When I think of the late 1990s/early 2000s – a time when my teen years were wrapping up and my twenties were starting – no shortage of such lexicological examples spring to mind.

While I doubt that expressions like “your happy place” and “go to your happy place” were invented during that time period, they were certainly popular back in the earliest years of the new millennium.

A lot of us have at least a few treasured happy places, be they real or imaginary. Spending time visiting or reflecting on these locations can be highly beneficial to our sense of well-being and mental health.

I like to think the same rings true for many animals as well – especially those who get to experience an assortment of different locations throughout their lives.

Though it is beyond the scope of our current scientific abilities to determine if animals (be they wild or domestic) do in fact have mental happy places, I would not rule that possibility out for a second.

Thankfully, we can often make educated guesses as to what an animal’s favourite kinds of places most likely are.

Their moods, energy levels, and reluctance to leave said spots are just some of the cues that can let us know what locations our beloved critter friends enjoy the most.

In the case of Annie, she – like many of her canine peers the world over – is absolutely bonkers for dog parks.

Big or small, at the beach, in the woods, smack dab in the heart of a city, it really does not matter.

If there is an expanse of land where she can run and fetch – coupled with the prospect of fellow doggos for her to play with – she is in absolute seventh heaven!

A while back I created the scrapbook page that is at the heart of today’s post. It celebrates the fact that dog parks are, hands (and paws!) down, our dog’s happy place of choice.

It honours Annie’s unwavering passion for these public spots where she and her furry friends collectively help to keep the Chuckit! product line in business, and where I always know she will be the living personification of happiness.

The Park is My Happy Place scrapbook page

In my Only Love Lets Us See Scrapbook Page post from 2020, I talked about the fact that Annie is one seriously unphotogenic pup!

This is most definitely the case. However, sometimes one can have slightly better luck of getting a usable, non-blurry and/or head-turned image when Annie is at the dog park. This is especially true if Annie is sitting patiently while she waits for someone to hurl a ball as far as they can for her.

It was on one such occasion, several years ago now, that I captured the cell phone photo at the heart of this fun pet-themed scrapbook page.

For my colour palette, I pulled directly from the sunny, sandy hues in that image, as well as the adorable pinkness of Annie’s outstretched tongue.

To convey a sense of the sand in the photo, I used some gold glitter paper as one of the layers behind it. As well as sandy brown, dark brown, and kraft cardstock. And then further drove home a sense of sand all the more via the use of gold glitter alphabet stickers.

I readily admit that the imagery on the central background paper used here has little to do with dogs or dark parks.

It does, however, depict things – reading, a comfy chair, enjoying a spot of tea – that many people greatly enjoy and which may factor into some of their happy places.

I also find it to be a very serene and pleasant illustration (in a great springtime colour palette), which helps to enhance the overall sense of joy that this layout telegraphs.

The project photos shared throughout this post were taken (and watermarked too, for that matter) closer to the time when I made this scrapbook page. Therefore they were not captured in the lightbox that I picked up around the start of 2021.

Which, while handy for some sizes of cards, tags and other small items, does not work very for LOs, unfortunately.

I am still trying to hit on a solution for taking pics of scrapbook pages that I am even just quasi-happy with.

If you have any tips for taking photos of 12×12 scrapbook LOs either inside or out of a lightbox, please do not hesitate to share them with me in the comments below. I am all ears!

Products used to create this dog-themed layout

-Dark brown cardstock

-Sandy brown/beige cardstock

-Kraft cardstock

-Gold glitter cardstock – Glitter Silk Cardstock from Darice

-Printed peach tone background paper (This particular piece of paper was amongst a selection that I received as a gift a few years back from a lovely fellow paper crafter. No product information was included with it, so I am unable to point you towards where it came from. That said, numerous brands such as My Mind’s Eye, Prima, and Pion Design have released relatively similar-looking papers over the years.)

-Assorted patterned papers – most of those used here came from the Farmhouse 8×8 inch pad from October Afternoon

-Thin cork sheet (used behind photo) – Cork Sheets from Forever in Time

-Dark brown ink pad – Dew Drop Rich Cocoa Ink from Memento

-Dark orange ink pad – Dew Drop Morocco Ink from Memento

-Dark brown fine point marker or pen (for journaling)

-Assorted chipboard piece stickers (all chipboard pieces used on this LO) – Maggie Holmes Celebrate Today Stickers from Crate Paper

-Peach and pink dimensional flowers – Love Clipping from Prima Marketing

-Cream crochet trim

-Coral pink velvet ribbon – Valentine’s Ribbons from Martha Stewart

-Slightly larger gold glitter letter stickers – Marquee Love Letter Stickers – from Heide Swapp

-Slightly smaller gold glitter letter stickers – Gold Glitter Futura Alpha Stickers from Sticko

-Pink mini letter stickers – Sno-Cone Mini Market Letter Stickers from October Afternoon

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

The journaling on this fun pet page says…

“Annie lives – absolutely lives for the park. Whether playing fetch, roughhousing with fellow pups, or running from one end to the other, is on canine cloud nine.”

