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Rotten Pot

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This week I'm making potpourri...more proof that anything said in French sounds wonderful because the translation of potpourri is "rotten pot". Water used to be added to the ingredients and they would ferment into a kind of stew. Today we use fixatives to hold the fragrance and this is one of the reasons I make my own.
Most potpourri contains cheap fixatives and cheap fillers, take a look at what you see in the store, wood shavings and other "stuff"...at the Scented Cottage we use pure botanicals, orris root for the fixative and undiluted fragrance oil and essential oils. Yup, that makes it more expensive to make but it also makes it worth it.

Making quality potpourri takes time, the ingredients need time to absorb the fragrance for longevity.
Our Spices and Slices™ potpourri contains cinnamon sticks, apple slices,orange peel, bay leaves,cloves and other spices.
Our Cottage Tea Rose™ potpourri is filled with tiny rose petals, rose leaves, angel wings, lavender and cedar roses.
Our potpourri comes in our small Cottage Gift boxes...since I make it myself to ensure the highest quality I don't ever seem able to make enough.
I love displaying the potpourri in my home in vintage bowls, I have some wonderful carnival glass for the entry, depression glass for the dining room, and wonderful yellow pottery for the
kitchen.
Do you have an interesting or unique way to display or use potpourri? The comment with the most different idea will get a bag plus refresher oil of our potpourri in their choice of Spices and Slices™ or our Cottage Tea Rose™ Comments must be posted by this Thursday to qualify.
My wish for you is that the potpourri of your life will hold only the finest ingredients with no cheap filler.
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Francie...The Scented Cottage Studio Francie...The Scented Cottage Studio Fiksioner is a free template that suitable for personal blogging because the layout is like a journal.

8 comments

OldBagNewTricks said…
Oh, these are beautiful. I'm glad to know what goes in them -- the difference between good potpourri and bad dimestore (I guess they call it dollar store now, huh?) potpourri is HUGE. My "display" isn't all that unique or unusal, but I put some in muslin bags and hang it in closets and tuck it into drawers, suitcases, trunks, chests, any closed up area that needs a little lift. Thanks for the mini-lesson on potpourri; I like learning new things.
April 17, 2007 at 11:39 AM Delete
Vallen said…
I do the same as Jenny, I tuck the sent into bags and put them in with my undies and sheets.
April 17, 2007 at 2:08 PM Delete
Anonymous said…
Delightful!

Jill 00
April 17, 2007 at 7:50 PM Delete
Sonia said…
Well, like everyone else I would stuff it in one of my new sachet bags that I made....they'll have the real good stuff instead of the cheap potpourri inside...But then again, I would also want to display it to show off all the rose petals and lavender. I have lots of teaware, mostly teacups so I think it'll look good in a teacup and around on a saucer.
April 17, 2007 at 10:19 PM Delete
karlascottage.typepad.com said…
Oh, your potpourri sounds delicious. I never use potpourri, simply because of what you said about the cheap products in it usually. But if I had your nice stuff, where would I use it??uhmmm... sounds like it is so pretty it should be shown off.

How about in my large marble compote dish, sitting on an etched mirror tray with a dainty vintage hankie tucked under it? Of course, it would have to sit on the hand painted coffee table in the living room. And of course, when the Fairy Grandbaby comes over to play, I'd let her smell it and see it before I set it up out of her reach for the day.

Thanks for visiting my site, I'd love to see your paintings, are they on your blog? Its good to meet another "impulse painter"
April 18, 2007 at 12:19 PM Delete
Francie...The Scented Cottage Studio said…
Thanks Karla....there is a small one in one of the past posts, I think we were all beach dreamin' back then. :)
Francie
April 18, 2007 at 12:28 PM Delete
Anonymous said…
My favorite way to use a good potpourri is to lightly cover the soil of a house plant. Instead of looking at dirt I look at the pretty petals, or orange slices or whatever else I choose! Since the house plants don't smell it's a nice way to pretend they do! Have a great day! Natalea
April 18, 2007 at 3:46 PM Delete
~Nancy~ said…
I have not made any of these in a while but I used to love to take a bit of pretty lace, like from an old table cloth or curtain, and cut two pieces a bit larger than a wooden sewing hoop. I would stitch the two pieces together with a little lace trim. I would leave an opening, sprinkle it full of my favorite potpourri, hand stitch it closed and then fasten it in the hoop. Add a little satin ribbon bow and maybe some millinery flowers at the top, hang and enjoy! I think you could do this just as easily with some crocheted doilies.
April 26, 2007 at 1:10 AM Delete
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