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Thanks for swinging by my humble blog about 20-something wedding planning, homemaking, and relationships. And cats.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Talk to Your Plants

My grandmother taught me to talk to your plants. She said it makes them stronger and happier, and that a plant that hears too much fighting or sadness will not grow. I sing to my plants; I give them names and talk to them. They swell with growth quickly, and handle repotting better than plants I haven't chatted with. Plants have energies like people do; they can feel, they respond. Take time to get to know the energies of your houseplants, and learn how they affect your energy and the energy of your home.

There is little conclusive evidence for the affects of voices and music on plants. Some studies have found little to no difference, others have found great difference. In my biology class a few semesters ago, my fiancé and I subjected three plants to different forms of music. One plant was forced to listen to Christian music for hours at a time, one plant was forced to listen to Ozzy, one listened to nothing at all. The Ozzy plant bloomed soonest, and the Christian plant died after only three weeks from sprouting. The neutral plant was slightly smaller than the Ozzy plant. Whether there is anything more to this project, I don't know. I do find it hilarious that the Jesus music killed my plant.

My mother's chemical free pesticide:

Mix a few teaspoons of Dawn dish detergent into a spray bottle with water (you may also add vinegar). The mixture repels aphids and prevents gnats from eating at your plants.

My Grandmother's Garlic Trick:

Plant garlic cloves near your garden to keep root-eating pests and mosquitoes away. Garlic flowers are also very beautiful in their own right- beauty and function!

Oh, and I have an aloe plant named Cthulhu.

Things My Cats Teach Me

It is pretty much established that I am going to end up a crazy cat lady, and I'm only a few cats shy of that as it is. The neighborhood cats know there will always be a bowl of food for them on my porch, and even the practically feral strays feel safe enough to rest on my porch in the rain. My own kitties are decidedly odd.

My large black cat, a boy named Athena, can't decide if he is a dog or a human. He is overly friendly, curious, talkative, and loveable. He is the first cat I encountered that lets just about any visitor pet his tummy, and he gets quite irritated when they stop or when they don't greet him upon arrival. He's also the size of a small dog.

My Loki is a pound kitty I adopted as a kitten on a whim, which may have been an irresponsible thing to do. He is huge, fat, and is intermittently shy and afraid of everything and friendly and cuddly. He doesn't like to meow much and likes to stare at you with his large blue eyes. We often joke there isn't much going on in that head of his, but when he looks at you, you feel it, and you can't help but giggle a little.

Caesar is another adoptee, the kitten of Athena's littermate. He is a flame point Siamese with an attitude problem. He is far too smart for his own good, and can't decide if he likes being petted or not.

My strays are Frankie Four Paws (another flame point), Red (an orange and white tabby), and Miss (a tortie who is always pregnant).

All these animals have taught me very interesting lessons about life and the way I approach the world. Before I get into this, allow me to discuss the ethics of responsible pet ownership:

All pets should be spayed or neutered unless you are breeding the animal. This prevents more unwanted animals from being born and unable to find families. It also prevents unwanted animals sniffing around your property for your fertile female and your male from running off to find your neighbor's female.

Never adopt, no matter how good your intentions are, more animals than you can afford to properly care for, in regards to food and veterinary care. It also applies to your time too- if you cannot physically handle the care of the pets, do not have the pets or more than you can devote your time and energy too.

Never adopt an animal that you do not have the appropriate environment for. I would love to have a fennec fox as a pet, but my situation is not appropriate for such a pet. Also, consider other animals you own before adopting any others. If you are a renter, consider how a pet will impact your ability to find a new home in the future (something I wish we would have considered), and never adopt without your landlord's permission. I was raised to treat animals as family members- do not consider a pet to be something you can simply throw away when you decide it's time to move on. This is cruel to the animal and shows no respect for your pet.

Things my Cats Have Taught me….

1. Responsibility: As the above rant about pet ethics shows, my own cats have taught me how to be responsible and make responsible decisions. I have discovered how difficult housekeeping has become with three cats, and I know my responsibilities towards them. This extends to the rest of my life as well. I try not to take on more than I can handle, and I treat all my responsibilities with respect and care.

2. Awareness: My cats are intimately aware of their environment. They can sense changes; they respond to these changes. I trust my cats's reactions- certain people make them uncomfortable, and the same to me. Energy levels shift and change and my cats respond accordingly, raising my own awareness of the energy in my home. Nothing makes my cats happier than a nice clean house to rampage through- and you can feel the energy shift. This applies in a spiritual sense as well.

3. Adaptability: Cats aren't that great at adapting. I takes them awhile to get used to situations, but once they have made themselves comfortable, anywhere is fine for a catnap. I consider each situation carefully, and I make my environment my own. I adjust, but not too quickly, and once I have I'm comfortable and secure. I've also learned most surfaces that stay still for at least 10 minutes at a time are great places for napping.

