Homemade Bath Salts

Like every mother in America, every Christmas I have the additional stress of coming up with a fabulous gift idea for my sons' teachers.  I'm not the most crafty person in the world, but I'm not completely inept, either.  That said, I really don't have the time (or patience) to scour Pinterest or spend a bunch of money on these gifts.  After all, between Valentine's, Teacher Appreciation, Birthday, and End of Year, these ladies get more gifts throughout the year than I give my own mother!  And let's face it, the holidays are a stressful time of year, so I want something quick, something inexpensive, something I can put together with stuff laying around the house, and something unique enough that it'll stand out just a little bit.  My older son's school puts out a binder with "My Favorite Things" for each of the teachers so parents can get ideas of what the ladies like.  When I saw that my son's teacher loved all things lavender, I knew exactly what I was going to make!!

To fill a pint-sized Mason jar:

1 1/3 cup epsom salts

2/3 cup baking soda

1-2 tablespoons scent-inducing ingredient of your choice (I used lavender buds)

Mix all together in a large bowl.  Pour into Mason jar and secure lid.  Tie with raffia and attach a wooden scoop for a natural look.

To make mine look a little festive, I placed each jar in a brown paper lunch bag, tied with more raffia, and attached a couple of jingle bells (which coincidentally were left over from my wedding nearly eight years ago!).  The teachers loved the gift (supposedly teachers in other classes were jealous) and my mom even stole this idea to take to her neighbors as gifts!