Making stuff

Is anyone watching Making It? Amy P and Nick O are ridiculously wonderful and the show is one of those few gems that you can watch with your kids without worrying something inappropriate will happen. Anyway there are some contestants that I just loveeeeee. The interior designer has the best taste (she's my favorite and i think she'll win) and the colors and whimsy of the paper crafting lady.... gahhhh. You should watch this show, its on hulu. It pairs nicely with sweatpants and white wine. This show reminds me of all of the things I love about The Great British Baking Show. It also reminds me of how much I love to craft. And troll etsy.

photo: newsweek

About 9 years ago, I had my first baby girl. I started making hairbows for her and really enjoyed the creativity it brought out of me. I had a surprisingly active Etsy shop and facebook page. Then I had my 2nd baby girl. I got super burned out and had such little time to craft.

Fast forward to now, 9 years later. I am feeling the itch to make things again. I think my dream etsy shop would contain some kids stuff, some mom stuff, some magical concoctions. Sooooo I've ordered some supplies and I'm ready to get cracking. I think this full moon will fill me with the energy I need to begin. Every full moon makes me start some kind of major project. My husband is such a sweet man-lol.

So stay tuned for some etsy goodness. I'm also going to try to write more. I'll post some sneak peaks on here soon :)

Intro to Tarot 101

Hello friends! 

I have been a busy little witch on my quest to better understand the world of Tarot. I have learned a ton and cannot wait to share some insights with ya'll. So let's start from the top.

I made a promise to myself to try to engage in a tarot activity every day. Either a quick and easy card of the day, a three card spread, or maybe something more, depending on how much time I have. I try to wake up early before the rest of the house starts moving. This time of day feels so quiet and therapeutic for me. I make a cup of coffee and sit and soak up the beautiful energy of the morning. If the weather is nice I sit outside at my back patio and listen to the birds and nature sounds to help get centered. Once I feel ready, I pick a spread. This can take some time and thought. A few examples of my favorite spreads are....

1 card spread:

• card of the day
• today's theme

3 card spreads: 

• past/present/future
• mind/body/spirit
• now/later/distant future
• you/them/us
• stop/ start/continue 
• you/what greets you today/outcome

I hold my cards for a bit and close my eyes, relax and envision the spread/questions I am asking. Then I shuffle. There are a few different methods of shuffling. I use whatever feels right. I kind of think of it as going on auto-pilot. I just do whatever my hands feel like doing. Then I cut the deck and choose from the top of the deck. As you flip the cards be sure to take notice of cards that are upright and cards that are reversed. This has a special meaning. Then, I sit and study the cards. What do I see in the pictures? What feelings are conveyed? How do the cards relate to each other? They oftentimes tell a story.. 

Here is an example of cards working together to tell a story. Say you pull these guys:

In the 7 of swords you see a guy (flamboyantly lol) stealing a bunch of swords. You can see in the background, that there is a camp or people/soldiers and he is sort of tip toeing away with an armload checking to see if anyone notices. So, this card represents being sneaky or acting in a way that isn't really forthright and honest. Then the judgment card is this angel/godlike character blowing the freakin'.... I don't know..... karma horn. It basically depicts the final judgement, where things land on the right and wrong spectrum. So, put them together and it gives a message like, if you try to get away with something sneaky right now, you will get caught. Or possibly, someone in your life is doing something wrong; will you call them on it? Something to that affect. 

So it's been quite a while that I've been practicing with the tarot and I'm really just scratching the surface. I love that I'm beginning to get an immediate response/feeling when I turn a card over. I find it so exciting to read for others. I tend to get the same cards over and over for myself. I'll leave you with one of my favorite tarot memes...

So, who else here reads tarot?! Comment below with your favorite spreads. I love learning new ones <3

Card of the Day. DO IT

It can be a little daunting, starting any new hobby when you feel like a total newb. Even though I've had readings and messed around with my deck before, I still felt unsure of where to start. My girl, Kelly, who is my total tarot-card-loving inspiration, introduced me to the Tarot! app. I don't know how I feel about an electronic deck. The whole song and dance of the cards, in my opinion, is the shuffle/ask a question/cut the deck/choose cards and I'm not sure how that translates to an app. But it's only $1.99 so I thought why not. What I LOVE about the app, is the "card of the day" feature. I always check my card of the day and see what it says. It'll give you a brief description of the card as well. This is really helping me learn how to recognize the cards and get a little understanding of what they mean.

