Make Your Own Pumpkin or Gourd Bird Feeder

Make Your Own Pumpkin or Gourd Bird Feeder


Make your birds a festive bird feeder this month with a hollowed out pumpkin or gourd. This is super easy to make. Just grab a pumpkin that's super small or a gourd that looks like a pumpkin. Hollow out the center leaving a half inch on the sides to make sure it stays sturdy enough to support your seeds and your birds.

You can insert sticks into the pumpkin sides for perches for the birds or going across the pumpkin.

Cross rope over the bottom of your pumpkin. Knot the rope at the bottom of the feeder. Hang it where you wish.



You can also put it on a stand and hollow it out where you wish.



Jack-O'Lantern Bird Feeder.

Just note that if it's not hanging up you are going to have other visitors besides birds.


Make sure that you keep an eye on them and take them down when they start to go bad.

If you search for pumpkin bird feeders you will find tons of ideas.

Have a magickal day!

Much Love and Many Blessings,

Jasmeine Moonsong

Driftwood Birds

Driftwood Birds

I know many of you are crafty witches and when I saw this I had to pass it along. I found this picture on Pinterest and unfortunately I wasn't able to find the original as it has been removed from the internet as far as I can tell. I still absolutely loved this idea and wanted to pass it along to all of you.

There have been so many times that I've been walking on the beach and have found the most amazing pieces of driftwood. I also often come back with tons of stones. It's the witch in me, I always bring home stones.

This looks pretty simple to make. You can see that the original artist combined several pieces of driftwood together to make a back and a perch for the birds. I can't tell if she used stones? It looks like it at first but it may also be some sort of felt product as they all look pretty consistent. Using a sort of felt or cotton product would likely be a bit easier. The stones would be beautiful and definitely easier to paint eyes on. Maybe some felt for the tiny beaks or clay if you are using stones.

Ok get crafty! Let me see what you make!

Have a magickal day!

Much Love and Many Blessings,

Jasmeine Moonsong

Jalapeno Jelly

Jalapeno Jelly


Canning and drying season is in full swing over here among everything else going on! We are trying to harvest the last of everything and make sure that everything is all set before the weather gets to chilly.

I adore peppers. It's something that really started a few years ago. I adore green bell peppers with eggs and sweet fryers. This year I have been really getting into Jalapenos. We have a ginormous box of peppers and Earl was looking for a way to utilize some of the Jalapenos and came across Jalapeno Jelly. I am hooked! I thought I would share it with all of you.



If you love things that are a bit spicy you will love this. Jalapeno jelly is a bit sweet and a bit spicy. It goes amazing with chicken and other meats like pork as a dip or glaze. You can use it to stir fry your veggies or as a dip for your veggies. if you are having cheese and crackers it goes amazing with it especially with sharp cheddar cheese and I've also heard it's amazing with cream cheese and crackers. You can use it as an alternative to mayonnaise or mustard in your sandwiches. These are just the few things that I have found so far! I have found it to be incredibly addicting. That's why I wanted to share the recipe with you today.

This recipe is from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. I honestly can't imagine canning in our house without this book it's amazing.

Preserving Method: Water Bath Canning
Makes about 5 (8 oz) half pints

Eliminate the juice-making step and still produce a translucent jelly? This unique recipe does! Flecked with tiny bits of peppers, this zesty jalapeno jelly adds a jewel-like flair to cheese trays. Spread it on a block of warmed cream cheese and serve with crackers.
You Will Need
12 oz jalapeño peppers (about 12 med)
2 cups cider vinegar, divided
6 cups sugar
2 3-oz pouches of Ball® RealFruit™ Liquid Pectin
Green food coloring, optional
5 Ball® (8 oz) half pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands
Optional: Ball® freshTECH Electric Water Bath Canner + Multicooker
Directions
PREPARE boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Wash lids in warm soapy water and set bands aside.
PURÉE peppers in food processor or blender with 1 cup cider vinegar until smooth. Do not strain purée.
COMBINE purée with remaining 1 cup cider vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
ADD Ball® RealFruit™ Liquid Pectin, immediately squeezing entire contents from pouches. Continue to boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add food coloring, if using, and skim foam if necessary.
LADLE hot jalapeno jelly into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.
PROCESS in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.
For those of you that are into canning I hope you get the chance to try it!

Have a magickal day!

