Witches Brew Craft Idea...

If you know me at all you know I love witches! Reading about them, writing about them, hosting witches tea parties and creating witch themed tea items, like the Witches Brew Loose Tea Potion Holder I made for myself.

I found this fun craft at Michaels the craft store and waited for my 40% off coupon. The holder was $19.99 in Canada.  I used a dollar store bottle of black acrylic paint and a foam paint brush to paint the bamboo structure. I let it dry and then I filled it with 5 of my favorite murchies loose leaf teas.

I was very happy to lend it to a young friend for her witches tea party this year as well. Looks pretty cute on her windowsill.

 Thank you for joining me today for a cup of tea and a fun witches tea time craft. Sending you love from the tea shop!
I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Witchy Wednesday Witches Tea Party Recap

This past Saturday I hosted my annual Witches Tea Party a few weeks later than normal. September is very busy for most and October is always very wet here so I try to do it in August. As I was sick this year for the month of August, I held it last Saturday in the lovely September Sun.

If you are new to my blog, I moved at Christmas last year and this Tea Party is one of the first events I have been able to have and enjoy in our much larger space. I am very lucky to have this home to rent and live in and it is perfect for enjoying a garden tea party.

I have some of the most amazing friends who support and indulge me with my fancy dress party and boy did we have a wonderful time with the food!

My youngest son, just finished all the Harry Potter Movies this year and was very much in the spirit to partake in this event, setting up a bobbing for apples, broom race and "Post Office" in the yard.

My wonderful and talented friends brought extra food and treats to share to add to my tea menu. I made two types of scones, sweets, and sandwiches as well as tomato soup using the harvest from the garden.

The cake my friend Banafshe made was perfect!

Miss Maisy my puppy niece even had her own hat!

My niece TB joined in the fun with her doll, a fun tea party for one and all!

Including friends from far and wide, and those who are no longer with us, year after year ...

For those who could not attend in person I am always thrilled to have them there in spirit!

As my nieces have grown out of this much loved and passed down Witches Costume, I used my Tomato cages to display the dress I just can't part with and made a holiday ribbon tree. The pumpkin says Happy Thanksgiving, because we are Canadian and for us Thanksgiving is in Early October! (The other side says Happy Halloween)
A huge thank you to all who come and support my tea party year after year and who join in the fun!
Thank you for joining me here today for a cup of tea and a look back at this years Witches Tea Party.
I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Join Me As I Host A Witches Tea Today For Kathi Daley Books Halloween Spooktacular On Facebook

Today I am thrilled to be hosting a virtual Witches Tea Party on Facebook for the fun and fabulous Kathi Daley. The Kathi Daley Books Halloween Spooktacular runs October 23-October 31st and today is the day I get to take over the job of hosting.

My theme for the day is a Witches Tea and I have created a delightful Autumn Enchanted Scone recipe to share and also invited some wonderful authors to help me celebrate the day. They will be helping me to run some fun  games and giveaway's! So please pop on over to Kathi Daley Books Halloween Spooktacular and say hello by clicking here.

Joining me today along with Kathi are Authors:
Nikki LeClair Author of: Haunting Me
Anna Celeste Burke Author of: All Hallow's Eve Heist (Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery Series)
Judy Volhart Author of Asiago and the Accomplice (Whine and Cheese Cozy Mystery Series)
Hunter Murphy Author of Curse of the Bridal Chamber (An Imogene and the Boys novel) 
Diane Rapp Author of Murder on a Ghost Ship (High Seas Mystery Series book 2)
Marni Graff Author of Death Unscripted (A Trudy Genova Mystery)
Jenny Kales  Author of On The Chopping Block (A Callie's Kitchen Mystery)
Throughout the day we will host some games, and the authors will share a bit about their own books as well as doing some giveaway's. We invite you to join us by clicking here.

Now, as promised,  my Autumn Enchantment Scones Recipe...

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup of butter or margarine
1 egg
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of boiling hot water
1/2 cup of raisins
1 tsp vanilla
1 chopped gala apple
2 tsp of Pumpkin Spice (Learn how to make your own by clicking here)

Method:
Put your water on to boil. Measure out your ingredients. Pre-heat your oven to 400
In a large bowl place your flour, baking powder, spice and brown sugar, use a pastry blender to combine. Add your butter, cutting it in with the pastry blender until well combined and looks like bread crumbs. Chop and add your apples to the bowl mix them, coating them in the flour mixture. Once your water is boiled pour the hot water over your raisins and allow to plump 2 minutes. Add 1 tsp of vanilla to the raisins and the water. Make a well in the center of your flour bowl and add your egg and milk, use a spatula to blend the wet with the dry, next add your raisins and water mixture and fold until combined.
On parchment lined baking sheets drop equal spoonfuls of your scone mixture evenly spaced I make mine the size you see at coffee shops but you can make them smaller if you like just watch the cooking time. Bake until your scones are a lovely golden brown along the edges and top.

* You can make an icing sugar glaze as well if you wish with a 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, a bit of water and a dash of vanilla mix and drizzle over your scones.

