BLESSED SAMHAIN - and my BOS materials

Merry Meet, everyone. Blessings on this magical evening. I hope this new Turn of the Wheel is full of good things.

I had hoped to have my Book of Shadows constructed by this night, ready to be blessed. But between hunting down supplies and the other things going on, the best I have is everything gathered. The only item you will not find in the pictures is the paper I will be using for pages. I have chosen an 8.5 x 11 caramel parchment. I want torn edges so the 400+ pages will take a bit of time. Those will all have to be torn on the three sides before they can be put in the book.

I'm mashing up two different BOS designs I found on YouTube. The first is for the basic construction of the outside by jamiebookofshadows. Jamie has done a lovely seven-part series in creating a replica of the BOS from the television show, Charmed. While I have no desire to emulate their BOS, I did favor his construction. Here are the supplies for my cover:

While I would like to have used a real leather, this Marine Vinyl from JoAnn's felt right when I picked it up. I bought enough to do a full 8.5 x 11 BOS as well as a smaller 4x6 or may 3x5 travel BOS. Not sure I'll be using the hinges but I do like the corner protectors from Tim Holtz. Jamie uses a cardboard tube to get his 'curved' spine. Since acquiring this piece from my friend/ store manager at my local Office Depot, I've learned that you can curve any chip board by scoring the length in 1/4" increments then gently conforming the scores to the shape you want. The paper will be my inside cover.  The only thing I don't have in the picture is the Tyvek I've also learned will help strengthen the spine. 

The suede lacing is for binding the pages together. I waffled back and forth between the different methods. I wanted the 8.5 x 11 (and have had the ream of paper for years for this project) so signatures wasn't going to work... though I may use that method for the travel size. I didn't like the 3-ring binder idea. I got a cold vibe from that form. But I fell in love with the method used by Isis Chandler at Pagan Scrapbook Supply.  I want to make my own BOS or I'd have been purchasing one of hers in a heartbeat. In the video below, she talks about their book construction.

So I'll be cutting binding strips and punching holes for awhile as well as tearing those page edges.

I'm not an artist by any means. I can't draw a decent stick figure (though I use to be good at horses - go figure!). But I am good with stamps and coloring so I'll be using those as well as stencils, die cuts for the insides. I recently ordered THIS set from CraftersCompanion. I should have the set in the next week or so.  I have other stamps in my huge supply to work with as well. 

Here is a picture of some of the interior supplies I've gathered:

I'm excited to finally begin putting my BOS together. As I said earlier, I've had the page paper as well as the chip board for the cover for years. I do have two writing deadlines I have to get past first, then I can devote a day or two for construction.

Many Blessings

~Rain

BOOK OF SHADOWS - Eden

I found her!  Her name is Eden. Here's the first of her videos that I watched. I just like her laid back style.

Eden will celebrate her first Turn of the Wheel this week and I am so happy for her. From the moment you step on the path, an incredible journey of self-discovery begins.

One of the things Eden brings up in this video is about how much, if any at all, of our BOS do we share.  I've heard this discussion surface in the past and am reaching a happy middle. I am blaming the Libra in me ;-)

I think that our BOS can be a very personal, if not the most personal, tool in our craft. And while I would not be comfortable sharing my spells with the world or letting others touch my book, when it comes to the artwork, I hope that I could inspire others as Amethyst and Eden have with theirs.

So what's your take on the Show & Tell of your BOS? I'd love to hear from you
Creative Blessings
~Rain

SOMETHING ABOUT AUTUMN

As the Aspens begin to fade out west, the Birch in the Ozarks are just beginning to find their color. The Dogwoods are also turning. Rain is in the forecast for the coming weekend when the Dogwoods would be in their glory. I'm hoping for a span of dry weather to enjoy them before the storms beat the leaves from their limbs. 

I've finally completely moved into the studio... in time to enjoy my space as a turn of the wheel begins. 

With the availability of a workable craft space again I've also been itching to create my Book of Shadows. I've always had the idea of what I wanted in the back of my mind and I still have some things to work out but I'm making progress.

One youtuber who's inspired my artistic side is Amethyst. I love her artwork...

One thing about Amethyst's book is the binding. I LOVE the binding. But her pages would have to have started at at least 17" lengths of paper in able to fold them into 8.5 signatures. I have a ream of standard 8.5x11 paper I bought years ago for this purpose. Since then I've learned more about book binding so am needing to figure out the best way to incorporate what I have rather than buying a massive amount of the larger sheets. Though I could buy parchement sheets by the case for about $20 at a restaurant supply and tea-dye the pages. Hmmm... the brain is processing as I type. I'll keep you posted.

I have another I found but am unable to pull her up right now. Silly me, I guess I was so caught up in her video I failed to Like the video so I could find her. And I'm not seeing her on my subscription list either. 

Next week I'd love to have a discussion on whether to 'show & tell' your BOS.

Until then, Creative Blessings!

~Rain