kid crafts: spicy winter sachet
I put this post together for the kids craft-of-the-week club at 4Real learning, but I hope it will be of interest to anyone who likes to do crafts with kids.
Today, we are making a spicy winter sachet! It’s a little evergreen and orange-spice pocket of sunshine to perk up those drab winter days!
Here is what you need:
- Some scrap pieces of cloth cut into circles. (I used a salad plate as my guide).
- some ribbon cut into approx 6 inch lengths
- a clothes pin
A tray with:
- assorted whole spices (I used allspice and cloves)
- some orange peel
- Cinnamon sticks
(some alternatives might be various dried loose teas, dried mint leaves or lemon balm, sassafrass bark, birch bark, dried flower petals, or any other fragrant items.)
A tray with:
- some evergreen sprays (I used white pine because it is so soft and pleasant, and growing in our yard, but any fragrant evergreen will do. Let the kids pick their own, if possible.)
- a bowl
- kid scissors
Now, lets make some sachets!
First, let the child use the scissors to cut some pine needles off the twigs, and into short lengths, say an inch or so.
Once you have a small handful, move on to the next step and let the next kid cut!It’s great exercise for small motor control and strengthening the hand for writing!
Carefully place the pine needle pieces onto the center of the cloth circle (the cloth should be wrong side up!).
Then add some orange peel and a pinch or two of the other spices. My kids enjoyed poking the cloves into the orange peel. It helps release the scents! Mmmmm!
Then, take a cinnamon stick and break it into pieces and add it to the pile.
(the littlest ones may need help with this step)
And you have a lovely assortment of spices, ready to wrap!
Carefully pinch the edges of the cloth together into a little pouch. Little ones may want to use the clothespin to hold it closed while they get the ribbon to tie around it, and position the ribbon for tying.
It’s a great opportunity to practice bow tying!
Older kids can help youngers with this step!
And that’s all there is to it!
Tuck them under naptime pillows, let them sweeten up a sock drawer, or place them in a sunny window to spice up a dull afternoon!
Happy crafting!
hat tip:The Moveable Alphabet
Filed under: art, montessori
Therese — this is a VERY cute and easy craft … I can see the kids making a bunch of these for Mother’s Day gifts (for all the older females in the family)!
Thanks for sharing (and I can’t believe how big the kids look!)
Mmmm…I’ll bet they smell wonderful!
Oh, I just love it!! What a great idea, we’re going to do this over the weekend, ooh, it’ll smell SO GOOD around here
Love the headphones on SB by the way!! Happy weekend friend!
What a great winter twist on lavendar bags. But…. would the orange eventually go mouldy? I can imagine that would cause major angst…
I guess that would depend on the type of cloth you use and your indoor climate. I would think a more open-weave natural fiber would allow the peel to dry without molding, while a tight synthetic might hold in moisture. Also, our house tends to stay rather dry in the winter due to the heat being on, so I think that would help. If it concerns you, you could dry the peels before putting them in, or dry the whole sachet by hanging them over a heater vent , which would have the added benefit of spreading a nice scent over the whole house.
That’s a really cute craft idea! Thanks for sharing it!
Yup, those look just like the one’s we do in my classroom. great visiting your blog. Thanks for visiting mine. Cheers – Susan Dyer
Very nice, Theresa! My Clara will enjoy making these.
Thanks for your post – esp. the pictures. Great idea.
I could imagine the smell of them in my home just from the pictures. Those are adorable. Thank you for sharing them.
What a great activity! Thanks for sharing!