Something different

As some of you already might know, both my girls attended a Waldorf school when they were young. One of the things which attracted us to this school system was their attention for an inviting ambiance and the use of natural materials. 

When my eldest was four she was introduced to the famous Waldorf dolls and wanted one for  herself. Luckily a doll makers course was starting soon after her discovery and there I learned how to make  all kind of different cloth dolls. S was so happy with her "Rapunzel"  and not so long after that M got one for herself too. 

Some years later (in the Fall of 2000) I got the idea to make one for myself. This was the kind of doll I always wanted as a little girl: so soft and pliable. So I made my inner little girl a doll and I named her “Saar” (Sarah). The adult part of me was delighted to have a doll for myself to dress up and I started to make her a wardrobe of her own. This has grown into a hobby of mine which I  amuse myself with off and on. After several months of abandonment I picked her up again, freshened up her face with watercolor pencils and made her a knitted dress with crocheted shoes.

Since I like to write about my crafts on this blog too, I thought it might be fun to share this part of me as well

My “Eldori” is finished!

Yesterday I've finished my Midori style notebook. Since it is made by me, I call it my “Eldori”.

Some other names for the self-made version of the Midori notebooks are Fauxdori or Raydori (notebooks made by Ray Blake) I've followed Ray’s YouTube tutorial, which shows the making of this notebook very clearly so I won’t go into detail how I've made mine. I've made one modification to the back of the notebook: Now it has a flap to protect  the insert when closed. It was very difficult to find good leather but I've discovered a shoe factory nearby where they use very supple and beautiful dyed leather of the right thickness.

I had enough leather to make a regular and an A6 size notebook. The little one is not quite finished yet but I've already been writing and playing in the larger one. Although I've measured everything a few times, it was still very scary to put my knife in the buttery soft leather but after the first cut the whole process went very smoothly. 

The day before I had made already some inserts and a folder so I could put everything together right away and I felt so good and so proud. The charms I've got from M and are very seasonal (pumpkin and corn)

This is such a wonderful notebook and already I am loving it so much. It is very versatile and playful and it is supposed to be messy and nothing has to match. I am super excited about it. This will be a place for me to play and experiment, to write and doodle, to draw and paint, to make lists and glue pretty pictures, decorate pages and what not

Little one in the make

Pumpkins in our windowsill

(All the pictures are made by M)

Three Card Daily Draw with the Chrysalis Tarot

Since I’ve received the Chrysalis Tarot, I’ve been playing and reading with it constantly. I like the new perspectives these cards are giving me and how they are requiring the open mind I was writing about earlier this week. It is almost if I am  just starting out on my tarot journey. Of course this deck has the familiar Rider Waite foundation but there are so many different angles and viewpoints; it keeps surprising me.

For today I will do a daily three card spread with this fabulous deck. The positions are as follows:

1 The general energy of the day

2 The challenge of the day

3 The gift of today

1 The general energy of the day – Eight of Scrolls

This card is all about letting go of preconceived notions and self-limiting thoughts. See how pieces of the scrolls are flying over her head. When you reach deep within, you will intuitively know how to break free from these repeating inner tapes (scrolls) and how to change your perspective into a more positive outcome

2 The challenge of the day – Eight of Spirals

Run, don’t hesitate, you know the right way to go. There is a lot of movement and change going on but everything will be alright. You will survive this meteor storm and find your way out but it will be a hectic challenge

3 The gift of today – Two of Stones

This is the grounded attitude I will need for today. When everything is changing(the ice is melting, spring is coming) it is good to be careful and look out before you make your next move. Make sure your are safe and secure. With three paws on the ground and one in the air nothing can push you over

The gift is somewhat contra dictionary to the challenge but  to me it looks like you have to find a place of stability inside yourself;  of feeling strong and confident, before you can face the challenge of the Eight of Spirals . By the way it did you notice the bear (again) J

My Painting – Reclaiming freedom!

Today I would like to share my painting with you. It is quite different than what you expect from me. Because of that it is rather daunting for me to make this post. But since the process of making this painting has given me so much pleasure and an enormous sense of freedom I  decided to take this last hurdle too.

I've started out with a simple line drawing without thinking beforehand what I wanted to draw. Because the large shapes did remind me of monsters, the last thing I did was drawing the eyes.

From there on it was a playful experience with paint, palette knifes and brushes. Is the painting finished? I don’t know. Perhaps in a few days I will add another layer. Or I might start a new one. Or I'll paint a few simultaneously. Everything goes, everything is allowed! Isn't that amazing! 

(Ps Sorry for so many pictures but otherwise I wasn't able to convey the process properly.)

I've finished knitting my tarot bag

Yesterday I've finished my tarot bag for the Joie de Vivre tarot. It is more like a wrap with a little sleeve for the deck so the cards won’t fall out. I've found this pattern a long time ago online and I don’t know anymore who has designed it. A lot of my decks (tarot and Lenormand) are the proud owners of such a wrap. Most of the time I try to match the yarn with the backs of the deck I am knitting for. Sometimes I even wrap them first in a little scarf or a silk hanky. In that way I always have a little spread cloth at hand.

