Nerdy Fairy Blog
Magical Botany: Evergreen Academy Review & Lavender Pillow Spray DIY
What would it be like to be a student at a college for magical botanists? Go and see for yourself in Evergreen Academy by Heather Schneider! This lovely cozy fantasy follows Briar Rose as she navigates her first year at the secret Evergreen Academy. The book is filled with delightful botany, beautiful plants, and plenty of helpful herbs, including lavender!
The Magic of Hydrosols: A Beginner’s Guide to Aromatic Waters & Their Benefits
Herbs are replete with enchanting scents, be it the beautiful scent of a rose or the lemony green smell of just crushed lemon balm. Like essential oils, hydrosols are a way for us to capture these lovely aromas and other amazing properties of many herbs to use and enjoy. The fragrant flowers and plants of high summer are wonderful for making your very own hydrosols at home.
Lavender Vanilla Bath Salts inspired by A Fellowship of Librarians and Dragons
There is a special magic that happens when lavender and vanilla meet. Have you ever encountered it? This duo is one of my favorite herbal combinations! And so, I was delighted when reading A Fellowship of Librarians & Dragons by J. Penner, to find that the protagonist, Doli, loves vanilla while her Grammy loves lavender. Their relationship is so sweet. It was very heart-touching to read.
The Apothecary Pantry: Making Floral-Infused Honey for Cozy Reading Days
Making little jars of honey infused with flowers all full of aroma and, perhaps, a bit of kindness, is a way to embrace those miracles and be part of the beauty of the moment. It is a way of grounding and enjoying life. Pair floral-infused honey drizzled over a bit of cake or sweetening a cup of tea with your favorite blossom-filled cozy fantasy for an immersive reading experience. Find a suggested reading list too!
Rose Name Meaning: Herbal Lore & Floral Symbolism in Fiction
A well loved name, Rose and its variations have been used in stories for centuries. Often considered the epitome of femininity, the name is inspired by the flower of the same name. The rose, of course, is synonymous with romance and endless love, used in the modern day to profess deeply romantic feelings.
Enchanted Greenhouse: Honeyed Rose Hot Cocoa Recipe for A Cozy Mug
Coziness ensues as Terlu and Yarrow find themselves working alongside one another in an effort to save the greenhouse. All this concentration takes sustenance. What could be better than hot cocoa during a research session on a cold winter day?
This recipe brings rosy goodness from the greenhouses together with the honey and a bit of ashwagandha for extra centering support. It is rich in herbs that support the nervous system too.
Simplest Aromatic Humidifier For a Cozy Home
Here is one of my favorite ways to add moisture to the air in my home while also helping to cleanse the air. It is crazy, silly simple and I set this up any time the air just feels too dry, when it is really cold outside, or when someone in my family seems on the edge of getting sick.
Elderberry Quest: Brew Magical Syrups And Teas for a Cozy Winter
While raising my little family, I often turned to our favorite herb for support during the winter season—the venerable elderberry, which was always kept close at hand. You may have encountered this herb in your reading as it is often mentioned as part of forest landscapes and even in relation to magic and fae. Yet this little black berry is well-used and beloved among herbalists. Happily, it is simple to craft into tasty teas and syrups that can be enjoyed during the winter months to help ease colds and flu.
Find recipes for your own crafting elderberry quest!
4 Warming Cinnamon Body Care Recipes
Wonderfully warming and delightfully scented, cinnamon makes a lovely addition to body care products during cold winter months. This piece takes a deep dive into four body care options that bring cinnamon right into self-care moments.
Doctor Who Tea Recipe: The 10th Doctor's Regeneration Blend
What do you do when your best friend suddenly has a new body and is sickly? Bring him home to Mum of course!
This is exactly what time-traveling Rose Tyler did in Dr. Who: Christmas Invasion (Season 2, Episode 1) when the Doctor’s regeneration process didn’t go smoothly. The earth is under attack and the only one who can save everyone? Well, he is ill in bed with a satsuma in his pocket.
This tea-loving nerdy Dr. Who fan had to make a tea to honor this first Christmas episode of the revival.
Cozy Magic: Make Jez's Cardamom Orange Spritzer from Adenashire (Unofficial Recipe)
The Adenashire series is just about as cozy as it gets! And the third book, A Fellowship of Games & Fables by J. Penner does not disappoint with its sweet Yuletide theme. The story follows a grumpy fennex named Jez who is a fierce friend in need of frequent naps.
