Slices of bright, juicy citrus fruit dried in the oven until firm and preserved are the perfect natural addition to your holiday decor. Lemons, grapefruit and oranges turn into the prettiest stained glass looking citrus slices, perfect for adding to garlands and wreaths.
It just isn’t the holiday season for me without at new to me DIY craft project. I find it kind of hilarious that I decide to take on additional projects this time of year, which is undoubtedly the busiest time of the year for me personally and my household. But somehow every December I get this crafting itch and have to give something new a try.
This year I decided to try drying citrus in my oven and am super pleased with the results! Not only was this an inexpensive DIY (I already had a bunch of citrus around the house). But it was low effort and big impact! Just the thing for this busy time of year.
How to make Dried Citrus Slice Ornaments:
Step 1: Select your citrus and slice thin
You can use any type of citrus for this project: lemons, limes, grapefruit and any type of orange. If you are looking for a more uniform look, stick with just one type (such as all oranges) instead of mixing. Each citrus will dry to a different color, so consider what look you are going for before you select your fruit.
I used what I had around the house, which ended up being one grapefuit, one lemon and about 4 clementine oranges. This filled a sheet pan easily and created more than enough slices for decorating.
Carefully cut thin slices (about 1/8 of an inch wide) and lay on a parchment paper lined baking sheet
Step 2: Dry the slices
After all of your citrus is cut and arranged, use a paper towel to blot up excess juice.
Place tray in a 200 degree F oven for 4-5 hours. Flip at the two hour mark to evenly dry both sides. After 4 hours, check for dryness. If needed, dry for another hour or so. Drying time will depend based on how juicy the citrus is and how thick the slices are.
Step 3: Decorate!
After the slices dried and cooled, you can use as decor any way you choose. These can be strung on fishing wire or string to make a festive garland or hung with ornament hooks. they would also look pretty tucked into a green holiday wreath.
In my house, I used ornament hooks to hang in clusters around my staircase garland. I love how the light catches each citrus slice and shines through like stained glass. So pretty!
Here’s the video version of this tutorial:
@smallishhome Day two of holiday crafting! Drying citrus slices in the oven to make ornaments. I love how these turned out, even the lemon slices that basically turned black.
♬ Frosty Drip (Christmas Xmas Trap Beat2) – TikTok Version – DocBlazeBeats
If you are looking for more easy holiday DIYs, be sure to check out these posts:
Happy (holiday) crafting!
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