weeks. It has been  cold here in the northeast, and they love the warm mugs of cocoa when they get home from school. This is my go-to recipe for homemade hot chocolate. What I love is that I can sub out the french vanilla coffee creamer for seasonal flavors, like pumpkin spice or peppermint mocha  and flavor the hot chocolate for gift giving. This year I made a batch of regular and a batch of peppermint mocha to give as gifts to neighbors, our mailman and the boys teachers. You can use any size jar or container you like. I had pints on hand this time! Enjoy! 

Homemade Hot Chocolate  ( for gift giving)

6 c sugar

1 (2lb) box nonfat dry milk

2 (13 oz) containers malted milk powder

1 (15 oz) container  french vanilla non-dairy coffee creamer (or any flavor you want)

1 (13oz) container chocolate malt mix

1 (8oz) cox unsweetened cocoa powder

In a very large, deep bowl, combine the sugar,non fat dry milk, malted milk powder, coffee 

creamer,chocolate malt mix and cocoa. Mix well to combine.Store in airtight containers at room 

temperature.

Yield : approximately 27 cups

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I wash many, many loads of laundry . With teenage boys at home, I really do feel like it is the never ending chore . Especially now that football has started . Smelly, dirty clothes are the norm around here. I try to set a schedule for laundry, but I just ultimately put in a load a day. At least.  I have always been a Tide fan. But with all of the laundry I do, it isn't a very economical choice. As a blogger, I have seen my fair share of homemade laundry detergents posted over the years. In the back of my mind I thought about it, but decided it was easier to just buy it and move on. Until my friend Shandy over at Aprons N Pearls  blogged about making her own batches of detergent a few years back. So I though what the heck and made a batch. The rest, as they say, is history!  I love this detergent! It is so much more economical, it smells good, and best of all, it cleans our clothes so well! My husband and I whipped up a batch this past weekend. The only time consuming part would be grinding the Fels Naptha Soap in the food processor. Other than that you just dump and stir. I use about 3 T in each load . But my loads are large ( most of the time) , so if you are washing a regular load you can scale it down to 2T. It is a powder , which I love. No drippy messes. I do not have a HE machine ( I did, but it always smelled moldy and my clothes started to smell too. So we bought a traditional machine and love it. To each his own) , but I have friends that do and they say this detergent works great in their washers. You can find all of the ingredients for this recipe at Target or Walmart. Except the Fels Naptha soap. I have yet to find it at Target. And if you want to save even more $$, look for large bags of baking soda in the pool aisle at walmart. This time of year you can find them marked down when they switch summer pool items to fall items.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

1 box Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
4lb box Baking Soda
1 box Borax
1 3lb container Oxi Clean
4 bars Fels Naptha soap
2 containers Downy Unstopables ( I use the Fresh or the Lush scent)

Using a food processor or a food grater, grate the bars of Fels Naptha Soap into small pieces. About the size of small peas.
In a large container ( I use a large bucket, you can use a heavy duty garbage bag), mix all of the ingredients together and stir well to incorporate the mix.
Transfer to a smaller container to use in your laundry room. Keep the rest in an airtight container and refill when needed.
Large load - use 3 T
regular load - use 2T

Homemade Cough Syrup

I have used homemade cough syrup for as long as I can remember. Growing up, we went to a pediatrician that was all about telling my mama to make a homemade syrup rather than using the store bought ones. And my nana always made us the homemade stuff using honey, lemon juice and Wild Turkey. It always seemed to work and I use homemade for my family. I have three different ones that I have on rotation , one using whiskey, one using Southern Comfort and one using pineapple juice ( for the kids). This one is made with the whiskey. It packs a punch, so use accordingly. I take 2 teaspoons full every four hours or so and it does the trick. I will be adding the other two recipe in the next few days, so check back.

Homemade Cough Syrup

15 soft peppermint rounds 
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 oz honey ( local honey from your area is best)
whiskey of choice ( I use Knob Creek)

In a clean pint jar, add the peppermints. Then add the lemon juice and honey. Stir a few times and add enough whiskey to fill the jar, with about 2" headspace for shaking.
Place the jar lid and ring on tight and shake a few times. Let it sit for a few minutes and shake again. The peppermints with dissolve and you will have a smooth red syrup. 
Take 2 teaspoons every 4 hours.

