Tag Archives: Craft

Equinox Blessings!

21 Sunday Mar 2021

Posted by in Enchanted, Herbology, Reflections, Witchcraft 101

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Happy Equinox!

As spring is here I’m thinking about the allotment I’ll be working on this summer, and that reminded me of my indoor plants and of course the thought train then got all metaphorical…

ID: Roses, back-lit in a window, next to a barely recovering mint plant.

People tell me that indoor roses are fussy and mint is impossible to kill… But roses were the first plant I managed to keep alive for more than a season, and this is the first potted mint plant that has recovered from meeting me… And trust me, I’ve tried many times!

Perhaps those of us that are “fussy”, “difficult”, “sensitive”, or “too much” are simply in the wrong environment… And the apparently hardy ones are mostly just getting more of what *they* need? I’ve heard it before, but it bears repeating…

Plants are tenacious, and so are we. But we all need different things. Look for your magic, your relationship with the world, your rhythm and home, in the places that make sense to you. Don’t treat yourself like mint if you’re a rose, or rose if you’re a mint.

But remember, either way, to breathe, rest, bathe in the growing sunlight, and drink your water!

I’m learning to do better with mint, at least. And I’ll be repotting both (separately!) soon.

(Oh, and there’s a meditation up for my Patreons for the Equinox – Spring or Autumn – use whenever you need a moment of calm before a change.)

On Earth, and a Free Class

23 Tuesday Feb 2021

Posted by in elemental magic, Magic, Witchcraft 101

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I’ve been working a lot with Earth this past winter, getting into my body, experimenting with herbal medicine, grounding the magic. Focusing on the practical, manifest steps of the day by day, and the sensual nature of living as an embodied creature of the earth.

Physically embodying divine aspects of myself as Priestess.

Growing up I spent a long time in the realm of air, escaping into imaginary landscapes and worlds woven of words. I even studied philosophy, a subject known for residing firmly in the domain of the mind. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love words and the space in which air manifests, but coming back down to earth has its own pleasure and gifts… And I struggled with it!

Dance helped me with enjoying being in my body a lot, but working with the element of earth has been key to really getting into a healthy relationship with the physical realm. Each time I return to this work, I feel more at home in my body and in the land, and my material life improves. (Yes, by this I mean money, home, and physical health!)

Literally feeding your body is earth work…

I’m looking forward to starting the elemental magic course on 10th March, and I thought it’d be nice to share some pointerd with you lovelies before that kicks off, so 7:30pm (GMT/UTC) next Wednesday, 3rd March 2021, I’ll be hopping onto discord and hosting an introductory chat on the elements of magic and my relationship with them, including a guided meditation for you to tune into them and hints for getting started with them (or revitalising your practice!) Sign up to my mailing list for the invite!

Sign up to my email list below to get the invite to join the conversation. You’ll get access to a forum for chatting with other like minded souls too. And there are still spaces on my Elemental Magic course starting Wednesday 10th March if you’d like to join us for 10 weeks packed with practical magic!

Elemental Magic course includes weekly materials, Fortnightly chats, group support, theory & practice.
Sign up to my mailing list here!

Quick Hoodie Update!

06 Wednesday Jan 2010

Posted by in Art Craft and Beauty

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I have completed the back and the front panels, and have sewn the shoulders together. Having decided that hoods just get in the way, I plan to knit a few more lines of collar, then leave off the hood (which means I had enough red wool for the pocket which I did in orange instead just in case! Nevermind.)

I am maybe halfway through the first sleeve…

So 1.5 sleeves, a collar and stitching together to go!

(Also pictured, Buster the Cat. Not impressed with the camera.)

Final Faery Card!!!

03 Thursday Sep 2009

Posted by in Art Craft and Beauty, Faery, Storytelling

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Finally I have done the last card for my creative obsession! Wow.

The journey so far is chronicled here.

And so, I present to you… Card 7: Storytellers

And the storytellers weave a web of stardust, taking us full circle through the story that these cards illustrate…

And we are storytellers.

Since I started these cards I’ve done quite a bit, so there is a real sense of something here. The DragonHeartedness of Sunrise Camp, (which was wonderful!) has carried into my life a little bit of determination, a little bit of willpower, and a little bit of courage… and I look over these cards and see, even over a few months, my skill has grown, as has my confidence.

These cards are part of many stories, the story of my life, the story of art, a story for the Fey, the story of magic… and now, also, your story.  I hope they were a happy paragraph… and perhaps, soon, there will be more like this… perhaps I will craft a chapter in these cards.

But Now I go to print them out so I can hold them in my hands and play!

Faery Card 5

07 Sunday Jun 2009

Posted by in Art Craft and Beauty, Faery, Magic

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Jumping to card 5 this week, I focussed on the moment when we become fascinated by our own potential, by the power we can harness, and begin to pay more attention to that rather than our connection with other beings. Of course, this power is represented by fire:

Card 5 – Fascination-Distraction

Questions that this brings to mind:

What are you concentrating on to the exclusion of all else?

What are you distracted by when you should eb focussed?

What are your personal strengths, and how can you develop these in rigth relationship to the world?

I’m really enjoying this process, the feeling of satisfaction which comes from seeing the steps come together, from actually following through with a long-term plan, and from being able to share with you all, is delightful! Thanks for sharing in my adventure!

