Vanilla Chai Tea Recipe: Make This Easy Spice Mix for DIY Holiday Gifts

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November 11, 2019 By Rebecca D. Dillon 2 Comments

Whether you enjoy the delicious flavor of a vanilla chai tea latte or need ideas for DIY holiday gifts, this vanilla chai tea mix is the perfect recipe to spice things up this winter. Keep reading to learn how to make your own easy vanilla chai tea mix for lattes for a cozy winter treat or to package as budget friendly DIY Christmas for friends, family and coworkers.

DIY Holiday Gifts: Vanilla Chai Tea Mix

I first discovered loose leaf tea during my first marriage. Once I’d tried tea this way, it was over. There was no looking back. I soon had an entire shelf in my pantry that was nothing but flavored loose leaf teas. Once I tried my first chai tea, well. That was the ultimate luxury. And truth be told, I wasn’t even a coffee drinker at this point. That came years later.

While my vanilla chai tea mix is a powdered mix, not a loose leaf tea, it’s still as yummy as the real deal. The advantage of the powdered mix however is that it travels well, it’s super quick, there’s less waste and it’s easy to gift. Simply package your chai tea mix in a mason jar to give as holiday food gifts or for easy storage in your pantry.

While I prefer to brew fresh assam tea for my chai latte recipe, an easy alternative is to mix an instant tea into vanilla chai latte spice mix. (I give directions for both ways.)

Want to know why you should drink chai tea? Learn about the natural health benefits of chai tea here.

Vanilla Chai Tea Mix Recipe

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons cardamom powder
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon allspice powder
1 Tablespoon nutmeg powder
3 Tablespoons ginger root powder
2 teaspoons clove powder
2 teaspoons sweet cinnamon powder
1 whole vanilla bean pod (or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened black instant tea, optional (see below)

Directions for A Making Vanilla Chai Tea Mix:

To make this vanilla chai tea mix, begin by scraping the vanilla beans out of the vanilla bean pod, if using. Then measure out the remaining spices, and instant tea if using, into a glass bowl. Mix well.

Evenly divide the vanilla chai mix between three 4 oz. mason jars for gifts. Alternately you also use a large jar for your own personal storage.

Alternate directions for DIY Vanilla Chai Tea Mix:

If you prefer to brew fresh assam tea for your vanilla chai lattes, then omit the instant tea. Instead, increase amounts of the spices to fit inside mason jars in your choice of size. Then gift the mix with a box of Assam tea bags. Alternately you can also gift your chai tea mix with loose leaf Assam tea or vanilla black assam tea (and omit the vanilla from the spice mix recipe.) Just be sure to include a tea strainer or disposable tea bags with your gift if you opt for gifting loose leaf tea.

(You can store your vanilla chai latte mix in an airtight container for up to a month.)

Don’t forget to include instructions with your DIY holiday gifts on how to use the vanilla chai tea spice mix to make the lattes! You can find the directions for brewing a latte (with dairy or non-dairy milk) using my spiced tea mix below.

Vanilla Chai Tea Latte Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup milk (or dairy free coconut milk or almond milk)
organic sugar, coconut sugar or maple syrup, to taste
2 1/2 Tablespoons vanilla chai tea mix (or 1 Tablespoon if you omitted the instant tea)
2 Assam tea bags or 2 teaspoons loose leaf assam tea, optional (dependent on mix)

Directions with instant tea:

If you included instant black tea in your vanilla chai latte mix recipe, you’ll need to follow these directions for making your latte.

Mix 2 1/2 Tablespoons of the chai latte mix with two cups (or 8 oz.) of warm milk or a dairy free alternative.

Mix well with an immersion blender, then sweeten to taste.

Directions with loose leaf tea:

Add the milk or milk alternative to a double boiler or small saucepan. Then add one Tablespoon vanilla chai tea mix. Mix with an immersion blender.

Heat the milk and spices over low until the milk reaches 130°F, stirring often to avoid scorching.

Next, add the chai tea bags (or loose leaf tea in a strainer or disposable tea bag.) Steep the tea in the milk and spices for 5-minutes or to desired strength.

Then strain the tea bags and add your choice of sweetener to suit. Mix again for good measure.

Now pour the latte into an 8 oz. mug. Then sip and enjoy.

Yield: About 2 cups vanilla chai tea latte spice mix

Vanilla Chai Tea Recipe (A Spice Mix for Lattes)

Name: Vanilla Chai Tea Recipe (A Spice Mix for Lattes)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: About 2 cups vanilla chai tea latte spice mix
Cuisine: tea
Ingredients: 2 Tablespoons cardamom powder; 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon allspice powder; 1 Tablespoon nutmeg powder; 3 Tablespoons ginger root powder; 2 teaspoons clove powder; 2 teaspoons sweet cinnamon powder; 1 whole vanilla bean pod (or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder); 1 1/2 cups unsweetened black instant tea

Spice things up this winter with a delicious vanilla chai latte recipe for a cozy winter treat. Or make a vanilla chai tea mix for easy DIY holiday gifts.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons cardamom powder
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon allspice powder
1 Tablespoon nutmeg powder
3 Tablespoons ginger root powder
2 teaspoons clove powder
2 teaspoons sweet cinnamon powder
1 whole vanilla bean pod (or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened black instant tea

Instructions

Scrape the vanilla beans out of the vanilla bean pod.
Measure out the remaining spices and combine in a glass bowl with the instant tea. Mix well.
Place the vanilla chai mix in a large mason jar.

Notes

To brew, mix 2 1/2 Tablespoons of the vanilla chai tea latte mix with two cups (or 8 oz.) of warm milk or a dairy free alternative. Mix with an immersion blender until the ingredients are evenly dispersed, then sweeten to taste.

