Hey, lovelies. So here’s the thing: I feel wasteful when it comes to empty prayer candles. Of course, a good way to reuse them would be making more candles from their containers. However, that can be a little expensive and I wanted some alternative uses. I thought about it for a while, even googling if anyone had any ideas. Nothing stuck out to me and for weeks I had this empty cylinder on my dresser staring me in the eye. Yesterday, it randomly hit me and I started my crafting. Honestly, this one is really simple like most of my crafts I’ve shown you guys and inexpensive.
I decided to turn it into a wand holder or a incense stick holder, it could be used for both. I even thought about putting it in the kitchen for spoons and things if you’re a kitchen witch. I decided to made the cylinder a tree trunk with roots at the bottom. Another idea I thought of was making a squid which might be neat for a sea witch but more difficult.
What I used:
an empty and clean prayer candle
air dry clay
clear quartz and amethyst
glitter
glossy mod podge
a mechanical pencil
acrylic paint and paint brushes
I didn’t really want to do a brown tree trunk, I decided on purple even though I didn’t have enough purple paint. I mixed together Apple Barrel’s Cool Blue and Flag Red in case the color is something you specifically want. In the pictures, it looks kind of brown though. The crystals are optional and you can replace them with anything you want. My glitter, prayer candle, and mod podge were all from Dollar Tree. My air dry clay is by Crayola and was about 5 dollars and from Walmart. My paint was also from Walmart.
First things first, I covered the entire container in clay, smoothing it out a little. I took a mechanical pencil to create the texture of the trunk by just drawing and making lines randomly (later I’d gently do the same for the roots). At the bottom, I started the roots which were my biggest hurdle. I made some of my roots more intricate and tiny and as a result they did come off and I had to fix them. I let the clay dry before mixing my paint and painting it all the dark purple. After some time drying again, I mixed together pink glitter, silver glitter, and mod podge. I painted on the mod podge and let it dry again. Lastly, I took my crystals and wrapped more clay around them and on the very back to place them against the trunk. After letting that dry, I repeated the painting process and added the mod podge. Some more time drying (whew) and I was done! Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
It’s me, ya boy. I have been less active as of late and for that I apologize. Mental health break! On amino, I used to post a lot of crafts as well and I randomly remembered someone saying they wish they also had a craft for a cheap athame. At the time, I sort of put it on my list for things to attempt but did forget about it. However, I randomly got it in my head again and now here we are.
For this I used:
a kitchen knife and a pocket knife (both from Dollar Tree)
air dry clay (from Walmart)
some glossy mod podge (from Dollar Tree)
acrylic paint, paint brushes, and a sharpie marker
Experiment with design ideas, I just went in blind but you can choose to make things more intricate and planned out. I actually advise that you do that, honestly.
I just took some of my clay and wrapped it around the handle of both knives until I was happy, smoothing out any crevices and prints. Then I worked on adding anything else to make the athame a little more special and decorative. After having the clay dry, I went in with my acrylic paint. Feel free to paint moon phases, pentacles, runes, sigils, wards, or etc. I thought about painting a quote on one of the blades but changed my mind.
For one athame, I had a few cracks from a fatal accident involving my cat (he’s a bully). I used sharpie marker to fill in the cracks and did some spiral designs for the handle. Lastly, after all is dry and well, I coated them with mod podge and let them dry again. Then bam, they were complete.
The most expensive item for these beauties would be the air dry clay. I actually made a chalice along with these and still have more clay left so you get bang for your buck. I chose the Crayola air dry clay, 2.5 lbs in the container. If I remember right, it was around five dollars. You could buy many colors to paint with, glitter, press crystals into the clay, or anything else you can think of. I just used white, black, and gold paint in small bottles.
Knotting a crystal net is very easy if you are able to use your fingers for this kind of crafting.
They are often called crystal “wraps” and many tutorials can be found on Youtube.
There are many, many ways to make a crystal net. The style you use determines the final appearance. More importantly for us, the style you use determines how many knots there will be, and their size.
We can draw on four common elements of magic: Crystal/mineral correspondences, color correspondences, numerology, and knot magic.
The stone (or other object) is like the battery which holds and radiates power. The object you net should correspond to your core intent.
The color of cord or thread you use can modify or hone your intent. For example, if using clear quartz, the color correspondence might be doing most of the work.
Then again, this spell will work with cotton twine and a river stone, so just do whatever suits you.
The total number of cords you use dictates how many knots total will exist in your spell. Crystal nets are made by tying two strands of cord together. If you use four cords, you will have eight working ends, and therefore you will tie four knots per row. If you have five cords, you will have ten working ends, and you will need to tie five knots per row. I align my numerology to the number of knots, not strands, because the knots themselves are holding the magic.
The knots are used to tie intent and bind power. I create most of my charms in a style that has one big starter knot at the top and one big finishing knot at the bottom. There are tons of ways to utilize knots in this project. The first knot can hold the only intent, while the rest bind powers to support it. Or the intent can be split into its composite parts and each part gets its own knot. Or every single knot can have something unique, or they can all be identical… lots of options.
Conceptually, the inner object is the focal point or battery of the spell. The knots can be understood as tools that the object uses to carry out your will, instructions to guide the object in its work, vessels that carry additional power (like tidepools on a beach), or tangles that capture and bind up unwanted forces.
To perform this sort of magic:
1.Learn how to make the nets first from an arts and crafts perspective :) you can cut the cording off to re-use the same stone later. It is really frustrating to try and do a craft in a ritual headspace if you have to learn the craft simultaneously!
2.Gather up your cording and object to be netted. Do any ritual techniques you prefer to prepare them.
3.Decide how you want your intent to be tied in. Do you want to use the same phrase for each knot? Do you want to chant your intent continuously while you do many knots? Etc.
4. Make the crystal net in your ritual headspace/magic zone. Pour your intent into each knot in whatever methods you choose.
5. I recommend making the final knot of your project into the seal which completes and finishes the amulet (“so mote it be,” “as my will it has been done,” etc).
6. If you did not raise and direct energy during the spell, ensure the amulet is charged afterwords. Like all amulets and talismans, it requires feeding and repowering as time goes on.
I just found out Spoonflower (who I buy most of the fabric for my altar and shrines from) has a whole section of Ancient Greece/Greek Mythology fabric!
Matte black spray paint (it doesn’t need to be spray paint, but I find this easier!).
Glass cleaner (if you want to use a vinegar and water solution instead, that’s fine!).
Clean cloth.
Microfibre cloth (optional).
HOW TO:
Firstly, remove the glass from the photo frame and set the frame aside as you’ll be popping the glass back inside later.
Using your glass cleaner and cloth, thoroughly clean both sides of the glass and try to avoid leaving smears or smudges. You can use another clean, dry cloth (microfibre for best results) once the mirror is dry, to go over the glass and buff it/remove any dust.
Allow the glass to dry completely, then take it to a ventilated area, lay the glass on a piece of paper or fabric you’re not too attached to, and use the spray paint to coat one side of the glass. Allow the first coat to dry, then add a few more layers ensuring that the coverage is as even as possible, and opaque.
Leave the glass to dry in a safe place.
Once the paint is dry, reinsert the glass into the picture frame with the unpainted side facing you.
*OPTIONAL: you can embellish your frame, or the edges of the glass if you wish. It’s your scrying mirror, so make it yours!
You are now ready to scry your heart out! Make sure the glass is smudge and mark free before you scry, as to not skew anything you may divine from the mirror.
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