Tag Archives: acorn

November 26, 2023 · 3:46 pm

The Beauty of Winter )O(

Merry meet all,

Nature is beautiful in the winter, in fact even more so. Maybe I’m biased because I live in an area where I am surrounded by nature but that is what today’s post is about; the beauty of winter. 

I made the whipped herbal butter! I love how it turned out. I used fresh sage and thyme leaves from my Mom’s garden. I also have been out foraging on the nature trail. I was inspired by a blog post I found on the web. Here is the link: https://dandelionherb.com/2021/12/17/yule-bundle-a-winter-solstice-ritual/?fbclid=IwAR2IFnttsUSQEO3XhnXjHk6SE4CqOSpZ2q5NXGTTMq0dlnFO8w4ZeLFtLTo

I decided I would try that craft. I was nearly frozen by the time I arrived home but it was worth it. And my coffee maker was on when I returned. 

I gathered branches from several trees and stored them in a cheap cloth grocery bag. I gathered birch, silver birch, witch hazel, maple, oak, eastern hemlock, eastern white pine and elderberry. I also gathered a lot of burning brush. Once home, I washed and dried the leaves and bark. I was totally awed by how beautiful everything was: the trees with their gorgeous colours of bark, the varying shades, leaves. Some of the bark was white, silvery white, brown, red, grey. It was all so gorgeous! I even scored a beautiful piece of birch bark. I let everything dry and then stacked the bundle of bark pieces together. I bound it all with a strip of the lovely brown muslin I dyed with acorns and secured it all with white string. I think it all looks so beautiful. I don’t want to burn it. The temperature now is too cold for too many outdoor activities, as reluctant as I am to admit it. I glued the birch bark to the bundle using a hot glue gun. The bark bundle is so lovely. I sprinkled rosemary essential oil to the bundle. Now the bundle smells divine!

The rosemary essential oil is making my kitchen smell amazing! I am cool with that. Rosemary is the herb of remembrance. Winter Solstice is a good time to remember what we can be thankful for and the abundance in our lives. We can also remember our loved ones, those who are with us now and those of who have passed. The dark half of the year is for the spirits and witches, to honour the spirits of those who have gone before us. 

I foraged a LOT of fiery red burning brush leaves. Once the leaves are dry, I plan to press them into the poetry book that I bound recently. They will look beautiful in the book. I removed the herbs and flowers I pressed from my large red Jane Austen book and now store them in wax paper in a large labeled envelope. I don’t read the Jane Austen stories (though it probably be good if I did), but I do use the thick book- I swear, the spine is at least 4- 5 inches in thickness, for pressing leaves and herbs. They were all so beautiful that I want to share them here with you! 

Enjoy! Blessings, Spiderwitch

Sage & Dill

Pressed goldenrod

Beeswax coated leaves

Raspberry leaf

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June 19, 2022 · 2:49 pm

Fairy House )O(

Merry meet all,

Summer Solstice is almost here. Here is a beautiful idea to celebrate the Solstice. I was inspired to create a fairy house. I am not sure what inspired me but I trusted it. I’m posting here to tell you how I constructed the beautiful fairy house. I almost want to move in, except I am not small enough. That’s why it is a Fairy House!

Let’s get started:

SUPPLIES

  • A glue gun
  • lots of glue
  • lots of popsicle sticks
  • acrylic paint
  • paintbrush
  • paint sticks
  • cedar bark
  • pinecones
  • acorns
  • twigs
  • ivy leaves
  • witch hazel leaves
  • oak leaves
  • arrowhead, miniature furniture, fairy doll (optional or add later)
  • a sealant of some kind to preserve your creation
  • Patience

To begin, set down newspaper and paper towel. You will need lots of it. That is now your workspace. Lay out all your supplies. Also, this can’t be done in one day. Don’t rush it and do take your time. It will turn out much better. Now snap the paint sticks in half and arrange them vertically in your workspace. This is the base of the house. Glue them together and paint them your desired colour. Set it aside. 

