Happy New Year! I happily embrace 2025. I am determined that 2025 will be my BOSS year. Tonight I am seeing the hit movie Nosferatu with my boyfriend Derrick. I can’t wait. I am sure I will be so scared the entire time. This movie is a new adaptation of the 1922 movie Nosferatu.
I concocted a potion of an aftershave blend for him. I am a kitchen witch alchemist. My latest blend is for him. The list of ingredients is as follows:
Aloe vera gel
Distilled water
Witch hazel
Sitka spruce oil
Calendula oil
Eucalyptus essential oil
Frankincense essential oil
Clary sage essential oil
Dark patchouli essential oil
Cinnamon essential oil
Sweet orange essential oil
Clove essential oil
Vegetable glycerin
I hope he likes it! I love how cool the blue glass oil looks. I typed and printed out the label and the list of ingredients and glued the label to the bottle. That is more professional and it makes it easier to read. I hope that he likes the blend! I tried to add oils together that would evoke scents or notes of time in the woods, a scent that would appeal to a guy.
I plan to sew another dress. This time, the pattern will be much simpler. I am making a simple – though, if anyone has been following this blog for a while, it will really be anything but simple, grey chemise. I want to add elastic to the neckline and the short sleeves. I also plan to sew in a long ribbon to tie in a bow at the neckline. I bought a chemise at Holy Clothing. The only thing I don’t like is that the hemline is not as long as I would have liked. Also I am not sure which pattern to use to make the dress. I will figure that out. I am sure it will be lovely when it is done. I am still burnt out from sewing the blue Arwen gown.
I visited a cemetery and I want to share the hauntingly beautiful photos with you in this post. Here they are!
I renewed my memberships with the Herbal Academy Herbarium and the Horror Writers Association for 2025. I look forward to this new year and what it brings to me. I am one hundred percent certain 2025 will be more mind blowing in a good way. The only way ahead is forward.
Mabon is almost here. The leaves are turning. Last night I roasted pumpkin seeds and spotted more pumpkins at the grocery store. A chill hovers in the air, and those are the sure signs of fall. My favourite time of year is here and I am under its spell. I froze the rest of the pumpkin and gave half of it to my Mom who stored some in her freezer. I can’t possibly use it all and sharing is good.
That is the gift of the fall season. The abundance that we receive in the fall. The month of October is already scheduled for me. The much anticipated Paranormal Symposium occurs on October 7th and my demonology course begins on October 16th. Also October means Samhain. I have my herbal courses and preparing for Samhain. I will be busy! I just successfully completed Unit 4 of the Advanced Herbalism course. I am so relieved to have gotten this far. Unit 4 was very difficult. Now on to other news…
I am obsessing right now on what I want to wear at the Paranormal Symposium. The hotel where the Symposium is taking place is very prestigious. My witch boots are at the repair shop waiting for when I am finally rich enough to pay for them. I mended the maxi black lace skirt. I want to look amazing. I mean the hotel was swanky and classy. I felt like a hoodlum when I came in asking if that was the correct location for the hotel. It was. OK I need to get dressed!
I spent hours studying witchy outfits on Google and Pinterest. I can waste hours doing that. I have no desire to buy something new to wear. Instead I took my inspiration from Mori Goth and such. The outfits look so complicated, inspired from nature and so effortless. Right. I have cool black clothes from Killstar. I am sure I can put an outfit together for the big day! I shall dive deep into my closet!
I want to wear an outfit inspired by what I saw on Pinterest. I love Pinterest, it’s one of my guilty pleasures. I have a few options: I mean, black goes with everything.
#1 My black blouse with drapes sleeves paired with the black lace maxi skirt, a black corset I wore with a black cardigan and wear the blouse and black cardigan under the bodice. I want to show the long lovely drapes sleeves but have the cardigan sleeves pushed up to help with the reveal of the sleeves. I sewed the bodice myself so I will feel comfortable in it. I have a short sleeve black tie front top I can wear with the dress. I think I am liking option #2 more:
#2 I wear the black lace dress over the black lace maxi skirt and a cardigan. I want to look alluring, haunting, bewitching. I would still wear the bodice and belt with it. I want to look like I can handle prestigious while being true to myself. I have chosen a few accessories for these outfit options: a witch hat (of course), the black lace up boots, my spider choker, pentacle belt, a shawl, the skull ring and spider tattoo. Oh yeah I can’t wait. I want to paint my nails both silver and black. I have waited months for this so I want to make it all worth the wait. I can get some perfume from the drugstore and I want makeup that doesn’t wear off fast. The black lace dress has pentagrams on it. I love it, so meant for me. I may even add the black lace gloves. Or it may be too much, I will know soon. Or I could wear the gloves there then remove them when I arrive. I have a lovely silver crescent moon necklace to wear too.
