DIY: sugar and spice body scrub

So I had intended to try a new body scrub recipe this week as a quick-and-easy holiday gift for friends, but I ended up falling back on a tried-and-true favorite instead: my Sugar and Spice Body Scrub.

The recipe originally came from an old issue of Country Living, but I seem to have lost all traces of it (I'm thinking in the Great Basement Flood Disaster of 2011). I found some versions online that seem close to what I remember, but I tweaked them a little and came up with this! (The nice thing about this project is that you can pretty much find all of the ingredients at your local grocery store except for the essential oil -- but you might even be able to find that if you live near a Whole Foods! Oh, to be so lucky...)

Combine two cups of white sugar, two cups of brown sugar, 1.5 tablespoons of ginger, 1.5 tablespoons of nutmeg, 1.5 tablespoons of cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon of cloves in a large bowl.

Add in 10 ounces (about a cup and a quarter) of almond oil and stir, stir, stir with a fork or whisk until everything is mixed evenly. You might need to get in there with your fingers to break up any large chunks of sugar.

Here's the only tough part, because it requires you to concentrate: add in 100 drops of cardamom essential oil (when purchasing, a 1 ounce vial should be plenty). After each set of 10 drops, blend carefully before adding any more. Be ready for your kitchen to smell like you are making some amazing cookies -- and slap your husband's fingers if he tries to sample any (really, 'cause it's not edible despite all the yummy ingredients).

Once everything is mixed together, you can start packaging! If you want to be earth friendly, upcycle some old jelly jars (especially those Bonne Maman ones!) or empty cosmetic tubs. I bought 4-ounce, double-walled containers (though next time I'm going to plan ahead and save jars instead!). If I really packed them full, I would have used 8, but I ended up with 9 -- the size of your jar will obviously determine the number you make. I also got some cute labels so they would look a little less plain. Be sure to include a little note telling your recipients that this is not intended for facial use and that they should use it within 6 months.

(Yes, my kitchen wall is covered with maps. Loooooong story for another post.)

All told, it probably took me an hour from start to finish once I had all of the supplies, which was the perfect project for L's naptime :) If you used old containers and made your own labels, the total cost for this project would be somewhere around $25 -- in other words, $3-per-person gifts. Score!

Have a happy weekend -- I'll be doing some at-home spa treatments with my new scrub :)