Merry meet all,
Yule or the Winter Solstice is only a few weeks away. I have been busy. Busy getting ready for the Winter Solstice. I have foraged for spruce, pine, juniper, cedar on the nature trail. I foraged for sage, thyme, lavender and rosemary. I’m saving seeds from herbs like oregano, sage, thyme from my Mom’s garden then I store the seeds in labeled white envelopes.
I plan to use the herbs for soap making, spell jars, tea blends and smudge sticks. I dried sliced oranges in my dehydrator. I glued pressed herbs onto a glass mason jar to use as a winter lantern. Where I live, we don’t get holly or mistletoe, some of the more traditional winter herbs. But that’s good because holly is toxic to cats. I also want to craft a candle for Yule. I bought a lot of supplies to craft soaps. I’m excited to get started on that. I have glass measuring cups, colorants, soap molds, fragrances and essential oils, stirring utensils, rubbing alcohol, additives, a heat source, and Vitamin E to ensure the soaps have a long shelf life.
I will either keep the herb crafts for myself or use them as gifts. Today’s post will focus on how to use herbs in various crafts so you can try this at home too!!
Play the Nutcracker soundtrack in the background or whatever you fancy for holiday themed music, burn some incense and light a candle and let’s get started.
Find a work space where you can work on your crafts without being distracted. If you are doing these crafts with small children present, be careful using tools like hot glue guns, scissors, hole punchers. Be sure the children are supervised to avoid them being harmed or any accidents.
I do not use lye to make soap. I purchase premade glycerine soap bases. I do not prefer lye and I see it as very dangerous to use, unless you really know what you are doing. In that case, power to ya. I just prefer the ready made soap bases.
Step 1: Prepare the mould and base
Gather supplies: Cut a pre-made glycerine soap base into small cubes. You will also need moulds, a heatproof container, and your desired additives like fragrance and colour. Prepare moulds: Set your moulds on a flat surface and have them ready.Microwave method: Place the soap cubes in a heatproof container and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each one, until the soap is completely melted. Be careful not to overheat the soap, as it can become rubbery. Double boiler method: Place the soap cubes in a container and set it inside a pot of hot water. Stir occasionally until the soap is melted.
Step 2: Add colour and scent
Add colour: Stir in a few drops of soap-specific liquid colourant or a small amount of mica powder. Add more drops until you reach the desired colour, but start with a small amount as colours can be intense.Add scent: Stir in a few drops of essential or fragrance oil designed for soap. A general guideline is about 10 drops per 4-ounce bar, but follow the product’s instructions.
Step 3: Pour and cool
-
- Pour: Carefully pour the melted mixture into your prepared moulds.
- Remove bubbles: For a smoother finish, spray the surface of the poured soap with a small amount of rubbing alcohol to pop any air bubbles.
- Cool: Let the moulds sit undisturbed until the soap is tough. This can take about an hour, or you can place them in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to speed up the process.
I want to use the herb oils I already have in my amber glass jars for the soaps. That includes spruce oil (invigorating), calendula ( wound healing and moistening), and lavender (nervine properties). I bought two colourants – one a yellow color to use with the calendula and lavender or goldenrod! and green for the spruce or pine soap and scents. I think I will add dried herbs, but I want to grind them up to a powder first.
The next herb project to try is making smudge sticks with herbs. These would also make great gifts. I will use the herbs that I foraged for earlier, such as the white spruce (may not be sitka spruce as I initially believed, eastern hemlock, cedar and common juniper. I also have bay leaves, rosemary, and more spruce, cedar and juniper. I like to take my time to decide how best to arrange the herbs into a smudge bundle. This is also why I dried the orange slices.
Lay the herbs down on a clean and dry surface. Be sure you have scissors and string, embroidery floss (best if it’s a matching or corresponding colour), or a rubber band to bind the herbs together. Place the spruce, pine or cedar down first as a base then arrange rosemary, bay leaves or cinnamon sticks on top of that. Trim the odd ends and arrange them together neatly. Then set the dried orange slices down on that and if you choose, you can place a star anise on top of the orange slices. I might adhere the star anise to the orange slice with a hot glue gun. This is not meant to be ingested, so that’s okay. Bind the herbs together with string, floss or a rubber band. You could also add. baby’s breath, eucalyptus, mint or sage leaves or even thyme. Once you have it all arranged the way that you want, bind them together and be sure to trim those uneven ends! Then let it dry. Tie a pretty bow onto the smudge stick, or use natural raffia or a pretty natural ribbon that just gives you a pretty boho vibe.
