Michael and Jaspenelle

Scrap.b.o.s.ing

(My craft workspace, in the corner of the nursery.)

I seem to have developed a fixation for scrapbooking lately, or more particularly scrapbooking my Book of Shadows (for my non-Pagan readers that is a book that I keep all my spiritual research, essays and notes in, it is not a book for me, but a D-ring binder.)

I have always loved scrapbooking but it was a hobby I swore I would never get into because of the apparent staggering cost scrapbooking can reach. I was in Joanns today and some papers sell for $5 a piece! (Considering I only had $7 to spend, that paper was out of the question, no matter how glorious it was.) Not to mention the cost of all the cool types of stamps, scissors, punches, stickers, embellishments galore which, well, are enough to make this crafter drool and frugally cringe at the same time.

Luckily I have superhuman powers of restraint (or I am just an anally frugal b…witch) and only spent $6.59. I bought a #2 x-acto knife (using a 40% off coupon), a 3/4″ stencil brush, and a 4-pack of stencil blanks (these are plastic sheets you use to make your own stencils.) Now I can make some border stencils for my Book of Shadows pages! Yay, scrapbooking!

But, wait! What about my aforementioned promise to myself about not scrapbooking?!

That promise apparently broke itself without my conscious knowledge a few weeks ago, all because I I decided that I needed to organize my craft supply closet. (This might seem like an odd way to find a new hobby, but trust me, it is not was weird as it sounds, at least, not in my world.) While organizing, I found some leftover fabric from my apron as well as a bag of glass stones. Somehow that discovery ended up distracting me for a couple hours as I made a gloriously orange and blue cover for my Book of Shadows binder. (In my defense, the plain plastic cover was abhorrent to my crafty-sense, when I saw the fabric I “knew” in my mind what it must be used for, I had not choice but to obey said crafty-sense.) The next day upon admiring my bright new orange and blue Book of Shadows, I settled down and flipped it open and nearly screamed in crafter terror.

All the pages in it were so… plain…

Random typed up bits, some handwritten stuff, some torn out pages from magazines and newspapers, all stuffed in sheet protectors in no particular order. Unlike the cover, the guts of my binder did not reflect who I was (yes I am trying to justify the scrapbooking urge here.) I riffled through the pages in despair looking for something that could redeem me when I found a page with an Ojibway poem that I had decorated. I put that in the front of the binder. Beyond that though, there was nothing, just blah pages, so uninspiring I could hardly read them. (Can you tell that I am one of those people who like picture books?)

Instead of wallowing in self-despair (at least after pulling myself out of a couple good hours of it) I decided I rewrite the page about Bealtaine. I got some of the pretty paper from my craft closet (yes, I did end up finishing organizing it) and embellish it with a balsamroot arrowleaf flower I created out of some other pretty paper. That page went in second. I was on a mission now, no doubt sent to me straight from the Goddess.

Poking through My “bits and ends” drawer I then found stickers! These led me to redoing a couple more pages. Scrounging in the drawer some more I found some flower borders I had designed and transfered them to some more pretty paper and redid some gardening pages. Then I found myself up late at night in bed designing a Celtic knot border and redoing the Apple page. Then I…

You can see where this is going right? I found myself unwittingly scrapbooking. It didn’t occur to me till yesterday that is was in fact what I was doing, which made me pause and consider my vow before discarding it. The reason for my vow to not scrapbook was now moot as I have discovered, quite by accident, that it was not a high cost hobby when you do it all yourself (and having an expansive bits and ends drawer helps.) In fact, the way I was approaching it required no money down (until I took my $7 to Joanns today at least. And I can deal with the occasional purchase.)

Ultimately doing it almost all myself is infinitely more rewarding anyhow. I like scrapbooking, it is something completely for me and not dictated by customer deadlines.

Birthing Necklace

(Click the image for a bigger picture - 1024×768.)

This is how my birthing necklace looks so far (if I receive more beads, it will grow in length of course.) I really like how it has turned out too. I know not all the donated beads are red, but some people have difficulty following directions (I love you grandma and mom.) I find I really don’t mind though, the beads they sent were justified with special meanings which, in this case, were more important than color.

