I knew at once that this was what I wanted to share here for the second week of September.

As you may be aware, in the fall of 2016, my husband and I lost our home, very nearly everything we owned, and infinitely most devastating, our beloved cat (Stella) in an arson fire.

This is a subject I discussed in greater depth here and which, while it does surface from time to time on this site, I generally do not wish to put at the forefront of most of my Witchcrafted Life posts.

However, the fifth anniversary of the life-changing date is fast approaching.

It will arrive on October 13^th, bringing with it half a decade of existence since our world was turned on its head faster than you can dial 9-1-1.

If I lived until the last flicker of light in the universe burned out, I will never forget that fateful day, nor the extraordinary challenges, changes, redirections, and outpouring of kindness that followed in the aftermath.

In the house that we lived in at the time of the fire, my crafting space was in the basement in a room that served both as a craft corner, photo studio, packaging centre for the items I was selling via my (then) Etsy vintage shop, and sundry other uses.

On top of the flames that tore through the entire structure, our home was further damaged by the substantial volume of water that pumped onto/into it to keep the fire from quickly spreading to other closely situated homes.

Of course, that was a smart move and did a lot to help prevent the fire from leaping to additional houses.

However, multiple feet of water sat in the basement of our burned-out house for weeks on end (as the fire department, police, and insurance companies each did their own thorough investigations of the structure), quickly causing mould to grow and rodents to set up camp.

Even if that hadn’t been the case though, the flames alone would have caused nearly as much damage and virtually everything in my craft room – as with the rest of the house – would have been obliterated.

When people find out that we experienced an arson house fire and that I’m a paper crafter, they often ask me how I decided if I wanted to keep crafting or not.

There was never a shadow of doubt in my mind that as soon as I possibly could, I would begin paper crafting again.

Far from deterring me from picking up this beloved part of my life, the fire drove home all the more how phenomenally important it is (for me) to document and celebrate our life together, my childhood and family, trips we take, holidays we celebrate and so much more.

Just as the staggering outpouring of compassion, support, and generosity we received from friends, relatives, and complete strangers alike served as a reminder of how vital it is for me to create and give handmade cards (and other projects) to a wide range of people in my life.

As a naturally tenacious and highly driven person, even when the chips were down and I had quite literally nothing but the clothes on my back, I knew I would paper craft again.

And so, awesomely, joyfully, and blessedly, I have. My current craft space is a lot smaller – as is the stash of products it houses.

It wasn’t economically possible for us to replace most of what was lost and, by and large, I have not tried to do so. The goal is not to replicate what was, but rather to create a safe, happy here and now that is conducive to who we are and what we love doing in the present.

With the fifth anniversary of the fire just over a month away, I wanted to take a little while to stop and reconnect with some of the pre-fire Halloween projects I made that I most adored.

The blaze destroyed not only all of my completed projects (save, of course, for those that had been given to others as gifts over the years), but all of my craft supplies, as well as our computers and external hard drives.

This means that, in terms of my pre-fire craft projects, I only have photos of those makes that had been shared online pre-fire (and which were still online at the time of the fire).

As a result, without photos of some of my creations, numerous projects will forever exist simply in memory form for me.

Thankfully, however, care of various internet sources, I’ve been able to gather up images of some of the paper crafting projects that I made between 2010 (when I began scrapbooking and card making) and 2016, the year of the fire.

Join me then, won’t you, as we revisit some of the pre-fire Halloween projects that I adored the most and which continue to inspire my current makes to this day.

A handful of my very favourite pre-fire Halloween scrapbook page and cards

Note: As the lists of supplies used to make these projects were kept in notebooks and lost in the fire, I cannot detail all of the items used to create them. Many of which are, objectively, long out of stock/production at this point anyhow.

That said, if you have any questions about the materials or techniques used on this Halloween makes, please don’t hesitate to ask and I will gladly do my very best to deliver a helpful reply your way.

As well, please bear in mind that these photos, while digital, are several years old and that they are downloaded copies of the originals (thus the image quality may have been compressed or otherwise altered by whatever site/platform they were/are hosted on).

