Crafting, Creativity, and a Little Bit of Lip Balm Chaos

There’s something magical about deciding, “Next Saturday let’s make things.”

Teresa and I didn’t wake up one morning and casually whip up lip balm and sugar scrub. Oh no, this was planned. Lists were made. Recipes were reviewed (and reviewed again). Supplies were carefully chosen, purchased, and proudly piled up like we were hosting a small apothecary pop-up in the kitchen.

We blocked off a Saturday. No errands. No obligations. Just crafting.

We started by setting everything up like true professionals, bowls lined up, scales out, measuring cups ready. For the lip balm, we weighed each ingredient carefully, added them to a container, and stirred patiently as everything melted together. There’s something oddly soothing about watching wax and oils turn glossy and smooth. Just before pouring, we added the flavor oil, that final touch that makes it unique, then carefully poured the mixture into tiny lip balm containers, hoping not to spill (we did).

Next up: sugar scrub. We pre-measured the sugar, melted the oil separately, and slowly poured them together like we knew exactly what we were doing. Then came the best part, adding essential and fragrance oils. Suddenly the kitchen smelled amazing, and we remembered why we love this kind of hands-on creativity so much. Once mixed, we spooned everything into containers, admired our work, and immediately noticed something…

We had miscalculated.

Which meant, surprise, we were making more. Because apparently math works differently when you’re having fun. So back to melting, mixing, pouring, and laughing at ourselves. Honestly? It made the day better.

After the crafting came cleanup (less fun, but necessary), and then one of our favorite parts: designing the labels. Ingredients were carefully listed, fonts were debated, layouts tweaked. We prepped the containers, printed the labels, and carefully affixed each one. The final step - perforating the lip balm labels so they looked polished and professional.

By the end of the day, we were tired, but in the best way. The kind of tired that comes from using your hands, your brain, and that creative part of yourself that often gets pushed aside in mid-life while we take care of everyone else.

Creating something from scratch is incredibly satisfying. And gifting something you made yourself? That’s a whole other level of joy. These weren’t just lip balms and sugar scrubs, they were little jars of time, intention, and care.

Crafting fills that creative cup. It meets that quiet self-care need we all have but don’t always name. It reminds us that we’re allowed to make things just because it feels good.

Even if we have to make an extra batch because the math didn’t math.

And honestly, we’d do it all again.