Primitive Oranges For Christmas

I have been MIA and hadn't realized that my last post was so long ago.  It certainly has been a quick summer and fall, though I suppose during times of trial the days fly by without one realizing it.  And yes, this past summer and fall have certainly been trying for not only myself but my husband as well.  We were so excited and hopeful at the beginning of summer for the chance to start our family and as the process has gone on, it is now apparent that our options are going to be quite costly and extremely emotional.  I won't go into length about the details, but if you would like, please feel free to check out my other blog and read my last post. 

It tells about our emotional journey these past few months and the reason why my heart has been aching.  So, in confession, I honestly haven't been much into my decorating like I should have been.  Thankfully with the inspiration of a truly amazing magazine, A Primitive Place, a wonderful craft show, Simple Goods, and the holidays coming, I can get back to my old self and my passion for prims and decorating. 

A little over a week ago I was talking with Lisa from Primitives From Above on the phone and she told me that her newest prim craft was dehydrating oranges for ornaments and bowl fillers.  She sent me some pictures of the dehydrator that she had purchased at Walmart and the oranges that she had dried, and well... I just have to tell ya that I was totally hooked!  Hooked, line and sinker was more like it!  I just had to have one of my own so that I could make those beautiful prim ornaments for our Christmas trees and decorations.  So, with my grocery list in hand, I jotted down a dehydrator and oranges.  On Wednesday, my weekly trip to the store, I too purchased an Oster dehydrator and totally fell in love with it.  Yep, it is totally one of my new favorite prim toys!  lol  I am so excited because I now can have those beautiful looking ornaments that were in A Primitive Place magazine.  Yeah!!!!  If I haven't told you yet, I absolutely love, love, love this magazine.  And... if you haven't subscribed yet, DO IT!!!!  You will enjoy it so much, I promise! 



All right, what do you say we get on with some of the pictures of how I dried my oranges yesterday. 

Step 1:  Slice them into 1/4 inch slices and throw away the ends

Step 2:  Soak them in either lemon, orange or pineapple juice for 2 minutes to prevent the oranges from turning brown during the drying process.  I chose lemon juice and set my timer on the stove as I sliced each orange.

Step 3:  Pat them dry with a paper towel 

 

Step 4:  Place them on the trays

Step 5:  Stack the trays onto the dehydrator, put the lid on and finally turn it on   

The book says that it takes 12 to 16 hours to totally dry.  I put mine in at 9 last night and took them out at noon today.

I think they turned out pretty good if I do say so myself!  lol  I am very excited about getting strings on them and being able to hang them on our Christmas tree next week.  When it comes to putting string on them, I plan on just using a needle to poke some thick thread through.  Hmmmm... hopefully that works.  If any of you have done this before, I'd love to know what you used as your string. 

Well, with the pictures that I sent my mom, sister and cousins, it looks like I will need to make a run for the store and buy some more oranges because I've got some orders to fill and I want to be able to take them down to my family on Thanksgiving so they will have the dried oranges to use for their Christmas trees and decorations. 

Have a very blessed day! 

Hugs,

Stacey