Happy Thanksgiving, and a little gift!

A couple of years ago I noticed some Rosehip bushes on Schubert Drive next to the Thompson River. So I went back, filled up a bunch of bags, took them home and dried them slowly in my oven. They dried really nicely and looked great!

I used them for the bottoms of decorative glass bowls, as a backdrop to my home sewn vintage snowmen in a sled (show you those in another post), and as a potpourri with some Mulled Cider Fragrance added.They just looked pretty in everything and smelled awesome!

I stored them in a ziploc bag after Christmas, and as luck would have it, they've kept well! :)

Then the other day while in Sidney on Vancouver Island, I found a container of these little dried pumpkins which I mentioned to you a couple of posts ago. Here they are again in case you didn't see them. They're so cute!!

I immediately thought they'd be great in a potpourri! I remembered that I had the rosehips I dried....but I forgot about these.....

My husband and I gathered these acorns from under a bunch of Oak trees while waiting for a small Ferry in the Kootenays on our way to Ainsworth Hot Springs last year. They were all intact when we gathered them, but as they dried, the tops came off...but that's okay!

When I found the rosehips, there was a bag of these beside them. What luck!!

I also had lots of cinnamon sticks leftover from other crafts, so I grabbed a bunch of those, stuck them in a bag and crunched them with my rolling pin. They still smelled great!

I wanted to throw in some whole cloves, so I made a trip to my friendly neighborhood Dollar Store and picked up a large container of them for a buck (They were over $8 in the grocery store)! These were perfect for crafts....and yes, they smelled good!!

While mulling over whether I should add fragrance or not, I considered some sweet orange essential oil, and then thought...why not dry some orange peels? So I did!

It added some more orange, brown and light beige, and a nice scent!

Here's the end result:

Lovely, no? Okay, so I'm presentationally challenged...the leaves don't add much, do they? Oh well. Here then...;)

 If I had basil leaves, I would have added them. It smelled so good at this point, that I wasn't sure I wanted to add any fragrance. In fact, I didn't.

Now, I don't believe I say it often enough, but I so much appreciate those of you who follow this little unassuming blog with its ups and downs, and how I love to read your comments! So, for a thank you I want to give you this recipe to make for yourself.

Here's my recipe:

1 - 1 1/2 C. Dried Rosehips 

Large handful of Acorns or Pine Cones

Large handful of Dried Pumpkins

2 or 3 Tbsp of Whole Cloves

6 or 8 Cinnamon Sticks, crushed

Dried peel of 1 sweet orange.

A few Basil Leaves or other dried greenery (optional)

Fragrance Oil....probably a few drops (5-10) (optional)

Mix this in well and let dry for a night.

Place in a nice bowl and enjoy!

If you want to dry your own rosehips, put them on an old cookie sheet and into the oven as low as it will go. Check it every half hour or so. I can't remember how long it took anymore, but an hour or two should do it.

The orange peels I dried at 250F for about an hour. You can see in the photo that I cut them up fairly small...maybe 1/2" to 3/4". Once they're dry, you can break them apart further if you want.

Well that's it for this weekend!

We take so much for granted, and yet, every breath, every smile, every hug. etc., is a gift!! There's so much to be thankful for. Make sure you tell your loved ones how much you care about them this weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

and thanks for visiting! 

=D

Carmen