Sugar Scrub

For all the crafty, (read cheap), folks out there who love salt scrubs & sugar scrubs here's a quick way to make your own.

Step 1
Supplies

White Sugar (aka Castor Sugar)
Brown Sugar (Light or Dark)
Olive Oil (cheaper is actually better here)
Scented oils of choice (I used Lavender & Rosemary but any scents you like are good)
Dried plant matter if you'd like (I'm using Mint, but get creative your brain is the limit!)
Glass jar with good seal (or air tight plastic container)
Food Processor (or a wooden spoon & elbow grease)


Step 2
Take equal parts brown sugar & white sugar. Doesn't matter how much or little but you want to make sure your finished product will fit in your container(s).
Make sure you leave a little room, you'll need to add the oil still.


Step 3
Blend, pulse, or mix so that they're equally dispersed.
Getting there


Well mixed


Step 4
Now you're going to add the oil. There are NO hard & fast measures for this. Add oil, then mix. Continue until you have a moist consistence.


Ooooh, looks cool, huh? You can let it soak down a little at a time, but its easier to just blend it up.


Step 5
Time to add your smellies!

Again, I'm using Lavender oil & Rosemary oil but ANYTHING you think smells good together is good. Use high quality oil that can come into contact with skin! Do NOT use home scent oils, those are not designed to be in contact with skin & they're usually poorer quality.


I went with 32 drops Lavender, 24 drops Rosemary but that's based on the power of the scents in my essential oils. Generally you want at least 20 drops for a large batch.

(Optional!)
This is where I put in my mint & some dried Lavender heads. Its just standard, food quality dried mint. You can buy it, dry your own, or even use fresh but remember the fresh will be more volatile than the dried.


Blend it up again!


Looks good, right? Smells great too!



Step 6
Bottle it up! I'd suggest using a ladle & funnel to keep down the mess.



TADA! You're done! Put some in your shower, or on your counter for your face. You'll need to remix as you use it so you get a good selection of scrub & oil. Use it as the end of your bath/shower then rinse off in warm or hot water. Will exfoliate, give you a nice soft smell & help hydrate.

They make great gifts for friends & family too!

Duct Tape Fabric

This is the best way I know to make Duct Tape Fabric, the key item for any and all forms of Duct Tape clothing, accessories & many other crafting items.

Step 1: Gather your materials
Supplies
Duct tape
Ruler (if desired)


Step 2: Make a duct tape fabric sheet. This is the tedious part, but it really shouldn't take that very long to make it.

Start by laying a strip of duct tape, about 12-18 inches long, sticky side up.



Next, lay another strip of duct tape the same length next to the 1st, making sure to overlap the edges just a bit. I usually go horizontally at this point.



Repeat until the fabric is as long & wide as you like it, this can go on forever if you've got the money & time!


Now, you're going to begin to make it an actual fabric sheet! Lay one strip of duct tape vertically, over the other pieces. Make sure to go slowly! Duct tape loves to stick, but sticks best to itself - once stuck it can be impossible to separate.

Repeat with as many pieces as needed, slightly overlapping the edges just as you did on the 1st side, until the entire sheet of sticky is covered.


Next, fold over the edges to ensure total coverage and a smooth, flat line at the ends of your duct tape fabric.


Tada! You now have a duct tape sheet of fabric. It can be used to make (among many other things):


Pirate Hats (those instructions will be up later).

Duct Tape Rose

For the first craft I'll demonstrate how to make a Duct Tape Rose.

Step 1: gather your supplies. I ONLY use Duck Brand Duct Tape, but some other brands do make interesting colors and patterns. Use what ever type you feel like using.

Supplies

Duct tape in 2 (or more) colors
Scissors
Stem item (florist wire, pipe cleaner, bamboo skewer, straw, etc)



Step 2:
Start out with several pieces of 2-3 inch strips of tape in the color(s) of your flower. You'll need some smaller & some larger.


Step 3:
With the sticky side up of your flower color, fold one corner towards the opposite edge, keeping a straight line. You should end up with a little bit of sticky on 1 side, and a lot more sticky on the bottom edge, as in the photo.


Step 4:
Fold over the little sticky edge, back towards the bottom, maintaining that sharp line. You should end up with a small triangle shape, with some sticky left on the bottom.


Step 5:
Repeat the folding with all the other pieces of duct tape.


Step 6:
Wrap 1 small triangle, remember you need the different sizes for a reason, around your stem item. I'm using a bamboo skewer but what ever you chose is fine.


You'll end up with a bit of a tight cork skewed triangle.



Step 7:
Begin wrapping the smaller triangles around your rose's center, slowly producing a flower shape. I place the points opposite each other if possible to produce an even looking flower, but do it however you like and are happy with.



Step 8:
Keep wrapping those triangles! Go from the smaller sizes on the inside to the larger on the outside, until you're happy with the size and shape of your rose. Your finished product will look something like these...



Step 9:
Now its time to wrap your stem. You want a piece of duct tape a little longer than your stem, so you can produce the rose's hips.


This is a finished rose.


You may stop here if you'd like, or add a few more touches as you see fit.


If you'd like a smaller bud, repeat steps 2-9, making a shorter stem piece than your original rose.


If you'd like to produce leaves, thorns, or rose hip petals you'll need to take a piece of tape, 2-3 inches long, folded in half and stuck to itself. You'll have NO sticky parts left.

You can cut this into a leaf shape, or thorns, or rose hip petals. I've opted to do the petals but no matter what the shape, it will always amount to the same instructions.

For the rose hip petals, you'll need triangles.


Take a strip of stem tape, tear it in half down the center so you end up with 2 long, thin strips. Lay the triangles on the stick side of the tape, slightly overlapping the bottoms of the triangles.


Wrap this thin, triangle filled strip, around the top of the rose hip area at the bottom of the rose.

Since I made the 2 roses, I'm going to take the 2nd thin strip from our rose hips and make a matching rose hip petal belt for the smaller flower and wind it around.

Now to tape the two stems together. You'll need another 3-4 inch long piece of stem tape, again split down the center. Using one piece at a time, wind the strip in and around the 2 stems, making 1 large stem with 2 roses coming off it.





VIOLA! You now have your finished, embellished duct tape rose! Now, go out & share your ducted taped goodness!

Welcome to the world of WHITE TRASH

As a bit of an in joke I'm starting this craft blog to amuse myself & hopefully some friends. If you don't get my sense of humor I'm really sorry but, I is what I is what I is and that's White Trash!