How To Make Lavender Wands
Making Lavender Wands
Making lavender wands is a fun and easy project. Since the scent of lavender is relaxing, this is a great project to do when you want to de-stress after a hard day. It also does wonders for a headache!
The finished wand can be used for scenting your clothing drawers, closets, and linen cabinets. Hang one in front of an open window for a natural home air freshener. They also make delightful gifts. The wonderful, old fashioned scent of lavender is something nearly everyone loves. I make up as many as I can in summer and give them out year round as special little “I’m thinking of you” gifts. They're always well received!
To get started you will need the following supplies:
· Several stalks of fresh lavender stems. An odd number is best (I use 9)
· About 1 - 2 yards (depending on how much extra length you want) of 1/8” or 1/4” ribbon
· Scissors
· Glue (optional)
Step 1: Preparing the stems
Your stems should be long enough to work with – at least twice the length of the flowering tops. They also need to be fresh and pliable so they won’t break when you bend them. You can let them wilt a little to make them even more pliable. Just don’t let them dry out.
Remove any extra leaves and small buds that form below the main flower head with your scissors. You can save these extras for use in a sachet or sleep pillow.
Step 2: Tie the ribbon
Bunch up your stems and tie the ribbon at the base of the flower heads. Tie it so there is one short end and one very long streamer. This streamer is what you will weave the wand with.
Step 3: Bend those stems
Hold your bunched & tied stems with the flowers pointing downward. Carefully bend the stems down, enclosing the flower tops inside. This will create a “cage” for the flowers that holds them in when they dry.
Step 4: Start weaving
Taking the long
streamer in hand, start weaving it through the stems, over one, under the next,
over the next, and so on. Hug each row of ribbon close to the previous row
keeping it pulled taut and the flowers tucked inside the cage of stems. If you
are making fatter wands you can go over two stems, under two stems, etc.
Keep weaving until all the flower heads are covered with ribbon. After they are covered, make a few wraps of the ribbon around the outside of the stems to hold them securely. Tie. Trim the bottom of stems to a uniform length. Hang to dry in a cool, dark place for a week or so. Once dried, the ribbon will loosen up a bit. Tighten it by working it from the top down until it’s snug again. If desired, glue the ribbon to secure in place using either a glue gun or a drop of liquid craft glue.
These wands are
streamlined and elegant. You might like to try using a greater number of stems
to make fatter wands (also called bottles). Get creative and tie other objects
or herbs to the wand with the ribbon.
The scent can be refreshed by rolling the wand back and forth between your hands a few times with gentle pressure. After the scent has completely lost its power, you can put a few drops of lavender essential oil on the stems.
