mmmmmmm, smells so good!!!

Yesterday I made candy and the house smelled soooo good. Then I made corned beef and cabbage and the house smelled not so good. I really enjoy corned beef, if only there was a way to get around the smell that lingers for too long. I woke up still smelling it, which is not what I was I was hoping to wake up to. My ideal wake up smell is coffee and bacon, lots of bacon.

To counteract the smell in the house, I was going to plug in all the air freshener thingies, but then I remembered that they made both of our noses unhappy and our eyes burn. So what is a girl like me going to do? Make something better!

After a very brief dig on the internet, I came across the recipe below for gel air freshener. I remember seeing these things at craft fairs several years ago... canning jars all decked out with uber amounts of lace and ruffles. Not my style at all. I like the concept, and frugality, and ease, just not the lace.

I'm not one to steal a recipe without giving credit to the author, but this recipe is EVERYWHERE, so I'm not feeling so bad this time. I was excited to remember that I had all the ingredients, thanks to Brette finding a big box of Knox when he deep cleaned the kitchen for my birthday present... oh, the joy a clean kitchen brings me!!!

Okay, here is the super simple, fast and easy, way to make air freshener.

You will need:
A Jar to your liking, without it's lid, you want the smell to get out of the jar, right? If you don't have a pretty jar, maybe you have something pretty that you can hide a jar in, or hide the jar. The jar part is up to you, you know what you like!

2 cups of water, divided (no, not parted, that would require Moses)
4 packets of Knox unflavored gelatin
1 TBSP of salt (this inhibits mold)
Essential oils or home fragrance oils
Food coloring - optional

Instructions:
Heat one cup of water in a small saucepan until simmering and remove from heat.
Stir in gelatin until completely dissolved
Add remaining cup of water and stir
Add salt and stir till dissolved
Add the smelly stuff, 20-30 drops, or to your liking and stir
Add one or two drops of food coloring (optional)and stir
And stir one more time just for fun
Pour into your container and let sit for a few hours to solidify

Once it is set, you can give it a vigorous stir and break it into bits and pieces, fill a clear bowl and set in a candle... if you want to get all fancy, I'm about the practical. You can also glue all sorts of lace and ribbons to a canning jar if that is your style... it's your house, not mine :)