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| Handmade Holiday Workshop, Week 6: Bath Fizzies |
 catie writes, "These homemade bath fizzies will make a great gift for moms and teachers. And for extra credit, the acid + base combination makes this a science experiment, as well!"
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Materials:
Mixing bowl
Measuring cups
Whisk
Clean spray bottle of water
Cupcake liners
Dry Ingredients:
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup citric acid {available in bulk at the Boise Co-op}
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 cup dry mix-in {see below}
Wet Ingredients:
Water in spray bottle
10 - 20 drops of essential oil {available at the Boise Co-op}
Directions:
1) Choose a Scent
Help your child choose a scent to use. We made two batches: 1. Lavender, and 2. Earl Grey. For the lavender batch, we bought a small bottle of lavender essential oil and a scoop of dried lavender blossoms {both from the Boise Co-op}. For the Earl Grey batch, we bought a small bottle of Bergamot Essential Oil and a scoop of bulk Earl Grey tea {both from the Boise Co-op}. Other suggestions are: Rose with dried rose petals, Vanilla with bits of vanilla bean, Mint with dried mint. Including the dry "mix-in" adds a special touch, especially since we left our bath fizzies uncolored. Many recipes include food coloring to tint the mixture. We chose to leave it out, but that is entirely up to you.
2) Mix the Dry Ingredients
A word of caution: The citric acid has a tendency to waft into the air and irritate noses. Please scoop carefully. Help your child measure the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl. Using the whisk, have your child carefully mix the dry ingredients.
3) Add the Wet Ingredients
In this next step, add only enough water make mixture the mixture pack-able, like the consistency for packing a snowball. Using the spray bottle, help your child spritz the mixture with water while mixing. The mixture will fizz slightly as you spray it with water. We used our bare hands to mix, and the fizzing/cooling sensation was like strong mint. Please use gloves if you are sensitive. Once the mixture is packable, add 10 - 20 drops of the essential oil. We added 10 drops, mixed it in, then added 10 more drops. The scent will be strong, but keep in mind it will scent an entire bathtub of water.
4) Shape Your Fizzies
Each batch made six fizzies that were 1/4 cup each. Help your child scoop the mixture, then shape it into a ball and place inside a cupcake liner. The lavender batch puffed up after we shaped them {like cupcakes}, but the Earl Grey batch held their shape and stayed small.
5) Allow to Dry
Let your bath fizzies dry overnight, or even longer, before packaging. Once they are dry and you are ready to package them, you can leave them in their cupcake liners to avoid crumbling.
6) Extra Credit - Science Experiment
When the dried bath fizzies are dropped into a warm bath, they will fizz and bubble. The fizzing occurs when the acid {citric acid} reacts with the base {baking soda} as the solids dissolve in water. You might consider making a few of these for your science teacher : )
7) Giving
Gift idea #1: Wrap a few bath fizzies in a clear gift bag. Tie with ribbon. Add a tag that says, "Fill a warm bath & drop in one fizzy."
Gift idea #2: Add a candle to gift idea #1.
Gift idea #3: Add a fluffy bathrobe to gift ideas #1 & #2.
Save a bath fizzy for yourself to help unwind after a busy day with your kids!
Catie Eyer
Artist, mom, and blogger at http://five-ten-fifteen.blogspot.com/
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Posted on Dec 09, 2011 20:48pm.
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