Last Minute Aromatic Gift

As we enter the final week before Christmas many of us have many last minute things to do. This week I thought that I'd share a recipe for making a fun last minute Christmas Gift. The recipe comes from an ebook I have been working on "Aromatic Gifts for All Seasons". The plan was to have it ready well before Christmas but this isn't going to happen, too many things to do and too little time sometimes, but perhaps it will be ready before Valentine's Day. Anyway its full of lots of fun, inexpensive, aromatic gifts that work at all seasons and many of the ideas are easily customizable to suit the season.

Scented Stones or Ornaments
These can be made at any time of the year, but cutting them out with Christmas cookie shapes and using Christmas type blends makes them very appropriate for the season.

Materials:

½ cup plain flour
¼ cup salt
¼ teaspoon alum powder (a spice)
1 tablespoon essential oil/essential oil blend
2/3 cup boiling water
Food coloring if desired.
Cookie cutters

Method:

1. Mix all dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
2. Add essential oil and boiling water to dry ingredients. The aroma will be strong because of the heat but will fade slightly when the stones are dry.
3. For colored stones add food coloring, one drop at a time, until the desired shade is reached.
4. Blend ingredients to form a ball.
5. Working with a small amount at a time, roll dough between the palms of your hands to form a small ball. Alternatively roll out the dough and cut into interesting patterns with cookie cutters.
6. Allow stones to dry. They will hold their scent for up to 8 months.
7. Optional: If you want to hang these up as decorations make a little hole at the top before leaving them to dry.

Use:

1. When dry place the stones into a little terra cotta pot and wrap with tulle and tie a bow on top.
2. Line the bottom of a clay pot with raffia and put the stones over it to resemble a birds nest.
3. Place the stones in a net bag tied with ribbon. Can be used to scent cupboards and drawers.
4. Use as an air freshener for the bathroom, closet, bedroom etc.
5. Hang them up on a Christmas Tree or Christmas Garland.

Packaging and presentation really make a gift. Use your imagination. Create a theme based on the time of the year, your essential oil blend, your favorite colors etc. Tulle, cellophane bags, cellophane wrap, gauze bags, ribbons, feathers, flowers fresh, dried or artificial, herb springs can all be used to customize your packaging to suit the occasion and your taste.

I mention quite a few blends in my post last month on Aromatic Christmas Cards. Any one of these would work really well with the scented stones or you could use your own favorite blend.