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Friday, February 18, 2011

Fifteen-minute Frosted Potpourri Experiment

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I have heard people get roses for Valentine's Day. You might be one of those lucky people. What are you going to do with them as they die? Just throw them out? 

Maybe not this year. Why not try to make your own potpourri? 

Being that I had no handy rose petals lying around, I bought these rose petals at Kroger. There they sat, unused on the shelf after Valentine's. Pitiful. So, being a person who has never made potpourri, I decided to would see if I could do it JUST with what I had around the house. Let me preface this by saying I know that there are better and more professional ways to accomplish this for potpourri aficionados. However, the goal of this post is for those of us who sort-of want to save the flower petals but who aren't going to elaborate expense or effort to do so. :)


There are many websites that tell you how to dry roses or make potpourri in the microwave or just by hanging them somewhere out of the way like your laundry room. They require - or strongly suggest - silica gel, (which I don't happen to have saved from my shoe boxes), or orris root powder, (which I didn't bother trying to buy). Salt was suggested in addition to either to help flowers retain their color.


 Also, I had read an article about achieving a glossy look with high-gloss hairspray. I had hairspray, believe it or not. ( I have children who perform on stage - dance, theater, etc.) But, I still didn't have a drying medium other than the microwave alone. It seems the experts think the microwave needs some help. The idea of glossy rose petals made me think of frosted, glittering rose petals. So, thinking about what I had on my shelves, I decided to see what would happen with salt by itself.



I removed the rose petals from the box and placed them in a bowl. I poured salt over them - maybe a third of a cup. I confess. I didn't measure. (That's what makes me a great cook of main dishes and sides and a terrible baker; in baking, measurements MATTER.) Anyway, I threw away the petals that had any obvious brown or dry areas. That turned out to be a good decision. The parts that I missed had to be removed later anyway.

I put my mixture in the microwave, for 30-45 seconds at a time. 


I ended up with something like this after about 4-5 rounds in the microwave. At this point, any brown parts I had missed earlier were pretty obvious as they were mushy. So I removed them. I tossed between each round, separating petals that were stuck together by their own moisture. (This made clear to me why the experts recommend only drying a few at a time and the need for a desiccant.)


At this point, I shook out almost all of the salt and separated the petals onto a paper towel. One more round in the microwave.


Surprisingly, even with the salt, the petals smelled great! But I wanted to add something else. From my reading and available stock of scents laying around the house, I had perfumes and diffuser oils to choose from. I grabbed the nearest one, sprinkling the oil onto the almost-dried rose petals.



I tossed the now fairly brittle petals and shook the salt out in a bag, carefully removing the sparkling petals.


I placed the rose petals in a crystal bowl. They glistened in the soft afternoon light. I never tried the high gloss hairspray, but I bet it would make an especially nice touch around the winter holidays.




Surprisingly, the roses still smell wonderful!  I have let them sit a few days, and they have retained the scent. I doubt they will last months on end, but I could always add more oil or perfume later. 

My little project took about 15 minutes would only cost about a third of a cup of salt and a little diffuser oil - IF you had been given some roses!  :)

- Andrea

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8 comments:

  1. HAPPY PINK SATURDAY ANDREA,
    THAT IS A WONDERFUL TUTORIAL YOU GAVE US...I DIDN'T KNOW THAT ABOUT SALT.
    I HAVE A SCREEN THAT IS LONG AND NARROW FROM A VERY OLD HOUSE WINDOW. I PUT HEAVY DUTY EYE SCREWS IN EACH CORNER WITH CHAINS THAT YOU CAN USE FOR YOUR HANGING BASKETS AND MY HUSBAND HOOKED IT TO THE CEILING OF THE GARAGE AND I DRY SOME OF MY PETALS AND OTHER FLOWERS THERE AND I ALSO USE A FLOWER PRESS.
    I JUST BECAME YOUR NEWEST FOLLOWER. I HOPE YOU WILL DROP BY AND VISIT ME AND FOLLOW MY BLOG. I AM HAVING A LITTLE GIVE AWAY TO THE FIRST 3 PEOPLE WHO CAN TELL CORRECTLY WHAT MY PINK BOX FROM PARIS IS...THE WINNERS WILL RECEIVE AN ATC MADE BY MOI..OF THE EIFFEL TOWER
    HAVE A SUGAR SWEET DAY
    SIMPLY DEBBIE

    ReplyDelete
  2. OH, I MEANT TO TELL YOU I HAVE LIMITED VISION AND THAT IS WHY I TYPE IN ALL CAPS. I WAS JUST RECENTLY TOLD THAT A PERSON WHO TYPES IN ALL CAPS, IN BLOGLAND, IS KNOWN TO BE YELLING. I DON'T KNOW WHERE TYPING IN ALL CAPS MEANS THAT BUT I CAN'T CHANGE IT. SINCE YOU ARE KNEW TO ME I JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW.
    HUGS
    SIMPLY DEBBIE

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for the tutorial. My dil hangs hers by the stems and dries them that way too. I'm sure they smell lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good idea. Thank you for linking to Favorite Things. laurie

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  5. What a wonderful idea for leftover rose petals. I have been thinking of saving some rose petals to do this with. Thanks for sharing and linking.
    Sherry

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  6. What a fantastic idea~ I bet they smell wonderful! Thanks for sharing this at Feathered Nest Friday! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is brilliant. I've not tried this method of preserving rose petals but I have a large rose garden and will definitely give this a try when the roses start coming on again!

    Thanks for a superb tip on our little journey through Alphabe-Thursday's letter "S".

    I am really looking forward to trying this idea out!

    A+

    ReplyDelete

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