Easy-Peasy Handmade Gift Idea

A few years ago, my family cut back on the amount of Christmas gifts we gave each other.  Rather, each individual decides on a charity and makes a donation in place of the gifts we would have given each other.  And honestly, it has been such a blessing.  Last year, Shawn and I chose an organization through our church that supplies sewing machines to women in underdeveloped countries so that they can learn to not only make clothing for their families,  but items to sell to earn an income.  As you can imagine, I fell in love with this idea as soon as I learned about it. 
I sew because I love to do it. 
These women sew out of necessity.

So, while my family shopping list is pretty minimal, we love to find little ways to bless those that have blessed us during the year. 

Here’s an idea for a simple gift with a handmade touch that will show someone how much you appreciate them.

Homemade bath salts
You’ll need:
1 clear jar
(I run mine through the sanitize cycle in my dishwasher, or you can submerge them in boiling water for a few minutes)
1 scrap of fabric
Ribbon or string
Cardstock paper
Epsom salt
Baking soda
Essential Oil in any fragrance
(lavender and peppermint are my favorites)
You can also use lemon juice or vanilla extract

Mix 3 cups of Epsom salt (regular table salt won’t work – it is extremely drying to the skin) and 1 or 2 teaspoons of baking soda in a bowl.  Add 10-12 drops (more or less depending on how strong you prefer your fragrance) of essential oil and mix well.  You can also use lemon juice or vanilla extract in place of essential oil. 

Pour mixture into glass jar.  Make sure that you use a jar that seals well.  You want to keep this as dry as possible because moisture can cause the mixture to clump together.
Cover the jar with fabric and tie a ribbon on.  Attach a note with instructions to add 1/2 cup to a warm bath and relax!

 OR! If you want to make this even simpler, I found this bag of lavender bath salts at WalMart for less than $5.  You could simply pour this into jars and top it off with some festive fabric, ribbon and a note! 

 
Hannah’s Sunday School teachers will each be getting one of these tomorrow.  And on Tuesday, we’ll be stopping by our favorite doctor’s office to drop some of these off to some special nurses who take such good care of us all year!