#3 I wear the black lace maxi skirt and the black blouse with the lovely drapey sleeves and the short sleeve tie front top. I think I like this option too. I can bring in all the above elements. I think that lace is so bewitching, and best in black. I would still include all the accessories.
Then I will put my intention into the outfit and empower it with my energy. I have to feel comfortable but alluring at the same time. I have never attended a symposium before but I am sure I will have fun. The photo above depicts my backyard. It conveys the image, like the mood I am in. I have seen videos of women who traded in their signature goth dreads, tattoos and goth clothing look and sacrificed their individuality to look all princess. I know in my heart that is a decision I could never make. I can’t even feel comfortable in a business suit. I need my bohemian witchy look or nothing. It is how I feel my best. October is not a warm month but I will be indoors most of the day. I have to consider that factor too.
I have no issue with telling someone flat out what I think of them. I am sure it won’t come to that. But I have fought long and hard for Witches to be accepted. We are not the monsters depicted in Hollywood movies or deserving to be burned at the stake. We are the healers, the midwives, the lovers, the tarot readers, the herbalists, and the moon worshipping badasses.
I’ll polish my boots, mend the fishnet tights, and I sprayed a preserving oil on the black purse I am bringing. It only costs cents to repair something yet it can take you so far. Clear nail polish repairs tights and it is good to have a sewing needle and thread at hand. I may even make a new black slip to accompany the shirts and dresses. Yes I plan to forgo the backpack for a purse. This hotel is ritzy so I want to look as pulled together as I possibly can. This is going to be amazing! I can’t wait.
I conjured up peppermint bark. My dark pagan gods, I never tasted anything so divine in my life. This post will show you how to make your own amazing peppermint bark!
You will need cocoa butter or coconut oil, peppermint extract, white chocolate chips, honey, fennel seeds, and candy canes. I used organic coconut oil. Cocoa butter is expensive and hard to find outside of regular grocery stores. First, make your toppings. Candy the fennel seeds. Add two tablespoons of water and two tablespoons of sugar to a pan. When it sizzles, and the sugar has dissolved, add the fennel seeds. Set it aside. Crumble the candy canes in a blender. I used six candy canes for a topping.
While you are making the bark, your kitchen will smell great. Melt the cocoa butter or cocoa powder and coconut oil together in a double boiler. When it has thoroughly softened and melted, add the peppermint extract. Then pour the chocolate onto parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Let it cool in the fridge.
Clean the bowl you used for the dark chocolate to melt the white chocolate chips. I used coconut oil again. The white chocolate chips weren’t melting the way I would like. Do not let any water get in the bowl or it will seize. Add more peppermint extract to the white chocolate and pour it on top of the dark chocolate. It is tricky. You don’t want the white chocolate and the dark chocolate to blend. Quickly add the toppings – the fennel seeds and the crumbled candy cane. Let the chocolate harden and dry overnight.
Now you have a true divine treat to enjoy and share with your loved ones over the holiday season. Store the peppermint bark in an airtight container in the fridge or the freezer. You will never have to buy it again. You will never want to buy it again. Homemade peppermint bark is far more delicious.
It is optional but not necessary to add the honey. I totally forgot. I was using two different recipes for the bark. It is so quick to make and affordable I just might a second batch. To give as gifts, break the pieces apart and tuck into small cellophane plastic bags and tie with a holiday string or bow.
I have a bottle of cider in the fridge for the holidays. I also have a bottle of brandy to enjoy with the cider or a hot toddy. I made a beautiful gift for my Mom. I just can’t wait for this holiday. I scored a lovely silver table cloth and I decorated my goth tree. I don’t have much money but I am determined to enjoy the holidays.
I love my new spooky shower curtain from Killstar. The curtain came with black shower rings for hanging it up. I could not ask for more. The bland white shower curtain I will give to my Mom. She likes white and I love black. We are so different. I mean very different from each other. I am waiting for a pair of Dark Lord slippers to be delivered today’s also bought from Killstar. The slippers arrived! The Dark Lord shall keep my feet warm this winter!!!
I can’t wait for my slippers. My feet are shivering! Speaking of shivering, the Wheel of the Year turns to the Winter Solstice. I can’t believe it is that time of year. I have decided I will set up my goth tree. I made some cute gnome ornaments last year. I want to dig them out this year.
