Melon baller for bath bombs?
Jul 13th 2004Wallabylaughter & site news
75% of the search strings that found this site were “melon baller for bath bombs”. I have no idea what a “bath bomb” is, or what they have to do with melon ballers. But I know this: I want my site to be the best source for information on “melon ballers for bath bombs” (and “bath bombs” in general) it can possibly be.
A “bath bomb” is apparently a fizzy bath salt sort of thing, made from a solid acid, baking soda, and probably some sort of scent or skin oil or something. So, if you mix citric acid and baking soda (dry!) and some kind of essential oil (lemon oil, or something), then you get a thick paste. (The acid and soda don’t dissolve in the oil, and so they don’t – or at least shouldn’t – react. Yet.)
You can then scoop the paste into a nice little round ball using, for instance, a melon baller. (A melon baller is of course a kitchen tool for scooping nice little round balls maybe half an inch to an inch around out of watermelons or cantelopes or something.) Then, you let it dry. If it doesn’t dry, then press all the lumps together again, you’ll need some kind of additional dry powdery stuff… like cornstarch.
Let’s review: Mix one part citric acid, one part baking soda, and two parts cornstarch. Add, drop by drop, essential oils until you get a nice thick paste – you want it to hold together nicely, but it should be as dry as possible. You can add food coloring, too – although you probably don’t want to add too much, since it might not be very relaxing/romantic/whatever to soak in a tub full of blood-red water.
Scoop the dry paste into balls with the melon baller. Set them on a clean flat surface to dry for several hours. You might dust them with a little extra corn starch if they show signs of sticking together. You can store them in a jar, or perhaps wrap them in foil or thin plastic wrap if they get sticky. If you’re going to give them as gifts, or display them on a counter somewhere, be sure to use a nice-looking jar.
Just another sentence to mention “melon ballers” and “bath bombs” in. Oh, and “darn wallaby” was the other 25% of my search hits, in case you’re curious. (Figured I’d throw that one in too if people are looked for darned wallabies – do wallabies tend to unravel and require darning?)