Tag Archives: twigs

June 29, 2024 · 5:56 pm

Compost Gold

Merry meet all,

I am so happy! I now have a compost tumbler. I love it! My boyfriend Derrick helped me set it up. He is so skilled with mechanical things. I helped him and together we had it fully functional. Prior to this, I had a compost pile setup in a corner of my garden beneath a maple tree for 2-3 years. The wooden box has all but fallen apart. The compost eventually turned to soil which was more like thatch. But now the soil and compost in the box is in the tumbler. I already had soil started. 

The Compost Tumbler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I dug and dug in the little wooden box till most of the soil and fresh compost was loose. I put clean garden soil in the tumbler and added a few leaves and stems. I put on gloves and sneakers and got to work. He helped set it up and I could not wait to begin using the tumbler. I stirred up the soil in the box and then added it to the tumbler using a large garden spade. Back and forth I went from the compost pile in the box to the tumbler. I made a lot of trips back and forth till my arms were like rubber. 

The soil was so earthy and rich! I can’t wait to get to add it to my garden! Now I will have great soil rich with nutrients. I closed the lid and turned the tumbler several times to stir the soil up. It was hard because the tumbler was heavy with rich soil. Once that gets going, every few days I have to turn it. Then once that really gets going, then I can start on the second side of the tumbler. The compost tumbler has a divider to divide fresh and older compost. 

The compost will heat up. That is a good sign of the beneficial organisms multiplying and working hard for me. I watched a few bees pollinating the raspberry flowers. I shall soon have raspberries thanks to them! That is why I would never use any pesticides, herbicides or insecticides in my garden. My garden is a safe haven for the hardworking unsung heroes- the pollinators! I know that without them, my garden would not be as beautiful and soul stirring as it is now. 

The compost tumbler was expensive but I believe that it is worth every penny. I already had soil to add and that was already composting so that was a huge advantage. The compost tumbler will keep rats out and other vermin too. Yes I very much look forward to working with my new compost tumbler. It is a genius idea!

I ordered the grey Tauriel maxi chemise dress! I can’t wait for it to arrive. It will look great with the maxi dress from Holy Clothing. I also ordered a book that is a gift for a friend of mine, or rather, her friend. I ordered a gorgeous goddess Danu statue. I can’t wait for that to arrive either. Tomorrow I plan to get sewing on a pair of cushions for Derrick’s apartment. 

Summer is the time to have fun! It’s the time to be outside! So after you read this post, do have fun. Remember to thank your pollinators, walk the dog, feed the cat and love the sun! Fire up the barbecue grill, or go to the beach but have fun. Here in Nova Scotia, we only get 90 days of warm weather to savour summertime. We are lucky if it is not all rainy and cold. The rain will not affect my compost tumbler as it is 99% sealed tight against the rain. One more great reason to be outdoors!

Blessings, Spiderwitch )O(

 

 

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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 13, 2021 · 8:31 pm

My witch’s broom )O(

Merry meet all,

Samhain is right around the corner. I was busy today crafting a witch’s besom!! I’m going to tell you how I did it so you can make your own!

I found a long dead branch outside in my backyard. I measured five feet and sawed it to the length I wanted. I put that on the lawn chair. Then I left to gather twigs and branches for the bristles. I headed over to the backyard where I found several 30-60 cm twigs. I gathered as many as I could and put them where I left the staff. I set them on the ground beside the chair. Now came for the part to polish the wood of the staff. 

I used a paring knife to scrape off all the bark. Once that was done (with effort), I sanded the entire staff. Then I coated the staff with my wood polishing salve. When I was satisfied with how smooth the staff was, I had to leave. I went to my Mom’s for a pair of secateurs and jute string. I had a quick visit with my Mom and returned home. Then I bundled the long twigs together and arranged them around the staff. I trimmed the twigs/ branches to ensure they were an even length. It became dark outside so I brought my project indoors. I wound the string as tight as humanly possible around the staff and bristles. Then I hammered a nail in. It needs to go into the wood deeper but it is my preference. I trimmed the ends of the wood again to make them even. Then I doused the bristles with bleach and hot soapy water (outside) to kill off any germs or bugs since it did just come from outdoors. After, I rinsed it with clean water and wiped down the bristles with damp paper towel. I hope that helped clean it. Then I brought the saw inside ( a good idea to have a saw nearby just in case), and the hammer, string, secateurs, scissors and my boline. Knot the ends of the string tightly and securely. If you choose, you can even use glue to secure the string ends. 

Make sure if you are crafting the besom that you have permission to use the wood, that you are respectful of the wood and the area you took it from, and that you tie the string as tightly as you can. My broom is not perfect – the staff is not in the centre of the twigs but I could care less. She is perfect to me. I will paint the staff tomorrow. I am so happy with it. It is just beautiful and truly magical to me. All in time for Samhain. 

I love my new broom. I can’t wait to paint it. I may have to wait to get to spray paint the bristles. But it will be worth it. I want to spray paint them deep brown. I am painting the staff a lighter brown. My other besom that I made is purple. I want this broom to still appear natural. Also, spray painting it eliminates bugs or dirt. It makes it last longer and appear “polished”. I don’t have the patience to sand and smooth every bristle but spray paint does that for me in a way. Yeah I can’t wait for that. I will post another photo once it’s done. 

Does this inspire you to try crafting your own tools? The even better part of all this is it didn’t cost me a dime. I am tired now but I can paint it tomorrow. I can’t wait. There is something about bringing out the beauty in wood that I truly enjoy. I own a smaller besom I bought at a witch shop. The wood has a natural look too. That besom is smaller than the one I crafted today. 

Let me know what you craft for Samhain. I want to hear all about it in the comments. I’ve updated this post to show you the finished witch’s broom!!! 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

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