New Look!!

Ok, I've been fiddling around with new layouts and I think I found one that I am happy with. This is called Gothic Irish (??) and I like how it resonates with me & my blog.

Been really busy with things in my personal life, school started for my son & work is really busy. I did manage to get some new Hallowe'en magazines today. I have a few ideas to make for my Samhain altar using smaller gourds as candle holders (thanks, Martha Stewart) and I will be getting things ready to sew a new altar cloth with my new sewing machine (yay!!) I just have to pick which fabric to use.

As the veil starts to get thinner again, I will be posting pix of the crafts I will be making, as well as any recipes I'll be making.

~Rowan
)O(

New Projects

Well, I've been getting some things done this week that I am excited about. On my recent trip to Twa Corbies' Hollow, Natalia & I went out into the forest surrounding the Hollow in search of the perfect stave. Armed with her trusty hacksaw (the good one her dad likes) we came upon a slender Aspen that seemed perfect for me. She cut the tree down for me, even though I was more than capable to do it myself, and went over & found a good tree for hers. It had 5 branches that will hold an orb beautifully, like a magickal staff from a fantasy novel. After a little bit, we headed back to the house where we peeled off the bark and took off any excess branches. Since I have a stave made from a softwood, I had to make sure that no traces of the bark were to be found on the stave, as this will go moldy & gross. An Exacto knife worked perfectly for this.

My stave is a little over 4' with a little bend near the top (handrest?) with a cute little hole where a branch used to be (thumbrest?). Since my return from Twa Corbies', my stave has been drying out on my deck. Last night I started my sanding process to make my stave as smooth as a baby's bum. When I have completed it to my standards, I will ever-so-carefully carve into it sigils that will serve the stave's purpose, and put a couple of coats of a clear varnish. I was hoping I could make off with a strip of a leather thong that I had with me on the search for the stave, but it was needed by it's owner (dang!). It would've made for a great handloop.

The other day, while I played hookie from work, I had to go out to Walmart for some kitty litter and some sandpaper. While wandering the aisles, I headed to the craft section & sewing dept. All the fabrics & notions were on clearance. I guess Walmart is phasing out the sewing dept :( So, I looked to see how much the sewing machines were discounted. There weren't a lot left and I found a Singer that was originally priced at $150 marked down to $87. I'm not an expert sewer, but for my needs, this was perfect, so I grabbed the last one on the shelf & paid for it.


When I returned home, I immediately took it out of it's box and set it on my kitchen table and set things up, threaded some bobbins (black, white, red & pink) with what spools of thread I did have and I made a new pouch for my new deck of Tarot cards (the organza pouch will not cut it). Today, I'm thinking of going to the fabric store to see if they have any Hallowe'en fabrics that I can make table runners with. If not, I may get a pattern for a cloak to have for any rituals that I may attend this year (I'm thinking about becoming a bit more active in the local Pagan scene, but that's another post altogether). I am so excited with these 2 new projects, they are a welcome distraction to all the stress I have been experiencing lately.

I'm A Feelin' Crafty

So, I've been battling an annoying cold for the past couple of weeks. It started out as a nagging sore throat, then I got the full brunt of it, now I have a cough that just won't go away. I haven't been deliberately avoiding blogging, I haven't even been on facebook that much (btw, I have a fan page there)
So I thought that today will be a good day to do some crafts with my son. I found a great recipe for salt dough in my recipe book. I used to make salt dough crafts when I was younger in school. I'll share my recipe with you, in case you want to try this fun craft yourself:

Basic Salt Dough Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of fine salt
• 1 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of water (may add more)

Instructions:

• In a large bowl, combine the salt and the flour
• Make a well in the salt/flour mixture and add the water
• Knead until smooth and shape into a ball
• When not in use, wrap in plastic or store in an airtight container

  HINT: To get a softer dough you can add more flour. Adding more salt will lend a more granulous affect. Use wallpaper glue and the dough with be more cohesive. To add color to your dough, use different types of flour or add food coloring or paint. Knead to get an even color. You may also paint your ornaments and sculptures after they dry. Bake in the over for a quicker drying time at 200F

I have a few pix of the preparation, but then the batteries died as we were cutting the dough. I made a star, a triple moon (tricky) and about 9 witches flying on broomsticks (gotta love Hallowe'en cookie cutters). I have hole poked through, so I can hang them up. Next will be the painting process. As you can tell, I'm adding to this as I go along with my craft. My son is having a ball playing with his share of the dough. This is a great way to spend a lazy Sunday.

Now, I'm waiting for the dough ornaments to be completely dry before I start painting them. They're on a cooling rack drying out, I did have them in the oven for about 1/2 hr then I like them to air dry, as well. Weird, I know.

Treasures from Michael's

I went out today with my friend, Lisa, to Michael's. I was like a kid in a candy store, looking at all the colored beads, what a way to lure you in a craft store, by putting all the pretty, sparkly things at the front. Looking at the beads I was reminded of when I used to make bracelets using my bead loom & seed beads. I haven't done that in a long time and I gave all my beads away to a friend of mine who makes & sells jewelry here in Halifax during the tourist season.

We continued on, looking down the aisles. They had some acrylic paints on sale so we picked up a few bottles each. I found a beautiful hinged box that would be perfect to hold Tarot cards or spell candles. It is unfinished, so I can paint whatever colors that inspire me. Lisa also bought some paint brushes, she's getting motivated to do some crafting now that she is participating in a Pagan craft swap on Facebook. We looked down all the aisles, sniffing the scented candles. I wanted to see of there was any candle making supplies, but I didn't see anything.

