Strawberries and Cream Bath Bombs

Pretty soon, it will be one of my favorite times of the year . . . strawberry season!  I love to take my kiddos to a strawberry farm and let them discover these tasty little gems among the dark green leaves.  I feel like strawberries were invented just for kids– the bushes are small and tiny, perfect for little kiddos to pick.  The berries are bright, fire-engine red so they can’t miss them.  And who doesn’t love the taste of a fresh strawberry, still warm from the sun?  You definitely don’t have to be a kid to enjoy that delicious pleasure.  But until strawberries are “officially” in season, we will have to be content with strawberries and cream bath bombs.  😉

Say WHAT???

Yep.  These delicious, adorable little bath bombs are easy to make and fizz gorgeously in the bath, leaving your skin soft, pampered, and deliciously strawberry scented.  Plus, your kiddos can help– at least until they lose interest when the “real” strawberries come into season. 😉

What are we waiting for?  Let’s do this!

Strawberries and Cream Bath Bombs

(My own adaptation based on multiple recipes that I tried– feel free to change it up and switch it up, but please link back here so no one steals my work ?

Ingredients:

— 1/2 cups baking soda

— 1/4 cup Epsom salts

— 1/4 cup cornstarch

— 1/4 cup citric acid (I found the cheapest place to get this was on Amazon here.  I chose to get the 5 lb. bag because 1 lb. was $10, and for only $5 more I got 5x the citric acid, so I went the bulk route.  But there are smaller containers if you want a smaller amount.)

— 1 1/2 tbsp. unscented baby oil and 5-6 drops strawberry and cupcake soap scents. I used separate “scents” on each side of the bath bomb) from P&J Trading here.  They have a huge variety of scents at an affordable price (about $2.50 per bottle), as well as excellent customer service.  You can mix and match scents to create your own flavor combos, too, which is super fun!

— A few squirts of water from a spray bottle (if you add too much water it ruins the bath bombs, so applying the water with a spray bottle helps you to add water in tiny amounts)

— Gloves (optional) and bath bomb molds (I found cheapie plastic molds at Hobby Lobby for $1.50, but I had much better luck with the metal ones from Amazon here, for about $13, if you want to make Bath Bombs multiple times.  I just found that the metal circles held up better in the long run.).

Directions:

Combine baking soda, Epsom salts, cornstarch, and citric acid until well combined.  Add in baby oil and scent, if desired, and use your hands (using gloves keeps your hands from getting a gritty feeling) to mix the oil and dry ingredients together. Using a spray bottle, add water several squirts at a time, mixing well after each addition, until your mixture can hold a shape when you “squeeze” it in your palm.  Place your “sand” mixture into each side of the round molds and squish the rounds together, without twisting.  Gently remove half of the mold, and then place the circle in your hand and gently lift off the remaining mold.  Place the finished bath bomb onto a soft towel covered with a piece of wax paper, to keep it from denting while it dries.  Allow bath bombs to rest, without touching each other, for 24 hours until completely dry.  Carefully package in airtight bags so that the bath bombs stay dry until “tub time.”  ?  Bath bombs will keep in an airtight container for several months.

Now, in pictures!

Sitting in the tub, what glorious bliss.  Could there be anything more wondrous than this!  With the water and soap that scrub dirt away, I have a beautiful end to a beautiful day.

Horrible homemade poem.  You’re welcome 😉  Seriously, though– bath bombs are awesome.  They are made from basic, everyday ingredients, and they fizz for several minutes, delighting kiddos (and adults, too– who are we kidding, here?) and leave your bath water silky smooth and soft.  Your skin will feel pampered, and so will you. Keep some for yourself, or package in individual cellophane bags and tie with ribbon for a beautiful gift.  It doesn’t get any better than this! 🙂

Start out by mixing your dry ingredients together (the baking soda, Epsom salts, cornstarch, and citric acid).  I started out by mixing with a wooden spoon, but the more I do it, I find that I have better luck mixing with my (rubber gloved) hands.  Once the dry ingredients are mixed together, add in your oil and scent.  I like to make two batches of dry ingredients, then add oil and a separate scent to each “side.”  That way, my bath bombs can have 2 different colors.  Of course, feel free to add your scent all to one mixture– it will still smell awesome.  If you want to add color to either side, go ahead and add a few drops of gel food coloring and mix it in with your hands.  I find that the best way to “mix” in the oil and color is to rub the mixture between your (gloved) hands, like you’re trying to warm them.

