Hello all you beautiful people :) I hope you had a very Merry Christmas with lots of magnificent food! Christmas food is worth waiting for isn't it! When I think of Christmas, roasts with gravy, yummy vegies, decadent desserts, short breads and plum pudding with custard all come to mind, mmmm delish. I also have a vision of the family all together around a huge happily decorated table, with lots of laughs and good times shared. Of course there is always presents too! Which brings me to today's post, which is really about home made Christmas Gifts.
There is something nice about receiving a gift that someone has lovingly made for you, and it's also great fun to create gifts for those you love. Well I think so.
This year I made some gifts from the kitchen, and I got a bit excited and forgot to take some photos of the process. There were cranberry and white chocolate shortbreads (yum), fruit cake mini puddings, and white chocolate coconut truffles. Sometimes its hard to give things away, hehe. Here is a pic of the mini pudding truffles. Poor pic, but you can imagine how yummy they are!
There is something nice about receiving a gift that someone has lovingly made for you, and it's also great fun to create gifts for those you love. Well I think so.
This year I made some gifts from the kitchen, and I got a bit excited and forgot to take some photos of the process. There were cranberry and white chocolate shortbreads (yum), fruit cake mini puddings, and white chocolate coconut truffles. Sometimes its hard to give things away, hehe. Here is a pic of the mini pudding truffles. Poor pic, but you can imagine how yummy they are!
The most fun thing to make though were the bath bombs! These little treasures are quite easy to make, and are an absolute delight to use. They have a base of organic oats, which makes the bath water all creamy and moisturising, and mixed with the essential oils from the flowers they make for a really luxurious treat. I remembered to take photos of these as I was making them, so I can take you through the process :)
Step 1 - get all your ingredients together.
You will need:
Step 1 - get all your ingredients together.
You will need:
- Muslin cloth
- Organic oats (I used quick oats for these)
- Lavender petals
- Chamomile flowers
- Rose petals
- String
- Pretty paper and pens for the gift tags
- Some clear plastic bags to put the finished product in, or cellophane would work too.
Step 2 - Once you have all of your ingredients ready, cut out pieces of muslin cloth ready to go. It's easy if you cut them all out to start with, saves the messing around later. I used a single layer of muslin because it's easier to see the pretty flowers and colours through it, and it's quite strong cloth so it won't matter if you use one or two layers.
Step 3 - Using a dessert spoon, place 3 heaped spoonfuls of the oats into the centre of your muslin cloth.
Step 3 - Using a dessert spoon, place 3 heaped spoonfuls of the oats into the centre of your muslin cloth.
Step 4 - place 1 heaped dessert spoon of lavender petals on top of the oats.
Step 5 - place 1 heaped dessert spoon of chamomile flowers on top of the lavender.
Step 6 - place 1 flatish dessert spoon of rose petals on top of the chamomile.
Step 5 - place 1 heaped dessert spoon of chamomile flowers on top of the lavender.
Step 6 - place 1 flatish dessert spoon of rose petals on top of the chamomile.
Now you have all of your ingredients ready to wrap up, and it will be smelling pretty awesome by now too!
Step 7 - grab each corner of the muslin cloth and bring them all together so that you can tie some string around the top and hold all the ingredients together in a bundle. I made sure that the string was very secure, tieing it around the bundle three times. This is your bath bomb that will go into the water so you want it to be secure.
Step 7 - grab each corner of the muslin cloth and bring them all together so that you can tie some string around the top and hold all the ingredients together in a bundle. I made sure that the string was very secure, tieing it around the bundle three times. This is your bath bomb that will go into the water so you want it to be secure.
Step 8 - Now your bath bomb is made, all you have left to do is write up a pretty gift tag with the ingredients written on the inside, and place the gift into a clear cellophane bag.
I tied the gift tag on the outside so that the receiver can read what it is and see the ingredients.
Walah, all done and ready to go :) I declare that a wrap!
I tied the gift tag on the outside so that the receiver can read what it is and see the ingredients.
Walah, all done and ready to go :) I declare that a wrap!
Lot's of love,
Ally :)
Ally :)
