Crafty Crafts
Growing up, one of my first tools for divination was the popular novelty item the Magic 8 Ball. I would ask questions to the oversized black billiard ball, rubbing it thoughtfully, shaking it up, and flipping it over breathlessly to see what wisdom it had to offer from the dice floating in its inky depths.
“Does Charlie like me?”
Reply hazy, try again.
Like many of the witches I know, Samhain is one of my all-time favorite sabbats. Back when we were kids, it was Halloween we were celebrating—outside under the moon, pointy witch hat in place, believing in the power of our own magical masked alter-ego to protect us from things that went bump in the night. Now we’re grown-up witches celebrating the sabbat of Samhain, honoring our ancestors, working divination, and pointy hats are optional. During the time of the thin veil, divination is a very popular activity, and while we might have our standard tarot cards, crystal gazing, or pendulums, here’s a new fun item you can add to your celebration that might just let your inner child out to play a bit.
Magic Divination Witch Bottle
Our device will not take the form of an 8 Ball, but that’s okay. The precursor for the ball-shaped curio was actually invented in 1944 and was called a Syco Seer, which was closer to the shape of our Magic Divination Witch Bottle.
Time to complete: about 1 hour
Cost: $8 to $11 (if you already have a hot glue gun and paintbrushes, and print your own scrapbook pages)
Supplies
A small wide-mouth bottle (like the bottled coffee drinks come in, or an old-fashioned milk bottle with lid)
Green dry floral foam (not the wet kind that absorbs water)
2 mm foam sheets
Hot glue gun
Black food coloring
Distilled water
Glitter (optional)
Halloween scrapbook paper of your choice
Découpage medium
Fine tip permanent marker
Paintbrush
If you’re using an iced coffee bottle, first consume that delish latte or Frappuccino, yum! Now wash out the bottle. Once your project is complete, you won’t see anything but the cap and the base, so if there are expiration date numbers on the very bottom, you’ll want to remove them with a little nail polish remover.
After using a straight edge to trace the line with a pencil or pen, use a serrated knife to carefully cut a one-inch cube out of the floral foam. Take a sheet of foam and use a ruler to measure out six squares, marking each one ¾” × ¾” with a pencil or pen. Carefully cut out the squares with a pair of scissors. Using the fine-tip permanent marker, write one answer on each square as neatly as you can. I used two positive answers, two negative answers, and two maybe answers, such as: yes, count on it, no, not likely, maybe, ask again later.
Carefully apply a square of hot glue to one side of the foam cube, then quickly glue on one of the foam squares with a yes answer written on it. Flip the cube over and repeat gluing the other yes answer on the opposite side of the cube. Glue on the no answers in the same way and then again with the maybe answers, until the cube is covered. Then put the cube aside.
Flip the bottle upside down on a piece of the craft foam and use an ink pen to trace around the mouth of the bottle. Carefully cut out the circle you just traced with a pair of scissors and push it inside the lid of the bottle. This is an important step as it creates a gasket that will keep the bottle from leaking. Put the bottle in the sink. Now fill the bottle to the top with distilled water and add three or four drops of black food coloring. Now is the time to add a bit of glitter if you want. Any color will do, and all you need is a pinch. If you don’t have glitter but you want to add a bit of sparkle, use a pair of scissors and cut up some aluminum foil into tiny bits and drop them in. Now, put the cube in the bottle. It will bob around at the top, and that’s just fine; just make sure the water goes all the way to the rim of the bottle as full as you can get it. Tightly screw the lid with the foam gasket in place onto the bottle and wipe the bottle dry. Now you’re ready to decorate it.
You can use Halloween scrapbook paper from the store or, with a little research, you can find some nice ones online. There are some artists who create free printable scrapbook paper so this can be an inexpensive and simple option if you have a color printer. Tear a strip along the edge of the decorative paper about an inch wide. Then tear that strip into one-inch squares, retaining the one straight edge while the other edges are torn. Paint the bottle just under the edge of the bottle cap and about an inch or so down the bottle with découpage medium. Apply the torn paper, lining the straight edges up against the top of the bottle, overlapping the paper so there aren’t any gaps in between. Repeat this on the bottom of the bottle, lining up straight edges around the bottom edge. Leave the base of the bottle clear and uncovered so when you tip the bottle upside down, the foam cube pops up and you can read it. Tear the rest of the paper up and continue covering the entire bottle (except the very bottom) with découpage medium and squares of torn paper. Once you get past the curved parts of the bottle, you can use pieces larger than an inch, so if you have cool pictures on your scrapbook paper like big spider webs, skulls, or something, they will show on the middle of the bottle. When you’re done, paint a coating of découpage medium all over the bottle. You can cut a piece of paper in a circle to cover the top of the bottle cap and découpage it on in the same way you did the rest of the bottle. Allow the bottle to dry.
You can then make a label for the bottle out of some of the scrapbook paper. Either hand write or print a label that says something like “Witch Bottle Oracle.” You can either découpage it onto the bottle or punch a hole in it and tie it on. You can decorate your bottle more if you like: glue gems on, tie a ribbon or raffia around the neck, and add charms to make it unique and fun.
Set it on a shelf next to your other Samhain décor. Ask your bottle a yes or no question as you shake it. When you flip it upside down, the answer will appear!