I totally binge watched the Wednesday series on Netflix. I was blown away by the show. Wow, I love it. Let’s not leave out Krampus.
I want to sew a lot of kitty catnip pouches and donate them to an animal shelter. I bought cute fabric the colour of pink or lavender. The fabric has a cute cat print on it and is made of flannel. I’m going to buy a huge amount of catnip to stuff the pouches with. I can’t wait to donate them. I plan to sew the pouches at my Mom’s. If I do it here, Penny will never let me get anything done. Yeah cats love catnip, which is why this will work.
Giving is important at this time of year. I feel like Santa Paws, donating hand sewn items to an animal shelter. Every one of those cats (and dogs) wants a home. I hope to brighten their days they spend at the shelter, hoping against hope they will be adopted. I am sure the donations are appreciated by the staff and hopefully the kitties will love the pouches too. I may add some doggy bones for their canine pals too.
I want to post about the horror authors I truly admire: Tim Waggoner. I love this author. Waggoner is contemporary and is so good, keeping horror at the forefront for readers and making horror relevant!!! I admire him very much, so amazing and down to earth.
Tim Waggoner’s latest novel is titled We will Rise. I can’t wait to read it. I love books in print. I am not a Kindle chick. I will buy it on Amazon or Indigo. The book is about a ghost apocalypse. I am so intrigued!
‘He’s the author of the acclaimed horror-writing guide Writing in the Dark, which won the Bram Stoker Award in 2021. He won another Bram Stoker Award in 2021 in the category of short nonfiction for his article “Speaking of Horror,” and in 2017 he received the Bram Stoker Award in Long Fiction for his novella The Winter Box. In addition, he’s been a multiple finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award and the Scribe Award, and a one-time finalist for the Splatterpunk Award. In addition to writing, he’s also a full-time tenured professor who teaches creative writing and composition at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio.’ Credit given to http://www.scottedelman.com/2022/12/02/tim-waggoner/
I have Tim Waggoner’s book Writing in the Dark which won a Bram Stoker Award. Writing in the Dark is an awesome textbook Writing in the Dark. I love it! He also did a follow up on Writing in the Dark with a workbook. I have both and I do use them for my own writing. If you are serious about writing, horror specifically, you will find these books most valuable. It is chock full of writing advice and tips you could find it hard to get elsewhere. He also offers advice from many other authors, not just him. I love that the other authors are included. Most books don’t offer that. This makes the book far more awesome.
I am so happy that Waggoner authors are publishing books like these. I recently penned a novella. I hope to get it published. I nominated Tim Waggoner for a Bram Stoker Award. I believe he deserves it. He is so cool too. Maybe someday I can meet him. I hope he continues to publish such amazing books. Well I want that too. I think my writing path is easier and brighter with Tim Waggoner! We are all a global community and we can support each other in our writing.
I watched an episode, Demon under the Stairs, from the Haunted Museum recently. As I did, I suddenly experienced the worst pain in my jaw. It might be coincidental but the timing sure is worthy of note. Like I am not kidding, it was the most painful thing I ever experienced next to the nightmarish experience I had at the dentist’s office. Needless to say, I am no longer visiting that dental office. I am buying a big chunk of selenite to protect me from anymore possible ‘attacks’. I mean you know, just in case.
I watched a video about demons on YouTube in the past. As I watched, I felt a big muscle spasm between the shoulder blades. That really hurt too. Maybe it was coincidental or maybe I need to up the ante of this pain I suffer when watching certain videos. For any of you who are reading this, I do have psychic protection posts I wrote in the past on this blog.
Energy is real and all around us. Energy makes everything happen. We are composed of electromagnetic energy. The Universe is energy. A leaf has an energy as does an orange. As I type, rain falls from a grey leaden sky. I keep pining for summer but winter is here. Sometimes I have seen so much ice and snow in my backyard it seems that summer would never return, but it does. I hate winter but I know it passes. The change of the seasons never ceases to amaze me. Everything is energy and nothing is finite.
I am inspired to sew a scary doll. She is not haunted but she will be hopefully if I take her places that are speculated to be haunted. The photo shows the layout of the pattern pieces. The body of the doll is white. The hair which will be mostly made up of black and some purple yarn, she will have buttons for eyes, and her dress is a black and white spider print fabric I stashed in the sewing cart. The sleeves are the same fabric as the dress. The stockings are a grey fabric with a black bat print and the boots are black. She will get a witch charm necklace, a broom and a witch hat. I think she will be so Goth and cute. I can’t wait to work on the doll! Then of course, she will need a name. No, I will not name her Morticia. There are a thousand dolls named Morticia. Claudia would suit her though. Maybe she will need fangs and a driving hunger for blood?
