There are two types of potpourri, moist and dry, but the dry version is more popular because it takes less time and effort to make. Dried flower blossoms, herbs, and spices chosen for their scent and muted colors are the dominant ingredients; seeds, woods, mosses, roots, resins, and the essential oils extracted from these are added for balance. There is such a vast array of these that you can make a potpourri as individual as you are!

A few recipes are given below; choose ingredients that appeal to you and feel free to cut the amounts in half or double them as your taste and budget allow. If you are lucky enough to have an herb shop nearby where you can purchase your ingredients, you will find them much less expensive. There are also many fine online sources for ordering all that you need to make potpourri. A small container is filled with two or three ounces of potpourri, and a sachet can be made with an ounce or less. Four ounces is usually the minimum amount you can buy of any ingredient; share with a friend or make several potpourris as gifts.

Because the flowers and amounts are never exactly the same, no two potpourris are ever exactly alike. As it ages, a potpourri will change scent, becoming more subtle with time, and you may like it even better six months after you make it.

The container for your potpourri can be the traditional clear apothecary jar with a glass stopper, or it can be as contemporary as a bright plastic cube. However, avoid plastic if your potpourri contains liquid perfume oils that will discolor or cloud it. If a potpourri includes ingredients chosen for their color or shape, a transparent container is important; otherwise, the container can be anything you like.

An old-fashioned way to use a potpourri is to pack it in a covered jar that you open for only half an hour or so each day to release the scent. If you like the idea of a clean, fresh scent surrounding you all the time, put the potpourri in an uncovered dish or basket. (If you use an openwork basket, line the bottom and sides with aluminum foil to keep ingredients from sifting through.) The scent fades more quickly when the potpourri is uncovered, but you can refresh it with a few drops of essential oil or brandy. An open mixture will probably last a season while a covered one may last for several years. Crushing some of the larger petals or leaves also releases new fragrance from an exhausted potpourri.

The making of the potpourri has been simplified, too. Time-honored recipes called for careful picking, sorting, drying in layers, and mixing thousands of rose petals with various spices; it took weeks for the potpourri to cure. But all that prepararation isn’t really necessary. Almost all flowers can be used for bulk if not for their shape, texture, color, or scent. Flowers that retain their colors when dried include corn flowers, marigolds, heather, lavender, blue delphiniums, and purple violets. White flowers (with few exceptions) dry to an unattractive tan color. Deep red roses fade to a prettier shade than pastel roses. Only the petals of roses, lavender, and tuberose hold their scent after drying, but a dominant scent in a mixture of dried petals can be created or emphasized by the addition of essential oils, spices, or herbs which also blend and unify the ingredients.

Depending on the amount of bulk you want in your potpourri or sachet, ingredients can be left whole, crushed between your fingertips, or sifted in a flour sifter.

When using flowers from your garden, cut them on a clear day, after the dew has dried. If you pick them solely for potpourri, cut the stems short, tie the flowers together in bunches, and hang them upside down to dry in a cool, dark, dry place. Or spread a single layer of petals on a wire screen or newspaper, and let them dry until they are as crisp as cornflakes.

Flowers picked for bouquets or ones from the florist can be enjoyed as fresh flowers for a day or two; then before they start to wilt, take them out of the water to dry. The sooner you dry them, the better they will retain their original shapes and essential oils. You must decide which is more important at the time—fresh flowers or the makings of a potpourri. Collect the blossoms, leaves, and petals as they fall off the stems, using them whole or crushing them between your fingers. Some flowers will dry intact on the stems; handle them gently and use them in a combination potpourri and dried flower arrangement. Perfect little roses can be nipped in the bud and used to decorate a potpourri too.

Potpourri Recipes

Citrus (8 ounces)

4 ounces assorted citrus peels (lemon,
lime, orange, tangerine)
1 ounce lovageroot
1 ounce bay laurel leaves
1/2 ounce lemongrass
1/2 ounce acacia buds
1/2 ounce staranise
1/2 ounce rosemary

Herbs and Spices (16 ounces)

3 ounces cinnamon (crushed)
3 ounces pepper mint (whole leaves)
2 ounces hops (whole)
2 ounces camomile (whole flowers)
2 ounces mace (whole)
1 ounce tarragon (whole)
1 ounce cloves (whole)
1 ounce sage (cut and sifted)
1 ounce bay leaves (whole)

Idyllic Herbal (16 ounces)

4 ounces camomile (whole flowers)
4 ounces fennel seed
3 ounces elderflowers (whole)
3 ounces witch hazel (bark)
1 ounce rosemary (cutand sifted)
1 ounce rose hips

Floral (16 ounces)

4 ounces lavender flowers
3 ounces rosebuds
2 ounces angelica
1 ounce sweet woodruff
1 ounce rose geranium leaves
1 ounce lemon verbena
1 ounce mint
1 ounce orrisroot
1 ounce oak moss
1/2 ounce sweet cicely
1/2 ounce thyme

Forest Greenery (16 ounces)