This vanilla chai latte mix can be stored in an airtight container for up to a month.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 9 Total Fat: 0g Saturated Fat: 0g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 0g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 2mg Carbohydrates: 2g Net Carbohydrates: 0g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 0g Sugar Alcohols: 0g Protein: 0g

Vanilla Chai Tea Mix Recipe for Lattes: Make this easy DIY chai tea spice mix recipe for DIY holiday gifts. Spice things up this winter with a delicious vanilla chai latte recipe for a cozy winter treat. Or make an easy DIY vanilla chai tea mix for easy DIY holiday gifts for friends, family, teachers, neighbors and coworkers. The perfect homemade holiday gift for Christmas. Learn how to make DIY holiday food gifts now.

If you love my easy latte mix recipe, then don’t forget to pin this spicy, winter holiday drink recipe to Pinterest for later.

More DIY Holiday Food Gifts

What are some other ideas for making DIY holiday food gifts for friends and family? There are so many options for gifting food throughout the holiday season. Here are more of my yummy recipes for your DIY holiday gifts this winter. Also be sure to check out these homemade food gift ideas on Pinterest.

For more recipes from Soap Deli News, follow me across your favorite social media platforms. You can find me on Blog Lovin‘, facebook, twitter and instagram. Or sign up for my newsletter.

Filed Under: Food Recipes, Holiday DIY, Homemade Gift Ideas Tagged With: artisan tea, black tea, chai tea, christmas, diy, drink, drink mix, drink recipe, easy, food, food gift, food recipe, gift idea, holiday gift, organic, recipe, spice, tea

Essential Oil Ornaments: DIY Scented Christmas Ornaments for the Holidays

November 7, 2019 By Rebecca D. Dillon 6 Comments

Learn how to make these DIY essential oil ornaments in about 30-minutes to add a natural fragrance to your tree this holiday season. These quick & easy ornaments can be scented with your favorite holiday essential oil blend and make lovely DIY holiday gifts too! Keep reading to learn how to make your own easy essential oil ornaments. Plus discover my favorite holiday essential oils blends and recipes!

Making Handmade Christmas Ornaments

Handmade ornaments were a family tradition when I was growing up. Every year my brother and I would would make a new Christmas ornament to put on the tree. And every year my mother would safely tuck the new additions away to go onto the tree yet again the following year. So by the time we were both married and out of the house, she had a full box and was already collecting new handmade Christmas ornaments from my son, and then later, my niece.

Every year, even if it’s on Christmas Eve, she puts up her artificial Christmas tree and trims it with those same ornaments. These days, there’s also a Christmas pickle hiding somewhere in the mix – I still haven’t figured out what the “prize” is if you find it first – but my brother always seems to win. Still, all the handmade Christmas ornaments, from two generations, are always on display. Even with that crazy Christmas pickle hidden among them.

This year was the first year in a quite a while I made a handmade Christmas ornament for my mother’s tree. I’m in my mid-forties now and she in her seventies. So if it was going to happen again, now was as good a time as any! She actually came home from volunteering the day I made these DIY essential oil ornaments and exclaimed how beautiful they were. Then she asked if she could have them for her tree. “Of course!” I exclaimed. “Who else would they be for?”

DIY Essential Oil Ornaments

My DIY essential oil ornaments will not only look amazing on your Christmas tree this year, they also make beautiful handmade gifts. What’s most surprising however, is how incredibly easy these Christmas ornaments are to make. Plus they’re ready to use in about a half an hour from start to finish!

So just what makes my essential oil ornaments so quick and easy to make? Unlike other craft tutorials for essential oil ornaments, I use plaster rather than clay. Plaster is not only cheaper, it also dries a lot faster! And, because plaster starts out fluid, you can not only customize the colors of your essential oil ornaments, you can also use molds, instead of cookie cutters, to get detailed shapes. So in reality, the possibilities are endless. Even if you have zero artistic talent. (But come on. EVERYONE has some creativity hiding inside. You just have to find it!)

Following is my tutorial for crafting your own homemade plaster essential oil ornaments. Learn where to get everything you need to make these delightful Christmas ornaments. You’ll also discover some tips and tricks that I learned along the way while making my own! (Plus don’t forget to check out my favorite holiday essential oil blends to make for your holiday ornaments after the project.)

Materials & Tools Needed:

Plaster of Paris
Christmas Ornament Silicone Molds, two sets
Mixing Bowl
Utensils for Stirring
Mica Powder or Other Powder Colorant
Craft Glitter, optional
Bakers Twine or Ribbon
Essential Oils

Tips & Tricks for Making Your Essential Oil Ornaments:

Plaster starts to harden in 3-4 minutes, so you’ll want to mix your colorant and glitter in with the plaster before adding the water.
If you want to save money, you can use unwanted eyeshadow colors from your eyeshadow palettes instead of using mica powders or other colorants such as oxides or ultramarines.
Unlike soap making, less is not more. As plaster is white, you’ll want to add more colorant for a darker colored ornament as the plaster makes the colors pastel.
While you can use glitter inside your Christmas ornaments, they don’t show through all that well. To save glitter and get more sparkle, dust the inside of your silicone molds before pouring the plaster. Or dust glitter on the backs of your ornaments as soon as they’re poured.
Be sure to scrape off any excess plaster from the molds after pouring. Your ornaments will come out of the mold more easily, and there’s less “excess” to remove once unmolded.
Try other ornament silicone molds for your Christmas ornaments for more designs. But be sure to avoid molds with thin sections as they’ll break coming out of the mold. If there’s no hole for the ribbon on your other molds, simply use a pencil or chopstick to make one once the plaster starts to harden.
You can easily resize your recipe for these essential oil ornaments to make the exact amount you need. Simply mix four parts plaster with three parts water.

