Pomanders made with oranges and cloves are among my favourite festive decorations. They fill any room with one of the perfect scents of Yuletide. I've often had a go at making them in the past, usually shortly before Christmas, but found they were too heavy to hang from a tree and went mouldy long before Twelfth Night. I recently learnt that what I was doing wrong was hanging them up fresh.
This year I've had a go at making one that will hopefully last much longer. The trick, or so I've been told, is to make them a few weeks before the winter solstice, but then to dry them out. That way they are preserved and also much lighter. Here's the process I followed:
- Get a fresh orange and plenty of dried cloves
- Wash the orange and dry it thoroughly
- Stick the cloves into the orange in any pattern you like
- Put that into a paper bag or brown envelope and tie up the top tightly
- Leave the bag or envelope in a dry place for a few weeks to dehydrate
Mine is currrently hanging from my clothes drying rack. I'm really hoping this will work, but I'll have to wait to find out!
There are more ideas for seasonal crafts in my book Rounding the Wheel of the Year, published by Moon Books.
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/12/craft-angel-or-fairy-yule-tree-hanging.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2016/12/winter-solstice-tree-topper-sun-star.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/11/rounding-year-when-do-you-start.html
No comments:
Post a Comment