Homemade Bath Bombs: Valentine's Day

Well Valentine's Day is next month, and even though I'm not a huge fan of the traditional gift giving ideas (jewelry, chocolates, etc.) I do think it's a good opportunity for some themed crafting and to spend some quality time with your partner. I loved the idea of homemade bath bombs for the same reason I love homemade food - I know everything that goes into it! And what a clever way to invite your partner to a warm, relaxing, romantic bath together (or if you're carrying the "single lady" status like me - it will be a night of well-earned, self-pampering!). So let's get to it!

Materials:

-Mixing bowl

-Whisk

-Spray bottle

-Molds (I used a plastic Xmas ornament that opens up & a silicone heart shaped pan)

-Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)

-Citric acid (fine)

-Witch hazel

-Essential oils

-Salt (if desired)

-Food coloring (if desired)

I bought both the powders at PCC natural markets in the bulk section (cheaper!) and the witch hazel and essential oil there too. The witch hazel can be supplemented with water, since very little is used, but witch hazel is a nice little tonic for your skin. Make sure you get essential oils that were meant for the body, not the ones just meant for burning in a holder. I chose Jasmine scent for its "sensual love attractant" properties (as it says on the bottle) - but any flavor that tickles your fancy will do.

Step One: Dry Ingredients

Making bath bombs is a little like a kid's science experiment (another reason why it's so fun), but because of that be careful about keeping your hands and equipment dry so you don't set off the bath bomb. You want to mix one part citric acid with two parts sodium bicarbonate (and if desired, one part salt - I used fine grain sea salt). Whisk together very well. I sifted mine because I had a lot of lumps. Now this is basically the reactive part of the bomb so any liquids that you're going to add you need to whisk like crazy. And if you're doing a scent like lavender, you could add a little bit of loose lavender buds to this part, just to add to the fanciness.

Step Two: Wet Ingredients

After your dry ingredients are well blended, you can add 5-7 drops of your essential oil WHILE whisking. Blend, blend, blend. Now you want to mix a bit of witch hazel and food coloring to your spray bottle. You really don't need that much liquid at all, I used probably 5% of the liquid pictured, but I mixed extra to get the color I want. I used pink in this case, and you can color the witch hazel quite dark because the color in your bath bomb will be very light.

Shake up your colored witch hazel and while blending continuously with the whisk, spray 2 or 3 times into the powdered mixture. Once

that is blended (and you don't hear any fizzy reaction), spray another 2 or 3 times and repeat until the mixture is slightly damp and clumps like wet sand in your hand (it's hard to tell from the picture but the powder is now scented and slightly pink in color).

Step Three: Molds

With your damp mixture, start packing your molds full. I used heart molds for my pink bombs to go along with our Valentine's theme. If you're using the plastic sphere, pack each side full of mixture and overflow it a little, then press the two sides together. It's good if a little bit overflows around the seams. You want to leave them in the molds for five or ten minutes, then gently tap them out onto a towel. You can gently shape them if they get a dent or other minor damage from the molds, then leave them to dry for a couple hours or over night. You'll know they work when you're cleaning up your tools and they start to fizz in the sink!

Personalize Them!

Wrap them Up!

To go along with our Valentine's theme I found some cute packaging at the craft store that fit the bath bombs perfectly. Include an invitation with a date and time for your bath together, or (since it usually lands in the middle of a busy week) give the gift of time and give your sweetheart a little time to her or himself!

*Be sure not to store your new bath bombs in anything metal - they will react. Wrap them in tissue paper or store in a plastic container away from moisture or humidity*

xox Enjoy xox