Handmade 2011: Lemon Bubble Bath

Lou has a party this evening and she is bringing some super lemony bubble bath as her gift. Lou loved the idea of making bubble bath as she is an avid bath taker and I think bubble bath just screams little girl (my boys love baths too, but tend to like less bubbles). I loved this gift because it was easy for Lou to help with and took about ten minutes to complete (with a bit of prep work).

Items needed are (recipe taken from here):

1/2 cup unscented shampoo (we used unscented baby wash, it's hypoallergenic)

3/4 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

15 drops lemon essential oil

When we landed on lemon as the "type" of bubble bath, I started brainstorming containers. I wanted something that would pour quickly but with control and that had a tight lid. So, yes that is a mustard bottle. A little upcycling goes along way, if you choose this option, make sure that you have cleaned the container well and let it air out a bit as it will smell like mustard. We did that and then cleaned it with vinager to help remove the mustard smell. I already had lemon essential oil on hand from a previous crafty girl's night and found a bottle of baby wash in my bathroom cabinet so I had nothing to purchase. If you don't have these, the essential oil will be the hardest thing to get your hands on, but most natural food stores stock them and I have found some at my Hobby Lobby as well.

Gather all your ingredients in the kitchen. Mix the shampoo, water and salt very GENTLY. Lou stirred rather vigorously and created alot of bubbles that I had to scoop away. Add essential oil and stir again. Pour into container.

I wanted to have a cute label for the front of the container so that there would be no confusion about what was in the bottle. I found these cute lemon circles here. I printed them out and played around with the labeling until I found one the Lou liked. We cut it out and using packing tape to adhere it to the bottle. It rippled alittle bit, but I am not sure that I could have helped that out since Lou was doing most of the taping.
If you didn't want to upcycle a mustard container, you could always purchase the picnic condiment containers that come in ketchup and mustard sets. Then you could make strawberry or cherry bubble bath for the ketcup container as well as making the lemon kind. I did a test to see how this bubble stuff worked and while it is not as prolific as your average Elmo bubble bath, it held it's own. The lemon scent was a bit overwhelming at first but I am hoping it will fade over time.

Over all this whole thing cost zero dollars, but that is because I had everything on hand, but this certainly wouldn't break anyone's bank and Lou really liked making it. You could add some bath crayons or toys if you wanted to or make a bath mitt like these found on Martha. That would really round the gift out. Lou make her friend a pair of earrings as well, but that is for another day. Happy Bathing!