Scented Paper, a Valentine's Day Project

I was looking for a fun craft to do for Valentine’s Day this year and came up with scented paper. You can make your own paper to do this craft or purchase paper. Although it is fairly easy to make your own paper and I have done it many times with my kids and with their Cub Scout dens, for this project I bought a sheet of paper I liked from a craft store as well as used some parchment paper I had on hand.

I cut the paper into smaller pieces (note card size). Some of the sheets I decorated with ground herbs just as you would with glitter; I applied the glue to the paper in the design I wanted and sprinkled the ground herb on top of that. The herbs I used were ground linden leaf, ground vanilla, ground rose petals and ground rose hips all of which I had on hand.

Now for the actual scenting I decided on lavender, rose geranium and petitgrain essential oils. Three drops of each went on a cotton ball which I put in a ziplock plastic bag along with the paper. These will set until Valentine’s Day.

Petitgrain is not an essential oil that I have much experience with but I thought I’d try it. It is made from leaves of the orange tree rather than the fruit or blossoms. I find it pulls scents together and help them blend. It has calming properties which can sharpen thought and bring about a sense of well being. Lavender and rose geranium essential oils are standbys for me. Lavender is calming and used to reduce anxiety as well as to relieve headache. Rose geranium is for emotional balance and depression. I think together these oils will delight both the person writing a note on this paper and the person reading the Valentine’s love note.