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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hey, ghoul friend adorable Valoween Day ghost themed friendship card

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Products used to make this super cute ghost themed Valoween card

-Black cardstock – Raven Black Cardstock from Bazzill

-Light grey cardstock

-Cream cardstock

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

-Matte silver metallic cardstock

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

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

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

-Decorative edge oval die

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

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

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

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

-Black ink – Jet Black Archival Ink from Ranger

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

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

-Small dark red alphabet stickers

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

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

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

-White seam binding (or ribbon)

-Pink seam binding (or ribbon)

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

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

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

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

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

How to Make an Adorable Hey, Ghoul Friend Valoween card

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There is spooky, and then there is scary

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some adore it more than Cupid loves shooting arrows, others would happily strike it off the calendar completely if they could.

Plenty fall in between and enjoy taking part in various February 14^th traditions, but don’t have overly strong feelings either way about Valentine’s Day.

For some of us, Valentine’s Day – like many holidays – stirs up a strong sense of nostalgia.

The mere return of the second month of the year puts us in the mind for handmade Valentine’s Day cards, cinnamon heart candies, gorgeous red roses, scrumptious chocolate-covered strawberries, and time spent listening to our favourite love songs.

Personally, as a perpetual romantic, I’m quite fond of St. Valentine’s Day and enjoy embracing the general messages of love, sweetness, and all things that make your heart skip a beat.

I fully understand (and trust me, some years I’ve been in far more of a Feb. 14^th mood than others) that Valentine’s Day isn’t exactly everyone’s cup of tea – or rosé wine, if you prefer.

However, Valentine’s Day is an excellent point in the year to focus on the subject of love in general.

I realize that sounds a touch obvious, so please allow me to expand.

While we often associate Valentine’s Day with romantic love, or perhaps more plutonic forms of love such as that between relatives, close friends, etc, there is nothing that says the “amour train” has to stop there.

Valentine’s Day is an incredible time to reflect on things that we hold near and dear to our hearts, our greatest passions, everyday loves, and those areas of our lives that excite us to our cores.

For witches, Wiccans, and any other form of magickal or witchcraft practitioner, it can also be a superb opportunity to reflect on our current practices and beliefs. To evaluate where we’re at, what we cherish most about our witchcraft, and how we can strengthen our witchery all the more.

A fair number of us, even amongst the most devoted and active of witches, have felt their spiritual practice take a hit, or have had to put it on the backburner to a degree, in the midst of the challenging global pandemic we are all enduring.

As such, you might feel like your witchery is need of some self-love, TLC, and revitalizing. If so, I truly hope that the suggestions below will be of benefit to you.

Just as I hope that they are useful for all of my fellow witchy souls, whether you’re currently going through any form of spiritual struggle or not.

So without further ado, let me imbue the following words with my love and positivity for each of you, along with the wish that they inspire and aid you in your witchcraft both today and the whole year through.

14 ways to love your witchcraft even more

1. Start something new. Always wanted to blog about your practise, passion for tarot, life as empath, communing with spirit guides, light working, hedge riding, or any other spiritually focused subject?

Dying to take an online course about herbology, reiki, crystal healing, or spellwork?

Long yearned to make your own set of runes, scrying mirror, poppet, or magickal oils?

Ready to make this year the one that you start your own grimoire, Book of Shadows, or other magickal journal?

Go for it!

Sometimes the best way to inject an extra bushel of love into our practice is to stop thinking about what we want to do “one day” and make today the moment we turn thoughts into tangible actions.

2. Give your altar, witchy room, or other sacred space a tidy – and a makeover, if needed. Sweep off the incense ash, treat yourself to some new candles, dispose of any finished spell remains that are still lurking around, straighten crocked art or décor items, and look for ways to spruce up your sacred space.

Whether you work with a nightstand altar or have devoted your whole home to your witchery, show the magickal spaces(s) in your life some extra love this February.

The positive impact that doing so stands to have on your daily practice and spellwork virtually a given, as there’s just something about a clean, tidy space that helps to facilitate our witchery and innermost desires all the more effectively.

