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Alianthe on BPAL

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alianthe

October 15, 2014

Coming back after a long hiatus

I've been away from the forum for a few years. Once upon a time I was quite active here, did a lot of chatting, a lot of swapping, a little reviewing. Life got crazy, and money got tight, and I used this space even more as a safe and welcoming place to connect with other people. I immersed myself in the Sleepover Party, and played The Games, and leaned heavily on the support of wonderful people here. And, yes, still participated in decant circles and Switch Witch and such. And then life got crazier and money got tighter, and I decided that the enabling was just too much and I couldn't afford myself the temptation anymore. I separated from someone I'd with whom I'd so closely shared the BPAL experience that for a long time afterwards wearing perfume at all made me think of him. I stopped wearing makeup and perfume and started trying to build a whole new life on a shoestring. But, you see, I've been running lean for too long. I'm beginning to miss it. A little indulgence in the way of something that smells delicious is perhaps just what the doctor ordered. And then there was the blood moon last night, and out of the blue I thought "huh, that's something Beth might have celebrated." Apparently not, but this year's Weenies (always my favorites) look amazing as usual, and lead me to the Lab's (new to me) search feature and finding new wish list items. And then I dug out the remains of my old stash and categorized it. Between not replacing used-up stash with new bottles, and those awful times when I had to sell off my excess stash for grocery money, and sold more than I otherwise might have because I was trying to move across country by shipping myself only what I needed, there's not a lot left. There's a little though. It's pretty much just imps and decants that didn't move during the great cleanout. Many of them are now rare or discontinued. So who knows, maybe folks will want to swap them for lovelies that have happened during my absence, or lovelies I always meant to try and didn't. I'm not sure if our old feedback profiles are still accessible somewhere out there in the ether, but I won't mind if people distrust my lack of feedback in the new forum spots. In any case, hi! I may or may not be saying anything, but I'm lurking in your forums, seeing who's still around. Thanks for still being here, and still being awesome.

alianthe

October 9, 2014

The Backlog

These is a list for my tracking purposes, so I don't let things get on the wishlist that are here. It's a list of imps/decants I found in my stash, which I'm currently testing to see whether I want them. By definition, I'm not offering these up for swap. If I do, they'll go up on my swap page. The goal is to test several scents per day from this list. From Wishlist, GC: Aglaea Azathoth Blood Amber Cathode Cordelia x3 The Dodo Galvanic Gogggles Lampades RPG: Neutral x2 Oya Port-Au-Prince Tamora Tombstone Vixen From Wishlist, LE/Unavailable: A Moment in Time Autumn Cider Autumn - Overlooked my Knitting Hallow-e'en 1914 Magnificent Autumn October x2 Samhain Sonnet D'Automne Phaeon Crescent Pumpkin I (Pumpkin III) Pumpkin V Red Spotted Purple Visions of Autumn I Visions of Autumn III Visions of Autumn IV Visions of Autumn V Visions of Autumn VI The White Witch Ahathoor Danube Euterpe Inez Khajuraho Melpomene Pool of Tears Purple Spotted Swallowtail Succubus Suspiro Tanin'iver To Autumn Unsorted (Testing) Bag-o-imps GC imps: A Countenance Forboding Evil Aizen-Myoo x2 Akuma Caliban Calico Jack Catherine Death Cap Defututa Dian's Bud Elegba Fallen Grandmother of Ghosts House of Night Mad Hatter Medea Nocturne Nyx Omen Oneiroi (Somnium) Ouija The Reaper and the Flowers Santo Domingo Santa Muerte Sheol Tzadikim Nistarim Ulalume Urd Whoso List to Hunt Wicked Wolfsbane Possets 301: Halloween 2010

