Sabbats Almanac: Samhain to Mabon - Kristoffer Hughes 2018
Crafty Crafts by Natalie Zaman
Mabon
I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT it took me as long as it did (years!) to discover the joys of mixing large quantities of cheap cinnamon with applesauce. The recipe was introduced to me as a means of making Christmas ornaments, but the scent—hello, CINNAMON and APPLES!—screams all things autumnal. It’s too easy not to try and, oh, the things you can make with it!
Bright Blessings and Fairy Doors
Time Lavished: It takes about 15 minutes to whip up a batch of cinnamon-applesauce dough. After that, it’s all about drying it out, which can be done in a couple of hours in an oven, or even a week leaving it out to dry out naturally (depending on humidity). I vote for popping them in the oven and doing something else while you wait—it’s quicker, and it makes the house smell nice too.
Coinage Required: You might have all of the makings of the dough in your pantry—if so, awesome. If not, go for bulk cinnamon and the most inexpensive applesauce you can find. All totaled, this craft will set you back about $10—15—and that includes a canister of glitter.
Supplies:
1 cup of applesauce
2 cups of cinnamon
¼ cup of craft glue. Some recipes call for adding craft glue to the applesauce/cinnamon mixture as it makes a more robust dough and durable ornaments. This ingredient is optional.
Bowl
Spoon
Rolling pin
House and door-shaped cookie cutters and/or a knife
Drinking straw
Toothpicks and/or letter rubber stamps
Baking tray
Baking parchment
Ribbon
Glitter—optional, but why ever not?
Small crystals and/or beads
Hot glue gun
2 short, slim nails
Tack hammer
Small flowers for planting
Small tumbled stones and/or crystal points
The flowers and stones are optional, but a fun addition for when you place your Faerie Door.
First, make the dough. Mix the applesauce and cinnamon (and craft glue if you chose to use it) until they are thoroughly combined. Start mixing with a spoon, then work it with your hands. Add a bit more applesauce if the mixture is too dry, or more cinnamon if it’s too wet.
Dust a smooth work surface with more of the cinnamon (this is why you use the cheap, bulk stuff), and, if desired a bit of glitter. (Who are we kidding—of course it’s desired!) Gold makes a nice contrast while coppers and reds make for a subtle shimmer. Cover the dough with the cinnamon (and glitter) before rolling it out so that it’s about ¼ inch thick.
Mabon House Blessing
Use a cookie cutter to make a house shape, or cut your own. I’ve found that it’s best to stick with simple shapes when working with this dough.
You can leave the house as is, or use the toothpick or rubber stamps to add a simple blessing. Trace the letters with a toothpick, or carefully press the message into the dough with the rubber stamps. Try to “write” out your message in the center of the house. If you make a mistake or if the house doesn’t come out the way you want, just return it to the dough pile and roll it out again. Use the drinking straw to make a small hole near the top; this will be for threading a ribbon through for hanging.
Carefully place the houses onto a baking tray and dry them out in a low oven (200 degrees) for about two hours. Check the houses before removing them; they should be completely solid and not floppy or soft in any way. Place them on a wire rack to cool.
Thread a ribbon through the hole you made with the straw. Your house blessing is ready to hang, or given as a gift! The scent should last through the season. When it fades, it can be refreshed with a few drops of essential oil—cinnamon, or perhaps a complimentary scent, like orange or clove. Alternatively, smear both sides of the house with peanut butter, then dip it in raisins, grains and bread crumbs and hang outside as a treat for birds and squirrels and other wildlife friends. You can refill the house when it’s empty.
Cinnamon Fairy Door
You can also use this versatile and magical dough (Really! Apples heal and cinnamon invokes passion.) to create a fairy portal. (Note: You may want to make a batch of glue-infused dough. The addition of glue makes for sturdier doors.)
Roll out the dough, then cut it into door shapes with your knife or a door shaped cookie cutter. I like rounded doors—or you can make a totally round hobbit door. Use the toothpicks to draw “wooden” panels, and perhaps cut out a small window. Before they go into the oven, use the straw to make two holes, one at the top and one on the bottom of the door; you will use these to install your door once it’s cooled and dried.
Use hot glue to attach a small stone or crystal for a doorknob. Carefully attach the door to a wall or a tree by tacking to the bark with the two slim, short nails. Tap the nails in as gently as possible. If your door feels delicate or starts to crumble, simply lean it against the tree. You can also lay it flat on the ground like a trap door and plant small flowers or outline it with crystals and tumbled stones. Wherever you set it, fairies will love this glittery sweet smelling door, but leaving a tiny cake just outside will also help attract them!