Tag Archives: storage

April 28, 2023 · 10:17 am

Spring Creations

Merry meet all,

I am inspired by spring’s fresh  green renewal! My garden is coming to life. I have big plans: this month of May, I plan to deep clean and make big changes in the kitchen. The kitchen is, to me, one of the hearts of the home. I am a devoted hardcore kitchen witch and a kitchen witch always keeps a kitchen clean and in good order. I bought a bookcase. The bookcase that stands in my kitchen now has long since expired. I think spring which is about new life and renewal is the perfect time to redo the kitchen. I can’t wait to get the bookcase which has to be assembled first and then painted is the right time for this project. 

I bought artificial moss, artificial flowers and vines, butterfly and insect stickers, a tiny birdhouse, and I plan to make a faerie portal on a stand. I can paint the bookcase. That was good news to me when I read that on the website. My imagination was fired up. There was only one colour choice for me and I bet you can guess it- green! Green is the colour of spring after a winter of rustic browns and faded greys. 

I am going to paint it a deep forest green colour. I plan to paint the birdhouse. I have some wooden dowel rods. I want to glue the birdhouse to the wooden dowel rod. I’m going to glue the moss to the bookcase once it is painted. I also want to add fairy lights.  plan to glue on acorns, pinecones, the butterfly stickers, artificial leaves, and give it a real fairy/ witch bookcase feel and look. It will be amazing. The bookcase arrives on Saturday. 

I can’t wait to be rid of the old bookcase. It is fragile and could fall down any moment. It had too much weight on it. Plus, it’s plain and white and ugly and an eyesore.  The bookcase that arrives on the weekend will be absolutely amazing. I have been collecting a few items to use to decorate the bookcase: feathers, a besom made from lemon balm twigs, a wooden rune, spellite stone, a pinecone, birch bark, a black candle and another ornate thing I don’t have the name for but it looks so mystical. 

I added a kitchen cabinets organizer to the cupboard that stores my mugs, cups and thermos, etc. I could not believe the difference in the cupboard. I love it! Also, the organizer matches the colour of the cupboard and that was definitely an added bonus.! Yup, big changes here!

 

 

 

 

 

I am so inspired that I transformed the covers of my gardening journal. It had boring black covers. I love black and there’s nothing wrong with it. I am a ferociously creative person and it’s in my nature to grab a paintbrush to let my creativity out. I glued red tissue paper to the front and back covers. I painted the red tissue a deep green a few times. I made sure to hide all the red and trimmed the excess tissue from the edges. Then I twined two wires together to form a plant vine. I hot glued it to the front cover and painted it brown to look like an authentic plant vine. I cut the flowers and vines up from the main vines of the fake flowers and glued them to the wire to look they really grew from the wire. I glued on some butterfly stickers. It looks beautiful. The back of the book is now the front of the book. I glued designer papers to the insides of the front and back covers. The print designs are beautiful and match the theme. It’s going to be a gardening journal and should not be plain. I am inspired to write in it now!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will keep track of the seeds I plant, the plants that I grow, the zone I live in, what worked, what didn’t, how well the plants grow etc. I hope you like it. I ordered a witchy book full of bewitching recipes. I shall soon add it to the collection of herbal books. I can’t wait to begin my new awesome project of transforming the bookcase. I have to buy green paint and I want to be certain I have the perfect colour of green. I am sure that the staff at the store will help with that. 

I‘m going to deep clean the kitchen too. Don’t you all just love spring. I found a light thin green curtain stored with my other linens. It is perfect to hide the herb jars from light but thin enough to not encourage mold. I found an old dead branch that I’m going to trim to size, scrape off the bark, and paint and hang up at my apothecary. I am just brimming with creative energy! I would love to hear about your own spring inspirations. Beltane is coming!

Enjoy spring!

Blessings, Spiderwitch

 

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October 22, 2022 · 9:15 pm

Elecampane Root Harvest )O(

 

Merry meet all,

Yesterday I harvested the elecampane root. It was a great day. I turned the actions of digging the elecampane root up into a ritual.  The weather was sunny and relatively warm. I gathered together all the tools I need: a garden shovel, a garden trowel, and a stainless steel bowl to wash the roots after. 

I dug a large ring around the root ball. I removed the leaves and rocks from around the plant. Then I dug in with my garden shovel in a ring. I dug away all the soil surrounding the roots. I loosened the soil with the shovel and eased up the roots. I had to remove more small rocks that served as an edging around the plant. The elecampane plant was quite established. 

