Bath Bombs Baby!

Months and months ago, I made bath bombs to sell at a boutique a couple of my friends were hosting. 

  
I made oh so many bath bombs!

And foot fizzies too.

So, so many!

It was great fun, but exhausting. So exhausting! 

I had originally intended to post a tutorial on making bath bombs right after the boutique, but frankly, after all of that work, I did not want to look at or think about another bath bomb for a long time. 

I am finally over it and ready to post! Whoop!

A bath bomb is a tightly packed combination of baking soda, citric acid, corn starch, and epsom salts, held together with witch hazel, grape seed oil and essential oils. When dropped into the bath they begin to fizz, releasing all of the wonderful therapeutic benefits and aroma of the essential oils. They are delightful!

Here's what you will need to make them:

1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup citric acid (can be found in the canning aisle at the local hardware store or ordered online. I recommend ordering from Mountain Rose Herbs)
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 cup epsom salts

Measure and pour the dry ingredients through a sieve, to prevent clumps, into a large glass or stainless steel bowl.

Stir with a whisk to combine. Set aside while combining your wet ingredients.

You'll need:

3/4 tablespoon witch hazel
2 1/2 tablespoons grape seed oil
1 to 2 drops of food coloring (optional)
essential oils (for this tutorial we will make a tranquility blend using lavender, vanilla, and lemon. I purchase all of my essential oils from Eden's Garden. All of their oils are pure essential oils and they are very affordable. I really like the company)
1 small spray bottle

Pour witch hazel, grape see oil and 2 drops of food coloring (I used neon pink. LOVE the neon food coloring!!) into the spray bottle.

Next add 8 drops of lavender, 8 drops of vanilla, and 3 drops of lemon essential oils. 

 Shake well!

Now combine your wet and dry ingredients. This needs to be done slowly as to prevent the citric acid from fizzing. We want to save all of that great fizzy action for the bath!!

Spray 9 to 11 squirts from your spray bottle of wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Combine well with a whisk. And repeat. Repeat over and over. And over. Nope, not kidding! This process takes a little time, but it's really important to be patient and add in the wet ingredients slowly.

Once you have added in the last spray from your bottle, the mixture will look slightly clumpy. It will be damp but not wet and it will hold shape when packed together.

Now to mold our bath bombs into shape! Squeal!!

Each batch will make 3 medium sized bath bombs.

I use acrylic, fillable Christmas ornaments from Hobby Lobby for my bath bombs. They work perfectly! But you can use any mold you'd like. Even a muffin tin will work nicely. I use this same bath bomb recipe, molded in a mini muffin tin, for the foot fizzles, which are just small versions of the bath bomb for use in a foot bath. I lo-ove a foot bath!!

Fill each side of the acrylic mold, gently packing the mixture. You do not want to pack them too tightly. 

With each half filled slightly to overflowing, press the two halves together.

It is important that you do not twist the halves together! Twisting can cause the bath bomb to crack. As can using the wrong consistency of citric acid. UGH!!

Do not purchase citric acid from some random online store! Not all citric acid is the same. -bummer!

Press the halves of your mold straight together!

Use a spoon to gently tap one side of the mold until it lets loose of the bath bomb and remove.

So pretty!!

Allow the bath bomb to remain in the bottom half of the mold and dry for 10 to 15 minutes.

After 10 to 15 minutes, turn the bath bomb out in your hand. It should easily let go of the mold. Allow the bath bombs 24 hours to dry before using. 

After they are unmolded (I totally made up that word) I dry my bath bombs on bubble wrap to prevent a flat spot which is caused by sitting on a flat surface to dry. I may have learned that little trick after my first flat spotted batch. It's just sad if a bath bomb has a flat spot. Not end of the world kind of sad! Just - look at that weird flat spot - kind of sad. Yep, sad. 

Anyway...

After 24 hours...VOILA!!

Beautiful bath bomb! Calling your name! Ready to ease away your stressful day! Oh yeah!!

Now if the combination of Lavender, vanilla and lemon doesn't suit your taste, you could try this lovely relaxing combination of 10 drops of peppermint, 10 drops lavender, and 5 drops of lemon essential oils. I would not, however, recommend adding the little lavender buds like I did. While it looks pretty...doesn't this bath bomb look pretty??

My girls thought the lavender buds that end up floating in the bath water looked like bugs. Ewww 

You may want to skip the lavender buds! Totally up to you.

Now go, fill that tub, drop in that bath bomb, and melt away the day!! ENJOY!!!

Bath bomb fizz in action!!

Bath bombs away, Baby!!

Christine

While We Wait

This path has been a long one.

We still cannot see where it ends. Oh how I LONG to see its end.

It's been fourteen weeks since the husband was let go from his job. 

Fourteen weeks he has been searching for a new one. He's found nothing.

Fourteen weeks of praying for a job to open up for him, for the Lord to provide some specific direction. Fourteen weeks of searching His word and crying, "Lord, Hear our prayer!"

Yet, we wait. 

Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord! 
Psalm 27:14

Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him. Isaiah 30:18

Waiting, my friends, is hard to do. Like crazy hard to do! I hate it a little. And by little, I mean a ton!

Waiting can make us feel helpless. But helplessness in waiting can be an awesome motivator to seek God all the more; a strong motivator to cling to our faith. That does not, however, mean it will be easy.

Clinging to faith in the hard times is a battle. It is a constant standing fast.

Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. 
1 Corinthians 16:13 

Clinging to your faith means you have to be ready to fight!

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 
1 Timothy 6:12

Clinging to your faith means choosing to trust who God is - loving, faithful, merciful, provider, kind, full of grace, our rock, our shield, our restorer, righteous, holy, mighty to save! Just to name a few.

And clinging to our faith is better when you have reinforcements!!

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.  Bless those who persecute you; bless do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Romans 12:9-15


The husband and I have shed many a tear in the last fourteen weeks. The majority of those tears have not been shed because of our circumstances. Those tears have been shed because of the overwhelming way our church family has lived up to this scripture.

Our church family has sacrificed for us. They have, with generous spirits, distributed to the needs of our family. They have lifted some of our burden, keeping our financial situation from being far worse than it could be, never asking anything in return. They poured God's provision through them to us.  

They have left us humbled and overwhelmed!

They have wrapped their arms around us in our tribulation, diligently lifting our cause in prayer. Crying out to God on our behalf, trusting that He will come through.

They have made us feel loved and supported!

They have showered us with comforting words and scripture, even arriving at our doorstep, unexpectedly, to declare, "God has not forgotten you!" 

The Lord Himself will go before you; He will not leave you or forget you. Don't be afraid and don't worry. 
Deuteronomy 31:8

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Isaiah 43:2-3a

Oh how we've needed these good words!

They are always striving to encourage our faith! Always seeking to point us to Jesus! Always seeking to comfort and strengthen!

 They have given us strength, and hope, to continue to stand firm in faith!

Our church family has hugged us, and cried with us, and told us how much we are loved. They patiently wait with us for the day of rejoicing when the husband gets a new job.

These people, our church family, they are not perfect - thank goodness or I would not fit right in! But they desire to live a love without hypocrisy. They have allowed God's love to be poured out through them. They have lifted us up in a time of trouble! They have been a blessing for which I thank God every day! They seek to be what God intends the church to be - servants of the Lord who give Him the glory!

Praise His Holy name!!

Christine