Lavender and Calendula Bath Salts

I'd been thinking about what gifts I'd make from my two little lavender plants out front for so long. Of course I didn't manage to get it all together until 3AM or so the night before Christmas, but I'm so proud that in the end I did manage to make gifts from my garden.

Above you can see what a couple of smaller jars looked like with the tags I made. The two pics on the tags are actual ones I took of the lavender and calendula plants growing in the backyard this summer. The other side said the following:

Homegrown Luxury Lavender & Calendula Bath Salts

Detoxifying, Softening, Soothing & Relaxing

Good for your muscles, skin & mood!

Directions for use: Place bag in bath under running water. Squeeze a couple times to completely dissolve salts and release essential oils.

Ingredients: Epsom Salts, Powdered Oatmeal, Baking Soda, Dried Lavender Leaves, Dried Calendula Flowers, Lavender Essential Oil, Food Coloring

Safe for sensitive skin and during pregnancy. Will not clog drains.

For external use only. Ask your doctor before using if you have high or low blood pressure.

Here is a pic of the first batch I made, before tagging:

And here is the actual recipe I used, thanks to Melissa Ray Davis at http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Make-Bath-Salts-Guide-and-Recipe:

Ingredients:

5 cups Epsom salts

5 drops blue food coloring, optional

8 drops red food coloring, optional

30 drops lavender essential oil

1 cup baking soda

1 cup ground (powdered) oatmeal
2 Tablespoons dried lavender
2 Tablespoons dried calendula petals
Cotton muslin bags & glass jars

Preparation Instructions:

Use glass or metal mixing implements, because plastic or wood will absorb some of the ingredients. First mix all of the salts together. Then, if you are using food coloring and/or essential oil, drip them evenly across the surface of the salts. All of these liquid ingredients have a tendency to clump, so you will need to mix them thoroughly and break up all of the clumps. If you are using food coloring, it is a good way to judge when the salts are well mixed, because the colored clumps are highly visible. Next, mix in the baking soda and or ground oat meal, then add the dried flowers or herbs if you are using them. NOTE: the oatmeal must be finely ground so it will dissolve in the bath. I used a coffee bean grinder. Put 3/4 Cup of mixture into each cotton muslin bag and then put those into glass jars.