I removed the roots from the soil. I held the amazing elecampane roots in my hand. Wow. I felt the weight of the roots in my hands. It was so cool. I removed and cut up a long tree root from the soil and a rock. That may have been why the elecampane roots didn’t grow deeper. I carried the roots and the main crown to the back stone step. The roots were smaller than I anticipated. Undaunted, I proceeded to wash the roots. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I scrubbed the roots clean with a toothbrush. I cut roots off from the main crown. I rinsed the water and cleaned them again. I noticed that there were a couple of buds on the main crown. I brought the roots inside to clean them again. I planted the main crown back in the soil. I left an offering of cornmeal and fertilizer. I was so excited and emotional. I have a strong emotional connection to the earth. It hurt me to even dig up the roots. The scent of the elecampane root was amazing! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I returned the rocks to edge the elecampane plant and scattered the leaves over the soil. I hoped the main crown would grow new roots in the soil. I had fun with my fresh rich elecampane roots in the kitchen. They smelled so good and left the scent on my fingers. I cleaned them and chopped them. I arranged the roots on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. I dried the roots in the oven overnight at a low temperature. I removed them from the oven in the morning. The roots were dried, and a pale white colour. I stored them in a jar. I didn’t get as much as I wanted. Since the root crown has rooted again and there were new buds on it, I will get new growth next spring. I may have to wait a year or two to harvest more roots. It will be worth it. 

I am not sure what to do with the elecampane roots. I stored the seeds in a jar. I want to grow a lot more elecampane. Next spring, I will clear away tree branches, roots, rocks and weeds to make a clear space to grow more elecampane. Elecampane is medicinal for lung health and digestion. I am trying to build up an apothecary. This project will take patience. I already have fifty jars (a slight exaggeration) full of herbs: roots, seeds, bark and berries). 

I planted the nettle, mugwort and rue. The herbs will root themselves and emerge in the spring, just like the elecampane roots! I checked the next day and the elecampane main crown resisted when I gently tugged on it. That was exciting!

I love harvesting medicinal roots. My life is more exciting gathering medicinal roots. I hope it’s the same for you. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch 

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December 14, 2020 · 2:34 pm

Celebrating Yule on a Budget.

Merry meet all,

As Witches, we celebrate the Winter solstice. Let’s decorate for the Winter solstice and celebrate with a joyful heart! It can be done in the midst of this covid craze. 

Let’s get started!

Save all of your orange peels! I baked my first ever Yuletide bread. I had saved all of my orange peels. I made candied orange peel (mmm) with the saved peels. You can grind them in your blender to use in simmering potpourri and incense. It releases the most delicious scent ever. I will include a link on how to make delicious candied orange peel. It’s easy to do. I will also include links on how to make Yuletide bread. 

Go out for a long nature walk. Gather pine needles and pinecones. Bring them in and clean them up. You can even burn them a little in the oven on low heat to kill the mites or germs. You can then paint them, roll them in glitter, and glue ribbons on them to make a garland. Pine needles have that famous earthy minty scent we all love. 

Star anise Store dry star anise in a dry jar. That prevents the anise from molding. Star anise smells like licorice. Cinnamon sticks correspond with fire and in my opinion, earth related matters. Nutmeg, clove and allspice also correspond to Winter Solstice. Allspice draws money toward you. 

Bay leaves Write your wishes for the coming year on a bay leaf. You can either burn the bay leaf then to grant the wish faster. Or you can add it to the simmering potpourri. Or you can tie your bay leaf to a pinecone and burn the pinecone. Pinecones in the home bless and protect the home. Slice oranges and apples and add them to the potpourri. 

All of these herbs, spices and barks can be enjoyed in a simmering potpourri. You can save the liquid from the potpourri in a labeled jar. You can share and give it as a gift to a loved one. You can let it all air dry and reuse as a potpourri. Put your intention into it and let the magic unfold. 

I baked gingerbread cookies. I can’t wait to frost the cookies. It will be fun. It was fun and a lot of work to bake the Yuletide cake. If you are eager to try, I suggest taking 2-3 days to make it. The orange peels need to dry for several hours. I roasted the almonds and chopped them. I also cut the orange peel slices into smaller pieces. I blanched the cranberries and pierced the berries with a sharp knife. As the berries baked in the bread, they were dehydrated. It takes a while but the scent that will waft through your home is amazing. The same can be said for roasting the almonds myself. The store bought bread doesn’t compare. If you bake it now, you will be prepared for Yule! It can be sliced and stored in the freezer if you wrap the slices in wax paper. 

I  baked the bread in a tube pan. It worked just as well. The Yuletide bread is meant to be a tall bread but the dough still rises in the tube pan. I purchased mine at the dollar store. 

For those of you who are like me and enjoy listening to music for the holiday season, I can’t recommend the Blackmore’s Night Christmas tunes enough. Subscribe and click like to get to enjoy the beautiful music as many times as you want. Play while you gift wrap or bake cookies! 

Here are the links: 

https://youtu.be/_sHMoyMajcQ

Easy Sugar Cookie Frosting Recipe – Jessica Gavin

https://youtu.be/Yp4EF9GCUO4

Yuletide Bread | King Arthur Baking

Here is some lore for you to enjoy: 

The Pagan Origins of the Yule Goat | Julia Penelope (patheos.com)

A Ritual to try:

Winter Solstice – A Solitary Ritual | John Beckett (patheos.com)

The True Meaning of the Winter Solstice: Hope | Jason Mankey (patheos.com)

Blessings, Spiderwitch

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