Eventually, time in the guise of the Grim Reaper catches up with all of us. Before that happens, though, if we are fortunate, we get to enjoy at least a few decades on this side of the veil.

As I was reflecting on the passing of time a little earlier this month, I was struck by the fact that we had hit the point in the year at which my next birthday now lies less than two months away.

I was also stopped square in my tracks to realize that roughly half a year had passed since the last edition of my ongoing Cemetery Journeys blog post series that was launched in the summer of 2021.

We kicked off this series by first visiting Kelowna Memorial Park Cemetery in Kelowna, British Columbia.

Then, in the afterglow of Halloween and Samhain, with November’s piercing chill returning to our days once again, we headed a touch further north in the province and spent some very enjoyable time at Mt. Ida Cemetery in Salmon Arm, BC.

In the third installment of this exciting series, we are going to land fairly close to smack, dab in the middle of these locations. Doing so on a delightful spring day where – true to seasonal form – the light frequently shifted from vividly sunny to moodily overcast.

Throughout the previous two Cemetery Journeys entries, I discussed some important points to keep in mind when exploring the cemeteries of Western Canada (British Columbia is Canada’s westernmost province and as such has a shoreline that is lapped by the mighty Pacific Ocean).

These include the fact that while settlement by non-First Nations people has only occurred in this part of the world over the past two hundred years or so (and even then, most areas were settled more in the range of 175 – 100 years ago at this point in time), the indigenous communities that filled not only BC, but Canada as a whole, lived in these rugged lands for millennia before the first Europeans are known to have set foot on Western Canadian soil.

Dovetailing with that point is the fact that as a result, there are no truly old non-First Nations burial sites to be had in this province.

Hitting upon cemeteries with headstones that proceed the 1890s – 1910s is worth celebrating and is not something one finds at every community, town, or city here in British Columbia.

Luckily, however, for history adoring taphophiles like myself, our current region of BC has been settled (again, by non-First Nations people) from about the middle of the nineteenth century onward.

As a result, some – though not all – of the burial grounds in this general area include headstones that predate the 1900s. Albeit often only by a matter of years or a couple of decades.

Still, I will gladly take that and usually make a point of trying to find the oldest headstone I can when visiting a cemetery (at least on my first trip there).

Despite living less than half an hour’s drive away from it, quite some time had passed since I last stepped foot on the hallowed ground that is Pleasant Valley Cemetery in the nearby town of Vernon, BC.

What better time to do just that than the early to mid-days of spring, when the natural world is bursting to life again and one can navigate the great outdoors without the need for double digits worth of thermal layers.

Enter our latest visit to Pleasant Valley Cemetery (a name that untold numbers of cemeteries in the English speaking world are called, believe me, I know ), which took place on a mild, subtly breezy springtime afternoon during which the sky bellyflopped back and forth between radiant sunshine and heavy grey clouds looked as though they had a lot to get off their chests.

It was Monsieur Soleil who won out in the end, but the mix of both types of light helped to add all the more of an atmospheric quality to our cemetery outing.

I shall soon invite you all along with me as we take a leisurely stroll across the gently sloping hills and tree-flanked pathways of Pleasant Valley Cemetery. First, however, let us briefly delve into the history of the community in which this burial ground is located: Vernon, BC.

A quick overview of the history of Vernon, British Columbia

Located in the northern end of BC’s well-known Okanagan Valley, which itself is situated in the Southern Interior area of this province, Vernon is a town with a rich history and yet, it often seems to play second fiddle to the larger nearby city of Kelowna.

This makes sense in many ways, of course, given that Kelowna is the biggest city (“biggest” being a somewhat relative term here ) in the entire Okanagan Valley.

However, Vernon is a terrific community unto itself and one that I feel deserves no less time in the limelight than Kelowna.

Located about 440 kilometres (270 miles) to the northeast of Vancouver, the area that is today known as Vernon was initially discovered and settled by members of the Interior Salish Okanagan people.

The name for Vernon in Salish was Nintle Moos Chin, which roughly translates to “jumping over creek”.

This title stems from part of a local body of water (now called) BX Creek which was narrow enough in some spots to jump straight over from bank to bank.

In the 19^th century, as missionaries such as Father Pandosy who we met when chatting about the history of Kelowna, began to make their way into the interior of British Columbia, Nintle Moos Chin would be renamed Priest’s Valley by the local English speaking community.

During at least part of the 1870s, it also went by Forge Valley in reference to politician, businessman, early Okanagan settler and rancher, Price Ellison’s blacksmith shop. In 1884, Price married Sophia Christine Johnson, Vernon’s first school teacher.

Today the Ellison name lives on throughout various corners of the Okanagan Valley, including both the lovely unincorporated community of Ellison and Ellison Provincial Park.

As that same century wore on, the area’s English name would again change, this time landing on the one that it holds to this day: Vernon.

A name which was bestowed on the community in honour of Mr. Forbes George Vernon, an early member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, who along with his brother Charles Vernon, owned one of the largest early ranches in the area.

Just as you will find many people residing in these beautiful areas today, the original First Nations inhabitants of Nintle Moos Chin/Vernon often lived in close proximity to the two lakes that this city houses: Swan Lake and Okanagan Lake

The latter is the largest lake in the whole Okanagan Valley, spanning the continuous distance from Penticton in the Southern Okanagan to Vernon in the Northern Okanagan (the two are about 1.45 hours drive apart from each other).

A few decades before intrepid missionaries and other early non-First Nations inhabitants started to set up the seeds of a township in what is now present-day Vernon, the area was explored in the 1810s by fur traders.

It is believed that a few decades later, a man by the name of Luc Girouard was the first permanent white settler in Vernon. He built a cabin in the area c. 1861 and would go on to plant Vernon’s first commercial orchards as well.

Little by little, the community began to grow, getting a sizable push towards developing from a small fur trading camp to a full-fledged community thanks to the 1863 discovery of gold in some of the eastern corners of the Okanagan (such as Mission Creek, Cherry Creek, and the Monashee Mountains, respectively).

Some feel that Vernon really got its start when, in 1863/64, the land that would become that township was purchased by Mr. William Campbell, who began – but did not complete – building the community’s first store.

This business-in-the-making was bought up by a stonemason named  Mr. John Imlay, who had such illustrious projects under his belt already as working on the Parliament Building.

Much as in Kelowna to the south and Salmon Arm to the north, early Vernon was peppered with numerous ranches and, as time went on, no shortage of orchards either.

