Wizard Portrait

I did my first wizard portrait a short while ago for a Harry Potter swap on craftster.org (click here to see the original). It was small, and the painting came together quickly ~ I was rather pleased with myself. I'm now in the middle of wizard portrait no. 2 and this time it's a little more nerve wracking. The first time around it was for a stranger and there were no expectations. This time around, not only do I know the person I'm trading with, but he's one of my favourite people ever... and his wife is an artist. Ug.

So far I'm pretty happy with how things are going... I only hope that the recipient will be pleased with the end result.

Phew

I feel like I can finally sit still (though I probably shouldn't). There are still loads of things to do but at least there isn't anything pressing at the moment. Things still seem a bit 'off' around the house but I haven't had a chance to truly cleanse it yet as I've been waiting for my batch of 4 Thieves Vinegar to cure.

In the meantime I have been busy making stuff...

Thank the Goddess for Sewing Machines

Things have been super busy around the Knickertwist house. There aren't enough hours in the day. Seriously! If there were some way I could wave my wand, add a few hours here and there, and perhaps have my mop clean the floors by itself, I'd be set. Unfortunately I haven't found that secret just yet.

Mister Knickertwist has been hijacked by his job... the grape harvest has begun. This means that he's gone long before I drag myself out of bed and doesn't get home until 8pm. It's not nice. Add to this all the other things that life throws your way and there isn't much time to do anything. Sometimes you need to make time for what's really important.

Little master D had a dress up birthday bash to attend this past Saturday. The theme was fairy's and princesses but since he's a fella we decided that perhaps an elf would be a more suitable costume. Time slipped away (as it always does) and before I knew it it was Friday and there was still no costume. I had a commitment for Friday evening but I decided that I'd cut that short and race home to get to the making. I was home shortly after 10, put the kiddo to bed, then jumped up and ran to the sewing machine.

I love my sewing machine. I know it's wrong to love 'things' but I really do love Bessy (that's the name I've given my beautious machine). I remember sewing items by hand in the past... now I can't imagine life without my wonderous machine. In no time at all I'd managed to wrangle a costume out of my fabric stash. It looks a bit "Robin Hood" but since he started out as "Robin Goodfellow", a wood sprite, I'm satisfied. I did make a set of ears to attach to the hat, unfortunately the hot glue didn't like the materials I used and the plain old white glue hadn't dried in time for the party. Ah well, you can't win them all.

And so it begins...

I usually begin my magickal workings by really thinking about the issue and what it is that I want/need to accomplish. I'm pretty terrible at meditation so this is usually done while I am preforming tasks like folding socks, ironing, and is especially fruitful while I am painting. My first realization was that I needed to reaffirm my trust in the goddess and that all would turn out well no matter how frustrated I was feeling. That alone made me feel a bit better and helped me to see the signs around me.

There is a person from my past whom, I believe, was preforming some magick of their own. I'm not sure why this person felt as they did, but they did not have the best of intentions as far as I was concerned. I haven't seen or thought about this person in quite some time but yesterday someone mentioned them to me and today I saw them under very unsual circumstances. I also saw signs of someone else that were too hard to ignore. To me this suggests that some serious cleaning, clearing and protection needs to be done.

Perhaps there are times when it's not necessarily the direct situation that needs to be dealt with but rather the bigger picture. Maybe, at this point at least, I'd be better off clearing my space and protecting my family than trying to summon Ms. Poppins.

** Update: I started cleaning my house and already things are looking up. Way up! I'm so grateful to the goddess for her guidance and I'm so very lucky to be on the path that I am on.

Daycare Woes

I'm having a really hard time understanding how people with children manage to maintain a job. I thought that when the little D started school that things would somehow be easier. I was wrong.

D starts junior kindergarten at 8:50 and finishes his day at 11:20. There is no afterschool care at his school. There is no transporation from his school to his current daycare. His daycare will pick him up but stops at another school first which means being unsupervised for 10 minutes until he is picked up. We have looked at other caregivers in our area and they were frightening (cat pee, dog and cigarette odors... and that was one house!). I have placed an ad for potential caregivers and they want almost the same pay as I am making (not that they don't deserve it). My only option at this point is to start my 'day job' late in the day. In other words, I am losing 3 hours of work because of the 10 mintues it takes to walk my kiddo to the daycare after school.

We are fortunate. We have jobs that are demanding at times but afford us a great deal of flexiblity. To be able to say to my employer, "Listen, I need to start at noon, not 9" and for him to say "I don't think that will be a real problem" is a lifesaver. How many people have to quit because they don't have care for their children? I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like for people who need to find subsidized care. I'm really at a loss.

My co-worker told me I must be a pretty crumby witch if I can't work some magick on this issue. I think she's right. It's time to pull out the wand. I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do but I will post a spell when I come up with something and we'll see how it works.

I wonder what spell the Banks children used on that Mary Poppin's letter?

The Sad Truth About Bargain Hunting

As a proud member of craftster.org I have quickly become obsessed with craft swaps. Basically you find a topic that interests you, get a partner to swap crafts with, and end up with a load of great handmade items.

At the moment I am signed up for a "Bargain Hunter Swap". I have $5 to make my partner something wonderful and pad out the package buying treats with the leftover moolah. It's pretty amazing how far you can make money go if you have the time, and are willing to put in the effort. It's a fun swap with little financial obligation.

One of the reasons I joined this swap is my love of finding treasure in second hand and junk shops. While on the hunt for swap items I have found loads of great things that I have picked up for myself (a bookshelf, sewing basket, pirate mug, frames, books, puzzles, games) but have to find a treasure for my partner.

Searching through all that stuff can sometimes be pretty depressing. It never fails to shock me when I see an item that has been signed "With Love, from Grandma". This past weekend I found a great little nick-knack shelf that had the following written on the back "To my wonderful father. I (heart) you so much. Lots of Love. Fathers Day '03" It breaks my heart to think that someone just tossed that away. I know you can't keep everything (I have every little bit that my son has ever made or given me and it's reaching ridiculous proportions.) but how do items from Grandma make it into the trash heap? I can't imagine.

Ah well, the shelf is getting a new life. Funny thing about timing ... I just happened to find a 50 cent piece that my own father (whom I haven't had a relationship with in over 16 years) gave me when I was young. I'm going to include it in my little creation. The pic above is the work in progress ...