How to Make Delectable Bath Bombs

By Freya D'Amico

It's time to sadly admit that winter is in and it's only going to get chillier from here on out. Not that I'm unhappy about that, I love layering clothes and wearing giant coats and making snow angels. But for as many days I love the winter, there are just as many when the wind tries to tear my face off and I just can't get the chill out of my bones.

I find there is nothing as relaxing as steeping in the tub, and nothing makes a bath better than the accompanied fizz of a bath bomb. It makes sense somehow that in the winter, when our sources of natural water have been converted to hard ice or snow, that we would want to lay in a hot bath.

Those times after a long day, I'll use bath salts to ease my muscles and light a candle and just lay there. When I'm feeling a little friskier, I keep some Mr. Bubble on hand. Most often though, I want something in between, relaxing and energizing. This is where bath bombs come into play; they're fizzy and fun but still have the aromatherapy and essential oils to calm me down.

Bath bombs are not only wonderful to use, but they're surprisingly easy to make and personalize yourself. After scouring various books and websites for the best, easiest to make bath bombs, I decided to experiment with elements from each. Most of the ingredients can be bought at a grocery or drugstore. The hardest thing for me to locate was the citric acid used to make the bath bombs fizz. The best place would be your local winemaking shop or, as I had to do, buy it online.

There are several ways to customize this recipe by using food coloring, special molds, one girl I saw even made bath cupcakes, but I'm not that savvy unfortunately.

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 cp Bicarbonate of Soda (baking soda)
  
• 1/2 cp Epsom salts or Coarse Sea Salts
  
• 1/2 cp Acitric Acid
  
• 1/2 cp Cornstarch (optional, makes the bomb float)

Wet Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp of essential oil or fragrance
  
• 3/4 tbsp water or water and liquid glycerin
  
• 2 1/2 tbsp of any nut oil (optional)

1. Mix cornstarch, baking soda, essential oil and nut oil until it looks fluffy.
2. Add your Epsom salts and acitric acid. Mix again.
3. Mix in water. This is the hardest part because water starts the chemical reaction in the acitric acid. I use a spray bottle and used about two sprays, just enough where the mixture molds in your hand. Note: Spray every two to three molds as needed to keep enough moisture in the mix.
4. Mold the bombs into shape. I use the bottoms of cheap Easter eggs. Be careful not to twist out of the mold, just tap and it should, with a little luck, fall into the waiting cookie sheet or Pyrex. Repeat with all of the mixture.
5. Cover with a cloth overnight to dry. If you live in a wetter climate, it is possible to put the bombs in the oven at 200 to help the drying process, but my apartment was dry enough.
6. Use one bomb per bath and enjoy.

Here's another recipe that I though was really too fun not to include, it is also easier than the bombs and great to make with kids.

Bath Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 2 cps finely ground sea salt (or Epsom salts)
  
• 1/2 cp Baking Soda
  
• 1/2 cp cornstarch
  
• 2 tbsp light oil
  
• 1 tsp vitamin E oil (I use capsules and just break the gel coating)
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 5-6 drops essential oil/vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients until doughy.
3. Take about a teaspoon of dough and roll it into a ball or roll the dough out and use cookie cutters. Feel free to add flower petals, cloves, or herbal tea (as I did) in the dough.
4. Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet. Make sure the cookies are a good distance apart otherwise they will run together like my first batch did.
5. Bake for about 10 minutes, no need for browning. Be sure not to over bake them.
6. Allow the cookies to cool completely, I say overnight. Carefully remove them with a spatula; they will be fragile.
7. Use one to two cookies per bath and allow to dissolve.

If your first batch of cookies crumbles like mine did, you can still use them; just place them in a nylon and under the running water as the tub fills up. A nylon is also helpful if you added anything to the dough, such as tea.

Freya runs http://www.fishnorfowl.net - where she writes about how to start and achieve your creative goals, cute indie shopping, and the occasional pumpkin eating dinosaur. She lives in Chicago with a six-toed cat and supply of hair dye in every color.

