My pal Julie, has a friend who recently opened a new shop – Celestial Kisses. The shop specializes in homemade, natural beauty products, so I thought my readers here might be interested in the Grand Opening Give Away going on there right now.
Here’s the scoop from Celestial Kisses owner:
“To celebrate the grand opening of Celestial Kisses Homemade Spa & Aromatherapy products, I’m offering a gift basket give-away!  I will be giving away an Egyptian Sunset gift basket which includes a bar of milk & honey soap (Cleopatra Bar), a milk bath, and a bottle of oatmeal & honey lotion …read more

Green gifts can cost a little more; but not if you make them yourself. I’m going to give you some ideas for homemade eco gifts that won’t cost too much to make and that people will actually adore. Some are from Tree Hugging Family’s past, and others are new.
If I see any more over the next couple of weeks, I’ll post those too.
Great little homemade green gifts for party hosts:
Pennyroyal, Cinnamon, & Lavender Air Freshener

Flower & Spice Table Toppers via Family Corner
 

Organic homemade beauty gifts:

Herbs are good for more than doctoring salad and fish; use them to get shiny great smelling hair too.

Gather up: 

Handful of fresh organic sage
Handful of fresh organic rosemary
Few leaves of organic fresh mint
Favorite organic pure essential oil, although I suggest one of the following: lavender (you can substitute fresh lavender as well, mix it in with the other herbs), orange, tea tree.
Small pot

To make:

Rub all the herbs in your hands for a few minutes – this releases the oils and scent.
Place all herbs in your pot and cover with water (about a pint 1/2).
Cover pot, bring to a boil, reduce …read more

So, in the last poll, people voted to see both more homemade beauty and more anti-tree huggers. Bet you didn’t think I could combine both and double the happiness factor – did you?
Turns out, I’m just that clever.

Here you go… Homemade Bacon Soap.
It’s beauty, it’s an eco baddie (lye and bacon), and it’s likely the worst soap you’ll ever smell, but hey I do what I can.
Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in May 2008
[photo via stock.xchng]

Everyone has to wash their face at some point. Here are two nice recipes that cut down on packaging and harmful extras like colors and preservatives.
Cleansing Milk:
You’ll need to choose one of the following – 2 or 3 tablespoons of fresh or dried organic elderflowers, chamomile, lime blossom, or sweet violets. (I’ve personally used fresh chamomile and sweet violets).
1/2 cup organic whole milk – I was told to use creamy milk – I was never quite sure what that meant but whole milk seems to work good. I use Straus Milk because it’s really creamy. I suppose you could try …read more