Homemade Cinnamon Ornaments

Whenever I see a link for an adorable/neat/funny kid craft, I think, "Oh! I wonder if Mellisa and her kids would like this one?"  So, I blast her email with links to random things in the hopes that at least a few will turn out to be goodies.

And look at these ornaments!  Mellisa and her family made them this week, and they're seriously adorable.  And, as I suspected, while the ornaments were baking, her house smelled like a cinnamon fairy had wafted through, making everything feel magical.  Ahhhhh.... Love it.

Click over to Mellisa's post for the recipe and photos of her sweet family!

Homemade Cinnamon Ornaments

on Getting All My Ducks in a Row

Friday Fun: 30 Second Organic Air Freshener

This looks so easy - why hadn't I thought of it already??  The directions and photo are straight from Re-Nest, a fun site for all kinds of home pretties and such.  Definitely let me know if you try this out and what your favorite fruit/spice combos are!




30 Second Organic Air Freshener
from Re-Nest


Materials
2 (or more) pieces of leftover, inedible fruit parts - e.g. apple core, orange peel
1 sprinkle ground, sweet-smelling spice - e.g. cinnamon, nutmeg, dried vanilla powder
Oil spray
6-inch piece of wax paper, tin foil or small, oven-safe ramekin

Instructions
1. Enjoy delicious apple or other fruit of choice. I highly recommend Pink Ladies right now.

2. Take inedible waste- apple core, orange rind, banana peel- and put on piece of foil or wax paper- folding up edges of paper to make a little well that will keep the waste from leaking out.

3. Spice and Oil: Sprinkle with cinnamon, or other fragrant spice. You can feel free to go crazy here (vanilla extract, cardamom, etc). But remember you're feeding your nose not your mouth, so keep it simple. And quickness is key: This isn't Martha Stewart's 2 weeks potpourri primer. Then liberally mist oil spray to prevent burning.

4. Put in 200 degree Fahrenheit oven until you smell the lovely and all-natural apple/orange/[insert your fruit here] pie-like fragrance. Keep on warm as long as you desire full force of scent. The smell will last for a couple hours even after you turn off oven; just don't open the door.