When I had my online store I used to make and sell a LOT of
Prim Fixins, including sachets. They are super easy to make and very affordable, and they were always one of my best sellers. So I thought I'd share the how-to
primitive recipe with you, in case you'd like to make some too.
Supplies
- Crushed Corn Cob
- Fragrance Oil
- Glass Jar with a Lid
- Muslin Bags (plain, or grungy them up first)
Let me start by saying that you have 2 options for buying the Crushed Corn Cob. 1) You can go online to a candle supply store and pay a fortune for it, or, 2) You can go into the pet supply section of the nearest Wal-Mart or other department store and buy it there super cheap. Personally, I always do the latter! They sell crushed corn cob as pet bedding for small animals, like hamsters and gerbils and such. But it's the same exact stuff that you can buy online at every candle supply store--only difference is you will pay them far more than you will if you just visit Wally World. So save yourself a LOT of money and get it cheap. Then follow the directions below.
- Put 2 cups of your crushed corn cob into the glass jar (I always use glass jars, because fragrance oil can damage many types of plastic).
- Add 1 ounce of your favorite fragrance oil--or a little more (you can adjust this to your liking).
- Cover the jar with the lid and shake well to mix.
- Shake the jar off and on for 2-3 days to let the corn cob absorb as much of the oil as possible.
- Add crushed corn cob to your muslin bag and enjoy!
A word of caution: fragrance oil can damage finished wood and painted surfaces, so I always put a caution label on the bag so people will know that, as sometimes the corn cob is still moist and a bit of oil can damage those surfaces if it makes contact through the bag.
And as a helpful tip--the muslin bags can be made much more primitive-looking just by grungying them up first. You can use rubber stamps or even stencils to embellish the bags with some sort of text or images. But you can also do what I have done often (as shown in photo above) and create iron-on transfer labels for your sachets and just iron them on. I usually use PrintMaster to create labels, using iron-on transfer paper made for ink jet printers, and making sure to print my transfer in reverse (don't forget that!).
I use very small muslin bags for my sachets and they hold about 2 ounces of corn cob. So the 2 cups I mix up can make quite a few bags. These are great to put in drawers or closets, or even to hang in cars to keep things smelling good. They are also great as party favors because you can customize and personalize them for any occasion!