End of Semester Gift #3

Another semester is nearing its end! Every semester I've been a part of SAO, I've made some sort of end-of-semester gift for all of my lovely sisters. It's been such a blessing being part of this sorority; I love giving a little something back, and having a little something to help remember each semester. Last year, I made hairbows for all the sisters and got to practice painting on fabric with stencils. In the Spring of this year, I learned how to make cork coasters and paint designs onto them. This semester, however, was extraordinarily busier than usual, so I made gifts that were less time consuming and found a festive resealable baggie to put them in!

Over the summer, I found a small Christian bookstore that sold novelty items as well as books, and found an awesome key chain with Greek letters etched into it. I don't remember what this Christian bookstore is called, but it's found at an outlet mall in Georgia. The store sold the etched fish by themselves, in a variety of colors, and I had to use some spare key chain parts I had to turn the fish into a proper key chain. The etched fish came with an information card that explains the significance of the fish symbol and the meanings of the Greek letters. Together, the letters represent the Greek word for fish, which was apparently the symbol for Christians back in the day. Separately, the Greek letters say: Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior. 

And when I first saw these fish, I thought these would be perfect for my sisters! Because I mean, Greek letters on a fish that represents every thing Christians stand for? Christian sorority whose Greek name means that Jesus is our Savior from the Beginning to the End? It just fits!

But then, my creative side began to ache at the simplicity of just a key chain as a gift. I needed to make something. Salted fish were all the rage back when there was no refrigeration! But why would I give my sisters salted fish? Or salt in general? How about bath salt?

I went through my craft stash, found some hotel shampoo/conditioner/lotion bottles and cleaned them out. I thought about tying some coarse jute around the necks of the bottles and attaching a tag to label these bottles, but then I found a package of clear address labels in the house and decided to use them instead. They worked great and was much quicker than making tags.

To be honest, I never used bath salts before making this. I've never needed it, so it never crossed my mind to try it. The main ingredient for effective bath salts is Epsom salt, because of its beneficial minerals. Commercial bath salts simply add fragrance and color to make them more appealing. Many of the recipes I found online incorporated the use of essential oils and food coloring. I don't own essential oils, and food coloring in a bath just sounds messy. 

After looking around for easy bath salt recipes with ingredients I already owned, I found one by Ashley on her website Simply Designing. Okay, I didn't follow her recipe verbatim, but I used the suggestions and questions in the comments her post to modify the recipe to items found at my house. It seems to work fine, but don't take my word for it, since I haven't used store-bought bath salts before. The aroma is pleasing and it makes for a great gift!

Thanks for reading this post! 

Also, I just found a website on the back of the information card for the fish! If you're interested in getting your own fish key chain, click here to order a few for you and your friends!