it’s not even 5:00 pm and i am already exhausted. The day started a bit dreary, but not bad….playing with my beastie and working on the love charms for the “Love Spell” valentine soap i made for Belladonna’s

The soaps are lovely, full of creamy milk and orange blossom honey, rose oil and “Come To Me” hoodoo oil…they are wonderfully sweet smelling…

They have the little spell that you chant as you bathe with it,

“A charm to draw love near to me,

Rose and Honey,

Blossom to Bee”

And wrapped around each bar is a little love heart-charm made of red felt hearts, glass pearls and crystals, lace and attached to  ribbons…you could wrap it around your wrist or neck or pin it on to remind you to be open to love always…..I felt really good making these, and have been enjoying the process tho’ it’s insanely time consuming for a “mere bar of soap”….but this is more than just soap….this is my version of Practical Magic Kitchen witchery! I wanted these to be something extra special.

Alas, i have had to stop production for the time being as i received news on the personal front that enraged me more than i thought i even COULD be enraged…and i surely did not want my angry hands to sully the sweet pretty love energy i was trying to invoke! And now i am trying to shake those ugly feelings. to release all this anger in some productive way…and it is HARD! I am not really an angry person…when i feel rage, i don’t really know how to handle it. My first response is to call down falling houses and anvils to rain down upon the heads of whoever it is that’s angered me! Not too realistic, but mighty fun to visualize!

But rage is a toxic emotion, and the longer i allow it to hang around, the more poisoned i get. Which is unacceptable! So what do i do now….as i pace around, moving from pile to pile of lovely art and craft supplies, trying to think of something beautiful to create to make myself feel better….to return to that place i was at when my hands smelled of rose oil and i was happily creating little love charms…..trying to find my way.

a few more corners of the buttonbox as documented on a dull January day…

One of the hall bookshelves…

a fan and a faun….

I love my hanging candleholders…my sister made them for me from wire and glass pebbles

Things that accumulate on flat surfaces….

Mask made by my dear friend Mia….

faerie nest…

The kite in the brightest, happiest room in the house, the Beastie’s bluesky playroom

Another dang goblin!!!  I swear, they are everywhere! We have a serious infestation!!!!

And on dull January days, the best thing to do is make art of course!

Yellow monsters love flowers!!!

Here is a little dead dolly that i made specially for the amazing creatrix over on Right Sides Facing. I actually made her some time ago, but somehow managed to forget to photograph her before she went away on her long journey to Canada. Thank goodness her new mama has more sense than i, and took some really lovely pictures for me so i can share them

She has knickers!

I am so incredibly relieved that she made it to her destination, and that her new mama is pleased with her! It is the MOST gratifying thing in the UNIVERSE to send your work into the world and know that it is being loved by someone. It makes every single stitch worth it, and inspires me to keep on going in times when i am critical of what i do and what it really means. Learning to find value in my work is priceless. Thank you, lovely Renata, and to all of you fabulous “cyber ya-yas” who cheer me on, too!!!) I….you have no idea what your support means to me…i hope you and your dolly have many wonderful adventures together!

Isn’t she lovely?????

I bet you didn’t know that i Moonlight as a faerie Queen!

I thought i was doing a pretty good job of keeping it a secret, but Carolina of NeoVamp figured me out and sent me my long-lost crown!

I think it matches my hair perfectly!

Included int this magic box were jewels fit for ANY fae creature that wants to be adorned most royally…

Wonderful pearly, rosey magical pieces that are true treasures!

I love it all so much! I feel pretty, oh so pretty!!!!

Thank you thank you thank you, my wonderful Spanish Giantess!

There are certain objects that i have around here that i REALLY love… little pieces of my life that make me feel happy when i look at them.  Unfortunately, sometimes those beloved objects break…..like my favorite faerie windchimes. They hung outside for a very long time, and the weather finally took its toll on the poor thing, scattering the little metal faeries all around. I tried to re-string them, but i never could get them to look the way they once did. So i am recycling them in a new way….

Stringing them on nylon beading thread with little glass pearls, crystals  and tiny bells…a simple key-ring to hang them….

They are a bit shabby and aged  from having lived outdoors for so long, but i think they are looking quite pretty thus far! I still have quite a few to make…i don’t really enjoy beading very much these days, so the process is not as much fun as the happiness i feel when i look  at what i made out of recycled faerie glamour!

