Crafts

Air Freshener Gels:

1 (1 ounce) package unflavored gelatin, 1/4 cup water, 3/4 cup hot water, 1 cup charcoal (available in pet
stores near fish), 1/2 cup salt.

Heat the 3/4 cup of water. While you wait, pour the gelatin over the 1/4 cup water in a 2 cup pyrex measuring
cup. wait at least 1 minute for the gelatin to soften a bit (I stir mine to speed the process!). Pour the hot
water over the gelatin and stir until completely dissolved. Add the salt. (to stop mold growth!). After the gel
cools, but is not beginning to set, pour it into whatever containers you plan to use (jelly jars etc). Add
enough activated charcoal so that it is just below the surface of the gel. (If the gel is still hot the charcoal
will cause it to fizz. This is not a problem, the gel will still set.). Let set a few hours. Put them where ever you
want (I put one under the sink to get rid of that garbage smell, and one in my husband's car to help get rid
of the stale smoke smell!).


Air Freshener Spray:

Basic Spray: 1 cup distilled water, 8-10 drops essential oils

Deodorizing Spray: 6 drops bergamot essential oils, 1 drop eucalyptus essential oil, 2 drops lemon essential
oils.


Pet Spray: 6 drops cedarwood essential oil, 3 drops tea tree oil.
Apple Pie Spray: 6 drops cinnamon essential oil, 3 drops clove essential oils.
Basic: Pour the cup of distilled water into the spray bottle.
Add the drops of essential oils and shake very well. Cap the bottle, and allow to sit for a few hours before
using. Shake the bottle before each use to evenly distribute the scented oil throughout the water. Use the
label to describe what sort of air freshener each bottle is. And be sure to use the fine mist setting on your
bottle, so the spray will be distributed nicely in the air. Here are some interesting ideas for wonderful air
freshener sprays, but you can go ahead and create your own favorite blends using scents that you love the
most! To use the following recipe, just add the recommended amounts of essential oil to the spray bottle
with the distilled water, and follow the instructions as above. Please note that essential oils can vary in
potency- for this reason, you can add or reduce the amounts of essential oil recommended in each recipe,
if you find that the essential oil you've bought is either stronger or weaker than expected.


Christmas Simmering Potpourri:

3  cinnamon sticks  3  bay leaves  1/4  cup whole cloves  1  teaspoon ground cloves  2  lemon slices, fresh
or 2 tablespoons dried lemon peel  2  tablespoons orange peel or dried orange peel  1/2  teaspoon ground
nutmeg 1 quart water.

Mix all ingredients in medium saucepan. Simmer on low heat. Add more water as needed.   


Cinnamon Ornaments:

1  cup ground cinnamon 1  tablespoon ground cloves  3/4  cup applesauce 1  teaspoon fragrance oil (apple,
cinnamon,range or your own choice)  2  tablespoons white craft glue.

Mix in a bowl the cinnamon and cloves. Add to this applesauce, oil and the glue. Knead this mixture for a
few minutes til you have a firm but pliable dough. Too wet, add more cinnamon--too dry, add more
applesauce. Roll the dough out on a surface dusted with cinnamon, 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes with
cookie cutters [x-mas tree, hearts, stars, etc]. Make a hole in the top with a wooden or metal skewer, this
must be large enough for ribbon if you want them for hanging. Air dry them for several days on paper
kitchen towel, turning them over several times so they don't warp. Impatient?. A low oven [200°F] for a few
hours will also do the trick, don't forget to turn them over. When dry, decorate with a ribbon. You can also
use shallow plaster, cookie and candy molds, press the dough in the cavity, smooth with a rolling pin, ease
out of the mold and cut away the excess dough. Or roll out the dough, place a piece of decorative lace on
the top, using the rolling pin go over it until it has left an impression of the lace, then cut out using the
cookie cutters. You also get a nice result using cookie stamps.


Cinnamon Scented Pine Cones:

20 pine cones, cinnamon scented oil.

Spread pine cones on foil-covered cookie sheet and cook at 250 degrees for one hour. This will kill any
critters that might be in there. When cool place in a heavy plastic bag and sprinkle well with the Cinnamon
Oil Scent. Seal tightly and let set for about four weeks.


Cranberry Tree:

2 (12 ounce) bags fresh cranberries, toothpicks cut in half. You will also need: small foam cone.

Use only the firmest cranberries. Stick the pointy end of the toothpick halfway into the cranberry and the
other end into the base of the foam. Continue applying the cranberries in a circle until the cone is
completely covered. Attach fresh greenery (or use fake) around the base and you're done! This is pretty set
on a tray. It will last a good week if you spray it with a mister and keep it in a cool place.


Crystal Ornaments:

1-2 pipe cleaners, 1/2-1 cup borax, 1/2-2 cups boiling water.

Choose your pipe cleaner color and form into desired shape (remember you can cut and wire them
together, especially for snowflakes!). Tie a string or thread to the top of the ornament and tie the other end
to the middle of a pencil so that it looks like a letter 'T' -- there won't be much length between the pencil and
the ornament, just enough to hang down from the top of the jar to the borax solution. Fill a wide-mouth
jar/container with boiling water (we typically use large canning jars; the size of your container will depend
on the size of your pipe cleaner creation). Add Borax in increasing amounts until water is cloudy even after
the Borax is dissolved (this is why we use glass jars most of the time, although we have also made the
mixture up in glass jars and poured it into empty margarine containers, etc, if their size worked better) --
this part is a bit science, a bit art and may take some adjusting to get the levels right. Balance the pencil
across the top of the jar and suspend the ornament in the hot Borax mixture, making sure the pipe cleaner
is completely immersed but does not touch the bottom or sides of the container. Put jar in an undisturbed
place; as the solution cools, crystals will form on the pipe cleaner. The longer you soak it, the more crystals
you will have and the less the original pipe cleaner will show through, so adjust time until you achieve your
desired look -- overnight will give you very thick crystals, a few hours will give you just a gentle glittery
look. Remove from solution and let dry. Spray with clear acrylic if desired.