Also, both cell phone and DSLR image quality have improved considerably since then – as have my skills behind the lens . Plus, at the time these pics were taken, I was really into somewhat overexposing my project share photos – something that is generally not my approach at present.

Halloween (1985) scrapbook page: In this distressed, shabby chic orange and black page we hop back to the mid-1980s with a glimpse of me and my mama enjoying All Hallows’ Eve together (check out this recent project share post for a layout featuring the two of us on my very first October 31st).

My talented mom made the adorable ghost costume that I’m sporting here. Aww!

To date, this layout stands as one of my favourites that I have ever created.

Double, Double, Cuteness & Trouble scrapbook page: I wish the image quality was better for this page, as it was such a cute, fun one. Hopefully, you can still get a sense of it here all the same.

In this layout, we progress ahead another year or two as this was me on either my 3rd or 4th Halloween – naturally, I went as a witch.

Again, my sweet mom made my festive outfit. A few years on (as we will see in a later scrapbook layout detailed below), my little sister would sport the same darling witch costume.

When Witches Go Riding Halloween card: An eye-catching and somewhat unexpected colour palette of classic orange, black and white partner with shades such as pale lavender, teal, and turquoise in this chic bow bedecked Halloween greeting.

Halloween Princesses scrapbook page: This sweetly spooky page celebrated the fact that, a few years apart, my sister and I wore the same pretty pink (store-bought) princess costume.

I adore the pre-made die cut jack-o-lantern paper that played a starring role on this layout and would love to see a company release something similar again today.

Pumpkins (Bear’s Fruit Stand) scrapbook page: Growing up, my family had a wonderful tradition of vising some of the local produce stands and farmer’s markets in our area each autumn.

In this circa 1993 photo, my siblings and I are sitting on a mountain of beautiful pumpkins at our family’s very favourite fruit stand, called Bear’s, located in the tiny South Okanagan community of Keremeos.

Hope Your Halloween is Crawling with Fun Halloween card: A classic colour palette and Halloween critter – the spooky spider – take the lead on this rhinestone and glittery black arachnid-filled card.

Halloween Helper Kitty scrapbook page: Two photos – one in black and white, the other in colour – accompany journaling about the fact that our beloved late cat, Stella, who usually left our spooky season decor in peace, had a real penchant for playing with this particular pumpkin decoration.

All Hallows’ Eve Costumed Kids scrapbook page: Another layout that I really wish I had a better quality image of. Still, anything is certainly better than nothing when it comes to documenting lost paper crafting projects.

This fun Halloween layout shines the spotlight on what my brother, sister, and I wore for a fun-filled night of trick-or-treating in the mid-1990s (note, as mentioned above, my sister is rocking the same adorable witch costume that I had worn around the same age).

I madly adore the 3D beaded bats peppered around this layout. If memory serves me right they *may* have been from either Prima or the Michael’s house brand, Recollections.

If anyone ever sees similar bat embellishments for sale online at a site that ships to Canada or in person here on Canadian soil, please do not hesitate to let me know (TY!).

Wishing You a Very Happy Halloween card: Border punched layers, pretty flourishes, and glitter-adorned pumpkins galore call this teal and earth-toned card home.

Swap out the sentiment and this lovely greeting could easily work for other fall time happenings as well, such as Mabon and Thanksgiving.

She’s Got Halloween Spirit scrapbook page: While my sister’s favourite holiday is Christmas, much as with my mom and me, she adores October 31st as well.

This sweet photo of my sis as a toddler shows her helping to scoop the guts out of a pumpkin that would soon be carved in our family’s grinning jack-o-lantern that year.

Trick or Treat scrapbook page: A bevy of embellishments, cheesecloth (that I hand-dyed), and spiders collide on this shabby chic Halloween layout that shows what my siblings and I wore for Halloween 1991.

The inspiration for this layout’s colour palette stems directly from the costumes that the three of us sported that night (note the Unicef box – who else remembers collecting for this important charity on Halloween night as a youngster?).

This scrapbook page is another that rests firmly amongst the ranks of my all-time favourite that I have ever made.

Have a Bewitching Halloween card: Distressed and border punched edges, elegant rhinestone trim, harlequin print paper, and an eye-catching black coloured witch silhouette sticker add up to a fun meets classic Halloween card that I’d happily replicate again today, if I still had the same supplies.

