Sea Altar

Good morning, or afternoon! Or, if you are like me while I'm writing this, good middle of the night.  It happens, sleepless nights, tossing and turning, so why stay in bed and think about the day to come? I got up and started working on my blog!

They say that this is July, the calendar is telling me it's July, but it's feeling more like April or May. Cool, wet and cloudy. I decided to follow the calendar and not the weather and refresh my altar.

Now I don't know if you already have an altar set up or not, or maybe you have a shelf set up that has all your favourite treasures.   I'm guessing, if you have been here before there is a good chance you have a lot of treasures and a lot of shelves.  I'm going to share mine with you.

My Sea Altar

Working with the rain I felt the urge to go with sea shells and beach vibe. And who doesn't like the beach in the summer?

The very first thing I like to do is take everything off and give the shelf a good wash down.  Then I smudge it with sage or Palo Santo .  I love the smell of it and it is great for clearing old energies.
Then I like to lay a cloth or runner or even a bunch of small crocheted pieces down as a base.
Honestly, it changes with the seasons. This time I used an old scarf that was purchased at, you guessed it, Value Village many years ago.  It's never been worn by me but my shelves wear it all the time.  The long fringe feels boho beachy. I also layered a scrap piece of fabric over top of the scarf to give it a bit of a sandy colour and extra texture.  It's hard to see the fabric but it does the job.

After the runners are set down, I layer on feathers, pictures and figurines.  Some items didn't make it back on the shelf this time so they went into one of my altar storage boxes until next refresh.

  

It's not beachy without some shells. Some were found on the beach, crazy right?!, but most were bought at VV  or Micheals. The shell necklaces were also bought at VV.  

I am a bit of a toddler when it comes to nature walks and outdoor excursions, it seems to be a habit I can't shake, collecting and gathering.  I can't walk by a feather and not pick it up.  Or a pretty little rock, or a twig with a gnarly curl.  Needless to say I have a pretty good stash of outdoor elements to work with.

My crystals have been a gradual collection over time as well.  When visiting New Age stores I usually purchase a few I feel drawn too.  Recently I've realised I should be buying in multiples of four or more for working with crystal grids.  For this altar I pick out the crystals that work with my intentions and colour and added in some sea glass.

I always add candles and my incense holder. 

This space is used daily, so it does go through changes all the time.   

As for the rest of my craft room, I  have omitted a number of trinkets and items, just to let the room breath a bit through summer. This is as minimal as I want to go.

The beach theme runs through the rest of this room, actually my whole main floor right now, which I will share soon! It's amazing how light and playful the energy feels.

The string lights are battery operated and they have a few settings. I have them on a steady light for six hours and off for eighteen. When I heard Pier One was leaving Canada I went straight there to purchase these, I'm so glad I did, the seed glass works perfectly with the beach theme.

The rock/shell below was found by my husband.  I love the way the shells almost melted into the rock. A melding of water and earth elements!

That's my Altar.  

I hope you enjoyed the quick tour and maybe some inspiration for your altar.

Whatever it may be, a shelf or even a shoe box, but a place for pause, grounding, and  gratitude.    

May you have a day of peace and may it be contagious.
Until next time, Abby.

Flowers To Greet You

Morning!
I wanted to share with you our front steps.  It's a great spot for planters and flowers.  Summers past I would always plant a lot of neutrals here. Lot's of white and a bit of soft pink to add a bit of pretty cottage style.  Until that fateful day when the flower tag was wrong! I thought I planted pink and when the geranium bloomed it ended up being a bold red. RED! Eeeeck, I thought.  All this delicate pink and white and then a powerful shot of red!  I was tempted to pull it but  decided to leave it in anyways, and by the end of summer it was my little star.  It really pulled through with great vigour and also looked spot on for fall! Win win and if that's not enough,the red geranium is said to assist in protection for your home when placed at the front door.  So, being benificial and all, I added another to the mix the next year.  I then tried to over winter cuttings from all my geraniums, including pink and an even brighter pink, but only the two red ones survived.  Some one really wants me to have red geraniums!! 

I just planted these pots a day or two ago, after being over wintered in our basement.  They will fill out nicely once they get the sun on them.  Not today though, cloudy and windy is our forecast as you can tell.

Our house is a taupe colour, acting as a warm back drop for richer colours.   Red, purple and yellow is the colour scheme.  The pots have slowly been added to year after year.  Fade and discolour only adds the character I seek.  Not an excess of pots, but enough to feel the welcome. 

Through out the summer I'll usually rearrange the pots to share the sun light.  This is a very shaded spot which isn't always a bad thing, but geraniums do love sun.  They'll each get some time in the sun.

I also have a few Gnomes out here greeting our guest...well, when we aren't in Quarantine they are the greeters.  

I  added yellow into the mix because of the nine barks we have planted in the front garden.  Once this little guy gets growing he'll also add a little sunshine to the shade.

A painted rock from my Mother's Day weekend found a spot in this planter.

Purple wave petunias, with some good fertilizer and a bit of pruning through out the summer, should get to be fairly bushy.

White impatience for the shadiest spot, and some raw Amethyst stones.  I love the energy of Amethyst stones.  I've placed them around the boxwood just to pump up the positive energy that flows into our home.

Thank you so much for stopping by!  This little blog of mine has been a blessing for me.  It keeps me moving forward and pushing myself to find the positive through this crazy time.   I hope you find some comfort here as well.  

Until next time, Abby.