a trinket treasury

medicine bundles

after receiving a few emails about how my medicine bundles/medicine box have been inspiring to some, i thought it might be interesting for you to see a bit about how i came to honor the medicine of sacred objects and how i most often put my bundles together. to me, it's always fun to see the process behind creative acts... but in no way (what so ever) is this the right or only way to do things. this is simply how i have come to connect with the healing of medicine bundles.

medicine bundles have for a long time been an important part of my healing journey. my fascniation with sacred objects brought me to study the native american practices of gathering power objects and keeping them together in a bundle or pouch. it wasn't until my university studies in shamanism that my interest in the sacred object was formalized and my eyes opened to how wide spread the act of gathering sacred objects together is throughout history and cultures. some in bundles, pouches and other in boxes and shrines. the essence of these practices basically is the gathering of sacred and healing objects and utilizing the medicine (power) that these objects have together for the owner.

being exposed to and interested in so many cultures throughout my studies, i think that my medicine bundles have come to reflect this, as they are anything but traditional to any one culture. adding to this my tendency for little things (trinkets as sacred objects) my bundles are often a collections of little trinkets that to me are sacred and hold medicine and healing.

and so a trinket treasury presents
a little "how to" in medicine bundle making...

 
first thing, i usually begin with setting up my work space. indigo cloths, shell with white sage and feather, candle, rattle, quartz point and infinite stone.

once everything is set up, i smudge my work area to clear the space and set my intentions for healing.

i have all my objects for the bundle next to my work space and take a moment to again set the intentions for healing.

one by one i begin to build the medicine bundle, beginning with the wrapping cloth (here i used a square indigo cloth). then any amulet cloths i want to include, in this case i have added a green prayer flag and a buddha cloth.

then the objects... here i have included some lavender flowers and rose petals, some silk thread from india that is very special to me, two guatemalan worry dolls, a goddess charm i made, a quartz point, a river stone, a turkish evil eye repellant bead, a tibetan dzi bead, a few shells, a mexican sacred heart milagros and a mini vial of lavender oil (click on the picture to have a larger view). So as you can see, you can pretty much add any object that has special, sacred and healing significance to you.

a close up of the goddess charm i made specially for this bundle, with a rose quartz bead and a spiral and goddess charm.

once all of the objects are on the cloth, i once again think of my healing intentions, i might reiki the cloth and objects, shake my rattle to set the energy and then wrap and tie it all up into a bundle. here i had braided three special threads (one magic thread and two indigo threads) and added two brass bells at each ends. sound can also be sacred and healing, as many cultures use bells to clear space and set healing intentions.

and lastly i smudge the bundle and repeat my healing intentions.

the medicine bundle is now ready to be carried, worn, set on an altar, or given to the person it was created for.

this medicine bundle was created specially for lis (surprise!!!) who created
and posted her very own take on medicine bundles after being inspired
by my post. it's always such an honor to inspire.
i hope you enjoy my healing offering lis!

and i hope you enjoyed the little peak into how i do things.
peace and love

 

happy glittery sparkly new year!!!

happy new year!!!

wishing you all the very best in 2009!!!
wishing for you a year full of magic and sparkle,
a year to create YOUR own reality,
to make your dreams come true!!!

i thought what more appropriate than to kick of this new year with a very glittery, sparkly tutorial!!! i've been obsessing with these fabulous little paper glitter starts and would LOVE to share with you my process... so grab all the glitter in the house and start 2009 with all the shimmer your heart desires!!! hee hee!!!

you'll need:
~thick paper, cardboard or watercolor paper
~watercolors, acrylic paint, or spray paints
~lots of GLITTER!!! loose glitter and white glue or glitter glue
~brush to apply glue or glitter glue
~star punches (or whatever shape you chose)


(1) to start lay out your papers or cardboard on your work surface... i prefer thick 140 lbs watercolor paper, it absorbs the best and creates very neat effects when used with watercolors or thinned acrylics. then paint, or spray your papers... in the picture below i used  glimmer mists, they are watercolor sprays and are very sparkly!!! once the one side is dry, flip over and do the same on the second side. this way your stars will be double sided.





(2) once both sides are completely dry, chose one side to glitter and unleash your inner sparkle fairy!!! you can bush on white craft glue and then sprinkle loose glitter on top and let dry... OR you can do what i did and bush on glitter glue. i bought mine from michaels. i LOVE glitter glue... all the fun of glitter with no mess!!!