alianthe

October 9, 2014

Witching on a Budget: Focal Pieces

You've stalked well, you've made contact, you've bartered and shopped and crafted and baked your way to a (series of) fun-filled packages, you've gathered all the supplies to make a stunning impact, and as you're putting together your ultimate package, you realize... This is kind of disjointed. And there's no big beautiful wonderful focal piece that shouts "I LOVED WITCHING YOU!" Now, it's hard to pull something perfect out of your hat this late in the game, but it's possible. It's better if you plan ahead sometimes, but other times you only get your stroke of inspiration on this when your witchee makes a chance comment (ie, "I've really always wanted to speak German," "I've always wanted to learn to knit," "I wish I knew how to keep my tomato plants alive and thriving through to harvest," "I wish I had more inspiration cooking dinner for my brood," "I wish I could get this website done so I can finally open my product line up to the world," etc) 3/4 of the way through the round. I've found that the things that I and other witches have done that made the best centerpieces, by and large were acts of love rather than objects. Some, like beautiful BPAL storage boxes and The Perfect knitted item or jewelry piece, are physical objects that symbolize this love. Others, like lifetime darning services, language/crafting/etc lessons, and graphics design for eir etail business, are intangible. By and large, they are all obtainable with fairly little monetary output, if you're willing to put in the effort, love, and networking. Say there's an object, like a box or a necklace, that you have the skills but not the materials to make. Second-hand shops, yard sales, and barter are your friends! Say there's an object that you can't make, but you know other witches who do. Barter barter barter! Services are good for bartering, too. I'll bet there's a jewelry maker or a knitter or a woodcrafter out there who would make your witchee a gift in exchange for a nice big box of salted caramels or vegan cupcakes or... you get the idea. Traditionally understood crafting skills aren't the only ones that are good for this. I took my prior knowledge of Etsy and the help-for-Etsy-startup information I'd gathered when I'd been designing my own Etsy store, added some basic graphics manipulation skills (seriously, very basic - I just used some pictures of her products, an image from her web page, a white background, and the Paint program that comes with Windows), a bit more research, and some of my time setting the whole thing up, and made Coldie her Etsy store (and a primer for getting up and running with it), which she'd been wanting to start up for some time. She already had the business, making jewelry for people and advertising by word-of-mouth. I supplied the Round Tuit, and now she's got an Etsy store, which expanded her earning potential quite a lot. Total monetary output: $0. Impact on my witchee and her life: Priceless. Also, let's say you speak a language or are good at a skill your witchee would like to better emself with. Even long-distance, lessons in these things are possible. Got a digicam with a video function? Make videos of yourself saying basic things in the language, or demonstrating techniques for the skill. Make a modular primer, burn it to CD, draw some pictures, scare up some materials from your stash. Offer to correspond via email/video/audio (on CD if necessary) with your witchee to help em through the learning curve. Total monetary output: low. Impact on your witchee's life: Priceless. Or, make a cookbook on CD that your witchee can print out, or use water-resistent cardstock and a sewing needle to make a lay-flat hard-wearing print version. Believe me. With health problems, insomnia, four kids, couple's therapy, home reconstruction, and a demanding career, I know about being busy. But there are ways to turn a few minutes here and there and that beautifully burgeoning heart of yours into an incredible, low-cost, high-personal-value focal piece, and really do your witchee justice. Think hard about your skills, ask around, watch your witchee's posts, and you can find the inspiration and resources you need. Happy witching!

alianthe

January 19, 2009

Witching on a Budget - Stealth (How to Stay Anonymous Without Buying Everything Online)

