So… what about that number 2 Pewter Cauldron in Harry Potter?

So… what about that number 2 Pewter Cauldron that J. K. Rowling specifies that the students at Hogwarts buy for their classes?
Are you shopping for a cauldron? Cauldrons have been sold by numbered sizes for many years in a system that is both orderly and practical. From tiny enough for incense to large enough to feed a crowd, cauldrons come in every size imaginable and that size is determined by capacity, the width and height and weight.READ MORE

Double Double Toil & Trouble

If there’s one Halloween chant most everyone knows its “Double, double, toil and trouble…” But do you know its origins? We are guessing that many of you recognize the name of the band “The Weird Sisters” from the movie “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” (We are linking to the Toil & Trouble video there, not the Weird Sisters, btw.) And some of you may recognize that J. K. Rowling was making a reference to the Weird Sisters in Shakespeare’s  “Macbeth.”READ MORE

A Thunder of Dragons – Creatures of Myth and Magic

Imagine a creature with the body of a huge scaly lizard, the reflexes and attitude of a cat and a mind as keen and clever as any man’s. This is the magical reputation of dragons.

Dragons are the stuff of legend and inhabit the myths of cultures all over the world. They show up in Medieval fairy tales and other more ancient writings and in the latest installments of popular culture. They show up in many fandoms and even have fans of their own. They are part of the traditions of countries from the most far of the Far East and the most western edge of Western  society. The interesting thing is that the legends are very consistent from one story and culture to the next. It is almost as if there is some sort of ancestral memory of dragons. So what do these myths and legends say?READ MORE

The Vinegar of the Four Thieves-Clean House, Dress a Salad & Save the World from the Plague in Your Spare Time

The Legend
The story of the Vinegar of the Four Thieves is interwoven with the Black Plague and the history of Medieval Europe. The cities of Europe were ravaged by repeating waves of plague from 1348 until the late nineteen century peaking in the late fourteen century. It is estimated that 30% to 60% of the population of Europe died because of it. The people living through those times had no idea what caused the plague, nor what to do to stop it. They only had a vaguest idea of it being caused by “bad airs.” READ MORE

Herbal Mixtures Part 1

One of our main tenets here at FANtasy Decorating is that our world should reflect our interests and that the pieces of our world look their part. Furnishings should be both useful and ornamental.

An example is our interest in herbs and their uses. Herbal medicine is a skill set that we admire and we think it’s time has come again.READ MORE

From Swamp Flower to Nuking Peeps in the Microwave

We post in honor of National S’Mores Day!!

If you were to talk to a resident of Medieval times about Marshmallows, he would assume that you were referring to flowers of the Mallow (Malvaceae) family that grew in marshy areas. He might also be familiar with the plants’ use as a treatment for sore throats since the roots especially contain large amounts of mucilage. Marshmallow plants have been used as food and medicine since ancient times. In the 1800’s when sugar became more readily available French confectioners started whipping the sap with sweeteners to produce the original version of the marshmallow. READ MORE