An Upcycled Medicine Bag, The Year of the Sheep, and Home Made Incense

Magic is most definitely afoot...

  So here's my latest: a medicine pouch made with upcycled materials.  Specifically, an old wool blanket, fabric scraps, and a sparkly rhinestone magnetic clasp I salvaged from a necklace I made last year.  Apparently driftwood is not the sturdiest media for jewelry making.  Here's the post I wrote about my former necklace:http://thedelightist.blogspot.com/2014/03/year-of-wood-horse-talisman.html. Long story short, I found a small piece of driftwood on a beach in Mexico with an "H" engraved into it by some sort of bug.

 It also had a hole in it that made it perfect for a necklace.  When I got home I saw that it was the beginning of the Year of the Wood Horse according to Chinese astrology.  Cool. The Universe is talking to me. Alrighty.  So I made my year of the wood horse necklace, tried to be all intentional and stuff, and promptly forgot about it all as the zillion things that happen in a year happened.    So here I am a year later, still not super interested in astrology but not against it either and I noticed a few articles showing up in my sphere on the Chinese astrological new year turning yet again. This year is the year of the Sheep.  Hmmmm, I thought excitedly, I wonder if I'll have another magical happening around this like last year? The funny thing is I said this to myself as I was working on these WOOL medicine pouches I have mostly been obsessed with  lately.  Yay!  I love the kind of magic you don't even know you're enacting until you're smack dab in the middle of it.  Which brings me to an even more amazing magic I am currently immersed in.

  Above is a picture of some of the potent ingredients I've chosen for this pouch.  I harvested the golden resin last weekend from a variety of pine trees in Central Oregon. (Sidenote: I love the energy and symbolism of this fragrant golden substance that the tree draws up from the earth and down from the sun to use to heal itself)   However, I did not gather the resin for my medicine pouch project, I gathered it for an incense project I got all hot and bothered to do back in December.  
  I love incense and I thought, "wouldn't it be cool and powerful to make my own incense with only local ingredients I harvest myself?"  I could easily make "loose" incense (the kind you just sprinkle raw resins and herbs on a piece of charcoal) but I really wanted to make cone or stick incense because I DON'T KNOW WHY.  Googling away I find out that the very very special bark that is used as the binding agent in this type of incense comes from a very very special tree that grows in Asia. Well bummer. There goes my idea of local incense.  Totes disappointed.  But wait, maybe if I could just find a picture of this tree I could find one around here that is similar and give that a shot.  So I managed to find the Latin name for this tree and googled up some photos.  You are never gonna believe this but it's the tree in our back yard!  I couldn't  believe my eyes at first so I called Rob over to take a look. Me: "Rob, what is this?"  Rob: "Hey, that's our tree."  No one has ever known what this tree is.  I've not seen one anywhere else.  It looks like a magnolia tree but it gets clusters of small white flowers in the Spring.  So anyhow, I still need to do some more research on how and when to harvest the bark.  I'm also still collecting other fragrant and potent items to put into my hyper local incense.  I will keep you posted on how this all goes.
  And here's one more important thing: this desire to make home made incense led to yet another inspired and magical idea around community and creativity.  But I'm not quite ready to share it YET.  Because A) This post is already getting too long for my taste and I need to get back to making stuff and B) I'm so deeply immersed in this magic, it's story is still unfolding as we speak.  Best to let it unfurl a little but longer.  I will keep you posted.  Meanwhile here's to a wild and wooly Year of the Sheep.  Cheers.

  

year of the wood horse talisman

I actually found this piece of driftwood on the beach with a hole in it and the letter "H" bored into by an insect apparently cosmically attuned to symbolism.

  So when I was in Mexico http://thedelightist.blogspot.com/2014_01_01_archive.html a few weeks back, taking my daily walk on the beach, I looked down and boom, there was this sweet little piece of driftwood.  The fact that it already had a perfect little hole in it was what initially caught my eye.  Upon closer inspection I noticed that it also featured a number 4 engraved into it (no doubt by a very talented bug).  But after it rode around in my pocket for awhile, the dust and sand was jostled off and the 4 turned into an "H".  Well, huh (?), I thought.