Remember to pop over and join me for a Witches Tea by clicking here for our Facebook event. I hope to see you soon!
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery today. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

My Witches Tea Party and A Bit of Halloween Decorating I Have Been Doing...

It is now close enough to Halloween for me to share a bit more about my Witches Tea Party that is coming up on October 26th, it is on line and you are invited. In celebration with Kathi Daley I am participating in a week long event October 23-31st on Facebook. With the 26th being my day to take over the hosting duties for the day. I have invited a few of my author friends who have agreed to join me and do fun games as well as giveaways through out the day. This is the first year and the first time I am doing something like this so I am hoping you will all pop over and say hello at some point during the party!
 To join the event you can click this link and you can join it now, I will remind you to pop over and visit on the 26th.

While we are getting ready for the on line event I am also getting ready for Halloween at my own home. I am particularly excited to share how well I think my outside tea area turned out this year! I was hoping to make it look like two ghost witches where having tea (How Paranormal Cozy Mystery of me I know). I think that I have achieved that with the use of floral wires and a few accessories from the dollar store, what do you think?  A few of the dogs in the neighborhood along with people approaching my front door have been spooked so I think I have done a good job!

My eight year old son and I set to work Saturday morning to transform the front window bench into a "store front' type window display. I think the orange twinkle lights are my favorite part.

Now for photos from my last few Witches Tea parties...

The last two summers I have hosted a witches tea in August at my home, Octobers tend to be a busy wet time here on the West Coast and to avoid the nasty weather and get some fun outside shots I host the party in August just before school heads back. I frame a photo of the tea each year and I love how these professional photos turned out. My friend and photographer Karolina Wojciak has a way at capturing the magic of the moment! The photo above is from this year and below last years.

I have some really fun friends who come out to enjoy a cup of tea and an afternoon of dress up fun!

Growing up I loved watching Bewitched and while other young girls may have wanted to become princesses, I pretty much was the opposite.

Many years ago I fell in love with the photo shown above which is widely speculated to be just a gathering of older Welsh women, but I prefer to refer to it as a Witches Tea party. I always wanted to recreate the photo and now it is an annual and growing event!

Here is a more casual photo with out Karolina's magic and all my guests big and small. I will be sharing more of my Witches tea party photos, crafts, memes and ideas during the October 26th event, I hope you will come join in the fun!
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery event! I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Tea Time Craft For Halloween- Witch Ladies and Girls Figurines

Social media is an amazing thing. You can learn so much from so many and find inspiration on line with the click of your finger, a little like Witch Craft actually...
Today I wanted to share with you some of these addictive little charity shop rescues that have been occupying my hands and delighting creative side. I follow a lady who goes by Jcath1 on Instagram, her photos are wonderful and she like me is not only a tea enthusiast but a witches tea enthusiast. She posted her photo of her handmade tea witch in August and I commented on how much I loved it and where she found it, I was thrilled when she said she made her own and that they are easy to make, she kindly told me how she made hers and I am sharing now how I make mine, each of us has a different method but we are both thrilled with our results.

After some easy trial and error I can make my little lovelies in minutes, the drying time takes longer but the results are instantaneous and contagious. I bet you can not make just one!

Here is what you need to make your own Upcycled Tea Time Witch Ladies
-a small ceramic statue of a lady or a girl, with or with out a hat on. I got mine at our local charity shops and paid between 50 cents and $3.00 for each of mine do not find the most expensive ones for a make over, just some that look like they need a second chance!
-Black Chalkboard Paint (I got mine at the dollar store)
-Crayola Air Dry Modeling Clay (You can use Polymer Clay as well if you like)
-Paint Brushes
-News Paper/or foil to cover your work space
-Optional tools for clay ( I used scissors on one hat to make it even)

Step 1- Take a look at your figure, does she have a hat you can build onto or does she need an entire hat?  If she has a hat like the one in this photo, work some clay between your fingers and simply build her a hat. As I built my hat up I twisted the clay to thin it out and create a textured hat.

This is what mine looked like when I finished shaping her hat.

This lovely lady did not have a hat so I built her one out of clay and using my fingers shaped the hat so that she could easily see, I love how this one turned out flaws and all!

Step 2- You are supposed to let them dry for a few days. I am admittedly however, the most impatient crafter on the planet and if I can not have it done in an hour well I lose interest so I will leave it up to you. If you are careful you can make this work too! Open your chalk paint and grab your paint brushes as it is time to start painting the ladies! I start with painting all the delicate areas first around the collars, hands and hair, now I don't have the worlds most steady hand so I make mistakes but it is all okay! Once you have outlined your figure fill in the dress using long and as steady as you can strokes.

Once you are done with the dress area, if you are very very brave you can start on the hat, I do the top first and then work my way down but it is up to you. You should let your clay dry for a few days other wise like me you will have touch up work later. The wonderful thing about chalk board paint is that it covers everything really evenly and well.

Step 3- Let them dry for real this time, and start shopping for more, then repeat! Shown above is my day two find of a tiny little lady whom I made over rather nicely I think!

But you do not have to stick to all black, you can just add a hat or you can do other colors.

