My First Craft – Cloved Oranges

I know this isn’t a recipe; however, it’s made mostly from edible things, and maybe it’s something you haven’t seen before.

I am not crafty. When I see all the cute things people do on Pinterest I think to myself – wow, neat, cool, not gonna do it. This craft-apathy might stem from the fact that many a craft was force on me as a kid by my VERY, superbly, amazingly crafty mother. She’s a blend of Jesus, Hallmark cards and Country Home magazine, with some inadvertent hilarity and lots of love mixed in. She used to make me shove cloves into oranges till my fingers bled (okay, no actual blood, but they FELT like they might bleed).

I refused to make cloved oranges after entering adulthood  – but here I am, 28 and making my own cloved oranges. Also, my mom dropped off an orange, ribbon, and cloves at my house last night. Sometimes she is (sort of) passively aggressive when it comes to crafts.

But truly, I won’t lie, my house smells great. I think this was the push I needed – I might go buy more oranges and keep this party going (fully aware of how lame that statement was). Mom says they won’t rot and get gross but rather dry out and last till spring! You can take the approach I did or skip the ribbon and just make hearts and smiley faces on the orange with the cloves. It’s like autumn smelling Lite-Brite.

Cloved Oranges

Oranges

Cloves*

Ribbon

*One small container of McCormick whole cloves could make 3-5 oranges.

1. Cut two pieces of ribbon and wrap the orange vertically, crisscrossing at the base of the orange and tying into knots at the top.

2. Press the pointy end of the clove into the orange, piercing the skin, along the edges of the ribbon.

3. Arrange on mantels/window panes or near the entrance of your house.

Also – can’t stop eating these:

Will post soon…