Gel Air Fresheners:

2 cups liquid potpourri, 4 (1/4 ounce) packages Knox gelatin, paste food coloring (optional).
Heat 1 cup of the liquid potpourri almost to a boil (Note: the concentrated type retains its smell more
effectively).

Stir in 1 package of the gelatin at a time, completely mixing after each addition.
When all packets have been stirred in, add the 2nd cup of liquid potpourri.
Pour into decorative containers, cover, and put in the fridge until set.
WARNING: Your fridge will smell like the potpourri, so make sure there are no foods in the fridge that will be
adversely affected. These can be put in small baby food jars that you decorate, or you can put it in new,
small 1/2 pint decorative jelly jars. Put a piece of eyelet lace (or comparable breathable fabric) on the top
and screw down the ring; if giving as a gift, I would put the canning lid on, then the lace and ring. These can
be decorated as you like, and complementary paste food coloring added to intensify the color; for example:
blue for blueberry muffin, red for cinnamon spice.


Gel Potpourri:

1 cup liquid potpourri, 2 (1/4 ounce) envelopes unflavored gelatin.

place liquid potpourri (simmering potpourri) in a small saucepan. heat to a simmer. turn off heat.sprinkle
gelatin into pan. blend thoroughly with a whisk. pour into a regular half pint canning jar. refrigerate for a
quick set or leave at room temperature.it will set in a couple of hours.
store with lid on. to use or give as a gift -- remove flat part of the lid and place a paper or lace doily over the
top.secure with metal band, rubber band or ribbon -- YOU CAN USE GEL ALONE OR LAYER SEASHELLS,
PRETTY PEBBLES, MARBLES ETC IN JAR BEFORE POURING IN GEL.


Lavender Freshener:

3 Tbs. distilled water, 2 drops witch hazel, 2-3 drops lavender oil, 1/2 tsp. honey or glycerine.

Mix everything together. Pour into a clean bottle. Apply using a clean cotton ball. Store covered in the
bottle when not using.


Microwave Pressed Flowers:

fresh flowers, paper towels.

Lay 3-4 layers of paper towels on microwave turntable. Lay flowers on top, and cover with another 3-4 paper
towels. Press flat with an empty, flat bottomed, microwave safe dish. Microwave on med-low for 2-4 minutes,
checking every minute. Err on the side of underdone, since the flowers can burn really fast. Also, the
microwave gets hotter as you work, so if you are doing a lot of flowers, your 6th batch may only take 2
minutes.


Potpourri Gel Jars:

2c. mineral water, 4 envelopes unflavored gelatin, 50 drops essential oils (for fragrance) food coloring as
desired.

Heat 1c. water in medium sized saucepan. Add gelatin, stirring to dissolve. Remove from heat and add
remaining 1c. of liquid as well as food coloring, and stir until dissolved. Put drops of essential oil into jars
then add gelatin mixture. Place in fridge for approx. 2 hours. Remove, cover with plastic wrap or lid if you
have one, store at room temperature. To release the scent simply remove the lid--and when you are
finished make sure you recover the jar so all the scent doesn't evaporate. This recipe makes four gel jars/
approx. 4oz. each. If going to store for an extended amount of time it can start to mold. To prevent this
store in the refrigerator or a cool dark place. Or, simply add 1tsp. regular salt to the above mixture while
cooking.


Scented Rocks:

1/2c. plain flour, 1/2c. salt, 1/4tsp. essential oils (use your favorite), 2/3c. boiliing water, food coloring if
desired.

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add essential oil and boiling water to the dry ingredients. For colored stones,
blend in food coloring one drop at a time, until the desired shade is reached. Seperate the dough into 3
pieces and color each differnt and the last a blend of the colors you picked. Shape dough into stones. Allow
stones to dry. This takes 3 days minimum and you have to keep turning them from time to time in the day
and keep them under a fan if possible to let them dry sooner and better. The longer they dry the stronger
they become.


Smell Gels:

1 (16 ounce) bottle liquid potpourri concentrate, essential oils, 4 envelopes powdered gelatin unflavored.

In pot, bring liquid pot pourri to full boil. Remove from heat, add powdered gelatin and whisk until fully
dissolved. Ladle into votive jars, cover loosely with paper towels, and allow to sit, undisturbed, for at least
8 hours or overnight. Yield for this recipe depends on size of votive jar used, but if using the standard size,
the yield is usually 3 smell gels for every 16 ounces of liquid pot potpourri. An example of the size votive jar
I use to get 3 smell gels would be the scented candles made by Glade; I have actually used those for my jars
after the candle has been used up. After smell gels have fully hardened, set the jars throughout your home;
I keep one on each bedside table, in the bathroom, and on my coffee table/end tables in the living room;
Smell gels provide a wonderful fragrence to your home, without being overpowering, and last for several
weeks.