Let's craft!

Right before the heatwave that lasted for 2 weeks and before finding the garden completely roasted when I came back from Denmark, I  wanted to make a small nature inspired craft (which was perfect timing because it was during summer equinox). I wanted it to be connected with seasonal flowers just like elders used to do it.

I don’t really live in the south of France but lavender is quite abundant over here and I had memories of summer holidays in Provence where old ladies would sell in front of their shop these lavender bottles. Very useful as it prevents seeds from falling all over the place but it keeps all the lovely smell.

After a couple of attempts I managed to have one perfectly woven  and to avoid any mistakes.

It’s becoming very addictive and it’s a very sweet present for friends. 

Honestly it brings me back when I was a child, when we would exchange jam, flowers seeds or roots, the postman would have a coffee at home during his break, this really quickly disappeared but I’m a believer and I believe nothing prevent you from offering a coffee or a bottle of fresh water during hot days to people working outside, or baking a cake to offer to this friend who let you use her tools, or offering some beautiful handmade ornaments, it only costs a little bit of time but that is very therapeutic and meditative so it’s never a waste of time.

I posted pictures of my lavender bottles on instagram and apparently you enjoyed them a lot and asked for a small tutorial. Let me tell you that after weaving a couple of these I felt relaxed all day  but I’m not sure if it’s because of the activity itself or after smelling lavender for so long.

What I like the most about this activity is that it makes us reconnect with the season.

We always hear “there are no seasons any more”, sure they are more extreme now, some very short, some seem to never end. But when you spend time in nature, you can still witness leaves falling from the trees, flowers blooming, fruits growing… It will be hard for our generation to get back to what we used to know with everything going on but nothing and nobody will ever prevent us from appreciating what nature gives us.

You  still can press flowers between book pages, you can still collect seeds at the end of summer, do string from dried leaves, craft wreath base with dead stems and branches, it’s endless and if I can help people with these simple crafts instead of ordering  things online(from across the globe made in awful conditions and destroying environment)with what  they can find in their garden for free then it will be a huge step.

After all this rambling let me show you how to make the lavender bottles.

You will need:

Fresh lavender

Scissors

Ribbon or wool, string

1/First I collected 23 stems, it can be less but i found this number gave a nice shape, whatever the quantity you choose it needs to be an odd number

Make sure its not dry otherwise it will break when you will fold them.

2/Remove the tiny flowers along the stem

3/Cut the end of the stems

4/Tie a ribbon just under the flowers

5/Fold all the stems one by one

Now this is where its get a bit tricky for the 2 first raw

6/You will start weaving (I keep counting each row to make sure one stem is not hiding among the flowers (if it makes sense)

Every row you will alternate , once on the ribbon, once under

7/Once you reached the last part of the flowers you can either tie a knot under the flower or wrap the stems until the end and tie a knot

Et voila

If you gave a try at this craft please send me pictures or let me know in the comments

Lets bring back nature craft  to our daily life!!!!!