Final touches…. I like the sound of that! After weeks of working on all of the details for my upcoming Witches Dinner Party, this last project completes the place settings. In my strong opinion, a dinner party is not set without name cards for your guests, so to top it off, I created not just a seating card, but a party favor as well… a Witches Tea Favor and Seating Card, that is!
Whenever I plan a party, especially one with a really specific theme like this one, I spend a fair amount of time during the early phase of planning just looking for inspiration. For this particular party, I drew almost all of my inspiration from looking at pictures of old witches and their alters or ritual spaces. I came across several images of these old Magic Boxes for lack of a better word…. almost a go-to wooden travel box of a witch’s basic ritual needs. Because of both the magical powers and the medicinal properties of herbs, witches will draw upon them when performing spells. Many witches have entire cabinets dedicated to the storage of their herbs. But in these magic boxes, I noticed small corked glass jars filled with the herbs (a witch’s travel size version I suppose). It was exactly the inspiration I was looking for to create a memorable place setting for my guests.
To recreate a guest friendly version of these herb jars, I decided to use long glass test tubes. I simply liked the shape of them and the way they would look set against the plate and napkin at each seat. I opted to fill the tubes with loose leaf herbal teas. It held onto the idea of packing these little jars with herbs, but by using tea, it gave my guests a little something they could take home and actually use. Since tea is also commonly used for both spell casting, rituals, and divination, it was a win-win.
I chose three different teas to fill my jars. I purposely looked for three remarkably different looking teas, and ones that would look nice with the dried floral and foliage decor I was using on the table. My first stop was to an actual tea shop. These stores are perfect for a project like this, because they have bins of teas that you can see and smell and taste… It can certainly be a one stop shop, but I will warn you that these shops can get a bit pricey. I only picked up one tea at the shop…. one with a blend of Youthberry, Orange Blossom, and dried herbs…. Holy crap was this tea good. I bought extra for myself!! If you happen upon a tea you absolutely love, there’s certainly nothing that says you can’t use the same tea for each guest. The other teas I used are available online…. Jasmine Dragon Pearls
For the Seating Cards, I used a similar aging process to the one I used for the Witches Spell Napkins. Consistency is important when putting together any theme, so the cards needed to have that old, worn feel…. which I achieved with some coffee and a hot oven!!
The best part is that these Witches Tea Favors and Seating Cards are so easy to make. Here’s how….
What you’ll need:
- Glass Test Tubes
- Loose Leaf Tea
- Twine
- Jewelry Charms
- Beige Cardstock
- Coffee Grounds
Fill each test tube with your loose leaf tea(s) of choice.
Thread a pentagram charm on a long piece of twine, and wrap the twine around the top of each test tube.
For the Seating Cards, I printed names and a scroll design onto beige card stock, and printed 12 cards per page. If you do not want to print your cards, simply cut rectangles out of your card stock, and scribe the names yourself.
Add coffee grounds to hot water to create a dark coffee. Soak the cards for at least one hour. I used a long shallow dish to make it easier for the cards to lay flat.
When you take them out to dry, scoop some of the used coffee grounds onto the cards…. this adds to some of the uneven discoloration.
If you want your cards even darker, place the cards (still with piles of coffee grounds on them) on a baking tray and bake in a 350 degree oven. Just keep an eye on them, so they don’t burn. Remove from the oven when they reach the desired color.
Brush off any loose coffee grounds.
Punch a hole in the corner of each name card, and attach them to the twine on each of the Tea Tubes.
Arrange the favor and card onto each napkin. A magical little gift that your guests can enjoy even after they’ve left the party!
And if you have a lot of loose leaf tea leftover, head over to the Me and Annabel Lee Shop on Etsy, and pick up a Tea Ball infuser!! oh yeah… I’m not above the advertising plug!! In all seriousness, the infusers are really cute!! And…. if you’re more in the market to buy these tea vials instead of making them, I also have them for sale in the Me and Annabel Lee Shop on Etsy as a part of a Witches’ Tea Gift Set.
Be sure to check out all of the other details of the Witches Dinner Party (Rune Stone Wine Charms, Moon Phase Charger Plates, Crystal Balls, Witches Spell Napkins, and Crescent Moon Cookies) and stay tuned next week for the full set up.
On a side note…. these Tea Favors and Place Cards turned out so beautiful, I wanted to remind any Bride to Be out there how perfect these would be used as a Wedding Favor and Seat Assignment!!
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Alex, you smashed it out of the park again! I’ve been looking at developing a UK seasonal subscription box to include some witchy vials. I never would have thought of tea and yet it’s so quintessentially English. Outstanding idea and might I add, absolutely beautiful imagery. Can you just pop across the pond and help me style my photos? Thanks 🙂 Sx
Thank you Sue!! Those really would be perfect in a subscription box! I’d love to pop across the pond!! One of these days!!