The countdown continues – 9 weeks until Christmas. My countdown is naturally of a planning nature and I am working through a Christmas Preparation Plan to allow a smooth and paced lead up to Christmas this year.
Week Nine’s activity was to complete making handmade gifts. Today with the two youngest children, I made the last of our handmade Christmas gifts, homemade bath salts. They were incredibly easy to make and it was really a fun activity to make with the children.
At their request tonight, we tested the bath salts (including me) in the bath and the children and myself were delighted with the results.
Here is a very simple tutorial that you can follow to make your own bath salts:
The Ingredients
- 1 cup of Epsom Salts
- 1 cup of Sea Salt
- 3 tablespoons of dehydrated milk
- Food Colouring
- 1/4 teaspoon of essential oil
A note about the sea salt. I bought sea salt that was “double washed and naturally evapourated”. It has slightly larger crystals than traditional table salt and looks better presentation wise.
The Instructions
(1.) Mix the salts in a large bowl.
(2). Add approximately 8 – 10 drops of food colouring to the salts. If you want a darker colour, obviously just add more dye. Mix dye in with a whisk.
(3). Add the powdered milk and use the whisk again to mix thoroughly.
(4). Add the essential oil to the mix. The smell is the strongest notable characteristic of the bath salts, so it is worth while using a quality oil. I used an essential oil blend called harmony, which smells divine!
(5). Spoon mixture into a dry jar.
(6). Place lid on and close tightly.
(7). I used a CD to cut out a circle piece of fabric to decorate the bath salts. The fabric is held in place by a length of thin ribbon.
I still have one more batch of bath salts to make (Possum thinks the next batch should be green) and I will have finished the handmade gifts for Christmas. As you can see from the photo above, I have been using the same materials across the three projects, so that I can team up multiple items, like gift sets.
Instructions for the other items can be found here:
- Handmade Fabric Covered Notebooks
- Handmade Fabric Necklaces
{ 2 trackbacks }
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
What a wonderful idea. And it looks easy enough that even I could do it
. Thanks for sharing.
Libby
They look gorgeous and what a great idea! Glad to hear that the bath salts went down well last night.
Tell Possum, I agree that the next batch should be green!!
ickle Kidss last blog post..Come see us …
Five Relaxing Ways to Use Epsom Salt
1. For a relaxing soak: Add two cups of Epsom Salt to the water in a standard-sized bathtub; soak for at least 12 minutes, three times weekly. For an extra treat, add a few drops of eucalyptus oil for a refreshing scent.
2. To exfoliate: Mix 2 cups of Epsom Salt with 1/4 cup of petroleum jelly and a few drops of lavender essential oil. Use the mixture to gently scrub away dry skin patches.
3. Facial: Mix 1/2 TSP of Epsom Salt into cleansing cream for a deep-pore cleansing. Massage on skin. Rinse with cool water. Pat dry.
4. Spa treatment: After showering, massage handfuls of Epsom Salt over wet skin to exfoliate the body. It’s the same treatment many upscale spas use, without the upscale price!
5. Bath crystals: Mix two cups of Epsom Salt with a few drops of fragrance to create a custom bath crystal. Add a few drops of food coloring or 1/2 TSP of glycerin if you like. Store in an air-tight container.
http://www.bobbys-healthy-shop.co.uk/shop/page/9?shop_param= is a great site for info on lots of uses for epsom salts
Just a question about the bath salts recipe…does it need to be used quickly or be kept refrigerated to avoid spoilage because of the powdered milk? Would you say that a one cup jar would equal one bath?
I have never used powered milk in my salts, i know some people do, but why do you use them?
Can i also ask if you are Aromatherapist i am concerned about the usage of your recipes on my face etc, due to contra- indications?
Are they safe
