Witches are made of wood!

Still on a steady roll of Samhain/Halloween inspiration, I thought of the old adage that you could tell if a woman was a witch by throwing her into water. If she floated and didn't drown, she was a witch, because all witches are made of wood BWAH!

One of my favourite bits of wood is Magaly over at Pagan Culture, and she is holding a party for the season on the 25th of October called "The Darker side of Faeries"....I am so dressing up for that post!

She is also today's Give away Guest over at Samhain's Sirens..3 books to be won!!!! including Magaly's own "AlmaMia Cienfuegos"

I bought some wooden puppet blanks...

and glued pages with appropriate words on...

The word at the top of her head got cut down, and made a brilliant new word I though suited Magaly down to the ground "nounsaturated" :D

A thin covering of white gesso to give a good base to work on...

and a quick sketch to build my wooden witch from....

on the reverse the most obvious word was "bedlam", but it is accompanied by moonlight, monsters and beaut! Again, all terms I believe Magaly would associate with :D

I wonder if my witch will turn out half as energetic, and beautifully dark as Magaly would like ? :D

Enjoy :D XXX

Through the Veil...part 1

Grief I have been a bad blogger this last 2 months *slaps own hand*

today is day 8 of Samhain's Sirens Halloween/Samhain celebrations, and there is another give-away by East Coast Craft and Curios .

Art wise, I have been working on a new canvas, as I have already sent my Faerie God Mummy to her new owner Magaly. Hopefully she will arrive to celebrate with  Magaly her All Hallow's Grim, the Darker side of Faeries on the 25th of October.

I started by coating my canvas in till receipts(just cos I had plenty lol)

then coated with white gesso and added texture with modelling past. I wanted this canvas to have more depth.

Next I added colours that made me think of Samhain/Halloween

...and blocked out my figure with purple(cos I feel purple to be a spiritual colour)

Dry-brushing paint straight from the tube onto the textured areas...

and adding a layer of iridescent acrylic to the "cloud" areas.

Still felt a bit "flat" so have continued to add layers, and will reveal for Magaly's party on the 25th(probably) or sooner if I start something new Faerie wise(highly likely) :D

Enjoy :D XXX

Lady Ophelia pops her cork.

Week 40 of Darcy's Postcard challenge...PORTUGAL

Portugal doesn't have a national flower, but it is famous for it's Cork Oak trees. The people strip the cork from the trunks to make corks for the local wine bottles.

" My dearest Lillian,

Portugal in October...so beautiful, it is still sunny and warm here. We have been taking in the sights, and I especially enjoyed the architecture. It's like a miniature history of the world, Roman temples, Moorish influences and military precision. The Tower of Belem is a particularly fascinating design.

We are to meet with DOM LUIS FILIPE, the Prince royal of Portugal. He is only 8 years of age, and is already rumoured to be betrothed to our own Princess Patricia of Connaught. It does seem rather strange that in this modern age marriages are still arranged this way, can't be healthy.

The Oak trees here are rather peculiar. They don't have the lovely rough bark as our trees do, but instead are coated in cork!...and they are apparently evergreen! I am sending Marcus a sapling, though I have little hope that it will prosper in rich English soil. Maybe he will prove me wrong.

Your affectionate friend, Ophelia xxx"

"My darling Ophelia,

the leaves are most definitely beginning to fall here at home. We have all but finished the preserving and pickling, and Marcus has been busy building cages to gather the leaves into. Apparently he prefers leaf mould above all else for mulching.

Your comments on arranged marriages have confused me a little.Was not your own marriage arranged by your parents? Do you not consider yourself fortunate to have had such a valiant husband provided for you? It would be nice to believe that we were all capable of a wise choice where marriage is concerned, but when estates and fortunes are added to the mix, love can be easily feigned. Young Ladies such as yourself, who have lead an extremely protected life, may not be equipped to recognise "Love" in a suitor, where as the suitor would  most definitely be equipped to recognise "Wealth" in a young Lady.

Though I would like to add, it is always preferable that "Love" should  be a consideration when arrangements are being made, and it is clear to all that Sir Richard has had such feelings for you right from the start.

Your ever-loving friend, Lillian xxx"

Samhain's Sirens giveaway no.4 is a signed copy of Dorothy Morrisons "Utterly Wicked" ...which is something we all can be :D XXX

Hands for Halloween???

Not had any arting time today, so I decided to dig out my nail box.

It is a box I altered to store my nail care kit in...

contents plus a pack of cotton wool pads...

..and a rather sparse colour palette :S

I love my Matt Black...

but the sun is shining, so I added glossy green tips :D

This "Halloween" mood is being fed by the Samhain's Sirens daily blog posts, and today they are giving away a "Home Cleansing kit" from Three Cats and a Broom. ..and lets face it, my house needs all the help it can get :D

Is Halloween your thing???

It's October!!! Already!!! The last month in the Witchy calender.

Halloween/Samhain is the "New Years eve" in my calender. It is the time when the natural world(in our region) goes to sleep, and rests before the energy burst that is Spring, which is why I get to dress up and do openly weird things :D

On the run up, I will be checking in with the Samhain's Sirens

They are a group of like minded people, who want to share music/recipes/craft goodies that are inspired by this special time of year.

They will be updating the blog daily, and there will be several give aways. A fun way to build up to this years celebrations...cos one day just isn't enough :D

Blessed Be :D XXX