Winter Spa

We may not have gotten the threatened twenty-four inches of snow this week but they were right about the below freezing temperatures! The heat is up and I've made a great chicken soup that's comfort food for us, although the grilled cheese and bacon that we had after Paul shoveled us out was great, too.

But with a stuffed head and sore nose from sniffles a recent post I read on my friend Luci Weston's Here We Are... with Luci blog gave me a great tip on some relief, Show Vapor Disks. Not only are they healthful but they sound like a great activity to have fun with the kids.

Luci has lots of great self-help and DIY ideas. This one, turning your bathroom into a mini day spa, sounds great! Or, you can wrap the aroma disks as gifts, put them in a mason jar. I'm certain you can think of more ways to use them. 

Here is the recipe from Luci's blog. Here is the link to her blog for additional information. Please stop by her blog for more information about Shower Vapor Disks and other fun, DIY home and health information. Thanks Luci!

Ingredients / Tools

2 cups of baking soda (any brand)

4 tablespoons corn starch

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon of water

Essential Oil(s) of choice: I use lavender, eucalyptus, and spearmint EOs

12 count muffin pan

foil muffin/cupcake baking cups (remove paper liners)

1 bowl

1 mixing spoon

ice cream scooper or a deep spoon

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350℉

2. Add baking soda, water, and cornstarch (some recipes don't call for cornstarch but it helps bind the disks together) to the bowl. TIP: I discovered my container of cornstarch was out of date and it worked fine in all my tests for this project - good chance to repurpose instead of tossing it out!

3. Mix ingredients together, creating a "wet sand" feeling. HINT: It will look dry; touch it to be sure it feels like cold wet sand, if so, you are good to go!

4. Line muffin pan with foil liners. (No muffin pan? Just put the foil liners on

Shower disks in muffin pan

Filling the muffin pan with mixture into foil liners

a cookie sheet.) TIP: Remove the paper cupcake cups from the foil ones, otherwise the vapor disks will stick to the paper only to fall apart when you try to remove the paper liner. Trust me on this!

5. Using the ice cream scooper, add a scoop to each muffin cup distributing the entire batch. PRESS down on each one with back of scooper.

6. Bake in oven for 20 minutes ONLY.

7. Cool completely in muffin pan on wire rack (or elevated) for about 30 minutes. Add essential oil(s) to top of each disk, estimate a 1/4 teaspoon OR 20 eye-drops of EO per disk. Gently remove foil liners, they should easily peel away.

Packaging TIP: You can also leave them in the liner and remove before use.

Cooking TIP: Do NOT put the oil on the mixture and then bake!! Your oven will smell like the essential oil for a long time; plus, the heat depletes the aromatherapeutic benefits of the oils that you want to experience in the shower.

8. TO USE: Place the baking soda puck on the floor of the shower, making sure it is to the side of the direct water stream. You'll find the right place with a few discs around your tub or shower floor. You want them to dissolve slowly. BONUS: If they aren't washed away during the first shower, the bathroom will be pleasantly scented… It's baking soda so it won't hurt anything hanging around a day or two!