Here are a few things I’ve been working on this winter: scrub caps, small dog bandanas, and SO MANY BAGS!! I still love making them, and tweaking my process.
Scrub caps for my son were a fun project. I made him, too! ❤️
Faux fur pouches have been a hit on Etsy and in person. So soft!!
I’m really excited to do in-person sales, I haven’t done anything but Etsy since Christmas. Oh-and the Northwoods Friends of the Arts gallery 2x a month. Here’s a shot of my corner there.
Speaking of which, Christmas Spiders were (and continue to be) a best-seller. I’ll paraphrase the actual legend, which comes with the spiders. There was a woman in Germany, cleaning for Christmas…that scared all the spiders to the attic. When they crept back down to see the beautiful tree, they raced along all the branches leaving webs behind. When Santa came, he saw the mess and knew the woman would be BUMMED. So he turned all the webs sparkly, and that’s why we have tinsel! Spider butt-ropes! The more you know…
The first sale of the year will be Timber Days in Cook MN on June 9-11. Followed by opening day of the Cook Area Farmers’ Market the 17th. I had a blast last year, and read a lot of tarot cards. Instead of long detailed readings for $20, I now offer three cards for $10. Past, present, future.
This is a recent spread I did for myself ..maintain good boundaries, have a night out with friends, and truth in justice.
This weekend is the annual Festival of Skalds in Angora, Minnesota. Did you even know we HAVE a renaissance faire up here? We are so lucky! Last year was my first trip to a Ren Faire of any kind, and I wonder how the heck it took me this long. I knew right away I was BORN for this!! I even applied to be a vendor, and will be there this weekend! 🙂 Hope to see you there! I’ll be reading fortunes with my tarot decks, and selling bags, pouches, and jewelry galore. Come check it out- you’ll be glad you did. Here are a few things I’ll be selling:
Glowing Moon and Eye Pendants
Tree of Life Jewelry
Glow in the dark bracelets that ward off the evil eye
Custom Koztumez – Unique one of a kind renaissance garments, accessories, Jewelry, and leather too.
Natures Treasures MN – Hand Crafted Wood Burned Art, Cribbage Boards, Hand Crafted Jewelry made with Natural Stones – www.naturetreasuresmn.com
Tamarack Farms – Goat Milk Soap, Buckwheat Hull Pillows, Bamboo and Hemp Washcloths, Recycled Fabric Rugs, and Wooden Clipboards
Mythical Menagerie – Fantasy Poeable Art Dolls, Fantasy Watercolor prints, Fantasy Watercolor Stickers, Fantasy Pendants – www.mythicalmenagerie.com
Henna by Anya – Henna body art and resin fantasy figurines.
Art by Sarah Riley – Original Paintings and Prints, Ornaments, and Norse Rune Readings – artbysarahriley.smugmug.com
Art from Ann to Zak – Original Pastel creations, Prints and Greeting Cards, and Hand carved Wooden Spoons – www.annsolyst.com
Pajari Girl, LLC – Jewelry, Suncatchers, Horeshoe Art, Photography, Metal Stamping, Bird Feeders, and Tarot – www.pajarigirl.com
Arachne’s Garden – Nalebinding (the oldest know method of creating fabric from yarn, sometimes referred to as “Viking Knitting”) Nalebinded hats, mittens, pouches, etc. Also handcrafted herbal soaps, creams, and salves. Blacksmithed Tools and Survival Gear – @arachnes_garden on Instagram
Magical Musings Books – Handmade journals, wood-burned gifts (boxes, spoons, coasters, wall hangings, boards, fabric and leather), runes (wood and stone), and pendulums – www,magicalmusingsbooks.com
Heidi’s Haus – Cold-processed soaps, beeswax candles, balms, and broom corn fly swatters – facebook.com/heidishaus
My latest project has been tarot bags. I love my cards, but wanted a better way to store, display, and use them.
The first attempts are now up on my Etsy shop , Pajari Girl. All these bags are titled Tarot Bags, but they are awesome for crystals, rocks, runes, etc., too! I started with a complicated design that included square bottomed cotton fabric bags with velvet and fleece linings, as well as little finishing touches on each bag like charms and pendants. I’m charging $20 for these because they were a total pain in the ass to make 😜.
