In my last post I shared how I candied violets and used them as decoration on cookies. That barely made a dent in the amount of violets that were blooming so soon after the cookies I gathered more blooms & greens to create more violet inspired items!
The first one was super simple, violet ice cubes! I filled two trays partially with water, let them freeze for a bit then topped them off with another layer of water to capture the blooms in the middle. Once they were frozen I popped them out and put them in a freezer bag, ready to use. They will be so pretty in lemonade or cocktails this summer!
The second project was just about as easy, violet bath salts! Fresh violets and coarse salts in a small food processor, pulse till blended then spread on waxed paper for 24 hours till dry. Break up the pieces and add Epson's salt (I used the lavender oil infused type for some fragrance) and they were ready to go!
I also decided to do violet infused vinegar and a skin salve made from the leaves, which are soothing to irritated skin. The infused vinegar still has a few weeks before it's ready to strain the flowers and bottle, but the image below shows what it looks like today. The salve used a combination of olive and coconut oils to pull the essence of the leaves out and the beeswax was added to that to create the right consistency. I also added a few drops of rosemary essential oil to boost the healing properties and give it a lovely scent.
These were some fun projects to do, especially when the weather wasn't warm enough for working in the gardens. What kind of random projects have you done lately?
L.