Speaking of which, in 1890, Lord and Lady Aberdeen – whose contributions to and influence in shaping the early history of the Central and Northern Okanagan areas lives on in numerous forms to this very day – purchased the Coldstream Ranch from Forbes Vernon. By 1892, they had planted at least a hundred fruit trees at the ranch in the hopes of accelerating the orchard industry in the area.

It is from the name Coldstream Ranch that the community that came to exist around it would later be named The District of Coldstream. Today, this community continues to thrive and is part of the Greater Vernon area.

In no time flat, Vernon and its surrounding communities would indeed succeed as a thriving fruit-growing (and later also viticulture) corner of Canada. Sun-kissed produce offerings grown in the hearty Okanagan soil are enjoyed by locals and shipped to food merchants around the globe to this very day.

Interestingly, throughout part of the 19^th century, what would become the downtown core of Vernon was known as Centreville, a name that is rarely mentioned anymore and certainly no longer formally used in any capacity that I am aware of.

That downtown core would go on to form the city’s first business district, which came into being in 1885. This same year Vernon got its inaugural post office and a proper townsite was laid out and established for the city.

In addition to having a post office, Vernon was starting to blossom care of other firsts including a schoolhouse, hotel, and general store. A mere two years later, a Hudson’s Bay Company Store appeared on the scene as well.

Thanks in no small part to the abundance of cattle ranches that Vernon housed at the time, the area rapidly became a popular and successful economic hub for the Okanagan Valley.

Numerous forces drew early settlers to Vernon from corners near and far of Canada, as well as America, Europe, and elsewhere in the world.

The booming cattle and fruit-growing industries were two of the largest. Though, I am sure that the balmy summer weather that this region is so well-known for only helped to sweeten the deal for some of those early newcomers.

Growth and development in the area were aided all the more when the Canadian Pacific Railway (aka, the CPR) laid track that ran through parts of the Okanagan and on into the Shuswap, which is the region immediately following the Okanagan to the north.

Things did not stop hopping there in the 1890s, however! A mere two years later, a sternwheeler by the name of the S.S. Aberdeen (named for Lord and Lady Aberdeen) began to ply the waters of Okanagan Lake.

With both the railway and water travel now a part of daily life in the Vernon area, it was possible to bring in people, supplies, and animals considerably more quickly (and sometimes, more easily as well).

Also during the bustling 1890s, Vernon was officially incorporated as a city on December 30, 1892. Nine years later the first city hall was formed. It included both a public reading space and a fire hall.

Though it would, in time, be usurped on this front by Kelowna, back in those days, Vernon was the largest municipality in the Okanagan.

It was the first in which a telephone was installed and where a bank was built, amongst other things that Vernon accomplished sooner than any other part of the region.

As one drives into or exists through present-day Vernon from the south end of the city, they are bound to catch sight of a military camp and surrounding training grounds located there (which are often used for Cadet related purposes).

A military presence has been a part of Vernon’s landscape since 1908 when the Okanagan Mounted Rifles military program was established.

Later to be known as the 30^th Regiment BC Horse – or more commonly, the Okanagan Mounted Rifles.

Throughout both World War I and World War II, Vernon’s population expanded further due to the influx of military personnel and their families who settled – be it temporarily or longer-term – in the area as a result of the army training that took place in Vernon.

Traversing the same stretch of highway that runs through the military training area in Vernon, you will quickly catch sight of the Vernon Jubilee Hospital.

It is a large, multistory medical facility that serves not only Vernon itself but also the residents of many other smaller towns and communities (ours included) in the general vicinity.

This hospital was established in the 1900s and remains the only one in Vernon to the present day.

One piece of Vernon’s history that very few people are aware of is that for a time this city was home to what we would today call something along the lines of a mental health treatment centre, but which at the time was known as a mental asylum.

Originally constructed as a jail, the building operated as a mental health facility from c. 1902 – 1912. After which point patients residing there were sent to the Provincial Insane Asylum in New Westminster. In the years to come, this same building was used as an internment site during WW1.

Its use between the end of that war and its demise due to a fire that happened circa the early 1940s is not well documented. Today, the WL Seaton Secondary School stands on a spot that – often unbeknownst to many who spend time there these days – surely saw no shortage of sorrows, suffering, and injustice during the first four decades of the previous century.

Throughout the 1910s and beyond, other elements that often help a community to grow and succeed were also set up. These included such services and amenities as a high school, sports stadium, and a bit further into the 20^th century, an official library, and a modest-sized (to say the least! ) shopping mall called Village Green Centre.

While there is a bustling downtown business core, various plazas, numerous supermarkets and other shopping locations throughout Vernon, Village Green remains the city’s only mall.

(For better or worse, the Okanagan Valley is not rife with shopping malls and most of those that do exist here are scarcely large enough, IMO, to be crowned with that title in the first place.)

As the 20^th century rolled onward and the province of British Columbia as a whole continued to expand both in terms of its population and its transportation routes, Vernon would go to connect with three different provincial highways. These are Highway 97, Highway 97A, and Highway 6, respectively.

Much as with the Okanagan Valley as a whole, Vernon experiences hot, sunshine-filled summers and cold winters that often reside in sub-zero temperatures from mid to late autumn straight onto early spring.

The gorgeous months of warm sunshine have long helped to ensure Vernon was – and still is – a popular tourist destination, attracting many visitors to its arid climate, gorgeous lakes, and a plethora of surrounding mountains (some of which morph into popular ski hills such as Silver Star Mountain come the winter months) each year.

And speaking of the snowy side of the calendar, each winter Vernon comes alive care of the Vernon Winter Carnival, which was officially established in 1961. Though its roots stretch back to February 23, 1893, as that was when the first recorded winter carnival in the area took place. They would occur periodically between then and 1961, from which point onward they have been an annual event.

Today, Vernon’s is the largest winter carnival in Western Canada and the second biggest in all of North America (behind the well-known and much adored Quebec Winter Carnival).

On the flip side of the year, one finds the Vernon Sunshine Festival, an annual event that takes place in the downtown core of the city. This lively occurrence includes artisan booths, food trucks, live music, children’s events, and various other enjoyable happenings.

As with most parts of British Columbia, Vernon’s commercial structures and homes are a mix of old and new (with plenty that currently fall in between the two).

Downtown, on 30th Avenue (which is often considered to be Vernon’s main street), as well as elsewhere in the city centre, one finds an assortment of older buildings that have stood for numerous decades running.

The arts are well fostered and celebrated in Vernon, with, at the time of writing, no less than 27 different murals depicting scenes from the area’s history appearing on the sides of various buildings throughout the downtown core.

In addition, there is an excellent performing arts centre called the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre, as well as the Powerhouse Theatre which is home to a great community theatre programme.

