Homemade cooking extracts are a quick and easy gift for the baker in your life (even if that baker is you). With a couple of pretty glass bottles and 3-4 weeks of infusing time, they'll be ready to use in all kinds of recipes. You'll need: * 5 glass bottles with lids * Vodka * An orange, lemon, 2-3 limes, cinnamon sticks, and mint leaves - one flavor for each bottle * Sharp knife Cut the peel off of the orange, lemon, and limes in strips. Make sure you cut off the pith

Bath salts are beautiful and add a delicious dimension to a well-deserved hot bath! And if you know how to make them yourself, they also become an inexpensive luxury. These are not only a welcome treat for me but are a huge hit as gifts. Recently, I helped a young pre-teen friend make several types of bath salts and bath fizzies for a birthday party she was attending. As it turned out, the birthday girl's parents relayed that her 'spa day' gift was her favorite present an