Autumn 2008, I had a major dilemma. I knew money was tight, so it was going to be a mostly-handmade round for me. BUT, I was assigned a witchee from my immediate geographic area, and she knew me and, because of our special gatherings, she either knew personally or knew of pretty much all the other Switch Witches in the immediate area. As much as she might try NOT to sleuth me out, the game would be up pretty much the moment she saw the postmark. How was I to stay an anonymous witch right up until I was ready to reveal, yet also stay in contact with her and make sure she got multiple packages, without breaking the bank? See, the easiest way to confuse your witchee as to your location is to make sure early packages come from etailers or etsy sellers or the like. Or, if you're one of those people who use Paypal or Stamps.com or other postage-from-your-computer services (I'm not), you can edit, forge, or otherwise obscure your postmark that way. If you like to use UPS or Drop Ship Express or FedEx, you may still be able to work with your shipper to fudge things a bit. Most places, USPS is too paranoid to help you out with this anymore. I can't say for sure with any other country's mail system. Now, let's assume that for whatever reason, those methods aren't going to work for you. What's a sneaky witch to do? Here are some time-honored tips gathered from many veteran witches out there. I didn't come up with most of them, but for reasons of maintaining anonymity, I'm only going to attribute ideas to witches who ask me to. Your fellow witches would love you to use these tips and submit your own - the more people who use them, the more effective they'll be! * Sneaky barter. Barter is the bread and butter of resourceful witchery, and it applies to everyone, not just those trying to witch on a budget. I've known witches who had no crafting skills whatsoever, but made sure a made-for-witchee item, the equivalent of which could never have been found in stores, arrived on their witchees' doorsteps. I've known witches who have teamed up to witch each other's witchees. I've noticed somebody who wasn't my witchee mentioning that she'd like to try scents from a non-BPAL perfumery I knew I had samples from that were languishing. So I posted to General Chatter "HEY, <witchee>'s WITCH! You should PM me!" When the witch in question responded, we arrived at the agreement that she'd paypal me some $ for the samples, and I'd make up a package for her witchee, complete with personalized note and frimpage. If she hadn't already revealed, it would have been a great way to obscure her location. I've also crafted items for another witch's witchee in exchange for the other witch sending my witchee a package of bought goods from a store local to her (other witch), thereby making it look like I might be in a completely other country and NOT be doing an all-handmade round. As another example, say you've got your eye on another crafty witch's merchandise for your witchee. It costs you nothing to PM that witch and ask if there's something you could barter for it. Or, you notice another witch lamenting that ey has no crafting/cooking skills but wants to witch eir witchee with something handmade/nommy, and it just so happens that you've got the crafting/cooking skills and a little time to do it. You should totally approach that witch via PM and ask to barter. It's also a good idea, if you'd like others to approach you for this kind of action, to post in General Chatter about your barterable skills and willingness to be a co-conspirator or conspire together, so other witches can find you. Many witches will use these words as search keys in the General Chatter Thread to find witches like you to conspire with. You could be one of us! * What should you do if your witchee contacts you for a barter? The simplest way is to respectfully turn 'em down. If you don't want to do that, you could offer to send stuff to eir witchee in exchange for em sending you something YOU want. If you're really resourceful and into the witching web, you could even offer to send stuff to eir witchee in exchange for em sending stuff to a third witch's witchee (and you don't even need to tell your witchee that third witch's witchee isn't your witchee, ie that third witch is involved at all), in exchange for third witch sending stuff to your witchee. Did you get that? It can get complicated. If you start getting the Nacho Witch Sombrero involved, it can get really tangled, but totally awesome. * Sneaky seller. If you're a seller on Etsy, or otherwise have a company to sell your handmade items, particularly if your work has been sent to other witchees in the past, it's extremely effective subterfuge to send your witchee a package of your goods made specially for your witchee and pretend you're just the middlewitch and the package contains only items eir witch commissioned from you and had you send em. Pack it up just like you normally do with your outgoing packages, and add a note like "from your Switch Witch" or something else that could imply that you're just the middlewitch, but doesn't exclude you actually being the real witch. * Sneaky not-seller. If you've got time and materials to make up a couple of fake handmade business cards, hang tags, letterhead, etc, you can invent a handmade items company to send your witchee stuff from! This one's tricky, though, as your witchee is likely to try to find out more about the company and their merchandise, which will expose the fact that it doesn't exist if you don't make it suitably obscure. * Sneaky packer. If you're a witch who works for an etailer or mailorder company of some sort, particularly a well-known one like B&N or Lush, and you have access to their packing supplies/department, you can make it look to your witchee like ey's getting a package from that etailer, which could have come from anybody anywhere. To accomplish this on the cheap, make your package up out of samples or stuff you aquired with your employee discount, and ship it out through their shipping department (arranging for S&H and packing it yourself). * Sneaky redirect. If you're not lucky enough to be one of the above, you can still do the sneaky redirect. Say you want to send your witchee some cheaply aquired or like-new-from-your-stash books/DVDs/games/fabric/yarn/tea/etc from your stash, and you've ordered from Amazon/B&N/fabric.com/KnitPicks/Zhena's/SBS Teas/etc in the past. If you carefully saved the packing materials from past orders, you can reuse the them (save $) and make it look like you had those items shipped from that company (obsfucate geography) all at once. Just remember to use the same shipping company they usually do (ie, UPS for B&N), and write the return address so it says something like "Shipping Department," and the zip code matches the postmark (for USPS) or origination (for UPS), etc.

