Thrifty Treasures~Easy-Fun-Cheap-Aromatic

Aroma Beads; little roundish, plastic pearls that absorb scented oils and color. I discovered these little gems about a year ago while looking for ingredients to jazz up my potpourri.

I am going to show you how to make inexpensive gifts that you can whip together bunches of, in about 30 minutes.

First of all, find and buy some plain aroma beads. I buy mine at a Denver company called Peak Candle Supply. You can buy a pound at a time and get a price break at 10 lbs. I love this company; their prices are the best I have found and they throw in a random bottle of scented oil with each online order.

I get out all my clear glass bowls, because it is the best way to see what I am doing, but you can use any glass bowl or plastic-ware.

I found these liquid dyes on ebay for cheap. They are intense colors and will last forever. I tried to use food coloring but it didn't work for me.

I, also, get my scented oils from Peak Candle. They have a huge selection and you can order a sample pack of 10 of your choice of scents for 19.99.

I try to match up the color with the scent: Green for Cucumber Melon.

Blue for Ocean.
Red for Pomegranite or Cinnamon

Yellow for Creme Brule or Vanilla

Brown for Latte or Nutmeg and so on...

A tiny bit goes a long way. The more you use, the darker/richer the color.

After you pour in the scented oil, the beads get translucent and shiny.

Here I stirred in orange dye with Pumpkin Spice oil. (Fall is in the air). I use plastic spoons but you can use popcycle sticks.

My daughter, Lilly, loves to make these. She said, " Mom, can I make a surprise combination for you?"

"Sure, remember, mixing too many colors together makes grey..."

She turned her back to block her work from me and revealed her masterpiece after about 2-3 minutes. She grabbed "Country Garden" scented oil and chose colors to make a beautiful floral mixture.

I never would have thought of it! What a great idea!

This shows how I like to make my Ocean blend.

Add a little blue dye.













Add a little green dye and it makes a beautiful "sea glass" or "spa" collection.

I add seashells and sea glass. This is a nice scented display in any dish.

I have many different colors of organza bags. Poor in the aroma beads and cinch closed. I add a little tag to the ribbon with the scent name.

I always end up with some extra that didn't fit in the bags. I put this leftover "Georgia Peach" in this hobnail creamer that I got at Goodwill for $1.

I had a bunch of pink "Pink Sugar Cookie" that I poured into this glass jar; another Goodwill buy for $1. Shall I throw in a couple of shells even though it is not an ocean scent or color? Sure, why not?!

This is just a start at what you can do with these beads. You can sew your own sachets or put in cellophane bags tied shut with pretty silk and organza ribbons.

I add pink rose petals to some blends, lavender to others. Dried orange slices can be mixed with orange scented aroma beads.

These make perfect teacher and co worker gifts and they are a child-friendly project.

They are great party favors, wedding favors, hostess gifts...

Pretty soon I will start making beads with the scents of Christmas: cinnamon (add cinnamon sticks), pear spice, eggnog, Christmas Tree and so on. Let me know if you play with these; I would love to see your projects!

You are invited to the Thrifty Treasures party hosted by Rhoda You will be sure to be amazed and inspired!