You left me boundaries of pain
Capacious as the sea,
Between eternity and time,
Your consciousness and me.

There are words you think you will never hear and others you believe shall never dare grace your lips or fingertips.

For me, this month has been filled with a cavalcade of both.

On the afternoon of July 4, 2022, seemingly out of the blue, my husband (Tony) left me and ended our marriage.

In a matter of a few sentences, he said that he no longer feels romantic love for me, wants a swift divorce, and that our shared home is to be sold ASAP.

Had a meteorite plummeted from the heavens and fallen on my head, I would have been less surprised.

That at least could have been explained by science.

This… this makes zero sense.

Up until the moment that those life-shattering sentences were uttered, I would have told you with the utmost conviction that our love was deeper and our relationship stronger than ever before.

I have never been unfaithful, and I genuinely believe that Tony has not either.

Like most couples, we have had our ups and downs, disagreements and tiffs over the years, but they were usually few and far between (and were normally quickly resolved or simply moved beyond when they did occur).

As far as I know, (up until now) neither of us wanted to radically overhaul or change our lives, move to a different part of the country/world, switch career paths, or anything substantial like that.

There has never been any abuse whatsoever of any kind perpetrated by either party.

Likewise, neither of us has (or has ever had) a substance abuse, drinking, or gambling problem (or any other serious vice or addiction).

Looking in from an outsider’s perspective, I understand that this situation, therefore, makes little to no sense.

Believe me, as the person on the receiving end of the lightning-fast death blow of my marriage, no one gets that better than I do.

I have only vagaries to go on at present and so am just about as in the dark as everyone else right now.

I loved – and continue to love – Tony with every ounce of my being. We have been together since 2004, marrying a mere seven months after we met in October of that same year (a beautiful love story that I detailed here).

Through countless trials and tribulations, times tougher than a kodiak bear, and moments when the only thing that made our happiness greater was magnifying it off of the other person, we stuck together, always growing closer and stronger as a cohesive unit.

I do not know what exactly changed in Tony and I will not theorize as to such publicly.

No matter what he may do or how profoundly he has altered both of our lives, I hold him dearer to me than words could ever fully convay.

Naturally, I have offered to do just about anything to try and fix us.

Considering that I did not know we were in trouble – let alone broken – I cannot overstate how much I would go to the ends of the earth to make us whole again. To try couples counselling, to attempt a trial separation period, to move homes, anything I can possibly think of, but these are not paths Tony is currently open to venturing down together.

At present, the door to my heart remains wide open to the possibility – however slim – of us reuniting. That said, while I keep that door open, please know that I understand and accept that more likely than not, he may never cross its threshold again.

As you might imagine, my life has been completely turned on its head. On top of the mental and physical agony that I am in at the moment, I have been thrust out into the world on my own for the first time in eighteen years.

In the process working at breakneck speed to handle the legal and myriad pragmatic sides of being jarringly separated from the man I believed I would forever call my husband.

Flipflopping between the worst emotional pain of my life and the continued shock that still teeters on numbness at times, I have been navigating the waters of getting my legal affairs in order, searching for housing that I can somehow afford for myself and our dog (who will be living with me) in Canada’s third most expensive housing market, packing up our current home, and getting ready to list our house for sale this coming week.

Gone in the blink of an eye is living in the home we created together following the arson house fire that we experienced in October 2016. A cozy roof and four walls that held not only our day-to-day existence, but innumerable memories of times past paired with scores of hopes and dreams for the future.

A shared vision for our tomorrow that up until twenty days ago, I believed we would long continue to write together on the pages of history. Our hands holding the metaphorical pen in unison that would do so.

But sometimes the inkwell inexplicably gets tipped over or runs dry and the life you envisioned is now one you must mourn so as to somehow – some unfathomable how – find the ability to carry on when every breath, every heartbeat, every waking second hurts like death itself.

For the end of any serious relationship – be it a marriage or otherwise – is unquestionably a form of death.

Sometimes the end is a long time coming.

In others, such as this, it proves to be the most shocking and unforeseen event that may ever happen to a person.

For me, it is the latter (and I am very much factoring the arson fire into that statement).

Tony wasn’t just my husband, he was my very best friend. My greatest source of comfort and support, my rock, my calm in the perpetual storm that is life, my biggest cheerleader, my reason to smile no matter what life threw our way, my soulmate… my everything.

Just as I am certain in my heart of hearts that I was for him as well. If not for the whole, then for very nearly the entire eighteen magical years we experienced together.

I don’t know where we went wrong, because I truly did not believe anything was seriously amiss – let alone (again) to such a profound degree. Perhaps I will never know – the onus of answers lies squarely on my beloved’s shoulders.

Like many of us, I have weathered my fair share of serious challenges and losses over the years. From becoming a multi-chronic illness fighter in my teens to the aforementioned fire and many others, life has thrown so many curveballs at me that I could probably play in the Major Leagues at this point.

This, however, is the swiftest, hardest, and most difficult thus far in my 38 years on earth.

That said, no matter how much the mere act of existing hurts at a cellular level right now, I believe I will find a way to keep going. To start over once again.

Doing so without a penny or an asset to my name, and – due to the severity of my chronic health problems – with, at best, sporadic self-employment. (Note, as per our separation agreement, I will be receiving monthly alimony payments for a number of years provided Tony remains employed, but will still be doing everything in my power to generate additional income so as to meet my most important basic daily living and medical expenses.)

My marriage is over, and I am in the throes of grief unlike any I have ever known. Yet dawn follows even the darkest eve and surely, somehow, I will get through this living nightmare and the indescribable heartache that accompanies it.

Due to the massive number of serious challenges I am facing and tackling at present, it is impossible for me to keep publishing fresh content here right now.

As such, from today onward, I am putting this blog (Witchcrafted Life) on what I hope beyond hope will be a temporary – not permanent – hiatus as I deal with everything that the abrupt and wholly unforeseen end of a marriage entails.

Whether to return (be it at my usual posting pace or a more reduced one) or to simply provide you with an update on how things are going in my life, I will do my best to post here at some point in the coming fall months (potentially October or November).

Much as I will not be creating new blog content (or craft projects for that matter), I cannot realistically see staying abreast of + commenting on other peoples’ sites in the near future. My heartfelt apologies about that to those whose blogs I regularly visit.

As I have told Tony in the wake of this devastating situation, over the course of the past eighteen years we were blessed to share together, all I have ever wanted – and still want – is for him to be happy, healthy, content/fulfilled, and loved.  

Until July 4^th of this year, I believed those things would continue to happen in no small part through our life together.

If Tony thinks he is able to do so to a greater degree in a new life that he creates for himself, then with genuine love in my heart – no matter how much it pains me to say goodbye – I hope that he experiences each of those things all the more and is able to find whatever it is he felt/feels our marriage was no longer providing him with at this point in time.

For every tear that has fallen from my exhausted eyes over the past three weeks (they feel as though they must number in the millions by now), I will forever have the gift of an infinitely larger number of cherished, happy, soulful memories from the course our marriage to look back on with the deepest of gratitude and affection.

There is nothing in existence that I would trade for the years we shared, the unforgettable times we experienced, and those very memories that were forged in the fires of our love.

Thank you, sweet friends, for allowing me to share a few humble paragraphs about this situation with each of you.

Until we connect again, please know that you will be fiercely missed, always appreciated, and wished a joyful summer-into-fall (or winter-into-spring if you are south of the equator).

Abundant love,

Autumn

The post My Marriage Abruptly Ended – Putting Witchcrafted Life on Hiatus appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Daily (often multiple times) for weeks now, I have been checking to see if Bloglovin’ was back up again this month. As of the time of writing, it still is not.

Prior to adopting Bloglovin, which is a free service with no cap (that I am aware) on the number of sites users can follow, I used Google’s feed reader.

This was a terrific feed reader and I would still likely be utilizing it were it not for the fact that Google shut it down ages ago now (despite impassioned pleas from users for them to keep it alive).

There are certainly other feed readers beyond Bloglovin’ out there. However, the majority of them only allow you to have a relatively small number of blogs that you can follow for free with their service (25 – 100 tends to be the norm across freemium feed reader providers).

Beyond that cap, they want to charge you to upgrade in order for you to be able to follow a greater number of sites. Such costs are typically applied monthly, quarterly, or annually.

Ideally, I would prefer not to have to pay for a feed reader. That said, if Bloglovin’ continues to be down for long periods (or never returns altogether), I will have to come up with some sort of alternate solution here – be it free or paid.

As will, no doubt, many others who have stuck with the Bloglovin’ platform over the years – even after its mid to early 2010s heyday.

To add insult to injury, not only is the feed element of Bloglovin’ down, but the very same error message (in the screenshot above) appears when I click over to the page that normally shows me the extensive list of blogs that I follow.

Nooooooo!!!

Therefore, if I cannot gain access to that list (which I do not have recorded anywhere else), I will need to refollow those of you who comment here through whatever alternative to Bloglovin’ that I end up going with.

I am hoping that things don’t come to me having to abandon Bloglovin’, but by the same token, missing out on commenting on many of your sites in recent weeks is not something I want to continue experiencing all summer (or longer!) by any means.

If I am a regular or even semi-regular commenter on your blog, could you please leave me a comment below with your site’s URL so that I can start composing a new list of my regular blog reads to use if/when I do have to switch to a different feedreader? (Thank you very much in advance!)

And by the same token, I know that a fair number of you follow this site via Bloglovin’. So that we don’t risk losing touch, please feel free to sign up for my newsletter (located on the upper right-hand sidebar of this site).

At present, this simply emails each new post I publish on Witchcrafted Life to your inbox, so you won’t be inundated with actual newsletters (though, one day, I may start sending the occasional one out) and will still be able to follow along here if you are not planning to decamp to a different feedreader yourself.

As well, if you happen to use or know of any reliable, enjoyable feedreaders that are either free or very well-priced, likewise please share it/them in the comments below.

(I will be investing a number of Bloglovin’ alternatives featured in this post on the subject, but would love to hear more about your faves and recommendations, too!)

And, as you likely deduced after reading the above paragraphs, this is the sole reason why I have not been leaving blog comments on many of your sites over the past 3 – 4 weeks. I am very sorry about that, everyone, and really hope to get this issue sorted out ASAP!

Now, on with our latest edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me.

In Leo Tolstoy’s renowned classic, Anna Karenina, he penned the line, “spring is the time of plans and projects.”

This is a sentiment that I very much agree with. However, I do feel that it usually rings even truer for me during the fall.

After all, they don’t call Samhain / Halloween the Witch’s New Year for nothing! And what new year would be complete without a few new hopes and ambitions?

As winter waned and the first telltale signs of spring returned – despite the ever-worsening state of my physical health (I do not have any positive updates to report there, unfortunately, and so will say no more on the topic for the time being) – I was suddenly struck with one of the biggest waves of creativity that I have ever experienced.

It struck me like a bolt of lightning sent down by my muse and, I am very happy to say, is still going strong.

I have been floating on a crafty cloud nine all spring long and have jotted down literally hundreds of possible project ideas over the past few weeks.

This has been a joyous state to experience and one that is doing wonders in the process for my mental health, which is a terrific added bonus.

Periods don’t like this don’t come along every day for a lot of us and I am trying to soak up and be grateful for every second of amped-up creativity.

Weather wise, despite the fact that snow stopped falling in our neighbourhood a touch earlier than most years (late March vs the usual some point in April), we had next to no proper spring this time around.

Cool weather tinted in shades of worn pavement and faded blue flannel filled the bulk of our days. Enough rain to have one wondering if Amazon sells ark kits torpedoed itself at the ground for days – sometimes even weeks – very nearly on end.

Now, to be fair, I rather adore cool, grey weather and share Wednesday Addams’ sentiment that it is, “so nice and gloomy”.

Yes, I am one of those souls who tends to find damp weather, mild temps, and the need for multiple layers well into June to be an enjoyable experience.

That said, I am not averse to sunshine and can scarcely wrap my head around the fact that with the Summer Solstice/Litha having come and gone for another year, the days will now grow shorter until winter’s rebirth at Yule.

I don’t know if I would personally go so far as to say that I feel seasonally shortchanged, but I am definitely looking at my receipt very closely as I exit the weather store.

To my mind, the best positive to experiencing a far damper and cooler spring than usual is that it has done wonders to keep the annual horrific wildfire season that consumes (quite literally) much of BC in its fiery bite each spring/summer/early fall largely at bay.

So long as I live, I doubt I will ever forget the incredibly vivid red and orange coloured skies of last year’s forest fire season, as we spent days on end hosing down our house and yard to try and keep any live embers in the air from igniting our property.

(See this post of mine for unedited photos of exactly what I am talking about.)

All the while, sitting for about a month on evacuation alert, our most important documents, electronic devices, and a few treasured items neatly piled near the front door to grab at a moment’s notice had an evacuation come in.

Mercifully, that did not happen. Nor was our home or yard damaged by the huge blazes that roared loudly mere kilometres away.

However, the record-shattering heatwaves last year did do damage to some of the lofty evergreens in our backyard, with a decent smattering of their branches still bleached a distinctly rusty brown hue.

This spring was unquestionably a nippier than usual one, but that does not necessarily guarantee that we will be in for a gentle next three months.

Few things can turn more quickly on a dime than Mother Nature’s mood and it is anyone’s guess as to where the temps, total hours of sunshine, and wildfire levels will each land when all is said and done for another summer.

In the introduction to the Winter 2022 Edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me, I made the war in Ukraine the focus of those initial paragraphs.

Though I was hoping beyond measure that come the next edition of MCM&M, his horrific conflict would be over, the realist in me knew that such was, objectively, quite unlikely.

And as we surely all know, this devastating sham (on Russia’s part) of a war still rages on fiercely. Its end even less certain than the outcome of a whole season’s weather report.

Though media coverage (as it is apt to do) has let up a bit regarding this bloody conflict, I continue to follow credible news sources very closely regarding the war in Ukraine and have every intention of doing so for as long as the fighting continues.

Far closer to home, this spring has not been without its fair share of serious happenings as well.

As some of you may recall for the spring edition of this series, my sister came down with Covid in the winter. Thankfully, she did not require hospitalization and was gradually able to recover. However, no sooner had she started to feel a bit more like her usual self again than she contracted this terrible illness for a second time.

Very luckily, it was milder for her than the first experience and she is once again on the road to recovery.

Still, it is almost unbelievable that she fell ill with Covid twice in such a short time frame. Though no doubt her immune system was weakened by the first bout (as surely just about anyone’s would be) and that made her more susceptible to contracting this virus a second time.

Again, while my sister is doing fairly well at this point all things considered, sadly, I cannot say the same for my paternal grandfather.

Earlier this month, completely out of the blue, he suffered two very serious strokes in rapid succession. Tests quickly revealed a blood clot in his brain which is too large to safely be operated on and so will need to be managed through medication.

Right now, his medical team is optimistically saying that in time, with PT, meds, and so forth, he may be able to regain about 70 – 80% of his pre-stroke abilities and motor skills.

Naturally, everyone in our circle is hoping and praying for that to ultimately prove to be the case, but it is far too early on at this stage to know for sure.

He and my grandma are both in their early eighties and have been married since the 1950s. They have weathered their fair share of serious health issues over the decades, but this is definitely the very worst medical situation to strike either of them so far.

I worry not only for my grandpa himself but also for my grandma and know this will, understandably, take a very serious toll on her.

Everyone who can is rallying around them and trying to help in any way possible.

Given that once a person has one stroke (let alone two), your odds of experiencing another one are quite decent, I don’t think any of us will ever feel like my grandpa will be safely out of the proverbial woods on this front.

Hopefully, though, he will be able to make a sizable recovery and continue to be active and enjoy life (including gardening, which is one of his biggest passions) for a long time still to come.

There is scarcely any good way to segue out of such a heavy topic, so instead of switching subjects again in this intro section, let us proceed with the Spring 2022 Edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me.

Which, for those of you who are joining this series for the first time, is a link love post featuring online content that caught my eye during the past three months, coupled with a peek into what has been transpiring lately in my own life.

Magick, Witchcraft, Paganism, and Spirituality

–How to Make Your Own Scrying Mirror: Scrying is one of my favourite forms of divination and ways to enter into a meditative state of mind alike.

Should you wish to try your hand at scrying or are already a fan who is looking to add a new scrying mirror to your spiritual toolbox, this lovely, easy-to-follow DIY scrying mirror tutorial from Moody Moons has you covered.

–How to Write Powerful Poetry Spells: Long one of my very favourite ways to utilize the written word in my spellwork, magickal poetry is a powerful, expressive, and deeply personal approach to creating spells that anyone – whether they consider themselves a poet already or not – can engage in freely.

This eloquent and insightful look at the subject is bound to have you reaching for the nearest quill and paper.

–Signs a Deity is Calling You: Not all witches/Wiccans/Pagans believe in and/or work with deities, but a decent percentage currently do or would like to integrate this element into their practice.