How to make a darling springtime hued pet themed scrapbook page

Begin by using a 12″x12″ piece of kraft cardstock as the base of your layout. Ink all four sides with Dew Drop Rich Cocoa (dark brown) ink.

Cut a piece of dark brown cardstock a touch smaller than the base layer. Adhere to base layer.

Cut the piece of peach hued patterned paper a wee bit smaller than your previous layer. Ink all four sides with Dew Drop Morocco (dark orange) ink.

Snip four equal-sized pieces of cream coloured crochet trim and fold them over each of the four corners of that piece of patterned paper, as shown. Adhere them in place then adhere that layer to the previous LO base layers.

Tear the edges on various sized pieces of mini polka dot paper, sandy beige/brown cardstock, and brown vintage ruler print cardstock. Arrange on the lefthand side of your layout, as shown.

Top those layers with one vertical piece of cork and one horizontal piece of gold glitter cardstock. Adhere layers to one another and to the previous torn edge layer stack.

Run a piece of pink velvet ribbon and a piece of cream crochet trim across the center of the gold glitter cardstock layer. Adhere.

Mat your photo with layers of dark brown cardstock, sandy brown cardstock, and mini polka dot print paper. Ink the edges of the polka dot paper with dark brown ink. Adhere photo to layers, layers to one another, and then the completed photo stack to the gold glitter cardstock layer.

Use dark brown ink to ink the edges of three paper roses/flowers. Adhere the flowers around the lower left-hand side of the photo. Tuck a cute pink die cut chipboard ticket beneath one or two of the roses. Adhere in place.

Tear the edges of a slender strip of brown vintage ruler paper and another from the mini polka dot paper. Adhere them a little ways below the photo area of this LO.

Use a mix of dark pink tiny letter stickers and two sizes of gold glitter alphabet stickers to create your page title, placing it atop the two torn edge layers that you just created. Adhere a dark pink chipboard heart at the end of your page title.

Write your journaling in dark brown ink/marker on the main peach coloured background layer, just below where you placed your page title.

Vertically arrange, then adhere, a tiny gold glitter chipboard star and two tiny gold glitter cardstock hearts to the top left and bottom right-hand sides of the peach printed layer of paper, as shown.

Arrange and adhere a chipboard banner and chipboard “love you” word piece across and around the photo stack area, (again) as shown.

Lastly, place the “big smiles” sentiment chipboard sticker piece on the bottom right-hand side of the photo itself.

And there you have it, one sweet, adorable, shabby chic pet themed scrapbook page in a warm, inviting colour palette that suits springtime to a tee!

Scrapbook page tips and ideas from this layout

-When working with background papers that include large illustrations, try to allow some open breathing room to remain on your layout so that you do not run the risk of the design looking too busy or of your photo(s) getting lost in the visual mix.

In this instance, I did so primarily above the illustration of the chair, which remains open and provides a nice contrast to all of the action going on around the photo + page title + journaling.

–Take inspiration from textures in your photos(s) for some of the materials that you use on your scrapbook page itself. This could be anything from wood/bark to snow, straw to pebbles, grass to sand (as was the case here).

If you do not have textured materials that convey a direct sense of the tactile element(s) in your picture, try using similarly coloured and/or shaped products instead.

-Photo corners do not have to be reserved simply for photographs themselves. I adore putting corners on other parts of my layouts (and cards, too, for that matter), as I did around all fours sides of the central printed paper layer here.

-And speaking of photo corners, they do not have to be made solely from paper. Just about any material that you can cut, fold or otherwise shape to look the part can make for a fab photo corner.

Some of my favourites include ribbon and trims, scraps of fabric and felt, cardboard, cork, burlap, chipboard, embossed cardstock, vellum, tin foil, glitter cardstock, metallic cardstock, felt, and paper or fabric flower petals or leaves.

-When inking or otherwise distressing your page, do not hesitate to do so on the edges/tops of your flowers as well.

You can also splatter them with paint or dye ink, emboss them with embossing powder, apply glitter or flocking, or, if the petals are suitable, even apply things like stickers and rub-ons for an extra cool effect.

