Whilst the news is currently full of bombs of a different nature it was good to gather with the Crafty Crew yesterday and have fun creating a more positive kind of bomb for us to pamper ourselves instead at bathtime. Michelle brought along a couple of kits she'd bought from Aldi a while ago, which had most of what's needed and with the addition of some oil from Diane's kitchen cupboard plus some food colouring Sheila brought along, we were ready to go.
The actual make itself is quick and easy, and we were surprised at how a small amount of essential oil is needed to fill the room with scent. Some time is needed for the bomb to harden before it's gently eased out of its mould which gave us plenty of time for a chat and a cuppa!
Michele thought they would make a thoughtful gift, handmade with love. We imagined a decorated eggbox filled with bombs of different colours and/or fragrances all wrapped in pretty tissue paper. Decorations such as rose petals or edible glitter (because it will dissolve in the bath) could be added and we also liked the idea of rainbow coloured bombs.
The Crew agreed this would be a great make for a group activity and later research shows the ingredients can be bought in bulk online cheaply. For it to work in this setting, members would need to bring along a good supply of bowls and whisks for mixing, plus objects which could be used as moulds. Our suggestions include small yoghurt pots, ice cube trays, or plastic cookie cutters - anything which has some flexibility helps to get the bombs out later. Special plastic moulds can be bought online, but this will push costs up considerably. Some members may want to use rubber gloves when packing the mixture into their chosen mould. There's plenty of guidance available online to help with preparations - you may like to look here.
The Crew's top tips:
Most of the online videos available use cornflour and epsom salts. We managed without the cornflour and worked out the epsom salts are only really needed if you want to use your bomb as a muscle soak
We recommend a glass or ceramic bowl for mixing to be on the safe side due to the chemicals involved
Be prepared to whisk thoroughly and quickly!
Add the drops of essential oils and food colouring a couple of drops at a time. We also did this with the oil used to help with combining. Some of the online videos show the oils, water and food colouring all being mixed together in a small beaker before adding to the dry ingredients. We managed without and agreed it saves on the washing up!
A small amount of food colouring gives the bomb an attractive mottled appearance - Sheila said that if we'd had some red, we could have made ones which look like raspberry ripple! More food colouring is needed for an even coloured result. However, no food colouring at all is fine, particularly if other forms of decoration are added
A small spray bottle helps to add small amounts of water at a time. The trick is to not to add too much so everything starts to fizz
The mixture is ready to pack into the moulds when it starts to clump together at the side of the bowl when mixing - you may also find it starts to form a larger clump inside the whisk
It's best to slightly overfill each half of the mould so they stick together more easily - we found later that some of ours didn't stick together and half balls were also fine! It helps having a clear and flexible mould at this point so you can press the halves together firmly and check for cracks
Easing out the sides of the mould and some gentle tapping helps get the bomb out in one piece
Diane gave us some tissue paper for wrapping, so we could take our bombs home in one piece