  These cool, cryptic communiques via found treasures from spirit are par for the course in my world but I was a little stumped this time. (Also par for the course.)  It wasn't until I returned home and back to my internet surfing habit that I was barraged by articles on the Chinese New Year and the impending Year of the Wood Horse. (Starting January 30, 2014) Here's a good overview from Mystic Mamma: http://www.mysticmamma.com/happy-year-of-the-horse-2014-astrology-and-insights/. To be honest, I'm not a big follower of astrology. Not that I'm against it, it's just usually information overload for me.  So to "randomly" find an actual piece of wood with an actual "H" on it, just days before the start of the year of the wood horse, well, maybe I should pay attention.  It sounds like I (we) may be in for some fun, freedom loving, action oriented, hold on to your hats, creative energies this year. But for god sakes stay grounded.  And buoyant.  Let's not forget buoyant.  Like my little driftwood friend out on an adventure that found itself on a pretty pink lucky necklace and the star of a blog post.  I just gotta stay in the saddle and hold on to the reins.  And by reins I mean intention and gratitude.  That always keeps my horse pointed in the right direction :).

Say "no" to boring purses with your sharpie and mad doodling skills

  So my beloved old canvas purse was dying and I needed a replacement and I was lucky enough to find this fab red bag.  A fine enough bag, but ultimately lacking in pizzaz. Something had to be done.
  Not to brag but I'm somewhat of a master doodler.  When I was still in school and almost everyone else was dutifully taking notes, I was busy honing my craft.  Maybe you were a diligent doodler as well?  Well here's a chance to show off.
  If you're feeling a little rusty or in need of inspiration, do check out my doodle board on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/zendances/doodle/.

  

Up-cycling 0ld 70's Art

What to do with those old 70's style brown metal sculptures one finds at a thrift shop, garage sale, or perhaps on their parent's wall.

  So I got the idea for this after "enhancing" some semi-tacky butterfly shaped metal sculptures I literally found lying on the side of the road.  Which was really a cool story in itself as it came at a time in my life when I was going through a major transformation and I needed a little confirmation that I, myself was succeeding in the process of upgrading some of my internal semi-tackiness into something more cohesive and beautiful.  Anyhow, I mentioned that I wanted to do more of this "enhancing" to my friend and ace thrifter, Rachelle, and she immediately found this spectacular ship. (thanks Rachelle!)  Rumor has it that this beauty came out of an old bar in Astoria on the Oregon coast.  Judging by the nicotine stench I find this story to have some plausibility. 

   Step 1) hose down your sculpture.

   Step 2) just start splashing paint around and decoupaging the heck out of whatever metal sculpture thingy you've managed to get your hands on.

             Some More Random Tips

   I found it helpful to lay down a light base color on the entire thing. But I kept it fairly painterly. I like that some of the metal showed through. 

   Fan brushes and a spray bottle.  Fun to play with and great for the textures and drips I love so much.

So much fun!

   I used scrap booking paper, newspaper, and old wrapping paper for the decoupage part.  In retrospect, maps would have been cool too.  Mod-podge is my adhesive of choice.

   I also used some stencils and just regular old painting in case you were wondering.   The sky is the limit.  As I was working on this, I really wanted to let it unfold in the present moment, in the lightest and most joyful way I could muster.  No mulling or planning allowed!  Just being.  It felt really good and it still feels really good to me when I look at it. Tall ships have made appearances in my work in the past.  I think they appeal to me as symbol of the soul with each sail unfurled representing a another lifetime.  Each lifetime providing experiences that propel your "ship" across the multiverse.  Each experience (no matter how "good" or "bad") adding more interest, beauty, and power to your voyage.  Um, at least that's where I went with it.

   

D.I.Y. Upcycled Patchwork Scarf

D.I.Y. Upcycled Patchwork Scarf
So easy!

 Do you have a stash of old scarves that you don't wear anymore because they just aren't the right size for that insouciant, devil-may-care, fling-around-your-neck-in-a-daring-jumble,sort of way?   Well here's your solution!  

 I obviously used three scarves but I think it depends on  the dimensions of the scarves you start with and what you like.  Then find some complementary trims.  Pom-pom ball trim must be all the rage as I was blown away by the range of colors and sizes at my local fabric store.  Fringe, beaded trims, and sequins should be considered as well.

 OK, confession time, The two smaller scarves already had trim.  Which was a great time saver.  Which was fantastic because I had to hand sew the whole damn thing. Actually I find hand sewing quite meditative and relaxing.  Also I don't have a sewing machine.  So there's that.  I'm sure if you had a machine you could kick this out in no time.

 Happy sewing!