If you haven’t seen my review on Up, Up, and Away, I’d take a moment to check it out. I loved this new book from Tom McLaughlin. Well, honestly I love all the books Tom McLaughlin does but this one was perfect because as the main character pulled together ingredients to make a planet, I thought, “I want to make a planet.”

Of course, there are so many activities that involve mixing ingredients but I wanted something special. Something that would end with at least a planet-shaped result. The perfect solution turned out to be bath bombs. Not only can they be amazing colors like Orson’s planet, but they also have the added bonus of making bath time WAY more fun.

A few weeks ago, I had never made a bath bomb. Now I’m quite a bit more knowledgeable about the process but by no means an expert. I was able to order everything online for a very reasonable price. I love crafting but am always eying prices too, to make sure fun crafts don’t use up our eating-out funds. The instructions and tips are available below. If you have your own bath bomb creating tips then please share them in the comments! Happy crafting!

Up, Up, and Away Planets

Makes 2 x 2.5 inch “planets”

Ingredients:

Epsom Salts – 1/4 cup (heaping)
Citric Acid – 1/4 cup (heaping)
Cornflour (cornstarch) – 1/4 cup (heaping)
Baking Soda – 1/2 cup (heaping)
Food Coloring
Water – 1 1/4 tsp
Essential oils – 1 tsp
Grapeseed oil – 3 3/4 tsp
Planet Molds – (I got a set but only used the biggest pair)

Instructions:

**I’d read all the way through first. Also, there are tons of things for little ones to do. Mixing, pressing, dripping. The only thing Bug didn’t help with was to remove the planets from their molds. Of course you’ll need to use your own discretion to decide what your little one is ready for.**

First mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. (Epsom Salts, Citric Acid, Baking Soda, Cornflour)
Then in a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients as best you can(minus the food coloring). I know the water will separate but it’s fine.
Now add only a few drops of the wet ingredients to the dry. Quickly stir it in. I used the 1/4 tsp to do this (actually Bug did this part and surprisingly well too). It takes awhile but if you add it all too fast, the compounds will react now, instead of at bath time.
Once the liquid is all gone your mixture should resemble wet sand.
Separate it into the bowls, so you can color it.
Add the food coloring the same way you added the liquid. SLOWLY. It should only take a few drops to work. Some things to keep in mind: 1. If using a spoon to mix it will look very pale. Mix it for a minute or so and then use your hands to finish. If you use your hands right away you will have some very brightly colored fingers. 2. Mixing colors is hit and miss with these. I had no problem with orange but my purple turned out very grey and ugly. 3.Keep color theory in mind. Once these are in the bath, all the colors will meld. It’s much more fun to take a bath in purple or green water than it is to take a bath in brown water.
Very firmly press your “planet powder” into the molds. You will want each mold to overflow a bit so that it will be easier to fuse together.
Once molds are full press the two halves together. Do this for about 30 seconds and then gently remove the planet. I tapped a spoon on the outside of the mold to help release it. ** DO NOT leave planets to dry in metal molds. They will be extremely difficult to get out**
Once you’ve removed your planet handle as little as possible. Set it on some wax paper and let it dry for about 24 hours.
Once dry, let your little explorer toss their planet in before the tub! Bug giggled, “Tickly like bubbles!” as his fizzed.