What's She Up to Now? Jody's Life Blog

Bath Bombs and Blog Reminders

Howdy!

Well, it's been quite a while since I last wrote. A lot has happened. Most importantly, I got a new computer. YIPEE!

Bath Bombs

Well, I have SB Musing and someone else...I forget who, to thank for my bath bombing these days. They kept talking about Lush's bath bombs during our virtual European vacation. I'd never even heard of Lush, let alone a bath bomb. In/conveniently (depending on how you look at it), the internet was there to educate me on all that I've been missing. It started innocently enough with me ordering a Lush bath bomb. Then I liked it, so that was a problem.

I'd been looking into soap making again (more on that in another post) and kept running into bath bomb recipes. They seemed so simple, I finally decided to make some. I thought they might make a great gift--cheap, easy, fun, perfect. I kept looking at bath bomb molds on Amazon because, of course, you can't have a weirdly shaped bath bomb. (They're round for anyone who doesn't know.) Eventually I ran into a whole kit (including molds) at A.C. Moore (a craft store). I got it and excitedly went home to make them. Well, in their defense, it DID say to mold them then CAREFULLY take them out and let them harden. I figured since other instructions I'd read had said to let them harden for 24 hrs before removing them, I'd go with those instructions just to be safe.

The next day I couldn't wait to unmold them! I grabbed my first one and tapped it like I'd seen in the videos and pushed on the back like the instructions said and well, nothing. I tried again, tapping harder. I banged with the end of a spatula. I pounded it on the counter. I pried at the edges. I shoved at the back. Nothing would get those devils to release my beautiful (in the eye of the beholder) bath bombs! I even tried freezing them since things shrink in the cold. Well, apparently it all shrunk the same amount since it didn't cause the mold to release.

So, it's been about 3 days now and I've used a couple of my bath bombs and they work quite nicely. Thankfully the molds are waterproof (plastic) so I just float them in my tub and when the bomb FINALLY releases (not as soon as you might think), I just rinse it out quickly and put the mold on the edge of the tub to be taken to the kitchen later while I enjoy the rest of the bath. Well, the tub is quite small, so "enjoy" might be too strong a word, but still, it's entertaining, if nothing else. However, I rarely take baths and now I've been forced to take one daily just to release my molds so I can try another recipe.

Well, today I tried another recipe. I got it off a video that claimed they'd tried several recipes and this one was the best. Seriously? It involved adding water and oil (in small amounts), but it started the fizzing reaction and apparently containing it is an issue. I filled my molds and the filling kept growing...and growing...and growing...until it spilled all over the counter. Hmmm...theirs didn't do that in the video. Maybe I need to watch the video again. Or perhaps I should just use one of my spray bottles for spray oil and water mixes to be used for things like bath bombs. (Not sure what else I'd use it for, actually, but surely there's SOME other use for oil and water SOMEWHERE.) I'd used witch hazel in a spray bottle and didn't have this giant reaction situation start, so maybe the spray bottle is the secret. The witch hazel DID cause a LITTLE reaction, so I think it's more the application than the ingredients.

So far I'm 0-2 and the bath bombs are winning, but I haven't given up yet! I bought an 8 pound (3.6 kg) bag of Epson salt and 4 pounds (1.8 kg) of baking soda. I've got plenty left for experiments. I SHALL WIN! (For those unfamiliar with bath bombs, they fizz in the tub and often release scents, colors, and even oils or other skin soothing things into the tub. The most basic ingredients are baking soda and citric acid, but Epson salt, corn starch, and oils are frequently added, among other things.)

Blog Reminders

Regarding blog reminders, for those who don't know, you can set it to remind you to update your blog at intervals of your choosing. I chose every 3 days. (You see that since it's been more like 3 weeks, that doesn't really make a difference for me. lol) However, I discovered that if you don't do it when it tells you, then all bets are off and you're back to the daily reminder thing. Hmmm...good to know, but I can be just as stubborn as it can be. Case in point, I didn't let it force me into writing after it had only been 3-4-5 days. But hopefully I'll be better at writing from now on...we can hope...lol

I hope the rest of you are better at blogging than I am! Hahaha

TTYL (Talk to You Later)