Located in what is arguably the city’s most beautiful public green space, Polson Park, one also finds the Vernon Community Arts Centre.

And just a few streets over locals and tourists alike can catch a film at the Vernon Towne Cinema, which was built in 1929 – 1930.

Much to the delight of early 20th-century architecture and history buffs, this movie theatre (which served in various other arts and entertainment capacities before becoming a cinema) retains much of its art deco design and charm.

And for those like myself, who swoon up a storm over all things creative and crafty, if you should happen to be in Vernon as spring sits on the cusp of summer, you can visit Chaos Crafts.

This annual event is the largest summertime craft show in Western Canada, attracting vendors and attendees alike from across BC, Alberta, and further afield.

Vernon has witnessed continued population growth for the majority of its lifetime and that has certainly rung true in recent decades.

In 2021, the population of Vernon proper came in at some 44,519 people (who are known as Vernonites). This number swells into the 60,000s, however, when surrounding communities are factored into the equation as well. Together, these areas form what is known as Greater Vernon.

Prior to moving to Armstrong (a town located about twenty minutes north of Vernon) in 2018, I had visited Vernon many times throughout my life (much of which has been spent in the Okanagan).

And once, for an ultra-brief matter of weeks in my teens, I even lived in Vernon.

In the years since we relocated to Armstrong, both Tony and I have gotten to know Vernon considerably better.

It is the nearest city to us (Salmon Arm, located north of our town, is the second closest) and as Armstrong lacks a lot of amenities (or at least any sort of variety of them), we often find ourselves spending time in Vernon – which neither of us mind at all.

Ever since I was a little girl and my family would take summertime road trips to various corners of the Okanagan and Shuswap Valleys, I have felt a connection to Vernon.

From its gorgeous heritage homes such as Campbell House and Mohr House to its equally lovely (unofficial) main street, its lakes (including the stunning Kalamalka Lake located on the southern edge of the city, which was once listed as one of the top ten most beautiful lakes in the world by National Geographic) to its arts and culture scene, Vernon has a good deal to offer both locals and visitors alike.

Kalamalka Lake takes its name from a highly revered First Nations man named Chief Kalamalka, who may have been born around 1800.

An early hotel in Vernon also shared his name and while it has not seen overnight lodgers for quite some time now, part of that building is still going strong. These days it is a popular local sports bar known as The Kal.

Should the occasion to do so arise for us one day, I would likely have no qualms about moving to Vernon. It might not be as big or have quite as much to offer as those larger BC cities that start with the letter V (aka, Vancouver and Victoria), but it is still substantially bigger than itty-bitty Armstrong.

While at the same time, in my personal opinion, it retains more of a cohesive community feel and spirit than that of ever-expanding Kelowna.

This makes all the more sense given that the Greater Kelowna Area more than doubles the population of the Greater Vernon Area.

Like most towns and cities around the world, as Vernon’s population began to grow, it was only natural that a cemetery would be required.

Pleasant Valley Cemetery in Vernon

Just as with the previous two cemeteries that we have spent time exploring so far in this post series, Pleasant Valley is the largest burial site in its respective community.

Fascinatingly, however, Vernon’s first cemetery was not the one we will be wandering through together today.

No, the first cemetery in Vernon, BC, was located in the 3700 block of 35^th Avenue on land donated for this very purpose by none other than Vernon’s first permanent white inhabitant, Luc Girouard.

This community burial ground came into being during the 1880s and had been known by a slew of different names such as “Vernon Cemetery”, “Old Cemetery”, and “Old Vernon Cemetery” before being given, on May 8, 1975, its current title of Pioneer Park Cemetery.

The first body to be buried at the Vernon Cemetery was, heartbreakingly, a one-year-old child named John William Hozier, who was laid to rest there in 1885.

As is apt to happen as communities expand, it did not take very long for Vernon’s relatively small original cemetery to become quite full (as well as, unfortunately, rather unkempt).

One or two years into the start of the 20^th century, in either 1901 or 1902 (I have seen sources that cite both of those years), the City of Vernon opted to purchase land for use as a new cemetery.

The land to do just happened to be located on Pleasant Valley Road, which naturally is where Pleasant Valley Cemetery derives its name from.

However, at the very beginning of its life, this location was known as both the Vernon Cemetery (just like its predecessor) and the Vernon Municipal Cemetery.

Once this new cemetery had been established in Vernon, Pioneer Park Cemetery was closed for burials. In the decades since, all of the burial plots have now been removed (with many being reinterred at Pleasant Valley Cemetery).

And in a lovely nod to the history of that piece of land, some of the grave markers were used to build a memorial wall at the east side of the old cemetery, which is today a small public park called Pioneer Park Cemetery.

Others – much like those laid to rest beneath them – were moved to Pleasant Valley Cemetery. And it is very cemetery that we will now be diving straight into exploring together.

Located at 4311 Pleasant Valley Road, Vernon, British Columbia, Canada, Pleasant Valley Cemetery has been in continuous operation for an impressive 120 – 121 years and counting at this point (that being 2022).

Those wishing to visit this cemetery can do so year-round during the following times:

March 15th – October 15^th: 8 am to dusk

October 16^th – March 14^th: 8 am to 4 pm

One enters Pleasant Valley Road Cemetery through a wide, somewhat low wrought iron gate attached to two stonework columns. Upon doing so, you will instantly be greeted by a serene (drivable) pathway that is heavily flanked on both sides by tall, lushly verdant trees.

From the outset, one might not expect Vernon’s main burial ground to be as large as it is when you simply pass by it on your way to somewhere else.

However, one need only walk a few metres into Pleasant Valley Cemetery to begin to get a sense of the expansiveness of this immensely lovely final resting place of more than 17,000 individuals and counting.

Vernon’s Pleasant Valley Road Cemetery is divided into two sections: Evergreen and Maple, both of which are then broken down further into blocks, rows, and plots in which ones finds a wide array of different marker styles spanning some that were moved there from the original Pioneer Cemetery straight on to burials as recent as the same season you are visiting.

If you plan to walk around the cemetery, I would suggest wearing comfortable shoes in which your feet will not begin to ache quickly as you will be covering a decent amount of ground if you wish to see the whole of Pleasant Valley Cemetery on foot.

Naturally though, if one lives nearby or will be in the vicinity for multiple days, you could opt to explore various parts of the cemetery on different days.

When this cemetery was established at the start of the 20^th century, it initially covered an expanse of seventeen acres. However, it did not actually take very long for that space to be used up.

Therefore, as time went on, more of the adjacent land was purchased over the years to accommodate new burials (today it comes in at about thirty acres of land).

