Orange Slice Garland

I love the holidays.  Not just Christmas, but Thanksgiving, Advent, Saint Nicholas Day, Saint Lucia Day...

One of my favorite things to do when it comes to the holidays is natural and/or handmade ornaments.  I wanted to make something Aidan could help with, and that would work for the Fall, but could also go into Christmas.

I decided to make a dried orange slice garland.  I only had clementines on hand, so the slices turned out a little smaller, and thus a little less impressive than I'd hoped, but we made it, it was fun and cute. :)  So, here's how you make one for yourself:

1. Cut orange/clementine into rings, no thicker than 1/4 inches.  I got about 4/clementine.  Preheat oven to 215 degrees Fahrenheit or 100 degrees Celsius.

2. Pat the juice out of the rings

3. Line baking sheet with wax paper or aluminum foil.  Place orange slices on the baking sheet.

4. "Bake" orange slices for 40 minutes on one side, then 40 minutes on the other.  For the record, I totally burned my first batch, as the directions I was following were for full sized oranges, so called for a longer bake time.

5. I used a nail to make holes in each slice, then strung them on some twine, and hung them in the living room.  Because of where I hung them, it was hard to get a great shot, but it looks really cute!

Couple Tips:

- If you have a needle large enough to string twine through, you could add a cranberry or craisin between each orange slice, or pop corn, you could switch it up with rosemary sprigs.. 

- I used clear command hooks so as to save the wall, and to be inconspicuous. 

Please let me know if you make your own, I would love to see pictures of it!  It's the most wonderful time of the year!