Holiday Ornament Instructions:

In a large glass or ceramic bowl, combine four Tablespoons of plaster with a teaspoon or more of mica or pigment powder and glitter, to suit, if desired. Mix with a fork to fully incorporate the dry ingredients together.

I used a small amount of indigo powder to color this plaster essential oil Christmas ornament. It made the ornament look about the same color as concrete, but with tiny blue flecks of color inside.

Then add three Tablespoons of water. Mix well.

Working quickly, pour the plaster mixture into three of the silicone molds. You’ll want to use the Christmas tree shape mold and the ornament shape mold. Use a fork or a chopstick to make sure the plaster is evenly distributed throughout the mold and there are no air bubbles.

Side note: The snowflake mold that comes with this set is too delicate to get the plaster out in one piece. I tried twice. The second time, the snowflake Christmas ornament broke worse than the first. However, you can use it for other holiday projects to make resin Christmas ornaments.

If desired, you can dust the back of your DIY essential oil ornaments with glitter or decorative confetti.

After 30-minutes have passed, carefully unmold your essential oil ornaments from the silicone molds.

Then tie thin ribbon or baker’s twine through the hole in the top.

You’re now ready to gift your handmade Christmas essential oil ornaments. Simply pair the ornaments with a bottle of essential oil or a holiday essential oil blend.

Or add your own favorite holiday essential oil blend to your ornament and hang on your tree. You can also use this ornament in your car or another room in your home as an air freshener. They look great in a sunny window! (You can discover my favorite recipes for holiday essential oil blends below.)

Yield: 3 Christmas Ornaments

Essential Oil Ornaments

Prep Time 2 minutes

Active Time 3 minutes

Additional Time 30 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Difficulty Easy

Materials

Plaster of Paris
Mica Powder or Other Powder Colorant
Craft Glitter, optional
Essential Oils

Tools

Mixing Bowl
Utensils for Stirring
Bakers Twine or Ribbon
Christmas Ornament Silicone Molds, two sets

Instructions

In a large glass or ceramic bowl, combine four Tablespoons of plaster with a teaspoon or more of mica or pigment powder and glitter, to suit, if desired. Mix with a fork to fully incorporate the dry ingredients together.
Then add three Tablespoons of water. Mix well.
Working quickly, pour the plaster mixture into three of the silicone molds. You’ll want to use the Christmas tree shape mold and the ornament shape mold.
After 30-minutes have passed, carefully unmold your essential oil ornaments from the silicone molds.
Then tie thin ribbon or baker’s twine through the hole in the top.

Holiday Essential Oil Blends

If you already have a collection of essential oils at your disposal, you may want to create your own custom holiday essential oil blends, rather than buying them ready made. Here are some of my favorite recipes for holiday essential oil blends you can use with your essential oil ornaments.

If you love my project for making DIY essential oil ornaments, then don’t forget to pin this tutorial to Pinterest to save for later. You may also want to check out my tutorial for making DIY alcohol ink ornaments. It’s another fun and easy holiday project the kids can join in on. And I’ve even shared the video tutorial from the craft class I took when I learned how to make alcohol ink ornaments for the first time!

More Scented DIY Holiday Gifts

For more fragrant, scented holiday crafts and skin care recipes, be sure to check out these other amazing projects!

DIY Air Freshener with Essential Oils

Learn how to make DIY air fresheners with essential oils, beeswax and soy wax at Everything Pretty. These easy homemade essential oil air fresheners are perfect for closets, drawers, or anywhere that needs a little freshening up.

Honey and Goat Milk Soap Recipe

This honey and goat milk soap recipe from Life-n-Reflection is one of the simplest melt and pour soap recipes you’ll ever make! Not only does it make easy DIY holiday gifts for friends and family, but the rich lather and sweet scent make them irresistible not to keep one for yourself. The finished soaps have a classic bumblebee and honeycomb shape that makes each look expensive and elegant. Make these simple honey and goat milk soaps for DIY holiday gifts today!

DIY Christmas Ornament Bath Bombs

Handmade bath bombs always make for a fun gift, but turning them into DIY bath bomb ornaments make them the perfect holiday gift. Scented with the smells of the season and made festive with red and green sprinkles, these Christmas ornament bath bombs from Lydi Out Loud not only make a perfect holiday gift, but a full sensory experience.

8 Holiday Room Spray Recipes

Essential oil rooms sprays are so easy to make, smell amazing, and have aromatherapy benefits for you. During the holidays, it’s fun to switch the sprays out for a more festive scent. Check out these 8-holiday room spray recipes from Our Oily House to help you get into the Christmas spirit.

DIY Holiday Cupcake Bath Bombs

Get into the holiday spirit with this festive holiday bath bomb cupcake DIY from Tweak and Tinker. With two designs to choose from – one candy cane peppermint and one Christmas tree – this easy holiday skin care recipe contains nourishing oil, clay and essential oils and makes for a pretty DIY holiday gift.

Mocha Mint Cupcake Melt and Pour Soap Recipe

This mint chocolate cupcake soap recipe from Total Wellness Choice is easy to make with melt and pour soap. These soap cupcakes are adorable and are scented with a natural mocha mint fragrance oil. The unique soap mold makes the process easy. They make a great DIY holiday gift for friends, teachers or anyone who loves fun soaps.

Holiday Stovetop Potpourri Gift Ideas

See how to make a DIY stovetop potpourri gift with Country Hill Cottage! These simmering potpourri recipes make your house smell like Christmas and are wonderful DIY holiday gift ideas. The tutorial comes with free printable labels and gift tags for packaging and gifting.

You can also discover more DIY holiday gifts and crafts by following Soap Deli News on social media. You can find and follow me on Blog Lovin‘, facebook, twitter and instagram. Or sign up for my newsletter.

