Make-Over Monday: Grown-up Slumber Party & DIY Spa Treatments

At the beginning of September I threw a good old fashioned slumber party for a group of about 10 of my friends. My inspiration for this event was checking this book out from my local library earlier in the month.

Sometimes I see books like this or read blogs detailing fun events that people are hosting or attending and I think to myself, "*sigh* I wish somebody around here would throw a party like that and invite ME!" And then I realize that I could be that somebody! I have to remind myself more than I'd like to admit to stop waiting for someone to create the community that I want to be a part of. So, after reading through "Girls Night In" about ten times, I decided to do something about it!

Truth

Hannah Read-Baldrey, the English authoress of "Girls' Night In" and several other fantastic titles (like "Everything Oz" & "Everything Alice"), has compiled a fantastic list of fun crafts, decorations, playlists, recipes and DIY spa treatments to keep any group of ladies busy for hours! If you're interested in more of what Read-Bradley is up to, you can follow her blog, Couture Craft. In "Girls Night In" she supplies you with several different themes and the creative know-how to make it up as you go along. And that is exactly what we did at our GNI!

First, I had some appetizers and snacks ready for when the ladies arrived, because you know how I feel about feeding people (If you feed them, they will come)!  I also mixed together a tasty fall sangria, while having some non-alcoholic options available as well. After having a nosh and chit-chatting while all the guests arrived, we moved directly into some DIY spa treatments!

Before all the guest arrived I decided on two out the MANY DIY options provided in the book. I then purchased all necessary ingredients, however, I had quite a few of them already in my cupboard and fridge at home. I then set a station up for each treatment so that they would be easily accessible to all the ladies.

I used my easily moved TV trays as spa stations. 

 In case you want to give these a whirl, and to convince you how great the book is, here are the recipes for both the treatments!

Mocha Mask makes 4 masks

4 tbsp finely ground espresso
4 tbsp cocoa powder
8 tbsp plain yogurt

For Dry Skin 
add 2 tbsp honey

For Oily Skin 
Add 2 tbsp lemon juice

For Combination Skin
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp lemon juice


Place all ingredients in a food blender and pulse until smooth. Apply to your face and neck, taking care to avoid the eye area. Leave on for 10 minutes or when dry. Rinse off with warm water.
* This smelled so good, if you like coffee, that is! We found that in most cases, you needed longer than 10 minutes for the mask to dry. If spread very thinly, 15 minutes might be adequate, but you might want to plan some extra chat time during this one. 

Mocha Mask 

Waiting for our masks to dry! I had a fun playlist playing during all of this, just in case conversation lagged. We really didn't have that problem! :) 

Brown Sugar Foot (or hand) Scrub makes 1 scrub (but really made about 4)

2 tbsp ground oats
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp aloe vera gel
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp fresh lemon juice (we used bottled)
1 tsp almond or olive oil (maybe even coconut oil?)

In blender, grind oats until the consistency of coarse sand. Transfer to a large bowl with the remaining ingredients and mix together to form paste.

Massage onto feet or hands, focusing on dry areas such as your heal and big toes. Rinse well with warm water. Towel dry.
* This was definitely the hit of the night! This magical concoction makes your hands and feet feel so silky smooth! Almost all the ladies did this on their feet and hands! If you have it available, you might consider providing a foot soaking tub or two. We would have definitely benefited from having one available and I didn't even think about it before-hand! 

Brown Sugar Scrub 

After pampering ourselves with the DIY treatments, we did mani/pedis, ate some more snacks (can you say Twizzlers?) and watched always classic, "Mermaids".

Oh, Winona Ryder, you doll! 

And what would a slumber party be without a big, home-cooked breakfast in the morning? All in all, I think my first slumber party in about twelve years went pretty well!

Thank you, ladies, for a truly wonderful evening of slumber party fun! 

Would you consider throwing your own slumber party or Girls Night In? What kind of fun activities would you plan for your friends?