Three Easy Crafts to Add Scent to Your Home: Smelly Jelly, Potpourri, Bead Wax Candles

These are three of the easiest crafts you can make for scenting your home and gift giving. Making smelly jellies, incense and beaded wax candles - if you can measure and pour, you can do it!

Smelly Jelly
Supplies:
Water (many recipes recommend using distilled water)
Polymer Crystals (sold in craft stores or in gardening centers, these are absorbent water crystals added to plants to aid in watering)
Water or Oil based fragrance (shop candle and soap supplies)

Use this ratio to make as much or as little Smelly Jelly as you like:
1 Teaspoon polymer crystals to 1 cup water; 1 to 2 teaspoons fragrance per cup of water.
To color, add one or two drops of food coloring to the water.

To make the jellies, simply mix all ingredients together in a large container (*NOTE! Crystals expand 400 times their size so leave yourself plenty of room!!). Let the mixture sit for 30 to 60 minutes. A crystal-like gel will form and should not be watery; add more crystals, only a little at a time, if water stands after an hour. Spoon jelly into glass jars and cover with netting or cheese cloth. Mason or jelly jars with separate lids and bands are ideal. Remove the round lid and leave the band over the netting when you want to smell the jelly, recap when not in use.

Sea Glass Potpourri
Supplies:
Sea Glass (from the beach or available at craft stores)
Fragrance Oil (as used in candle and soap crafting)

There is no easier craft to scent your home. Simply place several pieces of sea glass in a dish and add drops of your favorite fragrance oil. How much oil? About 10 drops is a good rule to start with; use more or less depending on how strong a scent you want. When the scent begins to weaken, simply add a few more drops of oil to refresh the potpourri. Many containers make beautiful display dishes for sea glass potpourri. Large sea shells are a particularly pretty and appropriate touch.

Bead Wax Candles
Supplies:
Bead Wax or Beeswax Beads (sold by candle craft suppliers, may be easier to locate online)
Wick (from candle craft suppliers)
Glass Jar or Vase

Nearly any glass jar, vase, sundae dish or other glass container will work for this project. Avoid containers with very narrow openings and containers made from very thin glass, as the flame may overheat them and cause them to crack or break.

To make the candle, center the wick in the bottom of the glass and hold in place. Pretabbed wicks stuck to the bottom with wick stickers help hold the wick in place. Next, simply spoon the bead wax or beeswax beads around the wick almost to the top of the jar. Be sure to keep the wick centered as you fill the glass. You will need approximately ¼ inch of wick exposed at the top of the jar for burning.

Beeswax is a good candle alternative for people who are unable to tolerate heavily scented candles. Beeswax gives off a light, natural honey scent when burned.

Beaded waxes are available through candle supply companies in a variety of colors. Use one color or layer several to add interest to candles.

Using these three simple crafts, anyone can make wonderfully scented decorative accents for their home or gift giving needs. These projects are great options for children seeking to make gifts for holidays, birthdays, and more. Please keep in mind, some products (such as fragrance oils for potpourri and jellies) may be toxic when ingested, so please craft cautiously and enjoy!