3. Make peace with the fact that not every day is going to be the witchiest day to have ever witched. And for that matter that, in all likelihood, not every spell or manifestation intention is going to come to fruition for you – at least not in the way you might have intended.

Our spirituality should not feel like a stressful job, heavy burden, or point of anxiety in our lives. If you are constantly berating yourself, feeling blue, or comparing yourself continually to other witches, it’s time to stop.

Really and truly stop.

You are going to have days when you’re at the top of your witchy game and others when you might not even think about witchcraft once. That is normal, that is okay, and that is all part of the continual journey that is being a witch.

Let go of the stress, celebrate and give thanks when you are able to focus on your path, and know that pretty much none of us – no matter what the internet might have you believe – operates at max witchy capacity 24/7/365.

4. Be mindful of who, and what, you share your magickal energy and spellwork with. Sometimes, as witches, it can be tempting to run to our herbs and candles so as to create spells for nearly every negative situation, difficult to deal with person, and worry that comes our way.

This isn’t a bad thing per se (and situations like these can be amongst those that are most aided by our witchery), but it is possible to stretch ourselves a bit to thin energy and focus wise, and to perhaps pour too much effort into causes and people that do not warrant it.

By mindfully focusing on fewer workings and aiming to ensure they have your full time, attention, and energy, your magick and connection to your practise stand to deepen and blossom all the more.

Plus, you’re less likely to feel like someone has drained the last ounce of juice from your witchy inner batteries.

5. If this matters to you, determine what kind(s) of witch you are. One need not apply labels to themselves to have an awesomely rewarding experience as a witch. However, plenty of folks love the idea of knowing what kind of witch they and in leaning all the more into that identity.

There is a seemingly endless number of blog, website, and social media based posts out there that discuss some of the various kinds of witches, and a simple Google search for “types of witches” or “kids of witches” will deliver scores of them your way.

If you’re in the mood for some lovely and enjoyable YouTube viewing on the subject, may I suggest Hearthfire Fox’s terrific video 100 Types of Witches?

Once you determine what kind of with you presently are (note: you are free to change interests, paths, areas of focus, etc when it comes to our witchery anytime you desire and not absolutely not locked into being, say, a cottage witch, weather witch, literary witch, sea witch, kitchen witch, forest witch, or chaos magick witch for life), look for ways to foster your own special blend of witchery.

You can build an altar focused on such, incorporate elements of your witchy personality into your wardrobe, read up on the subject, connect with other witches you also associate similarly online or off, and, if so desired, find ways to tie the type(s) of witch that you are into as many of your spells, rituals, sabbat and esbat workings, and other witchy activities as possible.

6. Connect with your ancestors all the more via DNA ancestry testing. If you’ve read my post on 5 Ways That Ancestral Testing Can Benefit Your Witchy Life, you may be aware of the fact that I’m a big proponent of incorporating the results of DNA-based testing into one witchcraft and spiritual journey as a whole.

DNA testing isn’t everyone’s first choice and I fully respect that fact. However, if you feel pulled towards it and are curious to discover how it might benefit your witchy, why not show yourself and the generations that came before you some extra love by discovering even more about your own unique, wonderful ancestral history?

7. Share the love. Are there unused or gently loved items pertaining to your spirituality that you are no longer – to borrow a term from Marie Kondo – spark joy for you? What about ones you may have outgrown (literally or physically)? How about purchases that were made with every good intention, but never actually used or enjoyed?

Are there fellow witches, Pagans, or others in your life that you could gift some of these items to?

If not, what about local charity shops, free item based Facebook groups in your area, or any budding new witches you might happen to know?

8. Research and incorporate non-Wheel of The Year sabbats into your witchery. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who loves each of the eight sabbats on the Wheel of The Year more than this witch.

By the same token, I also enjoy embracing other holidays and special events that are culturally and spiritually appropriate for my path. Just as I’m keen to encourage others to do the same.

Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lammas, Mabon, Samhain, and Yule are incredibly important and enjoyable aspects of being a witch for some of us, but there are many other days of the year that we can celebrate in the context of our spirituality as well.

