Homemade potpourri made with natural apples, orange slices, and cinnamon sticks is a great way to bring a little beauty and fragrance to your home.
A while back I showed you how to make potpourri from your garden flowers. Today I'm sharing an easy way to make homemade potpourri with oranges, apples, and cinnamon sticks.
Perfect for fall or as a Christmas potpourri, these scents offer a warm and cozy feel to your home.
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How to Make Homemade Potpourri
- Slice your fruit about 1/4 inch thick.
- Pat off any excess juice with paper towels
- Place them on the oven rack for 2 hours at 200 degrees, flipping occasionally. You can also use an oven safe cooling rack (as shown above) to prevent the fruit from falling through.
- After about an hour flip them over on the rack.
- Since ovens vary this may take a little longer or a little less time. Just keep an eye on the fruit and make sure it doesn't burn.
- Next, remove them from the oven and place them in a cool dry spot to completely dry out. This may take another day or two.
- Place the dried orange and apple slices in your favorite bowl with some cinnamon sticks
and enjoy.
and enjoy.
Once when my daughter was very little, she showed me how pretty the center of an apple is, with the star or flower shape in the middle from the seeds.
This shape shows up beautifully in the dried apple slices. Here I used red delicious apples, because of their pretty dark-colored skin. I love the way the edges curl up while drying in the oven.
Homemade Potpourri Tip
The dried fruit and cinnamon sticks are fragrant, but if you want to add more fragrance or freshen up this potpourri in the future, you can easily add some cellulose fiber and fragrance oil
to the bottom of your bowl.
Wouldn't this make a nice party favor or small gift?
It's very similar to this simmering potpourri project. In fact, you could use these elements in a simmering pot of water too.
Still, I think I like the way it looks just as much as the way it smells and will keep it displayed on our coffee table.
P.S. You may also like this popular Dried Orange, Bay & Cinnamon Garland for your mantel. How about Dried Citrus Ornaments from Clementines? You can find them and much more on my DIY Projects page.
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Homemade Natural Potpourri
Homemade potpourri made with natural apples, orange slices, and cinnamon sticks is a great way to bring a little beauty and fragrance to your home.
Materials
- Red apples
- Oranges
- Cinnamon sticks
- Cellulose fiber (optional)
- Fragrance oil (optional)
Tools
- Sharp knife
- Oven
- Oven safe rack
Instructions
- Thinly slice apples and oranges.
- Use paper towels to pat off any excess moisture.
- Set the sliced fruit directly on oven rack or an oven safe rack.
- Heat in the oven on low heat around 200 degrees for 2 - 4 hours flipping occasionally or until dry.
- Toss dried fruit slices with cinnamon stick together to make the potpourri.
- You can additionally add some fragrance oil to cellulous fiber and place it under the potpourri for added fragrance.
Notes
Ovens and fruit sizes will vary. It may take less time or more for the fruit to dry.
Annette Wilcox
How do you keep the apples and oranges from sticking to the cookie sheet? Mine stuck.
Patti Estep
Annette, I did not have this problem but I do have a couple of suggestions. Make sure that you get most of the just off the fruit with a paper towel first. Make sure that you flip the fruit even more often, perhaps every 20 minutes. You could also try parchment to see if it helps prevent the fruit from sticking.
Joanna
What kind of apples & oranges would you suggest to use?
Patti Estep
Joanna, I used red delicious apples because they have beautiful dark skin. The oranges I used were navel oranges mostly for their size.
Carole
Love the idea of making this for gifts, especially now through winter. After we get settled though I think I'll just make some for my office. Great idea!!!
Patti Estep
Hi Carole,
It would make great gifts. Natural and pretty and doesn't cost a lot. My kind of project. It would be great for your office.