Filed Under: DIY Craft Project, Handmade Home, Holiday DIY Tagged With: 30-minute crafts, christmas, Christmas gift, Christmas ornament, christmas tree, crafts, diy, easy, essential oils, gift idea, holiday gift, holidays, kids project, ornaments, winter

Easy Fall Melt and Pour Soap Recipes for Beginners

October 22, 2019 By Rebecca D. Dillon 4 Comments

These easy fall melt and pour soap recipes are perfect for even beginner soapmakers. They can be scented with your favorite fall fragrance oils or your choice of fall essential oil blends. Keep reading to learn how to make six bars of homemade fall soaps in two designs using a single mold for seasonal holiday gifts.

A Celebration of Fall!

For as long as I can remember (or at least since the last time I stepped foot into a classroom) fall has been my favorite season. I love not just the crisp cool air that accompanies autumn’s entrance, but also the deep connection I feel with nature as wildlife change habits to prepare for the winter ahead. Fall is when I reflect on the things that have passed as well as the future to come.

The squirrels tease us with fluffy tails as dart in and out of trees foraging for nuts to store for winter. The colors of scenery change to burnt umber, reds and oranges. The leaves fall to rejuvenate the earth the following year in a cycle of life that reminds us, that though some things end, new things are always born.

When I was in the fourth grade, my class was given an assignment. We were to collect, at minimum, leaves from 40 different trees. These leaves were then preserved between two sheets of wax paper, identified and compiled into book form. My parents later used that book for one of their Boy Scout troop meetings.

While I, unfortunately, can no longer identify all forty of those tree leaves, that class project certainly brought me closer to nature. And it gave me a better appreciation of all the living things around us.

With this reflection in mind, I really wanted to create a few fall melt and pour soap recipes. So I picked up an acorn and leaf silicone mold at a local craft store. I then combined a variety of melt and pour soap bases with not just mica colorants, but some fun eco-friendly biodegradable glitter as well, to create unique one of a kind melt and pour soaps for fall.

Easy Fall Melt and Pour Soap Recipes for Beginners

I used a Wilton mold I picked up at Joann’s for my fall melt and pour soap recipes. If you aren’t able to find this particular mold, you can use any silicone mold of your choice. Simply adjust the follow melt and pour soap recipes accordingly to fit the size of the molds you’ve chosen. I do this by pouring unscented plain melt and pour soap into the molds cavities. Once hardened, I weigh the soap to figure out the amount needed for my fall melt and pour soap recipes. Alternately, you can purchase a similar fall silicone soap mold here.

Fall Acorn Melt and Pour Soap Recipe

This fall soap idea is pretty straightforward and the easiest of the two fall melt and pour soap recipes. It requires only a single melt and pour soap base, an Almond Milk & Chia fall fragrance oil, a soap colorant and a dash of glitter. The kids will have fun helping you make this fall acorn recipe to gift to their own friends and family members. This fall soap recipe yields three acorn shaped soap bars.

Ingredients:

7.5 oz. melt and pour soap base, white or clear
.15 oz. Almond Milk & Chia fragrance oil
brown mica or brown soap color bar, to suit
biodegradable brass or gold glitter, to suit

Melt and Pour Soap Making Tips:

Before you get started on my fall melt and pour soap recipes, here are a few soap making tips and tricks to help you achieve soap making success.

You can use either clear or white melt and pour base for this recipe. If you use a white soap base, your fall acorn soaps will be more of a pastel color, while a clear base will give you a dark, rich color. I want to remake these myself using a clear base and a brown sparkle color bar!

Should you choose to substitute the fall fragrance oil, then be sure you know what the max usage rate is for that fragrance oil you’d like to use. You don’t want to exceed that amount. At the same time, some usage rates are rather high.

The skin safe usage rate for the Almond Milk & Chia fragrance oil is over 90% for soap. But obviously you can’t make a bar of soap using more fragrance oil than product. Therefore I recommend a usage rate of 2-5% for this particular fragrance oil. You can adjust that number depending on how strong you’d like the scent to be in your fall melt and pour soaps. For my fall acorn melt and pour soap recipe, I used the Almond Milk & Chia fragrance oil at 2%. You can tweak this number accordingly depending on your own personal tastes. (The fragrance oils for my fall melt and pour soap recipes were obtained from Wholesale Supplies Plus.)

If you’d rather use a custom fall essential oil blend recipe for your homemade melt and pour soaps, then I recommend a usage rate of no more than 2%. However, you should use less if the essential oil in your blend contains oils that are known skin irritants such as cinnamon leaf or clove.

Placing your soap mold on a cutting board will allow for easy transport while soap is still fluid. So if you’d like to speed up the amount of time it takes for your fall soaps to harden, simply transfer the mold on a cutting board to the fridge.

Additionally, spritzing the tops of your melt and pour soaps with a spray bottle filled with isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol (also sometimes referred to RA in the soap niche) will remove any air bubbles you may have.

Ready to get started?

Melt and Pour Soap Making Instructions:

Using a digital scale, weigh out the melt and pour soap base. Cut the soap base into chunks and place inside a large glass Pyrex measuring cup, or similar. Then, heat in the microwave in 20-30 second increments, stirring after each heating, until melted. Take care not to overheat the soap base.

Now add the soap colorant of your choice and mix well. Follow the less is more guideline and slowly add additional colorant until you reach the desired color. (If using mica you may want to premix the mica with a bit of glycerin prior to adding it to the melted soap base.) Be careful not to add too much colorant or your soaps will bleed excess color when used.

Once the desired color is achieved, weigh out the fragrance oil and stir into the melted soap base. Set aside.

Next, place your soap mold onto a cutting board, if desired. Dust the inside of the soap mold’s three acorn cavities with eco-friendly, biodegradable glitter. Then slowly pour the melted soap base into each of the cavities of your mold.