Prior to that point, however, in 1909, Pleasant Valley Cemetery witnessed a truly dark day when a fire at the Okanagan Hotel took the lives of eleven people.

A memorial was erected to honour a man named Archie Hickling, who perished in the blaze while helping to save others. In addition, a stone marker commemorates the victims of that tragic event which rocked the community of Vernon.

While Pleasant Valley Cemetery does not house anyone famous enough to likely be a household name the world over, it is home to a number of notable early residents and/or some of their family members. Amongst them is one of Price Ellison’s daughters.

There are some strikingly beautiful older monuments and headstones (and a few wrought iron plot fences) to be had in Pleasant Valley Cemetery.

A good number of which were the work of skilled Scottish stonecutter William Inkster, who moved to Vernon in 1903 – a mere one year after the (then) new cemetery was opened.

Mr. Inkster (I love that last name, BTW) founded the Vernon Granite and Marble Company, with some of the earliest granite coming from the properties of the Lefroy family and that of Price Ellison, whose daughter was just mentioned.

That granite can still be seen today in the antique headstones that still stand at Pleasant Valley Cemetery, quite a few of which include – as one would expect, especially for the time period – an array of Christian symbols and religious/spiritual inscriptions.

From very early on in its history, this cemetery has included a section that was/is designated for Chinese burials. Most of the markers located there are, naturally, in Mandarin or Cantonese.

While vertical headstones continue to be erected for some of the newer burials at this cemetery, the bulk of the recent cremation burials (as opposed to casket burials) are designated by small horizontal shaped markers that lay close to the ground.

Many peacefully pretty trees (including plenty of pines) coupled with an array of flowering bushes call this cemetery home as well.

Their presence offers an additional element of tranquillity and helps to create an even more beautiful setting for those buried at Pleasant Valley Cemetery and those who visit it alike.

As touched on earlier in this post, one of the standout features of this cemetery is the sweeping and rather majestic view of the city and the mountains on the opposite side of Vernon that can be viewed from some spots throughout the grounds.

I have had the joy of visiting many cemeteries throughout my lifetime and I can confidently say that few had/have views quite as breathtaking as this deeply peaceful one.

In addition to an area being designated early on for the burials of Chinese citizens, separate sections were also portioned out early on for members of civic clubs (including the Oddfellows), as well as for infants.

Following WWI, a spot was set aside to be used specifically for members of the Great War Veterans Association.

Areas were also singled for those who died while in the (devastatingly wrong and unjust) internment camps that were set up in the North Okanagan during both WW1 and WW2.

An October 2019 Vernon Morning Star article states that the first person to be buried in the city’s then newly established cemetery was a woman named Mrs. Ellen Johnson Wilding Weeks.

Originally from Shrewsbury, England, Ellen was born on January 22, 1847. She married a fellow named Thomas Weeks in 1867 and, nearly three decades later, the couple moved to Vernon with their five children.

Rather interestingly, the home that Thomas Weeks built for his family to live in is still standing to this day. It is now known as the Rice House and can be seen on 20^th Street in Vernon.

Sadly, on October 5, 1901, Ellen passed away from tuberculosis (then commonly called “consumption”) at the age of just 54 years old. Three days later she was laid to rest in Pleasant Valley Cemetery.

Less than two year on, her husband Thomas, aged 60, passed away from liver disease and was buried in the plot immediately alongside that of his beloved wife.

And while none of Ellen and Thomas’s children are interred at this cemetery, two of their grandchildren joined them at the family plot later on in the century.

(Note: If indeed that date was Ellen’s correct date of death, then it would imply that the cemetery was opened in 1901, not 1902. Though I am still trying to get some definitive answers there as both years are readily cited in various historical sources and online articles.)

However, due to the fact that some of the grave markers from Vernon’s very first cemetery were moved to Pleasant Valley, Ellen’s date of death is not the earliest to be had at this location.

These belong to some of the members of the Johnson family who passed away on various dates in the two decades preceding the creation of the original Vernon Cemetery.

I am likewise trying to determine if these individuals’ bodies are interred at Pleasant Valley Cemetery or if markers have “just” been placed there in memory of these early Vernon pioneers.

Sadly, the earliest death that appears on these markers is that of James O. Johnson, who was born on August 23, 1861, and who perished the very next day.

In the years to come, three other Johnson family members would also pass away at devastatingly young ages, their names, in turn, appearing on this same stone as well.

Another marker that will tug at the heartstrings of many who come across it is the inscribed memorial stone that was put in place as a memory of those who passed away between 1948 and 1961 in the Vernon-based BC Provincial Home for the Aged.

This marker came to be in recent times thanks to the hard work of two members (Alice Lee and Gilda Koenig) of the Vernon and District Family History Society who raised funds in order to have this stone created and placed at the cemetery.

Of the roughly 500 people who died in that government-run senior citizen’s home, it is believed that about 377 of them are buried at Vernon’s cemetery. However, only seventy or so of those people are laid to rest beneath headstones/markers, with the rest residing in unmarked graves.

Not uncommonly, little to no information whatsoever is now known about these individuals, so it is all the more important that their memory not be lost entirely in the mists of time.

As such, in addition to the monument rock, forty-one other rocks have been placed in a row to commemorate this group of people further – many of whom died and were, unfortunately, buried alone (that is to say, without any of their family present).

Today, burials (be they of bodies or cremated remains) continue to take place at Pleasant Valley Cemetery.

However, according to a 2019 article in the Vernon Morning Star newspaper, the city believes – and is making advance plans for the fact that – there is likely only about 25 to 30 years of space left for new burials at this location.

While no new (burial) ground is being broken quite yet, the city – which owns the current cemetery – will strive to get a jump on the day when Pleasant Valley is at max capacity by starting work on a new cemetery at least five to ten years in advance of that estimated point in time.

I have not heard or read, but like to assume that when that day comes, the City of Vernon will continue to maintain Pleasant Valley Cemetery.  

Time shall tell, but I for one will be keeping my fingers and toes tightly crossed when Vernon’s current cemetery reaches its limit and a new one is opened, Pleasant Valley will continue to stand as the beautiful, tranquil, and historically important spot that it is for many more generations to come.

The similarities and differences of cemeteries everywhere

Though this cemetery shares a moniker with scores of others around the world and there are additional common points to be had as well, like most burial grounds, it is not a carbon copy of any other out there.

This North Okanagan burial ground holds elements that help to set it apart and, in the process, endure it all the more to the hearts of many who spend time at Pleasant Valley Cemetery in Vernon, BC.

