Di's Delightful Creations
& Crafts
POTPOURRI
This is another craft I have just started. I have had fun creating my own mixutures and blends, and I want to share some of the wonderful recipes, ideas, and projects I have found. Use these recipes as a guideline for making your own blends. Have fun!
(Please note: To my knowledge, none of the recipes are copyrighted. If anyone finds any that are, please email me and I will remove them.)
~HINTS & TIPS~
INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING POT POURRI
Measure out all dry ingredients into non metallic bowl or grocery bag.
Gradually add fragrance oil to potpourri, suggestion: 1/4 to 1/2 fl oz per 16 cups potpourri (approx. 1 gallon), depending on strength of scent.
You can use fixatives, (such as orris root, calamus root, cellulose fiber, citrus peels, oak moss, and spices that help absorb and preserve and release the fragrance of your blend) which you add the fragrance to, and blend with dry ingredients later.
Let the fixative and fragrance or essence oil cure for approximately 2 weeks, in a tightly sealed glass jar (in a cool dark area) before adding to dry ingredients. Use 40 drops of fragrance oil per cup of fixative, and use 4 tablespoons of scented fixative per 4 to 6 cups of dry ingredients.
After blending and scenting potpourri, fill wide-mouth jars or non-metallic containers 3/4 full, cover tightly and store in cool dark place.
Check fragrance after several days and add more scent if desired.
Cure (let scents mingle and mellow) for 2 to 6 weeks.
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DRYING FRUIT
Following are the two methods I use for drying my fruit, and it comes out perfectly for pot pourri.
Drying Citrus Fruit
Slice fruit about 1/4 inch thick. and cut into small pieces (if desired).
Put two layers of paper towels in a microwaveable dish. Place the fruit on top of the paper towels.
Bake the fruit in a microwave oven on high for about 6-10 minutes, until the it turns very bright yellow. When you remove the orange fruit, it will be sticky and spongy to the touch, and the paper towels will be saturated.
Place the fruit pieces in a preheated oven on the lowest possible temperature, and bake about 45 minutes. If it's not throughly dried, return to the oven, and check until dried completely.
Drying Apples (and other fruit)
Slice fruit about 1/4 inch thick, and cut into small pieces (if desired).
Place the fruit pieces on a cookie sheet in a preheated oven on the lowest temperature, and bake for approxiamately one hour, if not completely dried, return to the oven, and periodically check until completely dried.
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DRYING FLOWERS
You need:
Box with tight fitting lid
Borax
White Cornmeal
Salt
Mix equal parts Borax and White Cornmeal, adding 3 T. of salt for each quart of mixture.
Pour 1" of mixture in bottom of box. Put cut flowers on top, gently covering with more of the mixture. (Make sure to sprinkle some between petals of open blooms.)
Once the flowers are covered well, put lid on box and store in a warm dry place.
It takes approximately 2 weeks to dry flowers, depending on the density of the petals.
Once dry, remove from mixture and sweep away excess with clean dry (makeup) brush.
(You can use this mix over and over again)
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TESTING OIL BLENDS
Toothpicks
Example: if you're making a blend with two parts lemongrass & one part cedarwood. Dip 1/2 of two toothpicks into the lemongrass and 1/2 of another one in the cedarwood then hold them all together to smell. You can also keep them together for a few days to see if one scent overpowers any others.
POTPOURRI RECIPES
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