DIY Herb Drying Pentagram Rack

Supplies:

• Sticks (find them in your backyard)
• Cotton twine (Dollar Tree)
• Something to hang it on: I had a black v-style shelf bracket (don't know the real name) from a previous buy, I believe less than $2. 

The sticks I used were about 20" long. It took my three tries searching in the backyard to find the perfect combo.

I ended up with extra sticks which is what I used for the photo diagram.

Align the sticks in a star position and have them interchange/overlap.

Tie the twine around once, wrap the twine as much as you prefer, and then tie the end and cut the string at the knot.

For the hanging strings, measure out 4-6 strings at equal length (approximately 18 inches) for each point of the star. 

Tie the 4-6 strings together at the end of each star and when finished with all 5 points tie all together towards the middle.

And hang!

Add your herbs!

I used the same Dollar Tree twine to tie the ends of my herbs to dry

On the far left point is dried basil and on the far right point is fresh basil, approximately 2 weeks from fresh to dry (brittle) 

UPDATE: DIY Spellbook Tea-dyed pages

Well I am starting over on my Stregheria....

The funny [not really] thing is I haven't even completed the first spellbook,

but I decided about half way through that I would make a new one

WITH LESS MISTAKES.

So a lesson I have learned while writing in the first book is that I should not have binded the book (sew in the pages) until I was finished with the artwork/spell writing.

I like to trace beautiful artwork or tough fonts onto the pages from my desktop screen (taken off the stand) but this has proven to be difficult when the book is bound. 

SO, I am starting over. 

Drawing out the pages first then binding the book after.

If I mess up on a page I can throw it out and start over instead of keeping the crappy page in the book or ripping it out (which is not an option in my mind). 

Also I'll be making a new type of cover, not with paper mache but with faux leather from a thrift store.... we'll get to that in a year or two 😁. 

The first step is to dye the spellbook pages with black tea BUT

this time I'm adding in a little extra to the water:

• 9 black tea bags (at first 5 tea bags weren't dark enough) 
• 2 chamomile tea bags - for health, peace, luck, money, reversing hexes, & purification 
• Handful of loose dried lavender - for love, purification, clarity of thought, visions, & wishes   
• 8-10 bay leaves - for protection, psychic powers, divination, success, granting wishes & good fortune
• Handful of dried sage - for protection, peace, sacred purification, & consecrating magical tools  

Heat the water to just before boiling & steep the herbs for 20 minutes.

Look at that steam

Set-up your kitchen factory and follow the steps from the previous DIY project (because I don't want to photograph the whole process again 😊) (make sure the tea water is cool)

*Be gentle with the pages when dipping them because they will tear easily

**Dip the page once & hang, once it has dried (about 40 minutes), dip the page again for a darker color

***I bet the tea is drinkable (before factory processed paper was added) but let's just go ahead & state: DON'T DRINK THE WATER!

Feeling Witchy: Protection Sachet bag

Feeling Witchy: Protection Sachet Bag

 For protection:

Carry with you, leave in your car, or home, bring with you on a trip!

Supplies:

• Quartz - for awareness, clarity
• Snowflake Obsidian - for spiritual protection 
• Dried basil - for home protection, peace, courage 
• Dried bay leaves - for protection 
• Dried mint - for protection, peace 
• Dried Cedar - for protection, longevity, & cleanses negative atmospheres
• Cinnamon (stick) - for protection, happiness  
• Garlic (glove) - for protection 
• Sachet
• *Add dill or parsley if using the sachet for travel or in your vehicle
• Drill and hammer to break down cedar (unless you have very strong hands!)

***UPDATE 2020, I found a four-pack of dried cedar bags (used for dresser drawers) that was already broken up (loose) and they worked perfectly. I also found it on clearance for less than $3.***

Disclaimer: I made 2 different versions of this sachet because the first time around I used what I already had in my house; garlic powder, cinnamon powder, and possibly the wrong cedar...

When I was packing the bag with the dry ingredients I noticed that the garlic & cinnamon powder fell right through the small holes (I knew it would happen but went for it anyways).

I wasn't sure what to do since I didn't want to transfer everything into a glass jar (also commonly used in making sachets/jars) since I didn't have one.

I used a piece of tape and stuck the powder ingredients to it and placed it in the bag... I did not like that look.

I also couldn't find any cedar trees around my area and kept searching at Lowes. 

I came across a Japanese Cedar tree and plucked a few sprigs off. But it didn't have the cedar smell I was expecting nor the look of a cedar tree.

After regrouping, I bought cinnamon sticks at Dollar Tree and used part of a fresh garlic glove and let it dry out a little. 

I searched Walmart for cedar balls or sticks in the laundry area because cedar is commonly used to ward off moths.
All I could find was cedar blocks used for hanging in the closet and figured it would do... Also they smelled great.

SO I have some pictures from the first attempt and my latest attempt: enjoy that confusion!

 Taken from a page in my spell book.

When packing this sachet take a few minutes to meditate and envision yourself cloaked in a security blanket. 

First add the herbs:

• I dried the basil and mint from my garden and crumbled it in the bag 
• I wrote on store-bought bay leaves with a red permanent marker and crumbled the leaves into the bag.
• I bought a 6-pack of cedar blocks at Walmart for $4 and cut them down (see below). 
• I dried a fresh garlic clove from a bulb bought from the store
• And the cinnamon sticks were from Dollar Tree. 

