Pomander oranges - 50 makes of Christmas 36/50

I have been really looking forward to doing this little make ever since I drew up my long list back in the summer. The smell of these is just lovely, I wish I could send it out to you as part of this post, if you are not already in the Christmas mood then this is just the thing to help you on the way. You may think I have gone a bit early with this but my research shows that these should be done early in order for the orange to dry out.

To make this you only need two things Oranges and cloves and the only equipment you need is a skewer or other sharp implement to make a hole with.

Make holes in any pattern or design that you like and push a clove stud into each one. To help me keep my design I put tape around around the middle of the orange in both directions and filled in the gaps with the cloves, this was then removed and I may run a ribbon around.  For the spiral I just free handed it.

In an ideal situation these should be popped into the airing cupboard to dry but as we have a combi boiler I am leaving them in the hallway near the radiator so that I can enjoy the smell everytime I come home.


 I have kept my designs pretty simple but there are some fabulous intricate designs on Pinterest.




I do like the idea of cutting a design into the skin but I don't have a tool to do this and you know I am all about using up what I already have in and I have had the cloves in the cupboard since last year.

I held a few cloves back to use in some of my Christmas cocktails, I will share more on these soon.

Make 36 completed and only 14 makes left in the challenge of 50 makes for Christmas.

Ar

Which smells do you associate most with Christmas?

Dried Orange Slices - 50 makes for Christmas 22/50

I had a go at drying orange slices a couple of years ago with mixed results, batch one I thought was a little over done as the slices looked a little darker than I expected and the second batch I under baked so when I took them out of storage to put on the tree they had gone mouldy, yuck! So this year it is time to give it another go.

I consulted Pinterest and of course there is a myriad of advice to follow, here are a few

this one from Mum in the mad house

this one from design Megillah

this one from the spotted Hare

and this one from thinly spread

The advice seems to vary so I will add my own experience into the mix.


I was aiming for a slice of about 1 cm but unfortunately what I did was a bit inconsistent, room for improvement on another batch.  I blotted them on kitchen paper to help take some of the moisture out before putting them on cooling racks on top of baking trays.

 I baked them at less than gas mark 1 ( approx 225f or 110c) for just under 3 hours some of them have gone a little bit over, so try and keep a closer eye on things towards the end.

It was cold enough for me to light a fire in the log burner last night so I popped them on the top when I went to bed so they could get the benefit of the last of of the warmth, I will leave them out around the house for a few more days so they can continue to dry out, I am probably being overly cautious in doing this but am still scarred by the previous mouldy batch!

I have a number of uses in mind for them, although not all my come to fruition

• Hung on the tree as they are

• Add to the pine cone firelighters

• On a wreath

• On gifts wrapped in brown paper

• In my table centre piece

At the end of Christmas when everything gets tidied away I will pop them on the fire to make the house smell lovely.

Make 22 done with 28 remaining in my 50 makes for Christmas challenge.

Has it been cold enough for you to put your heating on or light a fire? we seem to be having OK days but chilly nights.