Photo: Joanna C. Valente
Stephanie Valente lives in Brooklyn, NY. She has published Hotel Ghost (Bottlecap Press, 2015) and waiting for the end of the world (Bottlecap Press, 2017) and has work included in Susan, TL;DR, and Cosmonauts Avenue. Sometimes, she feels human. http://stephanievalente.com
BY LISA MARIE BASILE
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I have never — literally, ever — been crafty (excerpt with journaling — which I do, on a very basic level). When I stepped inside a Michael’s for the first time, I was overwhelmed. It was alien to me.
However, I was tasked with ‘making’ something when I working on my last book, Light Magic for Dark Times. My editor suggested creating something sweet and unique as a way to get people interested in my book.
Creative paralysis. A crafty person does not a writer make!
So, I watched some videos on YouTube, bought a few bits from Etsy, and began creating little spell bags. I used shells (many collected from the beach, some bought), sachet bags, dried roses and lavender, scrolls, and nautical trinkets — and I fell in love with the process. I made hundreds of these for my readers and potential book sellers. (Hint: book promotion is way, way harder than I ever thought it would be — I’ve got an article coming out about that soon).
So, if you like to make things with your hands, create your own gifts or DIY goodies rather than spend money on mass-produced items, or simply surround yourself with intentional and special objects, I’ve rounded up some of the best DIY gift-making videos I watched.
These will help you create dreamy, literary, and magical bits and bobs. Made with intention and care, these little beauties not only make beautiful home decor (or, as I said, gifts) but the process of making something can be meditative and rewarding.
Here we go:
☆"Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them." ☆ ― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations Celestial DIYs printable template: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m6EPyZ0BY_0L8qHpYdeqIMraRx9eBu3E/view?usp=sharing My ring is from Bohindie Stream!
☆ a few sparkly, magical DIY projects for you to add a little enchantment to your life ☆ Check out Lady Viktoria's art: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtbyLadyViktoria Supplies: Crystal Elixir: + Glass bottles: http://amzn.to/2HnGNTJ + Crystals: Etsy + Lavender essential oil: http://amzn.to/2Ghp13h + Witch hazel: http://amzn.to/2Glmc1l Book of Wishes: + Poster board: craft store + Printed pictures: Pinterest + Cover photo: https://www.etsy.com/listing/231125050/lovers-dream-spell?ref=shop_home_active_42 Crystal Pendant: + Selenite crystal: https://www.etsy.com/transaction/1358551444 + String: craft store + Tiny glass vial: Hobby Lobby Get 10% off your first purchase with Squarespace!
Allie chronicles her process for making gem elixirs for people and pets, but she adds a twist of aromatherapy and infusing the elixirs with Reiki.
☆✩ The last gift in this series is of course a journal! You can easily make a journal in any size or thickness with this technique! This book is super easy to make and you don't need to know how to sew/bind to put it together!
let's make an art journal entry (poetry is from {yesterday i was the moon} page # 101 purchase my book here: https://www.amazon.com/yesterday-was-moon-Noor-Unnahar/dp/1548924466/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500753005&sr=8-1&keywords=noor+unnahar (also available on barnes & noble / book depository / local bookstores *seleted*) see the story of how YIWTM is doing so far (hint: it is in two amazon good books lists *winks*) http://www.noorsplace.com/2017/08/yesterday-i-was-moon-story-so-far.html // I hope you enjoyed.
If you have always wanted to make candles this is a great introduction on how to get started. We go into detail about the basic things you will need to get started. Wax, containers, wicks fragrance oils, etc. Edit: It's been a while since I made this video and I have changed the temperature at which I add my fragrance oil.
Hey guys and welcome to Day 2 of the 12 DIYs of Christmas mini series! Today I will show you how to make 3 aesthetic/magical gifts, for the friend in your life who is out-of-this-world! ;) This includes a funky solar system necklace, gemstone soaps (3 ways), and a NASA inspired backpack.
