Honeytree Lotion

Most of the jobs I've had in my life, both paid and unpaid, have had something to do with kids. I was the oldest grandchild on both sides of the family, so I always had lots of younger cousins around at family gatherings. My first job was babysitting the son and daughter of my elementary school principal when I was just twelve. I worked at a daycare while I was in college, then provided daycare in my home when the boys were little. When Michael was three I had the opportunity to go to work with Miss Connie and Miss Cathy at Honeytree Preschool. It was one of those jobs that just kind of fell in my lap. Honeytree was THE preschool of choice in Aurora and the surrounding communities. The three of us were a great team! I stayed there for twelve years and was considered a full partner when we closed a few years ago. 

One thing you notice when you're around three and four year olds all day is how many bodily fluids you come in contact with. The next thing you notice is how many times you wash your hands and how quickly they become dry and cracked. So we were always on the lookout for great hand lotions. One of the best we ever found was homemade! I don't remember who gave us the recipe, but it's easy and VERY inexpensive. All of the ingredients can be purchased at the dollar store!

If you know me, you know I never follow a recipe (or directions), so of course I had to switch it up a little! 

This is the recipe using the dollar store items:

15 oz. bottle baby lotion

7 oz. jar Vaseline

8 oz. vitamin E cream (two 4 oz. jars)

Just dump everything in a blender and mix well. 

Now here are my tweaks. I LOVE the smell of Jergens. That cherry almond scent reminds me of my great grandma's house. I don't know if maybe she or her sister used it, but for some reason I make that connection. So instead of the baby lotion I use a bottle of cherry almond scented lotion. And I like to use a pump so I only use about half the vaseline. The whole 7 oz. makes it too thick for a pump. 

Mix up a batch and store it in some pretty little candle jars. You probably have some stashed somewhere--I know you can't throw anything away, either! Tie on a ribbon and tag and it's a great little teacher gift. I recycled the clear bottle after I used all the lotion that came in it. The label peeled right off for me and I think the plain clear bottle looks nice. A little Goo Gone will take care of any adhesive residue. The white ceramic bottle came from my old bathroom. 

You might want to  experiment with different scents. I substituted a 15 oz. bottle of coconut lotion  for the baby lotion one summer and it smelled really good, but the cherry almond is by far my favorite. Give it a try--you'll love the way it feels! It's not heavy or greasy, and it really moisturizes. 

What is your most economical "beauty secret?"

Thanks for stopping by! See you Friday!