-Use different sizes, colours, and/or fonts in your title lettering. This draws the eye in, is oodles of fun, and can be a great way to stretch your letter sticker + chipboard alphabet stash further.

Papercrafting is my happy place

Objectively, I have quite a few happy places, both in the real world and tucked lovingly within the walls of my mind.

And while, technically, somewhat more of an act than a place, paper crafting is by far one of my happiest places – as is the tiny room in our house that I am fortunate to be able to devote to being a witchy + crafting space all my own.

I could talk until the cows (and our black & white puppers who totally resembles them ) came home about the tremendous psychological benefits that crafting has on my life – just as it does the lives of many people the world over. But that is likely best saved for a dedicated post unto itself.

Chances are, one day, I will devote a post (or two!) to that very topic. Right now, though, as this particular entry wraps up, Annie and I are both very curious to know…

What is one of your favourite (real or imagined) happy places?

The post The Park is My Happy Place Pet Themed Shabby Chic Scrapbook Page appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

If you’ve been following me on Instagram for a while now, you may know that I love to share, review and discuss books pertaining to areas such as Paganism, witchcraft, magick, folklore, traditional knowledge, herbology, and many other similar topics.

While Instagram is a wonderful platform to do just that (as the thriving community of “bookstagrammers” there clearly demonstrates), I’ve long yearned to have more than just 2,300 characters for some of my book reviews. I’m elated that Witchcrafted Life now provides me with that ability.

Book specs

Name: The Book of Dog Magic: Spells, Charms and Tales

Authors: Sophia and Denny Sargent

Page count: 264

Publisher: Llewellyn

Binding: Hardcover

Finally, a book about dog magic!

While numerous books, many charming and worth reading if the subject interests you, have been penned over the years about cat magic (magick), cats as familiars, and the historical connections between cats and magickal folks, far fewer have yet to emerge about dog magick.

As a lifelong dog lover and current dog mama, I was elated to see The Book of Dog Magic: Spells, Charms and Tales by Sophia and Denny Sargent hit bookstore shelves back in June of 2016.

I purchased my copy a little over a year later and just had the chance to dive into it at the start of this winter.

It’s high time we have a book about dog magic, but is this the title many magickally inclined canine lovers the world over have been waiting for?

What is Dog Magic about?

This book aims to cover elements of the longstanding history between dogs and magickal practices, connections to various deities from around the world, and their meaningful presence in the lives and spiritual workings of those in the 21^st century.

Woven through the myriad topics covered in Dog Magic, one finds dozens of different spells pertaining to dogs and dog magick. Most are fairly straightforward to carry out, generally requiring relatively commonplace ingredients.

The book is divided into the following ten chapters:

Chapter 1: The Magickal Dog & Dog Spells – An Introduction

Chapter 2: Your Spirit Dog – Invoking and Finding Your Dog Familiar

Chapter 3: Dog Love – Bonding With & Loving Your Dog

Chapter 4: Dog Healing – Healing & Being Healed Through Your Dog

Chapter 5: Dog Protection – Protecting & Being Protected By Your Dog

Chapter 6: Dog Guide Magic – Tracking & Finding Valuables, People & Your Dog

Chapter 7: Dog Fidelity – Invoking Devotion, Loyalty & Obedience

Chapter 8: Dog Omens & Totems – Your Spirit Dog Totems & Dog Fortune Telling

Chapter 9: Dogs & The Afterlife – Letting Go of a Beloved Dog & Dog Spirit as Psychopomp, or Guide of the Dead

Chapter 10: Dog Stars: Dog Star Magic & Astrology for You & Your Dog

Throughout Dog Magic, the authors – who clearly adore and respect dogs immensely – discuss their own cherished dog (who sadly passed away at the age of 17, before the writing of this book was complete) on many occasions. I found this deeply heartwarming.

Just as I did the fact that the authors (both of whom have published other magickal and spiritual related books prior to this title) make a point of mentioning that dog ownership is something that must be given serious consideration before one takes on the long-term commitment of bringing a dog into their lives.

Dog magick is a sweet book written in a friendly, approachable tone. The historical and spiritually centered information it houses are fascinating, the plentiful spells are sure to appeal to many, and the general premise of the book is apt to speak to a lot of dog lovers.

I appreciate that this book, when looking at historical, cultural, religious and spiritual topics did a fairhanded job of including information and legends/myths from a wide range of cultures around the world.

