Christmas Craft Project - Scented Rag Balls

These yummy scented rag balls are a fun and festive, Christmas craft project. Scented rag balls are a great way to add a homey look to the Christmas tree, while filling the air with a glorious aroma. You can design these scented rag balls to suit your taste by choosing different fabrics. You can use traditional Christmas colors or make them coordinate with your overall color scheme. You can also choose fabric with designs, like: Christmas print, plaids, stripes etc. Enjoy crafting these scented rag balls this holiday season!

Materials:
Polyester fiberfill or Styrofoam balls
cotton or flannel fabric
cord or rope
newspaper
clothespins
wax
cinnamon oil
1/4" ribbon
straight pins
tongs

Directions:

Prepare the fabric by cutting it into strips that measure a 1/2" wide and make the strips long enough to wrap around the size of the balls you are using. Cuts all of the strips to this size. If you are using polyester fiber fill, form it into a round ball and begin wrapping the strips of cloth around the ball making sure to tuck the end under the strip. Continue adding the strips in this manner until the entire ball is covered in fabric. If you are using a Styrofoam balls they are wrapped the same way.

Now cut the ribbon into 4" lengths, cutting one ribbon for each of the scented rag balls. Take the two ends of the ribbon and overlap them about an 1" to create the shape of a loop. Use a straight pin to attach the ribbons to the scented rag balls.

Set up an area to hang your scented rag balls later. Using a cord or piece of rope hang a temporary clothes line. I used two chairs and tied the cord from one to the other. Add a layer of newspaper underneath to catch any drips that may drop.

Now begin melting the wax in a double boiler. Melt the wax at 150 degrees. The wax should be melted very slowly! If it begins to smoke, it is way too hot and needs to be removed and the temperature lowered. This is very important, never leave melting wax unattended!

After the wax has melted, stir in the cinnamon oil. You can determine how much scented oil you would like to add, to get your desired scent. Next, dip a rag ball into the melted wax using a wooden spoon to roll it around. Using the tongs, grab the rag ball by the ribbon loop and carefully lift the rag ball from the wax, letting the excess wax drip back into the pan. Now hang your scented rag balls by the ribbon loops onto your temporary clothes line, attaching them with the clothespins. Once the wax has thoroughly dried on the scented rag balls, you can hang them on the Christmas tree.

Hints: If you would like to use a different scent than cinnamon oil, peppermint oil or pine oil make wonderful Christmas scents. You can also make a yummy scented table display by placing the scented rag balls in a basket or bowl with some Christmas greenery.