Ah, the smells that come out of a persons kitchen! Mm, those wonderful aromas of coffee, spices, baked goods and more. Kitchens are famous for their enticing smells but what about when theres nothing in the kitchen brewing? What then? Do you tolerate a kitchen that just smells like the rest of the house? Of course not! You create aromatic decor pieces that keep your kitchen smelling fabulous even when you arent cooking.
Its easy to make scented dolls that not only look pretty but give your kitchen an aroma of cinnamon, lemon, vanilla or another scent. You dont have to have any doll-making experience to create the little shelf-sitters; use things you already have around the house, or a couple of things from a craft store, and youll soon have an entire family of the potpourri dolls.
To begin the project youll need a simple piece of cloth. The fabric should not be really thick, like denim or corduroy, and you should not be able to see through the material. Choose something decorative to make the "dress" for the doll or just use a circle of plain cloth. Although youll need a needle and thread to continue you dont have to have a lot of sewing experience to create the dolls dress. Just use the needle and thread to begin making large stitches around the outer edges of the circle. Stay about a quarter-inch away from the edge and sew all the way around. Even though youll need to make stitches all the way around the fabric you dont have to be exact with the stitching. Just do a basic baste stitch around, having a knot at one end, and leaving a few inches of thread hanging when you get back to where you started. Lay the basted fabric flat on a table. Place a handful of rice, sand, beans, pea gravel or similar items on the circle. Now place a handful of dry potpourri on top. Begin pulling at the piece of dangling thread so that the circle begins to gather around the edges. As you pull the string the circle of cloth will become more and more bowl-shaped until it finally closes all the way shut in a ball shape. Before closing it completely check to see if you need to add more filler. The rice, beans or gravel is for weighting the doll and the potpourri, of course, for creating the scent. If you have enough weight in the bag just add more potpourri if you need extra fillers. If you have no dry potpourri you can fill the bag with rice or beans then sprinkle in cinnamon, ground and dried lemon peel, pieces of scented candles, or something similar. Pull the string tight so that the fabric full of potpourri is a tight ball. Use a small rubber band to hold the bag shut for now. Place the bag - which is the body of the doll - on a flat surface. It might be necessary to drop the bag on the surface a couple of times to get the bottom flat. Reposition as often as necessary to create the flat bottom. To avoid this step, you can cut a small circle of cardboard, and glue it to the inside of the fabric before adding the fillers. Use a wooden bead to make the head of the doll. Paint the bead with markers to create a simplistic face or even use a sticker face from a craft store. Add glue to the fabric, just above the rubber band, and position the ball on top. Allow the glue to dry or set completely. Tie a ribbon around the neck of the doll to cover the rubber band. Make hair for the doll out of Spanish moss, yarn, doll hair or even cotton balls. After gluing the hair on the doll is basically finished. You can add a tiny hat, give the doll a scarf instead of a ribbon around her neck, or make other additions and changes. In fact, you can even make the doll a man. Draw on a curled moustache and a tiny amount of hair - or leave him bald by using the wooden bead as-is. Create an assortment of the dolls to sit in a window. Or, make a much larger doll and use it as a table centerpiece. The dolls are perfect for the kitchen, bathroom, a bedroom - even the laundry room! They smell great, it takes little time or money to make them, and theyre always unique. No matter where you place the finished dolls your guests will def
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