This card is from a series of cards illustrating this story. Find the first 2 cards here, and the sketches here. The larger project of which this is a part is to be found at www.feyhearted.wordpress.com, and the post announcing this project is here. Thank you CollageDiva for getting me kick started!

Faery Cards 1 and 2!

30 Saturday May 2009

Posted by in Art Craft and Beauty, Faery, Magic

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I have finished the painting for the first two cards illustrating this story!*

Based on the sketches I made last weekend, I sat in the sunshine and painted these, first the backgrounds with slowly melting wax pastels, then using pens to draw in the detail a few days later.

I’m really pleased with them, although they’ll get some digital tweaking to turn them into useable cards, like neatening up the borders!

Card 1: Earth’s Becoming

Card 2: Earth’s Heartbeat

How are your projects going?

*See here for the initial post announcing this project.

Creative Goal

17 Sunday May 2009

Posted by in Art Craft and Beauty, Faery

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Inspired by this post on Collage Diva I am setting myself a goal.

Tomorrow is my final exam, and this week is full of very important things* so I plan to start next week.

In this case… next week, I will be finally getting round to making that deck of cards based on the Fey that has been playing in my mind for the past few years. It will be created using a story as guidance. This is part of my FeyHearted project, and the cards are intended to be beautiful, an act of devotion and oracular. I also intend to write around each topic the cards are about, leading to much musing!

Step 1. Re-write story.

Step 2. Sketch designs.

Step 3. Start drawing/painting/collaging and writing.

Step 4. Scan and Print each card onto ATC size.

Step 5. Put cards into sleeves and play!

Step 6. Celebrate!!!

And, to keep me on track, I plan to share the process, stage by stage, here.

This is a Challenge for me… will you join me in choosing a creative challenge for yourself? Let me know in a comment so we can do this together!

*Like a job interview, birthday parties, end of degree tea parties, actually spending some time with my neglected sweetheart, organising graduation and living over the summer… and so on.

Ruby the Woolly Dotee

07 Saturday Feb 2009

Posted by in Art Craft and Beauty

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Ruby now lives in America. She was the first Dotee I made successfully. The previous two may make an appearance later, but they’re still shy. Ruby came into being for a red-themed Dotee swap on swap-bot, and as the weather was getting all shivery, I thought perhaps she’d have a nice warm cuddly coat…

And a hat and scarf in a lovely fluffy green to remind her of home. I actually crocheted the hat freehand! Its made of the softest yarn I’ve ever found, and Ruby herself is made from a red flannel (which I bought especially once I realised what her story was, and that she should really have a nice wooly coat of her own).

Here she is all snuggled up cutely to her hat. She does love it so!

I took a picture as I waved her goodbye. She was off to find a nice warm bubble envelope to curl up in while she travelled to her new home! I was sad to see her go, but pleased she would be meeting lovely new people and bringing smiles around the world. I still smile when I think of her.

Here is the portrait I sent with her:

Sadly, I’m having trouble finding her story… I’ll add that when I discover where it got scanned to! Suffice to say, Ruby wasn’t always woolly… but she did get cold, and she was bright enough to realise that sheep had woolly coats that kept them warm…

Knitted Rucksack!

29 Thursday Jan 2009

Posted by in Art Craft and Beauty

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Finally lined this. I spent all of the winter holidays knitting this from a pattern in Stitch ‘n’ Bitch, although I skipped the intarsia as I wasn’t sure what design I wanted to use, and didn’t take any wool other than the red with me anyway. I plan to embroider a design on it eventually, but to all intents and purposes it is one completed rucksack!

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See the way the white makes the zip look like a mouth? So far I have 2 votes to add eyes and turn this into an odd little rucksack creature… I’m not entirely sure,  it might be a little creepy.

Turns out I’m not very good at following patterns particularly well. I miscounted some of the measurements and ended up having to do some  grafting on the gussett and some creative sewing in one corner to get all the pieces to work together. I also sewed the body together before knitting the straps… which are supposed to be sewn into the seams. Oops. Turned out alright though, I grafted them on instead so now they grow out of the back 🙂

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And here it is with my current, slightly more adventurous, project peeking out. A stripey hoodie. Pattern also from Stitch ‘n’ Bitch, wool is a silky brand called Debbie, and my choice of colours are red, orange and purple. They looked so yummy together! Despite being in the sale, they still cost a whole pile of money, (Thank you, Dad and S. Birthday/xmas present has already given me hours of joy!) but its so nice to work with, and I’m hoping the cost will encourage me to actually finish it sooner rather than later. I’m using bamboo knitting needles, which are so much more pleasant than metal or plastic, I think I’ll have to amas a collection of them… The black and psychedelic patterned box in there is a pencil-box in which I keep all my little knitting things, like tape-measure, stitch counters, tapestry needle, etc. It makes me smile when I look at it because the patterns so funky!

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The hoodie so far… wish me luck!
This is the back piece, the purple stripe will be about 4 inches wide, with another inch wide orange stripe and then more red… with, hopefully, a red hood and pocket and purple sleeves (probably with an orange stripe or two as I’m not sure I bought quite enough purple :P)