Saved Silica Gel Packs

I've been saving silica gel packs for years.  You know what I'm talking about...the pesky little packets that you find in every bottle of vitamins, box of shoes or at the bottom of a new purse.  Those little things are everywhere and I knew that there had to be a way to reuse them.

Silica gel is actually a naturally occurring mineral.  The silica gel's high surface area allows it to absorb moisture easily making it useful as a drying agent. 
I wasn't sure how I was going to reuse the packets until I  read a tip from a reader in a crafting magazine.  She saved her packs and used them to dry flower petals for potpourri and sachets.  It was an "ah ha" moment.  I knew I had kept them for a reason.   
Last year I decided my Christmas gifts would be from the heart and hand (and 100% recycled) and one of the gifts were rose and lavender sachets.  Over the summer I picked my most fragrant roses just as they reached full bloom and placed the petals in the covered box of silica gel.  The petals dried quickly without any mildew and the petals retained their fragrance.
I mixed the petals with dried lavender buds and a couple drops of rose sachet oil that I had on hand. 

My sachet holders were circles cut from a old piece of lace saved after my wedding, and the ribbons are reused.

Continuing my quest to be ecofriendly I included a few thoughts on how to reuse/recycle this gift.

The tag reads:

Rose and Lavender Potpourri

Prepared from fresh and dried

Rose petals and Lavender buds

Rose sachet oil

Once the scent has faded this sachet can

be recycled by composting

the petals and buds, or by scattering

them in your yard where they

will decompose

 Be well and happy garden gift giving!