As always, Windigo had to get his adorable little face in my craft picture too. I usually crop him out but I thought he looked exceptional cute here.

Birthing Necklace - update

This is a picture of my living room altar at the moment. A friend made it for us as a handfasting gift, it is gorgeous solid pine with lots of storage space and very sturdy. I am slowly working on wood burning my sun into the top of it (hence the cloth covering up that particular work in progress.) I do most of my spiritual arts and crafts at this altar because I have a tall chair that is the perfect height for me to sit comfortable in front of it.

That is my birthing necklace on it (and some tools to work on it too) if you are curious. You can click the photo for a larger one if you wish. Some people have emailed me about wishing to donate a bead. I didn’t realize so many people read my blog! Thank you! The criteria for bead is as follows:

• It must be red.
• It cannot be plastic.
• Any shape is allowed but I would rather they not to be much larger then a dime.
• I will need it before May 15th.

You can send the bead to:

Michael and Jaspenelle Stewart
3129 E 29th Ave B
Spokane, WA 99223

I started working on the necklace today (realizing I had enough beads to do that was a wonderful feeling.) So far so good! Many thanks to Neserit, who shared the rosary tutorial with me. I am using that technique to connect the beads. It was a little tricky at first but I seem to have gotten the hang of it (thank goodness for spare eye pins though…)

I’ve paused working on it for now, I have lots of spare beads but I know there are still some beads coming in the mail and I don’t want to rush this, though it obviously has to be done before I go into labor! I also want to do a ritual with it on the next full moon (on May 19th) as that will probably be my last before the baby comes! Hows that for a life transitions…

Birthing Necklace

These are a few of the beads I have gathered or that people have given me for my birthing necklace. The only criteria I have for it is that donated beads must be red (representing the umbilical cord) and that I would rather they not be plastic. Since all the red beads are from others you can probably tell which ones I added to the lot! Most of our baby’s things are celestial themed, which is why I chose the blue lampwork moon as the focal point and the golden star spacer beads. I am hoping to have it done by May 19th so I can bless it under the full moon ritual.

I was originally going to make the birthing necklace on my own but when one of my friend’s found out I was making it and offered me a red bead to add to it, that idea seemed to hold more power. Now I am receiving more and more beads from people for it. I cannot put into words how blessed that makes me feel! My mother and grandmother are even going to send me a few heirloom ones and I admit, that offer made me cry…

If you are wondering what exactly a birthing necklace is simply a necklace that I will wear or have near me while I am in labor. I didn’t even know there was a term for the idea until I talked to my friend! When our baby is old enough to understand it’s meaning I plan on reworking the necklace into a mala for him.

Old Speakers Project

(Windigo shown for scale… or cuteness… or because he wouldn’t get off the speakers… Click the thumbnail for a larger image.)

I love recycling, yes I sort my plastics from tin cans but that is not what I mean. I like taking old things and making them new and funky things. Not all my endeavors in this direction turn out right but that doesn’t really ever stop me since the interspersed successes make it all worthwhile. Besides I think reusing old things for new purposes is ultimately more “green” then buying new green products.

So with that said I want to talk about my need for a couple of indoor plant stands and two old stereo speakers Michael has.

When I moved in with Michael these two particular speakers were functional but at some point during one of our three moves they have lost their wires and one is now missing its little speaker. According to Michael is brother made/altered the speakers at some point, which is why one of the speakers is pointing into its box (which seems to be filled with quilting batting? - Justin, why is that?) After they lost their wires they became nightstands for our bed in our last place. In this place, since we now have different nightstands, the speakers just lay on their side in front of our closet doors to prevent Aos from getting in there (also need to find a better solution for that…)

Anyhow, long story longer, I now want to make the speakers into plant stands for the living room. Most of me wants to keep the speaker gadgetry visible because I think it looks cool, but I want to cover the veneer boxes somehow. The veneer is chipped and just yucky, and since the speakers going downstairs, the don’t match the pine wood furniture and a shades of green theme going on.

I was thinking about maybe painting the boxes green, the veneer is not peeling so I feel fairly confident in just painting over it. I am a firm believer in sanding but I admit I have never sanded down veneer, what horrors lie beneath? (My father sugguested I use liquid stripper instead, I’m a little afraid of the harsh chemicals while pregnant though.) Maybe after I get the speakers painted green I will do some kind of fabric decoupage thing to it, but beyond those basic ideas I am rudderless.

