Usually, I make travel charms at the New Moon, but I missed this month's New Moon because I was too busy deciding if I needed to crop a picture of a cow more. (In case you were wondering...yes, yes I do.) In any case, given our upcoming trip to the island, I figured now was as good a time as any to make one.
Charms are simple little things; most of us have them whether we think of them as such or not. They focus our intentions, make us a little more careful, give us a moment of respite in trying times. Making them ties me closer to my home and garden, my faith, and the world in general.
Having said that, please don't picture me wafting around my candlelit house, chanting as I align my chakras before crafting something all sparkly. I actually forgot to light my candle, my workspace was my dining room table, I did a lot more, "River, put down the lavender. No, don't EAT it, put it DOWN. Jeffrey, did you remember to put on your underwear?" than chanting, and the finished charm was not so much sparkly. Also, I wouldn't know my chakras if they jumped up and started doing the hokey pokey.
Anywho, first I gathered up my supplies:
The white muslin is for the charm body. Up until now, I've remade the charm every month(ish), but that offends my environmental sensibilities and takes up a lot of time. The idea today was to sew a bag that could be reused. The greenery is mountain mint (a traditional "traveler" herb), lavender (a soothing aromatherapy herb and one associated with peace--I DO have two kids, y'all), and lemon balm (a "soother", but its other name--Sweet Melissa--also has special meaning for Will and I. Also, the plant needed pruning.) The wad o' stuff on the stone disk is dirt from our yard; a little bit of home to remind us what we're coming back to. The tear-drop shaped thingy is an old turquoise earring that used to belong to my grandmother. My parents gave it to me when she died and I was supposed to use it as a pendant, but I could never find a chain that suited it and it always lay oddly on my chest. Turquoise was a traditional "safe travel" stone for some Southwestern Native Americans, so when I was looking around for a stone to go on a travel charm a year ago, the earring seemed to suit. Also, hey, grandmother vibes. Can't go wrong with that. The pen and paper are for writing a shout out to the universe. I have plans to make my own paper sometime this decade for my charm purposes, but for now, I use typing paper. The scissors are for cutting stuff, because I prefer not to use my teeth.
That little dot? A spider. I thanked her for not eating me and put her outside.
I cut out two pieces of the muslin, giving them a sort of roundish, beaker-ish shape. I thought about square, but square doesn't suit this kind of work very well. Then I sewed one side of each of the pieces together, using a 1/4 inch seam allowance--I needed as little material taken up as possible.
I ironed down a half-inch flap at the top and sewed the bottom of the flap, creating a tunnel for the drawstring-to-come. Putting in a drawstring will allow me to use the charm body over and over again.
Then I sewed up the bottom and other side, making sure not to sew the drawstring tunnel (is there a technical term for this?) up. What? Oh, yeah. My hands have always been that wrinkly. Weird, hunh? Did you notice my unmanicured fingernail, too? I should be a hand model.
I turned that sucker right-side out and sewed the earring on with taupe thread. I had considered beading wire, but the thread was less noticeable and easier to work with. More noticeable is the lopsidedness of the charm body. But isn't the earring priiiddddyy?
Now I stuffed the body full of earthy goodness. First came the dirt, then the mint. Lavender came next. This particular plant smells a lot like honey. I luff it. Wow, my hands really ARE wrinkly, aren't they?
Next, I wrote my shout out on a strip of paper. Why the "warm," you might ask? I don't know. Given that it's hot as poo outside, it seems a poor choice of words. I just wrote what popped in my head, which strangely popped in to the tune of "For the Beauty of the Earth." Again, I don't know. I rolled up the strip and poked it into the body.
I followed the strip with a handful of Sweet Melissa leaves and then a twist of all three leaves. The body was now full and ready to have the drawstring inserted. I hate this part. Drawstrings are hard. I looked around for a safety pin to use, but couldn't find one. I fashioned a pokey-thing out of a Sweet Melissa stem, which got stuck in the tunnel. I finally got the drawstring through with a pine needle, which sounds a lot more earthy-mystical than it really was. I just couldn't find anything else to use and Will was impatient to get on the road for Jeffrey's OT appointment. I wound up finishing the charm in the car. Typically, I use green or blue thread in my charms. But this yellow seemed sunny and beachy and right, so yellow it was. I think it looks cool with the turquoise.
Here's the finished charm, hanging in place and doing its job. Yay!
Travel charm made. Now I just have to wash clothes, buy some beachy mess, make some cookie dough, clean out my fridge, and keep away from the books I bought to read on the island.
Is it Sunday yet?
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