Ha! The entire doll – the body of the doll and the dress has to be sewn with a 1/4″ inch seam allowance. I had to find out how that is done. My needle plate shows a 3/8″ inch, 5/8″ inch and 7/8″ inch seam allowances. So the 1/4″ inch seam allowance is before 3/8″. You can now imagine that means a tiny, narrow seam allowance. Now I know where that is indicated because 1/4″ inches is 2/8″ inch. I have to see slowly and carefully. Wow. I will never be so precise as now. I made a doll in the past and I was never this careful. That’s because I am now using a pattern. To make it worse, the body of the doll and the clothing which will forever be a part of the doll is white. It will all show if I screw up. I will mark with tape where the mark is where I have to sew. Sewing slowly and keeping an eye on it will be the only way to get this done. This is not a rush job. I have never needed to sew in a 1/4″ inch before. Needles to say, I don’t look forward to it but it is not impossible. That’s why marking rulers and understanding math can come in handy- and patience!
I can’t wait to stuff the doll and sew the costume. But that comes after patiently sewing the doll and minding the seam allowance. Or it is all for naught. Too much work to go through for nothing. But anything worth doing is worth doing well. I will post photos as I go along. This will be a fun weekend project. I googled goth scary witch dolls. I am going for a scary cute goth look. The buttons I wanted to use might be too big for her face. I ordered black skull buttons online at Amazon. I don’t want to use regular buttons on the doll. I need a button at the collar and on her boots. Skull buttons will make her look edgy and with attitude.
If you want to make this doll, use the pattern by Kwik Sew 4390. That is the pattern I used. You have to have all the fabric at hand that you will need. The clothing is sewn to the doll’s body and is never intended to be separate from the doll. The body of most of the doll is white. The stockings and the booties (See legs of doll in the photo) are the clothing. The arms are white and the face and neck. The hair piece that gets sewn to the head of the doll has to be the haircolor and the yarn has to match. Since the yarn hair was black, I used black cotton for the hair front and hair back. Be sure to use matching thread. Sew the eyes on last or before you attach any other parts to the doll. I wanted to use big buttons for her eyes but the buttons were too big. Here are some photos I took on the progress of the doll:
When you sew the arms and legs, you cut out four pieces. The arms have to look right on the doll and are reversed of each other. One right arm and one left arm. The same goes with the legs. Our arms and legs face a certain way. It is no different with a doll.
When you sew the head to the body (front), keep a straight seam allowance. If you want to, you can use a pencil and mark a very light straight line from the notch marked on the forehead all the way down to the neck. The seamline of the head of the doll to the body must be straight. The notches and points have to meet. It is the same with the back of the doll. I stuffed the arms and legs tightly and packed the stuffing down firmly using a wooden dowel but not hard enough to tear fabric or seams. You have to get the details of the doll’s body right or otherwise don’t bother.
Leave the back of the doll open for turning and stuffing. Take your time with this. Take your time making the entire doll. This is an act of creation so go slowly. Sew the doll with love and it will show. I sewed the smile on and traced a light line on for the smile with pencil then stitched over the pencil marks. I sprinkled in mugwort and mandrake then stitched the back of the doll by hand. Once you have correctly and nicely sewn the body, you can progress with the clothing.
The right arm of the doll’s sleeve cap features spiders. The left arm of the sleeve cap features the webs (where the spiders hide!). I drew an eyebrow on her brow very carefully with a sharpie pen and I did the same with her lashes. The pocket fabric is upside down and the collar fabric is wrong side up but it somehow works. The pocket can still hold spells!!! For the hair braids, you sew the braids to the head where the darts are. You can use whatever color yarn you want, but have lots of it on hand. If you want, you can sew a weft of the yarn hair and then sew it on by hand. You have to sew the yarn on by hand, Mark with a water soluble marker where you want to sew on the yarn. I have included a video here to better demonstrate how to sew on the yarn. Before you sew anything, watch this excellent video!:
I highly suggest you sew on the yarn by hand. If you use a hot glue gun, you will regret it. It won’t have that seamless look. Hot glue makes a mess. Sewing with needle and thread spares you lots of agony. I made the doll a dress and tacked it on to her body the same I did with the collar. I sewed on a pocket to the dress before I sewed the dress together. I had to sew the dress by hand because for some frustrating reason the machine refused to sew this fabric together. The dress comes with a slip. I gathered the fabric together but I had more luck just cutting the fabric to truly fit her body and I pinned the slip to the doll. Make sure to use thread that is the same as the yarn and the head of the doll.
