DIY Homemade Lip Balm

When it is summertime here, I have zero desire to go outside unless I am near a pool, lake, or ocean.  Being stuck indoors puts me in the mood to craft, and lately I have been wanting to make all the things with my Young Living oils.  I decided to start with lip balm.  I love a good chapstick and wanted to make one that was all natural.  I searched around, got an idea of what to use, and kinda mixed up a few recipes.

Here's what I used...

Ingredients:
2 TBSP African Shea Butter
2 TBSP Organic Beeswax 
2 TBSP Organic Coconut Oil
6-10 drops of Young Living essential oils (I used Peppermint)
Small syringe (I used one of my kids' medicine droppers.)

Tools:
12 Lip Balm tubes
Glass measuring cup (Heavy duty and able to be heated like Pyrex or Anchor)
Egg carton
Frying Pan


I ordered almost all of my ingredients online except for the coconut oil.  You can click on each item and it will take you to exactly what I used.

First, I put some water in a frying pan and set the glass measuring cup in the center of it as I brought it to a boil.  Then I added the beeswax and waited for it to melt.

While waiting for that to melt, I poked holes in my egg carton, opened all of my tubes, and made sure they were rolled all the way down.  Then I stuck each tube into the carton to hold it into place so it wouldn't fall over as I added the mixture.

After the beeswax melted, I added the shea butter and coconut oil, let it melt, and then stirred it all together. Once it was completely smooth, I added my oils.  I used 6 drops of Peppermint oil for my first batch and wished I had added a little bit more.

Then, I turned the burner off and used a medicine dropper to slowly add the mixture to each tube.  You want to do this pretty quickly because it does not take long before it starts to harden.  It also sinks down quickly, so I went back and topped it off with the leftover mixture. 


I let it sit on the counter to cool for about 20-30 minutes, then I wiped off any excess mixture that dripped down the side with a paper towel.  Next, I put the caps back on and stuck them in the fridge for another 30 minutes or so.  I was able to get 13 tubes out of my first batch and had enough ingredients left over to do it again at least 4 or more times. 

Y'all....this is the smoothest stuff I have ever put on my lips!  I can't stop putting it on! I love it so much, and so does every one that I have given it to.


In fact, we like it so much that we made some more again today.  I let my daughter and nieces help, and they were so excited!  This time we added about 5 drops of lavender to the mix. 

To make them pretty, I let the girls decorate them with washi tape.  They were having a contest to see whose was the cutest.  I think they are all adorable. 

So there ya go...super simple lip balm!  If not, I would not have done it. :)  I figured I would share it with you incase you had the itch to make some too.  And speaking of itch, you could also use the lavender one as a stick to put on bug bites.  (We used some of the left overs on my husband's arm, because it is covered in poison ivy.)  Let me know if you'd like more information on Young Living oils.  Happy Saturday, Friends!

The Last 356 Days

I have to apologize.  It's been almost a year since my last blog post.  You probably thought I gave it up.  I have thought about it a lot over the past 356 days, but just haven't made the time.  For one thing we moved to the middle of no where and bless our Netflix-loving hearts no longer have wifi.  I know some of you can't even fathom this scenario.  I couldn't have either a year ago.  It takes all the patience I have in me to use my phone as a hot spot to fill orders for my online business.  Please pray that AT&T will put us on the map soon and provide us with that fiber optic internet that almost makes it to us.  It reaches just a quarter mile short of here. :(

Aside from no internet, we have become farmers and gardeners and can things.  And by we, I mean my husband, because all I do is reap the benefit of all his hard work.  Thanks, babe!  We went from having only a fish to now owning chickens, a dog, a cat, and a rabbit.  The other morning I looked out my kitchen window, and my yard was filled with cows.  They belong to my brother in law and had gotten loose.  I say all this to tell you that I don't even know who we are anymore, but I do love it! (Minus the whole wifi thing.)

My last post was all about how much I was over summer, which still stands true, but I have to say that I have enjoyed this one much more than last.  We are finally feeling somewhat settled and have gotten used to being a family of six.

I have recently become one of those crazy oil ladies and a distributor for Young Living.  I ordered a starter kit years ago, and have used them periodically but have just started really learning about them and pursuing the business side of it so that I can help others.  I love all of the products that I have used so far and really believe in them!  I am taking baby steps towards leading my family into a journey of wellness and am slowly replacing products that we use daily in our home with ones that are free of toxins.  I will share more about that and other fun things I am doing on here soon. (Like the recipe for the homemade chapstick I made the other day...it truly is the best stuff ever, and I can't stop putting it on.)  Holler at me if you would like to learn too!!

Since I have been MIA the past year, I just wanted to hop on and play catch up.  I plan to be more active.  Especially once the kids start school.  I'm gonna leave you with a peek into what we've been up to this summer. 

Catching tadpoles, swimming in tubs, & playing in the mud.  Incase you can't tell, they have really embraced country living...

 Picking berries...

Snuggling on rainy days, striking a pose, and chasing rainbows...

 Exploring Arkansas and enjoying a family reunion...

 Being all patriotic and stuff...

Spending the weekend with friends from our adoption/Down Syndrome community that we met on Instagram.  I truly love it when this happens! It's the coolest thing...every time we have done this we feel instantly connected and like we have been friends forever! Also, it's so fun to go out into public with a messload of kids like this. :)  Man, this journey is the best!!!

Killin' those beignets at Cafe' DuMonde in New Orleans and strolling through Jackson Square. Or sleeping through it all...

We were in NOLA because Sister had to be at a dermatology appointment.  We decided since we were half way there that we would surprise the kids and take them on to the beach in Florida.  We told them we were headed home after we toured the square.  A couple of hours into the trip, I get a text from Noah...

Clearly I didn't think through the whole modern technology thing. Oh well...I was doing good to have kept it a surprise for as long as I did.  I usually can't stand it and have to tell them.


I have a thing for colored walls and made Dustin pull over so we could risk our lives in a very sketchy area for these pics on the way to the beach.  Totally worth it!

We made it to the beach, and it pretty much rained the whole time we were there.  But it was nice to be lazy and catch up with my cousin who was awesome enough to let her crash at her gorgeous place for a few days.  And we did get 15 lovely seconds before the bottom fell out one day and then an entire glorious evening the next where we pretty much had the beach to ourselves.  I've never been to Seaside before, but we will definitely be going back...it was beautiful!  This was Little Sis' first time at the beach.  She is a huge fan.  And y'all...she was killing me in that little mermaid suit!!!

It's been a busy, but really good summer with lots of fun adventures at our new homestead and all around.  I am not ready for them to go back to school, but I am always ready for cooler temps and fall.  Bye for now.  I promise to be back soon, but you should know that it took me an entire day to upload this post with all the pics. (Sigh.)  Now you know why it's been a while!