Now lay seven to nine popsicle sticks together horizontally. Keep them neat and very close to each other. Now without moving the sticks, set down two popsicle sticks on the right and the left of the sticks. Glue them together with the hot glue gun. Be sure they are glued together. Do this with 4 other sets of seven to nine sticks. This is to build the roof and walls of the house. Let them dry. Once they have fully dried and are truly glued together, you can paint them your desired colour. Or you can use popsicle sticks that are already coloured. I was going for a rustic look and so used lots of browns but it is your choice. 

I didn’t add windows but you can if you choose. Now here is the tricky part: assembling the house. Determine how you want the house to be. I set the walls of the house down on the base. I kept shifting the walls until I liked the way it was. Be flexible while you create your house. I glued a stick to the bottom of the walls. I glued a popsicle stick to the popsicle sticks then was able to glue it to the base. The popsicle sticks have curved ends. It would have been tricky to adhere otherwise. Once the walls are glued to the base, then work on the roof. Once you glue everything, it is permanent. Be certain it is the way you want it. Or maybe you want the roof removable. Glue the roof to the walls of the house. 

Once the whole house is glued and secure, you can decorate. I would suggest completing this step first. Now that that is done, you can go outside and gather pinecones, acorns, twigs, leaves, flowers, herbs or stones. It’s early summer here so I had a hard time finding any acorns. I finally found an intact acorn in a jar in my kitchen. Use twigs and leaves to hide any awkward ugly corners from view. Use twigs for windows or doors. I set a bird nest on the roof. It clipped on so I didn’t have to glue it. 

Before you adhere a pinecone to your masterpiece, you may want to clean them for critters. If it just came in from outside, insects may have been living on it. Soak pinecones, twigs, acorns, leaves and twigs in water and half a cup to a cup of vinegar for 20 minutes. Bake the pinecones and acorns in the oven at 200 F for half an hour. Let them dry then pat them dry with a paper towel. 

Now you can decorate. Oh and to make the door, stack five popsicle sticks together neatly then arrange a stick on the right and the left. Then glue and paint them. I snapped two popsicle sticks in half. I hope by now you can see why I said lots of popsicle sticks and glue earlier. Then I laid them on top of each other and glued them. I glued them to the five popsicle sticks. That made the door. 

Now feel free to decorate the house. You can decorate to your hearts content. I layered the leaves over each other on the roof. I set down two big cedar bark pieces on the roof. Then I added the cedar, oak and ivy leaves. I used the ivy leaves to cover bad spots and to create a path to the door. Search your house for tiny treasures such as the arrowhead I have on the roof of the house. I hope you have fun creating the house. You are only limited by your imagination. I wrote Fairy Home on a popsicle stick and glued that to the roof. I used the twigs as windowsills, to fill in spaces and add decoration. 

Have fun creating your fairy house. Don’t forget to add a fairy or two to inhabit the house. You can search toystores for miniature furniture. I don’t have a fairy or mini furniture yet but soon. Don’t leave the house outside or it won’t last. You can coat the entire house in a silicone sealant to preserve your creation. Don’t use cardboard to make the house. Wood is much sturdier. When you’re done, perform a fairy blessing on it. 

Enjoy!

Blessings, Spiderwitch )O(

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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October 25, 2021 · 5:10 pm

How to Enjoy Samhain Safely

Merry meet all,

Samhain is only days away!! I bet you are all excited. I want to share tips on how to better enjoy our fave time of year! Mm I enjoyed roasted acorn squash and reheated mulled cider for lunch. You can watch and subscribe to Lair of Voltaire for the recipe. See link below. 

