This easy tutorial will show you how to make a DIY hanging car air freshener using natural materials.
It is easier than you might think to make this super cute and trendy homemade car air freshener.
Plus, it works! While I use essential oils to scent most of my air fresheners, you can also use this tutorial to make a car freshener with fragrance oils.
You don’t even have to use it in your car. Hang it in your closet to freshen your clothes or make a bunch of them to hang from a piece of driftwood for a scented wall hanging. (I’m going to do this for my bedroom!)
I love the simplicity of this design. The monstera leaf and twine are perfect for a nature-inspired boho or a tropical summer vibe.
The materials to use for this easy natural car freshener:
- 100% Wool Felt – Make sure that you use 100% wool and not acrylic! While it is much easier to find acrylic craft felt or “recycled” ecofi felt, some of the most popular essential oils degrade plastic. Wool naturally absorbs and holds oils. Pure wool is also thicker and has natural color variations that adds depth and interest to your project..
- Twine for hanging
- Freezer Paper – Freezer paper makes cutting felt a hundred times easier. Trust me on this! I also use it for making sewing patterns.
- A permanent marker or pen
- A tapestry needle (yarn needle)
- Iron
- Scissors
- Your favorite essential oils or fragrance oils
- A template or stencil if needed
How to make your boho hanging car freshener
First, tear off a sheet of freezer paper. There will be a dull side and a shiny plastic-coated side.
Draw your Monstera leaf on the dull side of the freezer paper. If you can’t draw a straight line (like me) you can print out a leaf on cardstock and cut it to use as a template.
Then place the freezer paper (shiny side down) on your felt. Use the iron to affix the freezer paper to the wool. It only takes a couple of passes with the iron to adhere the freezer paper to the felt.
Then using a sharp pair of scissors, carefully cut out the leaf. When it is cut out, peel the freezer paper off the felt. Easy, right?
Use the tapestry needle to thread the twine through the felt.
I knotted the twine three times for a simple macrame look.
Scent your car freshener however you want!
I love the calming scent of rosemary essential oil blended with lavender essential oil.
For this air freshener, I used a motion sickness soothing blend that I developed for my daughter. You can find the recipe in my summer road trip essentials post.
Your homemade car air freshener can be used over and over again! Just re-scent when it fades.
This sheet of felt can be used to make several hanging car fresheners. You can hand them out as gifts to your friends or use a different one for different scents. I label zip-top baggies with the scent and store my felt fresheners in them when I want to change scents. The air freshener can be refreshed with a few drops of essential oils, whenever you need.
If you don’t want to give up your favorite Yankee Candle air freshener, you can even find some of their scents as a fragrance oil! While I now prefer to use essential oils due to my daughter’s allergies and car sickness, I used to love the Yankee Candle Car Scents.
This hanging car air freshener may or may not have been inspired by my Christmas Tree scented felt ornaments!
Love this idea, how long do you think this will last? On one fill
It depends on the humidity where you live. I just add drops of the essential oil to it whenever I feel like the scent is fading.