Lovely Lavender

I love lavender! It smells so beautiful, and not only the flowers, either! The leaves on the lavender have their own unique scent, similar to and just as lovely as the buds. At home I grow my own lavender, and often cut some which I use fresh, or hang up to dry for future use. In these cold winter months, I often find myself making excuses to pull some out and make something, so I decided to post some of my favorite crafts and recipes that use lavender, that I have found all over the web.

~Lavender Mint Tea~
This calming tea is complemented nicely with mint, and is sure to relax.
2 teaspoons dried lavender buds
8 teaspoons dried mint
900 mL water
Boil the water. Combine the lavender and mint into a tea pot and pour boiling water onto organic herbs. Leave to brew for 3 - 5 minutes. Strain and serve.
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~Lavender Ink~
This ink will give a delicate, intangible fragrance, which will waft out mysteriously when the letter is opened.
1/2 oz. dried lavender buds
6 tablespoons water
small bottle of ink
Crush the lavender and put in a saucepan with the water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes, or until there is only 2 tablespoons of brown, opaque liquid left. Stir into ink.
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~Lavender Honey~
Yum!
8oz Light Honey (such as clover honey)
4 tablespoons of Dried Lavender buds
Heat honey in double boiler till fully heated, add lavender and stir. Continue over heat for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to partially cool. Place in sun for 3 hours (optional). Strain out lavender. Put honey in jar.
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~Lavender Perfume~
A delicately fragrant perfume, that I love so much!
1 cup distilled water
1 cup fresh chopped flowers
Line a bowl with cheesecloth and fill it with one cup of any flower blossoms you like such as lavender, lilac, orange blossoms or honeysuckle. Now, pour water over the blossoms until they are completely under water. Cover it and let it remain overnight and the following day, pull it out of the bowl, using the edges of the cheesecloth. Squeeze out the scented water into a small pot while allowing the water to simmer until one teaspoon remains. Cool and pour into a small bottle and you will see that it lasts a month.
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~Lavender Dream Pillows~
1 oz (25g) lavender flowers
4 bay leaves, crumbles
1/2 oz (15g) lemon thyme
1/2 oz (15g) sweet marjoram
2 tbsp rosemary
1 tbsp crushed cinnamon
1 tbsp orris root powder
Combine ingredients, and put in sachet bags.
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Well, those are my favorites, but I have many more to come!