I might give it a go with similar, but different items, for a 2020s take on this greeting that was made close to a decade ago now.

Which of these festively fun, spookily sweet, and marvellously macabre paper crafting projects is your favourite?

Looking back, looking ahead

Far from causing me pain or tearing open wounds that have, mercifully, done a pretty good job of healing, looking back at these projects brings me a lot of joy.

I love being reminded of my past creative makes, what elements of my paper crafting style have stayed the same and which have changed/evolved/improved since then, the stories these projects tell, and the happiness – both in myself and, when applicable, in others – that the end results delivered.

As we head towards the official start of fall and all throughout my favourite chapter of the year, I will be sharing numerous freshly made autumn, Thanksgiving, and Halloween/Samhain related paper crafting projects here with you.

This point also delivers a bevy of joy my way and I can hardly wait to unveil my fall 2021 crop of crafty makes.

Each project that a creative soul brings into being is shaped in some way – be it tiny or large – by what they’ve previously created.

As crafters and artists, we don’t need to stand on the shoulders of giants, we are our own giants and muses.

The projects highlighted in this post each helped to hone and further develop my skills and style, the very things that I love to share here with you via my project posts all year round.

For September 2021, the pre-fire projects shared here are my latest entry for #MakeHalloween365.

Save for some of the cards and other items that were given as gifts, all of these projects are long gone in corporal form, living on instead in spirit and digital photos.

They did not get a chance to appear in the moment as part of #MakeHalloween365, as I just created this fun Halloween project share hashtag earlier this year.

They get the opportunity to do so now, however, and I hope that while they are not the newest of makes, they are able to inspire you and embody the heart of this hashtag all the same.

I may not make the fire the centre of many of my blog posts, but when I do, I generally want there to be a positive element to the end message of such entries.

In this instance, for me, that is one of hope and perseverance, of not letting the unthinkable rob you of your passions, and of finding a way back to the light of positivity even on the darkest of nights.

Thank you, cherished friends, for being here with me on this site and on social media, and for experiencing the poignant journey that is my post-fire paper crafting and life in general.

There will never, not in all the languages of the universe, be enough words for me to convey just how much that means to – and motivates – me.

If I could, I would make fall and Halloween themed cards for each of you, but as that isn’t possible, I hope that you will look upon the projects I post online as a way of conveying my heartfelt gratitude to each of you.

Here’s to the magnificence, inspiration, nostalgia, and, in turn, present-day happiness of pumpkin spice, crunchy leaf, and grinning ghost season – may it be as kind to you as you, sweet souls, are to me.

The post A Handful of My Very Favourite Pre-fire Halloween Scrapbook Pages and Cards appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Now that we’re a few weeks into this blog’s life, I thought it would be a lot of fun to chat about more about my past, present and future as a paper crafter, why I’m not currently seeking design team work, and what I might have named this blog, had it been solely paper crafting related.

Please note: The projects shown in this post were all created prior to the arson fire (see below) that we experienced tin 2016.

Who am I?

Isn’t the great question that we’re all asking ourselves!

Deep philosophical discussions aside, if we’re meeting for the very first time, I would suggest you read my inaugural post and my About Page to get to know me a bit better.

Beyond what is housed in those two spots, from a scrapbooking perspective, I feel that it’s worth noting that I am…

-(At the time of writing) 35 years old.

-The first of three children (I have both a younger brother and sister), the oldest grandchild and oldest first-degree cousin on both sides of my family.

-Married to an incredible man named Tony. We met in March 2004, had a whirlwind romance, and tied the knot about seven months later in October of that same year. We had a very small civil ceremony wedding with less than ten guests in attendance.

-Not a parent / do not have any children. (I plan to discuss this topic as it pertains to both my own life and childless paper crafters in general later on this year.)

-An aunt to one adorable youngster, our nephew, Jarno, who lives in Italy with his folks (my sister-in-law and her husband).

-A lifelong history buff and vintage lover (for several years I ran a popular vintage fashion and lifestyle blog, which I retired in March 2017).

