Stocking the Pantry

Greetings, My Pretties!
There is a change in the air...a shift occuring...
The clouds above me...and the welcome crispness of the morning's first touch upon my skin, whisper a promise of rustling leaves, gatherings and nighttime haunts ahead...

To prepare, Lovelies, I am ensuring my cupboard is not bare.....brimming with jars of homemade goodies to keep my cauldron bubbling all season long....hee hee hee hee!  I am, afterall, at my most cunning this time of year *rubs palms together*  Heeheeheehee!

I do have some extremely rare specimens in my pantry this year....

One of my favorites is this sample of Werewolf Dander. *the sound of her babbling becomes fainter*

~~~Shhhh! It's really me, Cameron...just popping in to let you know that I'll put the 'human made ingredients' after these little squiggly marks so that your inner Witch can ramble on and on about her new pantry items, too ;P ~~~

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(It occurred to me while drafting this post that perhaps not everyone would find it as light-hearted and fun as I do.  Please know that I am in no way trying to mock or belittle anyone's beliefs or practices with this post. This little story is purely fictional and intended for entertainment only.  I am creating it in good humor and with a happy heart, excited for my most favorite Holiday of the Year :)

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*in a loud voice*

Ahem....have you been listening?

I just informed you that the dander is perfect for spells of transformation.  The bottle is, indeed, small...but, you must know how difficult it is to even collect that much!

~~quick cook oatmeal~~

One item I wish were more rare. But alas, is becoming more common, are the thieving fingers of those who desire to procure my wares without due payment. 

Should I start collecting deaf ears, too....hmmmmmm?

Anyhow, they soon get a quick economy lesson in supply and demand....

 I demand, they supply.  I collect handfuls of them every year...hee hee hee! 

Those I can't use, I toss into the compost heap of my local Cemetary.

They have the foulest, most prutrid Graveyard Dirt! A pinch is neccesary for a potent sleep potion... ~~potting soil & a storebought bone~~

I always try to combine my errands so I'm not needlessly flying from place to place!

The centipedes I find there, too, are the plumpest and juiciest around...

A wonderfully wicked excuse to brew a batch of Centipede Cider!

 ~~rubber centipedes in water in a colored wine bottle~~

The Deadly Nightshade grows wild there, as well....

Seasons the stew just right every time...heehee...

 ~~ominous looking silk leaves and berries~~

Oh...and my Dear Sister, Helga, surprised me with a jar of Moss and Fungi from the Enchanted Forest ! ~~dried moss, fake green moss balls from Dollar tree, twigs and a feather~~

She is so much more patient than I am....waiting until the moss is awash in moonlight before picking.

Mother always said "the Magic is in the details!"....

Or, maybe, it was "the dagger is in the entrails"?...

...oh, nevermind.....

Oh, my stripey socks, I almost forgot! Apparently a band of Trolls tried to stop Helga from crossing the bridge at the Old Elm...

Well, needless to say, I now have lovely souvenirs of their meeting...heeheehee!

~~slivered almonds~~

....And speaking of smelly, cantankerous sorts.....

I can't seem to eat just one!

~~jar of button mushrooms~~

I do tend to get sluggish if I ogre-indulge...hahaha!

Though, it's nothing a little Slug Slime can't remedy!

 ~~aloe vera gel with 2 drops of food coloring mixed in~~

Helps one stay focused, it does....as well as, lubricates the workings...heehee!

Do any of you take pride in growing your own food?

I've been so fortunate to have had excellent clutches of eggs this year...

~~small portion of store bought webbing, 1 plastic spider & kids nontoxic molding compound called Gazz It from Dollar Store~~

First from Charlotte.  Why yes, she is named after that character from the little farm book...where the coniving she-spider saves a pig from the Farmer's axe...

...only to wrap him up for herself and devour him slowly...feasting like a Queen...you remember?

Oh, so your version is a bit different, is it?  Pity.....

Where was I?  Why, eggs...yes, yes....of course....

These are a kick!  When dehydrated and shriveled, as such, they may be grated over any food to add fire and hotness....Oh, how I do love spicy cuisine!

++Side effects include heartburn, smoking from the ears, gastro-intestinal discomfort, bleeding from the mucus membranes and scaly skin....oh, well, you can read the fine print later....

~~seed pods from my Siberian Iris plant~~

I kept pestering the Bait and Cackle Shop around the corner about my order of Horesefly Maggots.  They finally arrived!

I like to jar these little fellows up as favors when I host Coven meetings....

~~store-bought stretchy maggots from Halloween store~~

No pantry is ever complete without Bat Wings!  They facilitate swift night flight....

~~wings cut off of rubber bats~~

My newest acquisition is a vintage potion from a Chantiquities Dealer!  It was hard to find, but good to the last drop...heehee!

