Looking for arts & crafts ideas for your kids to have fun with? We have a list of 9 air freshener craft projects for you to choose from. Most of them are super easy and can be done in minutes, whereas a few of them will take more work. Let’s take a look.
1. Air Freshener Beads
You can make decorative plastic beads that give off a scent and look beautiful. They can be displayed in a mason jar which you can also decorate. I’ve already written up a complete guide to air freshener beads before, so just check out that link if you’re interested.
2. Air Freshener Spray Bottle
This is one of the easiest projects because it can be done in just a minute or two. You just take a mist spray bottle, add 4 parts water, 1 part rubbing alcohol, 2 tablespoons of baking soda, and 20 drops of an essential oil of your choice.
Shake it well and then use it as a scented spray wherever you want.
3. Scented Decorative Rice Bowl
Another super easy project. Just get a small decorative bowl of any kind, put a few large tablespoons of jasmine rice into it, and then add 10 to 20 drops of an essential oil of your choice.
The rice will absorb the oil and diffuse the scent over several days. You can display it on your kitchen table or a counter top. If the scent runs out, you can either just dispose of the rice, or add more essential oil drops to renew the fragrance.
4. Scented Decorative Mason Jar
Making a decorative mason jar that smells great is very easy. Just get a mason jar of any size, add a few table spoons of baking soda to it, add several drops of an essential oil of your choice, then cover the mason jar with cheesecloth held on tightly by a strong rubber band. You can also decorate the mason jar by painting the outside of it, or drawing on it with markets.
The essential oil will soak into the baking soda and slowly emanate out of the cheese cloth lid. Any time the scent wears off, you can add more oil to renew it.
5. Decorative Scented Baggies
Get some colored mesh fabric. Cut a piece of fabric into a large circle, at least 6 inches in diameter but even bigger if you want. Put some scented pellets into the fabric, then tie up the circle of fabric with some colored ribbon. Viola, you have a little baggie of scented pellets that you can use as a decoration just about anywhere.
Instead of scented pellets, you can also put the air freshener beads that were mentioned earlier into the baggies. Click here to see a guide on how to make them.
6. Homemade Hanging Air Fresheners
You know those scented air freshener trees that are popular in cars? You can make your own version of those very easily as a fun craft project.
All you need is some absorbent felt fabric, an essential oil of your choice, and string or colored ribbon. Use scissors to cut the fabric into a tree or any other shape you want. You can decorate it further by drawing on it with colored markers. Then, cut a little hole in the top so that you can hang the string through it. Finally, pour about 20 drops of essential oil onto the fabric, or more if you want a stronger scent.
Let the felt fabric sit somewhere where it won’t be disturbed as the oil soaks into it. Once the oil is dry, you have your own homemade hanging air freshener. Instead of sticking it in your pocket for transport, be sure to keep it in a plastic baggy so the oil doesn’t rub off on your clothes.
7. Clothes Pin Clip-on Air Freshener
Did you have any idea that you can make a scented clothes pin? It’s incredibly easy to make. All you need is some wooden clip-on clothes pins and scented oil of your choice.
Drip about 5-10 drops of scented oil onto each clothes pin. Let it sit on a paper plate or in a plastic bag while the oil soaks into the wood. After a short while, the wood will fully absorb the oil and now will emanate the scent of your choice. You can clip these clothes pins anywhere, such as onto an air vent in your car, to spread their scent.
If the scent fades in the future, you can just add more scented oil and let it soak into the wood again.
8. Scented Wooden Cubes
Just like the wooden clothes pin above, you can also let scented oil soak into decorative wooden cubes. For this one, you’ll also want a jar or Tupperware container for the cubes.
Just put the wooden cubes into the container, and drip a few drops of scented oil onto each cube. You should use more oil for bigger cubes and less oil for smaller cubes.
Now, close the container and shake it up well, to get the scented oil spread all around the cubes. Let the container sit for a few hours or overnight as the cubes soak up all the scented oil.
As a bonus decoration idea, you can have your kids draw smiley faces or anything else on the cubes with colored markers. Now they have fun little scented cube toys that bring a nice smell wherever they go. You can also glue small magnets onto the back of the cubes to make a fridge decoration.
9. Plaster Air Fresheners
This project can get a bit messy, but it also can produce some really beautiful decorations.
Just get some plaster of Paris and a mold set with any shapes that you want. When mixing the plaster, add a hefty amount of an essential oil of your choice. Stir the oil into the plaster mix until it is no longer separate from the plaster.
Pour the plaster into a mold of your choice and then let it cure for 24 hours. Once it’s dry, you will have a cute plaster air freshener in any shape you want.
If you want to hang it up, you’ll have to use an electric drill to drill a hole into it, then put some string or ribbon through the hole.