I think i have figured out why i have not been feeling *quite* as creative as normal these days…My house has been a giant mess of clutter and chaos, and i think it is blocking my “creativity chi” flow! So, this weekend i worked on what is probably THE most neglected areas of my house…the upstairs! One of the rooms pstairs is where my “studio” space is,  it’s supposed to be a sanctuary of sorts. The other room was, for a VERY long time, a “junk collecting” area. A dead space full of useless stuff that needed to be either storedin a a more organized way or gotten rid of altogether! When my sister needed to stay for a while, we cleared  it out, but it was still a space without any “spirit”. In keeping with my desired to make upstairs a sactuary, i tried to make it more “guest room-y”. It’s terribly dark up there, and hard to photograph, but here a few shots i took that sort of capture the feeling i am trying to create up there…

And in the bathroom, i discovered further proof of the goblin infestation!

I have also been trying to neaten up my art-space….which is impossible.  Even when it’s tidy, it is STILL  insanely cluttered! Here are a few corners…

This is my little “Muse Altar”…a space where odds and ends that inspire me always seem to end up…

And after all the cleaning, i had the urge to write in my journal…i have not really written in a very very long time.  So i stayed up very late, scribbling away, and playing with my Faerie Oracle deck, listening to music and finally getting that feeling of sanctuary that i have been longing for….

Maybe now that the chi is freely flowing, i can get to it and make something at last…… i am ready!

I am quite sure that there has been some faerie activity around the buttonbox…flowers in January!

A tiny violet shyly raising it’s head to the sun! Violets are my favorite flower….so tiny, and for some, a weed! So easy not to notice those tiny sweet smelling blossoms, but so beautiful!

Ah HA! I found a goblin peeking out from under the rosemary! Cheeky little beast!

Perhaps tiny faerie feet danced in the leaves, making this crocus pop up in the most unexpected place? I never planted any crocuses….i really don’t know where it came from!

This is the first daffodil of spring….nodding its pretty head in the bright sunshine….

Another visitor?

i am sure the faeries must use these lovely silky petals to make their gowns….

And can you believe it……

They DID have a party here! Just look, they have left their dirty tea-things out for me to wash up for them!!! Faerie evidence indeed! I don’t care for doing the dishes, but it’s the least i can do to thank them for all these beautiful January blossoms…..

A completely wonderful collage made by Carolina of NeoVamp….it is shining and sparkling so magically on the mantel right now, i had to catch the moment…..the candles smell heavenly, handmade for me by one of my best friends in the world…

…and Buddha is so bright and joyful, reminding me to enjoy each moment as it flows by……

Night night, world!

xoxo

ALEGRIA

This song always makes me want to cry and laugh all at once… do go have a listen!

~Cirque Du Soleil

At last, Carolina Valentina is all done! She was specially made for a swap  marvelous magical Carolina of NeoVamp

I think she turned out pretty nicely. Making her gown was so fun…all  that color! Like candy for my eyes. I used alternating strips of bright pink and violet brocade, a ribbon and rick-rack bodice and purple mother of pearl buttons and ball-trim to really deck her out. She is very very flamboyant! I so hope her new mama likes her! Carolina is amazing, and i wanted to make something for her that reflected all her magical awesomeness, If you haven’t visited her blog, you should check it out right now!!! It’s  so very inspiring, and i am in love with every single piece she makes. i feel so privileged to have her friendship!!!
Speaking of love…..

I’ve also been playing around with these fat felt hearts i picked up. Just for fun, i made a couple silly valentine brooches. I think they made for a cute embellishment for the really really rose-y soap i mixed up, also bound for Spain!
I am so restless today… watched Labyrinth with the little beastie for the 100000th time…he has REALLY been into it over the past week or so…so much so that he’s even pulled all the Brian Froud books down to “read”. He laughs so hard when the “Bog of Eternal Stench” scene is on. (What is it with nasty little beastly boys and poo-gas, anyway??)

I can’t seem to sit still but i can’t settle on one thing to work on….i think it’s because  the next few projects on my list require the cutting of fabric and sewing things….i want to jump in but i am so apprehensive! I know once i make that first cut there is no going back!!! I really really really need proper sewing lessons. Perhaps i will go look some up after i finish  here. I have so much to learn.