Winter Indoor Fun

As winter drags on here in Colorado it can make one a little anxious. Here are some things to help pass the time and entertain! Have you ever had a 'blooming tea'? This is a centuries old form of art from China. Put this small bundle of hand tied tea leaves into a clear glass teapot. After you pour hot water over the tea it begins to unfurl to reveal a secret flower hidden inside. The flowers inside vary from jasmine, chrysanthemum, globe amaranth flower, osmanthus, and others. These are wonderfully entertaining to watch and beautiful, inexpensive entertainment for yourself and children. And of course you are aware of the many health benefits of green tea both internally and topically. Do a google search for blooming teas and you'll be surprised how many sites there are and they are not expensive.

Also, although I have not read the original research on this; here is a link to a news article that says green tea can inhibit the H1N1 virus! Drink up.
http://www.worldteanews.com/index.php/20091229841/Health-/-Wellness/Ito-En-Study-Green-Tea-Inhibits-Swine-Flu.html

Nuts are a great wintertime treat and often given as gifts during the Holiday season. I love trying to crack the walnuts open while trying to keep the halves perfectly in tact. There are many crafts you can do with walnut shell halves. If you put a cotton ball in there you have a small fairy bed. You can cut tiny paper ears and glue a yarn tail on to make a tiny mouse. But my favorite is to make candle boats to float in a bowl. Just use birthday candles, drip a little wax from them in the bottom of the walnut half to stabilize them and carefully set in the water. In this picture I have also floated some rose petals. Have each person in the household make a boat and see which one lasts the longest if you are competitive. But do enjoy the candlelight given off from your boats. And eat those walnuts, they contain omega 3 fatty acids that are good for your skin, heart and your brain!

Do you have fun activities you like to do in your house to while the cold winter away?

Herbal Aesthetics - Tree Ornament

Herbs are full of aesthetic properties that include color, texture and fragrance. It is a joy to find different ways to use them. If you love using herbs you are in luck because Cory Trusty at Aquarian Bath is hosting a blog party this month based on Herbal Aesthetics. So after you spend some time here, go over there to see the other blogs participating in this topic.

I don't consider myself a 'crafty' person so crafts that I do have to be simple, so that is what you will find here. Two of my favorite herbs are rose and lavender. They have amazing fragrances as well as textures. Lavender flowers are tiny flowers that range in color from gray to dark blue. Roses start as small buds and then blossom into large petaled flowers with colors that include yellow, pink, and red. All summer long I dry as many roses and lavender stems as I can. With roses I dry both the whole flowers and the small buds. I look forward to spending time with these herbs in the winter after the growing season ends.

A small bowl of dried lavender and rose buds looks beautiful in a bathroom. A drop or two of essential oil can add to the pleasure. Because both of these herbs are also good skin care herbs I use crumbled rose petals and lavender buds in a number of skin care products such as bath salts and scrubs. I also distill both of them for their aromatic waters or hydrosols.

But the aesthetic project I will show you here is how to use them as a Christmas tree decoration. I purchase the very inexpensive, clear, empty, hard plastic ornaments and simply fill them with either lavender or rose petals or buds. It is an inexpensive yet beautiful way to use herbs and is a great winter reminder of the beauty of the garden. These last quite a few years and every year you can liven them up with a drop or two of essential oil dropped in the ornament. You can either hang these on your tree or simply put them in a bowl to view. Herbs that work well for this should be ones that retain their color and scent well and do not fall apart. Rosemary might be another herb that works well for this, although I've never tried it.

Here are some older posts you might enjoy that deal with crafts and aesthetics:
http://sagescript.blogspot.com/2009/01/scented-paper-valentines-day-project.html
http://sagescript.blogspot.com/2008/08/wedding-herbs.html
http://sagescript.blogspot.com/2008/05/mothers-day-tussie-mussie.html
I'd love to hear some of your ideas for using herbs aesthetically, please post them in the comments.

Crafts and Christmas Presents

Crafts make wonderful presents and show a person that they are worth your time and energy. If you garden there are many gift ideas that come from the garden if you plan ahead. Here are some ideas:

Pressed Flowers - if during the summer you had the foresight to press flowers in a phone book you can now decorate candles or votives with them. Use Modge-Podge to do it as it is very forgiving with using excess. You can also buy small paper boxes at the craft store to decorate and put a treasure inside.

Sachets - you can buy organza sachets inexpensively at craft stores. Use them to fill with dried lavender buds, homemade potpourri or vanilla beans. In fact, anything in an organza bag is beautiful.

Bath Salts - basic bath salts make a very easy and nice gift. To one cup of salt (sea salt, epsom salt or table salt) add 2 tablespoons of baking powder. Now add about 10-20 drops of essential oil to 1 tablespoon of glycerine and mix that into the salt. Put it in a nice jar. This can be used by placing 1-2 tablespoons into the bath or it can be rubbed on the hands to clean them when they are very dirty. Good essential oils to use would be lavender, sweet orange, or peppermint.

If you don't make your own gifts this year, consider buying them from Colorado Aromatics.

Roses Roses

Roses are blooming and nothing could be prettier. I have several large rose bushes shown here on my property line. I have no idea what they are but they are slightly aromatic with beautiful buds on them. I also have several somewhat aromatic roses in front of my house. Their color is a beautiful pinkish red. I am cutting flowers and buds from both of these roses to dry for later use. Because I am interested in distilling roses I just bought several roses that I am told are very aromatic. One is the Kasinlik rose that is grown in Bulgaria for oil. Another is a David Austin Golden Celebration. This one and a Mr. Lincoln I planted right off of my deck so that I can enjoy the aroma with my morning coffee or evening dinner. A fourth one I bought unfortunately the clerk at the nusery pulled out the tag so I don't remember what it is. I resisted the pressure at the nursery to buy their super duper organic fertilizer. I'll fertilize these roses with manure from my chickens instead. Using what we have on the farm is important to me.

With these four highly aromatic roses I am hoping for enough blossoms for distilling next summer. Until then I will be collecting petals and buds for crafts. Last year I strung small rose buds on a string that I draped over a table lamp so the heat from the light released the aroma of the roses. This year I will dry petals for potpouri. Dried rose petals add a nice flavor to black tea. You can also make a strong tea from the petals to use to wipe the face clean at night. Rose can be very hydrating for the skin. Two things I've not done with roses is make wreaths or rose beads. These are crafts I might try during the winter months when I am longing for the aroma of roses. Until then I will enjoy cutting and drying fresh roses!