-A (sun sign) Cancer and, gosh, do I fit the profile for the most part. As much as I’m a homebody, I also have a great deal of wanderlust in my soul and find travel to be one of the most incredible and rewarding aspects of life. (If you’re curious, my moon sign is Sagittarius and my ascendant sign is Aquarius.)

When it all began

I officially began paper crafting in October 2010 (my first project was a layout about my maternal grandma that used a sheet of My Mine’s Eye paper as the main background paper).

Prior to that point, I had developed a deep interest in paper crafting and started to amass a stash of supplies at least a year before I began creating.

One of my aunts has been an avid paper crafter herself for multiple decades now. Her beautiful, heartwarming pages and handmade cards were (and still remain) a wonderful source of inspiration for me.

I’ve always been the nostalgic type. I’m an old soul who adores history, genealogy and preserving memories, and for me scrapbooking is a powerful way to unite and celebrate those important aspects of my life.

Between 2010 and 2016, while I wasn’t always able to actively engage in paper crafting for various reasons (moves, serious medical issues, etc), I did create whenever possible and was frequently active on the website scrapbook.com.

For a while during that time, I ran a paper crafting blog, but my spirituality and the fact that I was a witch were not a part of that site (which was retired and taken off line several years ago now).

When it all changed in the blink of an eye

If you’ve read my intro post or About Page, you may recall that in October 2016, my husband I experienced a devastating arson house fire that destroyed virtually all of our belongings and, infinitely more heartbreaking, took the life of our precious cat, Stella (pictured in the layout below).

Thank the universe, we ourselves and our darling dog (Annie) made it out alive.

As challenging as that experience was and as hard a road as we’ve had to forge ahead in order to rebuild our lives in the 3+ years since then, I try not to dwell excessively on what happened to us.

It was brutal, it changed us and our lives forever, and it taught us more than I could ever put into words, but I have zero desire for that tragedy to be a common focal point here on Witchcrafted Life. Or in my life point-blank.

Sometimes, however, it is bound to come up. In this case, I feel it warrants mentioning because the fire not only destroyed all of my crafting (paper and otherwise) supplies, it also wrecked the first six years of my paper crafting projects.

In addition, it destroyed all of our photos (physical and those stored on computers and external hard drives), mementos, and personal documents.

It is a surreal, horrible experience to lose every material thing you own in the world. No one should ever have to go through that for any reason. Yet, sadly, countless individuals and families do each year due to various reasons.

I wasn’t easy at all, and it pained me to my core to lose my scrapbook albums, photos, family treasures, craft supplies, and other belongings, but I had to move on. There was no option. No amount of sorrow or grief or depression (each of which I certainly experienced in the wake of the fire) was going to bring back what the flames had devoured.

Instead of bemoaning what happened, both myself and Tony were resolute in our determination to piece our lives back together again, start afresh where we could, and to focus on what presently is and what lies ahead, not what once was or could have been.

I should note, as I’m often asked about this point, while we did have renter’s insurance at the time, the maximum payout value was (unbeknownst to us until after tragedy struck) significantly smaller than the total value of our belongings. The max payout was more aligned with what we owned when, over 4.5 years prior, we moved into the house that burned down, not what we owned at the time of the fire.

Therefore, the payout did not allow enough room for us to replace most personal items (including my craft supplies). It went to critical expenses and household needs. Instead, we have gradually been acquiring new non-essentials when possible over the past three years and will continue to do so further as time goes on.

Note: As I was fortunate to have photos of some of my completed projects online in various spots at the time of fire, I have a visual record of a portion of my paper crafting work. Not, however, the whole body of it. Still, having anything is awesome and I’m super thankful for what does exist.

What the past 3+ years have been like

Busy! A roller coaster of highs and lows! Unexpected!

They’ve been pretty wild to say the least and not at all how I foresaw my early to mid-30s playing out. That’s life though. You never know what, be it positive or negative, is coming round the bend next and it’s usually best to roll with the punches, make the best of a rough situation, and hold tight to hope along the way.

After a succession of short-term rentals following the fire, in early 2018, Tony and I were able to purchase our first home. It is located in a charming little town in the northern end of British Columbia’s Okanagan region. We’re both smitten with the gorgeous scenery and landscape here, which breathtakingly marries woodland with farmland.

