Well, I am not a witch, but I am a Northern Woodland gatherer of lovely bits and bobs from nature.
A friend of mine posted that she is doing a class at her shop on making witch-brooms for Halloween. Alas, she lives too far away for me to attend (I use to attend some of her classes and had so much fun!), but it got me thinking…..I should try to make one or two brooms from what I can find in my own yard or on a nature walk with Bentley. Bentley is always up for a nature walk, so win win there.
All it took was the jingle of his leash and Bentley was at my side……from a dead sleep I believe. I threw on a sweatshirt, grabbed my gathering bag and a pair of kitchen scissors and was ready to go. It was a beautiful crisp fall morning beckoning us to set out for a little adventure to see what we could find.
The trees have been generous this year, along with the encouragement of a very windy day or two, to drop some of their fall leaves. This made for great foliage shopping.
To be honest here, I was also gathering fall leaves to dye fabric with, and as my bag grew fuller with this and that sticking out the top, the couple of people we passed gave me a questioning look, because by then I had also found a good size stick for one of the broom handles.
The bag was filled with the most beautiful burgundy grass growing along the fence to the train yard, small branches of sumac and maple leaves, little pinecones, and of course I had the large stick.
Almost home, we saw one of our favorite pups on the trail – Milo – who we have watched grow from a little bitty puppy, I had several items including the large stick. Milo, a chocolate lab, was very interested in the stick. I don’t think he is even a year old yet – and by being very interested in the stick, I mean he grab it and a game of play tug-a-war ensued. I would have relented and let him win, but it was a perfect stick for the broom handle, with a little crook at the top, so he will need to find his own. I would have shared a picture of Milo – but due to me being vested in winning the tug-of-war, this was not possible. 🙂
When I got home, I gathered up leaves from my yard and dried sticks from trimming my Hydrangeas, this last spring. I was ready to make brooms and dye some fabric. I spread out my drop cloth and laid out my loot and went to work. Along with what I gathered, I had some yellow wheat grass, ribbon, little roses, and my glue gun.
The loot.
I then imagined, because what are we without our imagination, if I was a Northern Woodland Witch, which I am not, what kind of broom would I fly around on? Well, it wouldn’t be a dreary, rubbish of a broom, it would be pretty as well as functional. Let’s face it, if you are up flying around on a broom, you first and foremost want it functional, but also pretty.
My imagination, along with what I had available, came up with two brooms.
The first one was shabby chic, because I am a shabby chic kind of girl. This broom now adorns my fireplace, along with the shabby chic pumpkin I made. It was made with some pretty little blush roses, sticks from the Hydrangeas, ribbon from the cupboard in the art room, and some vine from one of the plants I had in a pot outside. I wrapped it all up with some jute and placed it by the fireplace.
Miss Shabby Chic Broom
The second broom was more along the lines of the fall colors but still whimsical. I used my Milo loving stick, wheat from Menards, vine from the yard, and the burgundy grasses. Wrapped it all up with layers of jute and topped it off with ribbon and baby pinecones. It now sits in my entryway by the front door.
The Fall Whimsical Broom
From beginning to end, this was such a fun activity to do. Thank you, Whitney, for the idea! Now, you all go get your witchy imaginations going, and if you make a broom, or any other fun fall decorations, feel free to post below.