If you have ever wondered about how to know if/when a goddess (though the general premises laid out in this post apply to the gods as well) may be reaching out to you, this wonderfully in-depth look at the topic has got your back!

–Ten Reasons Tarot Is Super Effective and How To Make It Work For You: Over the past decade or so, I have enjoyed witnessing tarot (and oracle) cards skyrocket all the more in popularity. While, perhaps not surprising then, at the same time the general public is gradually becoming more aware of what tarot actually is (a powerful tool for insight, growth, guidance, and divination) and what it isn’t (a magical fairy tale type of way to instantly know the future).

In this post on the official Llewellyn website, author Sasha Graham guides tarot newbies through some of the wonderful perks of working with this much-beloved tool. And, by extension, reminds seasoned card slingers of some of the reasons why we are such devoted fans of this awesome item.  

–Threshold Magick for Troubled Times: A supportive and thoroughly apropos – given all the immense problems that are rife in the world these days – look at a great form of magick that can easily be utilized by just about anyone who has access to a (safe) threshold.

–The Secret Names of Magical Herbs and Plants: This enjoyable piece delves into the subject of why, historically, certain plants + herbs were known by alternative folk/magical names and how both those who may still need to conceal their practice today (as well as others who are out of the broom closet) can utilize these old school monikers for some of the world’s most magical green offerings.

–Witchy Apps to Keep on Your Phone: Truth be told, outside of a select few, I have never been the biggest of app users (or, for that matter, cell phone users, point-blank). However, there are a handful of apps that I adore and I am always open to adding more entries to that list.

Penned last October, this handy post from the blog #Lazy is a terrific roundup of some of the best and most relevant phone apps for those who veer in a witchy/Pagan/contemporary spirituality direct.

To no one’s surprise, I’m sure, given that I am a Cancer, the Moon app in particular nabbed my eye. Which one leaps out at you the most?

Cardmaking, Scrapbooking, Paper Crafting, and Other Crafts

–Altered Vintage Bottle Tutorial: As of late, I have felt a strong pull towards making altered items. While not new to the act, I haven’t created too many of them in recent years and (much as with pocket letters) have been missing doing so.

Having recently read Anna-Karin’s tutorial post for how to make a vintage-inspired altered bottle, I am chomping at the bit all the more to hopefully make some “off the page” papercrafting/mixed media project this year.

If you are as well, swing on by her post and lap up the creative gorgeousness at work there.

–DIY Farmhouse Candle Holders: It is safe to say that contemporary farmhouse décor had taken off like wildfire in recent years and that it is a trend which is fast becoming all the more of a classic in its own right.

Though my personal décor tastes don’t veer too much in that direction, I admire the style and find that smaller farmhouse-y pieces can often be a cinch to weave into a wide array of home decorating styles.

The selection that Andrea rounded up in this post is inspiring – especially since there is no stopping one from following the general premise but putting their own creative décor spin on these great DIY candleholders.

–Easy Repurposed Antique Chair Spindle Wind Chimes: Like many a crafty/artistic soul, I tend to be drawn towards finding ways to reuse, repurpose, or otherwise find uses for items of all sorts that still have life left in them.

By far one of the most ingenious projects of this nature that I have hit upon in recent months is this super creative approach to turning old chair legs into beautiful wind chimes. B-R-I-L-L-I-A-N-T!!!

–How to Make Beautiful Tissue Paper Pompoms: Beautiful is an understatement! These generously sized DIY tissue paper pompoms are flat-out gorgeous – while also being relatively easy to make.

You could whip up a few for year-round décor, create sets to cycle throughout each holiday season, use them for parties and weddings, or gift a bouquet’s worth of tissue paper pompoms to someone special in your life.

(On the same blog, Crissy’s beginner’s tutorial on How to Make Fabric Covered Flowerpots also leapt out at me.)

–How to Make Affordable Scrapbook Paper Wall Art: Though this post is currently eleven years old, the idea – turning beautiful pieces of scrapbooking paper into wall art – is no less at home in today’s DIY décor arena than it was in the 2010s.

–How to Make Paper Bead Jewelry: Much as with dried pasta, in our childhoods a fair number of us whipped up creative jewelry that involved making paper beads.

This resourceful type of DIY bead tends to cycle in and out of vogue a bit but has remained popular amongst plenty of crafters and jewelry wearers alike – especially when you end result is as lovely as the examples Amy shares in this great tutorial post.

–101 (free) Fall Sewing Tutorials: Much like the staff at many magazines, crafters often work on projects months in advance of a particular season.

With that thought in mind – and being a lover of all things autumn related – given that fall’s return is a mere three months away, I wanted to share this wonderful roundup post which features 101 different free autumn sewing tutorials for the sewers amongst my readers.

What’s Shaking in My Life and On My Radar

Having covered some of the heavier things that occurred in our lives this spring in the opening portion of this post, I will switch to more upbeat fare instead.

As mentioned above, my creativity has been going a mile a minute lately! And while my health does not allow me to keep pace with all of my crafty ideas, I have still managed to get in some paper crafting this season with (very realistic) plans for more as summer unfolds.

In addition, I have deep-dived again into another craft that I have adored and participated in since I was about 5 or 6 years old: cross stitching.

I love, love, love cross-stitching!!!

For me, it is relaxing, super enjoyable, and conveys a sense of the time-honoured tradition of needlework that has been an important part of countless peoples’ lives over the centuries.

Much as with the rest of my craft supplies and finished projects, the arson fire that we experienced in October 2016 annihilated my cross stitch stash and what was, up until that point, very nearly a lifetime’s worth of work. Dozens of projects spanning my childhood to my early 30s were gone in the blink of an eye.

And, though in hindsight I have no clue why I didn’t do so (perhaps because I started stitching many years before digital cameras hit the mainstream market? ), I had never taken photographs of them. Therefore, the only place they live on now is in my memories.

Life might knock me down, but I always spring back again and that sentiment applies to the majority of my long-standing passion as well.

Though I have done a small bit of cross stitching in the ensuing post-fire years, the bulk of my crafting attention has, objectively, been devoted to paper crafting. Rest assured that I do not see that changing anytime soon.

However, it can be a lot of fun to alternate between two or more different craft pursuits (which in this case, can sometimes even overlap – such with handmade cards that feature small cross stitch designs on them or stamp sets that mimic the classic Xs we all associate with cross stitchery) and I love that this recent surge of creativity has led me to connect with cross stitching again all the more.

Now, as a crafty witch operating on a very tight budget, I have been happily trawling the web for free and low-cost patterns that align with my current tastes in cross stitch designs.

Having hit upon a number of great sources (which I am thinking would make for a fun post here unto itself) and with some aida cloth and embroidery floss that I picked up a few years back, I now have a couple of fun new WIPs (works in progress) on the go.

I have also been binge-watching the cross stitchery side of YouTube as of late, where many who post about this passion tag their videos with the charming word “Flosstube”.

Doing so allows others with an interest in the subject to search for this term and be greeted with more video choices than there are colours in DMC’s current colour palette.

In time, as I have hopefully completed more projects, I plan to share some of them here with you – especially since I know that there are plenty of fellow cross stitchers amongst this blog’s readership.

In other news, this Friday was my little brother’s birthday (though as he is currently living outside of the country, it is not possible to celebrate it in person with him). A mere sixteen days from now, my own (GF) cake day will return.

Yep, we are both Cancers. Though being fairly close to on the cusp, I feel that he actually embodies a lot of Gemini characteristics.

Then, twenty-six days beyond that point, my sweet hubby will get to blow out his own set of candles.

The three of us are pretty much the only summer birthdays in our immediate family, which is a lovely point to share in common.

Fun, related fact: Hand on my heart, I was conceived on Halloween 1983.

Really, is it any wonder then that I would grow up to live a life where I #MakeHalloween365 and celebrate my most beloved (and spiritually significant) point on the calendar the whole year through?

And speaking of All Hallows’ Eve, from the day after my birthday onward, I gear up for spooky season all the more. Pretty much viewing July 11^th to October 30^th as one long, fabulously exciting countdown to the BIG DAY!

Which reminds me, with everything that has been going on in our lives and in the world at large so far in 2022, I have scarcely had a moment to sit down and ponder my Halloween costume for this year. Will I bust out a past fave again or opt for something new?

That is a question that I will hit upon an answer for in the next few months, as I prefer to have my Halloween ensemble planned out well in advance.

If you dress up for October 31^st, how early in the year do you tend to start thinking about your costume choice?

Alrighty, as few things in the universe make me as happy as Halloween season, this seems like a good place to wrap up discussing some of what’s been going down in my/our life lately.

Now, let’s hop with both feet forward into a fun mixed bag of various online stories that caught my eye, inspired me, or otherwise stood out over the past few months.

–Embroidery Artist “Paints” Lush Landscapes Using Only a Needle and Thread: Prepare to pick your jaw up off the ground when you gaze upon these stunning works of embroidery art created by the immensely talented Jade Deanna.

–Five Organization Tricks for Highly Sensitive People: Being an HSP myself, posts that relate to this topic are ones I tend to lap up with gusto. As well as often nodding along in agreement as my eyes scan from one paragraph to the next.

That was certainly the case for me when I read this Apartment Therapy piece absolute some great ways HSPs can successfully organize their homes.

–How Stanley Tucci’s Big Night Helped Kick off an American Dining Revolution: No doubt like many other people, I can clearly remember a lot of the more “grown-up” movies that my parents allowed us to watch when I was little.

For me, at the age of 12 – 13, one of those was The Big Night.

Though life (aka, my health) took my future in a different direction, growing up I was deadest on becoming a professional chef with their own restaurant(s).

As such, the plot of this now-classic film from 1996 imprinted itself in my memory all the more and The Big Night still remains one of my favourite movies twenty-six years after it was released.

This look at how The Big Night impacted something far broader – the modern food revolution – is an engaging piece that has a lot of merit to the premise it puts forth and which is apt to resonate with foodies, chefs, and fans of both contemporary dining and modern cookery TV shows alike.

–19 Ways to Get a Little Self-Care Outside: This post is a wonderful look at a plethora of different ways many of us can experience/engage in realistic self-care in the great outdoors. In addition, it is a lovely reminder to all of us that few places are more peaceful, soothing, or enjoyable than when we are in the arms of Mother Nature.

–Six Different Types of Stones Used for Graves: This one is for all my fellow taphophiles, history lovers, and family genealogists out there – as well as anyone else who may be keen to learn more about a handful of materials that were used to construct headstones throughout the centuries.

–10 Famous Authors and Their Favourite Libations: This charming post takes a gander at the favourite tipples of ten world-famous authors (from Maya Angelou to Oscar Wild) and may very well have you reaching for your own personal fave by the time you’ve finished reading it.

–13 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying Anything For Your Wardrobe: Living in a small house with laughably little in the way of closet space, I try to be very mindful of what I buy as I know wardrobe real esteem is at a premium.

Though I do not follow the “one item in, one item out” approach religiously, it does come into play sometimes – as do a number of the points in this handy post that is a must-read, IMO, for fashion fans with closets of all sizes.

The Promise of Brighter Days Ahead

It has long been said that hope springs eternal. One need only look at the course of human history to see the truth in that statement.

Many of us have an ingrained sense of hope that runs so deep it might as well be part of our DNA.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that we are pie-in-sky optimists, wildly pollyannaish, or naïve. Rather, that we hold tight to the possibility that the majority of difficult/stressful/even seemingly dire circumstances we encounter will prove to be ones that can ultimately be overcome or able to be well managed.

Hope has long made me think of sunrises. Just as our good friend Sol comes barrelling back into our lives each morning, so too does hope have an incredible ability to reappear time and time again.

It is a form of comfort, resilience, and self-preservation. We need hope and, in order to exist, hope itself in turn needs us.

Hope has been out in full force all the more across many of our lives in recent years. Between the pandemic, numerous serious global conflicts, the soaring cost of living (which inflation has failed – in much of the world at least – to keep pace with for decades now), a wide array of natural disasters, and plenty more, if hope was a tradeable commodity, it would be the hottest stock on the market.

I love hope. It has genuinely saved my life on more than one occasion and is something I steadfastly hold tight to in the face of just about any situation. Worst case, it doesn’t help. Best case it does and in the process, hope makes getting through dark, difficult times a little less challenging.

Spring and summer are seasons that lend themselves all the more to hope and the ability to look at the glass (of lemonade) as being half full.

In the sun-bathed months, it is sometimes a touch easier to deal with our worries and troubles, anxieties and stresses. Now always, and not for everyone, of course. But for some of us, that is the case and no doubt plays into why we are particularly fond of the balmy side of the calendar.

I adore each season and lean into the perks of all four. While at the same time, continually growing and learning as a person thanks to the challenges inherent to every one of them as well.

Summer’s return unto itself is rarely enough to set every wrong right. Thankfully though, it can help to lift our spirits and provide us with wonderful new memories, languid days of relaxation, and, I find at least, scads of nostalgia.

Both literally and figuratively, summer comes with the promise of brighter days ahead.

Rare is the summer my mood is not lifted at least part of the time and even the most difficult summers of my life have been peppered with fantastic experiences that I look back on with great fondness.

It is anyone’s guess as to what the state of the world or of their own lives will look like when, in roughly three months’ time, the summer edition of this post will appear here.

Hope tells me that at least a few things may be better. Or baring that, not considerably worse off than they presently are.

And in the process, it enthusiastically reminds me that we are a mere three months away from the return of pumpkin season!

No matter what the coming sizzling hot weeks may throw at us, that fact alone is darn near enough to keep a perpetual jack-o-lantern-worthy smile on my face all summer long.

At the same time though, I will try to savour the present season and appreciate the blessings and challenges alike that it holds in store for us.

From the bottom of my heart, sweet friends, I wish each of you a tremendously safe, happy, wellness-filled summer that is illuminated as much by hope as it is by sunshine.

Which of the links above caught your eye the most? What are some elements of summer (or winter in the Southern Hemisphere) that you are most looking forward to experiencing?

The post Spring 2022 Edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me (Also, is Bloglovin’ Dead? – Please Read!) appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

He knows not his own strength who hath not met adversity. – William Samuel Johnson

Since launching this quarterly blog post series in 2020, I have often begun my “Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me” entries with a quote pertaining to the forthcoming season.

There is no shortage of excellent quotes to be had about this revitalizing time of the year. However, while we are technically two short days away from the start of springtime, a different season, so to speak, has fallen upon the earth once again: that of profoundly devastating war.

I know and am the first to acknowledge that, heartbreakingly, there have been wars in one part of the world or another pretty much continually since time immemorial. The preceding (and present) years of the 21^st century fully included.

No serious conflict is without suffering, loss, injustice, hardship, sacrifice, and long-lasting devastation. Yet few wars since the final days of WW2 have, mercifully, brought with them the imminent possibility of another large-scale global war.

That is until the world’s biggest country (geographically speaking) decided to wage battle against a peaceful neighbouring nation for absolutely no good – or moreover, even remotely justifiable – reason.

Generally speaking, I go out of my way to avoid the news (especially as an HSP and an empath), knowing that if something is big or important enough, I will surely find out about it one way or another.

However, like a great deal of us, I have been glued to news reports regarding the horrific conflict in Ukraine.

Tears fall from my eyes like shrapnel of the soul. They are shed in unison with the millions that tumble from the exhausted, frightened, and utterly perplexed eyes of countless Ukrainians. To say nothing of the rest of the world, too.

As with most tragedies, there is a powerful sense of the surreal to what is happening in Eastern Europe right now.

Surely, we will all wake up tomorrow or the next day or the day after that and realize that the past three (going on four) weeks have been a hellacious nightmare.

Yet, as is so often the case, the very worst nightmares stem not from our sleeping minds, but from the atrocities that are carried out by certain individuals, groups, or nations when we are acutely awake.

I need only climb a few short branches back in time on my family tree to quickly come face-to-face with ancestors who hailed both from Russia and what is present-day Ukraine + Moldova. Some of whom immigrated to Canada as recently as the 1930s.

I knew and loved a few of these people firsthand before their respective passings during the early years of my childhood.

They were not far-off relations from centuries-long past. They were amongst my grandparents, great-grandparents, and great aunts + uncles. They embraced their new homeland with gusto but never lost sight of the culture, traditions, and memories they had grown up experiencing on the other side of the world.

As is the case for most people, it should go without saying that I am 100% on the side of Ukraine (and that of the Russian citizens who are strongly opposed to this incredibly brutal conflict).

It would be unconscionable in my books not to be.

This is not the first time in their nation’s long and fascinating history that Ukraine has come under siege or been unfathomably brutalized in other ways. For example, (WARNING: the following link includes graphic subject matter and images that may be difficult/disturbing for some viewers – especially younger ones) the Holodomor that occurred under the tyrannical reign of Joseph Stalin.

I have no doubt that many people in Ukraine knew prior to this war’s onset that they were strong, proud, capable individuals.