The achievement of this lifelong goal, especially so soon after the fire, is still hard to believe at times. It remains the most positive thing to happen to us since before the fire occurred.

2018 wasn’t all sunshine and new houses though, it also saw various heartbreaking events transpire to some of my relatives. These happenings hit me with the force of an asteroid and I’m still continuing to process and heal from them to this day.

Thankfully though, by and large, things are looking up for ourselves and my loved ones in general as 2020 finds its footing.

On the paper crafting front, my stash was started anew for me within days of the fire, when my aunt (mentioned above) blessed me with a truly thoughtful “starter scrapbooking kit” she had lovingly put together.

I was also incredibly fortunate to receive some paper crafting items from several kind-hearted, generous online scrapbooking friends, acquaintances, and even a few total strangers.

For as long as I live, I will grateful to, and for, those caring individuals whose compassion and desire to help a fellow crafter get back on her feet again played an integral role in ensuring that I was able to do just that.

Between 2017 and the summer of 2019, with my budding new paper crafting stash, I made a few projects (chiefly cards and layouts).

At first, it was strange and difficult to craft because my mind kept thinking that I still had all of my old pre-fire supplies and photographs. Rationally, of course, I knew that I do not and as time goes on, thankfully, this sense has lessened. It did certainly impact me a fair bit though as I began to ease into paper crafting again.

From the summer of 2019 onward, as time and my health have permitted, I’ve been going full steam ahead on the paper crafting front once more and loving every moment of it!

I feel like I’ve gotten my grove back and have been reveling in the joys, catharsis, and fun of paper crafting again.

So much so, that it led me to create this website. A blog that combines two hugely important aspects of who I am and what I hold dear: being a Pagan witch and paper crafting.

Where I’m at on the paper crafting front today

The launch of this site, which happened on January 1st of this year, has been at the heart of my paper crafting related focus in recent weeks.

Beyond that, I’d say that I’m in a good place again on the creativity front.

While it isn’t possible for me to actually craft daily, between this blog, social media, blogs and websites that I follow, conversations with fellow crafters, magazines, and much more, paper crafting is once again an integral part of my daily life (yay!!!).

Our house is quite, how shall we say, cozy, which means that space is at a premium (two people, both of whom work primarily from home, and a high energy 70 lb dog all share said space).

Thankfully, however, I have a small room on the ground floor (our house is a two-story home, both of which are above ground; there is no basement or functional attic) which, in a lot of ways, is the physical version of this very blog itself.

In that one wee room lives my main altar, the majority of my witchy related items, almost all of my books, and the entirety of my current craft supply stash.

I am truly grateful for this space, the empowering energy that it houses, the creativity and magick alike that flow through me when I’m in it, and what it represents in my life regarding how far we’ve come in just three years since the fire.  

My current stash of paper crafting items is an interesting mix of items. There are some areas (6×6 paper pads, for example) where things are fairly plentiful at present, others where they’re sparse, and some that are missing entirely.

I’ve long learned though that you can make a lot with a little where creativity involved and love to put the products that I do have to work in as many fun, fresh and imaginative ways as can.

What do I (currently) mostly make?

Scrapbook pages (especially 12 x 12 single-page layouts, but I’ve been hearing the siren’s call towards smaller sized pages on and off lately, too), cards of all sorts, tags, mini albums, home, and seasonal décor projects, and gift packaging/wrapping.

Plus an array of paper crafting projects pertaining to my spiritual path (including sabbat themed cards and tags for fellow witchy friends around the world) – as you might have guessed by this point.

How would I define my paper crafting style

“Shabby goth” springs to mind!

My work often embodies feminine, dark/spooky, elegant, sweet, detailed, layered, tattered and distressed, inked, antique and vintage, nature inspired, fall and Halloween related, and dimensional techniques and products.

Stitching – faux, die cut, real – is a biggie, too.

These elements – coupled with including journaling on most of my layouts – are some of the key factors that help to define my personal scrapbooking, card making and paper crafting style in general.

