It's Been Awhile .....

So much has happened since I last poste

d a blog here. My life has gone in a few new directions and I have been trying to get it all sorted out. I haven't forgot about this place, I've just been busy.

Every time I intend on taking the time to write up something, something else distracts me and I forget this is what I intended to do when I sat down on my computer. I'm hoping to be more active on here since you know... this is my business.

Things are starting to settle down a little bit. Life went and smacked me in the face the last few months and said "screw you, you don't get to focus on you" but now I am making myself a priority. Schools out for the summer, those who could have graduated from high school have. Those that are adults are being forced to do adult things.... on their own.

I can now focus on me, for the first time in 22 years this year has been all about me and what I want to accomplish! I'm working hard on sorting it all out and trying to get myself back on track and be accountable. I'm the only one that can make this business work for ME, I'm the only one that knows my vision, so who better to is there to prioritize myself but me! Right? Riiiight!

Here we are, a semi new beginning and keeping myself accountable!

Tropical Gothic Moon Wreath and Bouquet

Today I completed a new moon wreath and made a matching bouquet to go with it.

I call them Tropical Gothic, simply because when I started making them they had all the markers of being a tropical inspired thing and I didn't really want them to say TROooooPICaaaL, so I added some gothic black and purple roses and I felt waaaay better about the outcome.

Materials I used for the Wreath and Bouquet:

• Artificial flowers (found at Dollar Tree)

  • Lavender, Lilac, Lilies (purple and white), Pansies, Roses (black/purple and white)

• Metal 10" circle wreath

• Yarn (wrapping the metal wreath for easy application of flowers)

• Silver 1/8" wired edge ribbon

• Hot Glue

• Silicone finger protectors (found at Dollar Tree)

In the Beginning

Prepping the Tropical Gothic Moon (wreath)

I cut the 10" circular wreath into a moon shape and taped the ends closed to make a moon shape. I did a little bit of bending to give it the shape I wanted.

I crocheted a really long chain in some scrap acrylic yarn I have and wrapped the wire wreath with it. Starting from one taped end (not wrapping the tape) and going all the way around to the other taped end. The yarn gives the flowers something to stick too when using hot glue to place them.

Placing the Flowers

I started placing the main flowers in places that I wanted and started to hot glue them down. This was in no particular order. I did whatever felt and looked right.

I then wrapped the ends with the silver wired edged ribbon till the whole end was covered and it blended in with the flowers.

Here is the end result:

Tropical Gothic Moon Wreath - © Copyright Eva's Crafty Coven

I then used the rest of the flowers I had and made a matching Tropical Gothic Bouquet.

I filled a small mason jar with poly pellets and just started stabbing flowers into place until it looked the way I wanted it too.

Here is the end result:

Tropical Gothic Bouquet - © Copyright Eva's Crafty Coven

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Welcome new friends. please like my blog and follow me on all the socials, subscribe to my YouTube, come say HI to me on Twitch, visit my shop and join my discord. You can find all the links here: https://linktr.ee/evascraftycoven

Thanks for reading! Eva S. of The Crafty Coven

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© Copyright Eva's Crafty Coven This site is not a Sponsored or a Paid for Advertisement. This is a Eva's Crafty Coven is an affiliate of Jeanne's Diner Designs business model. Please credit all sharing back to Eva's Crafty Coven owned and operated by Eva Shipp, Sole Proprietor.

The Coven's Journey into Paganism

I started this journey at the beginning of 2020 and have just now gotten to the point of really delving deep into my Pagan journey. I have been trying to find a good place to start: podcasts to listen too, books to read, stone/gems to get ... a journal to jot all my notes into and look at later on.

In my beginning research, I came across a blog named Round the Cauldron by Megan Black, she has been the only one that claimed to want to help in people's journey into paganism and actually helped me get started. It all started with a simple email requesting a beginners guide into the path of paganism. She suggested a book called Paganism for Beginners: The Complete Guide to Nature Based Spirituality for Every New Seeker by Althaea Sebastian I found it on Amazon (click links to get to the book and to the authors profile on Amazon). This book is free on Unlimited and has an Audiobook version too, which is what I started with, then got the physical copy to add to my book collection. This book helped me figure out where my affinity lies within the Pagan community and I found it super helpful with how she broke down the various different chapters of paganism. This journey has helped me find my spiritual connection again and it feel like I am on the right path for the first time in a long time. This is a journey I am doing all on my own and for myself, I'm not expecting anyone else to follow my path, this is all just for me and it feels so good. I am not a religious person, so organized religion has never been my thing, I tried it (wrote up my journey into that in a previous blog) and it's just not for me. But I do believe in spirituality, more specifically, universal spirituality. Which isn't based around organized religion. My pagan affinity I am drawn to is Heathenry, more specifically Asatru (Norse Pagan). I am also a Eclectic, Solitaire pagan.

Pagan Holiday Calendar

Next, I have started getting back into my astrological side of things. I read my daily horoscopes and read up on different things in my Chinese zodiac and my Astrological star signs. I opened my Astrology book I have for the first time in years a few weeks ago and have been reacquainting myself to my star signs. I used to be really into my astrology in general when I was growing up and in my early adulthood, but something happened and I stopped following it. I'm not sure or even remember why I stopped following my astrology but I recently discovered there has been several pieces of myself missing and this is just one part of myself I have been working on getting back. Getting universally centered is a big deal for me and once I started back on following my astrology, I am feeling more in tune with myself again.

Finally, have gotten back into my crystal healing. I bought a decent starter kit off of Amazon, because where I live there isn't really a crystal shop or holistic healing place to go to that isn't based around yoga. I want to find a good crystal shop that is all about divinity and spiritual healing and guidance. There used to be a place I went too in my early adulthood back in 1996-97, when I was living in South Dakota ( I don't think the shop exists anymore), I am looking for a place like that again. This place had a medium in it and they cleansed my aura and healed my spirit. I don't talk about this healing very often, because people look at me funny when I do, but this healing saved me. It helped me heal deep wounds that I never thought I would be able to heal. This is what I am looking for again. There has been so much toxic energies over the years that have surrounded me and contaminated my aura and soul. I have always tried to keep the toxicity to a minimum, but there is only so much journaling and crafting you can do to combat the negative energies in your life. The starter crystal set I bought off of Amazon is a Healing Crystal Set I bought this one because it specifically had the white sage in it, which is something I wanted to cleanse my house and self. But the set itself is a chakra crystals box of "standard" healing crystals. Like I said it's a good starter kit and it came with a little journal to write down daily affirmations or whatever you feel like using it for. I will be upgrading and acquiring different stones once I get myself to a semi-connected spot and feel like I can identify which crystals are a must for me.

What I am going to get into next will be reading up on Norse Mythos and the beginnings of Asatru. I have already researched and come across a website that seems like it will be helpful on a brief glance called the Asatru Alliance, which I am excited to delve into and read up on things. I have also been reading The Wild Hunt. I am also going to make/acquire some runes and pick up a few Norse Mythology books so I can learn about the deities and such that are apart of this path. Being of Scandinavian decent, this path seems so natural to me, I just wish I knew more of a place to start to look more into my heritage and learn about the Asatru practice that seems to draw me in more and more. My journey is just starting and I am looking forward to where it takes me.

Again, thank you for reading and I look forward to writing more as I go through my journey!

Welcome new friends, thank you for reading. please like my blog and follow me on all the socials, subscribe to my YouTube, come say HI to me on Twitch, visit my shop and join my discord, you can find all the links here:https://linktr.ee/evascraftycoven

Thanks for reading, any questions feel free to ask. Eva S of TheCraftyCoven