These include, but are certainly not limited to:

-Our own birthdays

-Lupercalia (observed on February 13^th, 14^th, and/or 15^th)

-International Women’s Day (March 8th)

-Earth Day (April 22^nd)

-Yggdrasil Day (also April 22^nd)

-Walpurgis Night (April 30^th)

-All Souls Day (November 2^nd)

-Saturnalia (on, or around, December 17^th)

-New Years celebrations rooted in ancient cultures (such as the 5 Ancient New Year’s Celebrations listed in this History Channel post).

-The monthly esbats

If you follow a particular branch of witchery and/or Paganism, research what the traditional holidays and other highly important points on the calendar were/are for this group and consider incorporating more if them into your spirituality, if you’re not already doing so.

For example, here is a list of holy days observed by many modern Heathens; here’s a list of Baltic Pagan holidays, and here is one for Hellenic Pagans.

9. Create one or more of your own witchy tools or supplies. While DIYing seems to come intuitively to many witches, that doesn’t necessarily mean that we always listen to the siren’s song to do so.

It can be ever-so-easy (especially since the advent of online shopping) to purchase some or even all of our magickal supplies.

There’s nothing wrong with doing so, of course, but if you have the time, abilities, and, if applicable, finances needed making some of your own magickal items can be a highly rewarding experience.

The sky is the limit on this front, but possible options include brooms and besoms, wands, pendulums, sets of runes, handmade and/or hand drawn decks of tarot and oracle cards, candles, oils, incense blends, altar clothes, offering dishes and bowls, travel altars, and magickal jewelry, to name but a few possibilities.

10. Have a witchy elevator pitch. While chances are you won’t actually have to pitch why you’re a witch in a business world setting any time soon, it can be beneficial to your spiritual journey to be able to succinctly summarize the core tenants of your current beliefs and practices.

Take some time, if needed, to get down to brass tacks when it comes to what your own witchcraft path is all about. What do you believe? What matters most to you from a witchy perspective? What are your core witchy tenants? What is your spiritual truth? How would you describe your path in just a few lines?

The more we hone in and focus on what matters most to us, what we believe, and how we chose to presently witch, the more we stand to feel happy with, and confident in, our witchery. And that, my friends, is a very good thing indeed.

11. Remember what drew you to witchcraft in the first place – or, if you were born into a family of practising witches, why you’ve opted to continue down a witchy path as you’ve grown up.

Sometimes it can do a world of good for our spiritual practises if we go back to our roots.

Strip away all the Instagram accounts you compare yourself to, the reams of spells sitting in books on your shelves you’d like to do, but never seem to have time to accomplish; the infighting and gatekeeping of the Pagan world, and the things you tried and didn’t bond with as you might have hoped.

Let these elements go as best you can. Banish them from your life or least spend less time focusing on them, and really explore the humble beginnings of when you first started your witchery.

What drew you to being a witch? What have you changed since then? How have you grown as a witch (and a person in general)?

What do you wish you’d known then about being a witch that you know now? How has being a witch (hopefully!) benefited your life? Where do you want to be as a witch in a year, five years, twenty years from now?

Honour your roots, celebrate the days when you were a witchling, and ask yourself if there are elements of those early times that you’ve not focused on in a while but which could serve you well again today (then try to put them into action).

12. Just have fun! Seriously, not everything has to be solemn, serious, complicated, or challenging. There is a place and time both inside and out of witchery for such, but there is also ample space for lighthearted fun.

Goodness knows that most of us have had an incredibly challenging past several months and that fun hasn’t always been our top priority.

If you can spare even just fifteen or twenty minutes here or there to focus on fun, I highly encourage you to do so.

Your fun can be Witchcrafted based or otherwise, as you desire. The aim is to enjoy yourself, smile, relax or conversely amp up your energy, experiencing the pleasures of living the moment and feeling free to let your hair down for a little bit.

Being and feeling happy is one of the greatest gifts we can ever give ourselves. Be it for Valentine’s Day or any other point on the calendar.

13. Utilize music in your practice. Whether you create it yourself (singing, chanting, drumming, playing another instrument, etc) or turn to the creative works of others, music can often heighten and deepen our spiritual journeys for the better.

