Visionary Night

In the last post, I showed an easy way to add pockets to any notebook or journal.  In this post, I'll discuss how to make a book blessing card to put in the front pocket of your journal. A book blessing is used to dedicate a journal for a particular purpose, usually spiritual or magickal in nature. Whether you're eclectic pagan like me or believe differently, you can write your own blessing that incorporates your spirituality.  A book blessing could be a prayer, a poem, a charm or spell, or some prose that describes your feelings regarding the purpose of this journal and how its contents are to be protected. This is the first time I've ever really felt the need to create a book blessing or dedication.  I personally think it's necessary, since any kind of transformative work involves some vulnerability.  I looked up book blessings online and while most of the websites that came up in the search were pagan or Wiccan, there were some common themes that could be interpr

When I started customizing my Moleskine for this class, I ran into a slight problem.  There's only one pocket in the back of the book, and I need 3 pockets.  I wanted to include one pocket to hold the book blessing card (more on that in the next post), one pocket for the celebration card we'll create around this time next year, and the built-in pocket that is already in the journal for mementos.  There was one other issue, the first two and last two pages of the Moleskine wouldn't open fully.  That's when I devised a plot to make this little challenge work in my favor.  This is how the extra pockets turned out: Front Pocket/Inside Cover Back Pocket/Inside Cover It's really easy to make these pockets.  They aren't really made to hold much, but they will work perfectly to hold the blessing and celebration cards we're going to make.  I really enjoy layering washi tape, so this was a fun project for me. What You'll Need: 1. Matte gel me

Welcome to our first project, creating the journal for the next year and a simple but pretty beaded bookmark for it.  I thought I'd start with a fairly easy project that invites you to play with whatever supplies you have.  I'll suggest substitutions for the supplies I used whenever I think of them. We're going to decorate a store bought art journal of whatever type you'd like to use and customize it so it works for this class.  I would suggest a hardcover journal, but use whatever you like.  For my journal, I'm using a small Moleskine sketchbook, but you can use a watercolor journal, art journal, visual journal, sketchbook, writing journal, composition book, etc.  Next year, I'll show you how to create a handmade, hand bound journal. Before I describe how I decorated the cover, I want to discuss the nature of smooth and slippery hardcover journals and notebooks and how difficult they make it for your paint to stick.  I learned a little trick awhile back.

Welcome!  Visionary Night is a place where I share the various ways I express my spirituality through creativity.  Be forewarned.  I go wherever the inspiration takes me.  I will post about whatever I sense wants to be explored at any given moment.  This is a way for me to share my spiritual and creative journey with you.  Feel free to join me for awhile or be inspired to go your own way. Visionary Night will evolve over time.  Most of my creations do.  As people, we grow and change, so our lives and practices need to expand and change with us.  I know it will involve ways to bring the sacred into everyday life.   I'm creating the content based on my beliefs, but you can adapt it to yours.   If there's one thing I've learned in my many years of spiritual seeking, it's that the answers are already within.  As part of the Visionary Night posts, I will guide you through one way of seeking.  What you find will be a whole other story altogether.   My hope for Visionary N