However, both inside and all the more so outside of the country itself, it is safe to say that few could have imagined just how incredibly strong and resilient 21st-century Ukrainians would prove to be.

The quote that begins this post stems from one of America’s founding fathers, William Samuel Johnson. It is no less true today than it was in the 18^th century. If anything, it may in fact hold even more weight nowadays.

Of course, though this colonial-era quote houses male pronouns, it is safe to say that Ukrainians of all genders are showing amazing fortitude and bravery in the face of their nation literally being razed to the ground.

So long as nuclear and biological weapons are not introduced into the fold, I continue to believe that Ukraine has a very real chance of winning this sham of a war.

Not a sham in the sense of it being make-believe (sadly, nothing could be further from the truth), but rather a sham because of its senseless and unprovoked nature.

As many of us keep a watchful eye on news updates viewed on TV, cell phone, tablet, and computer screens, the ravages of war growing ever more horrendous with each passing minute, it can be hard to shift our focus to lighter matters.

For not the first time in my life, tragedy drives home an intensely strong sense of what, at the end of the day, really matters and what can at times seem rather trivial and/or happy-go-lucky by comparison.

Just as it is doing for countless other souls across the globe right now as well.

We go on though, our hearts heavy with emotions such as grief, anger, and fear. We keep trying to live the lives that we are immeasurably blessed to have to the best of our abilities.

Ukraine is never far from our minds – nor is the looming threat of global war – as we do so. We have been starkly reminded of how, objectively, any of our own countries could theoretically find itself in the same sort of situation.

Thousands of miles away from Eastern Europe, snow still dots the landscape around our corner of British Columbia.

Springtime has phoned and made reservations, but it has not checked into its suite just yet.

It is coming through. The ever-earlier arrival of sunlight each morning, the orchestra of bird songs that have begun to fill the air once again, and the first brave crocuses that proudly stretch their necks above the frozen ground all assure us that spring will be here before we know it.

With just two days to go until the official start of spring in the Western Hemisphere, it is time for a fresh new edition of this reoccurring post series.

As usual, the Winter 2022 Edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me is a link love post featuring online content that caught my eye during the past three months, coupled with a peek into what has been transpiring lately in my own life.

Magick, Witchcraft, Paganism, and Spirituality

–Advice for the Beginner Witch: It is scarcely a secret that witchery has seen a massive rise in popularity both over the past few decades and all the more so in recent years.

Naturally, this has led to the presence of a good deal more newbie witches and/or those who may have flirted with the craft previously, but never dedicated themselves to it and now feel a calling to do just that.

It can be – especially in this day and age of social media – challenging to start out as a new witch. It seems like there is so much to know and do and learn. Getting overwhelming or feeling like you must keep up with the witchy Joneses (many of whom have been practicing for ten, twenty-five, forty – you name it – years at this point) can easily happen.

Go easy on yourself, dear witchling, and find both advice and encouragement from this lovely post that guides new witches through some very useful approaches to beginning your beautiful journey into witchhood.

–Cute Witch Art Projects for Kids: Save for our six-year-old nephew (who lives in Italy), there are currently no young kids in our immediate family. If there were (and they lived nearby), I would love to spend a fun-filled afternoon with them making the simple, budget-friendly witch-related art projects that are featured in this charming post from Moody Moons.  

(Another recent post from Moody Moons that really resonated with me is her terrific tutorial on how to make DIY Green Witch’s Runes with Wood Rounds.)

–50 Signs that You’re an Old Soul: In my experience, many old souls inherently know that they are precisely that. However, sometimes a person may not be aware of their beautifully aged soul or, if they are, they might like to learn more about the subject. Finding, in the process, shared traits and experiences with plenty of their fellow old souls.

If you consider yourself to be one – or know somebody who does – be sure to pop on by Other Worldly Oracle’s excellent look at 50 ways to tell that you are an old soul.

–How to Make a Lovely Herb Drying Rack: Now, granted, this link could have gone in the more generic crafty column above. However, given how many witchy/Pagan folks are deeply interested in herbology, I figured that this link would be at squarely home in this section, too.

While most herbs (especially those grown outdoors) have not rebloomed again yet this year, in due course they will. If you have been itching to find an effective way to dry more of them yourself, this lovely tutorial on how to make a hanging herb drying rack has your back all the way.

–Make a Tiered Herb Planter with Dollar Store Buckets: And carrying on with the herb growing theme – because, if you can’t go all out on gardening-related topics in the spring, when can you? – this fantastic and very wallet-friendly approach to making a tiered herb planter with inexpensive buckets from the dollar store is a great approach for those on a budget or anyone looking to save some green (see what I did there? ) on the herb growing front.

–7 Reasons Why Self-Love is Spiritually Empowering: These days, most of us are familiar with the concepts of self-care and self-love. Ideally, we try our best to successfully make time in our busy lives to focus on these important areas. In doing so, however, have you ever stopped to think about the connections that can (and often do) exist between self-love and your spirituality?

This great post from Reroot Your Life explores that very subject and offers up seven excellent reasons why self-love is spiritually empowering.

–The Ethics of Divining World Events: It is human nature to look for answers, insight and (ideally) comfort when times get not only tough, but downright brutal.

For those who engage in various forms of divination, it can likewise come naturally to us to seek (possible!!!) answers with the cards, runes, or most other methods of divining.

This thought-provoking post from esteemed witchery/Paganism blogger + author John Beckett (I cannot recommend his book The Path of Paganism highly enough) delves into the pros and cons, ethically speaking, of doing just for major world events.

No matter which side of the fence you fall on when it comes to this subject, John’s fairhanded article is well worth reading during these tremendously uncertain times.

Cardmaking, Scrapbooking, Paper Crafting, and Other Crafts

–A Simple Lavender Wreath to Celebrate Spring: While “simple” in terms of the number of products required and ease of creation, rest assured that this elegant spring wreath is a head-turningly beautiful way to add extra seasonal pizzazz to any door (or wall) in your home.

–Cuddly Pompom Easter Bunny Tutorial: If you are in the mood for a melt-your-heart adorable springtime craft that is both easy and fabulously festive (not to mention a great gift idea), allow me to suggest this delightful pompom Easter (or Ostara) Bunny tutorial.

(For more awesome spring, Ostara, and Easter craft ideas, be sure to check out my post 35 Wonderful Ostara Crafts, DIY Projects, and Décor Ideas for The Spring Equinox.)

–DIY Flower Butterfly Wings: In my latest project share post (Delightful Butterfly-Themed Happy Ostara Shaker Card for the Spring Equinox) I discussed how butterflies are a harbinger of spring’s return that I – like many of us – can never get enough of.

If you have ever wanted to make a pair of your very own wearable butterfly wings, this photo-filled DIY project post will guide you through how to do just that.

The inclusion of dried flowers/leaves makes these wings especially enchanting. Not to mention more than lovely enough to proudly display, when not being worn, in your home as the work of magical art that they are.

(I cannot help but think how fantastic this project would also look with jewel-toned fall leaves, should you wish to make different seasonal versions of wearable butterfly wings.)

–DIY Gold Foil Vintage Bee Birthday Cards: Much like butterflies, bees are another winged friend that helps to signal spring’s return and who does so much to help keep nature in bloom year after year.

If you are in the mood to celebrate bees in papercrafting form during the upcoming season (or anytime), this gorgeous gold foil card project from Diana at Dreams Factory is a stunning way to do just that.

(If you do not happen to have the tools, such as a laminator, that she uses here, I suspect a somewhat similar look could be achieved by using a good-sized bee stamp, clear embossing ink, and a rich metallic gold embossing powder such as Princess Gold from Ranger.)

And from the same blog, I adore this post on How to Make DIY Spray Inks in Any Colour.

–Four Ways to Organize Your Sticker Addiction: This post is a few years old, but I just hit upon it this winter and felt that it would be right at home in the next edition of this link love series.

Sticker storage can often be a challenge for those of us who cannot get enough of this charming craft product. Yet finding effective ways to store our beloved stickers is often considerably trickier than amassing them in the first place.

In this post, the author weighs the pros and cons of four different approaches for storing planner-related stickers. However, these same ideas can easily translate into just about any kind of sticker your heart desires.

–Oh Romeo Mini Quilt: As I have mentioned a time or two before, I am not a quilter. However, I adore this awesome fabric craft all the same.

I find there are numerous similarities between quilting and papercrafting and am continually inspired by many different types of quilted projects.

Case in point, this fabulously creative “Oh Romeo Mini Quilt” is an enchanting fabric art ode to one of Shakespeare’s most beloved plays.  

–3-D Paper Eggs: Where would spring be without a bevy of eggs and all manner of craft + décor items depicting them?

Whether you are keen to ditch dyed eggs or would like a fun project to accompany that classic springtime act, this super easy-to-replicate tutorial guides you through how to make three-dimensional paper eggs that can be hung around your home for an extra sweet dose of seasonal cheer.

What’s Shaking in My Life and On My Radar

This winter passed, as they pretty much always do around these parts, in a flurry of snowflakes, bone-chilling temps, parkas, and warm woollen mittens.

Three cold snaps punctuated the already frozen air, though none saw the mercury drop below -30C/-22F.

Believe me when I say that by Canadian standards, that really isn’t too bad.

As I mentioned here a few blog posts ago, my sister contracted Covid this winter. Thankfully, she did not become extremely ill and/or require hospitalization. While she is still in the process of healing and regaining energy, I am grateful beyond measure to report that she is doing a fair bit better these days.

None of our other loved ones came down with Covid this winter (nor did Tony or I), which we are also endlessly thankful about. One can only speculate as to if that same statement can be made in another three months – let alone at the end of the year.

Also a few weeks ago, Tony and I received our booster shots (aka, our third vaccinations) and will continue to be the first in line for any future Covid vaccines that may be offered to the Canadian public.

Even though I personally think it is too soon to do so, earlier this week the BC provincial government rescinded the law mandating that masks be worn in most types of businesses and other enclosed public spaces.

I am starkly aware of the fact that a huge percentage of the population will, if not toss their masks away outright, then at least banish them to the back of the closet.

It is very easy to understand why and just as I have maintained since the get-go with the pandemic, to each their own when it comes to navigating the challenging waters of the Coronavirus.

Personally, however, as someone who is immune-compromised, I will continue to sport a mask to all the same types of places I have been doing so for the past couple of years. Far better to be safe than sorry.

With so much uncertainty in the world right now – and with the pandemic still going strong – we have not made much in the way of plans yet for the coming spring and summer months.

And after the especially brutal wildfire season that ravaged BC last year (it stands as one of the all-time worst on record here), we are already feeling a bit of trepidation regarding what the coming sizzling hot months may hold in store for our province this year.

Much as I wish with all my might that I could state the polar opposite, I do not have any positive updates regarding the serious and incredibly perplexing “new” medical issues that I have been battling since 2020.

Diagnoses are still proving wildly elusive, as is anything even approaching the degree of health care that I should be receiving to help get to the bottom of what on earth is impacting me.

I am no stranger (far from it!) to fighting tirelessly for diagnoses and the overall state of my health. I have been doing that for twenty, going on twenty-one years straight now.

Not, however, let me clarify, for most of these latest health issues themselves, but rather for just about all of my other chronic illnesses that preceded them.

Ever since these new medical challenges entered my life, at the start of each new season I find myself looking towards the end of it, hoping beyond measure that there will be some form of positive health-related changes by then. Some desperately needed help. Some sign that instead of continuing to worsen, things are stabilizing – or perhaps even showing a flicker of improvement.

And though my body and overall state of health continue to deteriorate and weaken further with each passing week, I am resolute in my hope and in my unceasing drive to get the medical answers, help, and treatment(s) that I NEED no matter how long I must battle for each one of those vital things.

On a far more upbeat note, the Spring Equinox is just two days away!

That day is when I will personally be observing the heart of the Ostara season. And while (as is often the case) I will do so in the company of lingering wintertime snow and ice, I am wonderfully excited to celebrate the newness, positivity, rebirth, and fresh possibilities that spring houses.

Then, come the first week of April, we will celebrate my mother’s birthday. I am hopeful that – after two years of not being able to safely do so – we can spend in person with her (just as we were able to do for my own b-day last summer).

I have said it before, but I will happily say it again: my mom’s birthday is akin to a second start of spring for me and always heralds the return of bloom, baby chick, and rainbow season all the more.

And speaking of my birthday, it is now less than four months away. A fact which I can scarcely believe!

First, though, we get to experience the beauty and wonder of spring, as the natural world breaks free of its lengthy wintertime hibernation and brightens our days both literally and figuratively in many enjoyable ways.

I have a lot of ideas for fun, informative, and inspiring blog posts here in the coming months – including, all things willing, a brand-new edition of the Cemetery Journeys post series that I launched here last year.

A number of you have emailed to ask me when that would be happening, so I am striving as hard as I can to get the next exciting journey up this spring.

And now, sweet dears, on with a smattering of assorted links that leapt out at me over the course of these past three snow-covered months.

–Emily Brontes’ Lost Second Novel: It is safe to say that Wuthering Heights stands as one of the best known and most beloved novels ever published.

Tragically, its author died young at the age of just thirty years old. Leaving, at the time, an unpublished second manuscript that we know with a good degree of certainty existed at one point, but which has sadly been long lost to the hands of time (or perhaps, as some strongly suspect destroyed by one of her sisters).

This engaging article takes a gander at Emily’s iconic inaugural novel, while also digging into the mystery surrounding what her second book may have been about as well as what fate might have befallen that now (presumably) long-lost second manuscript.

–11 Ways to Wear a Bat Bow: Whether you would only rock a bat bow in October or could easily – and gleefully – do so the whole year round, this charming post suggests eleven fun ways to inject some sartorial bat-themed goodness into your attire as often as your heart desires.  

–Goth Fast Fashion and Why It Isn’t Always a Good Thing: Regardless of your preferred personal style(s), this post – from Gothic Charm School author Jillian Venters – poses some insightful and important points that apply to a sizable percentage of clothing consumers in many parts of the world.

Fast fashion may be de rigueur in the sphere of 21st-century attire, but as Jillian wisely argues, it is often far from the choice we should be making – at least on a regular basis.

–Lost Women of Science Podcast: This recently launched podcast series (from New York Times reporter Katie Hafner) is on a mission to shine the very well-deserved spotlight on female scientists whose work, and in many cases, names, are little known despite the important contributions they made not only to the field, but to life on earth, point-blank.

The first scientist to be featured is Dorothy Andersen, a physician and pathologist who forever changed the lives of many people around the world when, in 1938, she discovered and defined cystic fibrosis.

As a passionate lover of science (and staunch advocate for women in STEM), I eagerly looking forward to seeing what other women will be featured in future editions of this much-needed podcast.  

–Metal Pens Pre-17^th Century: Much like the link pertaining to sticker organization shared above, this post has a few years under its belt.

It remains a gem all the same and, being a lifelong writer myself, I could not help but share it here – especially since the concept of metal pens is not something many of us associate with times preceding the Victorian era (let alone prior to the 1600s!).

As this article clearly demonstrates, however, they are invention that stretches centuries back in time prior to that point and which have been evolving for hundreds of years now.

–The Top Ten Strangest Snakes in The World: If you happen to have ophidiophobia, please be advised that chances are this link is not for you.

If, on the other hand, you are not afraid of snakes and would like to learn more about some of the most unique and (often) rarest of our slithering reptile friends, read on a very cool selection of ten unforgettable types of serpents.

–Metal Pens Pre-17^th Century: Much like the link pertaining to sticker organization shared above, this post has a few years under its belt.

It remains a gem all the same, and as a writer myself, I could not help but share it here – especially since the concept of metal pens is not something many of us associate with times preceding the Victorian era (let alone prior to the 1600s!).

As this article clearly demonstrates, however, they are an invention that stretches centuries back in time prior to that point and which has been evolving for hundreds of years now.

–Toronto Based Startup is Combatting Deforestation with Tree Planting Drones: There is no denying the profound importance of reforestation in the battle against the ever more alarming climate crisis that our planet is besieged with these days.

While there are various ways to plant and grow new trees, few are as innovative or original as that from Canadian Flash Forest, which is using drones to plant new trees.

How many trees, you may ask? At the time this article was written last year, no less than 300,000 seed pods had been dropped across specific parts of Canada.

One can only wonder how high that total will continue to climb – and hope, all the while, that this clever technique rapidly catches on around the globe.

Bonus link: Last October I shared a post here called 13 Awesome Cemetery Focused Blogs Every Taphophile Should Be Following.

In that post, one of the blogs that I featured was of renowned author Loren Rhodes, whose work spans both the fiction and nonfiction spheres.

Those who enjoy books pertaining to taphophilia-related topics may be familiar with Rhodes’ work, including her wonderful books 199 Cemeteries to See Before Your Die and This Morbid Life: Essays.

