It taught me how to dry oranges for traditional pomanders, which I keep in a bowl on the mantle with a dried pomegranate, pinecones, cinnamon sticks, acorns, and other fallish sundries:
I made a lovely little grapevine wreath decorated with chili pods, cinnamon sticks, and star anise, after many years and many moves across state borders, it finally gave up the ghost.
I made a spice sampler, but that did not work out so well (fabric issues), so I have to think about how to fix it.
I also made several modern-style pomanders, styrofoam balls covered with cloves:
red peppercorns:
and cardamom pods and star anise:
This year, I added a fourth, using beautiful indigo-colored juniper berries I got years ago (spices may go tasteless after a few months, but their craftiness lasts a lot longer):
Now I have to make a fifth, because as Beadmom says when decorating, "odd is better than even."Do I have time to make it by Thanksgiving?
Oh no! You've exposed me to a whole new world. Spicecraft! The pomanders are stunning and clever. Do they retain their scent? I especially like the juniper one.
ReplyDeleteThe scent diffuses pretty quickly once hung up in a large room, but out of season they live in a tin that allows the scent to build up again. Every year when I open up that tin their lovely spicy fragrance leaps out and puts me in the holiday spirit.
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