The holidays are now upon us and the next thing I know, I'll be watching the ball drop at midnight. Each year I have fabulous intentions of creating homemade gifts from my kitchen for friends and family, but somehow the time slips by and my good intentions rarely make it to reality.
This year is different. This year I am committed. And this year I am starting early. As in, now!
If you've been wanting to get into the spirit of homemade gifts, I have just the thing: DIY lavender bath salts. These bath salts were inspired by my trip to the Sequim Lavender Festival this past summer. I'm still working through my incredible stash of dried lavender and essential oil and needed to come up with a creative way to use up the rest of it. Bath salts to the rescue!
(These pictures were taken in Sequim in July and as I sit here wrapped up in two sweaters and three pairs of socks it seems crazy to see a picture of myself in a tee-shirt!)
Bath salts are simple and incredibly cost-effective to make, plus, who doesn't love a nice relaxing bath during a chilly winter? If you are the crafty-type, you can even dye the salts different colors and make a nice label for your jar.
My bath salt recipe involves only four ingredients: epsom salt, sea salt, baking soda, and lavender essential oil. Epsom salt and sea salt are wonderful at relaxing the muscles and drawing toxins from the body while baking soda is fabulous for softening skin. The lavender provides a relaxing fragrance, but you could also experiment with other essential oils like rosemary and peppermint.
DIY Lavender Bath Salts
Makes 3 cups (1 - 2 gifts)
Ingredients:
2 cups epsom salt
1/2 cup sea salt
1/2 cup baking soda
10 drops lavender essential oil
Directions:
Mix ingredients together and transfer to a container.
To use: add bath salts under hot running water to dissolve. Soak and relax!
I have been doing these recipe for a while. It is wonderful. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteWhat would you say the shelf life of these salts are? I am a recipe that was a title different, and after about a month it went rancid. :S
ReplyDeleteI "tried" a recipe....I'm glad that I AM not that recipe that I did, it was gross, hehe
DeleteA few years ago I made bath salts and added dried lavender instead of essential oil. The moisture from the lavender (even though I thought they were fully dried) did cause the mixture to turn rancid after a few weeks. Since then, I've always made my batches with essential oils and haven't had any trouble with it. I actually have a jar of this that's been in my bathroom for a few months and still smells great. I would definitely recommend having a tight-fitting lid to keep any moisture out, especially if you are keeping these in the bathroom.
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