Thanks to that post, Loren and I connected for the first time ever and have remained in touch since (which is the coolest thing in – pun fully intended – my books, as I have been a big fan of her work for quite some time now).

Loren emailed me a few days ago to share that she would be launching a Kickstarter campaign (which is now live) to help back her newest release: Death’s Garden Revisited: Relationships with Cemeteries.

The title brings together personal reflections from numerous people around the world who have strong connections (for a myriad of different reasons) to cemeteries.

As a passionate taphophile who finds few experiences in life more enjoyable, spiritually fulfilling, and inspiring than visiting cemeteries, you can imagine how delighted I was to learn about Loren’s latest writing project.

Whether you enjoy genealogy, history, the art and design of cemeteries, or just about anything else pertaining to burial grounds, this book is apt to be right up your alley.

If you would like to help bring Death’s Garden Revisited to the point of publication, I encourage you to please consider donating to Loren’s Kickstarter campaign.

Hold Fast to Dreams

Though it has only been three short months since the Autumn 2021 edition of this post series appeared, for reasons both global and personal, it feels more like two years have elapsed between now and when we said farewell to fall.

Exceedingly few amongst us could have predicted when this winter began that less than a single season later, the world would be rocked once again by an unthinkable tragedy of epic proportion.

That is what has happened though and as with everything that leaves a stamp in indelible ink upon human history, we as a species will be forever impacted by the war in Ukraine.

Assuming, that is, that our species is able to keep going beyond the current generation.

I am nothing if not an optimist, but I am also the poster child for realists everywhere.

Since my early youth, I have studied the first two world wars to a degree that I cannot even begin to measure.

My eyes have taken in hundreds, if not thousands, of books and hours of programming alike pertaining to these world-altering conflicts – especially WW2 and the holocaust.

Beyond those two massive conflicts, I have been drawn to studying and trying to make sense of war, famine, genocide and other forms of the worst possible things human beings can do to one another for as far back as I can recall.

Everything that I have learned, viewed through lenses both philosophical and pragmatic, and laid awake at night thinking about, currently braces me for even more brutal days ahead.

Just like the citizens of Ukraine and countless others around the globe, I hold tight to the belief that the guns will be silenced, the bombs returned to their hiding places, and that the carnage and devastation will end before we as a collective whole do things from which there is no coming back.

As a young girl, one of the first pieces of poetry that I remember learning by heart in school was Dreams by the wonderful American poet, Langston Hughes. It goes as follows:

Hold fast to dreams 
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Some thirty years on from when I committed those poignant and powerful lines to memory, they remain with me verbatim.

As I lay my head down to sleep each night and again when that ever-brighter dawn wrestles me from slumber, I find Hughes’s words echoing through my thoughts.

They live in my heart and will remain there for as long as it continues to beat.

The dream, in this instance, is one of unwavering hope for an end to the war in Ukraine, the suffering on both sides, and the ability for the survivors to be able to one day piece their shattered lives back together again.

Their futures will not be the same ones that lay before them a few agonizingly short weeks ago, but there is still hope and the prospect of some sort of stability again.

We, as a planet, did in 1918 and again in 1945. Now, before WW3 truly does erupt, let’s stop this madness and do it again in the spring of 2022.

The very fate of the world may be riding on it.

As we look towards the coming season – be it spring on this side of the equator of my beloved autumn for those south of it – there are not words enough to convey how much I hope that you are able to have a safe season wherever you call home.

My deepest wishes for wellness, happiness, and peace to each of you, cherished friends – and to everyone who calls this remarkable planet of ours home.

The post Winter 2022 Edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire. It is time for home. – Edith Sitwell

November was but a handful of days old when the season’s first snowflakes fluttered like icy-winged butterflies to the ground.

A brief flurry, another a few days later, and then proper volumes of snow by the month’s third week.

Fall did not go gently into that good night entirely though. At least not at first.

For a brief, enchanting time there were leaves the colour of ancient clay vessels and faded Tudor tapestries alongside slender plumes of smoke rising ghost-like from neighbourhood chimneys against the unmistakable chorus of shovels being pushed with no small amount of force across snow-laden driveways.

It is said that all good things must come to an end and autumn is no exception.

Tomorrow brings with it the Winter Solstice. The shortest day, in terms of the percentage of daylight, that the entire year houses.

For myself and others – particularly witches, Wiccans, and Pagans – it is also at the heart of the Yule season.

This long night ushers in the light-filled half of the year. Though, as I am quick to note, we rarely start to see and experience a tangible sense of that for several more weeks from now.

Nevertheless, the Winter Solstice and Yule remind us of the sunlight, warmth, and seasonal joys that await us come spring and summer.

Winter, however, is not without its own bevy of charms and blessings.

While a harsh chapter in many parts of the world, the coming season of icicles and parkas is anything but dull, uninspiring, or lacking in things to do and enjoy from the very first to the absolute last moment.

Before, with sweater-clad arms, we welcome winter back into our lives again (here in the Western Hemisphere; summer is out in full force for those south of the equator), let’s take a lovely moment to reflect back on the season that is, rather aptly, presently giving up the ghost.

The Fall 2021 Edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me is a link love post featuring online content that caught my eye during the past three months, coupled with a peek into what has been transpiring in my own life lately.

I hope that you will enjoy reading it every bit as much as I took pleasure putting it together for you, sweet friends.

Magick, Witchcraft, Paganism, and Spirituality

–Create an Easy DIY Advent Calendar with Crystals Inside: While it is rather late in December to start an advent this year, this creative take on a treasured holiday season favourite was too cool looking not to share.

Whether you work with crystals in a spiritual/metaphysical context or enjoy them for other reasons, chances are you are bound to delight in this awesome advent calendar that sees each date house a tiny crystal.

This advent would make for such a fantastic and meaningful Yule gift.

And there’s nothing stopping you from using advents to count down to other special events (such as Halloween or a person’s birthday) as well, if you wanted to give making this crystal-filled calendar a go before next December arrives.

–How to Make Heat Activated Spell Sachets: Creating spell sachets is something that is familiar to many witches and Wiccans. However, generally speaking, we work with them at either room temperature or whatever the mercury is up to outdoors.

Leave it to none other than beloved Pagan blogger, Moody Moons, to take this classic spellworking technique and give it a fresh new spin via the introduction of heat.

I am smitten with this concept and plan to weave it into some of my witchy workings this winter and likely for many a chilly season to come.

–Sacred Sprays for Magickal Self-Care: As someone who adores making many of my own magickal tools and ingredients, and who is a keen proponent of self-care, I knew the moment I saw this terrific how-to post from Katrina Rasbold on Llewellyn’s blog that I would be sharing it here.

One need not be a witch/Pagan to make and use their own beneficial sprays – nor, of course, to practice self-care. That is something, ideally, we should all strive to make a perpetual priority in our lives.

–25 Forms of Banishing: No matter the season, I am a big proponent of doing banishing work. In fact, I would say it is one of the most common forms of witchery that I undertake.

Few points in the year lend themselves quite as naturally, however, to banishing work and getting rid of elements in our lives that are no longer serving us well than that liminal period between late December and early January.

This fantastic list from Sidney Eileen rounds up an impressive 25 different ways to engage in banishing work, including banishing via manifesting, involving banishing in your shadow work, and conducting energetic self-maintenance.

–Witches Bells: Their History, Lore and How to Use Them: From Otherworldly Oracle, comes this great look at the past and present of a magickal tool and/or piece home décor that is familiar and adored by plenty of folks around the world: Witches Bells.

During the December holiday season, when bells are easily had at many craft, hobby, dollar, housewares, gift, and big box stores, now can be an excellent time to make your own set of witches bells or to create some for the fellow witchy souls in your life.

(From the same website and very much in keeping with the current festive season, this delightful look at Yule Recipes: 13 Traditional & Modern Winter Solstice Meals & Beverages is also well worth checking out.)

–Work With the Plant Allies in Your Neighborhood: Discovering, learning about, and forming a meaningful, ongoing relationship with all manner of plants, flowers, and trees in your immediate environment can be an immensely beneficial activity.

If you are looking for more information on how to connect with your local plant allies, then this lovely post from Astrea at the Pathos blog Starlight Witch is a good place to start (or way to further your existing knowledge on the subject).

–Your Magickal Name:  It does not surprise me one iota that a great overview look at the subject of magickal names comes from none other than esteemed Pagan author and blogger, Rachel Patterson (whose stellar book, Witchcraft Into the Wilds, I reviewed here last year).

As someone who uses their magickal name (or as I tend to refer to it, my Pagan name) not only virtually exclusively online at this point in my life, but in as many offline capacities as I possibly can too, it is safe to say that I’m big on magickal names and really appreciate that Rachel penned this handy guide on the subject.

Cardmaking, Scrapbooking, Paper Crafting, and Other Crafts

–DIY Fridge Magnets: 50 Projects for Home or Gifts: For a good stretch of my childhood, my mom collected fridge magnets. When the volume she had amassed exceeded the space available on our refrigerator, she started displaying them on metal baking trays.

Many years have now passed since then. Yet, as my mom’s own passion back in those days for magnets rubbed off on me when I was growing up, I couldn’t help but lap up each inspiring idea in this awesome selection of DIY fridge magnets.

If you are also stuck on magnets (pun intended ) or know someone who is, you will definitely want to give this inspiration-filled post a thorough readthrough.  

–DIY Lava Lamp Party Favours: There are no molten hot liquids involved with this super cute mid-century inspired craft project.

Instead, two sizes of barware glasses and a few basic craft supplies – plus the “lava” filing of your choice are all you need to whip up some highly memorable yesteryear inspired party favours that your guests are bound to adore.

Plus, how great would these homemade lava lamps be for an upcoming New Year’s Eve bash?

–Homemade Ramekin Dish Soy Candles For The Holidays: As you may have gathered by now, I really, really, reeeeeaaaaaly love candles.

Plain or elaborate, scented or unscented, store-bought or handmade, I’m totally there for candles.  

In the case of the latter type of candle, I fell hard for Marie’s fantastic DIY candle-making project which guides you through the steps involved with creating candles in ramekin dishes.

This easy candle-making project delivers a beautiful end result that you can keep for yourself or give as a lovely gift.

I feel that these beautiful homemade soy candles would suit special occasions including birthdays, anniversaries, Hanukkah, Yule, Christmas, Imbolc, Valentine’s Day, and Samhain especially well.

(Also on Marie’s delightful – and very inspiring – blog, this adorable Upcycled Indoor Snowball Fight Wood Crate caught my eye. I really like festive décor that can be left out all season long, not merely for a given holiday or two, and this super fun project hits that nail squarely on the wintertime head.)

–How to Make a Flower Press: People have been intentionally drying and pressing flowers for many centuries and while this charming art ebbs and flows in terms of its popularity, it remains a beloved classic that is not likely to vanish entirely anytime soon.

If you are up for a spot of DIY and in the mood to make your own flower press at home, this handy step-by-step guide from Jessica at Cutesy Crafts will have you pressing a whole garden’s worth of blooms in no time.

(As well, on the same blog, I melted faster than a marshmallow in a mug of hot chocolate for this enchantingly pretty Christmas Deer Embroidery Pattern.)

–How to Store Stickers (in Binders): Unless you’ve got a lot of space and, potentially, quite a generous budget to spend on organizational supplies, chances are you are continually looking for ways to streamline your craft supply storage needs.

Goodness knows I am – especially since my crafting space (which I am exceedingly grateful for) is definitely on the petite side of things.

As such, I instantly fell in love with this handy and, in many cases, wonderfully space-saving approach for storing your sticker collection in binders. It’s a brilliant and very implimentable idea for a lot of folks.

(You could also do the same thing with other lightweight, relatively flat crafting supplies such as rub-ons or smaller sized sheets of specialty papers.)

–Super Tiny Mini Album with Lots of Photos: I have seen some pretty small mini scrapbooking albums in my day, but this itty-bitty creation – from none other than the endlessly talented Bea Valint – must surely take top prize on that front.

Perfect for your own memory keeping or to make and give as gifts (including pint-sized stocking stuffers), these mini albums are cute, fun, and more than likely, quite addictive to make!

–Vacation Memory Sand Jars: Now, I fully realize that at present, a lot of us are not exactly jet-setting off to tropical destinations or hopping in the car for a road trip to the beach.

However, if you are able to do so, have collected and saved sand from past trips, or have access to some lovely sand closer to home, this project might just be for you.

It is such a charming, low-cost way to bring a slice of your travel adventures home with you and is one that can be repeated with different locations time and time again.

(Note: When taking sand home, always ensure that you are legally allowed to do so based on local laws and that removal of said sand does not negatively impact the ecosystem that the sand hails from.)

What’s Shaking in My Life and On My Radar

Much like the summer that proceeded it, this autumn was one that, for a multitude of reasons, I will not soon forget.

In the early days of September, the very real risk of the massive local wildfires still loomed near.

Thankfully, by the time autumn had officially begun this risk had all but vanished and we felt safe unpacking our most important documents and belongings, which we had been keeping at the ready in case the official order to evacuate did arrive.

The start of this fall was gloriously gorgeous. Picturesque weather and temperatures, leaves so incredibly vivid and breathtaking that they nearly brought us to tears.

As it tends to do around these parts, October cooled down by mid-month. Happily though, (unlike last year) nary a snowflake fell in our neighbourhood throughout the year’s 10th month.

Come the evening of my favourite day of the year, Halloween + Samhain, the temps hovered around a nippy -2C/28F. The night itself was crisp and dry with relatively little wind, to boot.

This no doubt helped to contribute to why we received the highest number of trick-or-treaters (about 118 – up from our previous, pre-pandemic record of around 113) that we’ve had since we moved into this house nearly four years ago now.

Between that point, celebrating the day with Tony and my mom, and ample time dedicated to meaningful witchy Samhain activities, I’m delighted to say that we had one of the best October 31^sts in recent memory.

November wasted no time in tilting the scales in favour of winter weather, as touched on at the start of this post.

Yet the return of snow all but took a distant backseat to some rare and, in certain cases, incredibly devastating weather conditions and natural phenomena that rocked our province of British Columbia throughout the month.

Tornados are exceedingly uncommon in BC and even less likely, if I’m not mistaken, to occur during the second half of autumn.

This made the tornado that tore a path through parts of Vancouver early on in the month a serious surprise!

Luckily, this event was not, insofar as tornados go, too severe.

In fact, this powerful storm was given an Enhanced Fujita scale rating of EF0, with EF5 being reserved for the most brutal storms/tornados and the destruction they cause.

For many BC residents, the tornado – while a fascinating event for sure – soon took a backseat to substantially bigger weather problems.

Specifically, horribly heavy rains in the province’s Lower Mainland region (a broad swath that encompasses Vancouver and most of the towns + cities that call the lowest portion of BC home) and some other parts of BC, including the Merritt area.

BC is no stranger to flooding, but it had been a fair while since anything like the scale of rainfall, ensuing flooding, and widespread damage it caused had been seen around these parts.

Atmospheric rivers – a technical term that relatively few in BC had heard before this November, but which many of us are now well acquainted with – caused widespread flooding that destroyed homes, businesses, and other structures.

It also brought about landslides and these quite literally washed away segments of some of the main highways through the region.

Highways that connect the Lower Mainland (which is also known as The Coast) to much of the rest of the province.

This meant that in November highway travel was frequently impossible to or from The Coast.

In time, some routes would open again, though ongoing closures – much like flood evacuations in various parts of the province – continued on into December.

It also meant that supply lines were temporarily disrupted, as a fair amount of the goods that are distributed to retailers around the province come from the ports of Vancouver, as well as from farms and other supply sources in the Lower Mainland.

This sudden lack of incoming goods caused some people to adopt a behaviour that is still fresh in most of our minds from the early days of the pandemic: resource hoarding.

From the smallest mom-and-pop shop to the largest grocery store outlets, it all but looked like a plague of locusts had descended on the fresh food (produce, meat and seafood, dairy, baked goods, etc) section of many stores north of The Coast.

Tony and I didn’t participate in this at all. A, because we were not worried and had enough (fresh/frozen/non-perishable) food at home already to see us through several weeks, if needed, and B, we strongly sensed that at least some fresh goods would soon find a way up to this area.

That proved to be the case exactly. And while grocery stores continue to feel the impact of receiving less perishable goods and other products, since “the big clear out” most have been able to get in a solid chunk of the merchandise that they usually sell.

While we did experience heavy rains at times throughout November and on into early December, our area – which is a few hours north of Vancouver – did not suffer the impacts of flooding this fall.

Many people on The Coast did, however, and a lot of them have had their lives absolutely turned upside by the devastating impacts of these mighty atmospheric rivers.

Rebuilding homes, lives, and sections of highway will take time and cost the province billions of dollars.

My heart aches intensely for all those whose words have been rocked by the flooding.

Having lost a home once myself (to fire, not flooding, however), I can relate at least in part to the living nightmare that is having your house (or business, etc) and belongings taken from you in the blink of an eye and the often lengthy journey to piece your world together again that ensues.

