Pomander Mushrooms

I started making dried orange mushrooms to use up the rounded parts of the orange when making dried orange garlands. They are super cute just left plain, but I had a brainstorm while I was making pomanders recently– if I stuck cloves into the “cap” before drying them, they would look super mushroom-y and even better, smell amazing. They make lovely winter holiday decorations, great handmade gifts, cute ornaments, and super special gift tags. They would even be adorable nestled in some potpourri or a winter wreath. A perfect craft to spruce up and make your home smell like the holidays!

Pomander Mushrooms

Materials:

• oranges or clemetines
• knife
• whole cloves
• toothpick
• sticks
• glue
• dried moss
• twine (optional)

Method:

First prepare and dry the oranges. If you are using clementines just cut them in half. If you are using oranges slice off the round ends. Eat the center part or slice it into flat disks for drying.

Use a toothpick to poke holes all over your orange mushroom tops. Stick a whole clove in each.

Dry completely in a dehydrator or your oven’s lowest setting. This will take several hours depending on how thick they are. If you are using the oven flip them over a few times to dry evenly. (It will make the house smell good!)

Once the tops are dry, cut pieces of stick that are about the length of a mushroom stem. Glue them into the caps. Gluing a little dried moss to the base will make them look extra mushroom-y.

If you’d like to make the little hanging, glue some moss and the base of the mushroom onto a stick. Tie a piece of twine on both ends to hang.