5 Easy Decorating Ideas for Mabon

Need some quick and affordable decorating ideas for Mabon? Here are some tips on how to bring the season into your home without breaking your bank account!

the season into your home without breaking your bank account!

Apples

Image by Patti Wigington 2009

At Mabon, the apple season is in full bloom. In addition to being delicious, these beautiful fruits - available in so many different colors - are perfect for Mabon divination and magic. A symbol of the goddess Pomona to the ancient Romans, apples can be used in your home for decoration during the autumn equinox season. Place baskets and bowls of them around your home, as well as on your altar.

You can also use apples in a Mabon Apple Harvest Ritual. This harvest ritual is designed with solitary Wiccans and Pagans in mind, and uses the apple and its five-pointed star as the focus.

In addition to being tasty and sweet, apples are perfect for craft projects. Try one of these to decorate your home with magical apple energy:

• Apple Candleholders: Make a set of decorative candleholders by coring out the top of a pair of apples.
• Apple Garlands: This easy-to-make craft not only looks pretty, but will leave your home smelling delicious and welcoming!
• Apple Butter: Brew up a pot of delicious apple butter to celebrate the harvest.

Grapevines, Leaves and Acorns

Image © Patti Wigington 2007

Much like the apple, the grape is one of those fruits that has a significant amount of magic associated with it. First and foremost, the grape harvest -- and the wine that it produces -- has been associated with fertility deities like Egypt's Hathor, the lusty Roman Bacchus and his Greek counterpart, Dionysus. By the time of Mabon, grape arbors are flourishing. Vines, leaves and fruit are all usable items -- the leaves are often used in Mediterranean cooking, the vines for craft projects, and the grapes themselves are extremely versatile.
At Mabon, the leaves are beginning to change colors for the season, and look magnificent. Collect leaves from around your neighborhood in a variety of colors, and use them to decorate your altar, or make wall hangings and table runners.
If you have oak trees nearby, collect acorns - in the absence of acorns, other nuts such as hazelnuts or buckeyes are a great option - and store them in pretty glass jars tied with ribbons, place them in bowl, or string them together to make a garland.

Scarecrows

Image by Dimitri Otis/Digital Vision/Getty Images

Although they haven't always looked the way they do now, scarecrows have been around a long time and have been used in a number of different cultures. Put one in your front yard or garden to keep the crows out of the crop, or make a smaller one to place on your altar: Scarecrow History.

Handcrafts

Image (c) Patti Wigington 2007

Mabon is a time of balance, prosperity and renewal, and it's a good time to tap into your creative talents to decorate your home. Take advantage of the season and make:

• Mabon Incense: Make this magical blend of harvest incense to use during your Mabon rites and ceremonies.
• Make a Mabon Cleansing Wash: Brew up a batch of this cleansing wash using herbs from your fall garden -- you can use it as a facial cleanse, or to purify your ritual space.
• Mabon Prosperity Candles: Mabon is the second of the harvest festivals, and a great time to draw abundance into your life. Celebrate the blessings of the season with a little bit of candle magic designed to bring prosperity your way.
• Make a God's Eye at Mabon: God's eyes are popular decorations to make in nearly every spiritual path. By using harvest colors like reds, oranges, yellows and browns, you can create one for Mabon to hang in your home or to adorn your altar.
• How to Make Pokeberry Ink: Want to make your own ink to use in magical workings? Try the toxic but lovely pokeberry, which blooms around Mabon each year!

Pumpkins and Gourds

Image by Patti Wigington 2007

Although carved pumpkins, in the form of Jack O'Lanterns are typically associated with Samhain later in the fall, the pumpkin patches are overflowing at Mabon. These and other gourds and members of the squash family make a great addition to your equinox decorating. Place pumpkins on your porch and baskets of squash in your kitchen, or place miniature versions of them on your altar or workspace.
Also, be sure to check out some of our pumpkin and gourd themed craft ideas:

• Easy Pumpkin Candles: Everyone loves candles, and with Mabon coming you can make your own candles out of small pumpkins and squashes.
• Painted Pentacle Pumpkins: Paint up some festive pentacle pumpkins for your Mabon celebrations!
• Kitchen Witch: Use a baby butternut or any other fall vegetable to make a kitchen witch to watch over your hearth and home.

Be sure to read up on some ideas for decorating your Sabbat altar here: Decorating Your Mabon Altar

DIY Candy Corn Candle Holder

This is not an official DIY Dollar store project, but it is still so cute and very much affordable  All items on the Candy Corn Centerpiece can be found at your local Dollar Tree.

Best of this entire project will only cost $3.00!