I made the doll!!!! I love her and she is just sooo cute! I was successful in sewing the slim seam allowance. I stuffed the arms and the legs then I sewed the back of the doll’s head to the body. I sewed the back of the doll to the front of the doll. If you want to make your own doll and are trying this, you can’t catch the seams of the arms and legs when doing this. Then I finally stuffed the doll. Tear the wool into little pieces then put the stuffing into the doll. Be sure to pack it in carefully. You also have to stuff the doll’s head firmly because you don’t want the doll’s head to be floppy. I recommend watching how the woman in the video sews the doll body if you are inspired to make a doll yourself. It is incredibly helpful. I love my doll Miranda Spiderella. She is cute and scary! A perfect combination.
I might hunt a little rocking chair for her for a nice place to sit. I am sure I will eventually find something. This will be fun and hard work. I will let you know how it turns out!!
After this project is complete, I want to sew myself a brown winter coat.
I conjured up salt dough decorations. I am here to tell you how I did it so you will know how to create your own. A little about me: I own a tall black goth tree. The goth tree is tall and gnarly- perfect for a gothic Yule tree. I use that all year round but this year, I decided to go Nightmare Before Christmas.
I took my tree out from its usual corner. I cleaned it up and set it in my kitchen. I hung the usual decorations but I wasn’t happy with it totally. I wanted more and I found out what that more was. My tastes have changed. I have changed.
So I tossed out all my old or broken decorations. I donated what old decorations- an angel, colorful balls, tinsel etc. I was left with what I loved and cherished. I set that out, especially the gifts from a friend of mine. I then created the salt dough ornaments.
You can google the recipe but basically you blend salt, dough and water in a bowl. You then knead and roll out the dough on a floured surface. I cut out pumpkins, bats, cauldrons and a big jack Skellington disc. When they had dried, I painted them. I painted the bats and cauldrons black using black tempera paint. I painted the pumpkins orange and then ran out of the orange paint. I mixed yellow and red paint together to make the color orange. It was a deeper warmer orange shade. I let them all air dry again then I painted a sealant on them. They looked blue then the sealant dried. That prevents them from molding. They will last longer. I also set down wax paper before painting the ornaments. I can’t tell you how cool they looked. I shall include a photo. Painting the ornaments can get very messy.
When I was done, I rinsed my paintbrushes and washed the glass bowls. I prefer bowls over painting on a palette. It gives me more freedom than what a palette offers. I love using acrylic paints on everything. Be sure to poke a hole in the ornament to run a string through. If the hole fills in, then string a needle and run it through the ornament.
Knot each loop through the cookie. Than hang up ’em up on your tree! You can google all this. For the Skellington disc, I downloaded a template. I painted the Jack Skellington white. I etched the design of his face onto the disc using a knife. Then I used a black sharpie to draw and fill in the details. I poked a hole through and ran a string into a loop.
I wish I thought of attaching the bat. Ah well I love how it turned out! I still have salt dough remaining. I am not sure yet what to do with the rest of it. I hope this post inspires you to create your own decorations and traditions for Yule. It’s almost here!
I painted five popsicle sticks blue. I glued them together to form a pentacle. I ran string through plastic white bones to make a garland of bones. I knotted the string several times and ran a bead through at the beginning and ends of the string. That was to prevent the thread from slipping out. I hung it on the tree with care.
The tree is adorned with a book of spells ornament, stars, pumpkins, cauldrons, an owl, a fiddle, a ghost, black leaf Garland, a Garland of bones, a blue pentacle, a doll, a green xmas tree salt dough ornament from a past Yule, crescent moon, black bats, a black ghost a gold bell, blue crescent moon, silver stag, witch ornament- fright this way, and a brown cat.
Let me know what your own traditions are at Yule! P.S. I do want to try making a fragrant cinnamon stick star! Also, pinecones can be dried in the oven, painted and sprinkled in glitter for that touch of Winter Solstice magic! I hope you enjoy making your own decorations as a way of getting into the spirit of Yule! Be creative.
“Gothic horror and cosmic dread from the mist-shrouded coast of Halifax.”
Welcome to The Paranormal QuillGothic Horror. Dark Folklore. Cosmic Indifference.Step across the threshold. I
am Heddy Johannesen—conjurer of gothic horrors, paranormal nonfiction investigator, and dedicated student of dark herbalism. From the mist-shrouded coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, I pull back the veil on creepy alternate dimensions and the ancient secrets that refuse to stay buried.Pull up a chair, light a candle, and explore the shadows with me. Just mind the cobwebs.