So I am asking for your ideas because you guys are an awesome creative force that inspires me.

Sewing help?

I have four wooden kitchen chairs (like this one) and I love them very much (not only are they pretty, they were free!) However they are not the most comfortable things for extended sitting, and since I sit at the kitchen table when I use my laptop, I do more extended sitting then I care to admit.

I want to make cushions for them that are like this. I can’t seem to find a tutorial online that gives me basic information on doing that. (I don’t want to buy cushions when I can make them for cheap and have them match my kitchen.) I am thinking of just tracing the seat of the chair, allowing a bit for seam allowance, then cutting two pieces that size, sew together, stuff, add buttons and voila, cute seat cushion?

Am I on the right track here?

(If they play Love Song by Sara Bareilles on the radio one more time… Can we say over played? Not even the baby likes it anymore, when it comes on he kicks so hard my whole belly moves! He likes Red Hot Chili Peppers though.)

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Autumn Change

(More of these 6-inch altar wreaths are available on my website.)

Winter is an etching,
Spring a watercolor,
Summer an oil painting,
And autumn is a mosaic of them all.
~ Stanley Horowitz

With the arrival of Autumn, I feel the change of the seasons deep in my bones. The nights are getting longer and cooler, the fields are ripe or nearly ripe, and the leaves are changing to beautiful tones reds, yellows and browns. I find inner peace in this season but am also motivated by it. Maybe it is an ancient instinct telling me to prepare for the Winter.

I have felt under the weather for a few days but the Autumnal energy has been helping me get some stuff done. Spiritually, Autumn seems to have the ability to peal back layers on the heart and show us new, sometimes painful, things about ourselves and others.

Beyond packing for the move, I have been canning beets and apples lately. I have made apple pie the other day (lots of apples, can you tell?!) and today we are having apple yam casserole and broccoli with cheese for supper.

I normally have a ton of seasonal decorations up right now but as we are moving this weekend, they are all in a box. It is a near certainty that that box will be one of the first unpacked.

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.
~ George Eliot

Autumn is here and I love it.

Craft Update: Door Plaque

Click for a larger image.

I actually finished this last night, but I had to wait till the sun was up today to photograph it. I have been making this plaque on and off since I got my new toy - a woodburner! I drew out the design and transfered it to the wood plaque and kind of winged it from there.

So be nice! It was my first try at wood burning!

Around the pentacle (which was made by a local Pagan artisan) are eight virtues that Michael and I hold dear, as well as the triple moon. The blessing below it is one that I love; I am not sure where I picked it up though. Someone recently told me it is Kemetic. Can anyone confirm that?

When I finished burning it, I rubbed it with one of my green votives, which gave it that green tint (which looks a little too bright in this photo.) Then I attached the pentacle and a hanging bar to the back.

It is going to hang inside the front door of our new townhouse, which means it is in a box right now. The first box that we will move in, since it has everything to do the house blessing ritual in it.

Craft Update: Willow Wand

This is a wand I made on commission.

Click for a larger image.

This was the first time I tipped a wand with something other then a natural crystal. I like the change. This one has a black opal cabochon. The photo doesn’t really do the stone justice, but they never do when it comes to opals. This one looks like black fire trapped under water. Black opals are said to help amplify magick.

In the grounding end of the wand is a polished emerald. Obviously not A quality, but there was a budget to hold to and personally I prefer it like this. I find it more to look more organic. Emerald is the birthstone of the commissioner.

The wand is made of willow wood and 13 inches long. I choose chocolate colored leather to wrap it because I liked the contrast and it felt most right when thinking about the commissioner.

It was a bit of a daunting order at first because of my perceived cost of the material needed (opal and emerald) but in the end it was really fun to do. I’m a bit sad to see this one go but I know it’s destination is good and true.

~~~

In a brief bought of other news, the consuming power of facebook has finally dragged me in and I have an account (and a plant too I believe…) So if you are on that empire of evilness, search Jaspenelle and I am sure you will find me. And add me of course. You know you want to.