Recipe for perfume/Room Spray using flowers in your own yard!

I am not an extreme DIYer, but this is a super easy and fun thing to do with your kiddos!

I used our Magnolia tree flower petals, but you could do this with just about any flower that has a pleasant scent (or even combine multiple flowers)

List of Supplies:
-Flower petals (picked, removed from stem, rinsed clean)
-1 pot of water
-Large Strainer
-Large Pitcher
-Large bowl
-Spray bottle (you could use a large cleaning type spray bottle or several smaller perfume type bottles depending on what you want to do with the perfume/room spray)

Directions:

STEP 1: pick your favorite flowers and harvest the petals.  Pull the petals off of the stem, rinse them with cold water

STEP 2: Cut the petals into small pieces (about the size of a dime)

STEP 3: Prepare to boil-For every 1 cup of petals, you need 2 cups of water.

STEP 4: Put water and petals into the pot, cover, bowl for 15 minutes (should be a rolling boil)

STEP 5: Pour entire mixture into a large pitcher to cool for 30-45mins (it doesn't have to be room temperature, just cool enough to work with)

STEP 6: Put strainer on top of a large bowl, Pour mixture through the strainer, the petals will stay in the strainer, the liquid in the bowl underneath is the pure, good smelling stuff you want. (We had fun squeezing every little bit of liquid out of the gooey petals, if you have younger kids, this is the most fun part for them-or at least it was for mine!)

STEP 7: Pour  liquid into your spray bottles and use.

SIDE NOTE: I like to put the cooked petal pulp into my garbage disposal-it makes it smell great.

Once you've divide it up, you can use the liquid as perfume or to spray on various surfaces in your house (as a Febreze type alternative).  I have used it on my carpets, linens, and body with no trouble.  If you are using colorful petals (and end up with colorful liquid, make sure you test it on something before you spray it all over the fabric surfaces in your house to make sure it doesn't stain!).