Recently, I sliced and dried red pear and orange slices for simple holiday decorations. Soon after, I realized that the dried fruit would look pretty in a bowl of potpourri, too. It is so simple to make, y’all! Therefore, I decided to share how to make a potpourri mix with y’all.
Making potpourri is fairly easy and a great way to add a seasonal scent into a room. Plus, it is an inexpensive, eco-friendly gift idea for friends and family. Simply, place in sachets or jars and tie with ribbon.
Spritz. Store. Enjoy.
How to Make a Potpourri Mix
Potpourri is a mixture of dried, naturally fragrant plant materials displayed in a decorative bowl or basket. There are many different kinds. Therefore, you can choose from this list of suggested materials what goes into your potpourri. First, choose any greenery, spices, or herbs for natural scent. Then, add color with dried flowers and fruit. Woody materials are absorbent and will hold the scent well. Lastly, extra oils will elevate the scent.
What You Need:
Dried greenery – pine, eucalyptus, bay leaves
Dried fruit – sliced citrus, apples, pears
Dried spices or herbs- cloves, cinnamon sticks, star anise
Dried flowers – rose buds or petals, lavender
Woody filler – pinecones, nutmeg, driftwood, sola wood flowers
Essential oils in spray bottle or oil based room spray
Airtight container or gallon ziplock bag
How to Dry Oranges
You can find more ways to use dried oranges and tips to drying fruit on my friend Susie’s blog. For example, click here to read “How to Dry Oranges” or this blog post for beautiful Natural Gift Wrap Ideas.
1. Preheat oven to 170°F.
2. Cut oranges into 1/8 inch slices.
3. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or a baker’s mat. Then, pat orange slices with a paper towel to dry. Next, lay them on the cookie sheet in a single layer.
4. Bake for approximately 4-6 hours or until dry. To ensure the slices dry evenly and not curl, turn them over every hour. Remove from oven and allow to completely cool before using.
The rose buds are dried from Valentine’s Day years ago.
Essential Oils
You can use a combination of your favorite essential oil scents like citrus or cypress. I purchase essential oils from Doterra, because I know that they are pure and high quality. In addition, I love the Krumpet’s home sprays for the holidays. Find them, here. My favorite scents are the cinnamon, ‘Christmas’ (sweet berry) and shiplap (woodsy).
When working with oils, be aware that some may stain or can be irritable to skin and eyes. Therefore, it is a good idea to wear gloves when handling materials directly covered in oil. However, I wash my hands thoroughly after this project. In addition, I do not spray directly on my wood table or use containers that are used for food.
What You Do:
Gather your materials and spread them out on newspaper or in a flat bowl. Spritz your materials with 15+ sprays of your choice of essential oil.
Wait a few minutes to dry, and store mixture in an airtight container. For example, a lidded jar or ziplock bag works great. Leave this to ‘marinate’ for 48 hours.
Then, pour mixture into a decorative basket or bowl to enjoy for weeks. Once scent begins to dissipate, simply respray.
You can use my code CUTER10 for 10% off everything in the shop, From: Susie.For instance, I display my potpourri in this vintage bread basket that Susie and I found in Round Top, Texas.
If you enjoyed this learning how to make a potpourri mix, save this to your Pinterest board for ‘Things to Make.’ Happy crafting, y’all!
If you are looking to make your own Fall craft, these DIY Acorns are simple to do. The key is to build a few layers of paint in different shades of brown to create a realistic texture. So, if you can apply paint and hot glue, you can create these acorns that look beautiful in a wooden bowl.
How to Make this Fall Craft
What you Need:
This Fall craft is a great way to reuse plastic Easter eggs with just a few craft supplies you probably already own. Reusing old items means less waste and less chance of impulse buys. Therefore, you are saving money, and the planet!
plastic or foam Easter eggs
wooden skewers
styrofoam block or cardboard box
white primer spray paint
3 shades of brown acrylic paint
jute string
scissors
paint brush
hot glue and glue gun
1 inch cut twigs
What you Do:
First, pierce styrofoam or plastic eggs into wooden skewers. Then, push skewers into a styrofoam block or cardboard box to hold in place. These plastic Easter eggs already had a hole on the shorter half.
Spray paint eggs with a white primer in a well ventilated area. This ensures that acrylic paint will adhere better to a painted surface and cover any brightly colored eggs. Then, allow to dry.
Next, paint eggs a warm brown color with acrylic paint. Dry completely.
Then, ‘dry brush’ thin layers of one or two lighter shades of brown paint to create texture onto the eggs. To dry brush, dab an old paintbrush into a small amount of paint, then dab off excess paint onto paper, before applying quick short strokes to the surface of the egg. Dry between each layer of paint. Remove from skewers once dry.
Cut 6-8 feet of jute and coil into a tight circle about the size of a dime. Next, hot glue the jute onto the rounder, shorter half of the egg covering the original hole.
Lastly, clip a few real twigs from a tree branch and hot glue in the center of the jute wrapped egg.
More Fall Craft and Styling Inspiration
This is a simple, yet beautiful Fall craft that I initially shared in my bestie Susie’s magazine,Homemade and home decor blog. She has an online shop featuring handmade, artisan, and vintage finds for the home. Use code CUTER10 for 10% off anything in her shop, From: Susie! Consequently, it’s a great way to support a female owned small business while buying American made products with sustainable materials.