Since I cannot knit large projects anymore, I love to be able to cloth my “baby’s” in warm and soft outfits J 

Knitting work and Joie de Vivre Tarot

Open bag with tarot deck in the little sleeve

Tarot bag and Joie the Vivre tarot on a  small silk cloth

Tarot bag – Tarot wrap

Baking our Traditional Christmas bread: “Kerststol”

Every year the day before Christmas my youngest daughter M. and me are baking a Christmas bread. I’ve baked it myself for about 25 years now and as soon as she  was able to assist me she has done so until she could bake it herself. We still do it together though as a tradition.

After the final shopping has been done we weigh the ingredients and mix them all together.  

  It is a very rich bread with raisins, walnuts and almonds. At the moment it is rising in the oven (about 35˚C) for about an hour and a halve.

Originally this bread is a pagan midwinter sacrifice for the Germanic Gods to ensure the people of the returning sun and the fertility of the land and the animals. It used to be only made of white flour since that was more difficult to get than whole wheat flour.  Nowadays it is just yummy but I like to  be aware of what it once really was meant for.

As always something went wrong. The bread baking machine didn’t do what is was expected to do and we had to switch to another mixer. So everything lasted longer

And now at a quarter past four our “Kerststol” is finally where it’s supposed to be: in the oven!

After an a lot of excitement we finally have our Christmas bread ready for tomorrow. It smells delicious!

Merry Christmas!

Cut and paste to catch your souls reflection on paper and make your own Souloracle

A few days ago I was reading Prince Lenormand’s blog where he was telling us about  Soulcollage.  I’ve heard about this before but you know what mostly happens: It was buried beneath a lot of other “great Idea’s for future times”. I am familiar with collage since I like to do art journaling, which for me is a combination between collage and painting. But Soulcollage is just you , some magazines scissors and glue.

You flip through the magazines, cut out everything that’s appealing to you and past it on a piece of cardboard. When you have several those, you’re starting to form your own deck which is a reflection of your soul and you're needs, wishes and desires. The real Soulcollage is also dividing the cards into suits and has more specific ways of making them and working with them, but I would rather just see my cards as my own oracle.

While flipping through my magazines I discovered that some pictures just work for me without adding anything else: what more can you add to a bear in the woods, or a hand with a tiny mindfulness cymbal. Sometimes I add a different background to a person or  for instance some butterflies to a pondering woman representing clear thoughts.

The fun thing about collage is, you can always add more elements to a card. And for me it is very easy to start working on a card because if you don’t like it you can start over. Even when you are growing to dislike a certain card you can always put it aside for a while. It is also a learning point not to obsess about bulges, bobbles and glue stains, just to let go of my perfectionism.  

It’s not necessary to add names and descriptions to the cards because the moment you start making them you know what they mean and why you’re making them. And without keywords the meaning can more flexible. I've made about eleven cards now and it is so good to just look at them and feel who I am.  In time this will become a very personal customized oracle deck just myself. J

Painting intuitively with watercolors

In this post I would like to share how to make an intuitive painting with watercolors. For me it is a very relaxed way to paint because you have very little influence on the final result. The  technique  I’ve used is called: wet in wet. This means that you paint with wet paint on wet paper. The paint washes over the paper and is going its own way. You can of course guide it, but you can’t paint detailed shapes.

I have made this painting in three stages:

I've dripped and pressed the paint on the paper and moved the drawing board back and forth so that the paint could find its own way. This time I've even turned it around because it made me think of a forest.

      After the painting had dried fully, I've  put another layer of paint over it. But now I was looking more consciously for shapes and lines. This can be compared with the interpretation of a tarot card; I search for images and meaning in my painting that are waiting to be highlighted. My “forest” could use some branches and trunks.


 In the final stage I picked up my pencils and added a few touches in my painting

I want to stress, this way of painting is not about the end result but more about the process, It looks to me a lot like meditation. You are completely present in the moment. Is relaxes me and gets me in a flow. I always find myself humming while I’m painting like this, so it will surely do me some good. Perhaps you like to try it for you self some time. J

My Clay Earth Goddess

Another project from some years ago I am very proud of and wish to share, is my Earth Goddess statue I have made from river clay.  I was inspired by Helen Demetriou, who has made a video about making your own goddess. It took me a whole afternoon to make it and all the time I really felt connected with the Earth Mother while working with the clay. In the summer I fill Her bowl with lavender or other dried herbs; in the winter with clear quartz crystal chips and this season I give Her wheat grain. She always  has a place on my altar in the living room. 

My Selfmade Runes

Some years ago I incidentally found some beautiful pebbles in the driveway of my friends neighbour.  I rang the door and asked if I could have some of those stones for decoration. They allowed it but perhaps they  thought that I was very picky because I had to examine every pebble  before  it landed in my pocket. Twenty four of the most smooth and even pebbles  were to become my rune set. Al they needed was a symbol of the Futhark drawn on them with a permanent marker . I am still very happy with them and wouldn't want another set ever