Next up is a simpler bag with no lining, which will be a less expensive option.
Hey, y’all! I hope you had a safe and happy Halloween full of spells and candy. 🧙♀️🧙♂️🍬🍭
LOVE the Labyrinth deck and more about the Crow deck later.
I was obsessed with the movie Labyrinth the first time I saw it. It was the first movie I bought and I wore the VHS tape out 🙂 The deck’s major arcana did not disappoint. Ludo as the Hanged Man, Fireys as the Devil, and of course Jareth as the Magician and Sarah as the Fool. The foreword by Brian Froud, co-creator of the movie (the other was Jim Henson of the Muppets) reveals the story was based on the journey represented in tarot. Anyway, I’ve been using it in readings for myself and others and I love it.
I was so excited to hear last spring that there was a Labyrinth tarot deck coming out that I pre-ordered and waited. And waited. The shipping date was moved back so many times I lost count. I started seeing posts on Instagram and did a Google search. A bookstore called Blackwell’s in Oxford UK had them in stock, so I took a chance and cancelled the Amazon order. They shipped so fast, FREE.
I spent a lot of time making jewelry and suncatchers for the Cook Area Farmers’ Market this year. (Last year we did pre-orders only for market and people picked them up in the park.) It was great to visit with the other vendors and customers again.
Now the indoor shows are starting but I’ve opted out due to Covid. Instead, I’ve been concentrating on my Etsy shop. It’s a lot more work than selling in person, but I enjoy the challenge. Please go check it out, and ❤ my shop to keep updated on new listings. Free shipping over $35! Christmas is around the corner, and none of my goods will get stuck on a ship from China.
I bought a new camera this spring and love having a longer lens. I’ll probably add photo prints to the Etsy shop, and I have several Suck Less and other inspirational AF photo greeting cards up already.
Hey folks, it’s been a while. I hope this finds you as well as can be, considering the shitshow of a year we’ve all had.
Because I’m in a high-risk group, I am still basically sheltering in place. However, our four adult children work in health care and Mr. Wonderful’s job is essential, so I have plenty of time and reasons to stress tf out. I needed to do something to feel less powerless, per my therapist, stat. I decided to sew masks.
Before this year my only sewing experience was a brief obsession in the sixth grade. I recieved a nice Singer that Christmas, and Aunt Martha taught me the basics. I made a nightgown and a quilt and that was about it. I loved flooring the pedal, but the meticulousness of patterns, pinning, and ironing was beyond me and my machine ended up rusting out in the basement.
My first masks were sewn entirely by hand, including the ties, which took hours.
Youngest Spawn, Danny., wearing one of the first masks I made. He works in a nursing home as a CNA.
Then my cousin Shanna in California added me to Facebook group called Stitched Together. They match mask needs with sewists, entirely free, all over the country. I’ve learned so much about sewing in general and masks in particular from those amazing sewists.
Unfortunately, one thing I learned quickly was that mask-making supplies were almost as hard to find as other PPE. It took months to get my first order of elastic. Same story with bias tape, which can be used to make ties in a pinch. Getting aluminum nose pieces took even longer, so for a while I used wire. Also, my sewing machine was dead, so a friend lent me hers.
My productivity increased steadily. After spending a day at our house, Grandson Raiden told his mom, “Granny makes maskes. LOTS of maskes, really fast!! Buzzzzzzz!”
Chain stitching. Total life changer and one of many hacks from Stitched Together.
Now, over 900 masks in, I’ve decided to sell some masks to fund more donations.
If you would like to buy a cool mask and help fund more donations, here’s a link to my Etsy shop, Pajari Girls. All masks are 2 ply cotton with soft elastic ear loops and aluminum nose pieces. And of course, they are made with love. Most are $7 for adult size and $5 for child size, except the RBG tribute masks, which are $10 each since the lace is hand stitched on. And with every mask sold, we can donate even more to those who still need them. Thanks in advance, and stay safe out there.
Notorious RBG!! So. Many. Fabrics. With skulls, my favorite!!