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Turning Household Items into Healthy Beauty Remedies

By Karla Ruzycki-Davis

1. How to Whiten yellow nails-If you have a problem with stained nails the first thing I'd recommend is to take the polish off and keep it that way for as long as you can, at least a month. This is the number one cause of yellowing nails. Secondly scrub your nails with toothpaste. This will remove some staining and help add a shine to the nails. Next, Take one tablespoon of lemon juice(natural bleaching agent) and the same of baking powder and mix together well to form a paste. Apply a small dot of the paste to the center of each fingernail. With the help of a buffer you'll want to gently buff each nail, don't overdo it by buffing too much. Now you can wash your hands again and pat dry. Massage a rich hand cream into the hands and nails. After doing this once per week you can get ready for polish. I'd start with a clear hardener or strengthener. Dark polishes are the worst for creating staining. If you must use a dark polish ALWAYS use a basecoat so it doesn't seep into the nail.

2. Moisturizing dry hands & cuticles-Create a mix for your hands of one tablespoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon sea salt (sugar if you don't have salt). Once the mix is created wet your hands and quickly pat dry so still damp. Now pour the mix on the palms and tops of your hands to be sure to cover the cuticles and nails also. Keep rubbing this mixture for 1 minute. Now sit for 10 minutes and let the olive oil soak in. Now rinse your hands with lukewarm water and a gritty soap if you have it to cut the grease. You might have to wash a couple times with soap to remove. Once clean, pat dry and coat your hands and nails in some of your best rich hand cream. This replaces the need for such an exfoliating scrub like Sally Hansen. The oil moisturizes while the sea salt scrubs away dead skin to reveal new healthy skin. Do the same with your feet. I always do this before I begin painting my nails for an at-home manicure or pedicure.

3. Want to lighten your hair?-When spring and summer hit most people head to the salon and get themselves some highlights for that sun-kissed look. Highlights are great but the chemicals over time can cause hair to become dry and can be quite expensive. I know that most people that try sun-in spray from the drugstore usually go orange, especially if you are blond to begin with. If you aren't looking for a major contrast in color but just a simple lightening, try lemon juice. Use a spray bottle with ¾ lemon juice (freshly squeezed is best, but the store-bought will do) and ¼ water and coat your hair by spraying all over the top. The sun has to process this to work, so you'll have to sit outside in the sun. If you don't like to tan, cover yourself up and hold a towel over your face. After about an hour you can wash it all out with shampoo. You'll notice lighter, shinier hair. This won't be a dramatic difference but will do the trick.

4. Hair Moisturizing Mask-Use eggs. If you are like me and make egg whites for breakfast, save the yolks instead of throwing them away. The protein in them will help strengthen your hair and moisturize it. Mix up 2 whole eggs whipped, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 of lime juice(lime juice optional-perks up curly hair). Leave on your hair for 20-30 minutes and tuck under a plastic shower cap. Add heat for better penetration such as a hairdryer or a heating pad and hot towel over the shower cap. Finish by shampooing hair twice and rinsing thoroughly.

5. Relieve Itchy Skin- Add 2-3 cups of quick cooking oats to your bathtub of hot water. Let is settle and stew in the water for a bit. When you are bathing, pick up handfuls of the oats and cover the itchy areas. You'll need to shower with clean water when you are done, but do not use soap. This little recipe is great for adults as well as a child with chicken pox or poison ivy.

6. Recipe for Soft Skin & Prevent Yeast Infections-Add 1/4 Cup of Apple Cider Vinegar to a bath instead of bubble bath. It will soften your skin and protect from getting yeast infections, unlike soaps that are often the cause of yeast infections.

7. Fixing Foot Odor-Baking soda is a gentle alkaline powder that will neutralize odor-causing acids by restoring your skin's pH level. Once a week create a relaxing food bath by adding ½ cup of baking soda to about 2 Gallons of water in your tub. Soak your feet for about 10-15 minutes. As you are draining the water, put a couple drops of peppermint or rosemary oil on each foot. This will create better circulation in the feet and a minty zing. Finish by rinsing feet, pat them dry and then ensure you use a lotion or foot cream to keep feet well moisturized.

8. Deep-Clean Oily Skin- A natural antiseptic and antibacterial ingredient, honey can be just the trick for your oily or blemished skin. Twice a day you'll want to use 1-2 tablespoons of honey and warm it either by rubbing in your own hands or by placing in the microwave for 10 seconds to soften it. Massage it onto clean, damp skin using a pressing and releasing technique. Rinse well with warm water and pat your face dry.

9. Got the Flu?- One of the most useful tips is to get out the hydrogen peroxide and place a clean cotton swab in the bottle. Use both ends of the swab and stick one into each ear every hour. This works to speed up the healing and recovery process of the flu. My husband just tried this again this week and it works!