alianthe

December 3, 2008

Witching on a Budget - Presentation Makes A Difference

Personally, I've never managed to successfully plan and execute a theme, but I can say that one of the biggest differences between the feeling of opening a package I ordered from a random etailer and the feeling of opening a care package from somebody who loves me is the personal touches. So, once you have your package contents settled out, doing little extra things like taking the time to individually wrap gifts in a pretty way, adding a personal note on a nice card, using unique and witchee-useable packing materials, and otherwise paying attention to the presentation of your package can give your witchee's package opening experience a huge boost and make em feel extra special. Tissue paper is cheap, pretty, and makes a great lightweight wrapping. I'm not a wrapping-paper-saver, but I DO save reasonably-unripped tissue paper from whatever source, fold it flat, and store it against the inside of my "Switch Witch & swaps supplies" box, which I also keep stocked with smaller stuff I want to remember to add to my witchee's package, smaller materials I've bought for witchee projects, samples of tea my witchee might like, BPAL/BPTP swag (stickers, postcards, etc), padded envelopes, saved bits of (good condition) bubble wrap, packing/teflon/scotch tape, Priority Mail address stickers, Delivery Confirmation slips, and occasionally shipping boxes that I've broken down flat for storage. This ensures that I always have exactly what I need, right down to a variety of colors of tissue paper to ensure I have some of my witchee's favorite colors, to quickly pack & send a package to my witchee on the slightest whim. Other good things to boost the presentation of your package include bits of ribbon, pretty yarn, sparkly elastics, etc, for use in wrapping - they make it easier to get into small packages than tape, and they're reuseable if your witchee is a thrifty witch. Also those little plastic bags with themed stuff painted on them make a good and inexpensive presentation boost. Halloween, holiday, hearts & flowers, smileyfaces, whatever. If you're a longtime Switchwitch or you do a lot of swapping, chances are you'll find an occasion to dress up your gifties in a fancy bag like this. Say, for example, it's the Halloween round and you'd like to send your witchee some unique candy corn you found. Or maybe you made em a batch of Jack-O-Lantern cookies. They'll be yummy and great if you ziplock them, but it's even better if you dress them up in a little Halloween-themed baggie tied with black ribbon or yarn. Now, say for some reason you're fresh out of tissue paper and pretty decorated baggies. Never fear, you can get creative with ziplocks, newsprint, etc, and permanent markers! Or nail polish! Or whatever you have on hand (just remember to put down newspaper first). You could even send a package that's 100% handmade - right down to the wrapping paper. Seriously, adding that extra little personal touch of wrapping it up pretty is something that can be done inexpensively, quickly, and makes a HUGE impact. Happy budget-witching!

alianthe

November 25, 2008

Witching on a Budget - Food!

