The Dark Half

Good evening everyone. I'm wishing you all a Happy Samhain, Dia De Los Muertos, Dia De Los Santos, All Soul's Day, or whichever Ancestor/Spirit Festival you celebrate. This is the lower part of my altar for my favorite time of year. I painted the small cat painting in the back which at some point may be for sale in the etsy.

With the beginning of the dark half of the year I am always filled with bountiful inspiration. On it's way is a shipment of bottles from the Sunburst Bottle Company which are ready to be filled with all sorts of delights for the coming darker months. I've already drafted a label design as well which I shall debut in good time.

I hope the conjuring of your ancestors is blessed and for now I'll leave you with some pictures I'd like to share from recent outings and museum trips with the boy.

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you know that I'm still hanging around. For the time being my focus has shifted elsewhere but with the approaching Sabbat I feel it's time to reenter the blogosphere and pick up my tools to begin crafting again. I should have a small posting coming up within the next few days to show you what I've been up to.

Feels good to be back!

Don't forget to check out the Giveaway over at Carolina Gonzalez's blog!

More charms and uncreative titles.

It's been a long time, I know. But I'd quickly like to share some small things I've been up to. I'm tired so this will be short and quick.



These are some smudge sticks that just finished drying. They are made with Sage and Lavender and tied with purple cotton cord. The Lavender is from my own garden and I was nearly bitten by a large spider while harvesting some. I think it's Arachne telling me to keep up with my crafting!

Below are several more charms I've made similar to the one in my previous post. All of these are made with a mixture of bought and found, vintage and new beads and findings.


This one focuses on the Water element, being made with silver chain and several shell beads and freshwater pearls. The other beads are glass and amethyst stone chips and silver toned dangles to catch the light.


This one focuses on the Fire or Sun element and channeling masculine energy. It has amber colored glass, Red Jasper stone chips, and a mixture of brass and gold metals.



This one is my favorite and represents Persephone, Queen of the Underworld. The upper part is a wheat design with spring colored glass teardrop shaped beads, while the lower part represents the time during the year that Persephone spends in the Underworld with Hades. The red glass beads are shaped like Pomegranate seeds and I thought it appropriate to add them.

Evil Eye Amulet

Here's what I've been up to lately! I've been making charms and amulets, most of which I will debut a little later, but for now I'd love to know what you think of this simple charm! It is used to protect the owner from the Evil Eye, or those who look at you with jealousy and envy and can even curse or jinx you. It protects you from those who covet your belongings, success, and power, and repels the negative energy created. There are also two round Hematite beads on this charm which will dissolve negativity and help protect your aura.

These charms are simple but effective and can be hung in your house, above a doorway, in your car, in your garden, or even worn as a striking piece of jewelry!

These, I hope, will be a great addition to a shop I should be opening within the next few weeks. Love to get some feedback!

Hiking and works in progress

Last week I went hiking in Great Falls Park, Virginia with a few friends. It's about an hour or so away from where I live which isn't a bad drive for a place so beautiful. We ended up hiking about 6 miles before the thunder rolled in and we decided to call it a day. We scaled large rocks, shimmied along sheer drops, hiked through muddy bogs that sucked at our boots, and hopped across the river on slippery rocks. It was amazing. We only stayed on the Virginia side and next time I'd love to hike along the Maryland side.



Stunning trees while on the Swamp Trail


The swirling river...


Moss covered trees








I took this while sitting on a large warm rock in the middle of the river. I could have sat there for hours...



I've also been very busy with assembling swap and personal packages for the Summer Solstice round of the WWP @ Craftster.org.

I blended a few batches of Summer Solstice Incense, made a custom incense blend for a friend, brewed up some Four Thieves Vinegar, and did the first few steps of a batch of Kyphi incense. I went on a craft stash shopping blowout and bought a ton of silver charms on clearance to work on some charms and amulets using the many beautiful beads I have. I also started another knitting project using some vibrant teal colored wool I got at the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival I attended several years ago. I still have yet to work through all the wool I bought when I was there. This is proof I need to knit more, haha!

Exploring scents and gypsy magic

So I've been absent for a while but in that time I've acquired a real job and have slightly abandoned most of my projects in exchange for commuting. Instead I've been stocking up on supplies and continuing research and general reading about certain paths and delving deeper into my own. Today I went and purchased the pictured mortar and pestle which is dense and heavy and spectacular for grinding tough resins. The ones I've used in the past didn't have the perfectly bowled bottom but this one does. I plan on wearing shoes when I use it since I know I'd break a bone or two if I dropped it on my foot!
I've only recently begun to brew things again and also pictured in the photo are two small bottles of Dragon's Blood oil I brewed recently. There's also some loose incense pictured here that I'm making for a friend containing Myrrh, Rose, Jasmine, Frankincense, Spearmint, and a few other fancy things. I don't like using anything unnatural or manufactured so my incense and oils are the real deal. The base I use for my oils is Safflower oil which is rich in Vitamin E.

