Our BOS & Isis!

Sorry I've been a little quiet lately. I assure you I'm not sitting on my bum doing nothing. OK I am sitting on my bum but it's for a good cause. After making my Cernunnos out of clay I realized, I really like sculpting! I may not be very good at human features but I do pretty good for my purposes. After all it doesn't have to be perfect, but the energy I put into making it just gives my clay figurines that much more power. I think it's better than going out and buying a Cernunnos and Isis statue. Now I just have to think about what I want to make next. hmm. Suggestions?

Clay Isis. By SalemWitchChild

Here is Isis. Overall I like her, though there are a few things I wish I'd have smoothed over before I allowed her to dry out too much to fix. I made her with an offering cup at the bottom, which as you can see I've yet to take her out of the molded cup because I just finished her today. I'll do that in a couple of days and here's hoping it comes out smoothly! Otherwise I think I owe my MIL some Tupperware. How do you like her?

I've thought about going back and adding the same cup, or maybe one slightly larger, to Cernunnos. We'll see how Isis comes out of the mold first before I go messing around with his design.

I've also been doing my research on Cernunnos. I think most witches and Wiccans have a Book of Shadows. Or at least a journal. I don't specifically call mine a BOS. Instead it's titled "Thoughts, Feelings, and Dreams." I also have poems and other Pagan related information written in here. Yes, a couple spells as well. I'm not a good little witch when it comes to documenting all my witchy stuff. I usually end up writing out rituals on loose paper and burning that paper at the end of the ritual. So for one to make it into my BOS is rare. I also think it's rare for today's modern Pagan to not have his or her rituals on the computer. I guess I'm old fashioned in that I want it on real paper. It doesn't have to be fancy. Mine is just in a normal half sized journal type booklet. I feel more comfortable with a tangible item than typing it all out and saving it on my PC. Probably because like the other day, when my laptop screen bit the dust. I'm using my daughters Netbook for the time being.

Do you keep a written BOS, a computerized BOS, or a little of both? Do you like your own crafted tools better than bought ones?

Early Morning Thoughts

So here it is at 7:30 on a Saturday morning with no plans because we have no money to do anything. Doesn't that suck?! I know I've ignored my blog all week. Its not that I've forgotten or been busy. I just have felt a disconnect with the world this week. I think its because I haven't been visiting my Pagan friends, doing anything witchy, and I haven't even been crafty. I did bake a pie the other day which made me a little happy. I poured myself into cooking 4 homemade healthy meals this week. I went all out and everyone was happy with what I made. Friday was a hot dogs and leftovers day. What can I say, this heat makes me feel a bit lazy!

Dh's job is going well. He seems to be happy other than it not being a full time job. Who knows maybe once he has more experience they'll give him more hours. I hope so because MIL is driving me batty yet again. I won't go into details though since I don't wish for this post to be a rant.

Little man had a doctors appointment yesterday. His doctor must think I'm a complete idiot or something. I may be on public assistance, but that doesn't mean I'm inept or don't know how to raise a child. He actually asked me if I had baby proofed the house. Well duh! I do have a 10 yr old I managed to keep safe from sticking her fingers in light sockets. I think I got it covered doc.
Anyway, little man got two vaccines, weighed 24 lbs and 30 inches long. Honestly I thought he weighed more than that. He certainly feels like he weighs more than that!

DD joined a summer reading program, and I've been reading more myself. I think part of my problem is that I am not doing any hobby right now. Crochet is kind of a winter thing for me. It just gets too hot handling all that yarn in warm weather.

If your in the Chillicothe area check out Inanna's Spiritual Center. There are a lot of Pagan things going on so drop by or call and ask Lynn what's going on.

Witchy Candlemaking

One of the witchy crafts I use to do is candle making. Ever since in High School when we did a class reenactment of a renaissance fair and my project was to make dipped taper candles I've had a fascination with making my own candles. Years later while I was working as a silk screen printer, I finished a project printing bottles for scent oils for a candle supply company called Pheasant Pluckers. (Yeah we really had some good laughs over that name!)