One aisle we went down held some very pleasant surprises for us. They have meditation CD's for sale for $3 each. I bought 3, Rains of Renewal, Relaxing Waters & Meditate in Nature. They're very peaceful, with soft music accompanying the nature sounds. They also carried body lotions, eye masks, pedicure sets, slippers, basically things you would need for a spa night with the girls. Who knew?? I also bought a mint body lotion that was $3. I can't wait to try it on my footsies after my bath tonight. ☺

Travelling down more aisles, I came across an herb garden to grow at home. It had Lavender, Thyme, & Oregano, the soil and a cute tin planter. I followed the directions when I came home and they are sitting on my window sill. I just hope I don't kill these, there may be still some hope for these thumbs of mine yet. Since I don't have a proper watering can, I may have to use the one that my son uses when he plays in his sandbox.

They had a lot of Valentine's things out, as well as for St Pat's and a couple of aisles for Easter (Ostara) Lisa bought a cute little Easter tree and a pkg of mini eggs to hang off it. I didn't get any Easter things, as I got a lot last year, but she got a few things for her altar. Time flew by as we shopped and soon it was time to eat & pick up my son from school.

I can't wait to go back to Michael's, there were some feathers there that I liked. I'm sure I can find some good uses for them...hee hee!!

Bridghid's Crown

I found this while surfing. I'm going to make this with my little man, since I have to use his construction paper & crayons for this. I think we'll use it as a centerpiece on the dining table instead of trying to wear it. I found this over at Free Pagan Crafts

Construction paper in 4 colours, two of which are red and yellow
Crayons
Scissors
Glue

Cut a two inch strip of paper, long enough to wrap around your child's head, plus two inches. Your child can decide what colour to make his/her crown.

Cut out 6-10 thin rectangles for the candles. 8 works well but it depends upon the size of the candles.

Using yellow construction paper, cut out as many flames as you need to top the candles. We then use the red construction paper and cut out a smaller flame to fit inside of the yellow. This is a matter of choice. Glue the flames to the candles and then glue the candles around the headband.

I'll try to post pix, if I remember to, to show you how it turned out. ☺

My Yule Altar

Well, I've been a little busy this Yule season, with making sure my son has something from Santa under the tree, I managed to get my altar set up for the Sabbat. I'm going to be busy this weekend, I have a group ritual I am attending on Saturday evening. It is my first group ritual in a very long time & I'm looking forward to going. I'll be posting about it for you all. I'm also going to be wrapping gifts...I've been putting it off too long.

On this upcoming Wednesday, I will be heading off to my family's for the holidays. As you all know, I am still in the "closet" about my spirituality, so I know that I will be going to church on Christmas Eve with them. I will do as I did last year & see the Pagan symbolism in the decorations in the church, in the Christmas hymns & in the nativity. I know it's really the Goddess giving birth the to Sun King. While I'm away at the family's, I will not be posting any blogs.

I've been inspired today, it snowed last night. In addition to setting up my altar, I made a pomander to place on the altar, as well as I made a Sun Wheel out of my son's popsicle sticks & painted it gold. I made my own homemade simmering Yule pot-pourri. All I did for that was use orange peel (dried in the oven at 200F for 2 hrs), cloves, juniper berries, cinnamon & lavender. I did cheat, I didn't have any cinnamon sticks on hand, so I used ground cinnamon. I placed all the ingredients (except the dried orange peel) into a bowl and crushed them together with the handle of a screwdriver. A very good substitute if you don't have a mortar & pestle. I placed water in a pot on the stove on low heat and plaed the pot-pourri in a small collander (ok, I don't have a double broiler, either) to simmer over the water. My place just smells divine!!!

My Spell Candle Box

Ok, since I'm unemployed and it's rainy outside (no bus fare to go out looking) I've been gettin' crafty. I found a wooden box in my craft stuff that was screaming to be decorated. It's about 6"x 9", a good size to store all my spell candles. So, last night after putting the youngling to bed, I pulled out some of my paints and went at it.


I started by painting the whole box black, inside & out. When it dried, I drew a Spiral Goddess in pencil on it. I then filled it in with purple shimmery paint. I added her breasts & the spiral with a darker purple paint.


There are 2 rows of 17 candles, separated by tissue paper. I have the darker candles on the bottom & the lighter ones on the top. I also had room to place my 6 white candles perpendicular to the 34. There was also room for my 2 white candle holders.

Make a Herbal Sachet for Yule

These simple sachets are easy to make, and you can either use them as ornaments on your holiday tree, or give them away as gifts. You'll need the following:

* Bay
* Cloves
* Juniper berries
* Orange peel, grated
* Orris root
* Peppermint
* Pine
* Rosemary
* Squares of your favorite holiday fabric
* Colorful ribbon
* Cinnamon sticks
* Small bells

Mix the herbs together in a bowl. Blend varying proportions of each until you've got the scent you want -- here's a hint: start small!

Use a spoon to place the blended herbs into the center of a square of fabric. Pull the corners up and tie with the ribbon. Tie a cinnamon stick and a couple of bells in place as well. Use a second piece of ribbon to create a loop so you can hang the sachet if you like.

Timesaver tip: you can buy small tulle bags in holiday colors and spoon the herb blend into them. Pull the drawstring closed and tie shut, then hang up on your tree, or give them to a friend.