Homemade Almond Joy Lip Scrub

I don't know about you guys, but my lips tend to stay chapped in the winter time. I will be the first to tell you that I am not a girly girl. Not by any means. I am a boy mom and my boys have been known to stare at me if I have makeup on because they rarely see me with it on. I literally shower, brush my teeth and put on mascara and chapstick  most every day. But....dry , cracked lips are a no go with me.  I have bought expensive lip exfoliants /scrubs before and they work fine. But I am pretty absent minded and misplace things all the time, not to mention needing one for the car, the house, my purse etc and at $16-$20  per small tube, no way. Making my own lip scrub is the solution. And as a plus, it is so inexpensive, easy to make and it is all  natural.  There are so many different flavors you can use. Add instant coffee, essential oils, flavored water drops etc instead of the coconut and almond extracts that I use. I choose the almond joy flavor because my boys use it too, and I know if it smells and tastes too girly, they won't use it, so I stick to the basics. Coconut oil is a great moisturizer in general. and it works wonders on lips. It leaves them soft and healthy. You can use granulated white sugar or brown sugar for this recipe. I just grabbed white for this batch. Totally up to you. These make wonderful gifts as well.
The containers I use came from my local pharmacy. If you look in the section where they sell travel sized toiletries, you can usually find small containers that will be perfect for this scrub. Usually I can find clear, blue, green and purple ones. This recipe fills 6 to 8 of the small containers, depending on how tightly you pack it in there .
Make sure if your coconut oil is hard , pop it in the microwave for a few seconds until it melts and is easier to mix with the sugar and extracts. It will harden back up ( or melt ) depending on where you store it. Keeping it in the refrigerator in the warmer months will keep it the right consistency to use on your lips.

Homemade Almond Joy Lip Scrub
Ingredients
1 c white or brown sugar
1/4 c coconut oil, softened
1/4 tsp coconut extract
1/4 tsp almond extract

Directions
In a bowl, mix all 4 ingredients well. Using a small spoon, scoop into containers and pack the scrub with the back of the spoon ( Like you would if you were packing brown sugar for baking)
That's it ! Use on lips as a scrub . Gently massage into lips.  Wipe off with a slightly wet cloth , or just lick it off, it is 100% edible :)

Cupcake Liner Valentine Heart Wreath

I have searched for a valentine wreath for a few years now to hang on the window above my sink. They have either been too gaudy with hearts , too heavy , too big or too expensive. I saw online a tutorial using cupcake liners to create a wreath that I loved .Last Valentine's Day I stocked up on cupcake liners while they were on major sale at Target, so I dug them out  and went to work.This was so easy to make. I made it Sunday night while watching Downtown Abbey, Season 4.I love it! All you have to do is scrunch the cupcake liners in the middle and ,using a glue gun, dab a bit of glue onto the wreath and stick the liner in the glue. Make sure you hold it there for a few seconds to let the glue set a bit. After the glue has dried on all of the liners , you can adjust the paper width to cover holes in the wreath. Super easy, you guys. I think it would also be gorgeous if you used a black and white cupcake liner and hung it from a red ribbon. So many possibilities.
 The wreath  is lightweight and just the right amount of pink and red not to completely annoy my husband! And it the perfect size for the window. (Even though this pic is obviously using the calendar as a background).

Reindeer Silhouettes on Burlap

I am decorating for Christmas this year with lots of burlap, greenery , and black and white. I love the neutral palette and these wall hangings are a perfect fir for our walls.  At the moment I am obsessed with burlap. Obsessed. I saw these cute wooden reindeer in the Christmas aisle at Michael's earlier this week and picked up a few of each size. Large and small. I also picked up a few packs on framed burlap . I used 12" x 12" burlap for the large reindeer and 4 6" x 6" burlap frames for the large. This project was so easy! I painted the reindeer matte black with acrylic paint. I used E6000 glue to mount the small reindeer onto the frames and I attached the larger reindeer with twine to silver clips that I attached to the top of the 12" x 12" frames. You guys, this craft project is a huge win!  They are going to look perfect on my walls for the holidays. Stay tuned for pics sand tutorials on other Christmas decor! Enjoy your weekend !

DIY Halloween Picture Frames

I am one of those people who loves to decorate for the different seasons and the different holidays that come around each year. I love black and white in my decor and Halloween is one of my favorite times of year to decorate. I love the cooler weather , the leaves all over the yard and pumpkins, owls and crows all over the house. I was browsing through the dollar bins at Michael's Craft Store and picked up these small frames in orange and  black. I already had the newspaper/spiderweb scrapbook paper in my stash and I bought these cute glitter stickers ( yes, stickers) to stick to the front of the frame. All you have to do is cut the scrapbook paper to fit the frame and stick on the sticker. Pop it in the frame and you have cute Halloween art to display non your table! You can also do this with any holiday theme, just use different colored frames , paper and stickers. I think I will make a few more for friends! These are easy to do in an afternoon and the kids can help you with it.
Pin It

{ Easter Wreath }

 I wanted an Easter wreath that was simple this year. I have three doors to decorate every few months and for the last few Easters, I have used egg wreaths. Pastel  eggs and grapevine wreaths. They are beautiful, but this year I wanted a change. I found these carrot bunches at Pier 1 Imports and new that I wanted to make a wreath with them when I saw them. I used three green wreath forms that I find at the dollar store, and covered each with burlap. I pinned the burlap in place and then pinned the carrot bunches to each wreath with florist pins. I love the way they turned out. So  simple. And the best part is that I can change out the decorations each season and/or holiday!

Linking up  this week to :
Show me What you've got
 Take A Look Tuesday
Ladybug Blessings
Rook No 17
Tuesday To Do Party
Wednesday Wowzers

Pin It