November Already?!

Crazy insane, or insane crazy? I like to think I bounce between both borders. Well, I'm rather disappointed because I spent Samhain morning in the ER thanks to a kidney stone. It finally got to the point where I decided to see a doctor. had I insurance I would have seen one A LOT faster, but, alas, I have none. So fingers crossed the the bill won't kill me. With that means I slept the rest of Samhain away in a terrible drug induced coma. I did manage to light a candle for my loved ones and to set out some pomegranate and home roasted pumpkin seeds along with some Sangria (from the bottle since I obviously wasn't in my right mind to make any). I was really sad not to be able to a ritual or to go the the local one, but I think if my ancestors and loved ones did stop by they would have understood why. So I've missed my 3 favorite holidays: Halloween, Samhain, and Dia de los Muertos. That deserves an angry lion...... ROAR! I'll have to call a Doctor today and go in for a check up at some point to see if the stone is moving. At the ER we found out it's partially blocking my little tube, which isn't good, so I have to so see a urologist or however you spell it. *sigh* Can i just trade my body in for a newer version? Where's Dr. Frankenstein when you need him?!

So to turn things upward, I'll probably craft today. I need to do another witch hat for Witch Hat Wednesday, and I also have to finish some things for my HP swap. And I have fabric I have to package off to Canada for Simply Crunchy for her rainbow quilt she's making. I've lacked money to ship it until now. So I'll be putting that in the mail by weeks end! WOO HOO! And this all brings us to November. In American we have Thanksgiving in November, which much to wishful thinking is actually only celebrate by the US lol. Everyone should have a Thanksgiving. I guess technically we Pagans do. Mabon seems to be our version of such. Which means that the next Sabbat is Yule. That's over a month away! My house celebrates Yule and Christmas since I am the only Pagan in the family. I'm lucky my mom even recognizes my religion. I love her so much for that. So every year we make an effort to do little things outside of the Christmas box that are more Yule like. Instead of an artificial tree we've been getting real mini pine trees and if they survive the winter we plant them in the yard. I've been doing cranberry garlands, little snacks, and a bunch of tiny things. Baby steps people, baby steps. Even after 5 years on the path I'm still trying to integrate myself into the sabbats. I think this year I will have mini celebration for Yule. Not sure what to do yet, but I'll be sure to keep you updates. But for the moment, it's November. And all that really means to me is that I have a TON of Christmas gifts to craft for the family, not to mention a few Birthdays to prepare for! Have I said how much hate/love November? Well I do. So very, very much. And with that being said. I'm off! I have much sewing and planning to do today to prepare for the next two months. I leave you with my amazing squirrels, that always show me much love when I go to visit them.

On the 26th day of Halloween....

The ghouls brought to me..... PUMPKIN CARVING!!!!! MUHAHAHAHAHA! It is a tradition for mum and I to carve a pumpkin every year. This is a little later in the month than we usually do it, but I'm still excited to get it done. The pumpkins are HUGE! :D Look at mom going to town!

We saved our pumpkin seeds this year. I'm going to save a few and try and cultivate them in the spring and the rest I'm going to bake/roast for mom to eat. The pumpkins were awesome this year. The didn't smell so rotten and gross. Usually the smell is so bad it makes me gag and I can't clean it out. But this year I was able to clean it our without a problem. We will have to buy this type of pumpkin from now on.

Mine is a Pirate!! ARGH!! Hers is just scary. lol. Well I hope your night was a pumpkin filled as mine!!! Pumpkins always make me happier. I'm working both jobs tomorrow so wish me luck. I now leave you with the action shot.

Magickal Monday- Dreamcatchers

Look who's on time today!! HA! For the first time in about a month. And I'm rather proud :D

Today I finished up a dreamcatcher for my cousin. He's been having some troubles at his new apartment and he asked if I could make him a dream catcher to help provide some ease. So I made him a manly version of my Goddess Dreamcatcher I made for a healing swap a few months ago. Here's the Goddess one:

It's has rose quartz, amethyst, and clear quartz in the web acting as the spider/bead. Combined together they help promote love, protection, and healing. Not too shabby for the first ones I've ever made. Now, my cousin is Christian and I didn't feel comfortable putting stones in his dreamcatcher because I know that they don't hold any meaning to him. So I stuck with the traditional bead types. Which works well since I took him to his first Powwow over the summer.

His is made with hawk or quail feathers (I never know the difference), a glass bead for the spider, and then I made clay beads to hold the feathers on. The picture is crap since it's night here (silly sun thinking it can take a vacation in the fall). But I think you get the idea. I was hoping to make it a bit more manly looking. I don't think it came out half bad. It was made with things completely from my stash. If I were to go out of the way and make a real legit dreamcatcher I would have used sinew for the web and made the circle out of leather lace. Instead I just used the leather lace to connect the feathers. I like the wrapped/twisted vine look for the circle. Makes it more earthy to me. Not to mention I'm not a fan of leather lace. And I used a really thin yarn/string mostly used for making lace and doilies for the web. And now we get to the magickal part of this. The story. I'm no Native American story teller, but from my research and what I have grown up knowing about dreamcatchers this is what I can tell you about them.

