Flower Power--Bath Salts and......

This post is dedicated to Judy and her granddaughters!

The bees love lavender and so do I!  Here's a way to capture some beautiful scents of summer and use them as gifts for the bath. Go for a walk with your young ones and harvest herbs and flowers that are the most fragrant: mint, lavender, rose, sage, lily-of-the-valley, and honeysuckle to name a few.

Here's What You Need:

Fragrant flowers or herbs

a few drops of floral essential oil, if desired

3 cups sea salt

large bowl

1-quart jar with a tight-fitting lid

Here's What You Do:

*Break the flowers and herbs into medium-sized pieces.  If you are using essential oil, add a few drops to the sea salt and let your little one mix it up by hand in a large bowl

*Pour a 1-inch layer of the salt into the jar, then add a 1-inch layer of the petals and leaves.  Add another 1-inch layer of salt, then the flowers, and alternate layers this way until the jar is filled.

*Place the lid snuggly on the jar and set in a cool, dark place until the salt absorbs the fragrance from the plants--about 3 weeks (patience required!) You can check your jar every few days and enjoy a sniff or two while you wait.

* When enough time has passed, open the jar, strain the plant material from the salt with a colander, and place the salt in a jar with a lid.  

* When you're ready for a delightful bath, pour 1 cup of the salts into your tub water and enjoy.

Here's another project from the garden that takes some waiting, but not as much....

Fill an ice cube tray half full of water.  Have your little one gently place petals from edible flowers like pansies, nasturtiums, and lavender so that they are floating in each cube. (look up any other plant to make sure it isn't harmful) Freeze until hard.  Fill the tray with water to the top and freeze again.  Now your decorative ice cubes are ready to make any drink more charming!