When you have fully mixed the dry ingredients and oil/scent together, take your spray bottle and give it about 8-10 “squirts.”  The mixture will start to fizz a little bit– quickly start rubbing the ingredients between your hands, again, and the fizzing will stop.  Keep rubbing the mixture until you can squeeze some of the powder in your hands, and it holds its shape– like in the picture.  It won’t be wet at all, but just damp enough to hold that shape, like slightly damp sand.

Now for the fun part– making the bath bombs!!! 🙂  I lightly press some of the “damp-ish” powder into half of my bath mold.  Press it lightly– about as lightly as you would press a doorbell.  You definitely don’t want to smoosh it in there too hard, yet.  We will get to that, later.  I like to take my thumb and rub it all around the edge of the bath bomb so that the edges are clean (the sides will stick together better this way).  Leave a little “mound” of powder in the center. When we squish the sides together, these blobs will hold the whole ‘shebang together 🙂

When you have both sides filled, lightly pressed, and “cleaned” on the sides, carefully press them together.  NOW you can smoosh as hard as you can.  Squeeze everything together and dust off any powder that comes out the sides.  Tap the top of your mold with your hand, and gently lift off the top mold.  Turn the bath bomb so that the “naked” side is resting gently in your palm, and carefully pull off the top mold.  (Naked???  What do you mean naked?  I thought this was a family website!  I can’t believe we are talking about naked!!!!!).  haha.

I made several types of bath bombs, today, so please excuse the fact that some of them are different colors.  You get the idea 😉  I like to dry my bath bombs like this . . . cookie sheet, folded fluffy towel, and then parchment paper.  The cookie sheet stabilizes everything so you can move the tray around without moving each individual bath bomb, the towel keeps the BBs cushy on their tushies so they don’t get flat while drying, and the parchment (or wax paper) keeps the “towel marks” from indenting into the BBs.  Sorry.  Is it lazy to write “BBs” for “bath bombs?”  You knew what I meant, right?  Yeah . . . you’re so smart.  Let the BBs (see?  It’s like we have a little private joke, now . . .) dry, without touching each other, for 24 hours until they are completely dry.  If they touch each other, they kind of stick together.  So try to give them just enough space so that no one is touching anyone else.  Pretend you’re the MOM referee on a long trip, and your kids are screeching in the backseat saying, “Mommy, she TOUCHED me!  Tell her to stop TOUCHING me!!!”  Yes.  You’re already an expert at this “no touch!” thing.  Good for you 🙂

After these beauties have dried, completely, go ahead and package them.  I made adorable paper boxes using the Gift Box Punch Board (an amazing tool that lets you create gift boxes of any size using just paper) that I got here for about $12.  Of course, you don’t have to make a separate box for each Bath Bomb, but I thought it looked awesome– almost like a jewelry box with a single, gorgeous beauty inside.  I wrapped each Bath Bomb in a small 5×7 clear bag (cheapest I could find were here), then tied each bag with ribbon (48 cents per roll at Walmart) and placed it in a tissue paper “nest” inside the paper boxes I made.  Oh man . . . they were so stinkin’ adorable.

You can change up the colors and scents for the different seasons (Peppermint Candy Cane in red and white swirl for Christmas gifts, anyone?), or you can just have fun and make them, yourself, for any time you need a pick me up.  So come home from work, run a hot bath, and drop a beautiful, fizzy bath bomb into the water.  As you soak, the gorgeous smells envelope you, and you can almost feel the tensions of the day evaporating away.  Because, sometimes, even moms need a little pampering.

You did it.  And I’m just so proud of you.

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