“ Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

Mother Teresa

This one is for all those wonderful women out there who love, encourage, teach, take care of, mentor, and protect all living things from harm. You don’t have to have a child to be a real mother, you just have to have the heart to care for others.

So, having written that, I thought it would be nice to show you all how to make a thank you basket to give to all those women, either moms, aunts, grandmas, friends, a kind neighbor…whoever, just a basket to give to the ones who have gifted others with their kindness. All these gifts are earth friendly too and they won’t hurt your wallet either. The best part is the fun you will have creating them. Wait, I take that back…the best part is when you gift it to someone.

First you will need a basket.

If you don’t have one then any pretty bag, box or even a bowl from your kitchen will do. This gift is suppose to be about using what you have either on hand or locally in your area. I am a bit of a hoarder, not really, but I do have my unfinished project box of items to redo when time permits. I found two items from my stash to use for this project. A basket I picked up on thrift store dollar days and a little jar full of Christmas candy I bought after Christmas for .25 cents.

Now if you don’t have a garden I suggest you start a small one. Even if you live in the city, you can still have a small area where you grow herbs on a little shelf. I am filling my basket up with 5 items that I am using from my garden here in the city.

Aloe Vera-

Native Americans call this Heaven’s wand. What a beautiful description too. With the shortage of hand sanitizer Aloe gel mixed with some alcohol is something everyone would appreciate right now.

If you have aloe in your garden then you will have lots of baby aloe (pups) around to put in a small pot to add to your basket, this way who ever you gift with this basket will be able to grow their own. This is a gift that keeps on giving.

Now they can grow and make moisturizers or sanitizer gel anytime they want.Put your gel in the fridge and make it part of your night time moisturizing ritual. Yeah, it’s a bit slimy but it heals your skin and makes it so soft. Who knows what harsh chemicals they add to some of these over the counter beauty products that cost us so much.

Mint-

Fresh leaves are great for sweet teas. Add some mint leaves to an ice tray and freeze some in ice cubes then drop them into water for a cool refreshing drink. Mink is also a great insect repellent. Have some growing in your organic gardens. Our pollinating friends love organic gardens.

Rosemary-

Clip fresh rosemary and add to Epson salts with some pure essential lavender oil for a relaxing foot soak.

You will need Epson salt, lavender essential oil, and fresh rosemary.

Take a big bowl and fill with Epson salt.

Take your rosemary and cut up into small pieces ( I used kitchen scissors) then add to your salt.

Add a few drops of essential oil.

Then stir.

I used two types of essential oils. One was lavender and the other was peppermint.

I added about 1/4 cup of the foot soak to each bag I was filling.

Jasmine-

There are several melt and pour soaps available to add some of your dried herbs and flowers to and Jasmine is one of my all time favorites to add.

If you are making your own soap then dried flowers using the lye method will discolor them and they will not look so pretty. I had some extra unscented goats milk soap that I made into hearts and bars awhile back. They have been drying in a dark place for awhile now. When ever you buy or make soap, store them for a few weeks before using them. Fresh soap always melts faster and doesn’t last as long.

When our Jasmine blooms at night the next morning our brick patio area is covered with white Jasmine flowers everywhere.

I just gather them up every morning and drop them in a bucket to dry naturally. Unscented goats milk soap is so gentle on your skin but you can always add a few drops of essential oils for a natural way to add fragrances.

 

Flowers-

I am using a mix of roses, petunias, and jasmine.

 

The smell of a rose is straight from heaven, it smells wonderful.

I keep a small bucket in my Arizona room and when I see a flower starting to turn I will snip it and add it to the bucket to dry naturally.

I have a couple buckets that I store flowers in that I keep in my china cabinet for those times I may need to make a hand made gift for someone.

Make some pretty lace bags with left over fabric and scraps you have around your home.

Just tie off the bags so you can open and close them to refill later.

There is a very light and faint smell from fresh potpourri you make yourself.

Sometimes in the stores the fragrances don’t smell natural and can be too over powering. If your sachets loose their fragrance then add a few drops of essential oil every now and then. Tanya from Wildflower walks also made some home made potpourri in one of her post, very pretty Tanya. So collect those flower petals and store them away for pretty gifts to give out later.

Baskets always look extra nice with a small sachet tucked inside them.

Here it is, a basket filled with gifts from the garden. Mint, rosemary foot soak, Aloe gel, Jasmine soap, a tiny plant, and a rose petal drawer sachet.

I glued faux flowers and moss around the basket and tied a lace ribbon to the side.

The bags are made from small fabric scraps I always have on hand. Making your own bags out of fabric scraps is also Earth friendly. The labels are handmade from cardboard scraps from packaging. All those things that normally get tossed can be reused for something else. Sometimes you need to fix them up a bit but in the end it will be a very unique and one of kind gift to give to the ones you care for.

For an extra treat that is not from my garden but would be nice to add to any basket, throw in a cooling rice bag. A lot of my followers know how to make these, I have seen them all over their sites during the holidays. These are so easy to make. I used to make them for my kids for sensory play activities.

Take your extra fabric scraps and sew up a long rectangle then stuff with rice.

Add some lavender essential oil and sew close. Leave in freezer and you will always have a nice cooling bag for tired eyes.

Hope you all have a very Happy Mother’s Day. To anyone out there who comes from a toxic environment when it comes to your mothers, I am sorry that happen to you. I hope you still had kind and caring women that came into your lives to help with what you missed as a child. This time of the year can be very painful for adult survivors that were abused as children by their mothers. I wish there was something happy and cheerful to get you through this day. Try not to hang onto the pain from the past, find your happiness in this moment and hold onto it. Wish your mother well even if from a distance (easier said then done I know), and when you feel anger and resentment take over during days that celebrate moms, knowing you were short changed, remember this… that even though she was not the mom you needed and would have loved to have had, she at least choose to give you life, and you are here at this moment for that very reason. Take your life and live well, with happiness and beauty every moment you are here.

Happy gift giving everyone.