As this season’s harvest is being dried I am trying to use up last year’s lavender. Bags, eye masks and headache pads are now in production!
Lavender harvest
Lavender
IKEA fabric pens
I love a trip to IKEA when there is time to browse. This time I found the Loppstarr pen set which helped boost the set of lavender bags I am making.
The tips are designed for colouring rather than outlining but for simple sketches work fine.
Lavender wreath
This year’s lavender harvest has arrived and I have been challenged to do more than the usual lavender bags, so a wreath starts us off…
The base was cut from cardboard packaging and wrapped with donated wool before five handfuls of lavender were placed around the wreath, their stems cropped, lightly hot glued in place and then ‘bound’ with curling ribbon – which also makes a hanger for this lovely room scenter.
Lavender tub tea
Some of the french lavender that my sister harvested has been turned into bath salts thar won’t clog the plug hole. Fill-your-own tea bags were stuffed with a mixture of dried lavender and dead sea bath salts.
I searched for some lavender themed paper for the packaging but this was the closest I had in my huge supply pile. The reverse of this paper is however lavender polka dots so the trimmings were used to make banner ended tags for the bag ties.
Herb harvest, buttered up
Packets of herb butters have been stashed in the freezer
Jars of lavender sugar stacked in the cupboards
Herb butters are a bit messy but quite fulfilling. just mash the leaves of chosen herbs (remove stalks and snip down bigger leaves like sage or chives) into softened butter – I added lemon juice or garlic to my combinations. Wrap pats of herby butter in cling film or empty butter packets then greaseproof paper on which the contents are clearly written before freezing
Wow that lavender sugar was easy; spoonfuls of dried lavender heads (if purchased check it is food grade lavender) blitzed a bit with the stick blender then mixed with caster sugar and blitzed a bit more till you are happy with the consistency – too much and the lavender turns to grey dust in the sugar. Now I can make those trendy lavender meringues
Now to make lavender syrup and try to diminish the lavender mountain a bit more and before the herbs go over totally a few bottles of herb vinegar are possible too
Lavender pomanders, a load of balls!
What to make with a bumper bag of lavender.?
Yes, of course sachets, but small polystyrene balls coated in pva glue then rolled in dried lavender are a start on this year’s lavender haul – thank you sister.
method:
push a skewer of wire through the ball then thread some florists wire through the hole and make a small loop at either end so you can hold the ball when it is sticky then thread ribbon through at the end.
Tip your lavender in a saucer and have a wet wipe to hand.Brush a light coat of glue all over the ball and when it is tacky sprinkle lavender all over, press the lavender in to the glue with your fingers so there is a good contact then let it sit in the saucer until dry(about 15 minutes with Anita’s tacky glue))
i dug out some sequins and pinned them in the spots where the glue failed but it didn’t matter that the covering wasn’t consistent once I tied ribbon through the top loop and then hung them from light fittings.
will go and but more balls and experiment with mod podge and other glues now, great little gifts that look lovely wrapped in cellophane but sorry sister, not postable
janecrafts 