On to the tips:

  • You might be attending a party or two. You may need (or not) a costume. Take it from an experienced sewer. It’s so much less time consuming and less maddening to buy a costume at the thrift shop than to sew one. If you wanted to sew yourself a costume, I would suggest beginning a few months ago. Anything can go wrong in sewing. Buying the costume ready made spares you that. Make sure you are comfortable in your costume too. And make sure it is something you will wear more than once. If you do only intend to wear it once, then donate it. Why should a one time item take up that space in your closet?
  • If you can, you may have accessories at home to match your new costume. This can save you money. It costs more to sew a costume than to buy one. If you want specialty fabrics, then you are looking at spending a lot. I buy a lot of broadcloth cotton because it is $5.00 per meter. Silks, chiffon, velvet and linen are astronomically expensive. Five or six meters of fabric can easily run you up to a hundred dollars. I was gifted a black wool cloak. There is no way I would have sewed it otherwise. So if you can, and are crafty, consider making or acquiring cheap accessories. Masks can affect how best you see everything. At night, everything is in shadow. Consider this too. Masks aren’t safe. Wear comfortable shoes. 
  • This may go without saying but if you have a black cat, please keep your kitty indoors where it is safe. Raccoons and owls eat cats, your cat might get hit by a car, or catnapped, or lost, or get a disease or be attacked by another cat. There are all kinds of dangers out there. So keep Fido indoors. It is one night. Even one fun night out can be a hazard for your fave feline. Or pooch, lizard or guinea pig. 
  • If you are on duty to hand out candy to adorable costumed trick or treaters, consider offering organic snacks or treats. I might say this because I have teeth that crack from those hard caramel chews and now no longer eat them. But I’m not you. Raisins are a good treat. If you still want to get candies for kiddos, there are plenty to choose from at the local drugstore. Chocolate is good. I confess I can’t resist it either. I just don’t prefer the caramel chews. (They ruin my teeth which has resulted in expensive dental bills). 
  • Honoring your loved ones this year doesn’t have to cost a fortune. The local dollar store has everything you need. That includes picture frames which are quite nice for photos of your deceased loved ones. They sell affordable candles, incense, trays and other dishes. I bought a bottle of rubbing alcohol and long matches. I already had a jar of Epsom salts. I found and gathered sand at the local small beach. I performed a banishing ritual. I wanted to use the Epsom salts and rubbing alcohol in my extra large cauldron. It cost about $5.00. Not bad. I love shopping at the dollar store. Being a Witch doesn’t have to mean spending a fortune. I found a discarded Tim Hortons coffee cup and used that to scoop the sand into the plastic bag. I needed the sand to quickly extinguish the fire in my cauldron if it got out of control. Another good life saving item to have on hand is a fire extinguisher. 
  • Getting evicted from your apartment due to fire is never cool. Safety first. Always. 
  • I know you already know this, but it’s a good idea to check out your little sister’s Halloween candy haul or your own kid’s haul before letting them eat it. There are all sorts of weird crazy people out in the world now. Accompanying little kids as they sweet talk neighbours into offering sweets is a good safe idea. They shouldn’t go alone. I read stories online all the time about people who go crazy and commit crimes. I don’t have children of my own but if I did, I would go with them as they tricked and treated and check ALL of their candy. Yup. Make sure that the kids’ outfits are safe and warm and comfy and their masks fit well too and let them see easily. It’s a weird world now. 
  • Be sure to social distance, sanitize your hands and wear Covid masks. It is a very good idea to keep a bottle of Echinacea tincture on hand too. Now is the time to stock up on lemons, raw ginger and jars of natural honey for the cold season. These ingredients will always outdo and outlast NeoCitran. NeoCitran does nothing as it has none of the nutrients that lemon and honey does. Lemon and honey are antibacterial and antimicrobial. They naturally boost the immune system. My throat felt scratchy. I drank a glass of water with a drop of Echinacea tincture and the feeling in my throat was gone. !! 

Have fun this Samhain (or Halloween, if you prefer)!!! I hope these tips help. 

BB Spiderwitch

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