Only for use in extreme cases, of course!  I'm not one to spread Plagues around all willy nilly......usually...heehee!

~~plastic rats with a small layer of water poured in then the rest topped with oil~~

Sometimes, when the moon is so bright, you can collect some of it by crystalizing its glowing reflection.  These particles are called Moon Dust. 

~~2 types of glitter put in a jar swabbed first w/ a tiny amount of alcohol~~

You can do it with stars, too...though it will take you longer and you won't get quite as much.

I have saved the worst for last to share with you....because these are truly wretched creatures....slippery and scaley....sneaky and elusive....

...And seeing as how I avoid being near water (for obvious reasons), this sample is all the more precious...just a tiny snippit of these golden tresses can unlock deep secrets that may have been kept from you. Follicus Sirensis can make one able to hold their breath for an unusual amount of time, as well!

....plus, it salts the brew nicely, too...heeheehee!

~~cutting of wig hair, plastic greenery, shells, sea glass, driftwood and/ or sand~~

Well, I do admit that I enjoyed your visit immensely!  

Though, I must insist we not make habit of it... Lest, I start collecting ears, afterall, as punishment for not listening...hahahahaha!  I'm jesting....mostly.

But I will leave you with this advice:

Keep your warty chins up.

Cackle loud and often.

 ....and always remember to see the cauldron as half-full.

Ta!

~~Thanks for peeking into my Witch's Kitchen!  I had such a blast making these jars, that I just couldn't stop myself from making lots...and lots....of labels!  I've put them in Ye Olde Shoppe, if this has inspired you to start a pantry of your own.  Maggie was so excited to help put these together!  I don't know if I mentioned already how much I love Halloween! ;P ~~

...and you, too!

XO,

Cam

A Jewel of a Day!

Hello All!  Thank you so much for stopping by.  Hope things have been going well for you :)

As far as we're concerned, we've been good.

Tuesday in particular was soooo nice!

Y'see, I've started up some little Pre-K classes for my daughter thru the city, so 2 days a week we get up early, I pack her lunch and feed her breakfast, etc....to get her to a class that is just 3 hours long!

Now, I love how much she looks forward to singing songs and being with other kids....and that's why I do it, but 3 hours just doesn't seem worth the trouble of nagging her to eat, nagging her to get dressed, nagging her to hurry up...lol :D Especially since Monday was a Holiday here in the States...

I haven't lost you yet, have I?  I promise I have something really cool to show you at the end!  Now your curiousity is kicking in, isn't it?  Now you have to stay (insert evil laugh here!)

Anyhoo, in the interest of brevity...kid had runny nose....kept her home from school....did inner dance of joy (not that she was sick...what kind of Mother do you think I am? haha!)....leisurely sipped coffee whilst looking out our patio door...

Notice the sea of weeds out there...they reach mid-shin!  But, at least they're my weeds...and hey, they're green :)

Maggie and I spent the whole day doing fun things. Oh, and she worked on her "site" for a bit (which consists of me putting on a Word Doc & her typing furiously away....really quite cute)  One of my favorite things about this house is that she can work on the computer here (might I point out the strategic placement of toilet roll so shirt can escape snot duty...I can dream, anyway)

And I can work on artsy things here....in the same room!

After her "work", Maggie helped me prep canvasses.

I don't think I've ever explained my process for prepping them before. I'm not sure if everyone or no one does them this way....but I find the whole thing quite relaxing (and it helps to use up my shockingly huge supply of scrapbook paper!)....so here goes.

I take a white, back-stapled canvas and paint it with a variety of colors...including the sides.

Sorry, I forgot to take a pic of this 1st step...

After it's dry, I Mod Podge torn paper pieces all over making sure to overlap the sides from time to time.

After this dries, I then paint it again, deciding whether to allow a lot of the underlying paper to show thru or not....and then sometimes add patterns with saran wrap, bubble wrap, corrugated cardboard, etc....

When this dries...it's ready to use!

Here are the ones Maggie made for me yesterday :)

Okay, now that I've made you stick with me....here's my something cool...

Drumroll please....

This is:

"The Jewel of the Forest"

8 x 10 inches

Mixed Media / Acrylic

I'm sorry for the crappy pic :( 

I literally just finished it, like 15 minutes ago....and it is near Midnight now.

I will have better photos of it in the morning when I list it in my shoppe.

By the way, I've just decided to put a few things in my Etsy Shoppe as an experiment to compare it with my Artfire one...nothing you haven't seen already, but if any of you have tried both and have a preference, I'd love to hear what you've learned :)

*****Edited (here are the better pics!)******

 

Thanks again for coming back here, My Friends....

Having this space be one that you like to visit over and over again makes me wanna do an outer dance of joy...heehee...

I'm one Lucky Gal :P

Hugs,

Cam