(3) then get your punches out and start punching out your shapes!!! i used star shaped punches, but you can use any shape you want... and voila!!! easy peasy!!!



but don't forget to keep the scraps!!! they are fabulous to use in collages or to embellish pretty much anything...



the possibilities are endless once you have your shapes punched out... i'm planning on making a star garland, but i've also been adding them to my little magic potion bottles.



i hope this fun little tutorial has inspired you to add a bit of glitter and sparkle into your new year!!! remember: our thoughts are powerful and intentions create our world. some glittery fun can change a crabby day into a fabulous one!!! if you let it...

peace and love to you in 2009!!!

a collage postcard tutorial - part 2

postcard side a from a collage postcard tutorial part 1
if you missed it check it out here.

tonight we'll finish up what we started the other day by completing the second side (side b). so flip that postcard around and let's get started!



first i always like to go through my paper stash and pick out the papers that i think i might use, that i'm drawn to the most. this narrows down my choice before hand so i don't end up being stuck with too many choices of patterned paper. that just slows me down!



next i cut up and glue down my bits of paper. remember: slap 'em down! don't think too much, just glue down those bits!



then some borders, label and image...



i really didn't like how the om sticker looked like underneath the ganesh image, so i removed it and added other embellishments. and of course glitter glue, which i also used as a border for the rest of my postcard. the little ganesh image is from an image sheet that i had custom made from an incredible etsy seller withanindiantouch. i got a whole bunch of ganesh and indian elephant images!!! ooohh fun fun fun!!!



and voila! my pictures are a bit darker than usual, it's so very grey and rainy this weekend, so here's the scanned version...


thank you so very much for joining me! i really (really) love making these postcards and it was super fun sharing the "how to" with you. but remember that this is only one way to go about making collaged postcards. no one way is right. it's all good and valid!!!

one last photo for you, just to show you how elephant obsessed i am!!!



i carved this little cutie today... i mentioned in yesterday's post that i plan on making paisley stationary with the new stamp sets i purchased, and so i just had to create an elephant stamp to add to the mix... as soon as i receive my stamps and get cracking, i'll post some pictures.

don't forget to join me tomorrow evening for my very first "sacred life sunday" post!!!

until then...

peace

a collage postcard tutorial - part 1

i am so very happy to share with you my process of making collage postcards! now please remember that there are no wrong ways (none at all!) i'm simply showing you here how i go about making mine. with time it might change, but for now i hope this tutorial will inspire you and give you ideas. i always love it when artists give a little peak into the way they work, so here it is, a little sneaky peak into my world of super fun postcard making!!!

lets begin with a bit of incense...



i won't give a complete list of supplies, as anything goes. but i particularly love to use decorative scissors to give different edges to my papers and plenty (plenty) of glitter glue. i purchased mine from michaels, they have a surprisingly large selection. so go crazy, glitter glue is fabulous and the best part is that once it's dry, the glitter doesn't flake off! all the fabulous-ness and no glittery mess!



for anyone wondering, yes paste is my favorite adhesive for paper. i think every paper artist has a favorite brand, and this is mine. i've been using it for a while now... it dries pretty quick, doesn't crinkle thin paper and i spread it on with a stiff bristle brush to get it everywhere and it doesn't take alot. i purchase it from here.



most importantly the stash of papers to collage... i'm a paper fanatic, so have amased a rather large collection of papers, my favorite being the handmade variety. here is a bunch of my india themed papers and a india image sheet from cachecache on etsy. i absoutely LOVE this image sheet!!!



mmmm you guessed it, this postcard will be ganesh inspired...



and lastly the stash of embellishments... i have here some labels (from martha stewart cafeaulait collection which is very india inspired for some reason) german foil borders and rhinestone stickers (love love love these!!!).



ok now that we have all we need, lets get on with the show.

first i start with a 4 inches by 6 inches sturdy piece of thick watercolor paper, my favorite is the fabriano 140lbs rough grain. but really you could use anything from cardstock, cereal cardboard box to even an existing postcard. as long as it's sturdy enough for you...



then the fun part begins... i cut up some pieces of papers and quickly glue them onto my blank postcard. i try not to take too much time with this as i'm a bit of a perfectionist and would totally over analyze where all the bits should go... so if i do it quickly, then i don't think as much. just slap 'em down for now.



now comes the part where i think a little about composition... do i want this side to be the labels side or the writing side? here i chose to make this side the "to and from" side. i also want to put a border at the top so that goes on first, then i stick down my labels. i like to stick these on before any other embellishing because now i can work with the space i have left.



embellishment time!!! glue an image down here, om sticker i just remember i had there... and of course lots of glitter glue... and voila! one side finished. and i am sooooo very happy with the way it turned out!



i am absolutely in love with these postcards, easy and quick to make, and i loooooove the end result. beautiful stationary that i can share!!!

thanks so much for joining me and hope this has inspired you even in some little way. i sure had a fun time documenting my process for you. it was such a different experience stopping and taking photos along the way. i'll be posting part two this weekend at some point. the only thing about glitter glue is that you have to wait for it to dry...

oh and for my art every day month (aedm) contributions... i've been making postcards like a mad woman, but they have been for gifts and currently are all in transit. so i can't post them and spoil the surprises now can i! so as soon as i hear that they all have been received, i'll post a whole slew of my postcards.

until next time!

peace