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Welcome to the Christmas addition of our Dollar Store Craft Challenge!
These clever bloggers are joining the fun!
My Husband Has Too Many Hobbies • Across the Blvd • The Boondocks Blog
Stone Cottage Adventures • Sew Crafty Crochet • Purple Hues and Me
Cookies, Coffee, and Crafts • Domestic Deadline • Two Chicks and a Mom
Mom Home Guide • Try It Like It • Our Crafty Mom
During the week of Thanksgiving, I was on vacation and our four grandchildren were out of school. They came over to hang out with me all week and we had a wonderful time! Each day I had planned some kind of outing and every evening a fun family activity.
Bath bombs were a big hit even though the age range of the kiddos is from 5 to 16 and this is a SUPER affordable project!
I did quite a bit of online research, but did not find a repeating ingredient ratio anywhere. The recipes seem to be a combination of Epsom Salt, Corn Starch, Baking Soda, Citric Acid, Oil and Water. ‘Pretty simple, huh? My local dollar store has a few basic groceries and quite a selection of bath products. All of my ingredients were from there except the citric acid as it is considered a seasonal product.
Let’s begin with the basic recipe that worked for us. Please note humidity makes a big difference in how quickly these form.
UNSCENTED Bubbly Bath Bombs
1 cup Epsom Salt
1/2 cup Corn Starch
1/2 cup Baking Soda
1/2 cup Citric Acid
1/4 cup Coconut or Olive oil
2-3 tablespoons Water
Stir dry ingredients together. Start adding oil a tablespoon at a time until mixture is clumpy. Thoroughly combine oil and dry ingredients before adding water. This is the tricky part. Adding water makes it fizz, so sprinkle in just a little at a time until the dough will just stick together. Form and shape however you like. Let dry overnight.
For the kids, we added food coloring along with essential oils of their choice and didn’t get crazy about measuring either of those. Drops were added until grandbabies were happy. That’s how we roll! 😉 Since I sell lye soap and make lotion for myself, there are lots of options around here for essential oils. Their bombs were formed with their hands and each child had a different size.
Here are the combos the kids liked:
16 year old – Eucalyptus and Lemon with green food coloring
12 year old – Cedarwood and Ylang Ylang with blue food coloring
7 year old – Cinnamon with Orange with blue and red food coloring
5 year old – Clove with Lemon with blue and read food coloring
The older two shared a little and smashed some together to form a swirled Bubbly Bath Bomb.
I’d like to give some of these as gifts, so I’ve been busy, too! For mine, small measuring cups, 1/4 and 1/8, were used to shape consistently sized tabs.
Here is my favorite recipe so far…
LAVENDER THYME Fizzy Tub Tabs
1 cup Epsom Salt
1/2 cup Corn Starch
1/2 cup Baking Soda
1/2 cup Citric Acid
1/4 cup Coconut Oil
2-3 tablespoons Water
20 drops Lavender Essential Oil
Leaves from a few stems of Thyme
Blue Food Coloring
Here are just a few tips I’ve learned the hard way.
Add food coloring to Epsom Salt before adding any other ingredients. It mixes much more evenly.
Spices can be used for a more natural color if you don’t care for food coloring.
Humidity plays a big role in how quickly the mixture will form.
Do not attempt to dry the tub tabs in a busy kitchen with boiling water and dishwasher running. They get puffy and crumble instead of hardening. Ask me how I know! Eeesh! Instead, choose a cool bedroom with a small fan for better circulation.
If you don’t have essential oils for fragrance, consider using herbs like rosemary or the recipient’s favorite perfume.
I get so excited to see everyone’s projects! Here they are!
😉 -Marci