10. Natural Teeth Whiteners- Here are 2 solutions, try them both and see which one you like best. Most people have heard that baking soda and peroxide work, well it does. Here is the recipe for Solution#1: Mix on teaspoon of baking soda on a plate and add a few drops of hydrogen peroxide to make a paste, now scoop it off the plate with your toothbrush and use on your teeth. Rinse thoroughly and do not swallow! Another tip for whiter teeth is to avoid cola's like coke, pepsi, dark-colored juices especially those with artificial coloring as well as tobacco products and coffee/tea. In addition do brush 4 times per day, bring a toothbrush to work if you have to. Solution#2: Mash 1 ripe strawberry into a pulp and mix with ½ teaspoon of baking POWDER, not soda. Using your toothbrush you can brush with this for 1 minute and let sit on your teeth for 5 minutes. The malic acid in the strawberries acts as an astringent which causes stains to loosen and be removed. The baking powder breaks into small particles to reach deeper stains on teeth. You can use either of these once per week.

Karla Davis is a Certified Personal Trainer who has spent over 4 years focusing on Nutrition and Health. She also specializes in Staging and Organizing homes and office spaces as a Professional Organizer and is also a Public Speaker. Karla has over 10 years of experience and success within inside/outside Sales and Marketing, and is the wife of Author, Paul Davis. Karla too is now writing her own books as her life mission is to positively transform the homes and lives of everyone she meets.

Please contact Karla for your Home Staging, Interior Re-design, Professional Organizing or Nutritional needs at:

Karla Davis

Florida Home Staging & Redesign

Professional Home Stager

P.O. Box 684

Goldenrod, FL 32733

Tel: (407) 284-1705

Karla@FloridaHomeStager.com

http://www.FloridaHomeStager.com

Home Staging for the Serious Seller!

http://activerain.com/floridahomestager

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Aromatherapy Bath Oil - 4 Relaxing Aromatherapy Bath Oil Recipes That Will Melt Away Your Stress

By Nikki LeRoi

Mental and physical stress can take a toll on your body and mental health. At times of high stress, it's good to escape from the world and enjoy a nice, warm therapeutic bath where you can sit back, relax and meditate. Instead of purchasing commercial bath oil and bubble bath soap, you can make your own delightfully relaxing aromatherapy bath oil and mineral bath salt.

Chamomile Bath

A stressful day can tense up your tired muscles and cause various aches and pains. You've probably heard that a warm cup of chamomile tea can relax harried nerves. Soaking in a chamomile bath will have the same effect while also relaxing those tense muscles.

Chamomile Bath Recipe

Steep 6 chamomile tea bags in 3 cups of hot water for half an hour. Remove the bags. Stir in 2 cups of powdered milk. Pour mixture into a warm bath.

Lavender Bath

Having trouble sleeping?

Don't reach for those sleeping pills. Instead, relax in a warm lavender bath before bedtime. Lavender helps you to enjoy a deep, restful sleep and also reduces stress.

Lavender Bath Salts Recipe

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup Dead Sea salts, 1/2 cup Epson salts, and 10 drops of lavender oil. Pour mixture into a warm bath.

Mint Bath

You will be energized and prepared to take on the world after soaking in a mint bath. Mint stimulates your circulation and helps oxygen pump natural energy throughout your body. If you lack energy, a mint bath will wake you up fast!

Mint Bath Recipe

In a large bowl, pour in 1/2 cup of Epson salts. Drop in 2 handfuls of fresh mint leaves. Rub the leaves against the salts for several minutes, until the salts have soaked up the mint leaf oils. Add the mint infused Epson salts only to a warm bath.

Flower Bath

In the mood for love?

An indulgent flower bath will give you the warm fuzzies and put you in the perfect mood for a romantic encounter.

Flower Bath Recipe

Roll up several rose petals and drop them into a glass bottle. Add in 2 ounces of grapeseed oil, 5 drops of jasmine oil and 5 drops of ylang-ylang oil. Shake the bottle to mix the oils well. Let sit overnight. Run a bath and add 1/4 cup of flower oil. For an extra romantic touch, drop fresh rose petals into your bath water.

Heal Yourself Naturally. Find the best tips and suggestions on natural healing remedies.
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