I've also been doing some research on gypsy paths and religion and picked up a book at the thrift store called Gypsies: Their Life, Legends, and Lore by Konrad Bercovici. It sort of jump started an interest for me in their paths. The book itself is old and slightly archaic, being written in 1882, but is full of interesting wisdom. Occasionally older literature can be a bit of an arduous read but it flows easily. It tells a first hand account of their history through the author's experience living with the Gypsies for a considerable amount of time. It's interesting. Also was in the book store today and picked up a Llewellyn book called Charms, Spells & Formulas by Ray T. Malbrough. The book itself had recipes and such pertaining to Hoodoo and while most people snub anything published by Llewellyn, this book isn't too bad. It's useful and informative and contains many recipes and instructions for oils, incense, powders, etc, which is right up my alley. While I never try to go straight from books when it comes to recipes and spells, it's good for reference.




Pictured above is the top section of my altar again, this time in honor of Ra, the Egyptian Sun God. He represents light, warmth, life given by the Sun, and growth. While I try to stick to mostly the Greek Pantheon, there are a few members of the Egyptian Pantheon that tend to communicate with me well. Nut, Bastet, and Seshat are a few of them.

Secret Fairy Projects.

I've been struggling with a new job and school and have really had to discipline myself to finish the projects I've undertaken. This is one of the little projects I've done which will be sent to my partner in one of my most recent swaps over at Craftster.

Fairy Magic Trinket Bag

This one was really ambitious for me but probably the most fun so far. I actually traveled with this little project, taking it to the boyfriend's house and back since I really wanted to work on it as often as I could. I broke away from the typical square shape I usually use and started experimenting with different shapes through knitting. After drawing it all out and planning the shapes and designs, I knitted the front piece first using a mossy green wool. I then cut the rest of the bag from chocolate colored corduroy salvaged from some pants I thrifted. This is when I began the hand beading, letting the muses guide my design and color choices. Since my partner is really into fairies I wanted the colors and designs to emulate dancing fairies, laughter, and nature. After finishing the beading, I lined the bag with green felt and stitched it all together using a pea green embroidery floss.

I will be accepting commissions for these shortly if desired. I'd love to know what you think!

Mystic Trinket bag

It was a nice day out yesterday and I decided to spend most of it with my family, but into the evening I decided to make another trinket bag. These are such a fun and tranquil craft and I've already begun a third one.



I really wanted to focus more on the beading with this one. I knitted the main part of the bag with a lamb's wood/acrylic blend of worsted weight yarn using size 2 needles to get a really tight knit and solid base for the beading. The beads used are all glass beads, some of them were reclaimed from childhood jewelry and some of them were gifts. I just kinda went for whatever with the design as always. I then stitched up the sides using purple embroidery floss in both a whip stitch and back stitch.

I find that these are simple enough that I don't get distracted while making them and move on to something else like I tend to do with larger projects. I have a problem with that :)

Cold Spring

Today I'm devoting solely to some crafting and cleaning. So far I've organized my craft area and desk, watered the seedlings, moved around some furniture, and completely revamped my altar. I've been pretty productive so far.

Today I made a trinket bag with a really vibrant spring theme. I've had this cotton yarn lying around for a few years. I got about 50 yards of it at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and have never really found a purpose for it. I thought the colors, pastels wound with red thread, were really perfect for the season. I knitted up a quick rectangle with it and stitched it up with red embroidery floss, attached a braided handle to wear it around your neck or tie it to a belt or something, and glass and wooden beads for decoration. This was my first time adding beading to anything and I think it turned out well. I get a really good vibe from it, very strong and cheerful. I really plan on making more of these today. They take no time at all and they're really fun.

The seedlings are going strong! This is the Flax here, but many of the others have sprouted. I keep forgetting that Rosemary and Lavender have a longer germination period then most of the other seeds I planted so I was getting quite impatient! But now their little sprouts have poked their heads about the soil so I'm happy.

I wish the light was better in this room, but alas. This is the upper part of my altar. I just added this part today since I usually run out of space on the bottom part quite quickly. The upper part changes the most here. On either side of the vintage glasses used as tealight holders are two needle felted eggs I received in my last swap at Craftster. The pretty lady in the center is a vintage find from the 40's or 50's I believe and I sometimes use her as a Goddess figure. The little wreath behind her is woven Willow branches.

Below is the more working area of the altar. This is the cleanest it will ever be. Incense is burned down here, charms and amulets are charged, stuff is constantly being done on this part of the space. Either that or I do it outside. But for those times when I can't and the nosy neighbors are watching I do this stuff inside.



I'd like to wish everyone a wonderful day and for those celebrating have a wonderful Spring Equinox.

Another watercolor

Goddess of the Dark Blue Watercolor on Paper. 2009

These are really relaxing. The process is incredibly organic and even though more planning went into this one I didn't feel constricted. Fun stuff.

I'd love to hear what you think about it.