10% off your first purchase with Squarespace with code JORDANCLARK: https://www.squarespace.com/?channel=youtube&subchannel=jordanclark&source=jordanclark ☆ a little tutorial to show you how I dry my flowers ☆ My Squarespace website: http://www.jordaneclark.com/ .................................... ☆ ☾ Blog: http://www.stellaireblog.com/ Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/stellaireha... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordan.e.cl... Tumblr: http://jordaneclark.tumblr.com/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/stellaireblog/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/stellai... ....................................
How to wire wrap crystals and stones without holes? WHAT'S UP HOME SKILLETS! In this video I am going to share with you my favorite technique to use when wrapping my crystals and stones. It is extremely fast and easy. I love the messy and unique look of the cage wrapping technique that I am sharing with you.
Shop our iron on patches: https://goo.gl/jMDdrV click to never miss a DIY: http://bit.ly/subthesorrygirls We're back with some more easy and affordable DIYs and this time we're going zodiac. We'll show you how to make some gorgeous constellation wall art and accessories and a zodiac keychain that makes the perfect gift!
Hey Guys! Im back with another Astrology Version. This week im going to be doing Astrology DIY Back to School! ☆ CLICK HERE FOR MORE ☆ ° Subscribe to get notified when I post up new videos! ° Make sure to like and comment on this video if you enjoyed it or want more videos similar to this one.
Hey there! Today I'm sharing with you three pretty cheap and easy witchy DIYs that are super easy and fun to make! We've got a shell that you can use on your altar for Moon Water, a pretty decorative vase and some super cheap and easy Rune Stones!
Merry Meet! This video is based around witchy candles. These candles can be used for decorations or can be put on an altar. These candles are really simple and really cheap to make! I hope you guys enjoy.
How to make Fairy Dust: How to make a potion bottle filled with magical "Princess Pink" sparkly fairydust or Pixie Dust- This fast and fun tutorial will teach you how to add a dash of fairytale magic to your world in a few easy steps.
ITALIAN VERSION: https://youtu.be/oT48RkJMpC4 SPANISH VERSION: https://youtu.be/_Enex6mJWk8 ❤READ ME❤ Hi everyone! The holiday season has started what's better than receiving/giving the Hogwarts Acceptance letter for Christmas (Or the Holidays)? Maybe with a box filled with harry Potter inspired gifts ?
Here's how to make your very own spellbook, just in time for Halloween~ Spellbook Pages! - Use either: Zip File: http://chezlin.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Spellbook.zip Rar File: http://chezlin.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Spellbook.rar Sealemon's book press tutorial: https://youtu.be/nTeg8MH0PtI Alternative book binding tutorial(DIY Sketchbook): https://youtu.be/dSnmHxEapg0 Halloweek 2015: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSbhLwggEkl91Jra74E7NnqwCYCPxTd6t Complete Halloween Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSbhLwggEkl8K01QZ2BFlVvIC7ZPfvDC0 Stay tuned on Tuesdays for art videos, and Thursdays for DIY videos!
In this video, I'm going to show you how to make a journal and this easy DIY journal is really easy to do and the journal looks really cute when it is all done. You can write anything in this journal! You can also use this as a bullet journal.
Kelly Eden's Lovely Channel! https://www.youtube.com/user/KellyEdenOfficial Star Template https://www.abbikirstencollections.com/2017/06/3d-paper-star-lumieres-free-template.html I really love these magical sparkly floating stars! I can't stop wanting to make more.... Items Used: *black cardstock http://go.magik.ly/ml/8abd/ *large black glitter http://go.magik.ly/ml/8abe/ *my favorite glue gun! http://go.magik.ly/ml/8abf/ Follow me on *Instagram! art and craft- https://instagram.com/skelterina lifestyle- https://instagram.com/sabrinaskelter *Snapchat!
Christine Stoddard’s poetry collection, Water for the Cactus Woman (Spuytenduyvil, 2018) is a meditation on family, the body, and navigating a bi-cultural map of memories. The most looming figure in the poems is the speaker’s dead grandmother, who appears in the most mundane of places, bringing dread to the speaker. In “The Cactus Centerpiece”, the ghost provokes jealousy and a cactus shapeshifts from protective shield to a portal for the dead, “We never named the cactus/ or the petite panther, / even though we named/everything, good or bad.”
