Beginner Guide, Supplies & Tips

Car freshies are such a fun craft. They’re cute, scented, customisable and a lovely way to add a bit of personality to your car, wardrobe, cupboard or small space.

If you’ve been wondering how to make car freshies in the UK, this page is here to point you in the right direction, share helpful resources, and give you a beginner-friendly place to start.

I’ve also created a printable Freshie Making Guide for Beginners if you want the step-by-step process, planning pages, batch trackers, testing notes and printable worksheets all in one place.

Want the full printable Freshie Making Guide?

My Freshie Making Guide for Beginners is a printable planner and workbook designed to help you feel more organised and confident when learning freshie making.

It includes pages for supplies, safety notes, scent planning, design ideas, painting after cooling, cardstock freshies, bead soaking, batch records, testing notes, troubleshooting, costing and more.

You can grab the full guide here:

BUY THE FRESHIE MAKING GUIDE HERE
https://itslisag.etsy.com/uk/listing/4513828465/freshie-making-guide-for-beginners-how

Pretty scents. Cute designs. Less guessing.

What is a car freshie?

A car freshie is a scented hanging air freshener, usually made with aroma beads, fragrance oil, colour and a mould.

Freshies are often used in cars, wardrobes, cupboards and small spaces. They can be made in lots of shapes, colours, scents and styles, which is why they’re such a fun craft to learn.

Some makers keep them simple. Some add glitter, painted details, cardstock images, bows, charms or themed designs.

What supplies do you need?

Freshie supplies can vary depending on your method and design style, but most beginners will look at things like:

• aroma beads
• fragrance oil suitable for freshies
• colourant, mica or pigment
• freshie moulds
• a craft-only oven or toaster oven
• baking trays or mats
• hanging cord or string
• packaging
• care and warning labels

Optional extras can include glitter, cardstock designs, matte acrylic paints, needle tip bottles, bows, charms and other decorative bits.

For a full printable supplies checklist, the Freshie Making Guide includes a dedicated page you can tick off as you go.

A quick note on safety

Freshies are fragranced products, so safety matters.

Always check your supplier information, fragrance documents and product guidance before making or selling. If you’re selling freshies in the UK, make sure you understand the safety, labelling and compliance requirements that apply to your products.

Freshies should hang freely and should not be placed directly on dashboards, plastics, fabrics, painted surfaces or furniture.

This blog is beginner-friendly information only and is not legal or compliance advice.

Helpful supplier categories

I’ll keep this page updated with useful links and recommendations as things change.

Aroma beads (Amazon affiliate link)

Mubyok Beads: https://amzn.to/3RUkCgF

Fragrance oils

I mostly use Fizzy Whiz: https://fizzywhiz.co.uk

Moulds and cutters

Look at getting a 3D printed housing, and making your own moulds, give these ladies a shout:

Pink Print Lab: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577452299083
S+J Creations: https://www.facebook.com/SJcreationsLtd
The Crafty Cow: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1354270943117489/user/100087041461814

Colour, mica and glitter

Coming soon

Cardstock, printing and digital images

You can also find my own digital freshie images here: coming soon

Packaging and labels

Coming soon.

Helpful groups and communities

Freshie groups and craft communities can be really useful when you’re learning, especially for seeing what other makers are testing and troubleshooting.

I’ll add helpful group links here:

LINKS COMING SOON

Always test things for yourself too, because what works for one maker may not work exactly the same with your oils, beads, moulds or oven.

Beginner tips before you start

A few gentle reminders:

• start simple
• keep notes from the beginning
• test before selling
• don’t compare your first attempts to someone else’s polished products
• check your safety and care information
• price your work properly
• improve as you go

Freshie making is a learning process. Every batch teaches you something.

Get the printable guide

If you want the full beginner workbook, you can grab my Freshie Making Guide for Beginners here:

BUY THE FRESHIE MAKING GUIDE CLICK HERE

It’s designed to be used as digital or printed, popped in a binder and used as your freshie-making notebook.

You’ve got this.

With Love Lisa G x