What you'll Need:

• Candy Corn

• Pillar Candle

• Tall Glass Candle Holder

Easy Step-by-Step Directions:

(The easiest three step directions of your life)

1. Open the bag of candy corn and pour into the candle holder

2. Unwrap any plastic off the candle and press into the candy corn

3. Light candle and enjoy

 

---------------------------------------------

-The Crafty Witch

40 Days Till Halloween

Yep, thats right, 40 days remaining until Halloween. 

Check every-- 

Monday for my DIY Halloween Projects, everything you can make yourself and all under $5!

Wednesdays for articles Into The Paranormal and Beyond, where we talk about the unknown and gives you a different perspective on life. . . and the afterlife!

&

Fridays for Fav Halloween Movies, talking about the best Halloween movies to watch (the best from when you were a kid)


See you then


-The Crafty Witch

DIY Spider Web Vase

I think this is such a cute and simple idea, no matter if its a child or adult party - these can be used as a centerpiece, decoration on a table or mantle. The Spider Web Vase is  very easy to make and all the items can be bought at your local Dollar Tree or around your own home!

Best of all this project will only cost $3.00!

What You'll Need:

• 71⁄4" Glass Cylinder Vase
• White Tissue Paper
• Craft Glue
• Foam Paint Brush
• Glitter
• Spider Web Stencil
• LED Tealight Candles
• Glow Sticks

*All items italicized are item you probably already have around your own home.

*All items underlined are optional

Easy Step-by-Step Directions:

1. Tear white tissue paper into small 2" pieces.

2. Using a foam paint brush and craft glue, spread a thin layer of
glue on the vase (working in small sections so you don’t glue
yourself to the vase!). Stick the pieces of tissue paper onto the
glue, allowing them to overlap a little. Then, dip the foam brush
in glue and spread some more glue on top of the tissue, working
carefully so as not to tear the tissue. Repeat these steps until
your vase is covered in a layer of white tissue paper. Set aside
to dry.

3. Once the vase is completely dry, place the spiderweb stencil
(see next page) inside the vase and trace over the lines from
the outside of the vase with craft glue. Sprinkle glitter (in your
choice of color) over the glue, covering it completely. Working in
small sections will make the tracing process easier. Be sure to
work over a plate so you can catch and reuse the excess glitter.
If you want the web design on both sides of the vase, simply
reposition the stencil and keep tracing with glue and sprinkling
with glitter until you've covered the entire vase or reached your
desired eerie effect. Set vase aside to dry.

4. Once the glitter and glue are completely dry, carefully brush
off the excess glitter with a dry paint brush. 

5. OPTIONAL: Place LED tealight candles or glow sticks inside the vase for a spooky effect!

 

---------------------------------------------

I did mine a little differently but both ways are acceptable. I printed out the stencil and placed it inside the cylinder vase and applied the glue directly to the outer surface of the vase following the stencil design. All I did then was sprinkle the glitter over the glue (with a paper plate underneath to catch any falling glitter.)

---------------------------------------------

Here is also link for those of you how would like to have a print out of the directions - it will take you to the Dollar Tree site where you can print out a PDF!

Go For PDF!

-The Crafty Witch

50 Days To Halloween

Yep, thats right, 50 days remaining until Halloween. Check every Monday for my DIY Halloween Projects, everything you can make yourself and all under $5!

-The Crafty Witch

Feng Shui

Feng Shui (pronounced Fung Shway), in its simplest terms, is an ancient practice originated by the Chinese as a way to live in harmony with nature. Translated into English, Feng means wind, and Shui means water. Bear this in mind, because everything in Feng Shui is directly related to flow, or movement, such as in wind or water. Energy is a term you will also hear often in Feng Shui, and this relates to Chi, or the energy that permeates everything around us.

Alrighty then, the question arises as to whether Feng Shui really works. The simple answer is that it does seem to, although the reasons for why are debatable (more on that later). At its core, Feng Shui is a environmental discipline that emphasizes cleanliness, orderliness, and harmony with nature in and around the home and workplace. Clean house, clear mind. We've all heard it. The first rule in Feng Shui is to declutter - which will in turn supposedly declutter your mind. Fair enough, but what if you have 5 screaming kids and the house is a wreck all the time and you work two jobs trying to keep food on the table? You need Mary Poppins, not friggin Feng Shui. I get it. So a good portion of this section will be devoted to you, the harassed, the overworked, the disorganized, and the exasperated people who are actually the very people who can benefit most from Feng Shui. But don't misunderstand. These are principles that can and do apply to anyone who lives or works in a man-made box commonly called a home or office.

