Homemade Air Freshener

What You Need:

• Cardboard
• Pencil
• Optional: cookie cutters
• Scissors
• Glue
• Fabric pieces
• Stapler
• Hole punch
• Ribbon
• Aromatic essential oil (from herbal shops or natural grocery stores)

What You Do:

1. Explain to your child that car air fresheners purchased in stores typically contain chemicals that can be harmful to the environment, whereas homemade air fresheners are chemical-free.
2. Let her use a cookie cutter to trace a shape with pencil on cardboard, or let her draw the shape freehand.
3. Have her use scissors to cut out the shape from the cardboard.
4. Let her trace the cardboard onto the backs of two pieces of fabric with a pencil,  then can cut out the shapes.
5. Next, she should align the fabric shapes to each side of the cardboard. She’ll use glue or a stapler to attach the fabric pieces to each side.
6. Find a nice aromatic essential oil that you and your child like such as lavender, lemongrass, eucalyptus, or other.
7. Let her put a few drops of the oil on each side of her fabric-covered cardboard. In case the fabric you chose is susceptible to stains, she may want to arrange drops in a design such as lights on a tree, spots on a butterfly or sparkles on a star.  (Stains will most likely disappear after the oil completely dries.)
8. Help her use the hole punch to make a hole for a ribbon tie, or staple it to one side of the freshener. Hang it from your car’s rear-view mirror and enjoy the fresh scent!