DIY Essential Oils Carrying Case

About six months ago I started using Doterra's essential oils. The essential oils come in little, glass vials. My family uses them on a daily basis, and I believe we have all been healthier because of them. :) I have a drawer in my bathroom that houses these oils. Because of their many uses, I found myself needing these oils to treat everyday illnesses, aches, and pains when I was away from home also. (Some oils are even a great alternative to the overused anti-bacterial gel soap that everyone carries around.) I needed a carrying case that I could just drop into my purse, and pull out quickly when needed. Doterra sells carrying cases, but I figured I could make something with what I have on hand just as easily.

 (Note: This is a "cheat" DIY bag!!)

So, I rummaged through my zipper makeup bags. You know..the ones that come free when you purchase a certain amount of makeup. I found a pretty flowered one in my closet that I had never even used. I would have liked a zipper that ran up the side, across the top, and around the other side. This would have made sewing with a sewing machine a whole lot easier. Those zipper cases that open flat would have been ideal, but I settled for my simple, zipper top bag that I had received for free. I grabbed a few necessary items and got straight to work

Materials:

• Sewing machine
• Zipper makeup pouch
• Thread (matching color)
• Elastic (I used 3/4 inch)
• Scissors
• Straight pins
• Measuring tape

Next,  I opened up the zipper bag and turned it inside out. I measured out the elastic. (Give yourself a rough estimate by measuring the length of the pouch, or sew as you go.) I used a thicker elastic band because the vials are round and wide, and I wanted the elastic to have a secure hold on the vials. I pinned the elastic to the inside of the bag. (I ended up sewing only one side of elastic on this pouch because I did not want it to be too bulky, and I wanted to make sure it closed easily. This particular pouch was not incredibly deep.) This is where a free arm attachment on your sewing machine works well because you will really have to get into that pouch and sew at a difficult angle. You have to be careful that you do not sew through to the opposite side of the pouch, too. I sewed a straight line down and back stitched. I repeated this every few inches. I left enough room in each loop to fit each vial. Just remember the elastic will stretch over time so you will need each "loop" a little smaller than the vial or whatever you will be holding in the elastic loop. 

Turn the bag right side out, and secure your essential oils in their new home. Now you have a quick and frugal way to carry around essential oils and other necessities! It is a makeup bag after all, so go ahead and throw in your lipstick, lotions and anything else you want, too!

Make a T-Shirt Painting Smock

My older daughter’s Girl Scout troop did a painting session led by a local art instructor yesterday. Our troop leader told the girls to wear an old T-shirt so they would not get paint all over their clothes. I had wanted to make a smock of some kind for awhile now so I decided to repurpose an old T-shirt of mine. I needed something easy and fast, too.

I looked through my embarrassingly large collection of old t-shirts and found an old white one with an art picture on it. I was willing to part with it for this project. I turned the shirt over and simply cut a straight line from the bottom all the way up through the collar. I then sewed a seam along each side of where I cut. (This part could have been skipped, but I wanted a little bit of a finished look.) I don’t have a serger so I just used my sewing machine to sew two straight seams.

I cut four 16-inch pieces of grosgrain ribbon (7/8 inch). I sewed two of the ribbons under the collar on each side of the cut. Then I sewed the other two ribbons a little further down the back of the shirt. I made sure to line them up facing each other so that I could tie them together later.

I was finished!

My 3 year-old was the model while her older sister was at school. There was not much to it, and I think it served its purpose. Now the girls can use their T-shirt smocks for everyday painting projects.

Our girl scout troop had a blast painting, and Ididn't have to worry about paint spills!