Monday Inspiration: Fairy Magic!

Happy Valentine's Day!

One of the pleasures of parenting is being able to reconnect with the wonder of things through the eyes of a child. I am remembering the joy of absolute belief in miracles and magical happenings and now I have someone to share with me the fun of adding to that world.

Inspired by my Hawk medicine bundle and this post by a sister goddess in the circle, I had the idea to create Fairy bundles to celebrate this holiday of love. "What is a fairy bundle?" you may ask. Simply stated, it is a bundle of goodness you can carry in your purse, keep on your night stand or altar or - in Cowgirl's case - put under the bed for protection. It is a small parcel of items invoking the magic and the blessings of the fairies. And it is great fun to create!

Here is how I created my bundles - and really, anything goes.

I grabbed my collection of fabric scraps and picked out some fun material. For the outer wrapper I cut pieces of cloth measuring 7 by 10 inches. (You can make the bundles any size, you just want to have enough fabric to hold the items within and still fold up into a satisfying bundle shape.)

Starting with the long sides of each "wrapper" I folded the edge over 1/4 of an inch and then another 1/4 of an inch and pinned in place.

I used a zig zag stitch to sew the edges. After sewing all the long sides, I then repeated the 1/4 inch double fold on the short sides of each piece and sewed those in place. You could skip the sewing all together, although I worried about the edges of the fabric getting fraying from use. I am a novice sewer and decided to let all of the imperfections remain. I think the fairies were trying to send messages through my crazy stitching!

I then grabbed a second piece of contrasting fabric for the inner wrapper. These I did not sew, but left raw. You could use a variety of materials for the inside or even small pouches if you had some left over from jewelry or other craft piece. I eyeballed cutting these pieces - just made them smaller than the outer wrapper.

Now for the fun part - selecting the items to go inside. Cowgirl and I headed over the the New Age shop (she said the music they played reminded her of Kung Fu Panda) to pick out a crystal for each bundle. Cowgirl found some fetish charms on sale and wanted those for her bundle.

I already had on hand some seashells, feathers, and a tin of buttons which I decided to use. Small stones, bits of herbs, glass marbles are other items you could use. The great thing is anything placed inside a fairy bundle instantly becomes magical!

Our grocery store sells bulk herbs and for 28 cents I got a nice sized bag of lavender which I divided into smaller bundles, using fabric scraps and leftover yarn to tie shut.

After assembling the items, I simply rolled them up in the inner wrapper ...

And then carefully folded the outer wrapper to create an aesthetically pleasing bundle shape. I'm sure there are some fancy folding techniques that could be employed; I just made mine up.

I had cut some long, thin strips of fabric to use as ties for the bundle. You could also use colorful yarns and could add beads or charms to the outside tie if you wanted. Really, you can just raid the craft bins and see what inspires you!

Voilà! - a fairy bundle to have and to hold from this day forward ...

Before sending my bundles off I will Reiki and smudge them to pack them with extra blessings and love.

Don't forget to make tags if you decide to make bundles as gifts. And be sure to let the recipient know, items inside are to be changed and added to however one feels fit. The Fairies added to Cowgirl's bundle as part of their Valentine's Day gift to her.

What would your bundle hold and why? Maybe you want to make a love bundle for the coming year. I can tell you this from experience: once you open your door and your heart to the fairies, they will never disappoint you. Their magic is all around us ... we just need to remember to see the world through the imagination of the child we once were ... and still are ...

Love and happiness to you from 2 fairy fans!