You can make them yourself. Purchase or collect about 2 pounds of pine cones. The cones are part of a visual display, so pick pretty ones. The cones that are open give you more area to cover with scent, so keep that in mind, as well.

Cinnamon Scented Pine Cones

2 lbs pine cones
4 ounces cinnamon scented essential oil
1 lb whole cinnamon sticks
1 large garbage bag
1 paint brush, one with a 1 inch width works well

Use the brush to liberally brush the pine cones with cinnamon essential oil. Be sure to paint each section of the cone.  Break the cinnamon sticks up into small pieces. Place the “painted” cones into a plastic bag with the cinnamon sticks. Fasten the bag closed and leave it that way for at least 8 weeks.

At the end of 8 weeks, take the cones out of the bag, and place them in bowls or baskets throughout your house. The scent will last for a few weeks.

Image credit: Michelle Smith

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Home Fragrance: DIY Scented Pine Cones

I love supporting small local companies that provide handmade products with a recognizable dose of personal care and attention…and a fun history.  Eleven-year old Lani made her first batch of skin products as holiday gifts for friends and relatives in 2005.  She created the products using all natural ingredients like pure cane sugar and natural oils because she had sensitive skin that reacted easily to the chemicals in most commercially-available products.  Everyone loved their gifts, so she decided to create Simple Sugars to offer the world her all-natural sugar scrubs.  Today the entire collection of deliciously-scented scrubs are concocted in the former craft room at the Lazzari house!

The best part about the Simple Sugars are the scents!  The body and facial scrubs come in a wide variety of natural scents that include pomegranate, coffee, green tea, almond, lime, and lavender.  I accidentally spilled the Coconut scrub all over my bathroom counter and it smelled delicious for days!  There is definitely a refreshingly homemade touch to the Simple Sugars with hand-written expiration dates and little plastic spoons that come with the scrubs so you can stir them up before using them.  These elements remind me how fresh and handmade these products are, which is really quite a nice change from the commercially produced products available at the drugstore.

Visit the Simple Sugars website to find out more about Lani’s story and order from the wide selection of facial and body scrubs.  I especially love the gift baskets!

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Handmade & Natural Simple Sugars Scrubs

Image: Valeur From Tokyo

Valeur Lunachi Babushka in Grey $129 at La Garconne

Valeur is a designer from Tokyo who creates soft and beautiful handmade hats with unique designs that incorporate ideas of warmth, personal style, and value.  For Fall Valeur has lots of wrapping hats that have the look of a knit headband or scarf but that offer the warmth of a hat.

Image: La Garconne

Valeur Lunachi Babushka in Black $129 at La Garconne

Image: La Garconne

Valeur Rila Turban $119 at La Garconne

This cute wool knit turban is another unique style that I interpret as a combination of a wide headband and a knit hat that creates a fashionable look for Fall.  The best part is that it is reversible and features a heather gray jersey with blue polka dots fabric on the other side, but I couldn’t find an image of it anywhere!

La Garconne is one of the only online retailers where I was able to find Valeur hats, and they only have a small selection.  You can visit Valeur’s website to find locations around the world where their hats are available.

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Babushka Hat by Valeur From Tokyo

I love the short-brimmed styles that fit close and low and look like a cross between a cloche and a newsboy.  Shes uses vintage-looking wood buttons and elastic linings that provide a comfortable snug fit.  These hats will be fabulous this Fall with a casual style.

Image: Piper and Paisley

The Ruby $45

I love the huge bow that wraps around the side of this design that looks great sitting low like a cloche.  The fabric is a stretch wool brocade, which looks great for Fall.

Image: Piper and Paisley

The Gillian with Cutaway Brim Detail in Charcoal Wool $45

Jen updates her classic Gillian style with a unique cutaway detail at the edge of just one side of the brim creating a unique asymmetrical look.  The charcoal wool pairs well with the large wood button.

Image: Piper and Paisley

The Juniper in Brown Jersey $50

There is gorgeous gathered detailing on the side of this unique design.  The outside material is wool, but the inside lining is a stretchy jersey so the hat still fits snugly and comfortably.

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Piper & Paisley Handmade Hats

I would love to post about Jennifer Behr’s absolutely beautiful handmade headbands everyday, but at around $200 per piece I realize that unless you have the wealth of a character on Gossip Girl, you probably won’t be stocking up on these.  These hair accessories are definitely designed to be paired with elegant outfits for special occasions.

