Lavender Bottles

Today for your crafting pleasure I bring you

THE LAVENDER BOTTLE TUTORIAL

First things are always first...

What You Need:

*At least 15 stems of lavender, however the more the better.

• They need to be freshly cut, as pliable stems are the key here.
• Also, I've had better luck with the long thin flowering lavender, rather than the short bushy flowering kind.

*Ribbon, not too wide, but not too thin.

*A string.

Things That Can Help:

A ribbon (or yarn) needle; aka THE NEEDLE.

A friend.

Putting the cat out.

The Steps:

Gather up your lavender so the base of all the heads are even, and tie a small thread or string around the base.

Next, carefully bend back the lavender stems, over the flowers. Try to space the stems back evenly around the bouquet. Some might snap, and that is alright. As long as they don't break clean, you can cover the snap with ribbon later.

Put away everything fragile, and get out THE NEEDLE. You must always respect The Needle. There is a reason why I have Supergirl helping me on this.

Thread the large eyed needle, with the ribbon of your choice. If you choose to live on the safe side, and go needle-less that is alright. I wont judge you. You can do the following steps without it, but it is easeir to get under stems with that needle point.

Holding the bent over stems in one hand, carefully thread the ribbon over and under the stems, leaving a unwoven tail of ribbon about an inch long at the base.

I like to start at the base of the flowers, weave my way up, and then back down again. Pull your ribbon tight, and take care to not let it twist. You can weave as much as you like, it all depends on the look you prefer. I like to have a bit of flowers peeking out, but others might like a tightly closed bottle.

Once you're properly weaved, wind the excess ribbon down the stems and back up again, binding the loose stems together.

Take your ribbon off the needle and tie a bow with the the tail you left at the beginning of your weaving.

Now you have a cute scented item to stash in a drawer with those unmentionables, or perhaps in a box of love letters. Later, when it starts losing it's smell, you can add some lavender oil to refresh it, or just make a new one.

Once you've got the hang of lavender bottles, they're a simple and fun thing to whip together.

I made a few to go with a gift of a lingerie bag for my new sister in law.

Yup, it's still Wedding Season around here.

Four weddings down, and one more to go!