The severity of this flooding really is profound. It brought Prime Minister Justin Trudeau all the way from Ottawa to BC in November, has had the armed forces helping with the situation, and will take a long time for the province to even remotely begin to recover from.

Whereas once, decades ago, my family and many of our relatives lived on The Coast, these days far fewer do. And, thus far, thankfully, those that remain in the area have not lost their homes or had to evacuate due to rising floodwaters.

At the time that the flooding struck though, both my mom and aunt (her only sister) were actually down in the Lower Mainland, helping to nurse my 91-year-old maternal grandma who very recently underwent major surgery.

My aunt, an elementary school teacher, had to return home sooner than my mom due to her job. However, she was met, while trying to do so, with the first day of highway closures and ended up staying in the town of Hope for a few days until a route briefly opened up that she could return home via.

My mom was closer to Vancouver itself, at my grandma’s house, and ended up staying there longer than she had planned due to the road closures. Eventually, she too was able to avail of a brief road closure on one highway north.

Had the closures stretched on much longer, she was planning to drive down through the northernmost parts of Washington state and come back into BC at one of the border crossings located in the Southern Okanagan Valley.

Thankfully, things did not come to that for either my mom or my aunt.

Some folks who were stranded and needed to get home to other parts of BC (or elsewhere in the country) did so though, with others still flying, when possible, out of the impacted areas of the province.

I am both happy and very grateful to say that not only is my grandma recovering well, but also that my mom and aunt both made it home safely in the end.

This year took a massive toll on a lot of people around the world.

BC’s floods and the destruction they caused (much like that of the summer’s brutal wildfires) are incredibly tragic, but far from the only major disasters to rock the planet in 2021.

Already weary from the heartbreak and life-altering changes that filled 2020, we were a battle-hardened lot as everything from the lava spuing Cumbre Vieja volcano in Spain to poor Haiti once again being hit hard by earthquakes came at the planet throughout the past twelve months.

These hard, uncertain times – complete with a pandemic that, due in no small part to fresh new variants, shows no sign of abating in the near future – are shaping and impacting a lot of us in ways both big and small.

We are eager to put 2021 to bed, yet also, rightfully, harbour trepidations about what the coming year may hold in store.

This is true for me/us at both a global level and in terms of our day-to-day life.

The very serious, life-altering and still undiagnosed health problems that I have been battling for over a year now can scarcely be called “new” anymore. Though in relation to my other chronic medical conditions, many of which have been present for two decades now, they could still be viewed as such.

The fight for answers and treatments regarding these “new” issues continues unrelentingly around the clock on my end.

My health greatly impacted and altered this year for me.

It caused certain important plans and goals to (hopefully just temporarily) be put on hold, including my long-standing dream of launching an ASMR YouTube channel, which I am more committed than ever to making happen ASAP (as soon as doing so is physically possible for me).

These issues also saw me all but ghost my own Instagram account at times (which I am anything but happy about), took – and is still taking – a serious toll on my mental health, and continues to be a major battle around the clock.

Yet, I know that things could be worse. So much worse. Both personally and, rough as 2021 was, globally as well.

In a lot of ways, we have been profoundly fortunate this year.

Even with medical challenges (mine, Tony’s, those of some relatives), a touch-and-go wildfire season, the ongoing pandemic, and many other not-insignificant struggles that impacted mine and Tony’s life, we made it this far into 2021.

And if you are reading this, so did you.

That is no small feat. Nor is it something that any of us can take for granted.

I have my concerns about 2022. I know there will be challenges both new and ongoing, and that it will likely be another year that unfolds quite differently from how I would ideally want it to play out.

I’m not knocking it yet though, of course. I will let 2022 blossom in its own time, seeking and giving thanks in the process for the positives that come our way next year.

As have come to do each season since launching this quarterly post series, throughout the fall I tucked away an array of online posts and articles that resonated with me in one way or another.

So without further ado – but with unceasing hope that 2022 will be a kinder year to our planet and all who call it home – let’s dive into that selection of links.

–A Haunting Photo Collection of Famous People’s Death Masks, 1300-1950: Once, particularly in the era before photography came into being, a somewhat common practice in certain parts of the world (especially amongst those of the upper classes), death masks are no created with the same frequency they were in centuries past.

Though this tradition has not completed vanished, it has waned in popularity a great deal. Yet there is something absolutely incredible about death masks that, I think, makes it hard for us as a collective whole to abandon the art entirely.

These castings of a deceased person’s face often captures a greater sense in 3D form of how an individual looks/looked than most 2D art forms ever could.

If, like me, you find these types of masks fascinating, then you will likely enjoy this image filled roundup of famous people’s death masks from across the centuries.

–Beverly Cleary Wrote the Stories Kids Wanted To Read About: Relatively rare is the North American youngster who grew up at any point over the past few decades without reading – or being read – at least one of beloved children’s author Beverly Cleary’s books.

Her popularity far exceeded this continent, however, spreading globally and impacting, influencing, and entertaining countless youngsters throughout the years.

To date, more than 91 million copies of her books have been sold globally. That is a staggering number for any author, let alone (pre-Harry Potter at least) one whose work was geared at children and teens.

Sadly, the world lost Mrs. Clearly in March of this year. She passed away at the venerable age of 104 years old.

Many pieces were, understandably, written about Beverly Cleary’s work and life in the aftermath of her death.

This one, which delves into her life, career, and the inspiration behind some of her most beloved stories stood out for me in particular.

Whether you’ve read any of Cleary’s stories or not, it is a captivating, enjoyable look at an author whose work is likely to keep enriching the lives of youngsters for many more generations to come.

–Fifty Dog Quotes That Every Animal Lover Will Relate To: As both a lover of dogs and a proud dog mama to Annie, our nearly nine-year-old Bullador (half Lab, half American Bulldog), I couldn’t help but smile and experience plenty of the “feels’, as they say, while reading through this heartwarmingly lovely selection of dog quotes.

–Grandma’s Vintage Desserts: There are so many wonderful recipes – as well as plenty of fascinating culinary history – on this website that instead of singling out and featuring just one here, I’m sharing Grandma’s Vintage Desserts as a whole.

Helmed by a passionate chap named Don, this delightful website is chock-a-block with the kinds of classic, endearing, and hugely adored sweet treats that many of us grew up with.

These recipes aren’t about the latest fads or most cutting-edge cooking techniques. They are honest, downhome, salt of the earth (or would that be sugar of the earth?) culinary creations that have been made and savoured for generations.

Be it during the holiday season or at any point in the year, if you are on the hunt for an ever-expanding selection of wonderful vintage and timeless recipes “just like grandma used to make” then this site is a must-visit + bookmark (or pin).

–How The Iconic Late Night TV Personality of Elvira Came to Be: Lily Munster and Morticia Addam are indisputably two of the most famous and beloved darkly inclined ladies. However, they’re both fictional characters portrayed on screen my talented Hollywood actresses.

Another spookily souled woman who has been delighting us for decades now is Elvira – aka, The Mistress of Dark.

Unlike Morticia and Lily, Elvira, while still a persona in part, is real. If you have ever wanted to know more about her origin story, then this wonderfully engaging look at how Elvira rose to – and has long maintained her – fame is just the ticket.

–Scientists Discover an Adorable New Species of Brown Frog: Brace yourself for some serious cuteness when you click through this link, as you are about to meet the precious little Chocolate Frog (most likely) for the first time.

This darling amphibian was found in some of the roughest terrain of New Guinea, where it is believed to exist endemically.

I adore learning about newly discovered species and continually marvel at the fact that for all of our global exploration and 21^st century scientific knowledge, there are still critters out that have yet to be documented by humans.

–Some Haunted Trees in the United States: You didn’t think I would let the season that houses Halloween wrap up without at least one ghost related link appearing here, did you?

Whether you are the biggest skeptic of spectres to ever live, have your own ghost hunting gear at the ready, or fall anywhere in between, this engaging post about some of America’s most legendary haunted trees makes for a fascinating read that might just have you looking at the oldest trees in your own neck of the woods a little differently from now on.

Celebrating both the chill and warmth of wintertime

We could likely sit here until the next Fall Equinox debating which season is cozier, autumn or winter?

Honestly, it’s a two-way tie for me. As I suspect it is a good many others as well.

Fall is my favourite season. The slice of the year that delivers us from summer’s parching heat, yet keeps the wolves of winter at bay for (if we’re lucky) at least a few weeks.

Winter is wildly cozy, too, however. Its comfort stretches back into the furthest ethers of time, resides in tradition and nostalgia, and invites us to slow down and embrace the serenity that comes from tumbling snow and the stillness it imparts to the slumbering natural world.

Throughout my life, I have gone back and forth regarding what season takes home the silver medal in my books. Each has held that spot at times, though summer and winter are usually the two that vie most fiercely for second place.

This year, as has often been the case, winter wins out. I need its tranquillity, the productivity that cool days spent indoors delivers, and the merriment of Yule, Christmas, and New Year’s – to say nothing of Valentine’s Day (or as I like to celebrate it, Valoween) a few weeks later.

Winter and I jive. Even during those years when I have experienced SAD, I love winter no less.

My witchy, gothy soul embraces the year’s dark heart. Which, really, is not all that dark in many respects.

Show me another season where we light as many candles and fires or hang up as many strings of twinkling lights both indoors and out?

Humans are astonishingly resilient creatures. Both prior to, and in the years since, electric lighting came into our lives, we stood our ground against even the most powerful of arctic gales via the use of flames.

As though the warmth we generated could melt, if only symbolically, some of winter’s intense chill.

This tradition continues to the present day. It is the heat generated on stoves and in fireplaces, the joys of classic comfort food that invite us to linger in the warmth of good company and wonderful conversation around the table.

It is each simple tealight and heady seasonal candle we watch slowing burn down. Scents of everything from pine to cinnamon to cranberries gloriously filling our indoor environments.

In the glistening of a menorah’s nightly lighting, the multi-coloured bulbs nestled between the needles of Christmas trees, and even the fireworks of New Year’s Eve, we ensure that light is never far from our lives throughout the winter months.

The experiences these activities bring generates treasured memories and helps to remind us that even the chilliest January night can only last so long.

Winter is not the enemy though in my books. It is an ally to my creative process, my spiritual path, and the holidays I embrace annually. Just as it is for countless others around the globe.

Sure, by early March, I will practically be begging for summer, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be a touch blue to see winter go.

We are old friends at this point. A Canadian born and raised lass and a season that frequently consumes this nation for five, six, or even seven pages of the calendar.

Tomorrow, as winter officially returns, I will smile and give thanks for the ever-turning Wheel of the Year and for the beautiful serenity this season houses.

To say nothing of the holiday time joys that we are presently enmeshed in.

Much like its predecessor, 2021 was an intensely challenging year for many of us – be it personally, globally or both.

It is impossible to know with any certainty what this winter (or summer, if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere) will bring in terms of the pandemic, climate change, and myriad other things.

But what we can, as a general rule, count on is the familiarity of winter. From its icy bite to its festive feasts, its sweatshirt grey skies and the promise of sun-kissed new life that lays beyond its snowy borders.

May this winter find and keep you well, safe, and, in all ways possible, wonderfully warm and happy.

What were some of the standout elements of this autumn for you? What aspects of winter are you most looking forward to?

The post Fall 2021 Edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

In turn, give or take a few days, there is about a month before the next edition of my quarterly blog post series, Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me.

I tend to save the majority of my life updates and accounts of recent happening for those posts. Sometimes, however, I want or need to speak about topical happenings in the moment.

Before we launch into the #MakeHalloween365 project share that is at the heart of today’s post (sneak peek above), I am going to do just that for a little while.

The local BC wildfire situation here in the North Okanagan

There are certain things in life, including some that are far from ideal, which become part and parcel to our years.

For those in various corners of the world, one of those is an annual forest fire season.

Typically beginning in earnest come May or June and running until September or even October here in our area, this season isn’t exactly one to get excited about.

We live in Canada’s most westerly province of British Columbia, a portion of the country that is often amongst (if not “the”) hardest hit each year by wildfires in this nation.

The wildfire season of 2021 has been especially brutal. Record smashing temperatures, exceedingly little rainfall in many parts of the province, and other climate change-related impacts have brought about one of the worst summers BC has ever experienced from a forest fire perspective.

As I shared in my Instagram Stories a few days ago, Tony and I have, at times as of late, been put on wildfire evacuation alert.

Mercifully, however, we have not actually had to evacuate our home yet, nor has our property/neighbourhood come under immediate threat of likely destruction.

That isn’t to say things haven’t been tense or stressful at points. They certainly have been.

The first evacuation alert we received came on Tony’s birthday (August 6^th) – what are the odds! – and lasted for about three days. During which time a hailstorm of falling ash pummelled our area and the skies took on a deep brownish-orange hue, as seen in the photo above.

The second evacuation alert arrived the following Saturday and lasted well into the week that is currently wrapping up.

At its beginning, we saw skies so red and chocked with smoke and ash it would not be unreasonable to describe the sight as apocalyptic. Or, as my mom astutely observed, perhaps what the skies of Mars might look like if you were standing on that planet and gazing skyward.

In both cases, the alerts were largely the result of the substantially sized nearby White Rock Lake Wildfire. Though this blaze was not the sole reason for the smoke, ash, and eerie colours in the sky, as scores of other forest fires are burning both near and further afield to our area of British Columbia.

Presently, the White Rock Lake Wildfire (also known as both the White Lake Fire and Monte Lake Fire) is sitting at a touch over 80,000 hectares in size, and continues to remain as being classified as out of control.

In recent years, Tony and I have been keeping well-stocked go/bugout bags at the ready for all manner of potential disasters that could arise at any time.

The moment the first alert came in on the evening of his birthday, we packed up our most important essential items (vital documents, computers, cameras, health necessities, etc) and created a “go pile” near our door, to be loaded – along with our bugout bags – into the trunk of our car immediately if word came that we needed to evacuate.

Of course, our own lives and that our cherished dog, Annie, always come first, but if there is time to save some important items during an emergency, it behooves us to be ready to do just that.

Having lost our home and virtually everything we owned at the time to an arson fire almost five years ago now, we know firsthand the damage and devastation that a serious blaze can cause, and want to be as prepared as we realistically can be should a forest fire ever get close enough to envelop our home.

On the worst days thus far, we’ve heavily drenched our property and house with the hose and used sprinklers to help keep the ground and structure wet (these measures can sometimes help to lessen risks such as live falling embers).

Currently, we have four different plans in place regarding where we would most likely stay should we get evacuated. We are keeping our gas tank full around the clock so that we can not only flee town if need be, but be able to get by for several hours if traffic slowed to a crawl on the highway or we had to enact one of our plans that involves staying at a location outside of our region of the province.

As I type these words, we are not currently on evacuation order. Save for our laptops (which can be grabbed in mere seconds), we have not unpacked, however, and will not be doing so until the local wildfire situation is much less of an imminent threat.

Evacuation orders, dangerously bad air quality, and the risk of having to get out of Dodge, if you will, aren’t fun. They are small potatoes though, of course, compared to what those who have been/currently are evacuated and/or who have suffered property damage from any of this year’s wildfires have been dealing with.

We count our blessings, but do so with a heavy and immensely understanding heart for everyone – both in BC and elsewhere in the world (including Greece) – who has been experiencing the wrath of forest fires throughout 2021.

Zero pun intended, but we are far from out of the woods at this stage on the wildfire front. It will likely take a few more weeks and hopefully quite a bit of desperately needed rain before that state returns.

Having been born, raised, and later returning in my late 20s to BC, I am intimately acquainted with wildfires and the risks they pose.

Yet, for all the fires that have torn through British Columbia over the years – including the Garnet Fire of 1994 that ravaged parts of Penticton, where my family was living at the time – this summer is the first time that we have personally been put on evacuation alert.

While stressful at times, no two ways about it, we are holding up well, and are immensely grateful that thus far neither ourselves nor any of our loved ones in this province have lost their home to the unforgiving siege that is wildfire season.  

This is certainly not the August we had envision or planned for, but it is not altogether surprising either given BC’s annual battle against forest fires of all sizes.

As you might imagine, our usual routine has been disrupted somewhat by everything this month, and I wasn’t sure that I would be able to get another project share posted before August drew to a close.

Happily, however, a little earlier in the year (before the recent short-term e-commerce website building job – mentioned here – for a local business that consumed the bulk of my and Tony’s available time between May and the start of August) I had a chance to make a heartwarming Halloween themed scrapbook page.

As I have not been crafting much in recent weeks and needed a spooky season-themed project for August’s #MakeHalloween365 entry, now is the ideal time to share it.

Born Halloween lover scrapbook layout

If there is a Halloween loving gene, I am certain that I was born with it. For as far back as I have memories – and as photos like this one of me as a costume-clad babe in my mother’s arms attest – prior still to that point, I have adored Halloween.

