Lavender Bottles

Spring has sprung, and it makes me happy. Some days are warmer than others, sometimes it rains. But I'm very glad winter is over, and I will take all unexpected weather I get. As long as it's warm.

A wonderful part of warmer weather is flowers. And when things start to bloom, so do ideas.
I love to press flowers for future use (use a phone book) or make sachets. Which is what this post is about.

Today's project is:

Lavender Bottles

What you need:
fresh lavender stalks
ribbon
string

First gather some lavender, cutting the stalks at least a foot long.
If you have to do this when it is fresh, because you bend it. And if the lavender is dried out or old, it will crack and break instead of bend.

Take about twenty stalks and tie a string around the whole bouquet, under the blossoms.
Then, one by one, bend the stems backwards downward. You will be encasing the blossoms in a 'bottle'.
This is an old fashioned craft.

Tie a ribbon around the stems about half way down. And use as a room air freshener (wave it around and it is a natural way to scent the air).
Or put it in a glass tray or place a few in a vase to keep the air smelling like wonderful lavender.

Now I have discovered as it dries out, the blossoms tend to fall out. So if I do this again, I will wrap the blossoms in netting BEFORE encasing them in their own stems.

Tip of the day:
This has nothing to do with lavender, except this tip smells good too, in a different way...BACON.
I find that a pack of bacon is too much for my hubby and I at one sitting. So when I buy bacon at the store, (especially when they are on sale then I buy several packages), I cut the whole package in half. Put each one in a ziploc bag and throw in the freezer. So when I need some yummy bacon, I take the half pack out, defrost in the micro, and fry up in the pan. It turns out to be just the right amount, with maybe a few left over for future use (bacon bits on salad, or BLT's).

That's all for this week...
:D