Does your house (room, car, etc.) smell as bad as my dorm room does? Do you need a neat gift to give a friend? Does this friend’s house (room, car, etc.) smell absolutely awful, and you’re having a tough time breaking it to them easily? Well, folks, now you don’t have to tell them at all! This simple, classy craft will solve all your area-based odor issues with ease!
We will need the following essential items to turn your problems into potpourri:
- Pinecones (theft = permitted)
- Seasonings:
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Vanilla Extract
- Optional: Bits of Lavender
- Optional: Special Potpourri Oils (often pricey)
- Optional: Tiny Silk, Fake Flowers (no real flowers please, they do not typically last unless properly preserved)
- Optional: Dried Rose Hips
- Optional: Cinnamon Sticks
- Optional: Glitter/Sparkles (highly recommended)
- Optional: Other Fancy, Decorative Things (it’s up to you)
Step 1: The Item Selection
You’re in luck, my friend! The vast majority of the items you will need for your potpourri can be found on a brisk walk outdoors, which I highly recommend. Be sure to pick dry, firm pinecones. Avoid wet, soggy pinecones, seeing as they are often the moldy ones that will ruin your whole batch. I would also choose smaller pinecones, seeing as larger ones do not make for very attractive potpourri. Yes, darlings, technically you will be “stealing” your pinecones and outdoorsy supplies! Please, bask in the rebelliousness of your potpourri supplies hunt, but remember woodland creatures (i.e. squirrels) may fight back for what is “theirs.”
(Note: Shown next to iPhone and scotch tape for size comparison.)
Step 2: The Cleaning of the Cones
There are two methods to this madness! Option number one (and the easier option for those of us trapped in a dorm room) is a thorough soaking. You want to fill a bucket (or something along those lines) with a generous helping of soap and then warm water. Mix it all up really well and chuck in your pinecones! Unfortunately, I don’t have a bucket, so I used a mason jar and washed my pinecones in small batches. Let them soak for 20 minutes. Rinse them out! Scrub them off a bit as they drain. Now, if they’re still sticky with sap, repeat the process (as many times as you need)! And finally, set them somewhere safe (on top of something like a plastic bag or garbage bag) to dry out. This will take a pretty long time because the pinecones absorb liquid.
(A Tidbit of a Tip: Set them somewhere sunny to dry! Also, don’t let pets or small children near the pinecones because that makes for a very bad combination.)
Method number two is the baking method (in an actual oven or a toaster oven). Line a tray (size will be based on what you are baking your cones in) with tinfoil and place your pinecones spaced out on the tray. Heat your oven to 200 degrees and bake them for about 20 minutes. Definitely stay in the kitchen when baking the cones. They may need a little more or a little less time depending on various factors. I personally prefer the baking method because it turns the sap on the pinecones into a hard glaze. This glorious glaze will make your pinecones look extremely professional and classy!
(A Tidbit of a Tip: Please don’t rinse your pinecones before you bake them! Just dust them off a bit. If you rinse them, then will be too soggy to bake properly and form the glaze.)
Step 3: The Mixture
First, dab a bit of glue on each of the pinecones. You can put it on the tips or around the base of the pinecone, however you would like! Just don’t drown the pinecones in glue, just a little, light coat so that the spice mixture sticks). Place your pinecones in a bag (plastic, paper, etc.). Then in a separate bag combine, 2 tablespoons of cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of nutmeg, and little dried lavender buds (if your feelin’ it, which is not always the case). The serving size of the spices above will be enough for about 4 to 6 pinecones, depending on the size. Use your discretion! Dump all the spices in with the pinecones and shake well. After shaken, drizzle a little bit of vanilla extract (about 1/2 a tablespoon for every 4 pinecones) on top to take the edge off of all the spices. Now shake again! After removing your pinecones from the bag, dust them off a little bit, especially if the spices all end up concentrating on one location of the pinecones (if so, improper glue distribution on your part). Sparkle a bit of snazzy glitter on top, and voila!
(A Tidbit of a Tip: I also added dried rose hips (Google it, and make sure you do not touch what is on the inside of them! Three words: itching powder ingredient.) and some short sticks of cinnamon to my potpourri, which has added some gorgeous variance and color to my mixture. I highly recommend adding something to the pinecones, whether it be twigs from an evergreen tree or some other neat thing your find on your outdoor adventure.)
Step 4: The Classy Container
You can pretty these up however you please! Some like ribbons, some just like normal bowls. Personally, I usually go for a regular old mason jar without the top! If I’m feeling particularly festive, I’ll put a seasonal/holiday based bow around the top. You can also stylistically place your potpourri in the container it’s in (for example, see below image). The possibilities are endless!
Step 5: The Aroma of a Job Well Done
Friends will admire both the scent and your skills! Look at you, all classy and crafty! More importantly, you will never have to worry about dealing with anyone else’s area-based stench ever again. Enough said!
End Note: If your potpourri’s smell starts to fade, mix it! This gets the spices recharged and ready to go. Also, this has been, by far, the messiest craftastrophe yet, so consider yourself warned! Brace yourself (and have moist towlettes at the ready)!
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I absolutely love this! I’m all about getting in the spirit especially when seasons are changing and I love the whole pine cone good smelling thing. My grandmother always has them and I never knew I could make them. Now that you’ve showed how to do so I will most likely be making these with good old grandma instead of buying them. Hopefully mine come out as nice as yours did because they look very professional almost, maybe I’ll post what mine look like when I’m done them!
Definitely! I would love to see how it turns out!
I love this. In my house we always had candles burning, so I’ve come to associate crisp, autumn-inspired scents with home. It killed me when I found out that I couldn’t even have candles sitting in my dorm room but this is a perfect alternative that I’m sure smells even more naturally delicious and is completely safe for tight dorm rooms. I’ll definitely be making some of this for my room!
You have the best at home crafts! This one is great, and very seasonally appropriate. I don’t think I would do it (I’m very lazy and lack patience), but I’m definitely forwarding this to my sister who loves crafts and such. My only suggestion is that you space out your explanations a little more; break them up into smaller paragraphs and have a line space in-between them. It will make it a little easier to read. I loved the post though!
Fixed it (html issue)! Thanks for letting me know!