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THE ISLAND OCTOPUS BLOG

January News

1/2/2023

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Happy New Year Palm Trees
Our events this month include First Friday Art Walk and the Wednesday Night Market at Alliance for the Arts. Learn more on our local event page.

This month we will be continuing work on some new designs for a February Valentine/dessert release and a tote bag. We are excited to be vending at the Tampa Bay Chocolate Festival in February!

On Patreon this month, we will be releasing our first digital zine! This one will be themed New Explorations.

Photo above: palm trees at St. Armand's Key, Sarasota.
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Celebrating the Summer Solstice

6/18/2022

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How to celebrate the Summer Solstice from The Island Octopus
The Summer Solstice is the day with the longest period of sunlight. In the northern hemisphere the Summer Solstice usually falls on June 20, 21, or 22. In 2022, it is on June 21. Continue reading for some fun ways to celebrate this time of year! Check out our Pinterest board for other related recipes and tutorials.

Crafts & activities:
  • Make a flower crown
  • Have a picnic
  • Gardening
  • Watch the sunrise or sunset
  • Outdoor yoga
  • Make an herb wreath
  • Burn an summer-themed incense (find a recipe below!)
  • Make a suncatcher

Decorations and accents:
  • Dried fruit
  • Beeswax candles
  • Suncatchers
  • Summer flowers (such as sunflowers, coneflowers, dahlias)

Food to make and enjoy:
  • BBQ
  • Fruit pies
  • Honey cakes
  • Seasonal fruit and veggies
  • Sun tea
  • Mead
  • Lemonade
  • Cherries, apricots, blackberries and peaches
  • ​Herbed bread
  • Salad with garden veggies

Scents:
  • Cinnamon
  • Chamomile
  • Rosemary
  • Mugwort
  • Yarrow
  • Rose
  • Lavender
  • Vervain
  • Sage
  • Cedar
  • Frankincense
  • Mugwort
  • Citrus
  • Lily
Summer Solstice incense from The Island Octopus
Summer Solstice incense recipe:

Ingredients:
  • copal (golden or white)
  • benzoin
  • sandalwood
  • allspice
  • lemon peel
  • honey

​Directions:
Grind all dry ingredients with zested lemon peel in a mortar and pestle. Add a small amount of honey and mix. Dammar and other citrus or spices may be used as replacements if desired. Smolder on top of a hot hookah charcoal.

Feel free to experiment and use different ingredients as necessary. Any white or golden copal or dammar will do. Benzoin is for the sweet notes, which you can also get from vanilla. Cinnamon or clove can be used in place of allspice. And your favorite citrus peel can be used in place of lemon. The sandalwood is not necessary, but having some powdered wood helps with the consistency of the mix.

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How to Celebrate Halloween (besides eating candy)

10/20/2021

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How to celebrate Halloween (besides eating candy) by The Island Octopus
Traditional Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, attending costume parties, carving pumpkins, telling scary stories, and visiting haunted houses. Continue reading for some other ways to continue the Halloween fun throughout the month of October! Check out our Pinterest board for related recipes and tutorials.

Activities and crafts:
  • Make an autumn feast
  • Bob for apples
  • Visit a pumpkin patch
  • Carve a pumpkin (or turnip!)
  • Make a mask
  • Attend a bonfire
  • Watch a scary movie
  • Read your fortune
  • Make pumpkin bread
  • Decorate candy apples
  • Watch a scary movie, or read a scary story
  • Color some Halloween coloring pages from our free selection, or our Halloween Coloring Book!

Decorations and accents:
  • Gourds
  • Ghosts
  • Tombstones & coffins
  • Skeletons
  • Cats
  • Bats
  • Cauldrons
  • Ravens
  • Owls
  • Monsters
  • Vampires
  • Dry leaves and flowers

Food to make and enjoy:
  • Everything pumpkin!
  • Root veggies
  • Apples
  • Pears
  • Herbal teas
  • Cider
  • Soup or stew

Scents:
  • Sage
  • Mugwort
  • Pumpkin
  • Burning leaves
  • Clove
  • Vanilla
  • Dragon's blood
  • Cinnamon
  • Rosemary
  • Benzoin
  • Copal
  • Patchouli
  • Sweetgrass
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Celebrating the Autumn Equinox

9/10/2021

 
How to celebrate the Autumn Equinox by IslandOctopus.com
The Autumn Equinox is one (of two) moments in the year when day and night are of equal length. It marks the beginning of autumn. In the northern hemisphere the Autumn Equinox usually falls on September 22 or 23, and in 2021, it is September 22. Continue reading for some fun ways to celebrate this time of year! Check out our Pinterest board for other related recipes and tutorials.

Crafts & Activities:
  • Make a dried fruit garland
  • Make a leaf rubbing
  • Write a gratitude list
  • Make a corn dolly
  • Make or buy an autumn wreath to display
  • Go on a nature walk and enjoy the changing leaves
  • Burn an autumn-themed incense (find a recipe below!)
  • Clean your home and decorate for autumn

Decorations and accents:
  • Acorns
  • Leaves
  • Apples
  • Corn
  • Autumn flowers (such as marigolds and mums)
  • Pine cones
  • The colors orange, yellow, red, and gold

Food to make and enjoy:
  • Bread
  • Grains
  • Apples
  • Squash
  • Pumpkin
  • Cider
  • Corn
  • Pies, especially apple pie
  • ​Seeds and nuts

Scents:
  • Cinnamon
  • Clove
  • Apple
  • Sage
  • Oak leaves
  • Yarrow
  • Pine
  • Rosemary
  • Sandalwood
  • Fern
Autumn Equinox Incense recipe by IslandOctopus.com
Autumn Equinox incense recipe:

Ingredients:
  • pinyon pine resin or other sticky pine resin
  • fallen sycamore leaves or oak leaves
  • cinnamon
  • rosemary
  • storax or honey

​Directions:
Grind dried leaves, cinnamon and rosemary with a mortar and pestle. Press in pine resin. Add small amount of storax and knead until thoroughly mixed. Roll into small balls if desired. Smolder on top of a hot hookah charcoal.
Autumn Incense on charcoal

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