The very first step in harmonizing with nature using Feng Shui is to assess your surroundings. Very few of us live in a home with naturally great Feng Shui, and a lot of the concepts of Feng Shui involve just plain old-fashioned common sense. It's better for your house to be above street level than below street level because of careening cars, heavy rains, and such. It's better to have a hill behind you than have a yard that slopes steeply in the back for safety reasons - criminals can more easily sneak up on you from below grade and it's dangerous to enjoy the backyard when there's a cliff out there. Inside, bathrooms are a big deal in Feng Shui because of all the nasties that go on in there, and placement in the center of the house is not considered a good thing. In fact, it seems that placement anywhere is never really optimal for a bathroom in Feng Shui. The good news is that whatever horrific Feng Shui scenario your house or office endures, there is a Feng Shui remedy that will negate the bad and enhance the good energies.

Look around for a few minutes. I mean really look around. How do you feel about the space you are in? Is there a really good feature to that room, such as architectural moldings, great windows, or a cool nook? Is there a terrible feature such as a horrible light fixture or rusted vent cover? How you feel in your core about your space is what you have to learn to listen to. You can fill your space with new stuff, but if it doesn't sing to you, it's all just stuff. Learn to listen to yourself and modify your space accordingly. If your problem is that you are just overwhelmed with stuff such as toys, find creative ways to either put it to use or store it in an attractive way. And please get rid of what is not usable anymore and teach the kids to put stuff away if they want to keep it! Even if you don't have much money, there are resources available for creative storage ideas. Search for pieces of furniture that do double duty.

Coffee tables with lift up lids, end tables with doors and drawers, ottomans that open for storage, beds with dressers built in underneath - there are a lot of ways to cram stuff into a small space, and it doesn't have to be expensive. Thrift stores, flea markets, Craig's list - all are good sources for really cool storage. And for those with a few basic power tools and a tape measure, you can make shelves, rework closets, and make boxes to hold stuff for a big return with little investment other than time. I've done all this stuff at my house, so don't give me that crap about not being able to do it yourself. We have internet, people - and there are videos and web pages filled with wonderful information on basic do-it-yourself projects - use them!

Once you get the clutter under control, the real Feng Shui fun begins! For one thing, if you have followed the instructions above, your life is undoubtedly a good bit better than it was before. Nothing like a creative, useful project to make you feel better - especially when visitors notice! As referred to above, one of the reasons that Feng Shui works is that it is a vehicle by which you take back your life and feel more empowered. For those with kids, jobs, and no time or money, just this unprecedented mastery of your environment is empowering and invigorating. Even if you just spray paint that rusty vent cover, DO something to make your living space more appealing to you!

Author Unknown

-The Crafty Witch

Halloween Cupcake Stand

This Halloween Cupcake Stand is so cute and is so affordable! Best part is it will only cost you 6 bucks - All items including the decor (pumpkin lantern and baking supplies can be bought at your local dollar store!)

What You’ll Need:
• Two Clear Glass Dinner Plates
• One Clear Glass Bowl
• Three Glass Taper Candleholders
• Black Nontoxic Paint
• Glass Glue

Easy Step-by-Step Directions:

1. Paint only the backs of the 2 glass plates and the glass bowl
and set aside to dry. Don’t paint the surfaces (tops of plates,
inside of bowl) that will touch food. Be sure to use a nontoxic
paint and remember that the finished cupcake stand should
be cleaned only by handwashing or wiping down with a damp
cloth (do not put in the dishwasher).

2. Paint the 3 glass candleholders and set aside to dry.

3. Once all the painted pieces are dry, attach them together as
shown with glass glue (candleholder, plate, candleholder, plate,
candleholder, bowl). Let everything dry overnight.

4. Using cake mix, icing, and Halloween baking cups from
Dollar Tree, make some fun & festive cupcakes to serve on
your new cupcake stand. Place a cute Dollar Tree Halloween
figurine with dangling legs on the edge of one plate for a
whimsical touch. We topped our stand off with one of our
paper lanterns, but you could also

 













-The Crafty Witch

Halloween is coming. . .Well in about 60 days.

I can't even go into detail about how much I love the holidays, Halloween being my favorite. And having OCD only makes things worse haha, I love to throw parties and above all decorate the crap out of my house. But when is enough, enough!?!

With in the days leading up to halloween, I'm going to show you have to save money for the upcoming holidays and even make it look like you spent more than you did.

One place I swear by is the Dollar Tree - and I know what some of you are thinking, "The Dollar Tree? Really??" Well guess what the dollar tree has some great stuff and for such a low price, you guessed it $1.00!

They even carry some holiday decor/supplies/treats - whatever the need. Some people may be embarrassed to shop at a discount store but why spend more when you can save less??

Every monday from now until Halloween I will be posting cute DIY Halloween Ideas that will cost you less the $6 -  Not completely sold yet? Just sit back and let me do the work for you.

-The Crafty Witch