For today’s Love: in a Jar post, we’re going to make a homemade sugar scrub and bath salts! I was actually inspired from this Coupon Project reader who shared a similar idea here recently – and she’d collected many of the items with sales and coupons, too!
To get started, you will need to collect some jars. Any number of jars would potentially work, but I decided to look for some cute jars in a variety of sizes, and something that would open and close repeatedly easy. I found these adorable jars in the housewares section of Fred Meyer! I was able to use a 10% off Home Extra Bonus coupon too. A bit pricier than just using plain-old canning jars, but a bit more special for a homemade gift.
After you’ve cleaned and dried your jars, you’ll want to make some cute labels. I found some pretty great, simple instructions at Maybe Matilda. Of course, this meant it was time to bust into the scrapbooking supplies that had been collecting dust in my office!
I made some ovals, and then printed some simple labels on a Word document. Viola.
For this next part you will need Mod Podge. Have you ever worked with this stuff? I recently discovered it and it’s amazing! It’s like a glue and gloss and finisher all in one. And, they sell it at Fred Meyer in the craft section (near the paint)!
Using a paintbrush, add a thin coat of the Mod Podge to your jar, then add the label on. I first added the scrapbook paper, covered it with Mod Podge, added the second label, and then covered the whole thing with another layer of Mod Podge.
Your label will dry clear. I would just wipe off any excess Mod Podge on the glass to avoid streaks.
Now, for the contents! I have two recipes I found for you online. Both involve essential oils.
The Homemade Sugar Scrub also comes from Maybe Matilda. All you need is 3 cups of plain sugar and 1 cup + 2 tbsp of olive oil. Stir.
Divide into jars and add about 10 drops of essential oil per jar. I used lavendar.
The second recipe I made was bath salts. This is another ridiculously easy one. First, I picked up a giant bag of plain Epsom bath salts at Fred Meyer. It was about $5.99, and there was an in-store 15% off coupon I was able to use!
Oh, and you’ll want to keep the essential oils handy for this recipe, too.
All you do is fill up a jar with the salt and add a few drops of oil. I love, LOVE the smell of Eucalyptus in the bath, so that’s what I chose. I found just a few drops were more than enough!
Talk about an easy, but oh-so-adorable homemade gift! Best of all, no chemicals or fake, harsh ingredients. How pretty would it be to welcome a houseguest with a bathroom full of homemade spa treatments?
Have you ever made anything like this? Other recipe/ingredient ideas you might share?
The following items used today were purchased from Fred Meyer: all the jars, Mod Podge, paintbrush, Epsom salts, and sugar. Join me next week for more ideas with jars!
Disclosure: Fred Meyer has not compensated me to run this series, but has teamed with me by providing me with store credit to use to purchase and highlight items throughout this series. All opinions expressed are my own. For more information on how this site makes (and does not make) money, there’s no mystery there – just visit my Disclosure Policy.
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you for sharing this! My friend and I found a recipe for making your own body butter which we are going to put in little jars. A great and inexpensive present!
Super impressive! I’m excited that Fred Meyer carries all the supplies needed, because I think these would make really great Christmas gifts.
I made some sugar scrubs last summer. I started experimenting using something other than olive oil as I discovered that it was hard to cover up the olive smell.
What did you end up using? Canola or vegetable oil?
Mixing it with coconut oil is also pretty great!
I think it was castor oil that I used. I still have some of the scrubs upstairs and they still have the scent from last year.
I like to use light olive oil. The scent is much less noticeable!
How long is the shelf life on this homemade wonder? If I make them now and store in a closet, would they keep until Christmas?
Oooo….that is a good question. Personally, I wouldn’t make them much further out than a week or two just so the scent of the essential oils stay strong. I would suspect that the Epsom salts would have a decent shelf life, but I’m unsure about the sugar scrub. I don’t know if anything would harden or separate over time. Anyone that’s made these before have additional thoughts for Kari??
I made Pumpkin Pie Spice Sugar Scrub in December and it’s still good. It occasionally separates and needs to be mixed up a bit, but otherwise it’s totally fine. Hope that helps!
Thanks Lori!!! BTW, Pumpkin Pie Spice sounds good….did you just use pumpkin pie spice + sugar + oil? Or????
I’m going to print this article! I have used sugar and olive oil as a face scrub for about a year now (great stuff) but I love the idea of using a scent and giving it as a gift
Thank you for another great article, Angela! You’re awesome!
Thank you Tiff!!
awesome!! i have made the sugar/oil scrub before. i too had a hard time covering up the olive oil scent so the next time i made them i used coconut oil. when you add lemon essential oil to the coconut oil/sugar it smells like a delicious lemon sugar cookie!!! so that’s what i called it. i never thought to mix epsom salts with EOs before, so thanks! love jar projects. looking forward to what else you come up with
We had a Mom’s Night Out with my mom’s group where we made salt & sugar scrubs. It was so much fun! Everyone contributed something & we had a great time mixing together, chatting & of course indulging in some wine. ;o) As far as the smell of olive oil, I don’t notice it in mine at all. I used orange essential oils though, so maybe it’s because it was a stronger smelling oil. I’ve also not found that there’s a limited shelf life. I keep mine right in the shower and after have never had a problem with it going bad.
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