How to Make Fizzy Bath Bombs:

You should be able to get most, if not all, of the ingredients for your bath bombs at the grocery store. You will need:

1 cup Citric Acid (I bought mine online because it was too hard to find in any store)

2 cups Baking Soda

1/2 cup Epsom Salt

1/2 cup Table Salt

Distilled Water in spray bottle (I use half water and half Witch Hazel) You can get that at any grocery store or Walgreens

Vitamin E Oil

Almond Oil

Gather all your ingredients together along with a large mixing bowl. Measure out all the dry ingredients and put them in the bowl. Other than the 2:1 ratio of baking soda to citric acid, you can vary your ingredients quite a bit. You can use dead sea salts for a portion or all of the epsom salt. I have used some bath salts that I purchased from Walmart and substituted them for some of the salts also. I use my hands to mix all the ingredients together and crush up any lumps from the citric acid, salt or baking powder.

(Insert picture of dry ingredients adding oil here)

Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and add 1/2 teaspoon of Almond Oil/Vitamin E oil (you can also use any other type of essential oil). I add a few drops at a time and mix it in really well with my hands.

Now comes the fun part! I put about 1/4 cup distilled water and 1/4 cup Witch Hazel in a spray bottle and mark the bottle so it doesn't get used for something else by accident. Start by squirting a few squirts of the water mixture into the bowl. You will see some of the dry mixture start fizzing--that is all right. Now, mix this all up really well with your hands. The key to making bath bombs is to get exactly the right mix of dry and wet. Too dry and your bombs will crumble and fall apart. Too wet and they will fizz and grow into some pretty funny looking creatures. If you get it too wet, you can add more Citric Acid and Baking Powder making sure to keep the ratio of 2:1 (Baking soda:Citric Acid)

To test when your mixture is ready try picking up a half handful and squeeze it together. Does it clump into a ball and remain clumped into a ball? (Insert picture holding clump) If it remains clumped, great, you can begin molding the bath bombs. If they are still too dry, use the spray bottle and add just a bit more water and mix it all really well. Just add a little bit at a time, it only takes a few sprays of water to make a big difference. It is better to add too little water than too much.

Now it is time to mold the bath bombs. The key is to get the mixture packed really really tightly. The most popular mold seems to be ball-shaped. In the picture a plastic two-piece ball is being used. Let the molded ball sit for a minute or so, then tap the side of the ball firmly with a spoon and gently lift it off. Then place the molded ball onto some paper towel on a cookie sheet to dry. (Insert molded ball picture here)

I have tried experimenting by adding color, if you do this, add it to the water mixture and spray the color into the dry ingredients. I have found that the best molds are to use the silicone cupcake liners with paper liners in them. If you make them into a cupcake shape, you can make a regular Royal Icing add some baking soda (for fizziness) and sodium lauryl sulfate (for lather) to the icing. Just don't get tempted by how good the frosting looks and lick your fingers or the beaters, it is REALLY nasty! Then pipe your frosting on as you would for cupcakes. Let all your bath bombs dry, undisturbed, for 24 hours before using them. Make sure you tell your kids and husband that these are not food--they will be fooled and want to taste them.

Be sure to come by the Bungalow Boutique and visit Grandma Bert's Treasures, there will be bath fizzies for Mother's Day!