Spritz the the top of the liquid soap you just poured with rubbing alcohol, if needed, to remove any air bubbles. Then follow with the second of my fall melt and pour soap recipes to make a set of three fall leaf soaps on the other side of the mold.

Once all the soaps have hardened, unmold and then wrap tightly in foodservice film.

Yield: 3 soaps

Acorn Fall Melt and Pour Soap Recipe

Learn how to craft acorn shaped DIY fall soaps with this easy melt and pour soap recipe. These fall soaps can be scented with your favorite fall fragrance oils or your choice of fall essential oil blends.

Materials

7.5 oz. melt and pour soap base
.15 oz. Almond Milk & Chia fragrance oil
brown mica or brown soap color bar, to suit
biodegradable brass or gold mice, to suit

Tools

Wilton silicone soap mold
Glass Pyrex measuring cups
Utensils
Microwave
Spray bottle with rubbing alcohol

Instructions

Once the desired color is achieved, weigh out the fragrance oil and stir into the melted soap base. Set aside.

Spritz the the top of the liquid soap you just poured with rubbing alcohol, if needed, to remove any air bubbles.

Once all the soaps have hardened, unmold and then wrap tightly in foodservice film.

Fall soap ideas. Easy beginner melt and pour soap ideas for fall inspired leaf shaped soaps. These homemade melt and pour soaps make lovely DIY seasonal fall gifts for friends, family and teachers.

Fall Leaf Melt and Pour Soap Recipe

While this fall soap idea is slightly more complex than the acorn soap recipe, it’s still an easy enough melt and pour soap recipe for beginners. My fall leaf soap is poured in two separate layers to add visual interest and is scented with a fall inspired Wild Berries & Mimosa fragrance oil. This fall soap recipe yields three leaf shaped soap bars.

Ingredients:

3.75 oz. clear melt and pour soap base
5.25 oz. white melt and pour soap base
.2 oz. Wild Berries & Mimosa fragrance oil
crimson or copper soap color bar or mica, to suit
yellow or gold soap colorant or mica, to suit
brass or gold biodegradable glitter, to suit

Melt and Pour Soap Making Instructions:

Using a digital scale, weigh out 3.75 oz. of the clear melt and pour soap base. Cut the soap base into chunks and place inside a large glass Pyrex measuring cup, or similar. Then, heat in the microwave in 20-30 second increments, stirring after each heating, until melted. Take care not to overheat the soap base.

Now add the yellow or gold soap colorant of your choice to the melted soap base and mix well. Slowly add additional colorant until you reach the desired color. Then stir in a bit of gold or brass biodegradable glitter to suit.

Next, weigh out .1 oz. of the fragrance oil and stir into the melted soap base.

Then slowly pour the clear melted soap base evenly into each of the three leaf shaped cavities of your mold. Spritz the the top of the liquid soap you just poured with rubbing alcohol, if needed, to remove any air bubbles. Set aside until the soap has hardened.

Once hardened weigh, heat and melt 5.25 oz. of the white melt and pour soap base. Add crimson or copper soap colorant to suit.

Follow with .1 oz. of fragrance oil. Mix well. Set aside and allow the melted soap to cool slightly or just before the soap starts to form a film on top.

Next, spritz the tops of the clear soap base in the mold with rubbing alcohol. Then dust the tops of the soap in the three leaf cavities with eco-friendly, biodegradable glitter.

Spritz again with rubbing alcohol, then slowly pour the white melted soap base into each of the leaf cavities of your mold over top of the existing clear, hardened soap base.

Now spritz the the top of the liquid soap you just poured with rubbing alcohol, if needed, to remove any air bubbles.

Once your fall soaps have hardened, unmold and then wrap tightly in foodservice film.

Leaf Fall Melt and Pour Soap Recipe

Learn how to craft leaf shaped DIY fall soaps with this easy two-layer, melt and pour soap recipe. These fall soaps can be scented with your favorite fall fragrance oils or your choice of fall essential oil blends.

Materials

3.75 oz. clear melt and pour soap base
5.25 oz. white melt and pour soap base
.2 oz. Wild Berries & Mimosa fragrance oil
crimson or copper soap color bar or mica, to suit
yellow or gold soap colorant or mica, to suit
brass or gold biodegradable glitter, to suit

Tools

Wilton silicone soap mold
Glass Pyrex measuring cups
Utensils
Microwave
Spray bottle with rubbing alcohol

Instructions

Next, weigh out .1 oz. of the fragrance oil and stir into the melted soap base.

Once hardened weigh, heat and melt 5.25 oz. of the white melt and pour soap base. Add crimson or copper soap colorant to suit.

Follow with .1 oz. of fragrance oil. Mix well. Set aside and allow the melted soap to cool slightly or just before the soap starts to form a film on top.

Next, spritz the tops of the clear soap base in the mold with rubbing alcohol. Then dust the tops of the soap in the three leaf cavities with eco-friendly, biodegradable glitter.

Spritz again with rubbing alcohol, then slowly pour the white melted soap base into each of the leaf cavities of your mold over top of the existing clear, hardened soap base.

Now spritz the the top of the liquid soap you just poured with rubbing alcohol, if needed, to remove any air bubbles.

Once your fall soaps have hardened, unmold and then wrap tightly in foodservice film.

Melt and pour fall soap scents & recipes. These easy fall melt and pour soap recipes are perfect for even beginner soapmakers. They can be scented with your favorite fall fragrance oils or your choice of fall essential oil blends. Learn how to make six bars of homemade fall soaps in two designs using a single mold and working with no lye. Simple beginning melt and pour soap recipes for DIY holiday gifts for friends & family.

