Herbal Oils?

[Jen]

I wonder if anyone here can give me some tried and tested advice on making edible Herbal infused oils. I've made Chilli oil before and allways have a supply in the larder but I would like to branch out (ha ha) and make some different ones.
I like the idea of Garlic, Bay Leaf and Rosemary but I have heard conflicting stories as to how to prepare them. Can they successfully be placed directly into cold oil or does the oil have to be heated first? How do I go about doing this safely so as I don't give myself and my family botulism.
Any help greatly appreciated.

[watershield]

I did make a garlic oil some time ago.
I soaked the garlic over night in vinegar, then put it into a bottle of very warm olive oil.

I had a look on some food sites but could not see any real good answer regarding the botulism problem.
(good thing I didn't know about it before or I might have gotten sick... )

[Goth]

Actually, vinegar is supposed to be effective at slowing down the spore growth that's responsible for causing botulism