Welcome Fall! (plus Apple Mabon Bread recipe)

"With the feast of Mabon, the fall Equinox, we acknowledge the balance of light and dark, life and death, growth and rot. We honor all those things that enable our world to grow and restore itself. On this holy tide, we hail the hunter and the hunted, the predator and the prey, the plough and the scythe, the blessings of growth and of decay. We honor our resources, and the frugality and careful planning of every ancestor whose careful household management got their families safely through the cold constraints of winter. Mabon is a time of remembrance and of culling away, of honoring what we have, what we need, but also what we can provide to others. It is a time to look clearly at where we are weak in spirit, where we are strong, and where we stand somewhere in between, a time to take stock of our portion of gratitude and blessings for the coming season."

~from Patheos.com, author unknown~

So this is it, Autumn has arrived! I'm a little too tired for blogging right now so I've decided to just leave this small yet wonderful excerpt for one to meditate on - which is better than anything I could try to write right now, really. I've had a very busy day with many college issues to manage. But still, I've had a little time for some crafting and even a little kitchen magick! :)

My first this year's Autumnal creations...

And my first attempt at the called Apple Mabon Bread; perhaps I should have added more apples and not so much honey... maybe a little too wet, still, it is delicious! :) Here's the recipe by CharmingPixieFlora right below for you to try it as well:

I'm now off to eat some of my sweet bread, sip on some ginger ale and meditate on what I'm thankful for... what about you; how are you greeting Fall? :)

Preparing for a new season

Ahoy!

Autumn is almost knocking on our door and I know lots of you can't wait to drink some delicious homemade apple cider and jump on crunchy leaves. Even I, a Summer creature, am really looking forward to it. Well, I've never tried to make apple cider myself but that's one of my goals for the next couple of months! :)

As the new season of the year takes place, so does a new season of my life. Finally, after a whole year waiting, I'll be starting my Master's on Landscape Architecture in less than a week. I must confess I'm a little nervous because it's been such a long time, but on the other hand I'm really looking forward to it and to learn more. Of course, and sadly, there won't be so much free time for crafting, so I've been spending a good part of my time organising my supplies and Wilwarin Designs itself (also as I wait for the rest of my brand new Autumn supplies to arrive).

Sneak peek... Boho charms, marine pendants and Autumnal woodland goodies... I love love LOVE gilder's paste so much and I wish I could afford more colors!

I have five new frequent customers, as well - as I like to call them. They're all really shy but oh-so-lovely. And they also have... whiskers! :) A young cat happened to give birth to a litter of four beautiful baby kittens near my home and, since we have the habbit of leaving some of our meal leftovers (safe food, of course) everyday in our yard for street cats, they slowly started sneaking around. It's been a couple of months since we saw them for the first time, however they've always been too fearful to let us get any close. They are quite used to our presence nowadays, but still won't trust us as I'd like them to. It's actually funny because they have the courage to stand right on our porch, even with the door open, staring at us as if asking for their meal, but will run like little rockets to the safety of the bushes everytime we step into the yard with a dish of cat feed or meat. They really like our little garden, although. :) Today they've spent pretty much the entire day sleeping and playing around the garden, while I did some cleaning, listened to Wicca radio and took sips of delicious forest fruit handmade tea.

Mama Kitty on the top (she's a really pretty tuxedo cat) and two of her babies sleeping on the grass. This was the closest I could get, afraid that otherwise I would disturb them :) 

The four baby kitties sleeping on top of each others behind our orange tree and belladonna lilies... it was so damn cute to watch.

The babies (well, they're not really babies anymore) are two black kitties, a grey tabby and a grey tuxedo. These last two make me believe that my missing cat, Simba, happens to be the father of the litter, since he used to be the only grey cat in the zone (he is/was a long haired grey tabby). Maybe that's why I felt so attached to them the moment I saw them. I miss my cat so much.

Summer is saying goodbye...

Image source: Tumblr (unknown author)

September has come and, however these few past days have been pleasantly sunny and warm, I can feel nostalgia taking over me already. I absolutely love Summer and I will certainly miss it in no time. I'll miss the heat and the ocean calling for me, wearing shorts and reading a nice book under the comforting sun... However, the next season is oh-so-inspiring to me. One can now notice the days going shorter and the fairies slowly painting the leaves red and gold. The time of harvest and golden woods is coming and, even though I'm a Summer creature, I admit I can't wait for stepping on crunchy leaves on the sidewalk and wear knitted sweaters and comfy boots in earthy tones.

As many people know, I am extremely and constantly inspired by Nature and Her wonderful manifestations in our physical world. As I stare at images like the one above, a thousand pictures and ideas play in my mind! I am now planning Autumn ahead and, as I wait for the results of my Master's Degree candidacy, I'm preparing Wilwarin Designs for the next few months. This is a crucial step as (considering everything goes as predicted) my Master's alone will be a huge time consumer. So, as my autumnal inspiration awakes, I've been ordering fancy new supplies and drawing pieces for my next Fall-Winter collections.

I have also been babysitting for the last couple of weeks. Taking care of my 6-year old niece makes it hard to keep working and creating in an appropriate pace, especially with such sunny days... but today the poor girl surprised me with a desire of staying home this afternoon, playing in the yard and watching cartoons, so I took a little time to finish bringing these new pretties into the world... they will be listed on Etsy later on!

Little Summer treasures from Nature to carry close to your heart! These feature a foxtail barley (Hordeum spp.) ear and a  lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) flowery stem, both hand collected and dried by myself.

Who doesn't love fairies! These glass vial necklace features capri blue fairy dust for good luck. A great gift for the dreamer girl. :)