As I make these little figures I have found they take on a character of their own, reminding me of friends so I kept this one yellow as it reminds me of my friend Sheryl from Booth Talks Books, Yellow is her favorite color. 

Here is "Sheryl" next to "Karen K"...I am actively looking for other figures to make over into my friends. The little girl one I did I call "Jilly" as she looks just like my friends daughter whom always happily attends my  annual witches tea!

If you are wondering what I do with them when they are done, well I use them in my pictures, admire them on my shelf and maybe just maybe I will make some as gifts.
I hope you have been inspired by and try your own hand at making these fun little witches.
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a tea time craft today. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

The Witches Mirror by Mickie Mueller

I have had the good fortune to be given an advanced reading copy of The Witches Mirror by Mickie Mueller. The cover is outstanding and is a gateway to a very impressive resource guide and historical look at the history of mirrors and Witchcraft. Only a few chapters into this book and  I found I was already learning so much! Fascinated by what learned and it is reminiscent of a truly captivating BBC documentary. Out this June this is one I have ordered it in paper back! 

Discover the fascinating history, tradition, and modern uses of the witch's mirror. From learning a wide array of spells to making your own mirror, The Witch's Mirror presents valuable information for witches of all levels. Fun and easy to use, this guide features meditations, spells, crafts, exercises, and many other tools for enhancing your magical life. Explore a guide to the symbols and practice of scrying, uncover the uses of mirrors in legends and pop culture, harness the reflective power of mirrors with meditations, and much more. Mickie Mueller invites you to gaze through the looking glass and see your magical self, wielding the mirror as a key tool to a successful, happy, and enlightened life.

To order your own copy of The Witches Mirror from The Book Depository (with free shipping world wide) please click here.

Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a book review this Friday morning! I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Happy Halloween Early Morning Tea and Reflection.

"Shadows of a thousand years rise again unseen. voices whisper in the trees, "Tonight is Halloween ' -Dexter Kozen

It is Halloween, I can not believe it, it is finally here! I also can not believe I waited this long to put the hat on my tea pot! Love how that looks!

I was given a lovely treat in the mail yesterday by my friend Lisa of Lisa K's Book Reviews I got my very own little tea house shown above. It was such a welcome surprise from such a lovely lady! 
I hope that you all have a very blessed and safe Halloween. Looks like it will be a very soggy one here! I have purchased 100 Koolaid Juice Boxes to hand out again tonight. I have done this for the last several years and the kids love it, by the time they get to my door they were always asking me for something to drink so I decided a few years back to try this and everyone loved it. Don't worry I have something for the littlest trick or treators too not everyone wants the juice! 
Thank you for joining me for A Cup of Tea and A Cozy Mystery this morning. I hope to see you again tomorrow.

First Annual Witches Tea Party At My Place

Late last Spring I put out the invite to my friends near and far to join me this summer for a Witches Tea party. My goal was to recreate the Witches Tea Party shown in the Iconic photo on my invite and here below.

 I had an overwhelming response of wonderful friends, authors and new acquaintances who wanted to join and many of them live so far away but expressed their desire to attend the party in someway.
 I asked each of them for a photograph, some had hats of their own some I added hats too and the party by proxy became a reality.

I used Pic Monkey Soft-wear and I added hats to my friends who sent in photos with out hats, I love how it turned out it was as if we all belonged to the same "Coven" with our matching hats.

I then framed all the photos and used my fire place to make a focal point for the party, so that my friends from far could be part of the party.

I was beyond excited the day of the party, I had been making treats and tea and getting ready to host my local friends for our tea party when something rather unexpected happened. The Forces of Nature, invited themselves to tea. We had the most spectacular wind storm our area has ever seen.

Winds upwards of 90 kilometers per hour from the south hit the Lower Main Land of British Columbia,  where I live, causing 700,000 people to be with out power, some for up to three days. Do I know how to throw a party or what? I had just boiled a kettle of water for the tea when the power went out, The table cloth would not stay on the outdoor table but boy did we have fun! Shown in the photo above are some of my young witch guests who became the defenders of the cloth...table cloth that was, while we set up for our photos they sat on the table protecting our cloth from flying away.

I think in the bottom right (photo above) from the party you can see the stress of the lack of power and tea in my face. By the time the individual photos were taken it was pretty clear that the elements were taking their toll. I had so much fun though, despite everything that happened with the weather.

I have some really amazing friends and I have a very fantastic photographer and friend Karolina, of Karolina's Photography  who braved the elements to capture the beauty of the day as well. I love my framed photo from the tea party that now hangs on my wall. a reminder of how I put the call out and my friends came together in August, with the power and force of the elements to help me create the most fun photo story and themed tea party I had all summer.
I had such a fantastic time that I plan on doing this again next year and with all the photos we had done and all the photos of my friends near and far, next years party should be even more wonderful. I hope you will come next year too!

Thank you for joining me for A Cup of Tea and My Witchy Tea Party.  To all my friends, bloggers, and authors who participated and joined in the online fun, came to the party and weathered the storm for you I am truly thankful