Craft – The Herbology Faerie

Spring Equinox Diffuser + Botanical Scents

One of the simple and practical ways I like to mark the turning of the Wheel of the Year with intention is aroma. Botanical simmer pots, handmade herbal candles, or special essential oil blends diffused in my home help refresh stagnant energy and set renewed intentions going into the next season.

This Ostara / Spring Equinox, I was struck with the idea to craft a cute little passive diffuser for essential oils that is simple, fun to make (with kids or at a friends tea party or craft night!), and captures a bit of the essence of spring in more ways than one.

First, find a sweet little saucer or dessert plate at your local thrift shop—I have collected many as they are endlessly useful. You’ll also need a hot glue gun, dried moss, wooden craft mushrooms (or get more creative than me and make your own from natural clay), and crystals to adorn if you’d like. Decide how you’d like to lay out the arrangement, and glue on the mushrooms first, pressing as the glue cools to adhere it well. Then add glue to the plate and tuck moss around to give it a springtime forest floor look. Finally, tuck any crystals where you’d like them. You can always get creative and put your own spin on it, adding items like dried flowers, acorns, etc!

Then you are all set to add drops of essential oils to diffuse in your home, to set the mood and your intentions for spring! Here are some springtime favorites of mine:

Ylang-ylang: for sweetness and peace

Geranium: for beauty and grace

Benzoin resin: for comfort and joy

Lavender: for calm and protection

Rose: for love and magic

Bergamot: for health and energy

Mint: for refreshing and clearing

What are your favorite botanical oils for spring? What intentions do you connect them with?

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For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

Pine Impression Clay Ornaments

I wanted to share a fun winter craft with you today: simple, sweet pine needle impression clay ornaments!

I know these are not a new idea, but I’ve been meaning to make some for a while, and I am excited with how they turned out. They are a lovely activity for kids to make, or perhaps a gathering of friends on a wine or tea night!

And if you live in an apartment where you can’t have a live Christmas tree, or perhaps another reason prevents you, you can forage for pine branches at a local park to take home and make this craft and then apply some drops of pine essential oil to the backs to bring fresh pine scent to your home. (Orange, clove, and cinnamon essential oils would also be fitting and traditional midwinter scents to add!) It’s an accessible way to bring the goodness of pine indoors!

To make the ornaments, roll air-dry clay into 1-inch balls and then press flat into discs with a book or container lid. Or, if you’re fancier than me, you can roll out the clay and use cookie cutters for neater and more uniform ornaments. (Mine are “rustic,” ha!) Then press sprigs of pine needles into the clay to form an impression and poke a hole for ribbon or string. Make sure the ornaments aren’t stuck onto your work surface (waxed paper might help here). Leave them to dry overnight, then the next day paint with watercolor to emphasize the look of the pine sprigs. I used watercolor brush pens and water with a small paintbrush to thin and spread out the paint pigment.

Once dry, string ribbon or twine through so they can be hung on a tree, drawer knobs, stocking hooks, or even used as gift tags. They can also be used as drawer or car fresheners!

These simple little ornaments aren’t fancy, but they are cheery and fun to make, give you a chance to do some fun winter foraging with kids or friends, and bring a bit of natural pine into your holiday decorating.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.