Star anise and cinnamon sticks are two of the most lovely botanicals. Star anise are enchantingly beautiful while cinnamon sticks are all amazing coiled up inside themselves. Plus they both smell delicious!

Enjoy the enchantment of both cinnamon sticks and star anise with these projects. Projects which are incredibly easy to make, offering a wonderful decoration for your home during the winter months or perfect given as a gift.

Cinnamon Stick & Star Anise Wreath

SUPPLIES ~

Cinnamon Sticks, you can get a variety of sizes or just use one size
Anise Stars
Floral/Craft Ring
Glue Gun & Glue Sticks
Wire (optional)
Ribbon

METHOD ~

First make yourself a nice cup of tea and put on some music or a lovely movie. Set you space up with your supplies and get that glue gun heating up.

To get started you can attach a piece of wire to your wreath for easy hanging later on. I simply threaded wire through a hole in the floral ring. Easy enough.

When making wreaths I find it helpful to lay out my materials on the ring before actually attaching them. This gives me a chance to decide if I like what the wreath will eventually look like before making the commitment of gluing on the pieces. So I took a moment and laid out my cinnamon sticks before glueing. I decided to use long and short sticks with less of the long sticks spaced around the perimeter of the wreath.

Once you have decided on your basic plan for your wreath start attaching the cinnamon sticks using your hot glue gun.

Layer the cinnamon sticks as you go around the wreath to get a nice full effect. I chose to add a layer of anise stars around the inner perimeter of my wreath. Another pretty way to include them would be to add a big bow on the wreath and frame it with a bunch of anise stars on each side.

Finally finish off with a pretty ribbon if you wish!

Find plenty of cinnamon sticks and lovely star anise at The Bulk Herb Store and Star West Botanicals to make your own beautiful crafts!

Wrapped Cinnamon Stick Candles

SUPPLIES ~

Candles or Jars
Tealights or Votives (if using jars)
Cinnamon Sticks
Rubber Band
Ribbons

METHOD ~

You can either wrap the cinnamon sticks directly on to a candle or you can make a candle holder by wrapping them onto a pretty little jar into which you can put a votive or tealight. Either way the method is the same!

Wrap your rubber band around the candle or jar so that it is snug.

Next start wrapping the candle/jar by sliding cinnamon sticks in behind the rubber band. Go all the way around the candle/jar.

Finish the candle by tying a lovely ribbon over the rubber band, and you’re done!

I used lovely beeswax candles. The honey scent of the beeswax combined with cinnamon is heavenly!

Wrapped Anise Star Candles

SUPPLIES ~

Candles or Jars
Tealights or Votives (if using jars)
Anise Stars
Glue Gun & Glue Sticks

METHOD ~

Just like the cinnamon stick candles, you can either wrap the anise stars directly on to a candle or you can make a candle holder by wrapping them onto a pretty little jar into which you can put a votive or tealight. Either way the method is the same!

First sort out the prettiest anise stars from your supply.

Next start wrapping the candle/jar by hot gluing the stars directly onto the candle of the jar. You may find that this is a bit like a puzzle because you will need to take time to figure out which stars fit best next to the ones you have already attached. Be sure to go all the way around the candle/jar so that it is completely cover

Get The Kids Involved!

Don’t forget to get the kids involved with these fun projects. They love to make their own decorations and crafts! I find that cinnamon sticks are especially enchanting for kids. How often to do you get to place with something so amazing? Engage all their senses by brewing up a tasty cup of warm cinnamon milk to sip while crafting.

The Wreath: For kiddos that can use a hot glue gun safely, the cinnamon wreath is a great little crafty project. They can either set up the cinnamon sticks all orderly like I did or go crazy and place them on the floral ring however looks best to them. Creativity at it’s finest.

The Candles: Older children should be able to simply do this project by themselves. Younger ones might need a bit of help slipping the cinnamon sticks into place and getting the bow on tightly. Kids you can use a glue gun can create their own anise star candles. Younger ones can help figure out the puzzle of where each anise star goes while you do the attaching.