If you like my easy, fall melt and pour soap recipes for beginners, then be sure to pin these recipes to Pinterest for later. You can also find and follow Soap Deli News blog on Pinterest here. Alternately, you can also discover more fall soap ideas here. Or try one of my other easy melt and pour soap recipes.

For more homemade soap recipes and DIY gift ideas, be sure to follow Soap Deli News on social media. You can follow me on Blog Lovin‘, facebook, twitter and instagram. Or sign up for my newsletter.

Filed Under: Homemade Gift Ideas, Soapmaking Tagged With: autumn, crafts, easy, fall, fall crafts, gift idea, kids project, melt and pour soap, melt and pour soap recipe, melt and pour soapmaking, soap tutorial, soapmaking

Bourbon Balls Recipe with Woodford Reserve: No Bake DIY Holiday Gifts

October 19, 2019 By Rebecca D. Dillon 6 Comments

Make this easy gluten free, no bake bourbon balls recipe with Woodford Reserve (or rum if you prefer!) for the ultimate last minute DIY holiday gifts!

This no bake bourbon balls recipe with Woodford Reserve allows you to create the ultimate no bake last minute DIY holiday gifts. These easy bourbon balls not only taste delicious, they’re also gluten free. So everyone can enjoy the delectable taste of chocolate and bourbon this holiday season. A delightful no bake dessert for Christmas, these bourbon balls can also be made with rum or customized with your favorite ingredients whether it be coconut or dried raspberries for a flavorful holiday treat!

How to Make No Bake Bourbon Balls

Whether you need a last minute gift to bring to a holiday party or a super last minute gift on Christmas Eve, these homemade bourbon balls are the perfect choice! Not only is this recipe for bourbon balls super easy to make, there’s also no baking required. Basically that means they are pretty fool proof. Even if you’re a slacker in the kitchen like I am. While this recipe for bourbon balls calls for nuts, you can easily omit them from the recipe if you have nut allergies.

Ingredients for Making Gluten Free Bourbon Balls

This easy bourbon balls recipe can be made with either vanilla wafers or ginger snaps. For my first batch of homemade bourbon balls, I used gluten-free Mi-Del’s Ginger Snaps. They crush really easily which makes them worth the extra $1.50 even if you don’t need gluten free bourbon balls. However, one bag will only make you one batch. For my second batch I used regular grocery store brand gingersnaps and had a heck of a time crushing them. I actually took a hammer to the outside of the bag at 9am the first year I made these. However I still ended up with some whole cookies left in the bag and lots of large chunks.

I also used baking nuts for my recipe for bourbon balls. They were significantly cheaper than buying whole nuts from the nut aisle, especially as I wasn’t going to use an entire can. Plus it was the only way I could find them unsalted at the time. Finally, I recommend that choose your bourbon wisely. The better the booze, well, the better the ball! I specifically used Woodford Reserve for my recipe.

If you aren’t a huge fan of bourbon, you can simply swap out the bourbon with your favorite rum. These would actually be amazing with a spiced rum or a flavored rum that accents the ingredients that go into the recipe.

Easy Bourbon Balls Recipe with Woodford Reserve

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups ginger snap cookies, crushed
1/2 Cup pecan baking chips, optional
1/2 Cup confectioners sugar
1/4 Cup Woodford Reserve (or rum of choice)
2 Tablespoons baking cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons raw local honey
1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract
Shredded coconut, chopped for dusting

Instructions:

Crush the ginger snap cookies as much as possible then combine in a large bowl with the other ingredients. Mix well with a spatula then place in freezer to chill for about an hour.

Once your bourbon balls have chilled, roll into about 3/4″ balls and then roll in shredded coconut to coat thoroughly. (Alternately you can use confectioner’s sugar or even dried raspberries, as pictured, instead.) Keep at it until all dough has been used.

Easy Packaging Idea for Gifting Your Bourbon Balls

For easy DIY holiday gifts, I placed about 8 balls each in a zipper sandwich bags. I then place the balls inside glassine bags for presentation and labeled them with holiday stickers. You can even add a strip of washi tape to each of your gifts with the “eat by” date.

Once made, cover and refrigerate your bourbon balls. They will keep for a week in the refrigerator so don’t make these too far ahead. Otherwise you’ll have to freeze them.

You’ll also want to keep them refrigerated when you’re not binging on them during yet another seasonal rerun of A Christmas Story.

Yield: About 42 bourbon balls

Bourbon Balls Recipe with Woodford Reserve

Make this easy gluten free, no bake bourbon balls recipe with Woodford Reserve (or rum if you prefer!) for the ultimate last minute DIY holiday gifts!

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 Cups ginger snap cookies, crushed
1/2 Cup pecan baking chips, optional
1/2 Cup confectioners sugar
1/4 Cup Woodford Reserve (or rum of choice)
2 Tablespoons baking cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons raw local honey
1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract
Shredded coconut, chopped for dusting

Instructions

Crush the ginger snap cookies as much as possible then combine in a large bowl with the other ingredients. Mix well with a spatula then place in freezer to chill for about an hour.

Once made, cover and refrigerate your bourbon balls. They will keep for a week in the refrigerator so don’t make these too far ahead. Otherwise you’ll have to freeze them.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

3 balls
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 200 Total Fat: 8g Saturated Fat: 3g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 5g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 150mg Carbohydrates: 30g Net Carbohydrates: 0g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 14g Sugar Alcohols: 0g Protein: 2g

More Holiday Dessert Recipes & Food Gifts

If you like my recipe for bourbon balls, then you may also want to try some of these other dessert recipes.

Or learn how to make these other boozy Christmas treats.

For more last minute DIY holiday gift ideas, be sure to follow my boards on Pinterest! You can find and follow Soap Deli News on Blog Lovin‘, facebook, twitter and instagram. Or sign up for my newsletter.