Ultimately, even when various cemeteries and/or graveyards are rather similar to one another, it is vital to remember that they will forever be differentiated from one another by the fact that different groups of individuals were interred at each one.

Save for those very rare cases where part of a body was laid to rest (or their ashes sprinkled or housed at) at one cemetery and another/the rest at a different one, it is very uncommon for one individual to reside at two different cemeteries.

Vernon is the oldest community in the Okanagan and while its present-day cemetery is not the region’s largest or most senior, having been established roughly 121 years ago and presently clocking in at about thirty acres, it is certainly amongst them.

I feel very fortunate to live in a part of the country that is peppered with fascinating, beautiful, and diverse cemeteries up and down the region and to get the chance to visit some of them periodically.

For, after all, as I began this post by saying, the passing of time will eventually lead us all to our last breath. I have no idea if anyone will remember me after I am gone and my living relatives at the time have also crossed over.

Whether anyone will or not, while I am on this side of the soil, I make it my mission to remember and honour the lives, spirits, hopes, dreams, and accomplishments of all those who rest in eternal slumber at the cemeteries I am able to visit in person.

So long as my health permits, plans are in the works to spend time at some others around our region this year. It is a safe bet to say that future Cemetery Journey posts devoted to those equally poignant places will transpire here in due course as well. (I can hardly wait! )

What is your favourite season in which to spend time at cemeteries/graveyards? What was the last burial ground that you visited for non-funeral-related reasons?

The post Cemetery Journeys: Springtime in Bloom at Pleasant Valley Cemetery in Vernon, BC appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Save for one male cousin who is in his twenties coming down with it last year (thankfully, he did not get terribly ill and bounced by quite quickly), no other close relative in our family had contracted this frightening illness until my sis fell ill a few days.

Mercifully, thus far, she has not needed hospitalization and appears to be gradually improving a little already (knock wood!).

As she is a lifelong asthmatic with some other health issues as well, I have worried a great deal since the pandemic began that my sister might end up getting Covid.

I would gladly come down with this illness a million times in a row if it spared her getting sick with it even once.

Alas, no entities or higher powers have shown up to offer me that sort of Faustian bargain and, sadly, the Coronavirus found my sister.

The past 2 – 3 years have been rather rough on various fronts for my sis (including multiple car accidents – none of which were her fault), and I am certain this is truly the last thing in the universe that she needed or wanted.

On my end, not for the first time since this blog’s inception, I genuinely wasn’t sure if I would be able to get a blog post up this week.

Thankfully, as the week wore on, I was able to briefly spend some time crafting which meant a post was still feasible (yay!!!). The end result is the darling Valoween project featured in this entry.

I needed something lighthearted, upbeat and festive – and in my books, this sweet Valoween card ticks all of those boxes.

The last few days have indeed felt long at times. However, January as a whole has whizzed by faster than a snowflake on a strong arctic wind and that means Valentine’s Day is rounding the corner again soon.

Hey, ghoul friend adorable Valoween Day ghost themed friendship card

Hard as it is to believe that we are almost 1/12^th of the way through 2022, it is even trickier for me to wrap my head around the fact that close to a year has elapsed since I first posted here about Valoween.

If you are not familiar with the concept of Valoween – which is essentially adding a dark/spooky/macabre/Halloween spin to Valentine’s Day – be sure to check out my post Dark and Romantic Valoween Shaker Wand and Card Set for the 411 on this frightfully fun spin on Feb. 14^th.

This year, I am planning on bringing you two Valoween project shares – with this super cute card being the first.

It is, admittedly, on the sweeter side of Valoween (which, I should mention, is sometimes also spelled as Valloween).

I doubt very many people would be frightened by the trio of squeal-worthily precious ghost friends here, nor the red-dominant colour palette.

While red does take center stage, other colours find their way into the fold as well. Grey, black, cream, and pink all play supporting roles.

I love the mix of red and white lettering. The white alphabet stickers are Thickers and made of foam, which gives them this fabulously charming quality that I find works sooo well into the context of nearly any type of ghost or otherwise spooky related project.

Naturally, as a project pertaining to Valentine’s Day, this Valoween greeting includes some hearts. This is not required for any take on Feb. 14th, of course, but the perpetual “lover of love” in me can rarely help including at least a heart or two when crafting for February 14^th.

Two of the central layering pieces are wonky/wavy-edged ovals, which I opted for as I felt they had a certain ghost shape element all their own that fit the theme here to a tee.

My perpetual addiction to metallic cardstock appears here again, as does my endless love for layers and embellishments.

This handmade Valoween card began with a project concept in my mind’s eye (as many do). However, when all was said and done, the end result deviated somewhat from how I had initially pictured it.

I know this is something that many a paper crafter – and creative soul, point-blank – can wholeheartedly relate to!

Happily though, in the end, I was (am) very pleased with the final result and will keep my original concept in mind for a possible future project.

This card design is quite easy to make. There is really nothing tricky to it and the most time-consuming aspect is simply manually die cutting out the various layers and ghost figures.

This is an enjoyable card that works great for Valoween/Valentine’s Day. While at the same time, it could also be used for a wide range of other occasions as well – provided you swapped out or simply ditched the “Happy Valentine’s Day” part of the sentiment.

I can also see this charming ghost themed card fitting the bill for events such as birthdays, Halloween, and Samhain – as well as thinking of you, missing you, congratulations, and just because cards. Assuming, of course, that the recipient is a fan of sweetly spooky creations.

And given the highly spirited (pun intended) October 31st influence at work on this card, it is my latest #MakeHalloween365 project share.

If you would like to make your own adorable Hey, Ghoul Friend Valoween card, read on for a complete list of materials used and detailed step-by-step instructions that will guide you through doing just that.

Products used to make this super cute ghost themed Valoween card

-Black cardstock – Raven Black Cardstock from Bazzill

-Light grey cardstock

-Cream cardstock

-Light red cardstock – Tim Holtz Distress Collection 4.25”x5.5 (mini pad) from Core’dinations

-Matte silver metallic cardstock

-Red metallic cardstock – Scarlet Organza Mirror Cardstock from Tonic Studios

-Pinkish-red metallic cardstock – Opera Red Mirror Cardstock from Tonic Studios

-Pink polka dot and damask-y floral print papers – Je t’Adore 8”x8” Multipack from Making Memories

-Decorative edge oval die

-Wavy/wonky edge nested die set (you can currently score a very similar looking Wavy Nested Frame Set from Whimsy Stamps.)

-“Wave” decorative edge scissors (Mine are unbranded and likely came from a dollar store at some point; you can, at the time of writing, find a similar pair of wavy edge scissors on Amazon.)