4. Cleanliness: My cats are happiest with a clean litter box, fresh water, and a clean house to terrorize. The messier my house becomes, the more lethargic and depressed they become. My cats are fastidious cleaners (except for Loki, whose personal grooming leaves much to be desired), and they've taught me to be careful of my own appearance and the appearance of my home. A clean home and a clean spirit are welcoming.

5. Curiosity: Cats are curious to a fault, they've taught me to approach the world with wonder and joy. They've also taught me to be aware of my circumstances, and not let that curiosity get the better of me.

6. Magic: Cats are known as witch's familiars for a reason. Cats are intuitive and magical, aware of other worlds and magic. I recommend reading Ted Andrew's book "Animal Speak" for more insight into the magic of the house cat.

A cat may be a house pet, but it's predatory instincts are still there. No matter how cuddly the cat, an expert hunter lies beneath that nonchalant surface. Much is hidden in your cat; watch her, learn from her, try to understand her, and maybe you'll learn something about your own self in the process.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Miniature Book of Shadows Tutorial

You'll need:

Cardboard (thickness is up to you, but I like to use corrugated cardboard)
Glue (Elmer's white glue or glue stick, hot glue or super glue or other strong glue)
Dark tea bag, steeped (but don't burn yourself!)
Match or lighter
Water
Decorative objects (flowers, scrapbooking materials, stickers, etc)
Printed pictures
Ribbons
Decorative paper and/or fabric
Stapler or thread and needle
Scissors
Ruler
Pencil

tutorial and mini ds 003

Step 1: Creating Our Antique Pages

Use the tea to stain the white paper. You'll want to stain both sides with a tea bag, and let them dry. To lighten the color you can add more water while it's still wet, and to darken add multiple coats after the previous coats have dried. Let the paper dry thoroughly. Be sure to stain both sides of the paper and don't use until dry. While drying, proceed to the next step.

tutorial and mini ds 006

Step 2: The cover

Cut a rectangular piece of cardboard to the dimensions you need.
For a 42 cm doll I used a piece of cardboard about 6"x3" give or take. This makes a book about the same finished size as the ones in this tutorial. You will want to leave a few centimeters in the middle to form the book's spine and so you have a place to add your pages. Fold the sides of the cardboard down to make a crease, leaving a bit of space for the spine. The larger your spine the more pages your book will hold.

tutorial and mini ds 009
tutorial and mini ds 013

Step 3: Decorate cover, add book marks

This is where your gluegun or other strong glue comes in. Cut a bit of fabric or paper to be slightly larger than your cardboard. Glue the edges of the fabric all the way around, and let it dry. After it is dry, cut some strips of ribbon several inches long (they may look too long but when all your pages are in there very little will hang over the edge). You can finish the edges so they don't fray if you want. Glue one end of the ribbon onto the spine of the book to create some book marks.

tutorial and mini ds 019

tutorial and mini ds 022

Step 4: Antiquing the Pages

Your tea-stained paper dry? Awesome. At this point you will want to measure out rectangle slightly smaller than your book (you can choose to make them larger and hang out the edge if you'd like). Cut out and make several stacks of these rectangles. You can crinkle the paper, tear it, or do whatever you want to it before burning.

Next, get your match or lighter with your water handy, and light the edges of the pages on fire, and otherwise add burn marks and scorch marks for an aged look. You don't want them to burn too long or your pages will deteriorate. The idea is to go for a slightly worn look, not a tossed-in-a-bonfire look. Warning: it is very easy for flames to get out of control! Always keep water or a fire extinguisher handy just in case, and be sure there is nothing flammable near your burn space. If you are a kid or unsure if you can do this, have an adult do it for you. Be sure to get parental permission!

Fold the rectangles in half and set them in the book (don't glue them in just yet!) this is just to see how thick you want the book to be and still be able to close. Once you see how many stacks it will take to make your book the thickness that you want, keeping in mind any extras you put in to decorate will make the book thicker, staple or stitch the packets.

Step 5: Place pages in the book

For this step, add a line of hot glue or your strong glue to the spine of each packet and hold them into the book's spine until dry. Continue adding the packets as you need. Be sure to keep the ribbons above the book so they don't get glued behind the pages! Trim any excess from the outside of the book, and make sure things are nice and even and dry.

tutorial and mini ds 035

Step 6: Decorate the book

This is the fun part and entirely dependant on your imagination! What I did was look around online for neat-looking pages, like sheet music or book of shadows pages, and size them in Photoshop, but you can use paint and word. You can make your own, but I didn't for this tutorial. Print these, cut them out, and use your Elmer's glue or other glue to place them onto the individual pages (make sure not to use hot glue for this part or the pages will be bumpy and thick).

