Okay, so I’ve been wanting to mess around with making my own incense for a while. It just seems like a cool, crafty thing to do, you know? And I love the smell of oranges, especially during this time of year, it felt like a good way make my own incense. So, I decided to try making “Incense Orange” – basically, orange-scented incense. Here’s how it went down:
Gathering My Supplies
First, I needed to get all my stuff together. I did a bit of reading online, and this is what I ended up grabbing:
- Orange peels: Obviously, gotta have the orange part! I used the peels from a couple of oranges I ate.
- Some spices: I had some cinnamon sticks and cloves. Figured they’d smell good with the orange.
- Makko powder: This is what I use to bind, I guess it’s like the “glue” that holds the incense together.
- Water: Just regular tap water.
- Mortar and pestle: For grinding everything up.
- Baking sheet and Parchment paper:For drying my incense.
The Messy Part
Alright, time to get my hands dirty. This is how I did it:
- Dried the Orange Peels:
First, I put it in a Ziplock bag and put it in the oven for 2 hours to dry it out.
- Ground Everything Up:Once they were pretty dry, I tossed the orange peels, cinnamon, and cloves into my mortar and pestle. Then I ground it all up until it was a nice, fine powder. This took a while, and my arm got a little tired, but it was kind of satisfying.
- Mixed in the Makko:I added the makko powder to the orange mixture. I think I used about equal parts of the orange mix and the makko, but I kinda just eyeballed it.
- Added Water: I added water a little bit at a time, mixing it with my hands, until I got a clay-like consistency. It was kinda sticky, but that’s what I wanted.
Shaping and Drying
Now for the fun part – making the actual incense shapes:
I took a piece of incense clay, and then started to roll and shape it into a cone. After I finished shaping, I put it on the baking sheet on top of parchment paper. Then I placed it near the window sill to get some sunlight, and let it air dry for a few days.
The Final Result (and Smell Test!)
After a few days of waiting, my incense was finally dry! I lit one up, and… it worked! It definitely had a noticeable orange scent, with a little hint of cinnamon and cloves. It wasn’t super strong, but it was pleasant and definitely made the room smell nice. Pretty much success!
Overall, this was a pretty fun little project. It wasn’t too difficult, and I ended up with some homemade incense that smells great. I’ll probably try experimenting with different scents next time, maybe something with lemon or even herbs. If you’re looking for a simple, crafty thing to do, I’d say give this a try!