Much like the season of autumn itself, no other day of the year fills my heart with as much glee, excitement, contentment, spiritual connection, creativity, or inspiration as October 31^st.

This off-the-charts passion was a big driving force in the launch, earlier this year, of my #MakeHalloween365 hashtag for fellow Halloween adoring souls around the world.

Just as Halloween has been the inspiration springboard for countless other things throughout my life.

As a Pagan witch, I choose to celebrate this date as both Halloween and Samhain. To my mind and own spiritual path, the two are inseparably interwoven and I can scarcely fathom observing the end of October any other way.

While I have felt I was a witch since childhood, I was not raised in a house with Paganism, witchery, or Wicca, so in those early days, October 31^st was Halloween pure and simple for me and my siblings.

Like genes in general, I am convinced that I got my gene for loving Halloween from my sweet mama.

She adores Halloween herself and has always done everything she could to not only help make All Hallows’ Eve a fun-filled event for her kids, but she has also helped to support my passion for October 31^st in countless ways throughout my entire life.

I am grateful beyond measure for this point and wanted to create a scrapbook page that not only celebrated my adoration of Halloween itself, but also the love and appreciation I have for my fellow spooky season-loving mom.

Enter this layout, which stars a mid-1980s photo of me dressed in a cute white cat costume and my mom, who, while not in costume, did rock a great witch themed button on her pretty yellow top.

And speaking of yellow things, this photo (a scan taken from a photograph that had been stored for decades in various non-archivally safe albums) shows its age and storage methods a bit. Instead of seeing that as any type of determent, I leaned into this image’s colour palette for the rest of my scrapbook page itself.

The end result is a classic colour palette of cream, yellow, orange, brown, and gold that is as much at home for fall and Halloween as it was for plenty of interiors during the 1970s and 80s.

The metallic cardstock on this page – and indeed, this layout as a whole – was a bit tricky to capture on camera in our relatively low (interior) light setting, I hope that this gist of this page comes across in the project share photos throughout this post all the same though.

I added several of my favourite scrapbooking techniques and elements to this Halloween layout. There’s plenty of paper tearing, inking, punched edges, handwritten journaling, layers, (faux) stitching, and embellishments – not to mention a cozy fall colour palette.

Plus, the charming Pebbles brads that I included here are just so sweet and festively fun!

I led off on the lefthand side of the page with a classic Halloween witch themed brad in a nod to the fact that the little girl shown in this photo would one day grow up to a passionate October 31^st adoring real life witch. (As well as that the witch on that brad very much resembles the one in the button my mom was wearing in the photo. )

I’m wild about how this Halloween scrapbook page came together and look forward to sharing it in person with my mom herself come the return of All Hallows’ Eve season.

Now, let’s take a gander at the supplies and steps involved if you would like to whip up a similar October 31^st scrapbook page of your own.

Products used to make this shabby chic Halloween scrapbook page

-Cream, sandy brown, warm medium brown, dark brown, and black cardstock

-Gold metallic cardstock – from Recollections (Michael’s brand)

-Orange metallic cardstock – from Recollections (Michael’s brand)

-Elegantly shaped tag die (or tag die/punch or premade tags of your choosing)

-Fall leaf and orange striped patterned papers (both from) – Pumpkin Spice 12 x 12-inch paper pad from Craft Smart (Michael’s brand)

-Vintage handwriting print paper

-Halloween words cut-apart paper – After Dark Spellbound paper from Crate Paper

-Doily edge border punch – Lace Doily Border Punch from Martha Stewart

-Dark orangey-red ink – Dew Drop Ink in Morocco from Memento

-Golden yellow-orange ink – Dew Drop Ink in Cantaloupe from Memento

-Brown ink pen – EnerGel Liquid Gel Ink 07 Pen from Pentel

-White gel ink pen – Uni-Ball White Gel Pen from Signo

-Orange and white polka dot letter stickers – Julie Nuting Bootiful Alpha Stickers from Photo Play

-Black glitter letter stickers (I received these as a gift without their original packaging; I suspect they are from Martha Stewart’s product range)

-Thin cream and black yarn, twine, or embroidery floss/thread (the thin yard used here is from the dollar store “Craft” brand)

-Fall coloured and patterned chipboard flourishes – Autumn Song Chipboard Pieces from Bo Bunny

-Set of Halloween brads – from the brand Pebbles (no product name was specified on the packaging)

-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 a fun tag filled Halloween memories scrapbook page

This festive Halloween scrapbook page begins with a sheet of 12×12-inch cardstock. As this cardstock is completely covered by the next layer of paper, it can be any colour you wish.

Take a piece of fall leaf print paper from the Craft Smart Pumpkin Spice pad and ink it on all four sides with Memento Dew Drop Morocco Ink. Adhere to your base layer of cardstock.

Next, rip all four edges of a piece of sandy brown coloured cardstock so that the final size of this piece is a little smaller than the leaf print layer. If your cardstock has a white core, embrace that and let it shine on the ripped areas. Adhere this piece of cardstock to your previous layers.

Repeat the same process with a cream (or light yellow) coloured piece of cardstock, inking, in this instance, all four edges with Memento Dew Drop Cantaloup Ink. Adhere to your previous layers.

Cut a piece of dark brown cardstock and top this piece of cardstock with a slightly smaller sized piece of orange striped paper (from the Craft Smart Pumpkin Spice paper pad).

Hand draw faux stitching with a brown ink pen or fine tipped marker around the sides of the orange striped paper, then ink the edges of that piece with Morocco Ink. Adhere those two layers to your previous layers.

Using brown cardstock and orange leaf print paper (from the Pumpkin Spice paper pad), create various layers with border punched edges (using the Martha Stewart Doily Lace border punch). Ink the edges of the orange leaf print layers.

Rip the edges of some pieces of sandy brown cardstock and vintage handwriting print paper, and arrange both these layers and the ones you just made above in the center of your layout, as shown.

Mat your photo with a layer of cream cardstock, a layer of dark brown cardstock, and a layer of orange leaf print paper. Adhere layers together, but do not adhere the matted photo to the layout itself just yet.

Next, create two blocks of cardstock, one in warm medium brown. Write your journaling, in white gel ink pen, on these blocks and adhere them to your layout.

Once your journaling is complete (and dry – especially important when using white gel ink), attach these blocks to your layout, then adhere your photo to the left of your journaling.

Next, using orange and gold metallic cardstock, die cut five tags (I opted for three gold and two orange metallic cardstock tags here, alternating the colour order that I adhered them down).

Cut out the Halloween words, mat each one on a piece of dark brown cardstock, and draw faux stitching with brown ink on each of the word pieces. Adhere one matted word per metallic cardstock tag.

Loop black (or brown, if desired) and cream (or white) yard/twine/floss to the top of each metallic cardstock tag, alternating colours as you go.

Adhere your completed tags along the left-hand side of the layout using foam dots or other dimensional adhesives.

Intersperse four of the Halloween design Pebbles brand brads amongst the tags.

Note that you may find it easier to do so if you use wire cutters or small tin snips to remove the prongs on the back of the brads first, though this step isn’t strictly required.

Adhere brads using hot glue or another very sturdy adhesive of your choice.

Use letter stickers to create the title of your layout.

Arrange Bo Bunny chipboard flourishes so that one pokes out from behind the photo and the other from the righthand side of the layout.

Place two additional Pebbles Halloween brads around the larger of the two chipboard flourishes.

And there you have it, your “Born Halloween Lover” scrapbook page is now complete.

As a fun alternative to a Halloween layout, this same colour palette and design (perhaps with different brads or other embellishments in place of them) would be great for a Thanksgiving or other fall related page as well.

And the general design of this scrapbook layout could be utilized for countless other types of pages, too – including those for winter holiday season projects.

(The journaling on this layout says: From my earliest of days, I have loved Halloween beyond measure. I am immensely grateful to my mom (pictured here with baby me in the mid-1980s) for always supporting and sharing in this adoration of October 31^st. )

The very real risk of losing everything again

As a paper crafter who has already lost all of their supplies, scrapbook albums and other completed projects once, I am keenly aware that living in a part of the world that deals with serious wildfires annually means that I could easily lose everything in a blaze for a second time.

This might, understandably, cause one to wonder why I would risk putting myself through that heartache again by continuing to papercraft. (Or to live here – though moving away is neither presently desired nor very feasible for us.)

Valid though this question is, to me the positives and joys, the blessings, creativity, and fun of papercrafting far outweigh the pain and challenges that losing my work and supplies for a second time would cause.

Experiencing that (be it due to fire or any other reason) would be horrible, of course, and I hope with all my might it never happens. However, having lived through it once, I know that rebuilding and connecting again with your greatest passions in life is possible.

Not necessarily easy, straightforward, or inexpensive, but certainly doable in many instances.

And in my heart of hearts I know that, much like my undying love for Halloween, darn near nothing could shake my adoration for paper crafting to the point where I would willingly drop it from my life for good.

Naturally, I hope and pray we that never find ourselves standing amongst the ashes of our home again. If we do though, I will take strength and solace in the fact that we pieced our world back together again once and could surely do so – with time, strength, and perseverance in spades – again, if need be.

For just as I’m a born Halloween lover, I am also a very tenacious born fighter and be it fire, my health, or any other challenge life throws my/our way, I will go on fighting tooth and nail until the very end.

Hopefully, within a few weeks, this year’s wildfire season will have finally calmed down and we can embrace autumn’s return (the second now since the Covid-19 pandemic began) in high spirits and with no shortage of jubilation for what is both mine and Tony’s very favourite chapter of the year.

From fires to floods, Covid to earthquakes and much more, 2021 has been another year of immense challenges for the inhabitants of this world.

Know that whatever you and/or your loved ones may be going through this year, my thoughts, support, and uplifting energy are with you – and that I’m always just an email away if you never want or need to chat with someone about anything that you’re going through.

As I began this entry by saying, there is just one brief month left to go until fall comes calling again. Whatever life may throw our way between then and now, that fact alone will help to bolster my spirits and keep a smile on this perpetual Halloween lover’s face.

Has your area been impacted by wildfires, flooding, or any other natural disasters this summer? Do you consider yourself a die-hard born Halloween (and/or Samhain) fan as well?

The post Local BC Wildfire Situation Update + Born Halloween Lover Tag Filled Scrapbook Layout appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Many of you have been supportive of this endeavour and I am very grateful to everyone who has cheered me on and engaged with this channel.

However, after a great deal of soul searching, I have decided that I need to follow my heart’s deepest desire when it comes to YouTube.

You see, as much as I am enjoying creating the kind of content that I have put on my channel so far, with each passing day, an inner voice keeps growing louder and louder. Reminding me of a dream that I’ve harboured for multiple years now: The dream of starting my own ASMR YouTube channel.

A brief look at what ASMR means to me

Long before it became the (relatively) mainstream phenomenon that it is today, I started listening to ASMR videos back when the (then quite small) group of individuals who were creating this kind of content was known as the whisper community.

Like many, though not all, people who watch and listen to ASMR, I do at times experience the wonderfully enjoyable sensation known as “tingles” (think, a pleasant sort of chill, fluttery feeling, or lovely ripple sensation running through various parts of your body, not unlike that which many people feel if they have their heads massaged or like you might have gotten if you played the sensory “crack an egg” game with your friends as kids).

However, for me personally, tingles take something of a backseat to the plethora of other benefits that watching ASMR has imparted to my life.

ASMR has been of tremendous aid to me in terms of helping me to cope with and manage the severe, unrelenting chronic pain (and other symptoms) that stem from many of my chronic medical conditions.

It helps me to tackle the painsominia (the inability to fall asleep and/or stay asleep and/or get a restful night’s sleep due to chronic pain) that is another part of my daily existence.

ASMR is a godsend for my anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Indeed, very few things have helped with my mental health more than listening to ASMR.

The serenity and speech patterns of many ASMR creators has also helped me to calm down and feel less rushed, less stressed, and even less self-conscious about my own voice and how I speak.

ASMR has helped me to get through some of the most brutal and heartbreaking times that I have experienced in recent years.

From the arson house fire we endured in 2016 to the sudden and wholly unforeseen breakdown of my mom and step-dad’s twenty-year-long relationship the following year (my step-dad was like a biological father to me).

It has comforted me – as it has many others the world over – during the pandemic, and is one of the most helpful coping tools I have to help deal with and counterbalance the stresses of daily life in general.

The serenity, relaxation, and familiarity of ASMR are entrenched in my life. At this point in time, it is virtually inconceivable for me to imagine my existence without ASMR.

I watch/listen to ASMR almost every day and often have it playing when I’m working, crafting, engaged in witchy activities, doing household chores, making meals – you name it.

And, as you might imagine, rare is the night that it isn’t a bedtime companion as I attempt to drift off to sleep.

ASMR has benefited and enriched my life in countless ways.

I will be forever grateful to the community of ASMR artists who create the awesome content that they do. It has not only helped me, but millions of others the world over as well.

In the wake of the arson fire, a desire arose in me to begin my own ASMR channel.

Doing so then was not feasible for a myriad of reasons and I readily accepted that, tucking this dream away in my heart for the time being.

Some of those factors still exist and certain ones (including that I’m extremely self-conscious about my crooked, overcrowded teeth, and that there is almost no suitable, large enough space to film ASMR videos in our small house) are still there.

However, what also remains present is this dream.

Aptly, it might have begun a whisper. A certain “hmm, maybe I could do that, too” spark of inspiration. However, it is now a thunderous roar.

Far too many of us house secret dreams for our whole lives. We think about pursing them, bemoan not doing them, and proudly say “I could have done that” in lieu of actually birthing our dreams.

In turn, those dreams die with us, taken to the grave before they got to live outside of our hearts and minds for a single day.

Many things in my life – including having been a multi-chronic illness warrior for the entirety of my adult years – have long driven home the brevity of our time on this planet.

The global pandemic that has ravaged our planet as of late has only stood to further reinforce the importance of letting our dreams shine while there’s still time to do so.

As such, after careful deliberation, I have decided that I will be switching courses on YouTube.

Launching my own ASMR channel

It is simply not feasible at present for me to maintain two different YouTube channels of any type, so I will be converting my existing YouTube channel to an ASMR channel in the very near future.

I fully understand that most, if not all, of those who have subscribed to my channel as it sits now may unsubscribe as a result of this switch.

That’s okay. You signed on expecting one thing, and now are going to be receiving something else that’s quite different. I get it.

However, if you enjoy ASMR or simply want to support me and the content I create online, I would love and be hugely grateful to you for continuing to follow my channel.

I do not have a firm (re)launch date in place for my YT channel, but am aiming to get my first ASMR videos up as soon as possible in the next few weeks.

Like many ASMR channels, I plan to deliver a wide range of videos, including some roleplays, lots of trigger sounds, and so forth.

I will be announcing my channel’s name and (further) channel details once it has gone live. But, I can tell you now in advance that it will include some videos pertaining to witchy topics.

Just as, most likely, there will be some ASMR videos there relating to paper crafting as well (so many paper crafting supplies create awesomely tingly sounds! ).

As such, it stands to reason that some of the same general topics and types of content I might have put up on a channel for WCL will appear on my ASMR chanel as well.

Starting a YT channel last month only drove home all the more how vital a dream being an ASMR artist is to me and how much this is something I need to at least try.

I have no way of knowing if my ASMR channel will find success, but I know that I must, absolutely MUST give it a fighting chance.

To quote a fellow Canadian and one of the greatest hockey players of all-time, Wayne Gretzky, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”.

Following my heart and intuition here feels right. I know that the time has come to give this dream a shot, to let it run free in the world.

ASMR has helped me and enriched my life more than I could ever measure. It is my unwavering hope and desire that by creating ASMR content myself, I will be able to help, support, and comfort others in turn.

I also hope that you will join me as I embark on this exciting new adventure of gently spoken videos and a dream that simply would not be silenced.

PS: In case you are wondering, things will be “life as usual” on the blogging and Instagram front. With fresh, informative, enjoyable content continuing to appear on both at my usual posting pace.

The post I Have To Listen To My Heart appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

…But before you do, if you’re a fellow Bloglovin’ user, please consider following Witchcrafted Life there. I would sincerely appreciate it if you did.

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice returns tomorrow. In the midst of ever colder and snowier weather, as hard as it is to believe at times, the days ever-so-gradually begin to grow longer again.

It will be many weeks more still before we begin to experience much in the way of notable longer hours of daylight, and the start of winter may seem like a odd time to focus on sunshine aplenty. Winter, however, is not as desolate and forlorn a season as the barren landscape outside may have you believe.

For under the hibernating heart of a season that sends us running for extra sweaters and a near constant supply of steaming hot drinks, the embryo of next year’s warmth and vitality is slowly developing.

Its birth will usher in the near heady verdancy of spring, which in turn leads us to the sizzling, dreamy days of summer, before returning, in due course, to the majestic beauty and mild temperatures of autumn.

