Quick and Easy Scented Gifts You Can Make at Home

Receiving a gift is fun; receiving one that smells great - even better. From candles to tarts to potpourris, women love scented gifts. There's lots of easy and inexpensive scented gifts that you can make, most of which take little time, money or effort.

Ornaments are an aromatic craft that are easy to make in many different designs. Wrap potpourri in a piece of lace, tie it shut, add a bow and hanger, and you've got a beautiful tree ornament that can be enhanced with faux jewels or glitter paints. Or, use small pie tins, foil cookie pans, or other small foil objects to make potpourri ornaments, too. Poke holes around the sides of both pans then fill one with potpourri. Squirt hot glue around the edge of the pan filled with potpourri and place the other pan on top, trapping a small piece of ribbon in between them for the hanger. Now decorate the front and back of the pans with cloth or paper cutouts.

Give a scented wreath to a special friend and they'll be proud to display it this year. Just start with a ring of raffia and begin gluing on bits and pieces from a bag of potpourri. Continue doing so until the entire ring is covered in the aromatic potpourri. Add a bow and voile! Do the same with a cone-shaped piece of styrofoam. Cover the cone with potpourri, attaching the pieces with hot glue. Add a sparkly star on top and give to a loved one.

Make potpourri car fresheners for everyone you know this year. They're so inexpensive to make that you'll want to create dozens. Use a plastic lid, like from a jar of peanut butter, as the mold for the car freshener. Spray the lid with no-stick spray or use Vaseline to coat the inside of the lid. Fill the lid a third of the way full of white glue then add potpourri pieces. When the glue is barely covered, cut a piece of stretch cord, fold it in half, then push down into the glue. Continue to add the pieces of potpourri until the glue is completely covered. Test this by placing a piece of the potpourri on top, pushing it down, and noticing whether or not glue rises up around it. If so, you need more potpourri. Allow to dry two or three days. Remove from the lid and hang in the car.

Place an amount of potpourri in the center of a dishcloth and wrap the cloth around to form a "head". Tie shut with white or gold ribbon, adding a looped piece of additional ribbon on the back for hanging. Glue on a craft wedding ring, as a halo, then add a face, if desired. You'll find craft eyes, noses and mouths at a craft store, or you can paint them on. Use a lacy cloth for this craft, for best results. Hang in the kitchen as an angel decor piece that smells fabulous.

Use little straw hats, found at any craft store, to make potpourri decor. Fill the underside of the hat with potpourri then glue a piece of lace or netting over the top. Glue on flowers and leaves, bows, beads, ladybugs, candy canes - or whatever you want - to the outside of the hat. Underneath, glue on a tiny clothespin to allow you to clip the potpourri hat onto curtain tie-backs, shower curtain, chair arm covers, and other places around the home. Make them in sets to give to friends.

Make one of the above potpourri crafts or just make your own homemade potpourri and gift it with a nice dish in which to place the potpourri. Use small twigs, leaves, flowers, husks and other items you've found. Soak in water with vanilla or other scents from the cabinet. You can also purchase oils to add to the potpourri instead of soaking them yourself. When the mix has dried, place in a zipper bag or a decorative holiday bag. Women love aromatic gifts like potpourri-filled items for the home, and you'll love making these because they're so easy and inexpensive.