Much Love and Many Blessings,

Jasmeine Moonsong

Make Your Own Cleansing Spray

How many of you cleanse your home regularly? Not with mops and dusting but by utilizing something like a white sage or dragon's blood?

Being sensitive, part of what should be in our maintenance routine is cleansing of the energy in your home. Usually I tell people to use white sage bundled or dragon's blood incense, but what if you are hyper sensitive to scents or you flat out don't like the smell of those? An easy fix is to do the same thing with a white tea light but you can also use sprays.   So today I wanted to teach you how to make one.

What You Need - Colored Spray Bottle
Moon Water

The first thing you need is a bottle to keep your spray in. You want to choose one that has a dark colored glass, this helps to keep the energy in the spray that you are going to make fully charged. 

Next is your base, water. Now this isn't just any water that you can grab from the tap or the water bottle in your fridge.  Go out and gather it from Mother Nature herself, choose some that she has given you as rain, snow, or even from a lake or creek. Gather your water together in a cauldron or other container that you have cleansed and put it outside on the night of a full Moon to charge in the Moonlight. Light three white candles around it and ask the Goddess to bless the water for you.

Here is where you start getting to the fun part.   The scent!   Here is where you can mix and match your essential oils until you get the scent that you like. I get most of mine from Amazon but you may find some place in your area that has them as well. The first scent you will want is sage. I usually use a solution that's mixed with Sage and lavender, heavy on the lavender. Lavender is amazing for protection as well as cleansing. You can also choose from scents like cedar, sweetgrass, and pine. It's a personal preference when it comes to scent so mix and match. You can also play with the amount of scent. I tend to like my scents stronger so depending on the scent I'm using I will use approximately 20 drops to about 6 ounces. I'll confess I'm not much for measuring when it comes to mixing sprays. I will use my nose and my energy for what feels right. 

When you are done you have a beautiful spray that you can use around your home and as part of your regular cleansing. You can spritz it all over your home, don't forget the corners. It's even safe to use over your altar from time to time to help keep it safe and charged correctly.

Have a magickal day!

Much Love and Many Blessings,

Jasmeine Moonsong

Gratification Journal

Gratification Journal

How many of you have a gratification journal? A gratification journal is when you write down all the good things that have happened to you every day. You'd be amazed at the power this simple activity can have because you are actively working with the law of attraction and putting positive energy out there. I don't actually use a journal but I do talk to the Goddess every night and run through everything that I am thankful for that happened that day. I can't recommend it enough.

Today, as we celebrate our Witch's New Year, I thought it would be the perfect day to begin this activity.  So choose a special calendar or journal that you want to work with.  If you happen across this article after November 1st, don't worry! Start it whatever day you wish.  Make a deal with yourself that you will do this quick activity every day for the next year. The other benefit of it is that at the end of the year you will have something to look back on as well.  You can be as simple as you want with this or you can get really creative and include drawings, pictures etc.  The more energy you put in the more energy will be raised.

Enjoy!

Much Love and Many Blessings,

Jasmeine Moonsong

Mini Herbal Witch Brooms

So I came across the little broom above while jumping about pinterest the other day. I fell in love with it instantly. Unfortunately when I went to find the page the blog has been removed and it seems so has the article.

As the summer season comes to an end here in New England and the cold weather starts moving in I will start stringing up my herbs and hanging them about my kitchen to dry. Usually I'll do that in a few more weeks. When you walk in my house in September it's quite common to see herbs strung from pretty much every cupboard in my kitchen. I tie them in bundles then hang them on each of the cupboard handles on the doors.   I love the way they look.

As soon as I saw this picture I thought of them. What a cute little way to dry your herbs. This looks really simple to do   Gather your herbs like you normally would to dry them. Instead of just bundling them at the top with twine or string select a stick from outside. You can choose any stick. I'm sure I'll have a "let's go find broom handles" day with my little one in preparation for this. Wrap the herbs around the bottom of one end of the stick. You can then decorate it with a ribbon or any other creative little decor you can think of. Maybe orange and black for Samhain in October.

Fasten another bit of twine or ribbon to the top to hang it and you are good to go!

So when you enter my house this fall, you will see mini herbal brooms hanging to dry instead of just herbs.

