Give Rose Petals New Life

Some people are truly gifted in that they are able to find ways to creatively reuse things that would otherwise end up in the garbage. These are the type of people who can make art out of things like old bottle caps. Unfortunately, I am not one of these people. One of our Meebo patrons either already is or aspires to be one, though, as he or she has asked for directions on how to make a sachet using rose petals. I initially had no idea what a sachet is, but after learning that it is basically a small, scented cloth bag (often filled with potpourri), I was ready to find an answer for our Meebo patron.

How to Make a Sachet Using Rose Petals

Making the potpourri:

1. Dry the roses. You have a few options for how you want to accomplish this. You can hang them, allow them to air dry, or microwave them. Flowers are apparently microwavable; there’s something I never expected.

2. Once your petals are dry, place them in a large, non-metal bowl. At this point, you can also cut up any other dried flowers or leaves you like and add them to the mixture as desired.

3. Next, add about 20 drops of essential oil of your choice and stir the mixture. For those of you who are like me and didn’t know what essential oil was, it’s a concentrated, fragrant oil that is extracted from a plant.  Essential oils have been extracted from over 3,000 plants and are often used to create scents in many products, including perfumes, cosmetics, and soaps.

4. The next step is to put the materials into a jar and cover it. You can do this with a jar lid, but if you’d prefer, you can place the jar in a paper bag and fold the top down. Once it’s covered, let it sit for 10 days.

Making the sachet:

This part can get a little confusing, especially without picture to guide you, so click here if you want to see what your bag is supposed to look like at each of the following steps.

1. To make the bag portion of your sachet, you’ll need a lace or linen handkerchief or any other similar delicate fabric of this type.

2. Cut the material into a rectangle. The rectangle should be slightly larger than the size you want to finished rose sachet to be.

3. Place the rectangle piece on a hard surface to get ready to glue. If you prefer, you can also sew instead of using glue.

4. Take a hot glue gun and fold the top edge of the rectangle over ¼ of an inch. Glue or sew the edge. This will keep the material from unraveling.

5. Turn the rectangle over so the rough edge of the top is showing. Fold it in half, from left to right (or right to left). Begin gluing or sewing the long, open side and the bottom. Leave the top side (where you made the initial, small fold) open.

6. Turn the bag right side out. Fill it with the potpourri mix almost to the top. Leave ½ inch empty at the top so that you can close the sachet.

7. Finish it off by tying a ribbon around the top. You can repeat these steps until all the potpourri has been used.

I hope this helps you out with your creative endeavors, Meebo Patron. If you need more help finding more ideas for rose crafts, let us know!

Sources: 
www.allaboutrosegardening.com
Credo Reference Databases
"How to Make a Rose Sachet from Dried Roses," www.ehow.com