How to create potpourri for any season
Fall has arrived and along with it, all the wonderful scents and smells that we associate with the falling leaves and colder temperature. Don’t want to spend loads of money on potpourris? Following this simple recipe, you can create potpourris for any season.
There are three very basic parts to potpourri: The Fixative (the material that holds the scents and makes it last longer), the Scent or Aroma (the smell you want) and the Filler (the material that you see and appreciate).
Some great choices for the fixative:
- Orris Root
- Sandal Wood Bark
- Oak Moss
- Dried Lavender
- Patchouli Leaves
- Gum Benzoin, resin (ground)
- Myrrh
- Frankincense
- Cinnamon Stick (ground or broken)
- Clary Sage Leaves
There are many things you can use, and are readily found in your health food stores and in some craft stores.
For the Scent, you want to choose essence oils or fragrance oils. These can be found online, in craft stores and health food stores.
For the Material, some choices include:
- Pine Cones
- Dried Orange, Lemon or Lime Peels
- Dried Apples
- Flowers of any type
- Wood Shavings
Play around with each of these and create blends that you enjoy.
Drying:
Once you have gathered all of your materials you want to use, you will need to dry them. For herbs and flowers, bundle them together and hang them upside down in a warm dry place. A kitchen window is a great place.
Another way to dry the material is to line a baking sheet with some cheese cloth. Place the items to be dried on top of the cheese cloth and place in the oven on the lowest setting.
The main thing that you need to remember is that everything must be completely dry.
Container Potpourri:
Take your fixative and make sure it is well distributed throughout the material. Add the material that you want to use. You can add your essence or fragrance oils to the fixative by adding just one or two drops to the material and putting it into any open container or bowl.
Play around with the scents and looks. There are hundreds of recipes, but the best ones are the ones you will create year round. Enjoy.
Satchel or Bags for the drawers
Making our clothes smell good without perfumes has a long tradition. The smell of cedar or pine are two scents that people think of. For this you will need the same materials as for the container, get some small pieces of fabric that you can sew or tie into a bag or buy small bags at your craft store.
The biggest difference is that the fixative material needs to be well ground so that it can be dispersed throughout.
These potpourris, either container or bag/sachet make great gifts along with making your home look and smell great.