The next cool herb craft to try involves using twigs arranged around a candle jar! Very earthy and witchy. I want to make this craft too.
How To Make It
- Hold a twig against the glass and wrap twine around the jar several times to secure it.
- Continue adding twigs one by one, tucking each under the twine as you go.
- If you prefer a sturdier hold, place small dots of glue behind a few of the twigs.
- Tie the twine firmly and adjust the twigs until the ring looks even.
Variation
Place a little moss around the base for a touch of softness. Credit given to: https://thewildenchantment.com/simple-diy-twig-craft-ideas-for-witchy-home-decor/?fbclid=IwY2xjawOdRwVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeiiSlBEV0ZIDfDdWoP7BcI-NUp-o9SR0JWowRM3-ZJZA0BiN0nA2vTl4xEVY_aem_eKOOod3dIja7DOE0U0Rt0g
I would add some essential oils to the twigs or the candle to enhance the natural earthy look. Cedarwood, pine essential oils or eucalyptus would work well.
This weekend, I crafted a Yule candle holder jar. I hot glued found twigs to a candle holder. I kept the twigs to the same size roughly and secured them around the jar. I painted them gold, (good for concealing unsightly hot glue). I tied raffia around the twigs and secured it in a bow. I had a cool piece of gold trim and glued it to the twigs. I love how it looks!
I sprinkled pine, cedar, spruce and thyme in a tiny glass vial. I put the cork on and dripped hot candle wax over the cork, sealing the herbs in the jar.
Make a Yule Bundle
CREATING YOUR YULE BUNDLE
Search the ground below your woody pal, and also in her tangle of limbs, for broken or fallen branches and sticks. Gather a piece up from each type of woody plant that speaks to you, and trim each sample to a uniform size (about 10 inches is nice). Grasp all your tidy little stick gifts in your fist, one of each type.
You are holding a mini forest.
Can you feel its strength? Its beauty? Its life supporting gifts for beings of all types?
Look closely at this fistful of forest. Can you still identify the species of each stick? This can be quite a challenge! Yes the colours vary, but get curious about the fine, distinguishing details:
- Do you see leaf scars from opposite or alternate branching patterns?
- How does the flexibility vary between your sticks?
- Does the bark harbour moss, lichen, fungi, or algae species?
- Is the core pithy or woody?
- Does the bark peel away easily?
- Close your eyes and see with your fingertips. What do you notice about the texture of each stick?Use a length of natural fibre string or yarn, or perhaps a strip of bark or length of vine or grass, to secure your bundle.These bundles make a sweet holiday gift to share with loved ones who live in your “neck of the woods” — or especially for someone who perhaps moved elsewhere and is missing the forest they used to call home. The next step is an important one:
Before you burn your bundle and literally transform your dark bits into light, remember to thank all that you are releasing. Everything on your strip of paper has been a part of creating who you are. I’ve noticed that often what I want to release, those aspects of myself that feel like they are holding me back from being who I truly am, are actually survival mechanisms I developed to get me through a particular chapter of my life. Though the chapter has been written – and I’m now several books ahead in the series!—these unnecessary ways of being have persisted. They served their purpose and for that I am thankful. Now it’s time to let them go. Feel the weight of the bundle in your hands and all it represents.
Feel the strength, diversity, and unique ways of being of your plant allies. Place your bundle into the fire (oh how lovely an outdoor fire is, but a wood stove also works!) and watch the light it creates as it burns, darkness and energy literally transformed into flame, smoke, and warmth before you. Notice the lightness in yourself and carry it with you into brighter days ahead. Credit given to: Dandelion Herbal Center- making a Yule Bundle. I know the instructions tell you to burn the bundle, but I can’t bring myself to do it. The sticks are so beautiful.
Here is a link for more ideas on how to use items from nature to make crafts:https://thewildenchantment.com/11-easy-winter-solstice-nature-crafts-that-double-as-gifts/?fbclid=IwY2xjawOdSiBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeTwaT_WDuQyoqiGxs-PKJytfD2jW2M4ucsCFFgkMvXlvhWvLAGtFseH3anP8_aem_ccTGoBe1kMcgImyytxiPAA
Pinecones, spruce needles and piencones and cinnamon sticks are a lovely, magical combination.
Here is another link that gives you lots of crafty ideas sure to keep you busy!
I hope you have lots of fun with these crafty ideas! I will post more about the Winter Solstice. Till then, stay spooky!
Blessings, Spiderwitch
Leave a Reply