2 ounces sandal wood (or other wood,
chips or powder)
2 ounces assorted mints
2 ounces cedarchips or powder
2 ounces rosewood powder
1 ounce oak moss
1 ounce sage (broken and sifted)
1 ounce eucalyptus leaves (whole)
1 ounce orrisroot
1 ounce camomile flowers
1 ounce lemon verbena
1 ounce musk crystals (synthetic)
1/2 ounce sweet marjoram
1/2 ounce bay laurel leaves

Pastoral (16 ounces)

4 ounces clover blossoms
4ounces heather
4 ounces grasses
4 ounces field flowers

There is something nostalgic about spicy pomander balls and jars of fragrant floral potpourri that make any room instantly cozy and inviting. Perhaps it is the memory of a grandmother who was always surrounded by an aura of lavender, or remembrances of childhood days helping in the kitchen. Whatever your special memory, you can recapture it today—and give your children some very special moments to remember, too.

Potpourri (preferably with a silent “t”) is a mixture of dried flowers, spices, herbs, and essential oils—essences that impart the characteristic fragrance of a plant—used subtly to scent a room. Small amounts of potpourri, crumbled almost to a powder, can be stuffed into plump little fabric bags as sachets to place in lingerie and sweater drawers or linen closets. Potpourri made of bulky ingredients can replace foam as a stuffing for toss pillows on sofas and beds.

Pomander balls are usually fruits studded with cloves used to give a spicy scent. The name pomander comes from the French pomme d’or meaning golden apple. In olden days, before deodorants and daily baths, pomander balls were worn almost as a necessity. They were made of precious metals studded with jewels or of porcelain artfully decorated and ribboned. The balls themselves were perforated to release the scent inside, which came from exotic and expensive spices pounded to a pulp. The pulp was drenched with aromatic oils and rolled in wine and honey. Such lavish pomanders were worn mostly by royalty and the upper classes. Peasant people made natural pomander balls of fruits studded with cloves and dried in the sun.

Pomander buds

Consider the humble orange peel, so often discarded. With a twist of the wrist, you can turn it into a pomander bud to decorate and perfume your surroundings.

The next time you pick up an orange for eating or cooking, try this: thinly cut the peel off the orange in a continuous spiral, starting with a flat cut across the top of the fruit.

Continue cutting the peel, keeping it fairly uniform in width, and leaving as much of the nutritious white pulp on the fruit as possible.

If the spiral breaks, use the longest section for a small pomander bud, and save the rest for potpourri; no peel need ever go to waste.

Both navel and juice oranges will work; the thick-skinned navel is easier to cut, but the thin-skinned juice orange will make a more compact bud. Lemons, limes, grapefruit and tangerines can also be peeled for pomander buds. Peel whatever citrus fruit tastes and smells best to you.

Curl the peel around itself in a tight rosette

Tuck the end underneath the bud—sometimes the bud looks better if you turn it upside down after it is formed

Let the completed bud dry for a week or so in a warm, dry place such as a shelf above the range or underneath a desk lamp. Moisture will cause mildew and must be avoided. The peels will shrink and become very hard when dry (the photo below shows a newly curled pomander bud, right, next to three dried buds).

But the dry peels will retain some of their natural scent. Put a bud or two in a drawer, mix them in a potpourri, or pile a collection of buds in a large brandy snifter as pictured at the top of this post. Adding a drop or two of an appropriate citrus-scent essential oil will refresh the scent.

from “Directions For Making Tissue Paper Flowers And Fancy Articles” published in 1886

Having decided upon the size of the flower, carefully follow the outlines of the leaves with the scissors, and to give the appearance of reality, press lightly in straight lines, either with the scissor point or a pin, on each leaf, and then carefully gum the yellow heart in the centre, making it firmer by running the wire of the stalk slightly into it, but not sufficiently so to raise an indentation.

White Jasmine is another simple flower which can be easily made when the first difficulties of manipulating the paper are overcome. A beginner would do well after making a daisy from the directions given, to attempt a jasmine by copying it from nature, the same white and the same shade of green would look admirable.

The greatest latitude is possible, too, in point of color, and the worker can adapt the shades and streaks to suit individual taste. To give it an appearance of reality one or more of the leaves could be slightly curled with the finger, and the flower can be opened or closed, as may be considered most desirable.

PUBLISHED BY NORTHROP, THE ART DEALER,
New Haven. Conn.
Copyright, 1886.

Certainly nothing could be more beautiful than are (within their own limits) these tissue-paper flowers, so perfect are they; every grace of form and fleeting beauty of color and tint so artfully caught and reproduced that nature’s self seems to be almost outvied. Heretofore to speak of ”artificial
flowers*’ has seemed to suggest inevitably something of stiffness and formality in form and color and of harshness in material, but in these tissue-paper flowers there is to the casual glance, and even to a closer inspection, the grace, softness, and harmony of nature itself.

Not so elegant, but quite as surprising and perhaps every bit as artistic, are the vegetables which some ingenious persons form from tissue paper. These are so close an imitation of nature that it is hard to believe, without touching them, that they are not real.

