The Dirt: lavender

Last week, I posted about a ceramic box that I freshened with a faux ceramic paint makeover. I used lavender from my garden in the photos {above}. I’ve used lavender several times as a prop or as décor but I don’t think I’ve ever made anything with lavender.



I researched lavender projects and couldn’t believe the amazing things you can do with this herb. Lavender water, soap, potpourri, sachets -  not to mention using it as an edible herb in a variety of recipes.

I decided to make some lavender bath salts and potpourri. But first I had to cut and dry my lavender.

Photo Source

I cut bunches of lavender, bundled them up and hung outside to dry. Nope, this isn’t my backyard. I took pictures of my lavender drying but the photo above from the website Everything Lavender is so much prettier.




These bath salts are extremely easy to make and would make a great gift {Mother’s Day is just around the corner…}. Here’s what you need

• Salts – you can purchase fancy bath salts or just use Epsom Salts like I did
• Lavender Essential Oil {I left this out because I’m really sensitive to perfumes and fragrance}
• Dried Lavender buds

Once your lavender is dry, remove just the buds for this project. Mix your salt, a few drops of essential oil and the lavender buds in a small bowl.



Place your lavender salts in a pretty jar and seal. I picked out this pretty jar from my jar stash and then couldn’t find the lid. To seal my jar, I rolled corrugated cardboard into a coil and used it like a cork stopper. A ribbon and tag finish off the look.

With the remaining dried lavender, I made some Lavender Rose Potpourri.

I dried the rose petals in the oven on a cookie sheet. I used the lowest setting on my oven which is 170 degrees and the petals were dry within a half hour.



I mixed the remaining lavender buds, the dried rose petals and some whole lavender flowers to create this potpourri. Use whatever you have on hand, dried leaves, bark, cinnamon sticks etc. You can also add the essential oil to the potpourri for more fragrance.

Thanks for visiting.

Carolyn

I link at the wonderful parties listed here and