Here are two gorgeous ideas for christmas crafting from Lilly Higgins’ book, The Homemade year. We’re feeling creative and christmassy!
Featured Image; From The Homemade Year
Lilly Higgins, TV chef, food and wine writer and food photographer adds a third publication to her arsenal of popular cookery and lifestyle books with The Homemade Year, Things To Make, Do and Eat at Home to Welcome Every Season. Her beautifully curated, creative handbook is filled with seasonal crafts, projects and recipes inspired by the Irish calendar and Higgins’ own traditions. She motivates readers to create a sustainable and happy home with her imaginative uses for everyday items. It is a perfect read for those of us looking to get creative or make a beautiful gift for like-minded folk at Christmas. Higgins brings the magic and nostalgia of Christmas into our homes with her creative directions for potpourri and pomanders. See more below.
“I just adore the festive season so I always need something to look forward to in the new year, once the rush of Christmas is over. My granddad used to always plant hyacinth bulbs in winter. This was a tradition he got from his own grandmother – the Victorians loved hyacinths and revered them for their lingering, sweet fragrance. He would bury the bulbs in a pot and then place them under his bed in late autumn. Once green shoots appeared he would bring them into the light. Like me, he just adored Christmas and faded into a glum shadow of himself by January once all the fun was over. I think these hyacinths brought beauty, hope and an intoxicating smell into his world that reminded him of brighter days ahead. They always remind me so much of him.”
Excerpt from The Homemade Year introduction to the November, December, January chapter.
POTPOURRI
Higgins includes a nostalgic anecdote alongside her directions for potpourri. She reminisces fondly of how her elderly neighbour used to dry out all of her roses and had paper bags full of them all around her house. She describes the loveliness of potpourri at Christmastime and how you can incorporate anything into it from your Christmas tree trimmings to tasteful pinecones. Sign us up!
What You’ll Need:
– A medium-sized bowl
– Fir or spruce trimmings from the Christmas tree, or use rosemary
– Dried pinecones and acorns
– Dried orange slices
– Essential oils such as eucalyptus, pine, orange, peppermint, clove
Method:
1. Arrange the tree trimmings or rosemary in the bowl. Tuck in the orange slices and top with the pinecones and acorns.
2. Add a few drops of your essential oils to the pinecones. I like to use a mix of orange and eucalyptus. Top it up with more essential oils once a week if necessary.
Lilly’s Tips
Dry orange slices by slicing oranges into 1/2cm – 1cm rounds and bake in your oven at its lowest setting for 2-3 hours. Place on a rack and leave them to dry out further in a warm spot, like the hot press or airing cupboard. Alternatively, dry in a dehydrator. Store in an airtight container. Ideal for festive decorating and garnishing cocktails.
ORANGE POMANDERS
It’s orange pomanders that Higgins makes while watching Christmas films with the stove lit and her family around her. She includes in her book that this is on her list of things to do in the run up to Christmas, as well as watching Pride and Prejudice (we are with you there, Lilly.)
What You’ll Need:
– Oranges
– Cloves
– Toothpick
– Optional: cinnamon for dusting
– Ribbon or string and needle for hanging the finished pomander
Method:
1. You can use a toothpick to mark out your design; this will make it easier to push in the cloves too. Or you can just randomly insert the cloves all over the orange, pressing them in firmly. The orange will shrink as it dries, so it’s important you push the cloves right in tightly.
2. Once you’re happy with your design you can tie the orange up with ribbon (use a needle to thread the ribbon through the orange’s skin), or dust it with cinnamon to help it dry out.
3. Hang pomanders from your Christmas tree, arrange them in a bowl, stack them in a pyramid or just hang them by a source of heat so they release their lovely scent as they dry all winter long.
The Homemade Year by Lilly Higgins is published by Gill Books and available now. www.kennys.ie.
