Foot Butter
(or balm ~ this is your creation, call it whatever you like!)
I ran across this recipe years ago and it is very simple and works surprisingly well. Plus, you can make enough for at least 5 eight ounces jars for pennies, compared to the prices you would pay at your local B & B store.
(please don't look at my messy workspace ~ we were creating!)
1 large bottle Baby Lotion or other lotion of your choice
1 large bottle (or jar of cream) Vitamin E or Aloe Lotion (I think the cream works better)
1 large container Petroleum Jelly
1 jar of Cocoa Butter (or Shea Butter)
Cost of ingredients (listed above) was $5.73.
The ingredients listed all came from Family Dollar, but you can also find them at Dollar General for about the same price.
Then we added essential oils. We decided to use peppermint and lavender. The lavender is very relaxing and the peppermint makes your feet feel wonderful, like they just had a massage.
20 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil
5 drops of Lavender Essential Oil
You can add more or less, although I wouldn't add too much more of the peppermint. An additional few drops should be okay. If you have never worked with essential oils, it is better to take it easy. Too much of a good thing, may not be so good, especially if you have sensitive skin.
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and beat with hand mixer until everything is completely blended.
We stored what we were going to use for gifts in some sweet little Rubber Maid containers that have a red twist on lid. They hold between 6 and 8 ounces.
We were able to fill the three Rubber Maid containers and then filled the empty Petroleum Jelly jar and Cocoa Butter Jar for our own use.
We paid $2.40 for our containers. Total cost for the three gifts, plus two for our own use was $8.13.
We buy our essential oils at the local health food store or there are a number of places you can purchase them online. Essential oils are a little pricey, but we use them continually and they last forever!
On average you will pay between $5 to $7 each for the two oils we used.
However, we will use these again and again, while making our gifts. In addition the lavender oil provides a pleasant relief for headaches, simply by massaging a drop or two on your temples.
(A bottle of essential oil will last our family a year or more and we use them continually!)
On a personal NOTE: Gabby called after their Thanksgiving dinner with her father's side of the family. She said, "Mamaw, we have to make a lot more of the foot butter! And Aunt Janice is giving us lots of cute little jars she has saved."
I haven't told her, we may tweak the recipe just a little. One of the grown daughters has decided she prefers a regular lotion in place of the baby lotion. So we will be experimenting along those lines!
Have fun with your creating!
A few years ago, our oldest daughter came up with this saying. Since then, we kind of use it as a guide when deciding what to give someone special….when we don’t have a clue!
“Something you want,
Something you need.
Something to eat,
Something to read.”
~ unknown
More later!
Blessings,
Cheryl
