Perfume, soaps, bath salts

Rose Water Cologne

Material:

• boiling pot
• Fine strainer
• Nice bottle with lid
• Heatproof bowl
• Funnel
• 25 grams of strongly scented rose petals

Working instructions

1. Put the rose petals in the bowl. Boil 3dl of water and pour over the leaves. Leave for 2 hours to allow the water to absorb the fragrance.

2. Pour the perfume through a strainer into a pretty bottle using the funnel.

Tip:

Make the mixture in small batches only. Store in the refrigerator and use only while it smells especially good.

Variants:

• Add some lavender to the rose petals
• Add a slice of lemon, this gives the perfume a hint of freshness
• Use other plants that smell good

Note:

The perfume is so all-natural based and is compatible with all skin types, as long as it is not too concentrated. Therefore, do not let the petals infuse longer than indicated.

Soap A

A variety of molds for casting glycerin soap are available in stores. Casting these soaps requires a lot of time, skill and patience. However, the following type can be done with a group without much difficulty.

Material:

• Glycerine soap transparent
• Glycerine soap white
• Color to dye
• Cooking pot
• Heatproof bowl
• Plastic box (fresh food containers)
• Board, knife

Working instructions

First, make different colored soap plates at home. To do this, you need to melt the white glycerin soap in a water bath and add the desired color. Now pour the liquid soap 1cm high into a plastic box. Prepare different colours this way. As soon as they are solid, you can take them out of the plastic box. The children can now cut the coloured plates into fine strips or cubes. If you feel like it, you can also cut curls or shavings with a utility knife. The cut soap is now filled into one or more plastic boxes. The tins may be quite full. Now melt the transparent glycerine soap in a water bath. Pour the liquid soap over the cut pieces in the tin. Now let the soap block harden (possibly in the refrigerator). Cut the finished soap block on a board into approx. 2cm wide soap pieces (use a carving knife). Wrap them with transparent foil. The result is very beautiful and surprising, you know only when you cut it open how it looks.

Soap B

Another easy way to make soaps is to carve them. Children are given a glycerine soap block and can now use carving tools to create their own soap.

Bath salts

Making your own bath salts is very easy. You will need the following material:

• Sea salt
• Food coloring
• Fragrance oil
• Possibly dried herbs (rosemary, thyme ...)
• large jars with lids
• jars to fill the salt

Working instructions

First fill the jar in which you want to fill the free salt after with sea salt. Now put the salt measured in this way into the other jar. This glass should have a lid that you can unscrew (because of the shaking....)! Now add a few drops (you can always add more, but don't take away!) of the desired color and fragrance oil to the jar. Screw on the lid and shake the salt well. If you like to add herbs that float on the water when you bathe, you can add those too. Now you can pour the salt back into the other jar. Of course, the salt can also be filled into the jars in layers of different colours. However, it is advisable to measure out the salt beforehand based on the jars to be filled and then color and shake in different jars.

Tip: Larger quantities than 1kg packets of bath salts are also available in stores (there are percentages!), it is worth asking.

• Content and image: Forum Kind issue 3/01, pages 21 + 22. © Copyright www.forum-kind.ch
• Author: Miriam Leuenberger is forum kind's creative specialist. Together with her husband Thomas, she conducts numerous children's weeks.