For the first time in 9 years I will be going home for the holidays. Thanks to the upsurge in the price of BTC I was able to purchase my tickets but, there isn't much left over for buying gifts. That is alright, I don't call myself Calendula Craft just for fun. Time for some herb-related crafting!
Filling little bags with nice smelling herbs is one of my signature gifts. They are thoughtful, handmade, beautiful, and a great way to use up aging herbs that may have lost a bit of their medicinal properties. These roses are from last year's harvest that have been carefully stored in jars in my herbal apothecary all year.
And now that I have a couple of jars of fresh petals and blossoms I wanted to use these roses in some gift bags that I am creating for the women (and rose lovers) in my family.
Over the past couple of months I have shared quite a bit about roses and their uses in herbal medicine. With this craft I am focusing on the aromatic properties of this flower. Roses have a calming and comforting scent, very often reminiscent of the past, hugs from a kindly grandmother or walks through a charming cottage garden. I want to create one such feeling that can be carried around in a bag or tucked into a suitcase, bringing such comfort where ever it goes.
As I mentioned previously, these roses are over a year old. They still smell nice but their scent has faded quite a bit when compared to the newly harvested roses. It isn't necessary but, I chose to add three drops of Rose Absolute, which is rose essential oil combined with jojoba oil, to each bag to intensify the lovely rose smell.
After exhausting my supply of rose blossoms I had about a dozen little bags. I decided to store them in the cleaned glass container that had housed the roses previously. I have found that storing roses or potpourri in a sealed jar actually helps the scent intensify.
In the days before my upcoming trip I will transfer these bags into a plastic bag and pack them in my bag along with any other gifts I make, zines I bind, and my own necessities for travel.
Happy Crafting!