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Do you want to be more creative but can never find the time?

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Do you ever feel like taking the afternoon off to scrapbook, enrolling in a photography class,  learning how to play the guitar or getting together with your girlfriends to craft is a waste of time?

Maybe just in reading this right now you see the value in it.  You get that being creative and having fun is important, and I bet you wish you did more of it, and are probably planning on it… but, how long have you been saying that?

And when you take a realistic look at your life and the past year, did the time you spend doing that stuff line up with your intentions and desires? I’m guessing, that’s a no.

But, I bet you found plenty of time to watch TV, am I right?  What if you just traded one hour of TV a week for doing a creative project?  Can you imagine how much your life would change?  In case you can’t, let me tell you….

When I am doing something creative like creating my own facial or mixing a love potion (sexy right? directions below) I get incredible ideas for my business, I feel more connected to Marshall, I feel more open and feminine around Jonathan and I just feel so much more relaxed!

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And, when we take time to work with our hands, we tap into an ancient feminine wisdom that lives within us.  Using our hands and our bodies for more than just looking good in our clothes gives us direct access to our inner power, magic and intuition. Making a project, mixing up a potion or cooking a meal is like stirring the pot of our talents and letting new and amazing things come to the surface that have been dormant for a while.

I recently spent the afternoon with my friend Becca Piastrelli of The Dabblist because I wanted to connect more with my inner medicine woman and artist.  Below Becca is going to walk you through how to do two amazing (and super simple) projects to help your inner alchemist, mixologist, witch and hippy come out to play.  She also has a special gift for you at the end.

After you read through the projects and directions below, please put a time on your calendar to actually execute one or both of these projects.  The shopping lists and links to buy what you need are all here, and feel free to improvise!  You know I am all about action, because just wanting to do something isn’t going to change your life, you have to actually create time to do it (remember, trade in one hour of TV).  I know from experience, it’s worth it.

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From Becca

Hello, you wise and creative woman!

My name is Becca, also known as The Dabblist, and I believe that inside each and every one of us is a wise, creative woman just itching to play with her hands again and create beautiful things.

You know that feeling when you start feeling bubbly excitement in your belly when you’re cooking a new holiday dessert recipe, arranging flowers for a baby shower, or running your hands over dried lavender bundles and then inhaling the intoxicating scent? It’s usually followed by an unmistakable urge to make something – anything!

That’s you tapping into the ancient feminine wisdom that’s inside all of us, the wisdom that flowed through our great grandmothers when they used to gather at the table together to dye cloth with flowers and heal wounds with plants. And I’m here to help you tap back into that wisdom and realize that being creative doesn’t have anything to do with being like Martha Stewart or posting pinterest-worthy photos of your creations on your instagram feed.

When we take the time to play with our hands and actually create something beautiful, we experience a greater connection with ourselves and the world around us.

I could dump loads of statistics on you about how creativity and play improves your productivity and boosts happiness, but something tells me you already know that.

What’s stopping you from being creative is time. Who has the time?

Well, thanks to Sarah’s challenge of switching 1 hour of TV for a creative project, you do.

And, lucky you, we’ve got 2 super fun creative projects for you to try…

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Glitter-Dipped Feather Wall Hanging

Who needs fancy art when you can make your own (and with objects found in nature to boot)? This wall hanging is fun to make with girlfriends and brings ancient natural beauty into your home. Mine is hanging in my living room and Sarah’s is in her office.

THE SUPPLIES

  • Feathers – you can grab some at the craft store, forage for them in the wild, or grab these from amazon
  • Glue – Grab at your local craft store or here
  • Gold Glitter  -Grab at your local craft store or here 
  • Fishing Line  -Grab at your local hardware store or here 
  • Twig or branch – locally foraged
  • Scissors

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INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Spread the glue on a small paper plate or paper towel.
  2. Pour glitter on a separate plate.
  3. Take each feather and dip both sides of the tip in the glue first and the glitter second.
  4. Gently let sit to dry for at least 30 mins.
  5. While the feathers are drying, take a look at your branch and decide how you want the feathers to be laid out. Do you want them all to the the same length? Varying lengths? Spaced close together or far apart? Let your intuition guide you here – don’t overthink it.
  6. Once the feathers are dry, cut the fishing line to be your desired length from the branch to the feather, leaving room to adjust if necessary.
  7. Taking each feather, tie one end of the fishing line to the base of the feather and the other end to the branch.
  8. Once each feather is attached to the branch, adjust the lengths as needed and snip off any excess line.
  9. You’re done! Hang your beautiful new creation in a part of your home that could use a little creative inspiration.

                                 Love Potion Elixir

 This potion is technically known as a cordial, which is an alcoholic herbal drink meant to be lightly sipped (in cordial glasses – you can find some great ones at thrift and antique shops) after a meal. You can put all sorts of delicious, nourishing herbal ingredients in a cordial (many of which you can find at your local grocery store).

For this potion I made with Sarah, we were channeling our sexy inner sirens so the ingredients are aromatic, flavorful, and have aphrodisiac properties. Make it for a dinner party and you’ll have a hit on your hands.

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                                                                           THE SUPPLIES

Part 1 – INFUSE

  • 1 cup dried rose petals (I like to get mine from mountain rose herbs or amazon)
  • 2 vanilla bean pods, sliced and chopped (I order beans online as well)
  • 1/2 tsp powdered cardamom
  • 2 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
  • 2 cups brandy (you could also use port wine)
  • Large clean mason jar with a lid

Part 2 – DECANT

I also love to look for decorating supplies on www.save-on-crafts.com.

instructions

INSTRUCTIONS

Part 1 – INFUSE

  1. Fill your jar with the rose petals, vanilla bean, cardamom, cinnamon sticks, and fresh ginger.
  2. Pour the brandy over the ingredients, being sure they are covered by at least 2 inches.
  3. Seal the jar tightly and let sit in a cool, dark cupboard for a moon cycle (28 days), giving it a good shake every few days.

Part 2 – DECANT

  1. Using a fine mesh sieve or piece of cheesecloth, strain the solid bits from the liquid into a measuring cup or bowl.
  2. Using a funnel, pour the infused liquid 2/3rds into the bottle(s) you want your final product in.
  3. Fill the rest of the bottle with the raw honey. This takes some patience as honey moves slowly, but it’s totally worth it.
  4. Seal the bottle and shake vigorously to combine the honey and infused brandy into your love elixir.
  5. Now the best part…decorate your bottle! We used baker’s twine, labels, and washi tape but this is another time to let your intuition guide you and see what you can create.

Note from Sarah: Becca has crafted a special gift for you! It’s a video guide showing you how to create your own luxurious spa-quality facial in the comfort of your home. To get the video and printable guide, click here.

Now, we’d love to know what you are going to craft this week.  Please post a picture on Instagram and tag us @thedabblist and @sarahjenks so we can see all of your beautiful creations.  Tag your friends and invite them to an afternoon crafting party.

Share this post using the buttons below so the women in your life who have a knack for dabbling or love creating with their hands so they can join in on the fun.

Photo credit:  Rosa Delgado Photography

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