How to Make an Air Freshener

This simple clay air freshener can be made in a short amount of time and can be personalized for the recipient. The project is easy enough that it can be made by young children, but it is also very suitable for groups of older children. It would be a great craft night for boy scouts, girl scouts, 4H, and church groups. The air fresheners can be made by adults to use as gifts, and the air fresheners are a simple yet marketable item for a craft fair.

You will only need a few simple materials to make the air freshener. You will need: an oven hardening clay, some small trinkets to make indentations in the clay, a toothpick, a cookie sheet, an oven, ribbon or string, and essential oil. There are several brands of oven hardening clay such as Fimo and Sculpey. The oven hardening clay is available in many different colors. I prefer to use the terra cotta color as it looks more natural, but you can use any color of oven hardening clay to personalize the air freshener a little more.

To begin with take a small portion of the oven hardening clay and roll it into a ball. The ball of oven hardening clay should be about ¾ inch in diameter. Flatten the clay slightly and press down with a shaped trinket. You can use anything to make an indentation. I have used cookie presses, necklace charms, earrings, watches, coasters and doll faces. Look around your house and find interesting shapes for your air fresheners. It is also fun to find shapes that suit the person you are giving the air freshener to. For instance, you can imprint a small football helmet shape into the oven hardening clay to make an air freshener for an avid football fan.

After you have made an indentation in the oven hardening clay for your air freshener, take a toothpick and poke a small hole near the top. Later on, you will be putting a ribbon or string through the hole so the air freshener can be hung. Place the shaped clay on a cookie sheet and bake according to the directions on the oven hardening clay package. Usually, the baking time will be 15 minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

When the time is up, take the cookie sheet out of the oven and let the oven hardening clay cool completely. When the pieces are cool, remove them from the cookie sheet.

Drop a few drops of essential oil on each air freshener and let them set for several hours. Thread a short piece of ribbon or string through the hole and tie the ends together with a knot. Your air fresheners are now ready to hang.

If you want to make the air freshener look more special to use as a gift or sell at a craft fair, you can place each one in a small zipper type bag. You can buy packages of 100 small bags that measure approximately 3 inches square. I also make small fabric gifts bags tied with ribbon.

These air fresheners made out of oven hardening clay make great gifts. They work very well to freshen the air in a car or closet. When the air freshener does not smell any more, you can refresh it by dropping a few more drops of essential oil on it.