Easy Coconut Oil Crafts : Lip Balm and Play Dough

Being Sri Lankan we love all things coconut and growing up in Pakistan a few friends would laugh at our coconut loving ways. We’ve been cooking with coconut oil and coconut milk for quite some time and one of the brands we’ve been using since coming to Canada is Grace. I didn’t really think much about the brand but LOVE their hot sauces and then one day, they sent me a box of goodies. There’s such a thing as coconut sugar!! Did you know? Their coconut chips were also quite good (but my favourite ones are the Natural Sins variety). I was pleased to learn that Grace Foods is a Jamaican company with offices in Canada. This island girl can tell the difference between good coconut and GOOD coconut!

So yes we cook with coconut oil on a daily basis (and my brother bakes with coconut flour too!) but this week Little Monkey and I got a little crafty in the kitchen. We made play dough and lip balm using coconut oil and one additional kitchen staple. I kid you not! I found inspiration for these projects on Pinterest- but of course! These are simple projects and the two of us  made these after work while I was cooking dinner. It’s that simple! The perks of using coconut oil is that Little Monkey’s dry hands and lips aren’t as dry any more thanks to the conditioning properties.

Coconut Oil Play Dough

This is the pin that inspired this easy to make play dough that I love ( you may have heard my rants about how much I detest regular play dough!). Not only is this one less messy but I can easily wash away the “Princesses dresses” that Little Monkey insists on making. It lasts way longer and it conditions her dry hands (she refuses to wear cream these days). It also only took us five minutes to mix Corn Starch and Coconut Oil in a 3:1 ratio. You want the coconut oil to be in liquid state so warm it in the microwave for a minute or 30 seconds. Then stir it in to a bowl of starch. Go easy with the oil because you don’t want the mixture to be watery. It’s going to feel a bit like ooblek ( corn starch and water-fun times!) but it molds like play dough.I did experiement by trying to add tumeric ( don’t do it!!! Little Monkey’s dress is now stained) but adding a few drops of food colouring brought a marble-ey green hue. Quite pretty! It’s been a couple days and the play dough is still going strong. I’ve heard it can last three weeks in the open!

Coconut Oil Lip Balm

A friend of mine sent us this pin and I knew I had to try it out. Unfortunately I couldn’t find Kool Aid so we tried it with Jell-O crystals and while it didn’t provide rosy lips, it gave the pink colour Little Monkey loves so much. Another super easy one but you need some muscle here. Ratios really depend on how big your ‘pot’ is but for my tiny ones (from the MAC store) all I needed was one tablespoon of coconut oil ( it should be a bit mushy but not liquid) and a teaspoon of jello crystals. I spent a good fifteen minutes mixing them together but the crystals wouldn’t dissolve and so I placed the mixture on the stove for two  minutes and voila! It worked. Pour the liquid into the containers and let it cool to room temperature or place it in the fridge for ten minutes if you’re impatient. It’s cute, it’s organic and I know exactly what’s in it. It’s also quite tasty!

Are you a fan of coconut oil or coconut things in general? Any fun craft ideas to share with us today? We’re always looking for EASY fun things to do!