Craftin' with Hooty

Mine is bigger than yours.

     Oh the many branches of Paganism, how do you count something that is so infinite and ever-changing? At the end of the day, all of us, Solitary, Witch, Wiccan, Druid, whatever, we all will sit in front of some sort of prayer, meditation or sacred altar to enjoy quality time with our personal aspect of the Creator. Big ones, short ones, fat ones, tiny ones, outside, inside, out in the open or in a closet, every Pagan’s altar does the same job. It does not matter if yours is bigger or better than the one at your rival Witchy household, what really matters is the kind of ENERGY that you have put into it.
     If you find yourself without an altar, should you run out and buy something? Shouldn’t only the best and finest be presented for the Higher Powers? Well, that depends on how you define “finest”. Does that really mean the most expensive item that money can buy? Some of the highest energy altars I have encountered have come from humble beginnings and were fashioned with love into a stable and sometimes transportable working surface. In fact, that holds true to most ritual items and jewelry. Most all of us at the very least purchase a fair amount of our jewelry from local crafters. Why is this? Surely Azure Green has more options. It is the energy of personal touch and craftsmanship that make it better. No machine can impart love into an object. Now, not everyone will take the time to make their own and that is just fine. A good smudging and sometimes in the light of the full moon can bring good, positive working energy into anything.
     Since the altar is the basis, we will begin there. I am going to work from the most inexpensive options but remember that you can change things up or down in any way that you need to. All crafts are meant as a guideline and should be chocked full of your own ideas.

Supplies:
          1.An unpainted tray or round occasional table from your local craft store
          2.Acrylic Paints: chestnut brown, sage green, kelly green, lemon yellow, rose,
                    white,
          3.Gesso or other primer
          4.Paint Brushes:
           Flat size 6 and size 2 Round size 0 and size 2, Liner Brush
          5.Mat or gloss clear coat
          6.Print out of the accompanying templates.
          7.Carbon or graphite paper * only if you are using a template. Free form is best!
          8.Fine grit sand paper and tack cloth

Instructions:

     *Lightly sand and dust with the tack cloth. If you have chosen to paint a round occasional table you will need       to know that from my own experience, it is nearly impossible to get the press wood that most of them are       made out of to sand to perfect smoothness, so don’t stress yourself out over it.
     *Coat altar with gesso or primer and allow to dry according to the manufacturer’s instructions
     *Sand lightly
     *Apply base coat using your flat size 6 brush. Load one side of the brush with sage and the other with             white. Be careful not to over work the surface. I personally like the streaked effect that this one stroke       method provides
     *Sketch out design. Remember that this is meant to be free form, so don’t worry about perfection. To get       your outer circle to be positioned right, tie a string around two pencils. Position one pencil in the center of       your surface, stretching the string out and then sketching the circle with the other pencil.
      Sketch the base shape of the star out freehand. Remember, these are twigs and the more loppy and wonky       they are, the better.
     * Using the same brush as before, dip one side of your brush in chestnut brown and the other in white. Lay       your brush brown side out to get the natural outline. Very loosely paint the brown base vine and allow to       dry.
     *Switch to the flat size two and load one side of the brush with kelly green and the other side with yellow.       Very loosely paint on the green vine work, again with the green side and allow to dry.
     *Using the side of the brush, paint on the leaf outlines and fill in flat. Be sure to put your brush green side       down to get the natural outline.
     *Switch to the number 2 round brush and load with rose and white. Don’t worry about the order you dip       your brush in, some will be darker pink and some will be more white, this will give you natural variation       easy breezy. Be free form with your flowers, it doesn’t matter what they look like. Allow to dry.
     *Come back in with your kelly green and a bit of the chestnut brown with your size 0 round brush and add       leaves to your flowers and some twirling highlights to your vines and leaves.
     * All that is left now is to add the yellow centers to your flowers.
     *After your altar is completely dry, evenly top coat with clear gloss finish. I put on 2 or three coats since this       is a working space. Remember to follow manufacturers directions and to do this in a well ventilated area.
     

     Before you actually place all of your tools on your altar, be sure to bless it. Give it a spritz with distilled water and a bit of rosemary oil and of course a good smudge. Remember, your altar is an extension of you, visualize the energy you want to pull into your space the entire time you are working on it.

     A simple altar blessing: Spritz with rosemary oil and water and say: “Blessed Mother, I call upon thee to bless my altar with your complete wisdom, love and perfection now and eternally. May all work here be done with highest good and complete love, and as always, let no harm be done. Blessed Be.”

Brightest Blessings to you on your journey with the Divine.

author: ShyOwl