Lotion Bars

So with all of the homemaking, washing, and super cold weather we've been having here in La Selva Beach, my hands have been completely tortured. But I'm not a huge hand lotion kind of gal, I'm not even good about moisturizing my face every day, it's just not something I do.

SO when I came across this lotion bar recipe I thought it would be a perfect solution for my poor hands.

And it is! Because the bar reacts to your body heat slowly, it doesn't just glop all over, which is exactly what I love about it. Also, it only has 3 ingredients; Beeswax, Shea Butter & Coconut Oil, simple to make and you can pour it into any kind of mold you desire.

The directions are pretty simple, only I would pour straight into the mold from the double boiler, don't bother transferring to a measuring cup or other instrument in order to pour into a mold, as the mixture cools rapidly. And, if you don't feel like making this yourself, I have some 1.5 oz bars available for purchase (just email me).

Lotion Bars
Makes 4-1.5 oz bars

2.25 oz Bees Wax (Best if you can buy from your local Bee Keeper or Apiary)
2 oz Shea Butter
2 oz Unrefined Coconut Oil
*Optional: 4-6 Drops Essential Oil

-Melt all ingredients in a double boiler over simmering water.
-Be sure to occasionally stir to help break everything down.
-Once all melted turn off heat & add Essential Oil*.
-Pour mixture into molds and let cool for about 30 mins.
-If needed, once cooled, place in freezer for 30 secs to help with release.


I used a silicone mold and a metal mini muffin pan to make these. The silicon mold bars popped out with no effort but the muffin pan needed to go into the freezer, then the bars just popped right out!

Advent Calendar

With the leftover material and scraps from Maiyo's Stocking Project I decided to make an advent calendar to match. It will consist of 24 little houses with a pocket on each to hold little goodies. Then it'll be strung on holiday ribbon to match!

With the remaining felt cut out 24 rectangles measuring 3" x 4.5" Then cut the tops off the rectangles using a 45 degree measurement:

From the quilting fabric cut out 24 squares measuring 3" x 3". (using 4 different fabrics I cut 6 squares from each)

Press down top side by 1/4" then sew across. Do this to all squares.

Then press down remaining sides by 1/4" and place on a felt house and sew the three un-sewn sides to make a pocket:

Now for the Numbers. You have a few options:
1-Buy numbers (either iron-on or sew-on)
2-Write numbers on with fabric paint
3-Hand stitch the numbers on. (this is what I did)

Then I completed by attaching them to holiday ribbon:

Pirate Birthday Party Theme

I was 'hired' (I use the term loosely cuz I didn't charge my friend) to put together a birthday party for a friend's 3 year old. He had decided on Pirate theme and I went to town. Here is the result:

I made:
-A Pirate Ship Centerpiece that held all the pirate cake pops
-24 Pirate Head Cake Pops + 1 Captain
-12 Skull & Bones + 12 Treasure Chest Cookies (as favors)

-24 Pirate Hat Cookies for everyone
-1 Gallon Lemonade labeled 'Liquid Gold'
-1 Gallon Ice Tea labeled 'Pirate Rum'
-PB&J Sandwiches cut in Pirate Boat & Skull/Bones shapes (I made the strawberry jam)
-Directional Road Signs with Skull & Bones Flags

What else was served/pirate theme:
-Fruit Plate labeled 'Parrot Food'
-Pirate Booty
-Water dispenser labeled 'Sea Sludge'
-Pirate B-day Banner
-Treasure Chest Pinata filled with candy and plastic gold coins
-Cheese & Sliced Meats plates
-Multigrain crackers
-Table cloths, plates, napkins, straws, cups & utensils all matching and/or pirate themed
-Coloring book station
-Bubbles station

The party was a huge success and all under a $250 budget! (not including my fee) And my friends throwing it didn't have to do a thing, I did all the work/prep/set-up. If you'd like me to plan your next event, send me an email:

unicorniscreations@yahoo.com

Build a Fort-Hand Made

We recently went to a birthday party for our friend's 4 year old son. I had no idea what to get him so I found this cute idea on Pinterest, a build your own fort kit! You buy all of the supplies and then combine them in a bag. I made both the supplies bag & fort kit bag as well as the sheet ties and kit card.

The task was pretty simple, attach 6 ties to each sheet (I only included 2 sheets) and stuff together in bags. The fun part was making the bags but you could buy some if you want and just put all the supplies in it. I made the kit card in a simple photo editing software by using a camo-fabric photo from the internet and adding text boxes and boards.

Here's what's in the kit:
2 Sheets with ties attached to each corner and then mid-way on each long side (6 ties total)
4 Suction Cups
4 Heavy Duty Clips
12 Laundry Clips
1 Flashlight (with batteries)
50' Nylon Rope
1 Bag for the Supplies
1 Big Bag for the Sheets & Supplies Bag

I bought the supplies at a dollar store & wal-mart and the sheets at good will. The bags & sheet ties I made with scrap fabric. In all I spent about $15. Such a wonderful gift!

btw, these work great for young girls too, everyone loves playing in a fort!!!

So many projects, so little time

Hey Everyone, Sorry for missing a recipe post this last Sunday. I actually have a lot of food pics & recipes to share, I just haven't had the chance to do my write up. I'm working on some now so soon you'll be able to see.

For now, here's a teaser pic of something I'll be concocting tomorrow!

Coffee Cozy

I'm a coffee nut, especially for local coffee roasters. So when I came across this DIY coffee cozy, I had to make it.

I made 3 of them with left over scraps from other projects so it took a while to cut all the pieces. The project probably took about 3 hours! Here's a pic of the project mid-stream:

After all the time & effort, these turned out great. I enjoyed making them and I'm excited to give them as gifts!

A Bag from the Past

I was at a friends house and saw a bag I made her a couple of years ago. I gave it to her with a bunch of apples from our yard. Now her 2 year old son uses it to go 'grocery shopping' at home with his toy foods, so cute! I need to make more of these bags before next apple season! When I do, I'll post the process.

The bag is about 9" high, 7" wide and fully lined:

Maiyo's Christmas Stocking

I mentioned to my friend Jennifer (of Gourmet Food the Healthy Way) that I was going to purchase a christmas stocking for Maiyo from Pottery Barn and have his name embroidered on it and she said I should just make one. Well of course, why didn't I think of that:-)

So I decided to quilt one! I sat down, hashed out a pattern, picked out some fabulous christmas fabric and had at it.And while I was at it, I decided to make one for each of us.

Here's the finished tops:

I sewed on a plain back to the tops in order to keep all the stitching from coming apart and to make it easier to sew onto the actual stocking which I made out of bolt felt.

Full Stocking:

Then I hand stitched the corner holds and our names on the upper part of the stocking but I didn't take pictures of them, instead here's a cute pick of Maiyo with his stocking:)

And this one's to give you an idea of the size

Wine Bags

These bags where made back in 2009. They hold 2 bottles of wine and I gave them out as podium bags for the Surf City Cyclocross Series. I kinda used this Simple Tote Bag pattern but of course changed it up a bit and added liners inside. I plan on making more soon and will post the process then...