Grimoire's Sneak Peek

Madame Z is hard at work on her next 'Stone of the Month' post. April's spotlight stone will be one of the oldest healing stones in history, Carnelian. Check out her post next week for all the info.
As always, every item containing this awesome stone at both ravenheartdesigns.etsy.com and ravensmysticmoon.etsy.com, will be 10% off all month long!

Look for our CEO Jezebel's quarterly update later this month, also. We have some exciting changes coming to the shops soon, and she will tell you all about it!

 

Side Project

The past week I have been working on a project for the hubby. Years ago when we were first married we purchased a couple old chairs from an antique shop. The chairs needed to be re-finished and to have new cane seats put in them. Our plan was for me to do the re-finishing and for him to do the caning. He had learned chair caning as a youngster in 4-H, and had taken on the occasional job in the years since then. Well, he has a way of taking on too many projects and not having enough time to do everything, and I made the mistake of saying I would finish the chairs if I only knew how to cane. Long story short, he taught me how to do chair caning, and I not only refinished the chairs, I caned them too. I even ended up doing a couple rocking chairs, one of which can be seen as a prop in some of my ETSY listings. Now all these years later, he was approached by someone who had chairs in need of new cane seats, and who knew it was a skill he had. Long story short again, I have a chair caning job.

It has been fun to get back into caning after all these years, and Jezzie has even taken time out from her busy napping schedule to help me. (OK, so she only moved to a different room to nap. It's the thought that counts, right?)

Grimmie decided to add his invaluable assistance on a different day. Lucky me!

Sick Day

I have been battling what I have labeled 'the head cold from hell' for the past couple weeks. One positive thing about being too sick to make anything new, was it forced me to take the time to list all the finished items. I really get tons of enjoyment out of creating the things I sell. Unfortunately, I have a lot of trouble making myself sit at the computer to list them once they are done. So, with the boss watching over me in case I tried to bolt, the computer work was finished. She and I even managed to work in an online class on digitizing designs for the embroidery machine. The hope is to have embroidered towels and baby bibs for sale shortly, sometime this spring. The long range goal is to use only our own designs on them. CEO Jezebel has confidence in my ability to become a master digitizer, and is even willing to give up a small portion of her nap time to give me all the support I need. In other words, to stand over me and force me to sit at a computer!

Madame Z's Corner: Unakite

Madame Z provides monthly posts featuring a different healing stone each month. She gathers her info from many different sources including the books: The Pocket Book of Stones; The Way of the Green Witch; Healing Crystals and Gemstones; The Essential Guide to Crystals, Minerals, and Stones; and Grimoire for a Green Witch; the websites: That Crystal Site; Wings of Spirit; and Healing Crystals for You; as well as relying on personal experience. Healing stones are not a substitute for medical treatment. Anyone with serious medical or emotional issues should consult with a health care professional. When purchasing a healing stone, it is best to buy the stone you are drawn to. Healing stones should be cleansed and charged periodically. We cleanse our personal stones at least once a month, and sometimes more often if we feel they need it. Cleansing can be accomplished by holding the stone in a stream of water. A natural stream is best, but since most of us do not have access to one, filtered water is a good substitute. Stones that include metals should not be placed in water because of the risk of rust. These stones can be placed in dirt or smudged with white sage. To recharge the stones, place in a sunny window or in moonlight for a few hours.

The spotlight stone for March is Unakite. Unakite, considered a good grounding stone, is a type of jasper. Jaspers are known as gentle, slow healers, and unakite is no different in that regard. This wonderful stone is thought to help one release old emotional wounds in a way that avoids trauma, and to support the slow purging of toxic energies. A spiritual stone, it is believed to bring about a feeling of unconditional love of humanity, and to assist one in finding their animal spirit guide. Like many green stones, it is thought to help one feel a connection to nature, and is considered to be beneficial to gardeners. Unakite, a protective stone, is also considered to be a balancing stone, helping to balance the mind with the emotions. It is thought to help one with the healing of abandonment and separation issues.
Physically, this stone is thought to help improve ones sleep. It is also considered a helpful stone to use when trying to overcome addictions. Unakite is associated with all chakras, but in particular the heart.
Our personal experience with this delightful stone, is of a gentle healer. We feel it brings about a peaceful feeling, and helps us to feel a connection with nature.