-Ghost and spider stamps – Ghosts 4”x6” Clear Stamp Set from Gerda Steiner

-Happy Valentine’s Day sentiment stamp – Perfect Match Stamp Set from Papertrey Ink

-Black ink – Jet Black Archival Ink from Ranger

-Very dark red or burgundy ink – StazOn Claret Solvent Ink from Tsukineko

-White metallic ink marker – White Metallic Marker from Forever in Time

-Small dark red alphabet stickers

-White foam alphabet stickers – Thickers Rockabye Foam Letter Stickers from American Crafts

-Mini stapler and staples – Tiny Attacher and Staples from Tim Holtz Idea-ology

-Cream/flax coloured paper raffia – Earth Tones Paper Craft Ribbon from Craft Medley (dollar store brand)

-White seam binding (or ribbon)

-Pink seam binding (or ribbon)

-Black rhinestone embellishment strips – Black Jewel Stickers from Crafter’s Square (dollar store brand)

-Grey rhinestone heart embellishments – Pyramid Gems Classic Hearts from Forever in Time

-Sparkly creamy-white gem embellishments – Say It In Crystals Pretty Pale from Prima Marketing

-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)

How to Make an Adorable Hey, Ghoul Friend Valoween card

Begin by making a card base from light grey cardstock (you could also use white, cream, medium grey, or black cardstock here instead).

Cut a piece of Making Memories light pink polka dot paper slightly smaller than the card base. Ink all edges with burgundy ink. Adhere to card base.

Cut a piece of Opera Red Tonic Studio Mirror Cardstock slightly smaller than the previous layer. Adhere to the previous layer.

Cut a piece of matte silver metallic cardstock a little smaller than the previous layer. Use the “wave” decorative edge scissors on all four sides.

Using black cardstock, cut two slender pieces about ½ of an inch or so wide and a little less than half the length of the card front long. Cut their outer (left) edge with the wavy decorative edge scissors.

Next, cut a piece of cream cardstock a little smaller than the previous layer. Ink all four edges with burgundy ink.

Tuck one of the black cardstock pieces under the top left-hand side of the cream cardstock. Adhere to underside of cream cardstock. Repeat the same process on the bottom right-hand side of the cream cardstock, then adhere the cream cardstock piece down.

Cut a black rhinestone (gem) adhesive bling strip piece in half and adhere one half to each of the two black (wavy edge) pieces of cardstock from the previous step. Repeat the process, only this time the other half of the rhinestone strip goes horizontally, as shown in the photos.

Cut a piece of elegant damask-y floral paper a touch smaller than the previous layer. Ink all four edges with burgundy ink. Adhere.

Run a piece of pink seam binding (red, white, grey, black, silver, or gold could also be used here instead) across the center of the layers that you’ve composed so far. Adhere in place.

(Note that most of this piece of seam binding will be hidden – you only see a wee glimpse of it on the right-hand side of the center of the card.)

Using the largest-sized die from the wonky/wavey oval die set, die cut one shape out of Scarlet Organza Tonic Studio Mirror Cardstock. Adhere.

Using the second largest wonky/wavey oval die, die cut one shape from light red cardstock. Adhere.

Die cut an oval-shaped piece using black cardstock and a decorative edge oval-shaped die. Adhere to the previous layer.

Use red and white letter stickers to spell out the sentiment “Hey Ghoul Friend” on the black oval layer that you just created.

Take a piece of light grey cardstock (the same cardstock that you used for your card base here) and, in black ink, stamp three ghosts and one adorable little dangling spider from the Gerda Steiner Ghosts Stamp Set. Die cut (or fussy cut) the ghosts out.

Colour the bodies of the ghosts and the whites of the spider’s eyes with the metallic white marker (or paint pen; in lieu of either, you could use anything from a white gel pen to white chalk and a chalk fixative to white Nuvo Drops).

Adhere the ghosts around the wavy/wonky oval layers, as shown. Adhere the dangling spider from the bottom right-hand side of those layers.

Use a stitched (or plain) edge heart die to cut three identical-sized heart shapes from cream, light grey, and black cardstock (one heart per colour). Ink the edges of the light grey heart with burgundy ink and stamp “Happy Valentine’s Day” in the same ink on that heart.

Adhere the three hearts together, offsetting them a bit (as shown) so that each colour is visible.

Punch a hole near the top of the heart stack and string a small piece of cream/natural (or white, black, grey, red, or pink) raffia, paper raffia, or other suitable trim through the hole. Tie the ends of this piece of trim around the pink seam binding layer (or adhere in place instead, if so desired).

Do not adhere the heart stack down to the card layers beneath it. You want the hearts to dangle and be able to move around freely.

Create a multi-loop bow from white (or cream, pink, red, grey, or black) seam binding. Optionally, crinkle the seam binding ahead of time if you are going for the same look as the seam binding bow shown here. Adhere on the left-hand side of the card so that the bow conceals where you tied/adhered the raffia/trim in place.

Adhere one grey rhinestone heart embellishment to the center of the seam binding bow and four others around the card in various spots.

Lastly, adhere a few sparkly creamy-white colour Prima gem embellishments around the card, as shown.

And there you have it. One over-the-moon cute Valoween, Valentine’s Day, or Galantine’s Day card to give to one of your favourite ghoul pals (naturally, you could swap out the word “ghoul” to the less gender-specific “boo” instead, if desired).

There is spooky, and then there is scary

The concept of Valoween as a whole can certainly be spooky, mysterious and/or eerie, but it is unlikely to evoke genuine fear in many people.

As much as I love spooky things – and even some very specific hair-raisingly frightening ones as well – I am rarely looking to be or to feel sincerely scared.

That is one of many responses, however, that most of us feel when somebody we care about falls ill or gets injured. And it is one that countless millions around the globe have contended with since the pandemic took hold.

Though the initial fear I experienced upon learning that my sister had come down with the Coronavirus was powerfully intense, it has subsided somewhat at this point and now sits at a mid-level worry.

I do not see that shifting downwards further very much until we know she is safely out of the woods and doing substantially better again.

Our family has been exceedingly lucky thus far regarding Covid-19 and not a day has gone by since the pandemic began that I haven’t given thanks for that being the case.

I am acutely aware that many others have not been able to say the same thing and that our own luck could vanish in the blink of an eye. As far as medical science knows, save for a tiny subsection of the population who appear to possibly be immune to Covid, this virus can strike any of us at any time.

In the face of the most real of threats and worries, it is perfectly normal (and healthy) for any of us to be scared. Who hasn’t experienced at least a bit of fear since Covid burst onto the scene?

