Recommended to anyone looking for older children's picture-books with a witchy and/or Halloween theme. The artwork, done by Walt Peaver, depicts the Old Witch in a somewhat more grotesque fashion than previous installments in the series, but also has a vintage charm. The story here is engaging, and will appeal to children who dream (especially post Harry Potter!) of having their own flying broom. Given that this is so, I am quite glad that the librarian who hunted down copies of some of the other Old Witch titles I was looking for, also brought this one out. ![]() Clearly these are the same characters, and the same setting, that feature in some of the other early Old Witch books. Although the witch here is never referred to as the 'Old Witch,' with capital letters, she is described in lowercase as 'the old witch,' and is depicted living in a cave, on a hill, above a farm belonging to Ma and Pa Farmer. Having now read it, however, I believe it does belong with the others in the series. Until today I believed that DeLage's Old Witch series comprised thirteen titles, beginning with The Farmer and the Witch (1966) and concluding with The Old Witch and the Crows (1983), and that this, The Witchy Broom was an unrelated title. Published in 1969, The Witchy Broom is one of a number of witchy early reader/picture-books written by Ida DeLage, and featuring the character of the Old Witch, a magical practitioner living in a cave above a small farming village. Having enchanted the farm broom in order to use it, she forgets to disenchant it when she returns it, leading Ma and Pa Farmer to experience a series of magical flying adventures, until the witch discovers what has transpired, and puts an end to their flight. I then wrapped some rope around each zip tie, using hot glue to secure it, making sure to keep the zip tie ends toward the back of my broom for visual purposes.Īnd that’s it! A few days (more like weeks with kids) of work and you’ve got yourself a custom witch’s broom! I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out.When the Old Witch accidentally burns her broom while brewing a potion, she finds walking terribly inconvenient, and borrows a broom from the farm below her cave until she can repair her own. The extra length allowed me to only use one zip tie for each section, making it easier to conceal. ![]() I used wider and much longer zip ties on the top layer. This gave my broom more volume and made it look much thicker. I then placed the second bundle, along with the rest of the first, over top of the first bundle. After a little bit of trial and error, I placed 3/4 of one bundle around the end of the broom first, and secured it with two zip ties. Next, I purchased two bundles of straw from Hobby Lobby to use for the brush portion of my broom. Then repeat.Īfter finally putting my sander to rest, I stained the wood with some leftover stain we had around the house. Don’t stop sanding until your hand cramps up and you have to stop. Before the Wicked Witch of the West or Harry Potter took flight on the spindly cleaning tool, the image first appeared in the 15th century. When you think you’re done sanding, sand some more. The visual of the witch on a broomstick is so ubiquitous as to be benign. Then I took an electric sander and started sanding my heart out to round the edges. ![]() ![]() □Īfter purchasing the 2×8, I then drew the outline of my broom onto the wood and Logan cut it out with a jigsaw. A few days later we were back at it though and Logan was not wearing his flip flops this time. While searching for the perfect piece, another piece fell from the top rafters and hit Logan in the ankle, resulting in a trip to the ER and a few stitches. To the annoyance of her cat a kindly witch allows a dog, a bird and a frog who have helped her retrieve things she has lost to ride on her broomstick, making it top heavy. With Simon Pegg, Gillian Anderson, Rob Brydon, Timothy Spall. This simple task proved to be harder than it sounds. Room on the Broom: Directed by Jan Lachauer, Max Lang. I started by purchasing a 2×8 long piece of wood. Isn’t that what any self respecting DIY-er would do? So, after finally giving up on my search, I decided to make my own. I knew I wanted to add a witch’s broom to my front door decor, but being the picky person that I am, couldn’t find the perfect one. I have been thinking about and planning this project for several years now.
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