Kindle Kindle Kindle

The Kindle. An amazing reading device. My new best friend. My new obsession. It takes me away to unlimited worlds. It teaches me unlimited things.

So yeah, I pretty much LOVE Amazon's Kindle 2. I think everyone should have one. The e-ink technology is pretty cool with how it's gentle on the eyes and refreshes nicely from page to page and having free wireless service (the same type used for cell phones) to get online right from the device and download books makes one feel like they own the world in one little skinny device.

I recently revamped my Kindle with the Mora skin from decalgirl.com and I also revamped the cover (additional cost) made exclusively by Amazon that takes advantage of the hinge holes on the side of the Kindle. I didn't want any fabric tabs covering the corners on my Kindle. I just don't like the way that looks, so I opted for the Amazon cover instead of the (expensive) Cole Haan.

So this is my bare white Kindle before:


And the cover before:
And this is the Kindle after, with Decal Girl's "Mora" skin applied, along with the revamped cover of red faux crocodile/snake fabric wrapped over the outer shell:

See the hinges that fit in the 2 holes? Love it. That's the only way for me. Velcro or corner tabs just aren't my thing.

It was pretty easy to revamp the cover or rather maybe I just chose to go the easy route. The inner soft part is just glued on so I carefully pulled that apart making sure I didn't bend anything too much. After that I just covered the outer part with my red fabric, using fabric glue and making sure everything was snug and smooth which was really easy to do. Then I reglued the soft inner part back on and voila!, a revamped Kindle case that fits my style more.

I had bought a whole yard of the red faux crocodile/snake fabric so I have plenty left. I may see what kind of handbag I can make with it and be all matchy-matchy with the Kindle case.

New Year's Resolutions

So it's about that time again to achieve and stick to some new things to do.

Here's mine:

1. Condition myself to run up to six miles. (This was my resolution last year!)

2. Get highly into reconstructing old clothes into new clothes.

I got these books just for this:

Along with all my old clothes, I think I'm going to find it fun and exciting to find stuff at thrift stores to turn into something new and creative.

3. Eat or drink one chlorophyll rich meal at least once a day. (I've already started and it's way easier and yummier than I thought. Can we say 'kale chips'?)

4. Work more on filling up my Book of Shadows.


5. Spend money more wisely to save more.

I may add to the list if I think of anything else.

The Vertigo Tarot, Again

I received the new copy/edition of The Vertigo Tarot by Dave McKean. I have an old copy but a few years ago I foolishly believed it was safe in my suitcase on one of my trips to Austin. Airport security managed to make a very prominent bend in one of the cards while they went through the deck. And of course, that bend has always bothered me.

But now I have a new copy and all is well! I'm so glad they decided to publish it again. I thought that would never happen.

My New Besom

I've been waiting for years to find a besom (or witch's broom) that I really like and I think I have finally stumbled upon it. Meet my new besom!


One of the things a besom is used for is to cleanse and consecrate, a very important step in creating a sacred space. Though this particular artistic broom isn't meant for "housework", it will do just fine for my rituals. Anyone have any ideas of a cool name for it? I tend to name the things I use for rituals and this one seems to fit the bill as well. My Book of Shadows is named Sarah - a name that seems to have a mysterious connection with me concerning magic in a past life. But for the besom, I am looking for something a little more... cool?

I am leaning towards names like Twitch or Twilight.

In The Fairy Garden

These are the newest addition to my potted flowers. I completely messed with the color levels to create a fairy essence. The flowers are really purple with green leaves. I quite like how the effect turned out. The top photo especially looks like something out of a fairy world and it begs to be clicked to enlarge for full effect.

Kwan Yin - Goddess of Mercy and Compassion

Her full name translated means: One who hears the cries of the world.

I had this painting done for me of Kwan Yin (Guan Yin), the Goddess of Mercy and Compassion. I am excited about how it turned out. I had paid for it to have something cool to hang above the fireplace but now I see it will look totally disproportionate there (I need something more horizontal). Currently I need to see where this painting will best be. I would really love for it to be shown in one of the more public rooms but our bedroom seems to have the perfect wall for it, having 2 doors that will frame it nicely on each side. The front living room is also perfect because of the wall color that you can see in the photo. I'll have to think on it more to decide.

I also plan to do some white or metallic painting or gold foil on the frame currently in use. I prefer silver but then it would clash with all the hardware and fixtures in the house. I do want to eventually switch out all the house's hardware to silver-tone, but that's not really a priority right now.

Some wonderful information about why I love Kwan Yin can be found here and here.

Cirque du Soleil - Believe

I need to see this show! I have always been in love with Cirque du Soleil and even though Criss Angel is a little irritating, his show BeLIEve looks AMAZING. The Wade Robson choreographed performance of the Cirque du Soleil troupe on the So You Think You Can Dance finale was awe-inspiring and completely drew me in with the costumes and music. If this performance is amazing, just imagine the actual whole production!

Take a look below:

And the website can be viewed here.

Photo Play

Here a couple of photos I took around the house and played around with the coloring. For some reason I mess around in Fireworks more than I do Photoshop. Anyhow, hope you like.

Moody Bird

Surviving in the Ungarden