BUNCHES of lavender . . . any suggestions beyond sachets?

[Birth Junky]

My mother cut back three lavender plants in her yard and gave me a big bag of it. The only idea I had was to try braiding the stems, but when I gave it a shot the stems were a bit stiff and it just didn't look right. So, I will be drying the whole lot and am trying to figure out what to do with all of it.

Any ideas?

[E&Gmommy]

I love lavander!

This probably isn't going to be to helpful - my aunt bought it for me at a craftfair, but it was a nighttime herbal scrub for the face. I don't remember all of what it had in it but it had oatmeal, lavander, soap flakes, and some other herbs. It was really nice, maybe you could try it out.

[E.V. Lowi]

I like to mix the dried flowers with flax seed and use it as a fill for 'Beanie" type toys.

[Apryl Srissa]

Years ago I had a sugar cookie type recipe that had dried lavender in it. It was heavenly (and I don't like lavender really), very light and spring-like. I have no idea where I got it, but you could maybe google for something similar?

Another idea, after they are dried is wreaths. For a housewarming for my mom, I got a plain grape vine wreath from the craft store, then used herbs and dried flowers that had appropriate meanings and wove them into it. It came out really pretty. Though now that I'm thinking of it, I think I had trouble with the wreat shape, I ended up using a 'spray' shape, but the lavender worked great in it.

[swampwitch]

Three ideas for you:
1. If you sew, you can make eye pillows stuffed with rice and lavender. Don't stuff too full, you want it to drape nicely over the eyes. You can even make hot and cold pads by making your pillows larger. Basically, you stick 'em in the freezer to make them cold pads and warm them up (only about 10 seconds at a time in the microwave) to make hot pads out of them. This would be a nice Christmas gift, especially for a mom or grandmom.

2. Get a glass container and blend the lavender buds with sugar. You can use this sugar in any baking recipe. If you don't want the lavender flowers in the baked item, simply sift the sugar before adding it to the batter. I've made lavender cheesecake and lavender sugar cookies this way.

3. Another baked good idea is lavender bread. You can add about 1-3 Tbsp, depending on how strong a flavor you want, to the bread recipe. Ciabatta breads take this nicely.

If using in baked goods, lavender has a slightly woody characteristic reminiscent of rosemary. It is a subtle and unusual flavor that is sure to impress your friends.

I'm jealous...can your mother send me some cuttings?

[rainbowmoon]

if you have long wands you could make smudge sticks

you could also grind it up into a powder and mix with oatmeal and a couple of drops of EO's for bath sachets. (you can buy reuseable bags or make your own then you just hang them under the running water)

[Dar]

Lavender Wands! Not hard, look lovely, last for a long time... I think I still have some from last year in my underwear drawer.

dar

[Birth Junky]

Wow--the wands are gorgeous! Too bad my lavender is all dried now, because that would have been a lovely project. Maybe next year . . .

[guestmama9911]

You could make homemade soap, add some to bath salts, steep some to make a "tea" and add it to your shampoo or conditioner or dilute it and use it as a room spray or add it to your laundry rinse cycle.

[triciarn]

http://www.purplehazelavender.com/wands.html

http://pinkchalkstudio.com/blog/tuto...sket-ornament/

I love how these look! I just need some lavender

Tricia