The seasons and how they progress – be it in this order, or in reverse when south of the equator – are familiar to just about everyone.

It is one of many constant patterns in our world that provide background structure and comfort. Even if a person favours certain seasons over the others (*cough, cough* fall), each of the four chapters of the year has an undeniable spirit and energy all its own.

This autumn flew by with stark rapidity. On our end, snow started tumbling down in mid-October, effectively putting the breaks of fall weather and ushering in winter even earlier than usual around these parts.

Yet, no matter how many inches accumulated outdoors, I clung fiercely and lovingly to fall.

It shone out in our seasonal décor and the (real) pumpkins – both full sized and miniature – that are still thriving several weeks after they were purchased. And it resided in the cores of ours hearts, where we mused over past autumns and did our best to make the most of this strange and unsettling year’s own iteration of a treasured season.

For all the changes and uncertainties in the world, and even with the comically early start of winter weather, this fall was lovely.

Simple and classic, busy and yet serene at times as well, it housed traditions and new experiences alike, reminding us not only how much we cherish this slice of the year, but of how far we’ve come as a collective whole since 2020 began.

Today on the final day of this glorious season, we are capping off autumn with the Fall 2020 Edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, & Me.

This will be the last post in this series for 2020. The next one – the Winter 2021 edition – will begin the series anew in a year that many of us are anticipating with both eagerness and thoroughly justified trepidation.

For now though, with a few more days of the present year remaining on the calendar, let’s curl up with one of those aforementioned roasty-toasty drinks and delve into some of the stories and posts that grabbed my attention throughout the fall – and which I hope you will enjoy, find informative, or be inspired by as well.

Magick, Witchcraft, Paganism, and Spirituality

–5 Ways to Find Focus in Your Magic: I’m thoroughly convinced that there is something of a magpie tendency to many a witchy soul. We love so much, enjoy learning about a wide array of topics, and (in some cases at least) have a naturally eclectic nature that helps to create a varied and ever-evolving practice.

At times though, it is important to take stock of what our core beliefs and practises are, to hone in on the key elements of our spiritual path, and to strengthen our bond with those areas that presently resonate most deeply for us.

If your practice is in need of some direction at present or if you’re just feeling a bit spent spiritually after the intense year we’ve weathered, this insightful entry from Avery at The Travelling Witch may be of interest and benefit to you.

(In a similar vein, The Magick Kitchen recently published a terrific post entitled The Stuck and Unfocused Witch, which also provides plenty of helpful advice for those who are feeling out of sorts with their practice at the moment.)

–Holiday Gift Ideas for Naturalist Pagans: This time of the year sees a bevy of holiday gift guide posts shared far and wide across the blogging sphere. The Pagan and witchery-centred blogging world is no exception, and I’ve really been enjoying those that have crossed my path so far this festive season.

One that has stood out in particular is this splendid array of gift ideas for Naturalist Pagans (those who generally speaking do not subscribe to/believe in, or who are skeptical of, the theistic, supernatural, and/or metaphysical components prevalent in some forms of 21^st century Paganism), the entries of which will, no doubt, also appeal to many other types of Pagans and witches as well.

–9 DIY Witchy Yule Gifts: Handmade gifts are amongst the most meaningful and heart-touching presents we to both give and receive. If you’re looking for some wonderful ideas for DIY holiday gifts to make for your fellow witches/Pagans or anyone else you think might enjoy something you crafted by hand, be sure to check out Moody Moon’s lovely array of project ideas.

–Resources for Non-Theistic Pagans and Skeptical Witches: Both outside and inside of the Pagan/witchy sphere there is often a prevailing notion that nearly all witches and Pagan work with and/or believe in some form of deity/Source/Spirit/god or goddess/higher power.

Yet in truth, a fair number do not hold these beliefs or practises and there are no shortage of witchy/Pagan folks who consider themselves to be atheists or agnostics (or who otherwise simply don’t feel called to involve deity in their own spiritual path).

This is, of course, 100% okay and it is, I believe, very important that the community not feel any less inclusive to those who are not theistic or who may have a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to certain spiritual matters.

If you fall under this header or are simply interested in learning more about non-theistic Paganism/witchcraft, this extensive and highly useful list is apt to be right up your alley.

–10 Powerful Ways to Make Urban Magick: At present, my husband and I reside in a tiny rural-ish town that is rife with both beautiful farmlands and enchanting woodlands.

Throughout the course of my life, I’ve lived in a number of locations that spanned populations of less than a thousand to multiple millions. There is much to be said in favour of small towns and even more remote locations, but I can just as easily sing the praises of larger cities as well.

I feel fortunate that my heart is largely spit down the middle when it comes to loving both city and small town existence. This helps to ensure that I tend to get on well most anywhere I call home, but it doesn’t mean that at times I don’t yearn for one when living in the other.

Each time I’ve called a town or city my own, I have loved finding ways to integrate my metropolitan surroundings with my witchery.

City magick is a special, awesome type of witchy working all its own. Given how many of us call large urban centers home these days, this post from Other Worldly Oracle is apt to appeal to plenty of magickal folks from Montreal to Madrid, Sydney to Sacramento – and everywhere in between!

–Witchcraft Legacies – Witch Will & Succession Planning: As a chronically ill witch with no children of my own, (to date) only one nephew (who doesn’t speak the same language as me), and no other Pagans or witches in my immediate family, the subject of what may become of my witchy related belongings, written records, and a lifetime of accumulated knowledge + personal experience is one that I have thought about many times over the years.

To be perfectly honest, at this point in time, I don’t have all the answers there. If possible, I would love to gift as many of these things to some of my dearest witchy friends, but as they all live in different parts of the world, not nearby, the costs and practicality involved there may not make such possible.

It is comforting and helpful to know that others in our sphere are thinking about this topic (perhaps all the more so this year because of the pandemic) as well.

If the fate of your witchy knowledge + belongings is a subject that is applicable to your life, you will definitely want to check out this thought-provoking post from The Witch & The Walnut.

Card Making, Scrapbooking, Paper Crafting, and Other Crafts

–Acorn Crafts for the Best Fall Ever: Cute and classic, acorns are a widely adored element of fall that one can easily put to great use on the crafting front. If you swoon over acorns, chances are that at least one idea from this handy craft project list is sure to make you as happy as a squirrel who just found a huge windfall of these delightful oak tree offerings.

–Crochet Cat Paw Chair Socks: If you ask me, whimsy deserves a bigger place in many of our lives and homes alike. Should you feel the same – and know your way around a pair of crochet hooks – then this cuter-than-cute project is bound to be the cat’s meow in your eyes!

–DIY Romantic Fall Boho Wreath: This fall may be ending, but doesn’t mean that you can’t get a jumpstart on creating beautiful seasonal décor for next autumn. I spotted numerous stunning handmade fall wreaths online this year, but few made my heart skip a beat quite like this modern meets timeless stunner from The DIY Mommy.

(I also really enjoyed + was inspired by Christina’s recent posts on how to Make Tiny Terrariums from Jam Jars, How to Make DIY Dryer Balls, How to Make DIY Cocoa Bombs for Hot Chocolate, and DIY Pillows from Napkins.)

–Five Ways with Sparkle Embossing: Few times of the year are better suited to all things shimmery, glittery, and sparkly than the winter holiday season. If you’re looking to inject more shine into your festive makes this season, be sure to take a gander at Jennifer McGuire’s lovely array of five ways to work with sparkle embossing.

–How to Create a Glazed Pottery/China Look on Die Cuts: I am nothing short of smitten with this elegant, versatile, and totally gorgeous embossing technique, as well as the accompany die cut teacup project featured in this post.

–101 Fall Sewing Tutorials (with Free Patterns You’ll Love): If you’re a fan of both fall time and sewing, this awesome post is one you’ll want to check out now and save/pin for later reference as well.

What’s shaking in my life and on my radar

As I knew would be the case, the – how shall we say – Labrador puppy level temporary jolt of energy I experienced at times this summer didn’t last for long.

Thankfully, however, it didn’t fizzle out completely either. Instead, much like fall weather, it mellowed, but remained vibrant at least some of the time.

My husband and I strive to live a simple, uncomplicated life with as little stress and strife as possible. Of course, sometimes the universe has other plans, but whenever possible, we lean into the inherent positives that come with embracing serenity and being grateful for the here and now.

As fall returned, in the wild pockets of woodland and on the wild outskirts of local farms, I continued to walk whenever possible. At times, in the process, forging and bringing home some of nature’s bounty to swirl into our meals, include in my magickal workings, or use as decorations around the house – depending on what Gaia had gifted me with that day.

Unlike most autumns, there were no big family shindigs for Canadian Thanksgiving or Halloween, no gatherings to pick pumpkins, hit the last of the year’s yard sales, or huddle merrily around a bonfire.

Yet, in our own ways, we made the best of things and adapted to the changes. We were still able to hand out candy to the 37 or so trick-or-treaters who came to our door this year on Halloween night (in past years, we’ve averaged between 110 – 120 at this address).

And as a solitary witch who usually observes the sabbats at home, my Mabon and Samhain happenings were, thankfully, not overly impacted by the pandemic.

This year has not, by any stretch of the imagination, been the kindest to me on the health front. As a long time multi-chronic illness warrior, I know though that rougher weeks/months/seasons/years come with the territory.

I’m an old shoe at navigating the waters of a body that often seems to have a mind and a will of its own. That doesn’t mean though that I’m not still caught off guard on occasion by just hard medical flare-ups, new issues, and ongoing challenges can hit me sometimes.

Through it all though (almost amazingly to me personally at times), I’ve been able to post here at my usual pace of at least one new entry per week.

I cannot claim the same for IG, however. There too, however, I have done my best to stay as active as possible. Accepting, in the process, that 2020 is not going to set any records as the year in which I posted the biggest number of new snaps to Instagram. C’est la vie!

We must adapt and accept, be grateful for what we have and can do, not spend our precious energy (and health!) on fighting things that cannot be changed at present.

For me, some of the main positive highlights of this fall include:

-Leasing a brand new car around the start of October (our previous vehicle needed a substantial amount of repairs and it would have been illogical to invest thousands of dollars into a car that wasn’t worth a massive amount any more, so it just made sense for us to lease a new vehicle instead). This is the third car Tony and I have now had and we’re really looking forward to spending the next three years (the duration of the lease) with our new 2021 Mazda.

-All the fall walks – even when they looked considerably more like winter treks from the second half of October onward. I especially adored seeing the autumn and Halloween décor that many people put out in our neighbourhood, followed not long after by Christmas decorations + lights aplenty (so magical!).

-Halloween/Samhain. My favourite and most treasured day of the year. So long as I live, I will breath for October 31^st. This year’s was unquestionably different in some respects, but the ancient spirit, spooky soul, and captivating magick of the day were, thankfully, as strong as ever for me.

-Getting in some lovely crafting seasons, particularly in the calm lull of November, between October and December’s extra full days. These sessions afforded me the opportunity to create my handmade holiday season greetings for the year (yay!).

-Tweaking some elements behind the scenes when it comes to my blogging and SM approaches and schedule. Brainstorming post ideas for my blog content here for the first half of 2021, and feeling all the more like I’m finding my stride in terms of this site (which will celebrate its first birthday on January 1^st).

On the good ol’ interwebs front, here are a handful of stories and posts that have captured my attention this autumn.

–Amazing Abandoned Long Island Farmhouse That Sat Untouched for 40 Years: Many who are familiar with my Instagram account and/or who used to follow me on my (now retired) vintage blog, know that I have a tremendous passion for the past.

Tied into that adoration is a great love for abandoned buildings. There are relatively few such structures in our area (especially if we’re talking beyond things like decaying old barns and tiny log cabins), so I experience most of my abandon house hunting vicariously through other peoples’ photos and videos.

There is a concept in both the vintage and the real estate world know as a time-warp home. Be it currently occupied or abandoned, a time-warp house in one in which the interior (and often exterior, too) has been largely unchanged for decades or even centuries, as the case may be.

Stepping into such a home is rather like hopping in a time machine and jettisoning back to a previous era.

This story highlights, via many captivatingly beautiful photographs, the recent discovery of an abandoned home that has sat (presumably) untouched since the 1970s.

Upon hearing this, you might expect to be greeted with a sea of shag carpeting, harvest gold appliances, and macrame plant hangers.

Instead, what greets onlookers is a time-warp home rife with Victorian, early and mid-twentieth century furnishings and other belongings. It is a striking, remarkable find and a powerful look at a home whose final owner valued and preserved history right up until her last days on this earth.

–Black Creatives in the Halloween and Horror Community: From one of my absolute favourite Halloween blogs (seriously, if you’re not following Spooky Little Halloween already, run, don’t walk to do so at once!) comes this terrific list of some of the most creative, inspiring, and flat out awesome individuals in the Halloween and horror community.

–Cottagecore Debuted 2,300 Years Ago: It is entirely natural that various styles rise and fall in popularity over the years. Relatively little is new under the sun at this point, but even knowing that, it might surprise you to learn that cottagecore – a true darling of the aesthetic scene as of late – is thought to have got its roots over two thousand years ago, as this fascinating, history rich article details.

–Holiday Simmer Pot Recipes: To me, few things personify the winter holiday season quite like certain memorable, beloved aromas. From freshly cut pine trees to nutmeg rich eggnog, gingerbread to candy canes, this chapter of the year is enriched by the many delights available to us via our olfactory sense.

If you enjoy holiday season scents, I recommend checking out Kayla’s delightful recipes for homemade simmer pots that are natural, easy to make, and sure to have your house smelling more festive than a fleet of Bath & Bodyworks stores.

(And while we’re on the subject of swoon worthy seasonal scents, may I suggest you also give Hello Glow’s Make Your House Smell Like the Holidays with DIY Aromatic Wax Fire Starters a gander.)

–11 Salves for Holiday Grief in the Time of COVID: In one way or another – and often, in a multitude of ways – grief has impacted most of us this year. Some, of course, are harder hit. Their losses profound, their lives irrevocably altered.

Grief is an extremely personal thing and each of us experiences, processes, and (if possible) begins to heal from the trauma or loss that caused it differently.

If you are experiencing grief this holiday season, be it COVID related or otherwise, the caring, easy to implement ideas laid out in this post may just help to make December a bit easier to bear this year.

–1989: Shopping Malls, America: I was four years old in ’89 and view this year as the first one for which I can clearly remember a multitude of days and happenings (though do have a smattering of earlier memories).  

I grew up in Canada, not the US, but much like south of the 49^th, malls were a really big deal for a lot of people here in the 1980s and 90s.

Looking at these candid snapshots of everyday folks going about their lives at the mall whisked me back in time faster than any DeLorean ever could. And in doing so, made me more than a wee bit nostalgic for a chapter of our collective history that often feels like it was a million years ago now.

Gone but not forgotten

Fall, sweet, enchanting, sublimely wonderful fall. You are like honey to my tongue and music to my ears. Your aromas and colours thrill and inspire me like no other, and though we must part for now, I will not soon forget you.

Indeed, I will carry your name in my heart the whole year through, weaving you into my crafting projects and fashion choices, the movies I watch (rare is the season in which I don’t view Hocus Pocus at least once), the books I read, the poems I pen.

I will think of you with the clarity of a ringing bell when the veil thins in a similar, yet different way, at Beltane. You will be my thoughts as mercury boils on my birthday in July and when, to my mind at least , the very first unofficial steps toward autumn begin the very next day.

When winter’s stronghold refuses to give up the ghost in March, and on Walpurgis Night as a witchy stirring and ancient energy not entirely unlike that of Samhain fills the mild late April air.

For fall is in my DNA and even when we say goodbye, we are never truly parted for good. Indeed, autumn, like all of the seasons, reside in each of us. We are borne of them, and they, in a sense, of us as well.

I would be kidding myself if I said that fall’s end isn’t a melancholy experience for me. Thankfully though, I know that like the harvest moon, it will rise again next year. A wonderful kindred spirit whose lifeblood helps to keep my own going strong.

Right here and now though, like many a Pagan and witch, I am celebrating the Yule season and settling in for what will most likely be about four more months of snow, snow, and more snow (this is Canada after all ).

Thankfully, the merriment of both Yule and Christmas help to ease the sting of autumn’s departure, while ushering in a season that, objectively, I’m also very fond of.

Winter is not without its own distinct beauty and charms, blessings and reasons to be grateful for these cold, dark days.

In the coming weeks and months, we will shine the spotlight on some of them, delve into numerous fun seasonal craft projects, and help one another through the teeth chatteringly chilly days of winter.

From the bottom of my heart, sweet friends, I wish you a cozy, safe, serene, beautiful, and happiness filled winter (or summer, if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere).

May it help guide us all to a better, healthier, and less challenging year ahead.

The post Fall 2020 Edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

As of yesterday, the fall equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, the season that was is no more. Some rejoice as summer’s fiery wrath retreats, others bemoan the end of such heat and all it entails, and others still are relatively ambivalent about the matter.