From what I can tell, the real meaning of Switchwitch is to give and get individual personal attention and recognition. That's pretty much what the requirements constitute, with of course the caveat that there be something tangible exchanged, because that's measurable and "attention spent" isn't so much. But really, it's all about the individual personal attention and recognition. As a witch you get to feel that you're having an effect, which is awesome because so much in life it can be difficult to measure the effect of our work, but a good witchee will report when ey receives our gifties, and generally also says how it brightened eir day, so look! Noticeable effect! As a witchee you get to feel that somebody's paying attention to you, which is awesome because it's also so easy to feel taken for granted in life, but a good witch will read your questionnaire and stalk your posts and send gifts aimed at your tastes, so look! Somebody's paying attention! And you didn't even have to figuratively stomp your foot and demand that ey pay attention. On the contrary, it's an anonymous person who's probably never even met you! That said, I'm out to prove that it is totally possible to do justice to your witchee even if you're on a tight budget. In this installment of Witching on a Budget (which, because blogs can be edited, will be added to as I think of more things), we talk about something that a great many of us can do - cooking! --- In this entry: (use bolded words to search within entry) * Mixes in a Jar * Chocolate Bark * Vegetarian Doggie Treats * Cook up that Pumpkin --- Make em a Mix In A Jar - seriously, this is a great idea. I love having a jar in the pantry that I can just toss into a pot with some easily-available kitcheny stuff, and have an awesome dish come out the other end, with most of the prep work done for me. It's like having a boxed brownie mix or a bagged soup/side mix, but with a lot more love and flavor, and can be made to your witchee's exacting tastes. Also? Prettier, and with no artificial ingredients, because you made it yourself! Thanks to <B>gatesofrocknroll for this link with lots of mix-in-a-jar ideas and recipes. Let your imagination go wild! Super-easy Chocolate Bark (cost dependent on choices made, but I estimate about $5 for a cookie sheet full) You will need: - A working burner of a stovetop or hot plate that is capable of boiling water - Chocolate, any type, any form. Don't be afraid to experiment, or to use whatever you have on hand. I like it midnight dark, as have some of my witchees, so I often do something like one block of Trader Joe's bulk dark chocolate blended with a few bars of baker's chocolate. If your witchee likes white chocolate, you can find that in bulk, too. - Bits, any type, dry. Finely diced crystallized ginger, dried cherries, blueberries, cranberries, raisins. Nuts? Whatever strikes your fancy. Try looking through the pantry. - A big (heat-resistant) spoon or spatula - A cookie sheet, preferably with a lip all the way around the outer edge - Wax paper or parchment paper. Aluminum foil or the thicker type of plastic wrap that will stand up to boiling water will also do in a pinch (it's not as pretty), but an unprotected cookie sheet is not recommended. - A double boiler. If you don't have a double boiler, you can make on out of a metal bowl and a saucepan it will fit inside, or two saucepans that can be nested so that the inside one doesn't touch the outside one at the bottom. Just put your (larger) saucepan on the stove, arrange your smaller receptical inside it so the bottoms don't touch, and pour water into the bigger one (don't get the water in the smaller one). Turn on the heat, the heat warms the water, the water warms the smaller receptical, and that warms your chocolate. Voila, instant way to melt your chocolate without burning it! Line you cookie sheet with wax paper or parchment paper. Put water in your double boiler, and warm it over medium heat. Throughout these instructions, keep an eye on it and adjust the water level if necessary, to keep it from boiling over or boiling dry. Dump in the chocolate. As it starts to melt, stir it up so it blends properly and melts evenly. When the chocolate is completely melted, dump in the bits, stir it up, and take it off the heat. Pour the melted chocolate with bits onto the cookie sheet. Working fairly quickly, smooth it down with the spoon/spatula so it's about evenly distributed. If you are going for a swirl effect, melt two types of chocolate simulaneously and separately, then pour them on opposite sides of your cookie sheet and swirl