Bricks and the Vernal Equinox

I hope everyone has something special planned for the Vernal Equinox today! In addition to being one half light and one half dark, it's also the first day of Spring! Get outside! Plant seeds! Do something!

So here's what I've been thinking and if you call me daft it's not like I haven't been called so before (:P). I sorta want to open a brick & mortar store for Spiritual and Witchcraft Supplies.

*pauses for droves of negativity*.... Ok then. I think it's a brilliant idea.

I live in a great location for one; right near historic downtown Fredericksburg VA which is full of antique stores, small art stores, indie coffee bars, great little bars and restaurants, a civil war cemetery, all surrounded by a really beautiful college campus. All the buildings there are old and full of character. I wouldn't need anything big either, maybe 300-400 sq feet, maybe less. Joey said there used to be one downtown a while ago but there isn't one now.

I'd also want to do a consignment based system with local artisans who can feature their handmade items within the shop because I try to support local farmers, artists, and stores as much as I can.

This is obviously something that's a few years away but I've been pricing out leasing spaces just to get an idea.

Also, a few new things on the way for the shop, stay tuned!

Candle Making!

Red Cedar Spell Candles, for sale at Anathemum.etsy.com



So I totally took the plunge yesterday to destroy the kitchen and decided to try my hand at candle making. However, I'm a strange kid when it comes to buying "for real" supplies for certain crafts, I'd rather just wing it with thrift store finds. I went to a craft store looking for votive molds and I found them. For $20. So forget that. I used a beat-to-crap pot I had and a green bean tin can as my double boiler and decided to make little fat tapers instead. I'd also bought a pound of pure beeswax on a super whim about 2 years ago (it was probably on sale) and some wicks so I just went at it.



I'd been collecting scrap wax from all the burned out candles I've used over the past couple years and decided to mix it in with the beeswax, sort of a waste not want not idea. I also decided to not to add any fragrance but just let the scent of the pure beeswax suffice. It smelled so good as it was melting! Like warm honey.



Baby candles!! It's also good to not let the wax get too hot while dipping and to let the candles cool before dipping again (learns the hard way) so I just did a few sets at a time so there wasn't too much down time. For the red ones, I rolled them around in Red Cedar powder a few times during the whole candle making dipping process and mixed with the honey smell of the beeswax it smells great! I can't wait to make more of these.

Witches, what is one new craft you'd like to try? Or, if you've tried them all, which is your favorite?