I kid you not…I have pinned thousands of items on Pinterest. If I live for another 300 years I still would never have enough time to do all the projects I’ve pinned.
Last night, through Pinterest, I came upon a recipe for headache salve from the blog Confessions of an Overworked Mom. Her recipe and instructions are easy and the salve turns out great. Combine coconut oil and a few drops of essential oils in a glass bowl and gently heat over a bowl of hot water. The gentle smell of the salve is comforting. Massaged into your temples when you have a headache, or an overload of stress, would bring some natural, non-chemical relief. Check out Overworked Mom’s post for step-by-step instructions.
I combined making the headache salve with a project. I upcycled an old Altoid tin I had on hand into a pretty container for the salve.
Before you make the salve, prepare your container. Wipe out an Altoid tin with a soft cloth or napkin. You will also need a thin piece of cardboard and a picture or design of some kind. I used a page from an old Mary Engelbreit calendar.
Trace the shape of the tin top onto a piece of thin cardboard. I used a piece of an old tissue box.
Cut out the cardboard, about an 1/8 of an inch smaller than the traced line. I wanted the pretty color of the Altoid tin to frame the finished picture.
Trace cardboard shape onto the back of the picture or design you have chosen to use. Make sure you have half an inch of extra paper for wrapping around the edge of the cardboard.
Clip the edges of this excess paper to the line you traced. I used Mod-Podge to glue the picture to the cardboard, wrapping the excess paper around the sides and gluing them to the back of the cardboard.
I used non-toxic glue to attach the picture to the top of the tin, and applied a thin coat of Mod-Podge to the picture to waterproof it. Let tin dry completely before adding salve.
I filled the tin with the liquefied headache salve. In the coolness of the house it quickly hardened. In the summertime you will need to store the tin in the refrigerator. Coconut oil liquefies in the heat of the summer.
I’m pleased I finally got around to making use of one of my Pinterest pins. Give the salve a try. You don’t need to make a fancy container, any tin or jar will do.
The salve would make a nice Christmas present for someone who appreciates handmade gifts. One caution…if the coconut oil becomes warm it WILL liquefy again. Keep in a cool spot. A little dab is all you need to massage into your temples.
* Look up upcycling altoid tins on Pinterest if you want to be amazed and inspired. You will quickly realize why I’ve pinned projects by the thousands. Oh the fun you can have with what others consider a piece of trash.
