- Aromatic Gift Ideas -
Simple Ideas For Homemade Potpourri Gifts
- by Alix Williams
Fragranced gifts are always popular
and, with the wide availability of essential oils (natural
oils obtained from plants), easy to make. Here are a few
ideas for creative and individualized gifts that I have sourced
from the Internet and other sources.
|
Pot of homemade potpourri
A pot of homemade potpourri makes
an individual aromatic gift. Some of the recipes for homemade
potpourri can be quite complex – the simplest I have come
across is that by Jane Lake, and is given below, with a few amendments
from me:
You will need a large clean storage
jar with a close fitting lid, scissors/secateurs to cut an assortment
of coloured and fragrant flowers or leaves as they appear in
your garden, and a sunny window sill.
Suitable flowers include daffodils,
lily of the valley, lavender, violets, bleeding hearts, roses,
geranium, honey suckle, sweet william, pansies, viola, veronica,
phlox and clover. Simply cut a few blossoms off each flower when
they arrive in the garden and add to the jar. The leaves of herbs,
such as bay, rosemary, lemon balm and citronella can also be
added – harvest these just before the plants come into full
bloom as this is when they are most pungent and contain the greatest
amount of natural essential oils.
To add a tang, you can also add
the cut up dried peel of oranges, lemons and limes. If you have
some eucalyptus that is past its prime, wash off the dust, pull
off leaves, and add these leaves to your potpourri flower jar
as well.
The drying process is simple...
you just let the blossoms dry out in the jar with the aid of
the sun shining through your window. Before you add more blossoms,
stir the lower layers of potpourri with a kitchen fork or spoon,
and add the new blossoms on top. Don't pack the blossoms and
leaves down too tightly – you want plenty of air space to
encourage quick and complete drying. You can mix and match your
flowers – you might like to have one jar predominantly of
roses, or another packed with mostly lavender. You could also
do one just with bay leaves – for cooking purposes. |
|
The fun is in experimenting.
When the natural fragrances of
the flowers and leaves begin to fade, the potpourri can be refreshed
easily by simply adding a few drops of essential oils. You could
also supply a small bottle of an essential oil as part of your
gift.
If you are unable to make your
own potpourri, why not buy an unfragranced variety, put it in
an attractive jar and add a few drops of essential oil? such
as Lavender oil.
Alternatively, you could make
potpourri sachets (see below)
Potpourri sachets
Fragranced potpourri, whether
homemade or shop bought, can also be made into gift sachets.
One way of doing this, avoiding any sewing, is to tie it up in
cotton handkerchiefs.
Wash and iron the handkerchiefs.
Pour about 1/2 cup of potpourri into the centre of the handkerchief.
Gather up the ends and either wrap a rubber band around the part
near the ball of sachet or tie it up with strong cotton. The
sachet should be tightly enclosed. Tie a matching ribbon around
the band, making a bow with long ends. If you make the ribbon
long enough, then it could be used to hang the sachet in a cupboard
or wardrobe.
As an alternative to a handkerchief,
you could use a square of muslin or any thin material, though
you may need to hem the edges or trim them with ribbon or lace.
You could include a small bottle
of essential oil with the sachet, for refreshing the potpourri
once the fragrance begins to fade.
If you are unable to make your
own potpourri, why not buy an unfragranced variety and simply
add a few drops of essential oil?
Lavender bags
Always popular as drawer fragrancers,
lavender bags can be made in the same way as the sachets described
above.
Cut the stems of lavender just
before the flowers start to open and hang them upside down for
a few days for them to dry before rubbing them down to remove
the flowers. Once made, the bags should remain effective for
1–2 years.
The ideas listed here are not
only fun to do, but also make ideal and, above all, individual
gifts. So, give your friends an aromatic Christmas this year!
|