I hope you enjoy! :)))))

Much Love and Many Blessings,

Jasmeine Moonsong

Affirmation Chalkboard

Affirmation Chalkboard

Merry Meet  I love Etsy.  I am constantly amazed at how many magnificently creative people there are out there. So I stumbled upon the affirmation chalkboard above and thought it was an amazing idea to pass on to all of you.  Isn't it adorable! The lady who made this one has unfortunately gone out of business but I still absolutely love the idea. You don't have to change it daily, but if you have an affirmation you want to work with for awhile this would be a great little piece to have hanging in your house to remind you of it.

One method that is really easy is to choose a frame that you like. There are so many really cute frames out there. You can paint the glass with chalkboard paint. Voila! Instant affirmation chalkboard. I think these would be really cute in little ones rooms as well.

Another idea is to just get a small chalkboard from a craft shop. Or you can grab the chalkboard paint that's out there now and paint a cutout from a craft store that's in the shape you want or whatever else you can think of. You can then customize it however you wish. I love how she did it above. You could put it in a block of wood and add little flower vases next to it. You could keep it plain and paint the edges in a pretty creative pattern. Make it a masterpiece that's creatively you and you want to hang on the wall.

Much Love and Many Blessings,

Jasmeine Moonsong

Create Magickal Tea Lights

Create Magickal Tea Lights

Merry Meet

I have a super easy craft for you to make today that you can use in so many ways. You can use them in rituals, spells, personal energy work, around the house, or wherever else you need an energetic pick me up. 

Ready?

The first thing you need is a bag of tea lights. Check around for prices. I've been getting mine for about $5.00 for 100.

The next thing you will need is herbs. For this you want to pick herbs that correspond to what you are trying to do. Think Bay Leaves or Basil for prosperity, Cinnamon for love, Sage for protection etc. 

I have a super amazing book that will help you out with all your magickal workings if you don't have it already. It's one of the most used books in my library .

Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences.

I linked it above in case you are interested.  That book is my go to book any time I am looking for correspondences for my work.

Back to our magickal tea lights 

So you want to make sure the herb you've chosen is broken down small enough to put in the tea light.

Light the tea light and give it a few moments until it turns to liquid. Then add the herb you have chosen to your tea light. When it cools it will dry with the herb in it. Store it some place cool and dry and when you are ready to work with them they will be ready for you. 

You can do these in batches so that you have a bunch of them stored up for whenever you want them. You can also add essential oils to them as well that correspond with what you wish.  Get creative with it! 

Have a magickal day!

Much Love and Many Blessings,

Jasmeine Moonsong

Summer Stars

Summer Stars

Merry Meet :)))

With Spring finally here and Summer fast approaching, I am very often found outside somewhere in the woods with my little ones. While my kids love nature, it's always helpful to have something out there to do with them so when I come across articles like the one I'm about to share with you I love it. :))))))

The craft I want to share with you was shared on Happy Hooligans. It's a wonderful blog featuring lots of traditional play and craft ideas for the little ones. I love the simplicity of it. This particular post is how to make star ornaments from wood. I just think they are beautiful. :)))))

Many of you know I have been deeply connected to nature since I was little. When I saw this picture I immediately remembered an old past time of mine that I had long forgotten. I use to always be in the woods or outside, and more often than not just played with whatever nature provided for me. I use to make all sorts of "crafts" utilizing whatever I could find. Funny enough, this was one of them. :))))) I use to use twigs and make them an even length. Sometimes I would whittle them until all the bark was off and the beautiful wood underneath was revealed, others I fancied the bark and just left it as it was. I remember finding extra long grasses in the fields and sitting there for ages fashioning these sticks into stars to decorate whatever "fort" I had on that particular day. The star was the easiest for me to make as it allowed for a lot of weaving which was necessary when trying to hold sticks together with grass, flower stems, etc. lol :)))) Once I had it set, I would tuck little flowers inside of the woven grasses and twigs, daisies have always been a favorite of mine, as well as violets.

This article is a sturdier twist on my childhood memory. :)))) It would also make a perfect decoration Lammas this summer :)))) If you have wheat near you, you can tuck bits of wheat into it. :)))) I do hope you enjoy it. :))))

http://happyhooligans.ca/2013/05/18/summer-twig-ornaments/

Much Love and Many Blessings,

Jasmeine Moonsong

Put A Little Magick in Your Day!

Premium edition includes daily magickal correspondences, quotes, affirmations, tarot card, spell , and an article teaching you more about your path. :))) 

http://www.wiccanmoonsong.com/Moonsong-Daily-Magick.html