Make your own essential oil {the easy way}...

Now it's December the Christmas tunes are filling our home non-stop. I normally try to hold off putting up decorations until later into the month but this year I'm already itching to put our tree up. I love the smells of Christmas (is that a weird thing to say?)- mulled wine, pine, mince pies....and spiced orange. I've fancied having a go at making essential oil for a little while. Since Christmas is an event to hit every one of the senses, I thought making a spiced orange oil would be the perfect place to start.

When I looked into how to make essential oil I discovered there's a lot more to it than I thought...so I decided to just go with my instincts. This is definitely not a guide to making 'real' essential oil but it is a much easier method.

How to make Spiced Orange essential oil

What you need:

Jar

Extra virgin olive oil

2 oranges

Spices (such as cinnamon, cloves, star anise)

Small bottle or jar (I used an old food colouring bottle)

1) Fill the jar 1/3 of the way with the olive oil

2) Add 2 cinnamon sticks, 20 cloves and 3 star anise (this is what I did but obviously you can add whatever you like)

3) Peel the skin of 2 oranges and add to the jar

4) Press the orange and spices into the jar and shake well.

5) Store in a dark place for seven days, shaking the jar each day. 

6) Pour the oil through either a fine sieve or cheesecloth and transfer to your bottle.

This isn't as strong as shop bought oil but it still smells great! Have fun making your own essential oil...let me know what you decide to make!

Happy Monday :)