them together with your spoon/spatula while smoothing them down to make them even. You may wish to hold the bits until the chocolate is all smoothed down, then scatter them over the top of the melted chocolate bark and tamp down lightly to make them stick. I usually put mine in the freezer to cool, particularly if it's summertime. If you do this, make sure to either carefully cover your chocolate so it doesn't freezer burn, or keep an eye on it and take it out as soon as it's solidified. Chocolate can also be chilled or left covered on the counter to set, just make sure you use a hot mat to protect your counters, as the cookie sheet will heat up to the temperature of the chocolate. When it's set up nice and firm, turn the cookie sheet upside down over a clean counter, peel off the paper, and break it into pieces. I generally break it by hand. I didn't include instructions for tempering your chocolate, because I like to make it so it'll melt in your hand. So... it'll melt in your hands if it isn't frozen, and it will melt together if improperly stored. Work quickly, and store in a tightly-sealed container (such as a ziplock baggie) in a cool(!!) dry place. As if you'll have to store it anywhere after you (and your family) realize(s) you just made chocolate bark. Breath-Freshening Dog Treats, from Veggie Life Magazine (contributed by the illustrious Ahania, a witch of kitchen magic) 3/4 c minched parsley leaves and stems (1 medium bunch) 1/4 c finely grated carrot 1 T vegetable oil 3/4 c whole-wheat flour 1/2 c corn flour or finely ground corn meal 1/2 t baking powder 1/4 c water Preheat the oven to 350. Mix together the parsley, carrot, and oil. In a large bowl, mix the flours and baking powder. Add the parsley stuff and mix until it's all in coarse crumbs, then add water until it's a smooth ball. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it's 1/2 inch thick, then cut into shapes. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake 20 minutes for soft biscuits, 30 minutes for hard. They can also be rolled out thinner to make human crackers, too. They're preportedly quite tasty with a good dip. How to turn that pumpkin into something you can cook with - Use this as a cheaper alternative to canned pumpkin. You will need: - a pumpkin, any type. Frankly, the ugly red ones are tastier than the Jack-o-lantern type, but the former tend to be more expensive than the latter in, say, November when nobody wants to make Jack-o-lanterns and there are lots of big orange pumpkins left at the store. - a really sharp big knife - a big flat-bottomed baking dish with sides (such as a brownie pan), the bigger the better, best if you have a few - water, or butter and a brush - a working oven - patience Preheat oven to 350°F. De-seed the pumpkin. If you desire, separate the seeds from the stringy pulp for seasoning & baking, but that's another recipe. Cut the pumpkin into pieces that will lay mostly flat. Option 1: Fit the pieces, skin-side-up, into your "brownie" pan(s). Put about 1/2"-1" of water in the brownie pan(s), and lay the pumpkin into the water skin side up. Making sure the water never runs dry, bake until the pumpkin feels tender when you insert a sharp knife. You'll probably need to do this in batches. Option 2: for more flavor, brush melted butter all over all surfaces of the pumpkin, paying special attention to the non-skin surfaces. Fit the pieces, skin side down, into your brownie pan(s). Put about 1/4" of water in the bottom of the pans, then lay the pumpkin into the pans skin side DOWN. Being careful to brown but not burn the pumpkin, bake until the pumpkin is tender when you insert a sharp knife. You'll probably need to do this in batches. When done baking, take the pumpkin pieces out of the pan and let them cool on a towel or plate until you can touch them comfortably. Cut/peel the skin off. Put the flesh into a big bowl or food processor and mash it to a pulp. Alternatively, if you want chunks of pumpkin, chop it into chunks instead of mashing. Pumpkin prepared in this manner chills and freezes well. From this state, you can use it any way you'd use the canned stuff, but it'll taste fresher.

alianthe

November 21, 2008

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About this blog

Entries in this blog

Reviews

Coming back after a long hiatus

The Backlog

Witching on a Budget: Focal Pieces

Witching on a Budget - Stealth (How to Stay Anonymous Without Buying Everything Online)

Witching on a Budget - Presentation Makes A Difference

Witching on a Budget - Food!

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