Creating this card helped me to momentary relax and connect with the fun side of spooky for a few hours.

All the while, never losing sight of the ever-greater poignancy that concepts pertaining to death, the afterlife, and spirits have taken on for many of us over the past couple of years.

Know that whether you, your partner, your child, your parent(s), your sibling(s), or anyone else that you care about is ill or has lost their battle with Covid, my thoughts, heart, and perpetual understanding are with you.

And should you ever need someone to talk to on that front, please remember that I am always just an email away.

Here’s hoping that February is a vastly more positive month for all those who need it to be – and that maybe, just maybe, it wouldn’t feel quite as speedy. (#wishfulthinking)

On top of the second Valoween project that I will be sharing, I have some really cool content coming down the pipeline in the next few weeks, including an exciting author interview post with one of today’s most beloved + best selling Pagan authors.

So you will certainly want to keep your dial set to Witchcrafted Life as we embrace Imbolc’s return and do our best to stay safe and well all February long.

Have you and/or anyone close to you contracted Covid-19 so far? Do you enjoy the concept of Valoween or are you more a traditional Valentine’s/Galantine’s Day person?  

PS: On a largely unrelated note, earlier this week my browser crashed moments after I had opened up nearly three weeks of recent blog feeds in my feedreader and somehow that ended up marking them all as read and in turn instantly, irretrievably deleting them from my feed (what? how? why?!!! ).

As a result, if I missed commenting on some of your January blog posts (and I normally visit your site), please know that this is the reason why, my dear friends.

Many sincere apologies about that! It is unusual for my computer to freeze or crash (thankfully), even though it is getting on in years at this point.

When it does crash or freeze though, I find that more often than not, this happens so when I am doing something that I don’t want to risk losing or having to start from scratch with (Murphy’s Law all the way).

Oh well! Not a big deal of course, especially in the grander scheme of things – but I did want to mention it here all the same.

The post Hey, Ghoul Friend Adorable Valoween (Spooky Valentine’s Day) Ghost Themed Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

How are you doing as the 2^nd month of the year gets underway?

Plenty of things have been hopping around this end – starting with the launch of my YouTube channel a few days ago.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everyone who has subscribed, commented and liked my content there already. You guys are seriously the best!

My foray into the world of YouTube content creation isn’t the only new thing happening around these parts at the moment. No siree, Bob!

In this post I’m going to be talking about what Valoween Day is, plus share a darky romantic Valoween card and shaker wand set that I recently made.

First, however, let me share some of what’s been transpring lately on my end.

I’ve got a new photography set up!

As those of you who have been with my blog for any length of time have likely heard me lament, the lighting situation – coupled with using a cell phone to take my photos – at our house is far from ideal. Especially at night, which is when I usually end up photographing my craft projects.

As of late, I’ve been fortunate to be able to obtain some new photography equipment. I now have a Canon Rebel digital camera (it is actually the very same make and model of digital camera that I shot with for a while before the fire, so it’s extra special for me to connect with a familiar friend again), a 50-millimetre Canon lens, a lightbox, and two small desktop style LED lights to use when photographing my projects.

This setup works awesomely for cards, tags and smaller projects. The 50-millimetre lens + lightbox isn’t quite as ideal for layouts and larger projects, but hopefully I can make things work there, too – even if it means shooting my scrapbook pages outside of the lightbox.

So while I’ve got a bit of refamiliarizing myself to do with shooting DSLR, figuring out the best specs for this photography set up and so forth, starting from today’s post onward I plan to take most, if not all, of my craft project photos using my Canon Rebel from here on out.

To say that I am one seriously happy camper would be the understatement of the century!

The project share photos in today’s post are the first I’ve taken with this new setup. What do you think of them?

(I should note, in the right lighting conditions, modern iPhones take incredible photos and am not anti-iPhone photography in the slightest. Goodness, no! I shot a ton of different images all year through with my iPhone and doubt that will change anytime soon.)

A more streamlined approach to my project share posts

Next on the list of things I want to discuss in this post is that, after months of careful deliberation, I’ve decided to streamline my project posts a bit. (Okay, maybe baring this one , as I’m covering multiple topics in it, not merely highlighting a project.)

Much of what I have been sharing with my project posts over the past 13 months – including multiple photos of each project – will remain the same.

However, I want to be able to share as much as possible with all of you, be it here, on Instagram, and now on YouTube.

As such, if I can streamline the process on any of those fronts a bit more and help the whole of my collective productivity online out along the way, I’m all for it.

I hope that you’ll enjoy this approach as well and would love to get your feedback on it in the comments below.

(Note: If you like the paper crafting tips and ideas I’ve included thus far in my project share posts, watch for future ones in blog posts and YouTube videos devoted to roundups/lists focused on such, as well as still sprinkled here and there in some of my project share posts.)

What is Valoween?

Valoween is a fantastic amalgamation of Halloween and Valentine’s Day.

It sees a darker, spookier, gothy-er aesthetic that involves many of Halloween’s most beloved icons, subjects, and colours woven into the classic themes of love, romance, and passion that call February 14^th home.

My research has yet to uncover just who precisely invented Valoween or who, for that matter, named it.

Perhaps it is one of those concepts that came amount rather organically from a slew of different sources all combining to make one marvelous end result.

So while an exact origin story may be shrouded in mystery, Valoween – which is also sometimes also spelled as Valloween – has been discussed online for several years now (one of the earliest mentions of it I’ve found to date is in this 2009 post from the blog Taffy Talk).  

Some people even go so far as to called Valoween a second Halloween.

As someone who is a firm believer in living a #Halloween365 life, I’m all for this concept.

In truth though, Valoween isn’t exactly a second Halloween. I doubt many (if any) folks are trick-or-treating for it, Valoween falls in February not October, and there are plenty of other differences, too.

That said, it wholeheartedly embraces the spirit of Halloween and melds it with Valentine’s Day, a concept that I am behind one million percent.

Valoween is very much in the same vein as darker/spookier/Halloween related takes on other holidays and seasons, such as Springoween, Summerween, and Creepmas.

I plan to make Valoween a regular annual fixture on this blog, as it could not be more up my dark and spooky, Halloween + gothic loving alley.

Here are some fa-boo-lous links to fellow goth and Halloween related blogs that have posted about Valoween (or Valoween appropriate) topics over the years:

–A Bewitching Guide to Halloween

–All Hallows’ Geek

–Halloween Head

–Me and Annabel Lee

–My House is Cuter Than Yours

–Shivers of Delight

–Spooky Little Halloween

–The Dahlia Crypt

–The Spooky Vegan

–The Witch at One and Seventy

Valoween reminds us that there are multiple ways to look at, decorate for, and embrace various holidays.

