Making a Cinnamon and Orange Potpourri Bag

Benetta
Silver Post Medal for All Time! 408 Posts

September 15, 2011

An easy gift that you and your child can make together. A perfect gift for a teacher or a sports coach. Green mesh potpourri bag filled with potourri, heart cork attached

Approximate Time: 20 minutes

Supplies:

3-4 dried orange slices.*
5 dried cinnamon flowers
1 cinnamon stick
a 5" x 3" piece of tan colored cork sheet
small dried pieces of tree bark
pale gold spray paint
heart-shaped cookie cutter
pair of standard scissors
pencil
Artline 210 fine-liner pen
standard paper punch
strong bonding glue
green organza draw string gift bag
leftover piece of orange organza ribbon
a few sheets of old newspaper to protect the working area
optional: a few drops of essential orange oil

Instructions:

small metal heart cookie cutter placed on top of cork

square piece of cork with heart traced on it

Place the heart-shaped cookie cutter on the cork sheet and trace around the edges of the cookie cutter. Repeat this, so that you would have traced two hearts onto the cork sheet.

Cut out the two hearts from the cork sheet.
Glue the two hearts together with the strong bonding glue and allow to dry thoroughly.
Using the Artline pen, write the words "Thank You" on one side of the hearts that have been glued together.

cork cut into the shape of a heart with the wrods Thank you! written diagonally across the center in black and small black dots outlining the edges of the heart

With the Artline pen, draw a border pattern around the heart. Make small dots, ensuring that the dots are equally distanced from each other.
Spray the pieces of tree bark on one side with the pale gold spray paint and allow to dry thoroughly.
Optional: Add a few drops of essential orange oil to the unpainted sides of the pieces of tree bark, and allow to dry.

Dried oranges, cinnamon sticks, star anise, dried cinnamon flowers

Green mesh bag filled with dried potpourri

Green mesh potpourri bag filled with potourri, heart cork attached

Assemble the bag: Put the orange slices, cinnamon flowers, cinnamon stick, and pieces of tree bark into the bag.

Punch a hole through one side of the heart.
Thread the heart through the drawstring of the bag and make a knot with the drawstring.

potpourri bag with orange ribbon attached

Finish it off by tying the orange ribbon around the top of the bag.

* You can either buy orange slices that have already been dried, or you can dry your own. If you choose to dry your own, dry them in an oven. Place them on a baking tray that has been lined with aluminum foil. Bake them for approximately 4 hours at 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit). Check the slices every 30 minutes and turn them over carefully.

By Benetta from Pretoria, Gauteng, SA