Taking a bath with a bath bomb is like bathing in champagne, decadent, luxurious, but less of a total mess. I love bath bombs, but I honestly can’t afford them. How many times have you walked into a bath shop or soap store and thought, “this is a ridiculous price for a bath bomb. I feel like I could make this!” I don’t know what goes into making a bath bomb but feel they are simple and wouldn’t take much time.and that others think the same.

Sarah and Kat, two Calgary artists, and the cofounders of Maker YYC, know all too well the feeling of going into a soap shop and thinking, “why would I buy this when I could just make it myself?” They also realize how frustrating it can be to try crafting on one’s own, and they understand the difficulty in answering the questions, where do I get the stuff, how do I actually do this, what is this mess I’ve made, and wtf have I gotten myself into? The beauty of a Maker YYC workshop is that Kat and Sarah provide all the ingredients and tools necessary for the craft of the evening. They do the research and try it out beforehand, so they are the gurus the workshop attendees look to for guidance. The “How to Make Bath Bombs” workshop on July 6 was a sold out house!

I sat with Montana, Carla, and Alberta, three lovely ladies who had never been to a Maker event before. We were given our buckets, our mixing utensils, our ingredients, and were told the one rule: don’t eat the citric acid. With a few inspirational images of handmade bath bombs (probably from Pinterest), we were chomping at the bit to begin. Within mere moments, the entire Vintage Caffeine Co. coffee shop smelled like lavender, lemongrass and rose petals. People were mixing and matching colours and scents, pressing their bombs into whichever shape they chose, and waiting excitedly for the time when their bombs could be released from their mold.

It was cool to meet and get to know the ladies around my table— all from different walks of life, different backgrounds, and with different interests. There we sat, for two hours, bonding while we created the daintiest and most decadent of crafts. I successfully made six bath bombs, all with different flower petals, swirls of colours, and shapes. I am very happy and I can’t wait to bathe!

So, the total tally from the evening:

Number of beautiful bath bomb makers: 12

Number of beautiful bath bombs made: at least 89

Times I said cute: too many to count

Number of people who put citric acid in their mouths: 0 (woohoo!)

Thanks for the sweet smelling craft night, Calgary!