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Kleine Berg 38, Eindhoven
Kleine Berg 38, Eindhoven
Creative with homemade dried fruit - Autumn edition
Like the Netherlands, Belgium does not have a tropical climate and no way you can get me out in the rain. So... there's nothing else to do but bring the coziness inside and let that be my biggest hobby! Cooking for hours, setting the table in warm hues and decorating all the rooms of the house for the optimal autumn look. Love it!
I make these decorations myself and they certainly do not have to be difficult to make or very expensive. For example, I like to use my own dried fruit and in this blog I would like to show you how to make the perfect autumn decoration in three simple ways.
Potpourri
Potpourri, nicely put: "a mixture of natural fragrant ingredients used as an air freshener." It has been used for many centuries to spread a pleasant scent, making it ideal for bringing the autumn fragrance into your home.
You can make potpourri in a jar or bowl, which you then fill with scented items such as dried fruits, herbs and spices. To intensify the scent, you can add some essential oils to this to make the whole house smell nice.
Supplies:
- Weck jar, my preference
- Citrus fruits (orange, lime and lemon)
- Cinnamon sticks
- Star anise
- Essential oils (think: cinnamon, bergamot, orange, cloves)
- Oven with baking tray
- Sealable plastic bag
Do it yourself:
Preheat the oven to 100 degrees and slice the citrus fruit. Line the baking sheet with the slices until it is completely full and let the fruit dry in the oven for 2 to 2.5 hours. Check every 45 minutes to see where it stands and once it is cooked and fragrant, let the dried fruit cool. Crush the cinnamon sticks to release the aroma well and put them in the sealable bag with the citrus fruit, cinnamon sticks and star anise. Drizzle in 3 to 4 drops of essential oil and mix well in the bag. Put the contents into a weck jar et voilà: your natural air freshener with no chemical mess is ready!
* Still looking for a little more guidance on how to dry fruit yourself? Take a look here!
"Tip: If you make the potpourri in a weck jar, you can choose to seal it at night before going to bed. This way the fragrance will be preserved longer."
Name tags
In making the potpourri, you learned how to layer dry fruit and we'll take this to making even more table decorations for your fall table: name tags. Easy peasy to make and oh such a fun look.
Supplies:
- Dried fruit: citrus fruits, cut into slices
- Green twigs
- Napkin
- Piece of rope
- Labels
- Pen or pen
- Scissors
Do it yourself:
Now we are going to make a napkin ring with dried fruit. Start by writing the name tags on the labels. Then, using scissors, carefully make a hole in the citrus fruit. Cut a piece of string, but make sure it is long enough to tie around the napkin. Thread the piece of string through the citrus fruit, place the sprigs in the appropriate place on the napkin and tie the string around the napkin. Finally, tuck the name card in between, receive your guests and impress!
"Bring the warmth into your home with home-dried fruit"
The vase-in-vase technique
You don't have to be a magician to conjure up the optimal autumn feeling in your home. See here a very handy trick to put the eye-catcher on the table in no time and - both literally and figuratively - bring the warmth into your home with this beautiful dried fruit.
Supplies:
- Large transparent cylindrical vase
- Smaller transparent vase (make sure it fits in the larger vase)
- Dried fruit
- Cinnamon
- Star anise
- Globe candle
Do it yourself:
Assemble the vases and build up the outside of the smallest vase layer by layer with the home-dried fruit, cinnamon and star anise. You can fill it all the way to the edge, but if you still want to see a bit of the candle I would put a bit below the edge. Finally, place the bell jar candle in the smallest vase and behold the whole thing with justifiable pride!
"Because table setting is life!" - Maud
Need more autumnal inspiration? Then check out how to restyle your kitchen niche here!
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