The mix of crisp morning air with an end note of the mid day heat to come makes morning my favorite time of day during the summer.When I can, I grab a cup of coffee and sip it while I watch the bees enjoy the lavender in my flowerbeds.
It feels so decadent to start my Saturdays this way.
I wish I could enjoy my fresh lavender in the dead of winter too.
I can if I use my fresh lavender to make lavender essential oil!
I can if I use my fresh lavender to make lavender essential oil!
The technique is similar I the directions I use to make orange essential oil from orange peels.
Lavender Essential Oil Recipe
You will need
- Lavender buds. If you don’t grow lavender, you can order lavender buds from Amazon for a good price.
- Grain alcohol or vodka (a cheap grocery store brand such as Popov vodka is perfect for this project because it tastes wretched if you drink it in a yummy Cosmo.)
- Bowl and spoon or a mortar and pestle if you have one.
- Coffee filters
- Two jars, one should have a tight fitting lid
Make it
- You can use either fresh or dry lavender buds for this project. I didn’t remove my lavender buds from the stalk. The stalks have some of the same fragrant oils as the flowers/buds but not as much.
- Pour the lavender into the bowl or mortar and use the back of a spoon or pestle to crush the buds to release the oil. Do not over process the buds until they are mushy or you will lose the oil in the flower.
- Add the crushed lavender buds to the jar with the tight fitting lid and cover the peels in grain alcohol or vodka. Warning: Do not try to isopropyl/rubbing alcohol for this project. It has an extra odor that will not evaporate. Your essential oil will smell like rubbing alcohol instead of essential oil. Guess how I know? Blurgh!
- Shake the jar to release the oil several times a day for several days. The longer you let the lavender flowers steep the more lavender oil you will extract. I let mine sit in a sunny spot on my kitchen counter for a weekend.
- Use a coffee filter to strain the liquid from the lavender buds and into the second jar. Congratulations! You made lavender flavored vodka!
- Place a clean coffee filter or cloth on top of the jar of liquid and let it sit undisturbed to allow the alcohol to evaporate from the jar and make lavender essential oil. I let my jar sit for one week.
- Optional: I had sediment in the bottom of my jar of lavender essential oil after one week. I strained the lavender essential oil a second time with a clean coffee filter into my lidded storage jar. A dark colored jar such as a repurposed yeast jar will keep sunlight from degrading the essential oil.
- What you have left is a jar of lavender essential oil!
Enjoy!
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Wow thats clever! Thanks for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to try this! Thank you for sharing. My eye immediately went to your post on the link party because we both posted about lavender. It's such a relaxing, wonderful scent! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! I just bought lavender from www.DriedDecor.com because I love the scent! I'll have to make some essential oil with it!
ReplyDeleteWhat an absolutely adorable DIY! Well done.
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Happy Monday!
Thank tou for sharing this! I have to give it a try. Stopping by from {jue something i whipped up}.
ReplyDeleteHi this is Taylor from the Hannah Handmade team. I am your newest follower. You have such great ideas! Come follow us back? :)
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http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hannah-Handmade/200408909971427?ref=ts
This is SO much easier than every other extraction method I've seen for lavender oil. Thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteI have three very large lavender bushes I would love to use to make this but when do you pick the flowers? After they are done blooming? Can you email me if you know: something_clever(at)msn(dot)com
ReplyDeleteLisa You can pick them either when they are blooming or when they stop. If you wait until after they stop, there will be a little less oil but not enough that I noticed anything different when I made my lavender essential oil.
ReplyDeleteWow, this looks so easy! I suppose that I could do this with lemon peels too?
ReplyDeleteChristine - It IS easy! You can do it with lemon peels but you have to dry them first. If you follow the directions in my Make Orange Essential Oil out of Orange Peels you'll be all set http://condo-blues.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-to-make-orange-essential-oil-from.html
ReplyDeleteI am SO going to make this - thank you!
ReplyDeleteoh, I just typed a wordy comment, and when I tried to submit, it disappeared and a new box popped up, empty, with a captcha underneath :(
ReplyDeleteAnd, after I was over on your other blog, here I see this one. (From Time Travel Thursdays). Between the two reads, I read your "about" page. Fun photo. I love lavender essential oil. Its great for so many things. I'll have to put making it on my to-do list! Thanks, Jenn
ReplyDeleteI have a ton of lavender! Thanks for the idea!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so curious to know how much lavender you used- and how much oil you got. I'm thinking about Xmas gifts but wondering if my poor lavender bush can supply me with enough buds.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this post!!
Tami - I don't have an exact amount of lavender and vodka I used in my tutorial. I filled a salsa jar with as many lavender sprigs as it would hold. I poured vodka over the buds to the top of the jar. I got 2 cups of lavender essential oil.
ReplyDeleteEpic idea, I'm trying it now, I'm into part 2 (sitting in jar for a week to let vodka evaporate). My question is threefold. !. How do I know when it's ready for sure? Does it not smell like alcohol anymore perhaps?
ReplyDelete2. When it's done, is there an oily consistency (hence the name "essential oil"), or is it more like water with a lavender scent?
3. during the week in the jar (after straining), do you put it in the sun, or not? Thanks. Mike.
Great idea, trying it now. 2 questions:
ReplyDelete1. How do you know when the oil is ready, does it lose the alcohol smell, or perhaps get an oily consistency (hence the name "essential oil"), or should I just assume it's done after a week?
2. When I leave it out for a week with the filter on, should it be in the sun or not? Thanks. Mike.
I tried this three different times, but all I end up with is a jar full of liquid with a light oil sheen on the top...???
ReplyDeleteThis isn't an essential oil. It's an extract.
ReplyDeleteI think you've created a lavender extract, or tincture,not an essential oil. You really do need heat and lots LOTS,LOTS of lavender flowers to make an oil.
ReplyDeleteYes, this is actually a tincture. An essential oil is typically produced by steam distillation.
ReplyDeletethis is a tincture, not an essential oil. tinctures are still extremely useful, but i wouldn't recommend using this tincture in recipes calling for essential oils.
ReplyDeleteI stand corrected this is a tincture and not an essential oil. I'm keeping the post title because that's how it's bookmarked by a bunch of people on Pinterest, etc. I use this tincture in my homemade cleaners and room spray just as I would an essential oil I bought in a store. There isn't a difference in performance between the two. My version doesn't smell as strong as an essential oil which I prefer over a naturally made lavender essential oil. In this case I use a few more drops of my version in my room spray recipe and it smells just as it does when I use an essential oil. To each their own!
ReplyDelete