From this point, it's up to you. You can glue tiny cards and flowers, add stickers or other scrapbook supplies, add your own sketches or writing into the book, whatever you'd like. If you want to work with a theme or organize your book decide on that before you start gluing things in. Make sure as you work on individual pages that you leave room for the pages to dry or they will glue together with all your little details stuck between them and possibly getting ruined.

tutorial and mini ds 037

Step 7: Adding a Closure

If your book is thick or you simply want a closure for your book, glue some ribbon or matching fabric in a little strip to the back of the book. Stitch or glue a snap to the cover and the other end of the ribbon, let it dry, and voila! Closure. Alternatively, simply glue a really long ribbon to the back and wrap it around the book to close.

The sky is the limit and you can use this tutorial to make many different kinds of little books. As a bit of advice, when reducing image size, increase the pixel resolution to make the images clearer.



I hope this all makes sense! If you need more photos or details or whatnot, post a comment!

Relationship Evangelism, and What to do with your Non-pagan In-laws

I learned this week exactly what my fiance's family thinks of me, and I am hardly surprised. To begin, this is his father's side of the family, die-hard Mormon, very traditional, very anti-anything different. (His mother's side loves me.)

The extended family views me as dangerous, a witch (which is not entirely false but their perception of it is), and that the MIL and FIL shouldn't allow the little girls (fiance's sisters) to spend they night with us, because I will corrupt them. I'm also apparently creepy because I hang around in graveyards (and I have a few pics of me in them). I learned all this about three days before we were supposed to go visit them in Nevada for four days. Fortunately, fate saw to it the car broke down and the trip was cancelled.

Fiance also came out to his mother this same week. He told her is not Mormon, so she asked what he was. He told her was Norse pagan, and said he worships old gods. She cried and basically said that if at any point she thought he was into something dangerous, she'd cut him out of her life. Just like that. She then asked if it was because of me.

The fact of the matter is, no matter what happens in the near future, his family will always blame me for him leaving the Mormon church. They blamed me for convincing him to move in with me, when in fact it was his idea (he cleared this up, fortunately). They will always see me as a corruptive force, no matter how much they may like me as a person. He has stood up to his father when he called me an atheist, and I have no doubt he will support me should his family overstep their bounds.

Relationship evangelism- it happens:

No, I did not set out to convert my fiance to paganism. Like many people of various religious persuasions, I often thought it would be nice to share my faith with someone, to build a family tradition around. I wish I could say I'd never tried a little pagan style evangelism, but I did.

It began with a critical discussion of the LDS church. Once my fiancé double-checked my facts and data, his worldview underwent a radical shift, and he began to learn and study all he could about Mormonism, finally deciding to leave it for good. He still considered himself Christian, and we had no issues or problems. Then he began to ask me questions about my faith, and I answered him.

As you live and grow with a person, you cannot help but pick up certain traits and habits and develop new ones together. Religiosity is much the same- stay with someone long enough and you'll pick up a few quirks here and there.

Does this constitute evangelism? To a degree I did intentionally plant the seeds of doubt in a mind that already questioned but admitted he was too afraid to question. He says I was the support he needed to feel strong and brave, and that because of me he has found his walk.

Is it relationship evangelism to talk, to seek, to grow together, to provide the answers the other one asks for? Perhaps. But did I enter in to this relationship with the intention of converting him? No, I most certainly did not. Religion was never an issue for me, or for him.

They are afraid of my intermittent dark clothing choices, my love of ouija and tarot and cemetery walks; they'll never understand my doll collecting or my quirkiness, and that's fine. My only wish is that they will take the time to come to know me as a person, and perhaps find some way to overlook the labels and all the baggage that has been placed on me by those labels. Maybe they'll even like me.

So, here are some points to share with non-pagan in-laws:

You don't need to be afraid of us.

1. Pagans do not worship Satan (we do not believe he exists outside of the Christian religion).

2. We do not condone, encourage, or engage in abuse of any kind: this includes animal abuse, sacrifice, and slaughter, human abuse, sacrifice and slaughter, and sexual abuse, humiliation, or misconduct of any kind. Any pagan engaging in such practices is most certainly a nutcase, and not a pagan.

3. When your pagan inlaw refers to themselves as pagan, they may mean: Asatru, Wiccan, witch, neo-pagan, eclectic pagan, etc. Each pagan will believe differently, and most love to answer questions and point you to proper resources.

4. A pagan who practices magic or tarot or other sort of magical or divinatory practice does not do so with the intent to gain power or control others.

5. Pagans have ethics too. They believe that morals and ethics are relative, and each tradition will have it's own ethics (for example, we of the Northern persuasion believe in honor, hospitability, hard work, loyalty, family, etc).

6. A pagan believes in God, and probably a lot of them (though they could be atheistic, but this is less common).

7. Pagans are not set to destroy Christianity or related religions, nor are they set to bring about the end of American society. Most pagans are simply pluralists, who believe all religions and people should have equal rights, regardless of label.

8. Always, always ask questions.

9. Read as much as you can, but from neutral sources first (Christian sources notoriously misrepresent paganism with lies and false stories of their conversions from paganism; these have been routinely proven false.)