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- How To Make
Pomanders
- BY PIONEER THINKING
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- In the tradition
of the Victorians and Royalty alike, pomanders were used to mask
odors. The sweet smelling scent will fill your home with citrus
freshness.
-
- Pomanders
are a natural air freshener, and moth repellent. Place some in
your clothes closets, drawers or simply stack several in a bowl
for a beautiful display. Pomanders are typically made from various
citrus fruit, mainly oranges as well as apples.
-
- This craft:
approx 1 hour to make
- Supplies needed:
- small or medium
size unblemished fruit. (Oranges, Apples or Lemons)
- masking tape
or elastic bands
- paper bag
- 20-25 grams
large headed cloves
- spice mixture: 1
tablespoon
each: cinnamon, nutmeg,and ground cloves
- Knitting needle
or fork or toothpick
- thimble or
masking tape to cover fingers
- 4 drops sandalwood
oil (a
natural preservative)
- ribbons for
hanging pomanders
Note: In traditional pomanders,
orris root is used to act as a preservative and scent enhancer.
Orris root is from the Iris bulb that has been dried and ground
to a fine powder. Some people have shown allergic reactions to
orris root, so we suggest you use sandalwood oil as an alternative
preserver.
- Let's get
started!
- To begin,
select fruit that is blemish free. Oranges are very suitable
for this project.
-
- Mix the spices
with the Sandalwood oil in a bowl or bag and set aside. Cover
fingers with masking tape or thimbles when making the holes for
the cloves, otherwise it can be painful after awhile. At this
point, if you want to decorate the pomander with ribbons, using
masking tape, make a crisscross design on the fruit.
-
- This will
be the marked off area when the ribbons will be. Using the knitting
needles or something similar, poke holes starting from the top
of the orange straight down to the bottom, inserting cloves as
you go along.
-
- Continue this
all around the fruit until it is completely covered in cloves.
Make sure the hole is about double the size of the clove stem,
since the orange will shrink to about half its original size.
Maximum spacing between cloves should be no more than 1/4 inch,
the closer together the better. Once the orange is clove studded,
place the spices in a paper bag. (Do not use plastic bags as
it will prevent the pomander from curing properly). Roll the
orange in the spices until it is completely and evenly coated.
Next leave the orange in the bag and place in a cool, dry area
for approximately 4-6 weeks to dry the pomander out. Roll the
orange in the spices daily. Note: If you notice any mold or the
orange decomposing then throw it out. Curing time varies anywhere
from 3 weeks to 6 months. On average it's about 3 1/2 weeks.
To check if your pomander is dried, it should sound hollow when
tapped with your knuckle, and feel light in weight. Once dried,
shake off any excess spices. You pomander is now ready to fill
your house with the sweet spicy scent that has been enjoyed since
the Victorian era and beyond.
-
- Decorating
the pomander: Place ribbons in a criss-cross fashion where the
tape was placed or elastic bands. Sew the ends together and make
a loop for hanging.
-
- Pomanders
look beautiful when several of them are placed in a bowl together.
In this case ribbons are not necessary.
-
- Pomanders
last many many years. When the scent starts to fade, add a few
drops of clove oil to your spice mixture and reroll in the spices.
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