Image: Jennifer Behr

Solid Jet Black Padded Headband $220

My favorite Jennifer Behr piece right now is her jet black padded headband.  This puffy headband has a semi-circular cross-section that reminds me of a queen’s headdress.  It has large vintage faceted glossy black stones in a geometric pattern.  This looks absolutely gorgeous with a sleek updo and a soft dark dress.  I would love to wear this to a special event!  Next time I have to dress for a special occasion I will start with a Jennifer Behr accessory and work out to the clothes and shoes.

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Jennifer Behr Black Stone Headband

There are a variety of different pieces to choose from at L’ape zoppa’s store on Etsy.  You can choose between different sizes and colors.  Here are some of my favorites:

o11 Hair Comb $24

This is probably one of the smallest pieces, although it still makes a statement with a unique design and bright turqoise, purple, and teal.  It will make a strong contrast in any hair color.

oo2 Hair Comb $22

This is one of my favorite pieces because of the gentle earthy purple and green.  I love how diverse the look can be just by using different colors and embellishments.  This piece is on a long two-pronged comb and has square gold buttons.

004 Flourish $32

If you really want to make a statement, the Flourish pieces are for you!  Each Flourish piece is unique, so you can talk with the artist about colors and materials that you would like to be incorporated.

Images: L’ape Zoppa

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Colorful Statement Hair Combs

I found these woodland themed handmade hairpins at The Sparrow’s Nest on Etsy.

Bronzed Robin’s Bird Nest Hair Pins $19.50

How beautiful is this pair of a bronzed bird and nest with lovely turquoise eggs?  You have to read the description from the artist about handcrafting each piece…it truly adds beauty to the piece.

Antiqued Ivory Acorn Pins $10.50

The artist created these from polymer clay in a mold from a real acorn.  They are also available in silver or bronze.

Golden Tiny Twig Hair Pins $15.50

These tiny twigs are so delicate and romantic with the tiniest bud on one.  There are many different variations on this twig design in different metals and colors.

Ivory Maple Leaf Hair Pins $10.50

For all of my Canadian ladies, I just had to include these beautiful maple leaf pins!  These also come in pewter, gold, and bronze.

Images: The Sparrow’s Nest

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Unique Hairpins at The Sparrow’s Nest

There are so many headband designers out there, but these pieces truly stand out as unique and beautiful to me.  They have a muted color palette and sophisticated style.  I think these headbands would be the perfect accessory to wear to a summer wedding.  You could wear one of these with romantic loose curls and a light and flowing dress.

There are tons of gorgeous headbands on the BeSomethingNew site on Etsy, but here are my favorites:

Summer Time Collage in Turquoise and Orange Headband $25

Vintage Glass Flowers and Antique Pearls Leaf Headband $39

Feeling Blue Rose Headband $42

Green Rose, Lace and Cameo Headband $34

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Headbands To Wear To A Summer Wedding

These beautiful decoupage invitations are by Vicky Riley Weddings, and they are pretty ornate as invitations go. The decoupage flowers give them a three dimensional effect, and the cool delicate blue contrasts nicely with the warm chocolate print and brown cardstock. The rhinestone diamante accents add a little glimmer. Available for $6.50 each from Vicky Riley Weddings.

If you are looking for something super-personalized, these caricature invitation cards are an adorable way to go. They are designed totally at your discretion, and can be as formal or informal as you like. I love the quirky, offbeat quality of these designs by Simple Difference, and the fact that you can have them printed up yourself. Simple Difference does the design, and send you the file, which you can have printed anywhere you like. This totally solves the problem of what to do when you run out of invites and only need 3 more. Available for $375 from Simple Difference.

I adore the chic and minimal graphic design on these invites by One Reverie. These modern cards are sophisticated, but retain their handmade charm. The font, text, and color scheme are totally customizable, which I also love. A sample is available for $3.50 from One Reverie.

Photo Credits: Vicky Riley Weddings, Simple Difference, One Reverie

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Handmade Wedding Invitations

So what’s inside each bottle?

Image: Melt

The daily moisturizer contains:

Ingredients: water, prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, santalum album (sandalwood) wood extract, phellodendron amurense bark extract, hordeum distichon (barley) extract, sorbitan oleate, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, caffeine extract, tocopheryl acetate, retinyl palmitate, squalane, beeswax, cetyl alcohol, stearic acid, carbomer, disodium

I’m also excited to see all the new bath & body goodies they will be cooking up – the Solor Flair Bubble Bath and Moisture Quench Butter Infusion are intense, all natural and excellent for sensitive skin types. With this new look and extra focus on natural ingredients, I hope to see Melt grow and become a top contender across the country.

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Stop and Melt With Handmade Skin Care