Wednesday, January 26, 2011

blog spa tutorial: a personalized spa body wrap

Don't miss out on our great Blog Spa giveaways and tutorials:
~a Basic Skin Care Set from Skin Journey
~a facial mask and headband
~a soothing prize pack from Barefoot Bath and Body
~a Fabulous Feet Set giveaway from the Abbey James Co.
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We've pampering ourselves head to toe this week during Blog Spa.  Yesterday, Bev over at Flamingo Toes showed us how to make a bath scrubbie and a bath soak.  Well, you are going to need something cute to use as a wrap once you get done soaking. . . right?  Right!  So that's when you reach for your personalized spa body wrap.  You don't have a personalized spa body wrap?  Well, now you can!  And the best part is you can use things you already have on hand to make yourself one . . . woohoo!

Spa Body Wrap

Here's what you need:
~a towel from your linen closet
~a stained washcloth (or a unstained washcloth)
~some bits of fabric from your scrap pile
~some elastic
~hook and loop strip about 2 inches long

 

Here's what you do:
1)  Place your towel right side up on the ground.  Decide which long side is going to be the top of the wrap and which long side will be the bottom.  At the top, place one side of the hook and loop about 1/4 down from the top and a 1/4 inch in from the side.  Sew. 

2)  Place your towel back on the floor right side up.  At the top on the other corner, place the other side of the hook and loop about 2 inches down from the top and a 1/4 inch in from the side.  Sew. 

3)  Place the towel back on the ground again WRONG SIDE UP.  Fold the top edge of the towel down about 1 inch.  This will be your tube for the elastic.  Pin and sew a straight line to make the tube, but do not sew up the ends.

4)  Take the elastic and pull it tight around your chest where you would normally wrap a towel for the length you need to cut.  (Make sure there is tension in the elastic and that it is stretching.)  Put a safety pin through one end of the elastic and start pushing it through the tube you just created on your towel.  Read next step before pushing too far.  (This isn't as easy as with regular fabric but with a little patience, it will go all the way through.)

5)  Push safety pin through until the opposite end of the elastic is just past the end of the hook and loop piece (so about 2 1/4 inches in from the end.  Sew elastic in place here going back and forth a couple of times. 

6)  Keep pushing safety through until it comes out the other end.  But now gently release elastic so that it is about 2 1/4 inches in from this end.  Sew into place going back and forth a couple of times.  This means that the elastic is not in the tube where the hook and loop is. (I did sew the ends of the tube up as well once the elastic was sewn in place.)   

7)  Take your stained washcloth (that you almost threw out until you realized you could make something cool like this with it), and cut a pocket shape out of it.  I thought this looked entirely too plain, so I added a personalized monogram using scrap fabric and double-sided fusible interfacing.  The interfacing does work with the towel; however I also did a quick topstitch to make sure it will stay on when washed.  Sew pocket on where ever you can easily access it while the wrap is on your body.  I even put the wrap on to find just the right spot to pin and sew the pocket.   

8)  I also added a strip of the same fabric from the top of the wrap to the bottom with the same interfacing and sewing technique.

9)  Done! And ready for wrapping after a nice warm relaxing bath!  This is way better than my terry cloth robe that I've had since I was 18!

See you tomorrow morning for another great spa giveaway!

 Blog Spa on!


Blog Spa is sponsored by these great shops:
Amber's Lemongrass Spa Shop

another great blog spa giveaway

Don't miss out on our great Blog Spa giveaways and tutorials:
~a Basic Skin Care Set from Skin Journey
~a facial mask and headband
~a soothing prize pack from Barefoot Bath and Body

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You've got to head on over to Bev's place for our Blog Spa giveaway from Abbey James.  Honestly, you are going to love this shop full of artisan handmade body care goodies!

  We hope you are enjoying Blog Spa.  And we want to invite you to think of JUST ONE (or more if you want) way you can pamper yourself this week.  Write about . . . inspire others to do the same . . . and come back on Saturday and link up to our Blog Spa party. 

Hope to see you back here at twelve crafts for . . . well, you'll just have to come back to see for yourself!

Spa on!

Blog Spa is sponsored by these great shops:
Amber's Lemongrass Spa Shop

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

blog spa: more great ways to pamper yourself

Don't miss out on our great Blog Spa giveaways and tutorials:
~a Basic Skin Care Set from Skin Journey
~a facial mask and headband
~a soothing prize pack from Barefoot Bath and Body

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Have I mentioned that we are going to have a blog hop linky party at the end of Blog Spa?  No?!  Well, we are!  You see, Bev and I know that you all have some fabulous spa ideas as well, and we don't want to miss out on even one.  So on Saturday, you are invited to link up any and all of your fabulous spa related posts - tips, tutorials, advice, ideas.  You can link up past posts or write up a new one up this week and join the fun!  We can't wait!

In the meantime, we still have some great tips/tutorials and giveaways coming up throughout the rest of this week because this week is all about taking care of YOU!  If you are anything like the two of us, self care and pampering gets pushed to the back burner. 

The list of excuses reasons is long:
1)  Family comes first.
2)  Money is tight.
3)  The day is full.
4)  It doesn't seem that important.
5)  I could go on and on.

But it is important to take care of yourself so that you can be the best you - the you that your family deserves.  So . . . here's another on-the-cheap way you can pamper yourself and take care of yourself . . . I'm so tricky because you are going to have to go over to Bev's place @ Flamingo Toes  to check it out.  ;)

Blog Spa on!
Blog Spa is sponsored by these great shops:
Amber's Lemongrass Spa Shop

blog spa: take care of your hands giveaway

Don't miss out on our great Blog Spa giveaways and tutorials:
~a Basic Skin Care Set from Skin Journey
~a facial mask and headband
~a soothing prize pack from Barefoot Bath and Body

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Have you ever seen a product and thought,
"That is so cool!  How did she do that?"

Well, welcome to Sparetime Crafts - the clever and creative genius behind these:
 
I know you think that it's just a box . . . but wait . . . there's more:

And check it out fully open:


Bev (of Flamingo Toes fame) and I are moving from head to toe with tips to pamper, renew and refresh.  This morning's giveaway moves us from face and eyes to hands and fingers.  We can't all take time to visit a nail salon for a manicure, and we don't all have the money to either.  But a good manicure is in your grasp if you have the right tools to give yourself one at home. 

And thanks to Carolyn at Sparetime Crafts, one of you will have those tools at your fingertips in your very own Etui box.  An Etui box is a 23 piece box (including manicure tools) that holds all your manicure supplies.  It is fashioned after the Chinese concept of "a box within a box".  

The winner of this giveaway gets to choose the Etui box of her choice. (Sparetime Crafts also carries Etui boxes for needlework . . . so clever!)


First entry:
~Tell the truth . . . do you have one funky nail on one of your fingers right now?  You know . . . the kind of nail that snags on every sweater you put on because you can't be bothered to use a nail file.  I do!  Actually, I have three of them!

Leave a comment for each extra entry:
~Be or become a twelve crafts follower.  Again, there are other ways to enter, so please follow because you want to hang out here with me . . . not because you want to win a giveaway. 
~Be or become a follower of the Flamingo Toes.
~Visit Sparetime Crafts and tell me which color of Etui box you will choose if you win.
~Heart that box on Etsy (add it to favorites).
~Heart the shop on Etsy (add it to favorites).
~Let me know if you have our cute Blog Spa button up on your blog.
~Leave some comment love for Bev on her blog.

Blog Spa on!


Blog Spa is sponsored by these great shops:
Amber's Lemongrass Spa Shop
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