For those whose hearts reside with Halloween the whole year through, it is a means by which to welcome a hefty dose of our beloved October 31^st into the middle of February.

And, in doing so, Valoween helps to make the wait until fall returns a bit more bearable. Not to mention eerily enjoyable!

Dark and romantic Valoween card and shaker wand set

With the Yule and Christmas decorations now packed away for another year, my mind started to shift to Valentine’s Day.

Or, as I now choose to primarily celebrate it, Valoween Day.

Naturally, paper crafting related thoughts soon followed.

I awoke one morning not too long ago with the idea to base a project (or in this case, two) on the concept of that most classic of marriage vows “To (or ’til) death do us part”.

The wording of which is chocked full of inspiration for Valoween and anytime you wish to take romance in a darker, more macabre, Halloween, or even horror-related direction.

Naturally, this led to thoughts of my all-time favourite fictional couple, Morticia and Gomez Addams.

While Morticia and Gomez didn’t appear directly on either of these creations, the spirit of their eternal love (not to mention their beguiling aesthetic) was a guiding factor in the creation of this darkly charming shaker wand and matching card set.

I began by making the shaker wand. To do so, I backed two layers of glittery red cardstock – which I die cut with a decorative edge nesting circle die set from Spellbinders – together.

This was topped with ruffled black ribbon trim, a layer of grey striped patterned paper, a handmade cupcake rosette made from a Halloween cupcake liner, some wonderful black eyelash trim, a hanging vine covered heart die cut from the same red glitter cardstock, three cute bats die cut from black cardstock, and the eye-catching black coffin shaker element.

To make the coffin, I die cut the shape a few times from thin chipboard (saved from some product packaging) and topped it with the same coffin shape cut from glossy black Tonic Studio cardstock.

I lined the coffin with the same striped grey and black paper, as well as the (skull image) center of the Halloween cupcake liner that I used for the rosette.

Into the shaker, I put a mix of bat-shaped and round sequins, small clear plastic gems, die cut red glitter hearts, and small red pearlized heart embellishments.

For the stick part of my shaker wand, I used a white and black striped paper straw (which can often be found at dollar stores, party stores, home goods stores, eBay, Etsy, AliExpress, and various other online suppliers).

For the finishing touches, I die cut the word love from white cardstock that I topped with pearly white Nuvo Drops, and added some delightful whisps of black eyelash trim, sheer black ribbon, and narrow red ribbon.

And voila, my Valoween shaker wand was complete.

For the card, I used many of the same supplies. In this case, I started with a dusty red cardstock base, utilizing the same grey striped patterned paper, red glitter cardstock, plain black cardstock, glossy black cardstock, black ruffle trim, black eyelash trim, sheer black ribbon, and red heart embellishments, as well as the coffin die.

The latter was used to cut out two coffins (one from glossy black cardstock, the other from plain black cardstock), which I topped with a black and creamy-white coloured skull and cross bones cameo flatback cabochon.

As well, I included some grey and white heart print paper, Graphic 45 paper, a set of heart border dies (from Alina Crafts on AliExpress), an elegant journaling card from Creative Imaginations, vintage style white trim, and a classic black-on-clear sentiment stickers (brand unknown).

I love how the sentiment – complete with an infinity symbol – on this card taps directly into my jumping off theme of ‘til death do us part.

I’m a huge fan of shaker wands and love to create them. This is the first one I’ve made and shared here on my blog. I highly doubt it will be the last!

These items are both going off to the same friend. She is a die-hard year-round Halloween lover like myself, so I hope that she’ll enjoy this gothy Valoween duet.

And if you’d like to get a more interactive view of this Valoween set, I’ve created a YouTube project share video of it.

Products used to make this handmade Valoween card and shaker wand set

-Black cardstock

-White cardstock

-Red glitter cardstock – Darice

-Dusty red coloured cardstock – Craft Smith

-Glossy black cardstock – Glossy Black Mirror Cardstock from Tonic Studios

-Thin chipboard

-Black and white heart print paper – Maggie Holmes Carousel Carried Away paper from Crate Paper

-Valentine’s Day text strip paper – Mon Amour Collection One and Only paper from Graphic 45

-Two-toned grey striped paper

-Clear acetate or other thin translucent plastic to use for the shaker window element of the wand

-Scalloped edge nesting die set – Nestabilities Picot Edge Circles from Spellbinders

-Nested heart boarder die set – Alina Crafts on AliExpress

-Bat dies

-Foliage heart die

-Coffin die

-Love (word) die or individual letter dies that can spell the world love

-Elegant cream and black journaling piece – Narratives by Karen Russel Journaling Frames from Creative Imaginations

-Black text on clear background sentiment sticker (you could also use a rub-on, stamp an image on velum, emboss a stamped image, or handwrite a sentiment of your choice for the card)

-Halloween skull and spider print paper baking cup (cupcake liner) – Dollarama

-Sequins, including bat shaped sequins (picked up 2 – 3 years ago on AliExpress)

-Tiny red pearl style flat back embellishments

-Black and white/cream plastic skull and cross bones cameo flatback cabochon

-Tiny clear plastic gems (used in shaker mix)

-White enamel drops – Ivory Seashell Crystal Drops from Nuvo

-Sheer black ribbon

-Black eyelash (tinsel) trim

-Skinny red ribbon

-Black and white striped paper straw

-Glue gun and glue sticks

-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)

Whether you celebrate Valoween, Valentine’s Day, both, neither, or something else entirely…

This February, I hope that you both feel loved and have many things and/or people in your life to love dearly.

The state of global affairs is anything but perfect these days. Life is harder than forged steel for many of us still and there is no shortage of things to get us down.

Holidays and special occasions – even if they differ from how we may have traditionally observed them – are, to my mind, more important than ever.

They are powerful reminders of happier times, of the importance of traditions, and of how we humans have the ability to select certain dates from the calendar and make them into events that are not just special, but often greater than the sum of their parts.

We need holidays and special occasions. And however we opt to celebrate them, the concepts behind such times are familiar threads that link us both to generations past and to our present-day fellow human beings the world over.

I’ve got a very cool witchery related post planned for Valentine’s Day this year, so be sure to stay tuned for that a bit later in the month.

Thank you all for joining me in my joy about the new starts and positives that are transpiring in my life right now. I truly hope that others will continue to follow as 2021 unfolds, both for myself and for each of you as well.

Much always!

The post Dark and Romantic Valoween Shaker Wand and Card Set (Plus a New Photo Setup at Long Last!) appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.