Fun in the Herb Room - How Tuesday Making Scented Ink

I do one of two things in January and February.  I either make jewelry, a hobby I do not get to indulge in during the growing season, or I craft new herby things.  This year I am going to be offering a few new herb themed items, like photographic cards, seed paper cards, and garden journals utilizing my many herb and garden photographs and information.  That leaves me time to experiment with other herb fun for the home this winter.

In keeping in the theme of herb cards and in celebration of National Handwriting Day (that was just a few days ago)  I thought I would craft some lavender ink.  Scented ink is a Victorian tradition when writing notes reached its zenith.  Here is one scented with lavender for you to try at home.

Lavender Ink

1/4 cup lavender buds

1/3 cup water
1 bottle ink (black is better as lavender adds a brown tint)

Crush the herbs and place with water in a non-reactive saucepan.

Bring to a boil and simmer 30 minutes.  Keep an eye on the pan so the water does not boil away.

When the water is a brown shade you know you have extracted the scent from the lavender.

Strain and discard the lavender.

Add 4 teaspoons of the scented water to a bottle of ink.

You get a gentle lavender scent mildly perceptible and you can use a quill or a fountain pen.

I played with my calligraphy pens to write this!

How Tuesday - Using a Plant Press

Writers in the Family

My husband is working on two books.  My Sister in Law crafts novels in her head.  I write articles on herbs and gardening and my Brother-in-Law was recently published in the Beacon, the magazine of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association (http://www.gllka.com/)  In the Winter 2010/2011 issue his article “Return to Crisp Point” included reminiscences from his time in the U.S. Coast Guard maintaining this lighthouse.  The article will soon be the cover article in another lighthouse publication.  If you enjoy lighthouses, this publication is one I would recommend as it supports restoration and history preservation of lighthouses.  Subscriptions start at $35.00/yr.

This month I had an article on how to make paper sachet’s published in the Essential Herbal Magazine.  (If you love eclectic writings on all things herbal from cooking to medicine and everything in between, check out this link to subscribe to this wonderful bi-monthly – only $25.00/year)

I wrote the article during the time I was experimenting with How To-sday ideas.  It was my first exercise in photographing something as I made it.  I think I am getting better at it, but let me know if you think I should take the photographs differently.  This Tuesday I am going to show how to use a plant press.

Pressing Flowers

Today I thought I would examine making pressed flowers and leaves.  This time of year the pansies, violas, and perennial herbs are at the perfect age for pressing.  The most important tool to press herbs is the press itself.

You can buy a press at craft stores or make your own.  I have a purchased press that my mother bought me as well as several that my husband made for me out of plywood cut in 10 inch squares.  You need two squares of plywood with 4 carriage bolts (al least 4 incheas to 5 inches long) and 4 wing nuts.  You can use regular nuts, but I hate getting those off, wing nuts make me much happier.

In addition to the press parts you need:

• acid-free tissue or blotting paper (water color paper works well)
• absorbent paper (I just use newspaper)
• cardboard

All should be cut between 8 and 9 inches square so they fit inside the edges of your press. 

You can also use a phone book, an old encyclopedia or dictionary, or just a pile of old paperbacks if making a press is not in your plan.

Harvest your flowers and leaves.  You must collect them fresh and press immediately.  I use my sharp gardening shears to cut the flowers and leaves, removing them from the plants, and then trimming the stems as short as possible so they do not add bulk to the press.  Good choices include Queen Anne's Lace, pansies, violas, pineapple sage, or herb leaves like basil, tarragon, lemon verbena, thyme, etc.

To press plants, you are going to create layers of cardboard and absorbent material with a sheet of tissue to lay the flowers on.

Steps:

1.      On the base piece of plywood (with the bolts inserted into the corner holes), place several pieces of newspaper, then a sheet of cardboard, then a piece of tissue or blotter paper.

2.      Lay the flowers and leaves on the tissue or blotter paper.  Use tweezers to help position smaller items. 

3.      Layer tissue, newsprint, tissue, herbs/flowers, more tissue and another layer of newsprint then add a flat piece of cardboard and create more layers in the same way.  Continue layering in the same way, like making lasagna, until you have created 5 to 6 layers.  If using books, place flowers on tissue, top with another tissue layer and slip between the pages.  Leave 10 to 12 pages for space and add another layer to the book the same way.  Continue layering inside the book until it begins to bulge.

     4.    Once you have made a selection of layers that is about 3 inches to  

          4 inches high, cap the press with the second piece of plywood (fitting

          it down over the upright bolts), screwing it down hard.  If using a

          book, place weights or other heavy books on top of your press

          book. 

     5.   Leave the items in the press for at least 2 weeks, longer if it is humid. 

    6.     When you remove your flowers and leaves they will be nicely flat and

         should retain their color.  Folds and curls happen.  You get better at

         stopping that with practice. 

Once you have flattened the plants, you do not need to leave them in the press.  I take them out of the press and store them in small Tupperware dishes so I can refill the press with a new set of whatever is then in season.

Here are a few examples of projects you can use your pressed flowers to create.

~ Marcy Lautanen-Raleigh

Herbal Gifts for Mom and Dad

I have not done one of these in a while, but knowing that herbs make the perfect gift for both mom and dad, I thought some blatant self-promotion was in order.

Here are some of my suggestions for gifts for your mother and father on their upcoming special days!

FOR MEN

My father and brother-in-law are both grill kings, so with them in mind, I crafted a set of 5 blends for grilling, including marinades and rubs.  It sells for $10.00 and the shipping is low.  You can check out this item at Grilling Collection.

I also put together a Man Gift Basket.  I call it the Master of the Universe collection.  It comes in a copper pail with utensils and herb blends for grilling and cooking.  It is the perfect ensemble for the man with everything who is not afraid to dabble in the kitchen.  With everything including priority mail shipping it comes to around $45.00 depending on where you live.

We also have a few regular products that a man might like.  In addition to individual herbs mixes, we have an aftershave made with sage and lavender, and foot salts.


FOR MOM 

We still have several of our special box sets for an herbal facial or herbal pedicure and a portion of the proceeds from these goes to Susan B. Koman for the Cure!  Each contains a variety of herbal products for treating your face or feet with full instructions for giving yourself a spa treatment at home.  And they are a bargain at $17.00 and $15.00 respectively.

If you want to make mom breakfast in bed you could try our herb infused muffin mixes.  Or perhaps you want to make pancakes -- we have a gift set that includes cinnamon pancake mix, Cinnamon Spice Tea, and a jar of herbed honey, I call it Breakfast in Bed.  And it sells for 9.95.

You can give your gift a special touch with a hand made herbal greeting card, complete with an herb tea bag enclosed.

We also have bath salts and scrubs, bath sachets, and herb pillows to treat headaches and aid sleep (especially appropriate if you are the one mom is losing sleep over!)  You can also browse our loose herbal tea selection.

If you can't decide at all what to do, perhaps a sample of our herbal offerings is what you need.  We have small samplers of each of our main items (Herb mixes, Herb Seasonings, Scented Bath, or Herbal Tea) and they sell for only $4.95.  For a limited time we have created a sampler of samplers which includes five of our 16 samplers (our choice or yours) for $25.00. 

I hope this has given you a few ideas for your mother or father gift shopping this season.  As always you can browse all our products on our web page: http://www.backyardpatch.com/