There are a lot of cards. 78 to be exact. And it would be unrealistic to learn all the meaning right off the bat. This is a great way to dip your toe into the tarot world. I've read that its recommended that you keep a journal to remember what cards you get, what they mean, and what ones seem to come up often for you. My friend Kelly and I agree that we seem to keep getting the same cards over and over while other cards never come up for us.

One thing I try to remember with my card of the day draw, this card doesn't determine what kind of day I'm going to have. I'm the only one in my life with that much power. 💃💃 This could be one minute part of the day, a fleeting thought, a person that I come into contact with, etc. So I try not to get too bent out of shape if I get an icky looking card. (my LEAST favorite card is the tower card.) But I'm not going to lie, I love when I draw my favorite card, the ten of cups. I mean how freaking cute is this card? You can't help but smile.

The Tower card represents: Disaster, upheaval, sudden change, revelation (which isn't always indicative of a bad thing. But when I see the picture on the card I just DON'T like it.)

The ten of cups represents: Harmony, marriage, happiness, alignment (and when I draw this card, I feel warm and fuzzy. The lovey dovey couple and flipping adorable children dancing. I love this one.)

I get the card meanings from the Tarot! app or from Biddytarot.com

Go pull your card of the day! Tell me what you get and if it made sense to you. I'd seriously love to hear. <3

TAROT for beginners

Many years ago, my incredible, very open minded mom, bought me a beginner tarot starter kit from the impulse section in line at Barnes and Noble bookstore. It came bundled in a tiny square box and included a deck, a book of card descriptions and a cart layout sheet. It traveled with me from home, to my college dorm room, my first apartment, my first house with my new husband and finally my current home. And I haven't lost it, which is pretty impressive for this unorganized gal. So, here's my first deck....

It was a great starter deck. I absolutely had a lot of luck with these cards. One particular reading for a friend on that powerful solar eclipse day. (CHILLS for days) But the cards were small, the pictures on the cards were not very descriptive, and the description book is brief. I will keep it to lend to friends that are interested in learning or for my kiddos some day. I have a sentimental feeling towards it. But it's definitely time for some big girl cards. 

Here is my pretty new deck......

Every time I see this picture, the song "Isn't she Lovely" by Stevie Wonder plays in my head. I've done some research on how to choose the right deck. There are so many choices out there and it can be overwhelming. The most traditional and commonly used deck is the Rider Waite deck. In my opinion it is a great deck to choose if you are getting to know and understand tarot. The pictures are clear and descriptive as opposed to some other decks I've seen. So I went to Barnes and Noble and bought the Rider Waite tarot set. I hate to be basic, but this felt right for me. When I opened the box, I was happily surprised by the beautiful starry pattern on the backs of the cards and the deep blue background. These really speak to me. Which, I think, is a real meet-cute and a great way to start this relationship with my cards. <3 

The chakra stones are from my lovely soul sister-in-law. She is a fellow witchy woman who shares my passion in all things spiritual. She got them from a local shop called Dragonfly Designs and they are gorgeous. 

Next up, readings...... 

i'm back, baby.

Hello internets! It's been a while. Since my last post, I've had another child, traveled around a bit and have learned a few things. I have been feeling the pull to write and explore some new paths. So here I am.

Looking back through my old posts reminds me how much I used to craft and how much enjoyment my girls and I got from it. I need to try to get back to that and carve out some time to let my brain play a little from time to time. My next project will be something with the sewing machine I think.

My new current obsession is responding to the constant call of connecting on a spiritual level to the universe/myself and/religion. I was raised Catholic and I believe in God/Creator/Great Spirit. I still go to church quite often and I want my daughters to have a foundation of faith. But I know, personally, that I connect on a deeper spiritual level through meditation and connecting with the other side. So, my journey right now is exploring this path. Seeing what I can learn. Seeing how this connects me to God, to others, to myself.

So, long story short. It's gonna get a little witchy up in here. Stones, tarot cards, white light, meditation, shit. is. getting. real. ;)