Grams Made Lavender Bath Salts

Every year at Christmas, Grams gives small gifts to all the ladies in the family.  Everyone gets exactly the same gift.  Over the years I've given a variety of items including house slippers, friendship tea, candles, mugs, and many others.  I call them my Elvira Elf gifts.  The point is to do something small but special for all the women.  Some years they're hand made, some years they're purchased.

However, since Grams stopped working full time, it's become essential to keep the cost to a minimum.  So last year I started brainstorming early to find a gift that would be nice but producing 15-20 of them wouldn't break the bank.  I hit on the idea of homemade bath salts.  Making them was surprisingly simple.  There are quite a few recipes and instructions on the internet.  The one I settled on is my own recipe, arrived at by tweaking several of the recipes I found on the web. 

I chose to make it lavender scented because it's one of my favorite scents.  I always keep a bowl of lavender sitting in my linen cabinet.  Not only does it smell wonderful, it keeps the silverfish away.

Christian legend says that lavender got its lovely scent when the Blessed Virgin Mary laid the clothes of the the Baby Jesus on the lavender bush to dry.  Early Christians believed that lavender kept away evil.  They often kept a cross made of lavender above their doors. 

I found pretty jars for $1.00 each at our local Big Lots.  I added a pretty lavender bow, a tag that said "Grams Made It" and included the legend on the tag.  I was very pleased with the result.  Here's my recipe.

1 cup Epsom Salts
1/4 cup Sea Salt
3 Tablespoons Baking Soda
1-2 Teaspoons Glycerin
8 drops Lavendar Essential Oil

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to mix well.

You may substitute any other scent of essential oil and experiment with mixing fragrances and more or less glycerin.  You can also add food coloring if you choose, but I love the way it looks kind of glittery and white.