We’re blessed that music abounds in the world and that we can make it ourselves in a multitude of ways

What types of instruments and songs make you feel most connected to your path? Have you ever sung to the moon or the faeries? What about your ancestors or your spirit allies? Could you compose the words of a spell set to music?

What about making a sigil from one of your favourite song verses? Have you ever tapped rhythmically on elements in nature such as rocks, trees, or even bodies of water?

If the universe as a whole had an anthem, what do you think it would sound like?

Are there any types of music that help you to feel more connected to the deities (or Spirit) that you work with?

Think outside of the (music) box and look for fun, creative, meaningful ways to add music to your witchcraft.

14. Remember that the most powerful magickal tools you will ever have are your own energy, intention, life experiences, and believes. Physical tools, exciting tarot decks, gorgeous crystals, healing herbs, and a plethora of other witchery related items all have their places, of course, but at the end of the day you, and you alone, are the most powerful source of magick you will ever work with.

And if you’re looking for additional ways beyond these fourteen ideas to help up your witchy practice all the more, be sure to check out my post on 12 Ways to Live a More Magickally Focused Year.

Loving wishes to you on this beautiful day

With each passing year, my Valentine’s aesthetic and focus becomes ever more Valoween. This makes my witchy + gothy soul purr like a contend black cat.

However, I also adore Victorian, Edwardian, and mid-twentieth century styles and vintage items as well, and find that merging the two is a snap.

As February 14^th draws near, I send either store bought or handmade Valentine’s Day cards to some of my loved ones whenever possible.

I scour the house for every red, black, and pink candle, candle holder, and heart shaped item, pairing them with our black dishes and dusty pink hued drinking glasses to create a festive tablescape that is just the romantic ticket for me and my honey.

We’re always been the type to express our love actively throughout the year in myriad ways, which means that Valentine’s Day has the added bonus of being a pressure-free day for both of us that we can enjoy to our heart’s content.

On a spiritual level, I adore working spells pertaining to love, friendship, vitality, romance, and my goals (which often pertain to things I love) on Valentine’s Day.

I also try to make a point to reflect on those areas of my life that I’m loving most at the moment, the people who are closest to my heart, and on Valentine’s Days past.

I also focus on sending loving energy out into the universe, directing it everything from the genus loci in our area, to my ancestors, and, of course, to my fellow witches and Pagans the world over.

Whether that is a heading you fall under as well or not, I encourage you to take some time today and through February in general to access if there are areas of your life that could use a little more love and attention.

If there are, seek out realistically doable ways to pour more of your heart and energy in these areas. They matter to you for a reason and deserve to be nurtured and celebrated whenever possible.

However you opt to observe (or not) Valentine’s Day, I hope that you feel loved, have people and passions to adore in your own life, and will experience an extra sweet moment or two today.

Happy February 14^th wishes, dear ones, with love and kisses from my heart to yours.

The post 14 Ways to Love Your Witchcraft Even More appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

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

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

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

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

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

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

I’ve got a new photography set up!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A more streamlined approach to my project share posts

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

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

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

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

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

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

What is Valoween?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

–A Bewitching Guide to Halloween

–All Hallows’ Geek

–Halloween Head

–Me and Annabel Lee

–My House is Cuter Than Yours

–Shivers of Delight

–Spooky Little Halloween

–The Dahlia Crypt

–The Spooky Vegan

–The Witch at One and Seventy

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

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

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

Dark and romantic Valoween card and shaker wand set

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

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

Naturally, paper crafting related thoughts soon followed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And voila, my Valoween shaker wand was complete.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-Black cardstock

-White cardstock

-Red glitter cardstock – Darice

-Dusty red coloured cardstock – Craft Smith

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

-Thin chipboard

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

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

-Two-toned grey striped paper

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

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

-Nested heart boarder die set – Alina Crafts on AliExpress

-Bat dies

-Foliage heart die

-Coffin die

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

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

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

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

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

-Tiny red pearl style flat back embellishments

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

-Tiny clear plastic gems (used in shaker mix)

-White enamel drops – Ivory Seashell Crystal Drops from Nuvo

-Sheer black ribbon

-Black eyelash (tinsel) trim

-Skinny red ribbon

-Black and white striped paper straw

-Glue gun and glue sticks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Much always!

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