It is not uncommon for magickal books that are intended to cover a broad topic to focus exclusively, or nearly so, on European history and lore (perhaps with a wee bit of Asian thrown into the mix), so it was refreshing to see references to cultures the world over, from Africa to Australia, India to America.

However, the fact that the authors also suggest working with and/or invoking deities from many different cultures and their respective pantheons may not sit entirely well with all readers, especially those who prefer to work with a specific pantheon or group of deities from one particular part of the world.

I feel that Sophia and Denny put thought and research into the choice of deities that they partnered with their spells. While such is not explicated stated in the book, it’s fair to say that you can opt to invoke the deity of your choosing or to preform non-deity related magick altogether, if you prefer.

How feasible are the magickal workings in Dog Magic?

The spells and workings in this book are a combination of those that ask the practitioner to involve their own dog (if they have one) and others that are done without direct involvement from a living animal.

While there are certainly some calm, easygoing, very well behaved dogs out there that may happily take part in their owner’s magickal workings, at the end of the day, there are plenty of dogs that will try to chew your candles, want to play tug-o-war with your altar cloth, and try to run off with your crystals to bury them in the backyard.

In other words, as endearing and appealing a thought as involving your dog directly in your magickal workings may be, the reality is that this isn’t possible for everyone – at least not in regard to every spell laid out in this book.

I do feel though, that some of the spells which involve common acts such as petting, talking to, and feeding your dog may be possible for quite a few dog owners and their canine companions.

It is worth noting that some people make take issue, as well, with the wording of some of the spells, calling into question if the free will of the animal at the heart of the spell is being maintained at all times.

If the wording of a given spell does not sit well with you, but you’re drawn to its general concept, consider rephrasing and/or reworking the spell so that it better aligns with your personal beliefs and practices.

As to the effectiveness of the spells themselves, that will, of course, vary from person to person, dog to dog, and circumstance to circumstance.

For example, as much as the thought of using a spell to help find a lost dog is appealing and while employing one may help, there is, of course, no guarantee that magick alone will return a pup that has run off.

As in many situations in life, it is important to balance magick with pragmatic actions specific to what it is you want to accomplish or have happen.

That said, I think that the approachable nature of most of the spells in Dog Magic will help with their success for those readers who opt to follow these workings either to the letter or who adapt them to their own needs and lives.

Is Dog Magick a good book for beginner witches?

This is not, let’s make no bones about it (dog pun intended), this is not what some might dub an “advanced magickal book”.

It is extremely beginner friendly, in my opinion, guiding the reader through each of the spells, often explaining various relevant points, and providing general witchy knowledge amongst the doggy related info.

By the same token though, it is not so entry level per se, so as to automatically put off all veteran witches, Wiccans, and other magickally guided folks.

Yes, some people will be quick to decry Dog Magic as cutesy, silly, or “fluffy bunny” (a term that I personally dislike and generally avoid using, but that is a topic for another post).

In doing so, however, I feel that one may be missing the bigger picture of this book.

Even if you were to remove all of the spells and “feel good” elements from it, the historical and cultural information relating to dogs and ancient peoples, dogs and the gods, and the importance of dogs in the lives of countless millions of people the world over today, all combine to make this an endearing and informative read.

How Dog Magick rates with me

I have a soft spot in my heart for books pertaining to animal magick, animal familiars, and animal spirit guides/allies. I’m a born animal lover and animal empath who has been working with animal magick since childhood, so I’m quite partial to books like this one.

Aside from the authors’ love and respect for their own dog and pups in general, my favourite part of this book was the fact that the subject of pet loss was discussed and treated with reverence, understanding, and compassion.

As anyone who has lost a beloved dog (or pet of any type) will tell you, having to say goodbye to an animal you cherish is one of the most excruciatingly painful and difficult things many of us will ever endure.

I wholeheartedly appreciate that the authors made a point of covering this aspect of life with a dog, devoting chapter nine to the topic.

Overall, I enjoyed Sophia and Denny’s Dog Magic. It was a quick, enjoyable read that I dove into during the Yule season. I can easily see myself returning to this book in the future – including adapting some of the spells to align with my own magickal practices.

Working on a scale of 1 – 5, with five being the highest possible rating, I would give this book 4 stars out of 5.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

It is a lovely read, a welcome addition to the field of books about pet and animal magick, and a great gift for yourself or a witchy dog fan in your life.

And, of course, it gets two paws up from today’s birthday girl, Miss Annie – who is curious to know, have you worked puppy magick before?

And if you’ve read Dog Magic, what are your thoughts on this book?

The post Book review: The Book of Dog Magic by Sophia and Denny Sargent appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.