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Joanna C. Valente is a human who lives in Brooklyn, New York. They are the author of Sirs & Madams, The Gods Are Dead, Marys of the Sea, Sexting Ghosts, Xenos, No(body) (forthcoming, Madhouse Press, 2019), and is the editor of A Shadow Map: Writing by Survivors of Sexual Assault. They received their MFA in writing at Sarah Lawrence College. Joanna is the founder of Yes Poetry and the senior managing editor for Luna Luna Magazine. Some of their writing has appeared in The Rumpus, Them, Brooklyn Magazine, BUST, and elsewhere. Joanna also leads workshops at Brooklyn Poets. joannavalente.com / Twitter: @joannasaid / IG: joannacvalente / FB: joannacvalente
Born and raised in Omaha, NE, JUNE GEHRINGER is a mixed Chinese trans woman who is somehow still alive. She is the author of I Don’t Write About Race (2018, CCM), I love you it looks like rain (Be About It 2017), and EVERYONE IS A BIG BUG TO SOMEONE (self-published) 2017. She is the co-founder of tenderness yea, and tweets @unlovablehottie. She holds a B.A. in English from Loyola University New Orleans and has worked as a cook since she was 16.
Joanna C. Valente is a human who lives in Brooklyn, New York. They are the author of Sirs & Madams, The Gods Are Dead, Marys of the Sea, Sexting Ghosts, Xenos, No(body) (forthcoming, Madhouse Press, 2019), and is the editor of A Shadow Map: Writing by Survivors of Sexual Assault. They received their MFA in writing at Sarah Lawrence College. Joanna is the founder of Yes Poetry and the senior managing editor for Luna Luna Magazine. Some of their writing has appeared in The Rumpus, Them, Brooklyn Magazine, BUST, and elsewhere. Joanna also leads workshops at Brooklyn Poets. joannavalente.com / Twitter: @joannasaid / IG: joannacvalente / FB: joannacvalente
When I was a teen, my hobbies were a little singular. I loved moodily soaking in the bathtub in the middle of the night and wearing my pajamas well into the afternoon. Back then, this was the kind of behavior that led to my family and friends teasing me, constantly asking why I wasn’t hanging out at the neighborhood Arby’s like everyone else. But, it seems nightgowns are making a comeback (and perhaps they have been for a while now). In honor of Lana Del Rey’s new song, “hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have” here’s a list of some of my favorite nightwear in the media, and some links so you can get yourself a nightgown to tear around in well into the afternoon.
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Music brings people together. Communities are created and fostered through melodies, which is why it’s important to promote excellent work by musicians both popular and obscure from all over the world. As a music lover myself, I’m always searching for new music (regardless of when it was released).
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Fatima-Ayan Malika Hirsi is the founder of Dark Moon Poetry & Arts, a monthly series which spotlights the creative feminine and non-binary energies of North Texas. She can often be found on Dallas sidewalks using her typewriter to birth poems for strangers. She has been published in Entropy, The Boiler, Anthropology Now!, Bearing the Mask, and elsewhere. Her work has been featured by WFAA, KERA, the Dallas Morning News, and others. Her chapbook, Moon Woman, is forthcoming from Thoughtcrime Press.
As the senior managing editor at Luna Luna and the founding editor at Yes Poetry, you could say writing is important to me, especially poetry. For me, it’s vital to highlight poetic voices in order to support literature, activism, and expression.
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Karina Bush is an Irish writer, born in Belfast and now living in Rome. She is the author of three books, ‘BRAIN LACE’ (BareBackPress, 2018), ‘50 EURO’ (BareBackPress, 2017), and ‘MAIDEN’ (48th Street Press, 2016). She is currently finishing up a collection of stories set in Belfast, a story from this collection was recently published by Akashic Books. She is also a visual poet and released a set of visual poems to accompany ‘BRAIN LACE’. For more visit her website karinabush.com and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/karinabushxx/.
