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It’s winter where I live and for me, that means dry skin. And I mean really, really dry, especially on my hands. I’m talking cracking, itching, burning, bleeding, painful skin on the fingers and hands. And it’s not just me. My whole family suffers in the cold months, especially the daughter with OCD who washes a little too thoroughly. We’ve tried a LOT of products to increase the moisture on our skin. A few years back I hit on a recipe for a lotion, yes, a recipe, that is really simple and easy to make, but keeps hands feeling and looking great when the temperatures drop outside.
Once we realized how much we liked it at our house, I started giving it away to other people and, no surprise, they really liked it too. I’ve had requests for more from friends and family who love it as much as we do. I decided to make a label for the top of the containers so they look great, and now they are a gift-giving staple for me. You can get the labels for free at the bottom!
The three ingredients for this recipe are all available at Walmart and two of the ingredients are available pretty much everywhere. It’s inexpensive, works fantastic and makes a great gift you can keep on hand to give away.
Watch the video tutorial for winter lotion here:
Supplies:
Fruit of the Earth Vitamin E Skin Care Cream - this comes with two containers and you will need both for one recipe. If you follow the link it's sold with four containers which will make two batches.
Vaseline/petroleum jelly 13 oz – this is the big container of Vaseline
Baby lotion 27 oz – you can really use any lotion. This provides the winter lotion. Our favorite is this baby lotion that reminds us all of bedtime and snuggly babies. It’s very relaxing and soothing.
Large glass or metal bowl for mixing – you just don’t want plastic because I’m not sure all the Vaseline would wash out.
Rubber spatula you can dedicate to this recipe so it won’t be used for anything else – again, I’m not sure it will wash off completely.
Containers – these are a great size and hold 6 oz
Paper/cardstock or sticker paper
Scissors or way to cut out your labels (ex: punch, Coluzzle)
Optional:
Let’s get started making winter lotion:
Add all three of your ingredients into the glass bowl. I add about ¾ or more of the tub of Vaseline, all of the baby lotion and both containers of the vitamin E lotion. Save the containers that the vitamin E lotion came in because they are also the perfect size for the finished lotion. At our house, we reuse all of our containers since we just keep putting lotion back in them.
Use your mixer and rubber spatula to thoroughly mix all the ingredients until everything is well combined and looks fluffy. Make sure all the Vaseline is blended in. This is the key to awesome lotion. The first time I made this I didn’t mix as long and ended up with Vaseline chunks. Still usable but definitely not as good as later batches.
Scoop lotion out of the bowl and into the containers using the rubber spatula. I fill the containers to the top and then screw on the lid. Make sure there isn’t any lotion on the top of the lid by wiping them off if necessary (you know, if you’re a sloppy crafter like me and you get lotion everywhere during this part of the process).
I get about seven and a half containers of lotion out of one batch.
Putting labels on the winter lotion:
As for the labels, you can print them on regular paper or cardstock and adhere them to the top. You can also print them on sticker paper, cut out the labels and stick them to the top. Or, you can use my favorite method and print them on sticker paper, laminate one side and cut them out. This way the label is more water resistant and if you or someone else accidentally gets some lotion on the lid the label won’t smear. It keeps the label of the lotion looking great until the last bit is used.
You can go here - 3 BEST Methods to Protect and Waterproof Your Stickers (2023) - Well Crafted Studio - to read about three ways to laminate one side of the stickers. I use the thermal laminating option.
You do this by inserting TWO pages of stickers back-to-back into a laminating pouch. Run it through the laminator twice, then cut the sides off the pouch.
Next pull apart the two sticker sheets. This leaves you with two pages of stickers with lamination on top and sticker on the back. Genius!
All that’s left to do is cut out your labels. You can certainly hand cut them. I don’t have the steady hands and skill to make them look pretty that way so I use a Coluzzle which is a really old way of cutting things out with a blade. I don’t think they are even sold anymore which is why I’m hanging on to mine for all I’m worth because I use it all the time.
Put the labels onto your jars and they are ready to give away or be used in your own household! We have some on hand in our house year-round. It gets used daily in the winter but also pretty regularly in other seasons too.
Don't forget to subscribe and get the free gift tags to use with the lotion!
Happy crafting!
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