Hi again! The summer was pretty busy so Mr. Wonderful, Danny, and I took a Sunday off to make another hike up to Vermilion Gorge. The leaves were still beautiful, and the high temp was 88!
People often mistake Vermilion Falls with Vermilion Gorge. The Falls are the really short hike that was shortened a few years ago. It’s right before Crane Lake. Here is the USFS sheet on that one.
Vermilion Gorge is the 3 mile round-trip hike that takes about 3 hours “at a leisurely pace”, according to Vermilion Gorge USFS info sheet. Drive all the way through Crane Lake and park in the private parking lot for Voyagaire Houseboats on the left. In the fall and early spring, the lot is full of said houseboats, but there will be signs pointing you to the trailhead.
The hike starts in a birch/aspen (popple) forest, and the sky was perfect this day. Most of the maple leaves were on the ground, but the vibrant yellows popped with the deep blue fall sky. We spent a lot of time looking straight up.
As the trail climbed into the Norway pines, we noticed a million types of mushrooms.
And writing this post, I noticed we got photobombed by a bald eagle!! Very top of the photo, left of center. The reflections were breathtaking.
Some kind soul had left a walking stick at the trailhead, so the Boy happily used it, returning it for the next person.
I could be wrong, but I think this is a glacial erratic. I didn’t get any good shots of it on this trip, so this pic is from last year.
We sat for a break (for me, not them lol), and Paul noticed this birdnest in a birch tree overhanging the gorge.
Yep, he has his device. But he got some awesome photos and is reading in this picture. No gaming.
It was during this break that I noticed cairns farther upstream. Paul and Danny did some scouting, and were sure I could make it, with help. I’m so lucky to have these two; I wouldn’t have attempted this hike without backup. Not that it’s super-difficult; it’s just too much for me, with bum hips, knees, and ankles. They were such troopers, helping me up and down stairs and steep sections of trail.
Anyway, I remembered being on the other side of the monolith with a friend several years ago, and had pretty much given up the idea of making it there this time. Luckily the lure of getting photos with the sun hitting the gorge dead-on and a little encouragement from my family got me over the hump.
Would you believe that not counting the canoeists, we only saw two people on the way in, and a group of four as we were almost back out??
This time, the visitor is Bambi!! Or Faline…I’m not sure which. Either way, this is an adorable baby. Unfortunately, there is no sign of mama. She (or he) visits almost every day, filling up on the trefoil and clover in our yard.
I am very nervous around poultry. (See “Guinea Monsters From Hell”) And I used to hate cooking. So this Martha Stewart-esque-ness is new to me. I have been growing, canning, cooking, drying and freezing food a lot more the last few years. Now, being unemployed AND on the Low Child Support Diet has encouraged me to do even more, and to do it better. It’s been a slow process, and many people have contributed along the way. Here are two that I remember.
One of my favorite bloggers is Jackie Clay. (Check her out here. Chop chop!) We are lucky to have this awesome lady in our community, and I have learned so much from her books and blogs about living off the land in this area code. I subscribed to her blog for several months before I even attempted canning on my own.
I vaguely remember Anthony Bourdain saying that the poorest people had the best-tasting food, because their seasonings could make even the cheapest cuts of meat and other ingredients taste good. That’s when I started growing herbs, tomatoes, etc. in containers and finally a garden.
As I mentioned, I am scared of live poultry; however, they are delicious, especially roasted with organic herbs that we grew here on the hill. Growing rosemary, sage, celery leaf, red onion, garlic and thyme makes me happy. So as long I have Lois and Jill next door to raise chickens, I will cook them.
By the way, does anyone know why when they are alive they are hens & roosters, but as soon as the heads come off they are just chicken?? Same with cows, bulls, steers, heifers, and beef… What the hell?
I believe it’s important to know where our food comes from. I like that the chicken (fka: rooster) was grass-fed next door, not in a cramped factory “farm.”
And better yet, the next day I made the leftovers into soup and paired it with homemade bread. Note to self: next year, grow a LOT more carrots and potatoes. As far as fast, cheap and easy goes….it was super cheap and really easy…two out of three isn’t bad.
PS: Thank you Ant, for the title! You’re right; Rooster Noodle Soup sounds way better than Chicken Noodle Soup.
Pajari Girl 
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