Some of my favourite paper crafting products

Text and wood grain print papers, anything old-fashioned looking, burlap, bling (rhinestones, pearls, wood pieces, metal pieces, etc), dimensional flowers and leaves, tulle and netting, trim and ribbon, seam binding, twine, metal dies, stickers, glitter glue, die cut shapes and chipboard pieces, border and shape punches, paint, sequins, Micron Pens, Copic markers, my Tim Holtz Stamp Platform, and yes, as old school as I know this sounds to many people, (gasp!) decorative edge scissors.

Some of my favourite paper crafting brands

My taste in paper crafting brands and products, much like in many areas of my life, tends to run eclectic, so I buy from a wide number of companies.

Sadly, some of my all-time favourite brands and/or product lines (think Webster’s Pages, 7 Gypsies, Teresa Collins, Jenni Bowlin, Maya Road, Petaloo, K & Company, and Ranger’s Adirondack line) are no longer produced or have radically shifted the focus of what they sell.

This point makes losing the items I had from those companies sting all the more.

Thankfully, however, there are still many terrific brands going strong as we embrace the 2020s.

I adore plenty of them, including – but certainly not limited to – Anna Griffin, Carta Bella, FabScraps, Graphic 45, Pink Paislee, Martha Stewart, Kaisercraft, Prima, Authentique Paper, Tim Holtz, Echo Park, Bo Bunny, 49^th and Market, DCWV, Tsukineko, and Pion Design (I don’t currently own anything from Pion, but, my word, do I melt like a snowman in April for their breathtaking offerings).

What die cutting machine do I use

I currently have a Sizzix Big Shot Machine. It’s a powerhouse of a die cutter and I love it to bits.

I do not, and to date have never had, an electric die cutting machine (i.e., Gemini, Silhouette Cameo, Brother ScanNCut).

I’d happily welcome an electric die cutter, especially since they are a lot easier on the ol’ wrists, but don’t foresee one coming my way anytime soon. Perhaps some day.

What do I use to take photos of my projects

I currently have an iPhone 7 and take photos of my projects with it. I shoot indoors using either artificial (tungsten) or natural light, depending on what time of the day it is.

If needed, I do minor photo editing on my phone, generally in Afterlight and/or VSCO.

Why I’m not actively seeking design team work (but remain open to the possibility)

Several ago, I was a design team member for a US based online scrapbooking store that has long since shut down. I had a wonderful time and am still in connect with some of my fellow design team member friends from those days.

However, that experience drilled home how challenging it can be for me to be a design team member due to the fact that I’m a multiple severe chronic illness fighter whose health and physical abilities can fluctuate significantly from day-to-day.

I’m the type of person who loves to give things my all, honour my commitments and deliver on time. There’s a very real risk I wouldn’t always be able to do that if I was on a design team (let alone multiple teams concurrently). A point that doesn’t sit right with me at all.

However, if the schedule was flexible, the requirements weren’t too extreme, and the company/website was understanding regarding my health, I would certainly consider taking part in design team work again (assuming of course, I was tapped to do or accepted for a specific team, if I applied).

What I might have called this blog had it been focused solely on paper crafting

As awesome as things like stamping, colouring with markers, and watercolouring are, and as much and I delight in employing them at times, I am a paper lover at heart.

I adore beautiful papers, writing on my layouts, layering paper (and cardstock) on my projects, collecting paper for my stash, you name it!

Thus, assuming that the URL was available, I may have named my blog “It’s all about the paper” or something to that extent.

To be honest, I didn’t really give much consideration to running a blog that was just about paper crafting at this point in my life.

I knew from the get-go that I wanted to write about both witchy topics and paper crafting ones alike, and thus Witchcrafted Life was born.

What inspires my paper crafting work

So… many… things!

The seasons and The Wheel of the Year, nature, art, music, books, fellow creative folks and makers, fashion, history, great colour combinations, my own personal experiences and dreams, my spirituality, traveling, photography, and oodles of other sources.

What else would you like to know about my paper crafting?

Now it’s your turn. What would you like to know about my paper crafting that wasn’t covered here?

Don’t be shy! Ask away! And while you’re at it, if there are specific types of paper crafting blog posts that you’d be keen to see here, please feel to let me know.

Your questions and ideas are welcome and sincerely appreciated.

The post Get to know Autumn Zenith, the Paper Crafting Pagan Witch appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.