Valentine’s Day DIY Conversation Heart Candy Trees
If you think conversation heart candy is C U T E, but don’t love the taste, this project is perfect for you. These DIY conversation heart candy trees are easy, inexpensive and makes a great centerpiece for a Valentine’s Day tablescape, decoration for a kids party or styled mantle. But if you do love the taste, you can craft and snack!
When is Valentine’s Day?
Valentine’s Day is always celebrated on February 14th, which falls on a Friday this year. With less than a month away, it’s time to decorate for Valentine’s Day. That means all the hearts, all the candy and all the candy hearts!
Supplies Needed
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
White cone shaped styrofoam
Krylon crystal clear acrylic aerosol spray
Large bag of conversation heart candy
How to Make Valentine’s Day DIY Candy Trees
Starting at bottom of the cone, use a hot glue gun to glue candy hearts in a row around the cone. You must use white stryofoam and not green, unless you spray paint pink or white prior to glueing. The foam shows through. (I made that mistake the first time I made these.)
Then, stagger the next row of candy hearts by placing the bottom of the candy heart between the top of two hearts and continue gluing in this manner. (Like photo below)
If y0u come across a large gap in the row, use a knife to cut one candy heart in half to fit accordingly.
Then, glue a cluster of 2-3 pieces of candy on top of the cone.
Lastly, spray the entire candy heart tree with acrylic spray to seal the candy. When using spray sealer, do it outside or in a well ventilated space. Of course, this is a decoration and should not be eaten…
TIP: Once dry, place directly on table or cake stands. These stands are from the Target Dollar Spot for $5!
These DIY conversation heart candy trees are a great addition to a candy heart themed party or tablescape. I used this fun DIY to decorate a kid friendly Valentine’s Day tablescape! You can see more of this table, here!
Other Options:
For a fun kid friendly version, use small styrofoam cones, regular sized candy hearts and school glue.
Paint your candy heart tree! First, spray paint pink. Second, dry brush with white paint. Last, add stickers or decorations. (as pictured below on left)
Create topiaries using foam spheres and wooden dowel rods placed into floral foam and moss covered planters.
Thanks for checking out my Valentine’s Day craft! If you make this craft, I would love to see! Just tag me on instagram at @cutertudor, so I can reshare or email me a picture at amy@cutertudor.com! Lastly, don’t forget to pin this to your Valentine’s Day Pinterest board, or check out my Pinterest board, here. Happy Hearts Day!
For the 5th DIY of the 12 DIYs of Christmas, I am making a Home for the Holidays ornament. This DIY wood ornament will look great on a Christmas tree or personalized to tie on gifts. Plus, these are easy to make using a few power tools, wood, stain and string.
Recently, I received several cordless power tools from HART tools, available at Walmart. I love that the power tools share the same rechargeable battery, so it is easy to work quickly with several power tools and swap the battery, if necessary. If it sounds simple, it is! Lets get to work!
Instructions for the DIY Wood Ornament
Step 1. Use a ruler to draw the outline of a simple house onto a piece of pine. Print a template, if necessary.
Step 2. Cut out the shape of the house onto wood using a reciprocating or jig saw.
With ruler, draw a house on wood.
Cut out house shape with saw.
Step 3. Use the drill to insert a hole through the top of the house for a hanger.
Step 4: Sand and smooth the edges of the wood with the sanding attachment on the HART multitool power tool.
Drill hole in top.
Sand edges of wood.
Step 5. Using the HART rotary tool’s cutting attachment, add details to mimic a home. For example, draw windows, a door and a wreath, as desired. If you prefer, you can use a ruler and pencil to draw prior to cutting.
Draw door, wreath and windows onto wood using the HART rotary tool.
Step 6. Apply your favorite wood stain to both sides of the ornament and allow to dry. When dry, hang ornament with string or jute.
Apply stain with brush or cloth.
The HART tool collection is only available at Walmart. You can visit HART Tools to find out more about the cordless power tools! Tomorrow, I am making ornaments from bead board, so check back for the rest of the 12 DIYs of Christmas. But first, save this to your Pinterest board. Happy DIYing, y’all!
I love snow globes, y’all! There is something magical about looking into a snow filled scene! If you love them too, check out last year’s DIY Snow Globe blog post. I created snow globes with everything from ornaments to lanterns. This year, I am creating snow globes in lamps!
What you need for DIY Snow Globe Lamp:
Fillable glass lamp, hot glue gun, glue sticks
Faux Snow
There are so many different types of faux snow available online like Amazon.com and at craft stores, like Michael’s or Hobby Lobby. For example, there is fluffy ‘buffalo snow,’ styrofoam bead snow, and glitter faux snow. Any of these work!
Figurines
Bottle brush trees are my favorite. However, deer, Santa, and snowmen figurines are cute, too. Group items in three, like two trees and a Santa.
Directions:
First, remove the lamp shade from the base.
After choosing an arrangement for the figurines and trees, hot glue the bottom of the figurines to the inside base of the lamp. Often, the lamp bases are curved upward. so this will secure them in place. If the base is flat, there is no need to glue.
Add any kind of faux snow to cover the bottom of the lamp base.
Lastly, replace the lamp shade. Enjoy your snowy scene during the holidays.
So easy, right??? Before long, you will want to make every glass container into a DIY snow globe.
Be sure to follow along all month as I share the 12 DIYs of Christmas! Plus, more decorating ideas and holiday tours of my home decorated for Christmas on the blog this December.
