Valentine Sachets

These Little  Sachets are made with Plaster of Paris and are a fun and easy craft that we used to make often on Valentines Day.  I have happy memories of making them with the kids when they were little.  Plaster of Paris is great fun for kids; something about mixing up something messy, and pouring it into a mold and watching it transform into something nice; its a sure hit.  These smell wonderful and look pretty, and are a great little present to make for someone.  

Essential Oil

Plaster of Paris

Candy or soap molds

 Mix the Plaster of Paris with Water according to the instructions on the box. I did 2 parts Plaster of Paris to 1 part water.   I added  about 35 drops of essential oil, per 1 cup of Plaster of Paris powder.

Mix thoroughly.

 With a spoon, fill candy molds, allow to set about 30 minutes.

 When plaster has hardened,  flip the mold over onto a paper towel.

 Break off extra plaster from edges.

Using an old nail file, lightly file the edges smooth.

 I didn't add ribbon to these, but I put them into cupcake papers instead, which I thought was a pretty way to display them.  I have often put a ribbon on the back and  you can do this as follows: Cut pieces of ribbon and put them on the backside of the sachets (to clarify; one ribbon per sachet) while the plaster is wet; simply put the two ends of the ribbon on the top back of the wet plaster, and insert it into the plaster enough to anchor it in, but don't let it show through the other side; You will be forming a loop.  You can use them to hang the sachets like ornaments.

If the scent of your sachets gets a little weak as time goes by, merely drip essential oil on them, and they will absorb the scent again.



Supplies
 Bowl and Spoon
Plaster of Paris Mix
Essential oils or liquid fragrance
Water
Candy Molds

Instructions

1. Mix Plaster of Paris, water and fragrance.  The directions on my box were 2 parts Plaster of Paris, to 1 part water.  Use 30-40 drops of essential oil to each cup of plaster (a little more or less is okay), you can adjust according to the size of batch you wish to mix up. ( If after you have finished, you find that your sachets aren't as strongly scented as you would like them to be or if after several months, the scent has faded, you may drip more fragrance on the sachet; it will absorb quickly into the plaster, and appear completely dry, yet retain the smell.)

2. Work quickly once the water is added and mix, then spoon mixture into the molds.   I used Valentines molds, but you can use any variety of molds, Mother's Day, Christmas Etc.; kids might like animals, or for boys, you could get boyish molds, and add a little more masculine scent,  (although heart and flower molds are a nice project for them to make for the girls in their lives...so what ever works).

3.  Once the molds are filled, gently drop the molds onto the table (hold an inch or two above the table and drop) or tap them underneath to help release any air bubbles; this also causes the plaster to flatten out and be smooth.

4.  Allow to dry and harden about 30 minutes.

5.  Turn them over onto a paper towel; tap and twist until they come out.   

6.  Break off excess, rough edges with your fingers.

7.  File with a nail file to smooth edges.

8.  May be placed in drawers, or  cupcake holders and then in drawers or cabinets to bring a lovely scent for weeks.

Tips:
1. Your volume of plaster powder may vary somewhat as you put it into a measuring cup, therefore, when I add the water, I measure it out first, but I stir and mix until I get a loose, but not too thin consistency, that way I adapt its volume as I see I am getting the right consistency. 

2.  I have found that there is grace when working with the plaster, water and oil, so no need to get fussy about exacts.. but I will tell a "funny one" on myself; I had the bright idea of adding cocoa to my mixture on one batch, thinking it would smell and look like chocolate that way.  Well, I think there was sugar added in this particular cocoa, so whether the cocoa or whether the sugar, I don't know which, but one or both of them was a bad idea.  Here's what happened; it took several hours to dry and harden, after which it was crumbly when I removed it.  It did smell and look like chocolate though, and I had a fearful moment that someone would come and snatch a little bite of it before I could throw it out.  So there you have it; if you love experimenting then I say all power to you, because I love experimenting too, as you can see, but that is one experiment you can cross off of your list if you ever get any bright ideas like I had hehehe.

3. One cup of plaster powder makes up about  1 1/2 candy mold trays (depending on the size of the mold of course), so you can figure 2 cups of plaster powder for about 3 trays of candy molds... I hope that is helpful.

4.  For Clean up, wipe the bowl and spoon with a paper towel and clean it up without dumping extra plaster in the sink; you wouldn't want to plaster your drain up if you know what I mean. 

5.  I often use second hand or worn out bowls and pans when I am doing these kinds of things, and then I put them in the craft cupboard when I'm done for the same use the next time; then I don't have to worry about ruining my good bowls and pans.

Have Fun