First version

Second version

That's Keanu climbing onto my table because apparently I wasn't giving him enough attention. 

Majestic... I know 

Lets break down the cedar blocks:

 I used a 3/16 drill bit and placed the block on an old shoebox.

 From there I drilled multiple holes on the corner of the block to make it easier to break.

 I broke of the end of the cedar corner with a hammer. 

 I ended up with a couple of more pieces after using the hammer and broke that down with the drill the same way. 

 Crumble the herbs:

 Bay leaves are commonly used for wishes: write your wish on the leaf and carry it with you.

I wrote on the leaf "Protection" and then crumbled it for the bag. 

 Add all of your dry ingredients: 

Bay leaves, basil, mint, garlic (cut in quarters), cinnamon sticks (broken in quarters), cedar chips, and I still add the Japanese Cedar sprigs from Lowes for good measure. 

 Hold the quartz and snowflake obsidian in your hands for a few minutes:

Think positively and wish for protection and good health.

Once you feel that the stones are "charged", bury them inside the herbs and tie shut. 

 Now carry the sachet with you or place it where you would like to be protected: home/car. 

I gave one to my mom and she sleeps with it under her pillow because she loves the smell. 

Which, by the way, is wonderful. The mixture of smells range from sweet cinnamon and basil to blunt fresh garlic and strong cedar and it actually pairs quite nicely. 

Wrapping X-Mas gifts the right way

 A dead body & cats under the christmas tree!

For the dead body:

My Secret Santa receiver wanted make-up brushes for christmas and I thought it would be to boring handing over a bag of brushes. 

I divided up the brushes for the arms and legs area and the package from Amazon came with a make-up bag which is the torso.

 Wrap the brushes in tissue paper.

Wrap the make up bag with a plastic bag and then add more plastic grocery bags to round out the stomach. 

I added a candy cane to the make-up bag because you're never supposed to give someone a bag as a gift empty!

The head and neck are also made with plastic bags.

 Now wrap! 

 I made a kitchen knife blade out of cardboard from the piece that comes at the bottom of frozen pizza. 

The handle is a plastic bag. 

I wish I added a make-up brush or a candy cane to make it a little extra special but didn't think about it at that time. 

I stabbed the body with scissors, inserted the wrapped knife and taped it down with clear packaging tape.

Draw blood around the injury with a permanent red marker unless your body is an alien, then it would be green. (I am hilarious, I know)  

 Throw him under the tree!

 For the cat: 

The body is the wrapped gifts: Tarot card set, mermaid tail blanket, dinosaur excavation cheap toy from Dollar tree, and a funny car decal.  

The head and tail are manipulated plastic bags. 

 I didn't add legs or arms since some cats sit on their limbs and you can't see them. 

So thats my inspiration for this gift: a limbless cat. 

 Wrap it! Add paper ears and whiskers. 

 Under the tree

Herb Garden in a Kiddie Pool

 DIY Herb Garden on the go:

During the summer in New Orleans, LA, it rains more often than not.

Which causes a problem with my plants being overwatered. 

Since my house is raised I figured it would be easy to pull the kiddie pool under the house during a long rain storm. 

And let me tell you how many times I've been soaked, running out in the storm!

But at least the plants are not getting too much water.

I was going to add my tomato plant (in back) but it was too large at the time.

Supplies: 

• Small hard plastic pool - $5.88 at Walmart
• Soil - I used Miracle Gro All Purpose soil (I believe 2-3 cu ft & I had leftovers) & American Countryside Compost & Manure 1 cu ft - $3-$5 per bag
• Coffee grounds (optional)
• Herbs! I picked garden sage, rosemary, chocolate mint, basil, & oregano plus a jalapeno pepper plant. The herbs were around $2.70 at Walmart & $3.50+ at Lowes
• Garden gloves
• Trowel

 First clean the pool and remove any pesky stickers.

 Poke holes in the bottom of the pool for good drainage. 

I used rounded garden shears and it poked through quite easily. 

 Add soil and manure/compost. Almost equal parts but I added more soil.

 Then add coffee grounds. My mom saved up her daily coffee (intake) grounds 

Mix soil, manure/compost, and coffee grounds.

At first I mixed with the trowel but then found hand-mixing (with gloves) was easier. 

Add herbs/plants!

 Water as needed.

 Update:

I had the basil and oregano in the same container for a couple of months and once they had more room both plants flourished. 

The rosemary died after I moved it around to make room for my lavender plant. 

Also pesky brown caterpillars keep eating the leaves. 

I have yet to figure out a good home remedy to fight them off. 

*If you ever heard of spraying the plant with dish soap & cayenne pepper...DON'T DO IT!

I think it killed my tomato plant. 

Here is how I dry my herbs:

I cut the herb from the top of the plant (making sure not to cut off the whole thing!) with scissors.

I wash them with cold running water while also removing any brown leaves or leaves with holes (from critters).

I "ring" them out - basically shake them lightly to remove the water,

and tie the stem ends with cotton twine from Dollar Tree

Basil

Sage

 I tie a loop with the same end of the string to tie the stems and hand them on my drying rack:

The herbs on the left and center point are already dried herbs. They dry pretty quickly. Brittle texture within 4 days. 

Check out my homemade herb drying rack here!