Bath Salts and More

Note:  This post was supposed to be one of my 24 days of Christmas crafting posts, but I had some computer difficulties and it didn’t post properly.  I think it’s all been updated and fixed now (crossing fingers).

Candy Cane Bath Salts

1 cup Epsom salts + 1/2 cup baking soda + 1/2 cup sea salt = Mix them together well.  Divide this mixture in half.  In one half, I add a few drops of peppermint essential oil (I don’t like to scent the entire batch because I find especially with the peppermint, it can get very overpowering).  In the other half, I use a few drops of red food colouring.  Layer these in a clear jar so that it resembles candy cane stripes (if you like, you can even divide the original batch into thirds so that you can tint one of them green as well).  They look really pretty and smell lovely.  I usually do some kind of candy  cane embellishment to the jar to further the theme such as these candy canes that I glued into a heart shape.  I then made a simple flower out of candy cane fabric as the jar topper on a heart shaped jar.  I’ve been making these for years but they’ve really grown in popularity over the past several.  If you go to this website, you’ll find printable candy cane bath salts tags:  http://christmas.organizedhome.com/printable/gifts-in-a-jar/candy-cane-bath-salts-gift-tag

Candy Cane Bath Bombs

Mix together:  4 T. citric acid, 4 T. cornstarch, 1/2 c. baking soda.  In another bowl, mix together 3/8 cup grapeseed oil and about 20 drops of peppermint essential oil.  Add the wet to the dry ingredients and mush it all together until it resembles a cookie dough.  Note:  I like to use a rubber spatula or something similar for mixing this – wooden spoons will often absorb the essential oil into it and you may not want everything you use the spoon for later to smell/taste like peppermint!  I then use a melon baller or one of those small cookie dough scoops (like an ice cream scoop but smaller) to scoop out a ball of dough, refining its shape and making sure it’s packed together well with my hands.  As I make each of the bath bombs, I place them on a waxed paper covered surface (like a tray or a cookie sheet).  Give a little spray of witch hazel (a Mini Mister works well) or two to each of the bath bombs.  Don’t fret if during this process they fizz a little.  They’ll eventually stop and begin the drying process.  After a few hours when they’re dry on the exposed side, turn them over and spray again with witch hazel, leaving to dry the rest of the way.  They need to dry a good 48 hours prior to packaging them up and using them. 

Gingerbread Bath Salts

Combine 1 cup Epsom salts, 1/2 cup baking soda, and 1/2 cup sea salt (same basic formula as for the candy cane ones).  Add to this 1/2 tsp. ginger, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. cloves, and 1/2 tsp. nutmeg.  Mix well together.  That’s it…that’s all there is to it!  Makes the salts a gingerbread-ish colour and smells divine!  For each of these bath salts, I generally use about 2 T. per bath.  You’ll see that for packaging these bath salts this year, I cut out 2 gingerbread man shapes from brown paper (like from an old lunch bag) and I stamped all over it with Tim Holtz’ Distressed Ink Pad in Brushed Corduroy.  Then I adhered a gingerbread man cut from a Christmas paper napkin and went over it with Glossy Accents by Inkissentials to give it some shine.  I finished it off with a spray of Glimmer Mist in Marshmallow.  When I glued the the two paper bag gingerbread shapes together I only glued around the edges leaving an opening at the top so it would serve as a little gift bag.  I packaged the salts in a baggie and put that down in the gingerbread man gift bag and then topped it off with 2 mini gingerbread candy canes.

Gingerbread Body Scrub

Mix together:  1 tsp. cocoa powder, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 2 drops ginger essential oil, 1 tsp. ginger, and 2 T. of a carrier oil (some people like to use olive oil but others don’t like the smell with this – almond oil is nice, safflower or vegetable oil will work, some use baby oil but again that adds another scent to this that might not be desirable – my favourite is grapeseed oil).  Mix this all together and put into a jar to give as a gift or use for yourself.  Note:  around here, I haven’t always found ginger essential oil that easy to find so I have sometimes just used the same mix of spices as in the bath salts instead and it works beautifully as well.

Christmas Tree Bath Salts

Use the same basic bath salt formula as for the candy cane and gingerbread salts but add to it some pine essential oil (about 12 drops) and tint it with green food colouring.