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Hillary Leftwich is the author of the forthcoming collection Ghosts Are Just Strangers Who Know How To Knock from Civil Coping Mechanisms (CCM) Press in 2019. She earned her MFA in fiction and poetry from the Mile High MFA at Regis University. She is the poetry and prose editor for Heavy Feather Review and curator/host for At the Inkwell Denver, a monthly reading series. In her day jobs she has worked as a private investigator, maid, repo agent, and pinup model. Currently, she freelances as a writer, editor, writing workshop instructor, and guest instructor for Kathy Fish’s Fast Flash Workshop. Her writing can be found or is forthcoming in print and online in such journals as Entropy, The Missouri Review, The Review Review, Hobart, SmokeLong Quarterly, Matter Press, Literary Orphans, Sundog Lit, NANO Fiction, Occulum, Jellyfish Review, and others.
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Joanna C. Valente is a human who lives in Brooklyn, New York. They are the author of Sirs & Madams, The Gods Are Dead, Marys of the Sea, Sexting Ghosts, Xenos, No(body) (forthcoming, Madhouse Press, 2019), and is the editor of A Shadow Map: Writing by Survivors of Sexual Assault. They received their MFA in writing at Sarah Lawrence College. Joanna is the founder of Yes Poetry and the senior managing editor for Luna Luna Magazine. Some of their writing has appeared in The Rumpus, Them, Brooklyn Magazine, BUST, and elsewhere. Joanna also leads workshops at Brooklyn Poets. joannavalente.com / Twitter: @joannasaid / IG: joannacvalente / FB: joannacvalente
Matthew Dineen is writer and events coordinator based in Philly.
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Joanna C. Valente is a human who lives in Brooklyn, New York. They are the author of Sirs & Madams, The Gods Are Dead, Marys of the Sea, Sexting Ghosts, Xenos, No(body) (forthcoming, Madhouse Press, 2019), and is the editor of A Shadow Map: Writing by Survivors of Sexual Assault. They received their MFA in writing at Sarah Lawrence College. Joanna is the founder of Yes Poetry and the senior managing editor for Luna Luna Magazine. Some of their writing has appeared in The Rumpus, Them, Brooklyn Magazine, BUST, and elsewhere. Joanna also leads workshops at Brooklyn Poets. joannavalente.com / Twitter: @joannasaid / IG: joannacvalente / FB: joannacvalente
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Joanna C. Valente is a human who lives in Brooklyn, New York. They are the author of Sirs & Madams, The Gods Are Dead, Marys of the Sea, Sexting Ghosts, Xenos, No(body) (forthcoming, Madhouse Press, 2019), and is the editor of A Shadow Map: Writing by Survivors of Sexual Assault. They received their MFA in writing at Sarah Lawrence College. Joanna is the founder of Yes Poetry and the senior managing editor for Luna Luna Magazine. Some of their writing has appeared in The Rumpus, Them, Brooklyn Magazine, BUST, and elsewhere. Joanna also leads workshops at Brooklyn Poets. joannavalente.com / Twitter: @joannasaid / IG: joannacvalente / FB: joannacvalente
Jordan Rothacker is a writer living in Athens. His most recent novel is My Shadow Book by Maawaam, available at readspaceboy.com.
Joanna C. Valente is a human who lives in Brooklyn, New York. They are the author of Sirs & Madams, The Gods Are Dead, Marys of the Sea, Sexting Ghosts, Xenos, No(body) (forthcoming, Madhouse Press, 2019), and is the editor of A Shadow Map: Writing by Survivors of Sexual Assault. They received their MFA in writing at Sarah Lawrence College. Joanna is the founder of Yes Poetry and the senior managing editor for Luna Luna Magazine. Some of their writing has appeared in The Rumpus, Them, Brooklyn Magazine, BUST, and elsewhere. Joanna also leads workshops at Brooklyn Poets. joannavalente.com / Twitter: @joannasaid / IG: joannacvalente / FB: joannacvalente