I decided to order materials from Pheasant Pluckers and make my own candles. I really saw a huge difference in my spiritual practice when I made my own candles. As we all know, the more energy you put into your work the better and stronger affect. Unfortunately the supplies were fairly expensive and I went a bit overboard with the different kinds of molds I bought. I think I spent nearly $200 in just one order, and I made several orders!

My supplies lasted me a long time and I even made some special orders for friends. As a matter of fact I think I may still have 2 lbs of Paraffin wax stored at my mothers place.

I'm really missing my candle making supplies right now. I wish I had the room to have included them in my car when I moved. But I didn't, and now I'm stuck with minimal candles and no way to make my own again.

Yesterday I made a prosperity alter in hopes of winning that huge 640 Million Mega-Jackpot. It didn't happen unfortunately. The Gods didn't see fit to give me all that money. But maybe some good is coming our way. Just look at this candle. I left it burning all day long. I snapped this picture seconds after it burned out.

Flame was burning on just the wax!

 As you can see the whole left side burned. The flame was just on the wax. The wick was NOT burning at all. When I took out the camera and turned it on to shoot this picture the flame died. I assume whatever deity or spirit was attending last night didn't want their picture taken! Even though we didn't get our wish to win all those millions, I hope this means our need for a positive change is on the way. So thanks to the Lord & Lady for their blessing.

Do you make your own candles or hand make other spiritual supplies?

Btw, this black candle is not of my making. I bought it from my friend Linda before I left KY. Though I know she buys all her candles from another crafty sister witch.

Crafting for My Family

Hello my friends! It's been a few days since I've wrote or even read a blog. (I'm sorry to those that I normally read!)
But I've been on a crochet binge, and it's not quite done. I thought I'd take a little break to show you what I've completed thus far.

First of all, If you are not a member of your local Freecycle, become one! Over the years you'd be amazed at what is just given away. A few days ago I posted asking for crochet supplies and I've now got a HUGE box of yarn. Yippee! For someone in my financial position I'd never be able to buy that much yarn, so I thank the crafting gods for helping me find the right person to be so giving. So one of the first projects I knew I wanted to do is make a baby blanket. I sewed my daughter a blanket when she was little, and since my sewing supplies currently reside in Kentucky with my mother, I couldn't do the same for Wyatt. But now Wyatt has his own crocheted blanket, and I think it turned out fabulous. Though it is on the small side. I am not done with it, I originally intended to keep adding to the border to make it bigger. But see that yellow yarn? I've used it all! I'll have to wait till I can get more.

Wyatt modeling my Freecycle Stash

And then I decided, if I can't do one project I might as well work on another. Hectanooga1 on Youtube has a Chunky Style hat tutorial that I followed (for the most part). Because Wyatt isn't a newborn and because he has a huge head, I had to add extra increases to make it fit. Isn't he adorable in his red and white hat?

Wyatt's Blanket. Not quite done with the border

My husband liked it so much that I offered to make his brother's son one too. Brother-in-Law's son should be born within the next month. I hope I've got the size right.

I know she's carrying small so I don't think she'll have as big of a baby as Wyatt was as a newborn.

Wyatt's hat

Now my daughter wants a hat. I attempted to make one last night, but I'm not ready to share it yet. Not sure if that one is going to turn out right or not.

So there you have it. What do you think? And what have you been up to? Anything crafty??

Sierra's Hair Scrunchie

Newborn Hat for BIL

November is Inspirational Quotes Month

I've decided that I'm making November Inspirational and Motivational Quotes month. Once a day I will post quotes I collect from around the web and share how they impact my life or why they resonate with me. As we gear up for Thanksgiving and Yule a lot of people fall into depression. I hope that if your one of these people who always go into a depression at this time that my quotes can help lift my readers spirit and get you into a more cheerful holiday mood.

The holiday season means we are spending more time with family and getting ready to cook for Thanksgiving. I'm not a very good chef so I'll leave the cooks to give you Thanksgiving ideas. But I'll also cover some craft ideas and one or two family recipe's.

Don't forget, you can like me on Facebook! I try to post at least once a day with my blog posts plus other blogs I find interesting or just daily thoughts on Facebook. So make sure you follow and who knows, maybe I'll do a little advertising for your blog too!