Fun with Purple Basil

So my naughty basil has decided to flower on me, which is actually my fault for not keeping up with pruning. It’s been growing like crazy, and I live on an upper floor so it reaches over the balcony for every inch of sunlight it can get and I didn’t see how much was out there! So I cut a few of the flower stems, pulled off the leaves and put the flower cuttings in the bathroom because they are so pretty, and now I have a handful of leaves. I’m 100% going to make basil simple syrup (great for lemonade!). I'm also going to make a basil room spray!

 Basil leaves and flowers

 Found a pretty bottle to use for the flowers

I think they look nice here!

Annnd some of my baby basils planted a couple weeks ago 💜🌱😍

Happy 91st Birthday to my Grandpa!

My Grandpa turns 91 today and he's looking good!  The second photo is from his 90th birthday party last year. No wonder I have so much hair!

Found: Fairy!

I was going through some old stuff and came across this etching that I did in high school art class. I love it! 

Sale!!

Mother’s Day is coming up! If you want to get her something handmade and unique, I’m here to help. Use code MOM25 for 25% off everything in my Etsy shop! You can use the code to get something for yourself, that’s ok too. Discount is valid through midnight 5/4/18.

I also have several new items up, yippee!

Blue Moon Cycle, and we're off!

This blue moon cycle runs from March 31st, 2018-October 31st, 2020! Great time to make some long-term goals and set some solid intentions.

For this long cycle, I made a jar that will stay intact for the duration of the cycle. This allows for it to become a living, breathing item that I can return to for energy and motivation. I can pull it out and re-charge and re-visit my intentions.

I've been asked by several people what my process was for creating this jar, and I'm happy to share! There is, of course, no right or wrong way, but this a brief synopsis of what I did. Here is the finished product:

I prepared for this particular "ritual," or intention jar for awhile. Again, this is a long cycle and I wanted to come up with something(s) I could really take my time to work on. I was trying to come up with 3, but I ended up with 4 and decided that is fine. I wrote my intentions in a journal to reference back to since my memory is awful, then I wrote them each on separate strips of paper and placed them in a little envelope.

Based on my intentions, I pulled some herbs, stones, and other items that compliment and enhance those energies. These will all go in the jar and live there for the next couple years! 

I chose three candles for this jar and full moon cycle. Again, these are chosen based on the intentions I placed in the jar.

And that's the gist of it! Place the jar out for a bath under the moon (inside by a window if you are unable to utilize outdoor space). Any spells, prayers, meditations, incantations would be up to you and based on what you are aiming to accomplish. I find it beneficial to journal, daily if possible, to track your progress. You can also set shorter term goals as a means to facilitate the fruition of your intentions. Lunar tracking is also great and takes as little as a minute or 2 each day. I'm not a big journal person, but taking the couple minutes each day helps for accountability, motivation, and understanding of yourself and your personal cycle.