Hey there, long time no see, huh?

Okay, I’ve scrapped this entire Blog Post two times already so I really hope that the saying is true and three times is the charm.

Last time we spoke here I was deep in the midst of Wildera Lenormand preorders and this crazy adventure kept me busy for a good amount of time, with a lot of highs but also a few challenges to overcome.

A couple months later, the rhythm of my days isn’t as crazy anymore. The agitation has stopped, the frenzy I once experienced has morphed into a much slower dance, more in sync with the soft Song of Spring that has settled. It is quieter now, both in the outer world and in the Inner Landscape of my mind.

I won’t spend too long on the challenges I’ve been through these last couple of months, I’d much prefer to talk about the newest projects I’ve started working on, so let’s just say that there’s been doubts at the end of the journey. Lots of doubts.

The thing is, birthing Wildera Lenormand and releasing it into the world took such a looooong time. We’re talking about at least four years from the very beginning to the public launch. For me personally, that’s way too long to carry on a single project from start to end. And besides, it took a lot from me emotionally because of all the events and huge shifts in my life that took place in between.

The preorders went well (and I am forever grateful for it ♥ ), but then I found myself signing copies of the deck and sitting on the floor packing orders, looking around the walls of my Atelier, my Creative Space, thinking. The Big Project is done. Okay. I’ll take some time to celebrate, sure, but then what? What’s next? What’s there once you cross the finish line?

The truth is that I lost my focus for a little while. I simply had no idea what to do next, what new project to work on, what to create, what to put my energy and Creative Fire on. And yeah, it took me a minute to figure it out and fill that empty space I was left with. And in order to do that, I had to really listen to what my Inner Voice had to say.

Usually, when this happens, I will try and shut down the outer voices as much as possible, reduce all the noise around and make space for what’s bubbling inside and needs to emerge. And usually, that means I go on a drastic Social Media diet. Which I did, unsurprisingly, for about a month.

Every time I do that and put a hold on the endless scrolling / infinite distraction that Social Media is, I’m amazed at how much clarity I gain over things.

Okay, but what about these new projects I wanted to talk about?

Well, here’s the biggest one at the moment: I’m making another Oracle Deck. That’s right, apparently I got the deck-creation bug and I’m doing it all over again! Hopefully it won’t take me half as much time as my Lenormand did, but even if it did, I already know I’m going to enjoy the entire process once more.

I kinda wanted to wait for a while before telling you what the main theme of this new Oracle is. I think I wanted to see if anybody would guess just by looking at the illustrations – that would be a pretty good way to know that I’m going in the right direction. But in the end, why wait? It’s an Ogham-themed deck.

I love Ogham. I’ve talked about it before, I use it a lot in my Spiritual and Witchy Practice, I even prefer to turn to the Ogham system rather than the more popular Runes. I own and use many different sets made with wood, stones, and beach glass, and of course I craft some on a regular basis for the shop. The only thing I didn’t do yet is illustrating a bunch of cards for this system.

Well, here we go! I’m about to make one.

Besides this new Big Project, there’s also a few changes that I have in mind for the shop itself. I realized after reopening the shop in the beginning of the year that I just don’t really want to craft certain items anymore. And since it is not by any means the type of creation that you have shown interest for either, there’s no real reason for me to continue on this path.

We’ll talk about that in more details when the time comes but basically my focus has shifted a little bit, and I need to let go of a few things and make some space in order to try out new ideas and venture into new creative territories. It also means that if there’s anything in particular that you’d like to see in the shop, now is the time to message me!

Speaking of exploring new territories, I’ve been meaning to try different types of wood for a while, and I am now scratching that itch with an essence that I had no idea existed until about a month ago: American Basswood.

If you know me and my work, you know that birch is my favorite and most used one. Maple is another one that I enjoy working with, and I also have a sweet spot for most Fruit Trees even though I found them harder to get. But as I am getting more and more familiar with basswood, I can already tell you that the next pieces going into the shop will most likely be made with this wood.

I kinda fell in love with it. It is really soft with a fine close grain that makes it perfect for Wood Burning. Its color is light and pale, great for staining with Walnut Ink, and it has this wonderful thick bark that creates such a beautiful and natural frame for any design, especially on a bigger piece. I haven’t tried to add Gold Leaf on it yet, but I’m willing to bet it’ll go perfectly well.

But anyways, that’s enough talking for today. I’ll keep you updated about all of these new adventures and projects that are going on. I am very enthusiastic about them, and I can’t wait to share it with you all!