Given so accommodating a material, there are innumerable articles for household use and adornment which naturally suggest themselves to persons of ingenious mind and dextrous fingers. In another place we give directions for making fans. Here the field is unlimited and there is no reason why every lady should not have fans of all shapes, colors, and sizes, to suit every costume and all possible occasions, and this at a trifling expense and with very little trouble—in fact, for the pleasure of making them. Toilet-sets, Shaving-tablets, Lamp-shades of great beauty and variety, Baskets, bunches of large flowers for ornamental purposes—the list might be extended indefinitely, but enough has been said to indicate the extent of the resources for occupation, enjoyment, and home adornment offered by this simple material.

The cuts which accompany the text are sufficiently varied to suit all purposes—and in figure 1 we find one of the simplest and at the same time most effective flowers that can be made. The Daisy always looks well, whether in bundles or mixed with other flowers. Then, too, it is very easily made, and is therefore an excellent specimen to begin upon. It can be of any size, and when once the exact pattern has been taken, which can be done by simply tracing that given in the accompanying cuts, Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, it can be varied, to suit the taste, taking the appearance of a fully opened flower, or—by simply pinching the eases together—of a bud.

Dead white drawing-paper is best for Daisies and Lilies.

Pity the poor English child of the late 1700s. A marvelous game had just been invented, and the adults of that era saw fit to use it to sweeten the bitter pill of education.

For approximately 40 years after they were invented, jigsaw puzzles were used exclusively to teach geography, history, morals, the Bible, the alphabet and mathematics. Of course, they weren’t called jigsaw puzzles then (the jigsaw, the best saw to use for cutting the characteristically convoluted pieces, was yet to be invented) and the pieces were geometric or only slightly irregular in shape.

The basic appeal of the jigsaw puzzle has survived, and today there are an astounding number of designs available at varying levels of complexity. That jigsaw puzzles are a popular childhood pastime is a well-known fact, but did you know that there is a puzzle club in England whose subscribers have access to 4,000 jigsaw puzzles, some of them consisting of as many as 3,000 pieces? The puzzle that follows doesn’t call for quite so many pieces, since it is designed with a very young child in mind. However, you can adapt the concept in any way you wish, even using it to make a round puzzle with hundreds of pieces.

Any picture can be cut apart to make a jigsaw puzzle, but children will especially enjoy putting one together when their own image emerges from the assembled pieces.

Materials

The most important material to have when making your own jigsaw puzzle, in addition to a saw, is a picture. Choose one that is large and colorful with bold shapes. Potential sources for good pictures are maps, some magazine covers, children’s books, and calendar prints. An interesting variation (and a guaranteed child-pleaser) is to use a large photograph of the child who will be putting the puzzle together.

Most important, choose a picture that is appropriate for the recipient and that is printed on fairly heavy, unvarnished paper. In addition to the picture, you will need: 3/8-inch-thick hardboard; sandpaper; paper for enlarging the pattern; masking tape; pencil; ruler; carbon paper; white glue; clean, damp cloth; 1-inch paintbrush; and a jigsaw with the narrowest blade obtainable (for ease in cutting out the shapes), or a coping saw and handsaw with a fine-toothed blade. The picture may be any size, and the hardboard should be slightly larger than the picture so you can trim away the excess and get a clean, square edge.

Making the Puzzle

Using the paintbrush for even coverage, apply a liberal coat of glue to the board.
Press the picture down evenly on the board, and rub it flat with the heel of your hand. If you are using a photograph, press the edges down firmly, since photographs tend to curl. If there are air bubbles or excess glue, roll a bottle or a rolling pin over the surface of the picture. To protect the picture from the rolling pin or bottle, cover the picture with a clean sheet of plain paper and several layers of newspaper. Wipe off any excess glue with a damp cloth. Let the glue dry thoroughly for at least one hour, or follow the package directions.

The next step is to make the pattern for cutting the puzzle into pieces. The pattern given in below will enlarge to 6 & 1/4 by 7 & 3/4 inches. If you have used another size, use the pattern below as a guide to draw a pattern that corresponds to the size on your picture. For a small child, five or six pieces are plenty. Cut the pieces to interlock so the puzzle will hold together, and do not make any of the pieces so narrow that they may be inadvertently broken by an overenthusiastic child.

To enlarge this pattern for cutting a 6 & 1/4-by-7 & 3/4-inch jigsaw puzzle, draw a grid of 1/4-inch squares on plain paper. Transfer the design to the paper one square at a time.

Once you have drawn your pattern, transfer it to the picture. Place the pattern, face up on the picture, with carbon paper between the two. Tape the pattern in place. With a sharp pencil, trace over the lines of the pattern. Remove the pattern, first checking to see that all the lines have been transferred successfully.

Before cutting the puzzle into pieces, trim away the excess hardboard along the outside edges. If you are using a coping saw for the curved cuts, use a hand-saw with a fine-toothed blade for these straight cuts. Always saw with the picture facing up, and with the teeth of the saw blade pointing down so any rough edges will be on the underside of the puzzle. When making the curved cuts, follow the pattern line all the way through, making the cuts continuous from edge to edge. Be sure to
hold the saw at right angles to the board so that all the edges will be perpendicular.

When the puzzle has been completely cut out, sand the edges if necessary.