A dreamcatcher is given to a child upon birth in order to protect them. It is hung above the child's bed to allow the dreams and energies of life to flow through it like a filter. The good dreams and energies are allowed to pass through the web while the bad dreams and energies become tangled on the web and flow down to the feathers. The bad dream and energies are then taken away with the wind, casting them away. Any bad dream and energies that remain are then purified when sunlight hits them. Dreamcatchers can be used by adults for the same reasons. They help keep the good energies with in the room and help to rid the person of negative/bad energies. I think every person should have one! :) If you are giving the dreamcatcher to a child there are some nice stories about why they are shaped the way they are and how they came into existence. I've done some searching around and I think my favorite story is the one found here. I like it because it talks about how the four elements come into play as well. But you can find tons of stories through children's books and google. I ♥ dream catchers!

Well, that's all I have for now. See you tomorrow!

Sunday is happieness in a heart shaped bottle

No seriously, it really is. At least for the time being while I don't have either job to go to. That will change in the coming weeks. *sigh* But for the time being it's nice and I'm enjoying it. Today was rather productive. I managed to do a hard core blessing/cleansing/banishing what ever you prefer to call it. I actually have a spell for each that I do, because Thrice is nice. lol We've had some strange things going on this year and I've neglected my cleansings. So today I did my banishing spell to get rid of the negative forces that have been lingering around, then I cleansed and blessed the house with a smudging inside and did some protection work on the outside to seal everything together. I can already feel the air in the house lifting. This is the second time this month I did a smudging. Apparently the first time wasn't as effective as it needed to be. Strange moment of the day? My mom had some friends come by to check out her car since it wasn't working. And their car ended up dying in front of our house. So after I heard this I decided it was time to get the ball rolling. I started my ritual/spell work while they were outside. As soon as the tow truck got here for their car the car started right up with no problem! I like to think I had a little witchy something to do with it. ;) No promises though. Could just be my ego. lol

On another note, the kidney stone has subsided greatly. Hopefully it stays away. I'm aiming to set up a permanent healing altar, much like the ancestor altar. I'll work on that soon. I want to do a little more research on the art of healing first. I wish there were people around where I live that could give me a helping hand with teaching and learning these things. There might be I just need to socialize more and look harder.

I also started some candy for my friends for Halloween. We are all donning witch attire and taking my niece trick or treating. I've decided to sit out on the local Samhain ritual this year. While I loved it last year and it even made me a bit emotional (by a bit I mean I cried like a baby), I feel like I have ignored my friends long enough during my isolation and it would be nice to spend the end of the witches year in good, loving company while enjoying the wide eyed innocence of a child. I love that little one! Well, I have to head to job 2 and 1 tomorrow. I shall leave you with some pictures I've taken over the last week that I love!



These are the partial full moon. I think maybe a day or two before the actual full moon. I'm just impressed my camera could manage to get this close. My usual moon pictures consist of a random white dot.









These are some pictures from the park I go to and picnic at with the kiddo I watch. Nice right? I love it there. Hope you had a great Sunday too. See you tomorrow!

Do you know a good organ harvester?

No, seriously? Know anyone who could use a spare kidney? Mine is about to get ripped out if it doesn't get it's act together. Apparently I have ANOTHER kidney stone.... or it's the same one from last weekend. I'm not sure. I've had about 4 or 5 of them so far since last November. It's insane. I've never had them before in my life! Why body?! Why!? Hopefully I can get some health insurance quickly with this new job or my dad can possibly help cover me on his plan until then. Ugh. Hopefully it won't stay too long. On the full moon last night I bought 3 massive pumpkins! When I say massive, I mean I could fit a small child inside of them!

See look. Definitely small child worthy. I put a square pot holder next to them for size. :) I'm so excited. If I'm up to it and my kidney starts to act like it has some sense I shall carve one tonight with me mum. It's a tradition. And maybe even the step dad will take part. I know yall don't know much about my step father, but just know we shared a conversation last night for the first time in a very, very, very long time. Maybe my autumn moon and Mabon wishes are actually working. I shall have to partake in more full moon rituals. (kind of like I should have last night, but the kidney and I were having a fight.) I got an amazing spell written for me by a friend, Andréann, that I can't wait to try out for mending/fixing the heart/self. I will give it a go tonight, body permitting.

Onto a non-kideny topic. I'm in a Halloween swap on the best website ever, craftster, and I wanted to share a few things I made for my partner. I know you all have seen Dracula, from earlier this month, that was one of the first things I made for her. Here a few others I'm rather proud of. Sue, if you read this, you should probably advert your eyes!

