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!

Happy Fall!!

The leaves are turning beautiful colors, the corn stalks have been cut down, and the last of the tomatoes are going to be picked before Jack Frost takes them away. I really can't believe how fast the last few months have flown by. I have been so busy getting things made and taking the trek to Heber City to put in the Boutique. I feel so blessed to have found this boutique. I have met some wonderful people and have flourished in the development of my crafts and sewing. I finally feel that I am doing what I love. I have always been told that if you love what you do, it isn't work. Dave and I have also decided to take a huge leap of faith and stop running the rat trap cycle and start living! Life flies by too quickly to let it get away from us. It isn't always fun to make big changes but we feel that together we are strong enough to stand the changes of time and spend the next 50+ years enjoying each other and the life we have built. We love and cherish our family and our ever growing family. The success of our children in the choices they have made with their lives continues to amaze us both. We have been truly blessed with wonderful children and wonderful children-in-law. Our grandchildren are so fantastic, each new little soul that comes to our family just adds to the beauty of our family tree. We love all eight of the sweet children that have been blessed to our children and look forward to more. What a wonderful life!

Hello to all my friends out there. What a great day today. I got home from a mini vacation down in Texas with Wes, Faith and the kids. I couldn't believe how wonderful both the kids were on the airplane ride down to Killeen. I think I have some very special grandkids, all 7 of them. We went down to San Antonio and stayed in a condo there. We played Gator Golf and Rylan made a friend. They are going to be pen pals, it was really neat that he met this other little boy and they instantly became friends. My sweet little Addi had so much fun playing minature golf, she just rolled her golf ball around until it got in the hole. She is such a goofy little girl. On my birthday, I got to spend the day with Wes while Faith was at work and the kids in school. We went out to lunch, both of us had pedicures, saw a movie and just had fun hanging out. It was a great way to spend my birthday.

Now I am back home and back to the rat race. Dave did some canning while I was gone. He is getting really good at that. He is probably going to be doing all the canning this year because I have to sew, crochet, glue, cut, and come up with some neat new things for the Boutique. I sure do enjoy what I am doing right now. I did put in for the early retirement from my job at Hill AFB. I doubt that I will get it because there are so many people that also put in for it but, it is worth the try. I just can't handle two full time jobs. I feel like my brain is going to explode some times just trying to stay on top of everything. Well, better go, I have about 5 skirts and dresses I need to make before Saturday. Then Dave and I will drive down there to restock the store.

Arrived in Texas on the 20th of August. We had such a great time with Rylan and Addi during their visit in Utah. They were awsome the whole time. I want to make this an annual event as long as we live so far away from them. I loved having the grandkids come and stay for a few weeks. Now that I am in Texas, we are heading to San Antonio for a couple of days. We will be trying out all the activities that are free or close to it and just relaxing before the kids go back to school on Monday. Will report later on our activities.

The bath cupcakes turned out beautiful! They almost look too good to throw into the bath tub. My grandkids had so much fun watching me and wishing there were real chocolate cupcakes. Pic's tomorrow.

I am in the process of making some adorable "Bath Cupcakes". They are going to be soooo cute. I will post a picture after I get the frosting on them, probably tomorrow. I also promised my grandkids that I would make them some special soap to take home with little prizes imbedded in the soap, who knows, maybe they will take more baths to get to the prize!

These are pictures that where taken by Dave when I was setting up Grandma Bert's Treasures at the Bungalow Boutique.