Thursday, February 25, 2010

Rainbow bath salts

This is a really fun and easy project. I made fizzy bath salts, dyed them different colors, and then the kids had the fun of layering them however they wanted. Kinda like that sand art in glass vases that we used to do at the fair... does anyone else remember that? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Anyway, the fizzy bath salt recipe is super easy and normally I would do that part with the kids too, but these were extra bath salts I had left over from a birthday party I did last weekend. So, actually that was pretty good that we could skip that step because we were doing this project after school, a time when patience is on the wane and ire is on the wax. So we made it through the project without any major meltdowns from me or from the kids, which is a major Whew.
Fizzy Bath Salts
1 c. baking soda
1 c. epsom salts
1/2 c. citric acid
a few drops scent or essential oil
a few drops of food coloring
Mix the baking soda, epsom salts, essential oil, and food coloring together first and then give it some time to dry, 10 minutes or so. If the mixture is too wet when you add the citric acid, it will start fizzing and all that fizz will be wasted. When the mixture seems dry just add the citric acid and you are all set. You don't have to be that careful, really. If it fizzes a little that's alright.