Filed Under: Food Recipes, Holiday DIY, Homemade Gift Ideas Tagged With: christmas, Christmas gift, cookies, dessert, food gift, food recipe, gift idea, holiday gift, last minute gift, no bake, treat, winter

Snickerdoodle Soap Cupcakes with Melt and Pour Soap & Essential Oils

October 16, 2019 By Rebecca D. Dillon 6 Comments

Cookies and cupcakes were a regular part of my childhood growing up. Since cutting back on sugar however, sometimes food scented soaps are the next best thing. Learn how to make homemade snickerdoodle soap cupcakes for your bath or shower. Made using melt and pour soap, this easy soap cupcakes recipe is naturally scented with essential oils and is simple enough for even beginners to craft.

Isn’t it amazing how just the scent of food can trigger so many memories? Everytime I smell the warm cinnamon sugar fragrance of a snickerdoodle cookie, I’m instantly taken back to my childhood. From as young as four I often found myself in the kitchen making snickerdoodle cookies with my mom. They were my absolute favorite cookies at the time! And while I loved licking cake and brownie batter off mom’s hand blender beaters, rolling sugar cookie dough in cinnamon and sugar was the most fun.

I still get nostalgic whenever I see snickerdoodles in the store at our local Fresh Market. Making snickerdoodles with my mom as a kid is still one of my favorite childhood memories. While I’ve (mostly) giving up baking cookies for more grown up green things, I’ve since turned the tables and have been teaching my mom some new tricks in the kitchen.

While eating snickerdoodle cookies isn’t something I do all that often (it’s hard to forget the evils of sugar and inflammation when you have fibro) making snickerdoodle soap cupcakes is a fun (sugar free) experience that allows me to enjoy their warm seasonal fragrance!

Food inspired soaps are always popular because of their fun scents. Not only do the kids have fun with these at bathtime, they’re also great for adults! After all, what’s more fun than self care for the kid in you? I used a cupcake mold to make these cute snickerdoodle soap cupcakes. This mold contains both the top and bottom mold portions of the cupcake. So not only are these soaps easy to make, you basically get two molds for the price of one!

Whether you’re selling your homemade soap creations or making them for yourself, using a mold to make the whipped icing eliminates the trial and error of making soap icing. Not only does it save you time, the tops always come out perfect.

How to Make Snickerdoodle Soap Cupcakes (with Melt and Pour Soap)

Snickerdoodle Essential Oil Blend

There are snickerdoodle fragrance oils that you can use to make snickerdoodle soaps. I wanted to use an essential oil blend because I had the essential oils already.

To make a snickerdoodle essential oil blend, combine:

5 drops sweet orange essential oil
2 drops cassia or cinnamon essential oil
1 drop clove essential oil

To be honest, I was surprised at how wonderful this smells! The three oils combine for a sugary sweet and cinnamon spice scent that’s perfect for making snickerdoodle cupcake soaps.

You can create a master blend in an empty essential oil bottle, or you can add the essential oils by the drop. I give you directions to use it either way in this recipe.

(For my snickerdoodle essential oil blend recipe I used essential oils from a past Simply Earth essential oil box. If you’d like to give them a try, use coupon code: SOAPDELIFREE to receive a FREE bonus box worth $40 with your first order. You’ll also get an e-coupon for $40 off anything on your next purchase. Free diffuser anyone? Take advantage of this offer here.)

If you do use a snickerdoodle fragrance oil blend, you can use twice as much as you would an essential oil. I would start with the amount suggested in the recipe and add more as needed to get the scent that you want.

Cupcake Mold for Soap Cupcakes

I wanted to make soap cupcakes, but I don’t like piping soap on top for the icing. I consider myself pretty crafty, but cake decorating is not among my talents. My mom used to make cakes all the time however. Which worked out well enough for me. She was pretty intent on piping the perfect flowers for her cakes, so I always got to eat the icing flowers that didn’t quite make the cut. (As photographed above. Me at age six in 1981 wearing a nightgown for the evening. Remember those?)

Whipped soap isn’t an easy recipe to master. It tends to be soft, so iced soap cupcakes are hard to package for gifts or for selling.

Rather piping soap icing, I picked up this silicone cupcake soap mold instead. It makes adorable two piece cupcakes with melt and pour soap. Now the icing tops for my soap cupcakes are always perfect. And they won’t get dinged or damaged when you handle the soap.

Melt and Pour Soap Bases for Soap Cupcakes

I wanted these soap cupcakes to look like real snickerdoodle cupcakes, so I used two different kinds of melt and pour soap.

For the icing, I used white melt and pour soap base. The essential oils, which contain vanilla, turned it cream. So it looks like real vanilla icing.

I wanted the cake part to be darker, so I used a cream or almost tan oatmeal soap and added real cinnamon.

Cinnamon can be irritating to children or those with sensitive skin. If you’re giving these soap cupcakes as a homemade gifts, you can skip the cinnamon and add some mica or soap colorant to get a darker color.

Adding real spices like cinnamon to melt and pour can be tricky. Cinnamon tends to clump in the melted soap. To avoid this, you can stir the cinnamon in a little bit of glycerin or rubbing alcohol and add it to the soap.

I just added it to the soap and stirred it really well. If there are clumps, press them against the side of the container with the back of a spoon to break up the clumps. There may be a few small clumps of cinnamon left, but I think it gives the soap a more realistic look.

Either way you add the cinnamon, it will tend to settle to the bottom of the soap. To help it stay dispersed through the soap, let the soap cool until it just starts to form a film on the top. Then stir a few times and pour. The cinnamon is less likely to settle when you pour the soap at a cooler temperature.