As always, there are plenty of tasty baked goods in this installment of the Adenashire series including delicious options with Jez’s favorite flavors: orange and cardamom. With her keen sense of smell, it is no wonder that Jez turns to these delightful flavors with their uplifting aromas!
Find a recipe to soothe your own grumpy inner fennex below!
Easy Lavender Syrup: An Unofficial Fairy Wine Recipe
What could be better than a glass of “fairy wine” to raise in celebration? In the cozy book The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna, a sparkly fairy wine is created by potion-making witch Mika to celebrate with the children of Nowhere house. While her recipe has magical ingredients beyond the scope of this herbalist, below is an unofficial, delicious take on Mika’s drink.
Bathe Like a Flower Fairy This Holiday: Herbal Candy Cane Salt Soak
Crafting for the holidays is such fun, and including a little something for self-care is important! Herbal bathing gives us a chance to slow down and rest for a bit. Plus, all of the goodness from the herbs steeps right into the water enhancing the wonderful effects of a simple bath.
Happily there are plenty of cozy wintertime books to enjoy in the tub too. We have listed some below to help you get reading. Surely a flower fairy would take time for a bath and a reading session during this busy season.
Straight from Mrs. Rabbit to Your Teacup: How to Make the Best Cup of Chamomile Tea
Life can be unpredictable and stressful, even for the smallest of us. Happily, we have herbs to lend us a hand when we most need it. Chamomile is one of these herbs that is simple to turn to and yet can be powerful in its soothing.
Keep reading and you will soon be able to make a cup just like Peter’s wise mother, and you will find two other recipes below for easy additions to a cup of chamomile tea—one for incorporating lavender and another using mint. Combining these herbs with chamomile results in tasty brews with a little extra herbal goodness.
Magical Herbal Tree Fairies: An Easy Pinecone Craft for Cozy Fantasy Lovers
Many fictional worlds are built within the mystique of a beautiful or sometimes sinister forest. Often the forests are filled with trees towering providing shelter, peace, and resources to adventurers.
These magical crafted tree fairies are a whimsical, cute way to honor the noble tree and some of the useful, beautiful items that come from trees. They are also fun to make with kids while exploring all that trees have to offer us. Find tips below for making these with kiddos.
An Undead Orc's Cozy Secret: How to Make Magical, Simple Herbal Infused Salt
What would an retired undead orc use to stock the pantry at his cozy restaurant? As a thoughtful cook invested infusing flavor into each bite of his food, I would suspect he would stock up on supplies made with herbs infused into everyday staples such as oils, vinegars, salts, and honeys. If you read Recipes For An Unexpected Afterlife by Deston J. Munden, you might be asking yourself this same question. This is a cozy, heartfelt story left me hungry and ready to get cooking!
Cozy Bay Wreath Craft Inspired by A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic
Inspired by A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic by J. Penner, this simple herb craft is a little tribute to potential love and romance interwoven in the cozy pages of this book. The interplay of the characters and the plants they encounter in their fictional world was magically lovely to read.
BE WARNED: SPOILER-FILLED CRAFT TUTORIAL !
Beyond the Page: Unlocking the Calm of Kianthe's Rose Mint Tea
Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne is filled with adventure, love, humor, and well, tea. As the story begins, we quickly learn that protagonist Kianthe’s favorite tea blend is a simply brewed rose mint tea. The perfect blend for a cozy fantasy tea!
The Star Inside an Apple: Magic, Charmed, & Crafts
We all know that apples are good for us. Filled with vitamins, minerals, and fiber, apples are a beloved treasure.
But did you know that each and every apple contains a star? Think of it, every autumn branch bedecked with apples is filled with stars.
Little House Magic: Halloween Apple Lore and History of the Clove Apple Pomander
Apples and pumpkins are the two hallmark fruits of Halloween and the autumn season. Though lately it has been “pumpkin spice” everything, apples can help you get your cozy going just as well as the popular orange member of the squash family.
Apples have a long history of being part of Halloween and Samhain celebrations. Autumn is apple season after all and it isn’t hard to imagine that these tasty and durable fruits easily became a part of lore and stories. A look back through an apple-rich history, shows a story of apples being a bit mischievous depending on the lore.