Please meet Dracula's BFF! The mummy! Not too shabby right? He's made the same way as Dracula and then just wrapped in white felt strips. Ok, so, I'm not a felt master, or a stuffie master at all, but I still think he's rather cute. Next are some of the other things I've made.

That's all I have for now. There were a few other things I included but these are the things I'm more so proud of. The others are ok, but not brag worthy. Well, I'm going to give work a call and wait for me mum. She's going to take me to the doctor. Somebody hope they don't treat me like last time. You would be surprised at how much of a second rate citizen you are considered without insurance. Blah. See yall later!

Magickal ....ummm.. Wednesday?

So, on Monday I thought about what I wanted to do. I started Magickal Mondays to ease myself into bringing Magick into my everyday life slowly... very slowly. I don't do too much of it really. Every now and then I do a spell, I observe the seasons, change out the altar, do a ritual when need be, but on the everyday basis I honestly don't do too many things. And I think it's rather important to have a little Magick in our lives every day, to help connect us. When I do something in that nature it makes me feel accomplished, as well as it helps me clear away the cobwebs in this head of mine and get me thinking .....well.... like a witch. Doing something Magickal brings a little extra umph into things. At least that's what I believe.

So Monday, I was thinking about what is something Magickal that I could do that didn't require too much effort but allowed me to connect in that Magickal way. The family I work for during the days is Filipino. They are Catholics, but if you pay attention around their house there are subtle things that reflect a lot of the heritage of the islands and the older ways of life. In the living room above the fire place is a tiny section set up for the "ancestors." There are pictures of a man and woman whom I assume to perhaps be parents or grandparents. There is always a vase with some flowers from their yard, and a small bowl which usually holds a a Brigid cross and various other things. I've been working there for about 4 1/2 years and always thought about doing one myself. But it becomes hard to see the pictures of your loved ones. Ya know? Well, I decided Monday that I would set me up a small altar to my loved ones. So I spent Tuesday clearing off a shelf on my wall and finding pictures. Last week I went to the park and did some nature walking and picket up some leaves, acorns, and tiny pine cones. I also visited my grandfathers grave last week with my mom, which may have also brought on this trail of thinking. His body rests under a large Pecan tree. I was inspired to pick up a few pecans and take them home with me. They now sit on the altar. So here is what I came up with.

On the top I have some of the older, smaller pictures. Coincidentally, they are also the ones who have been gone the longest. Starting from the left I have my grandfather, great grand mother, uncle (dad's brother), and uncle (moms brother) all surrounding an orange pillar candle sitting on some acorn tree leaves. And yes my "shelf" happens to be a wooden CD rack from the craft store painted gold. They are so cheap and useful. I couldn't get a good picture to say a life. The pictures are just folded or cut down and then I took card stock and cut the little windows for them to show through.

On the bottom I have a small dish in which the offerings are put on. I stuck leaves around the corners and everywhere I could manage. The fabric is just some scrap tapestry fabric I found in my stash. not sure where I got it or where it came from but it works. It's very fall colored even though you can't see it in the pictures. On the left is my Nanny (grandmother) who just passed a few months ago. That was take last Christmas. :( And beside that is my best friend, her mother, and brother. I lost them all my junior year of high school. Coincidentally, these are the bigger pictures and they are the most recent ones to depart. I think this shrine/altar will be a good thing. I believe it will help with the healing and accepting part of letting go. I'm going to keep this up year round. I think I will decorate it with bits of nature from the seasons. Well, that's all for now. See you tomorrow!

Witch Hat Wednesday!

Today was a very productive Wednesday!! I found tulle laying around to decorate an old witch hat from two weeks ago and I drafted my own pattern for a smaller Victorian witch hat. Both are pretty epic.

First up, in case you don't remember I made this hat randomly on a Thursday and it was missing something. I finally found some awesome pink tulle I had bought ages ago to make a rainbow tutu. Unfortunately, the tutu never got made (I do that a lot, huh?), so I have a load of tulle stashed away I had forgot all about until tonight. So, now without further ado, I present Blink!

That's right it's blue and pink therefore making the most amazing color ever, Blink! Oh, and pay no mind to the fact that I take my pictures on my dishwasher. Here's the back.

Next, I am really really proud of this. I drafted the pattern in about 30 minutes or so and sewed the hat in another 30. So in one hour I had an amazing Victorian-style Witch Hat. I had seen some amazing ones online, but I'm too cheap to buy one. So I thought, why not make one! Genius right? So may I present, Vikki's Secret.

I absolutely love it. I don't know if you can see the little black slots on the first picture of it. Those are for bobby pins to fasten it to your head. I'm not very good with those. But they aren't too bad for the moment. Here it is next to Dreams of Eire for size comparison. It's so tiny and cute.

All in all, it's maybe my favorite witch hat I've made. Expect more of these to come! :D I feel like I need to make a dress or something to wear for it. Future Halloween outfit? Perhaps.