homemade bath gifts

homemade bath gifts

  I made a bunch of these as Christmas gifts.  They are fun to make- you can experiment with the scents, colors, shapes etc.  The materials are cheap, you can make a lot at once, and I think people really appreciate them because they are homemade. 

 soap

 

 green soap- rose scented olive oil soap, with strawberry seeds
blue soap- rose scented shea butter soap, with irish oatmeal
white soap- shea butter soap, with honey and oatmeal

Materials:

• Soap base
• You can buy soap base at most craft stores.  They come in several different types.  I used olive oil soap and shea butter soap (partially because the olive oil soap is transparent and the shea butter soap is white, so I could get different colors).
• Honey
• Oatmeal

• I used Irish oatmeal, because I think it has a more interesting shape ->

   

  

• Containers/ Molds

• I used yogurt cups and larger Greek yogurt cups. When choosing yogurt cups, compare the bottoms to find nicely shaped ones. (These are the easiest molds because they are cheap, great sizes, flimsy and easy to remove the soaps from, can be cut if necessary, and you get to eat the yogurt before you use them!) 
• I also used fun shaped ice cube trays. Cheap ones can be purchased at Ikea (I would recommend buying some to use only for soaps/crafts and never for ice)  Also, when deciding on shapes, you want to make sure it won't have weak/thin parts that may break easily (I had fish shaped ones that kept breaking where the body meets the fin).
• Keep your eye out for interesting containers around the house.  I used a plastic container that held apples.  It had 12 half spheres, which made the light blue soaps above.
• I try to use several different shapes and sizes. 
• Essential Oils 
• I used lavender, rose and peppermint
• Strawberry seeds
• These add a cool texture, give a little exfoliating power, and look really interesting.
• They can be purchased at craft stores (they also have other interesting things to add to soaps)
• Food Coloring
• Other materials you could use (explore your pantry):
• Ginger
• Cinnamon
• Clove
• Chamomile tea

Mixing and Pouring the soaps:

• Follow the direction on the soap packages for melting.  Be careful, because the soaps can get very hot and will stick to your skin if you spill.  I melted the soaps in a glass cup in the microwave, mixed in the colors, scents and oatmeal or seeds, and then poured immediately into the molds (I sprayed the molds with cooking spray VERY lightly.
• The soaps will set up fairly quickly, but I gave then a couple hours just to be safe.
• They should pop right out of the molds.

Have fun with combining different scents and colors.  

Striped soaps can be created by making different colors, pouring in layers and letting the soap set up before each new layer. 

scented body scrubs

These scrubs exfoliate and moisturize. They are extremely easy to make! 

How they are used:

        A small amount is spooned out and rubbed on the hands.  Rise the salt/sugar off and pat the extra water off.  Then rub in the left over oil. 

Materials:

• 2 cups Raw Sugar, Epsom salts, or Kosher salt 
• (all have larger crystals than normal salt and sugar)
• 1 cup carrier oil 
• I used almond oil, because it has a very light smell (this can be purchased at GNC)
• 12 drops essential oil
• These can be purchased at GNC, or a craft store (cheaper).
• 3 drops food coloring
• You want them to be just lightly colored (otherwise they might dye your hands)
• Jars
• Ikea has tons of cute/cheap options

Directions: 

• Mix salt or sugar with the carrier oil first!
• Then add essential oils and food coloring and mix until color is even throughout
• Spoon into jars

You can also find small wooden spoons to include as scoopers.

I like to print out labels with instructions and tie them on.

bath salts

These bath salts add a very refreshing scent to a bath.  They are very easy to make and are nice to have around the house when you need to relax in a hot bath.

Materials: 

• 1 cup baking soda
• 3/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 8 drops food coloring
• 15 drops essential oils 
• You can also add 1/2 cup citric acid to make the salt fizz when it's added to water. 

Simply mix all the ingredients together and place into a cute jar.

Once again you can print labels with instructions.

These are great, because people can use as little or as much as they would like to vary the strength of the smells.

There are also great scents for men! These include cedarwood, eucalyptus, pine, fir needle, etc.  Check Puritans Pride Essential Oils

 for a great list. 

A description of essential oils and carrier oils, as well as label clip art that can be used for labeling you homemade bath gifts can be found at MarthaStewart.com

GNC also carries essential oils and carrier oils.

Weck Home Canning Products has really nice jars and containers for your gifts.

Ikea also has cute containers that are priced really well.