I don't know if I willed it to happen last night before bed, but when I woke up this morning I felt a little Autumn creep in! The air was cool and crisp and the sky was bright blue with wispy clouds floating overhead. Simply lovely. Even though the midday heat will linger for a couple more weeks, I'm definitely in fall mode!
One of my favorite things about fall is the smell that I have come to associate it with- fires, mulled cider, pumpkin spice muffins, and leaves, somehow all magically blended together to make a distinctly "fall" smell. So comforting.
Today, being in a fall mood and all, I decided to make a few orange and clove pomanders.
You'll Need:
Oranges
Whole Cloves
Ribbon
Hot Glue
Common Pins (depending on how you want it to look)
There are so many different ways to make these, so feel free to deviate from what is shown!
1. Ribbon
Here, I wrapped my orange vertically with a wide, brown grosgrain and then layered a thinner gold scalloped ribbon over it. I secured it with hot glue in several places.
I slipped a skinny, brown satin ribbon underneath the first two ribbons...
and tied a knot at the top.
I trimmed the ribbon tails right to the knot and then hid the knot underneath the original two ribbons, leaving behind a loop.
I tied about 8" of the same ribbon at the base of the loop...
and tied a bow.
2. Cloves
Poke the cloves into the orange. You can do this randomly or create a design. For intricate patterns and designs, you may want to pre-mark your holes to get a good visual. For this one I did simple vertical stripes.
If your design looks "off," no big deal, just pull out the cloves and place them where they should go.
When doing more intricate designs, pre-mark your holes to make sure the design will flow right, then poke in the cloves.
These can be hung in a doorway like mistletoe, used as a centerpiece or a place holder, given as gifts, etc. They smell amazing. The cloves are so dry that they draw out the orange's juice, like a reed diffuser. When the orange juice and clove mix they fill your house with the most amazing smell. It's a fall lover's heaven!
I'm suddenly in the mood for a fall feast, mulled cider and merriment by the fire!
Happy {almost} fall everyone!