However you slice it, summer has drawn to an (official) end.

This was a season, much like the year as a whole, that I doubt many of us will soon forget. And while a mere three months have elapsed since the Spring 2020 Edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me, it’s safe to say that it feels as though significantly more time has transpired.

This summer wasn’t what I had in mine on many fronts. Nor was it for a good many of us.

Yet, even with some curveballs, challenges, unplanned hiatuses from the good ol’ interwebs, and enough heat to melt the ice rings of Saturn, I loved this summer.

Not a little, not a bit, not even a decent amount, but with a passion that matched the warmth that often drained me so intensely.

It wasn’t a perfect season, nor an easy one. No vacations transpired, (sadly) it wasn’t spent with loved ones due to continued self-isolating and social distancing, and my birthday, back in July, was the least eventful in a decade or more, yet this summer stole my heart.

I spent a lot of time outside, when possible, either in our backyard or on nature walks in secluded local areas. Under hazy summer sunrises and stunning skies full of the kind of twinkling stars one would never see in areas with greater degrees of light pollution, alongside lofty evergreens and breathtaking fields of golden hay, I walked.

And walked, and walked some more.

As walking has long been, effectively, the only form of exercise my health readily permits me to partake in (and even then, there are times when such is not possible) and I’m no stranger to clocking many a KM in a single day. Yet there was something different about the pavement and dirt paths alike that I pounded this summer.

In a world where so much has changed rapidly, where the future feels less certain, and which has altered so much of our usual existence, walking was (and is) familiar.

It is also, relatively speaking, one of the safer activities a person can publicly engage in these days, especially if you opt for quiet areas where few others tend to tread.

Walking sooths me powerfully. It has always felt like a way for me to show my health that it doesn’t always have the upper hand on my daily existence. It aligns beautifully with my spirituality, it gives me plenty of awesome bonding time with our darling dog, and it is just plain fun.

As I do each year, I will walk as late into the autumn as the weather permits. Once the inches/feet of snow that are inevitably come calling again, my walking generally switches from outdoors to indoors care of our treadmill. And while I actually really enjoy treadmilling, with each rotation of the belt, I know I’ll be daydreaming of spring’s bare ground.

But perhaps I’m getting a touch ahead of myself.

There are two whole seasons to go between then and now, and the one that is wrapping up as we speak will be delved into here today in the third edition in this quarterly blog post series.

So many things have caught my eye, inspired, informed and entertained me throughout the summer of 2020.

Indeed, it is hard to narrow the list down to a wee handful. Yet, for the sake of time and space, that I must.

Thus, I present you with the Summer 2020 of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me.

May the entries it houses resonate with you as well – and as always, if you have a (non-spam/commercial) link that’s recently caught your own eye and which you’d like to share in the comments below, please feel free to do so.

Magick, Witchcraft, Paganism, and Spirituality

-As the season’s shift and we embrace the extraordinary beauty of autumn upon the natural landscape, now is an especially wonderful time to follow the helpful suggestions on How to Work With the Plant Allies in Your Neighborhood housed in this lovely post.

-Carving pumpkins can be oodles of fun. It’s a hugely beloved tradition with longstanding European roots that were carried over to the new world by immigrants in centuries past.

Bringing a carving tool to a pumpkin’s flesh can also be a magickal, symbolic and/or highly spiritually charged act as well – as can the designs we scope out of the gourd’s flesh.

I can think of few more Pagan/witchery images better suited to emblazing into a pumpkin than the sacred pentagram. If you’re keen to do just that this fall (or anytime, for that matter), be sure to visit Deborah’s tutorial on How to Carve a Pentagram Pumpkin.

-In recent years, in some corners of the Pagan/witchery sphere, we’ve seen a bit of step back from the ultra structured craft that dominated the earlier decades of contemporary Wicca/witchcraft.

There is something wonderful, I believe, about structure and tradition though and while it is not for everyone, plenty of us enjoy and actively connect with these aspects of our own spiritual journey.

Whether you fall into that camp or not (and, of course, it should go without saying, but I will do so all the same, one take on this subject is not better or more “witchy” than the other), I recommend giving Astrea’s Hardwired For Tradition: Some People Are Better At Traditions Than Others a read.

-Salts of many varieties are an ingredient that I – like many of us – reach for often both in the kitchen and in my spiritual workings (and of course, as a culinarily inclinded witch, the two overlap a good deal).

When the distinct nip of autumn returns and we head towards Samhain, black salt comes to the fore all the more in my workings.

If you’ve ever wanted to make your own black salt or learn more about this powerful ingredient, swing by Otherworldly Oracle and read Witches Black Salt Recipe + What is Witches Black Salt Used For?

-There are certain things, I’ve long come to notice, that are commonly horded lovingly collected by many a witchy soul. Bottles and jars, with their limitless uses, are two such items.

If you’ve been looking for a fast, stylish way to beautify some of the glass containers you’ve amassed, this charming tutorial that shows you how to make DIY Herbs and Spices Apothecary Jars may be just the ticket!

-Two things that most of us are open as we go about our lives are harmony (aka, balance/serenity) and good luck. In the face of everything that we’ve both personally and collectively experienced this year, these two factors are welcome all the more.

If you’re looking for ways to try to increase one or both of these areas in your life, this post on how to make Good Luck and Harmony Water from renowned Pagan author/blogger/witch Silver Raven Wolf is apt to appeal to you.

-You know that feeling on Christmas morning after all the gifts have been opened and you’re now left staring at a sea of tattered paper and discarded bows strew around the room? Or what about after a party when the last guest has departed and you look upon more dishes than Bed, Bath and Beyond houses, wondering where they all came from and how you’ll find the energy to tackle them?

Now, what about when a spell – especially a really great spell that you jived with big time – is complete and you need to get rid of some or all of the materials that you used for it?

Ask any witch whose been witching for a while and chances are, they’ve found themselves in this spot. Not quite sure what to do, when to do it, or where to dispose of the remnants of one’s magickal workings.

Fear not, Rachel Patterson (whose stellar book, Witchcraft Into The Wilds, I reviewed here earlier this year) has got you covered care of her handy post, Ending and Disposing of Spells.

One read of this entry and, hopefully, you’ll feel a lot less potential uncertainty or stress the next time you wrap up a magickal working.

Card Making, Scrapbooking, Paper Crafting, and Other Crafts

-For all intents, I’m not a sewer. It’s an artform that I hugely admire and wish to high heaven that I had a natural knack for, but I’m old enough to recognize where my strengths lay and to make peace with those areas that I’m unlikely to ever excel at.

That said, A) one can always improve their skills by actively learning and practicing more, and B) both sewers and many other crafters alike are likely to find some terrific project inspiration care of the List of Fabric Manufacturer’s Free Project Pages that Julie from The Crafty Quilter has thoughtfully compiled for all of us.

-I enjoy heat embossing as much as the next person and have long turned to the classic paper crafting technique for a wide range of projects. Sometimes though, it can be fun and refreshing to shake things up and create similar looks with products other than actual embossing powder itself.

One of the best, quickest, and most effective alternatives that I’ve seen to date is this very cool look at how to create Faux Heat Embossing With Duct Tape.

After you’ve read this post, don’t be surprised if your SO comes asking where all the duct tape in the house has suddenly vanished to!

-If you’re a face mask wearer, you may have found yourself wishing that the ones you’ve been sporting were roomier (but still effective, of course!).

Fear not, there’s a handy homemade way to make that possible via Helen’s easy, excellent Breathable DIY Face Mask Tutorial.

-The longer the pandemic rages on, the longer many of us are going without normal human activities like embracing or otherwise touching other people (save perhaps from those who share our home/immediate circle).

I know that I certainly am (what I wouldn’t give to safely hug my nearest and dearest again!) and as such, the interesting ideas put forth in the post Is Craft Booming in Covid Because We’re Starved for Touch? really struck a chord with me as both a crafter and a human, point-blank.

-In this day and age of tech, plastic, and a continual bombardment of what is supposed to be the latest and greatest children’s toys around, it can be downright refreshing to step away from the modern toybox and return to the simple joys of something like paper toys.

Case in point, this great post starring Twelve Easy Paper Toys to Print, Cut and Assemble.

While the use of a printer does add a modern element to the process, the end result is decidedly yesteryear in its classic charm and appeal, while being no less at home in today’s world, where non-tech toy options are more important than ever.

-There is just something about buttons – or items that depict them – that steals my heart away time after time. Like many a crafter, I have a beloved button stash (filled with a mix of modern and vintage offerings) and frequently work with this versatile embellishment.

You can imagine then, the plethora of beats that my heart skipped when I saw this tremendously lovely – and very creative – All the Buttons Quilt Tutorial that the uber-talented Heidi from Fabric Mutt created and shared on her blog a few weeks ago.

If I ever get the quilting bug, this is going straight to the top of my “top make” pile.

-Under the header of “cutest handmade masks around” belongs these head-turningly adorable Halloween Crochet Face Masks, which are sure to delight youngsters and the young at heart alike.

And while you’re on Sarah’s site, be sure to check out her delectable recipes, including this one for Crock Pot Candy Corn Bark that is perfect for fall’s return.

-When I was a little girl, my mom kept many of her most treasured recipes written out by hand on recipe cards. Though she stored them in a specially designed binder made just for this purpose, the presence of those recipe cards in my early life instilled a connection to, and fondness for, recipes cards in me from an early age that is still going strong today.

Thus, I’m naturally drawn to recipe cards and the books and boxes many folks use to house them.

One of the most charming handmade options I’ve encountered lately is this beautiful Just Roll With It Farmhouse Kitchen Recipe Box, which would make for incredible gift or addition to your own kitchen alike.

What’s shaking in my life and on my radar

Good things, my lovelies, good things aplenty!

This summer might have kicked my behind at times, but it was also thoroughly awesome in certain other respects.

One of which is that this season really, really, helped me to get a better perspective on certain areas of my life.

It also introduced some very beneficial (and, no exaggeration, desperately needed) positive changes to certain aspects of my health + corresponding energy levels, and at the same time helped me to experience summer again in a way that I haven’t in far more years than I care to count.

Tony and I stayed put this summer, refraining from travel due to the pandemic. We’ve been extremely fortunate to remain virus-free and to not have this devastating illness hit any of our loved ones on either side of the Atlantic.

We shared many of the above-mentioned walks together (though plenty were solo adventures with Annie by my side), got to know some of our neighbours better, made many delicious seasonal meals, and were able to tackle a number of tasks/jobs in our lives that were in serious need of being accomplished.

I feel very renewed right now.

I know that this current energy and sense of corresponding positivity is unlikely to last indefinitely. However, while it’s here, I’m revelling in it and giving mighty thanks to the universe for helping to make this state possible.

As usual, the links that I’m sharing in the “Me” section of this post are one seriously mixed bag. If you ask me though, that’s a big part of the reason why lists like this are such fun. You just never know what they may house.

-Avocados have been enjoying a serious moment in recent years (both on toast and otherwise), though they’ve been savoured by many long before Instagram entered the picture.

If you’ve ever cut into an avocado and wished that you could keep it from browning faster than the speed of light, this ultra-simple trick is here to save the day: This Waste-Free Hack Will Keep Your Cut Avocados Ripe Longer.

-Dolly Parton’s beloved hit, Jolene, is one of my favourite country western songs of all time. Its haunting depth, soulful lyrics and captivating melody have helped to turn it into a musical classic at this point.

As much as I adore Dolly’s version, I have to say, I’m also more than a little bit smitten with this very clever take, which sees Jolene’s lyrics tweaked and sung – gorgeously, may I add – in a Bardic Medieval Style.

Trust me, after one listen, thy will likely find thyself playing this gem on repeat from here on out.

(And speaking of content pertaining to that period of time, I rather enjoyed this look at The World of Medieval Dogdom from History Today.)

-It’s safe to say that there are – speaking of music – far more Christmas season tunes than ones aimed at, or especially well suited to, fall time celebrations.

Thankfully, however, a toe-tapping slew of All Hallows’ Eve songs exist and compiling a playlist or otherwise enjoying them is something I do with extra gusto the moment September returns.

If you’re much the same, or just want a great lineup of music to help you celebrate the spookiest chapter of the year, be sure to check of Good Housekeeping’s list of 50 Spooky Halloween Songs You Need to Play at Your Costume Party (or anytime!).

You may also enjoy their fab list of 80 Fun and Creepy Ideas for a Halloween Party to Remember.

-I’m all for curve-hugging attire, but I also appreciate the way less form-fitting attire can look and feel, so I’ve rather been loving the fact that loose-fitting shirts – including classic t-shirts – are having a moment again this year.

How to Wear a Comfy, Giant T-Shirt and Still Look Stylish is just the ticket if you’re also feeling the siren’s call to roomier garb these days.

Plus, bonus points for the mega 1980s and 90s fashion nostalgia that oversized shirts can stir in many of us who were alive during those decades.

-Let’s face it, most of us use at least one social media platform these days. Sharing images is one of the highlights of these digital communities and certainly amongst my favourite elements of SM.

If you’ve been wondering what the current ideal sizes are for SM photos, graphics and the like, look no further than this handy list of Social Media Sizes, which provides image size specs for twenty of the top current social media platforms.

-Unquestionably, one of the most important things to occur in 2020 is the greater awareness of, and expanding social platform for, black lives and the important voices they house.

Long after the sea of black squares that filled our IG streams earlier this year, it is crucial that we listen, learn, educate ourselves, and be allies today, tomorrow, and always.

Hearing about the black experiences that people live daily is an important component of this. I’ve been doing so a good deal lately with several stories in particular standing out for me.

One of which is the engaging and (arguably) rather unique, given the author’s uncommon ancestral combination, I’m Inuk, but I’m Black: Comprehending My Identity as an Inuk Jamaican Woman.

-Yes, summer is winding down, but if there’s one thing you can count on when it comes to the seasons, it’s that they’ll return again next year!

Get a jump start on celebrating Halloween during the sunniest season care of this list of 15 Things You Need for Summerween (all of which can certainly also do festive double duty once fall returns).

Parting is such sweet sorrow

(Because, clearly, we’ve got a Willie S. theme going on in this post. )

So much of the wonder and appeal of the seasons, I firmly believe, is their very brevity. We may love (or loath) certain chapters of the year more than others, but when all is said and done, we are passive witnesses to changes that are beyond our control.

We love them both for what they bring in the moment and for how they make us yearn for their return – or conversely, give mighty thanks that we won’t face them again for about nine more months.

Not since childhood can I remember longing to hold onto summer to such a degree.

Of course, while I don’t wish for any of the negatives it housed (be it for me/us personally or in the world at large) to continue, I would love dearly to have a few more weeks of crystal clear nights as warm as a bathtub, vibrant greenery as far as the eye can see, and the unmatched languid allure of a season that refuses to be rushed.

My heart will pine for summer, my mind will cradle the memories of the vanishing season we just savoured, and my soul will wait with equal parts patience and anticipation for the return of the year’s toastiest chapter.

That said, if heatwaves want to long walk off a short cliff, I seriously won’t mind!

But perhaps I’m being too harsh there though. As tough as this summer’s heat was and as much of a number as it did on me at times, what would summer (in the Western Hemisphere) be without its infamous dog days and the brilliantly bright sunshine they house?

Not quite the same, if you ask me. Not quite the same.

And so, I – like all of us on this side of the equator – will soon part ways with summer. Some will say good riddance, others will join me in wishing we could capture the season as easily as a photograph and hold it in our hands just a little bit longer.

Thankfully, as much as I can wax poetically about summer, I can do so all the more for the season that is upon us: fall time!

Sweet, stunning, glorious, gorgeous autumn!

It’s far from a state secret that fall is my favourite chapter of the year. The one that most aligns with my deepest self and spiritual path, that I pine for all throughout the other 3/4ths of the year, and the season that makes me feel most alive. By a wide mile.

This summer was awesome, enjoyable and happiness-inducing in some respects, but even with that being the case, it can’t hold a pumpkin spice scented candle to fall in my books.

I have one heck of a fun, festive, and full schedule of blog and Instagram posts coming down the pipeline for autumn 2020.

Whether you’re a fellow falloholic like me or not, I hope that you enjoy the content that I have planned and that there will be no shortage of elements – treasured classics and new favourites alike – in the coming season that help to spark joy in your world.

And so, while it is with a heavy heart that I part ways with summer, it is with an elation filled one that I slip into a cozy cardigan, gleefully rewatch Hocus Pocus + It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown for the umpteenth time, connect all the more with my witchery, and count down the nanoseconds until October 31^st!

Thank you, summer, for all that you were, all that you taught me, and the changes you brought. You will be missed and treasured.

Now, however, it is time to swap our sundresses and shades for tights and scarves and scare up more than a little bit of autumn magick.

Who’s with me?

The post Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me: Summer 2020 Edition appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.