Snickerdoodle Soap Cupcakes Recipe

Ingredients:

8 ounces white melt and pour soap
10 ounces white or cream melt and pour soap
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon snickerdoodle essential oil blend (or 64 drops sweet orange, 24 drops cassia, and 12 drops clove, divided)

Instructions:

The top and bottom are two separate pours, so let’s start with the icing on the top of the soap cupcakes. Cut white melt and pour soap into 1 inch cubes and microwave 30 seconds at a time until melted. Stir every 30 seconds.

When it’s melted, add ½ teaspoon of the snickerdoodle essential oil blend or 32 drops sweet orange, 12 drops cassia, and 6 drops clove. (Here’s an easy essential oil conversion chart if you need it.) Stir well and pour into the top, or the icing, cavities in the mold. Spray with rubbing alcohol to remove air bubbles.

Now cut 10 ounces of cream or white melt and pour soap and microwave it as before. When it’s melted, add ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon and stir well to remove lumps.

Then add ½ teaspoon of your homemade blend or 32 drops sweet orange, 12 drops cassia and 6 drops clove. Stir well.

Pour into the cupcake or bottom part of the mold. Spray with rubbing alcohol to remove air bubbles.

Let sit until completely cooled, about an hour.

Remove the soap from the mold. This mold is very flexible, so they will come right out. Use a knife to score the tops of the cupcakes and the bottom of the icing tops. Scoring the soap helps the two pieces stick together better.

Melt about half an ounce of white soap for 10 seconds in the microwave. Carefully spoon it on top of the cupcakes and set the icing on top. Let sit until completely cooled.

If you’re gifting or selling these snickerdoodle cupcake soaps, you can package them in clear bags and add a ribbon to the top.

Yield: 4 soap cupcakes

Snickerdoodle Soap Cupcakes

Learn how to make homemade snickerdoodle soap cupcakes for your bath or shower. Made using melt and pour soap, this easy soap cupcakes recipe is naturally scented with essential oils and is simple enough for even beginners to craft.

Materials

8 ounces white melt and pour soap
10 ounces white or cream melt and pour soap
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon snickerdoodle essential oil blend (or 64 drops sweet orange, 24 drops cassia, and 12 drops clove, divided)

Instructions

When it’s melted, add ½ teaspoon of the snickerdoodle essential oil blend or 32 drops sweet orange, 12 drops cassia, and 6 drops clove. Stir well and pour into the top, or the icing, cavities in the mold. Spray with rubbing alcohol to remove air bubbles.

Now cut 10 ounces of cream or white melt and pour soap and microwave it as before. When it’s melted, add ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon and stir well to remove lumps.

Then add ½ teaspoon of your homemade blend or 32 drops sweet orange, 12 drops cassia and 6 drops clove. Stir well.

Pour into the cupcake or bottom part of the mold. Spray with rubbing alcohol to remove air bubbles.

Let sit until completely cooled, about an hour.

Melt about half an ounce of white soap for 10 seconds in the microwave. Carefully spoon it on top of the cupcakes and set the icing on top. Let sit until completely cooled.

Soap Cupcakes DIY with melt and pour soap and natural essential oils. The perfect in shower treat and DIY beauty gift! Learn how to make homemade snickerdoodle soap cupcakes for your bath or shower. Made using melt and pour soap, this easy soap cupcakes recipe is naturally scented with essential oils and is simple enough for even beginning soap makers to craft. Gift them to yourself for self care or make them for DIY holiday gifts throughout the winter season.

Love my snickerdoodle soap cupcakes? Then be sure to pin this soap making tutorial for later.

More Seasonal Winter Soap Recipes for DIY Holiday Gifts

Looking for more beginner melt and pour soap recipes? Try one of these other DIY holiday soap gift ideas!

Want more great ideas? Then follow me across your favorite social media channels. You can find and follow Soap Deli News on Blog Lovin‘, pinterest, facebook, twitter and instagram. Or sign up for my newsletter.

Filed Under: Soapmaking Tagged With: Christmas gift, crafts, cupcake, diy, easy, essential oil blend, essential oil recipes, essential oils, gift idea, holiday gift, melt and pour soap, melt and pour soap recipe, melt and pour soapmaking, snickerdoodle, soap tutorial, soapmaking, winter, winter skin care

Vanilla Chai Tea Recipe: Make This Easy Spice Mix for DIY Holiday Gifts

DIY Holiday Gifts: Vanilla Chai Tea Mix

Vanilla Chai Tea Mix Recipe

Ingredients:

Directions for A Making Vanilla Chai Tea Mix:

Alternate directions for DIY Vanilla Chai Tea Mix:

Vanilla Chai Tea Latte Recipe

Ingredients:

Directions with instant tea:

Directions with loose leaf tea:

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

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Materials & Tools Needed:

Tips & Tricks for Making Your Essential Oil Ornaments:

Holiday Ornament Instructions:

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Tools

Instructions

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Ingredients:

Melt and Pour Soap Making Tips:

Melt and Pour Soap Making Instructions:

Materials

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Ingredients:

Melt and Pour Soap Making Instructions:

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Bourbon Balls Recipe with Woodford Reserve: No Bake DIY Holiday Gifts

How to Make No Bake Bourbon Balls

Ingredients for Making Gluten Free Bourbon Balls

Easy Bourbon Balls Recipe with Woodford Reserve

Ingredients:

Instructions:

Easy Packaging Idea for Gifting Your Bourbon Balls

Ingredients

Instructions

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

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Snickerdoodle Soap Cupcakes with Melt and Pour Soap & Essential Oils

How to Make Snickerdoodle Soap Cupcakes (with Melt and Pour Soap)

Snickerdoodle Essential Oil Blend

To make a snickerdoodle essential oil blend, combine:

Cupcake Mold for Soap Cupcakes

Melt and Pour Soap Bases for Soap Cupcakes

Snickerdoodle Soap Cupcakes Recipe

Ingredients: