Before I go on to much, did you see Monday's post by the lovely Jackie? You can find it here.

We had an intense week, one during which self care normally gets put completely on the backburner, if you remember to think about yourself in the first place!
If its one of those days (or longer!) I try to take a brief moment in the midst of it all to centre myself. Sometimes my boys join me and sometimes a friend joins me but generally its just a moment for me. A brief 2 minute break to recharge.

One of my favourite ways to do this is by inviting my bell and as I listen to its gentle sound and feel it vibrate through me I light a smudgestick and smudge myself. I waft its sacred breath around my head and work my way down towards the earth firmly placing my feet on the floor, grounding myself and giving myself a an anchor, a reminder that there is more than the stress of today.

Smudging seems to be shrouded in mystery for some and the most natural thing for others. Very simply it is burning herbs, that have been bound together to form a stick, to remove negative energies and cleanse the object/person that is being smudged.

Generally white sage is used, a herb considered sacred by many. But really you can choose a herb that feels good to you for the purpose you wish to use it for. I have smudge-bundles for cleansing in which I use sage but I also have bundles in which I choose different herbs. Some to corrospond with a chakra and some that I use in the bedrooms, after having cleared with sage, they promote good sleep.

I gave up on pretty fans for smudging some time ago. They are normally made with feathers, which when you have kids, are far to delicate. A while ago I saw an image of someone smudging with a whole wing from a roadkill bird. The image sparked something inside me and I turned to my basket with fabrics and started cutting and sewing. The result was a fan that can be chucked in the washingmachine and can take a bit of a beating whilst still looking great. For me the perfect fan, I don't have to worry about it getting broken, and even if it does I can mend it or replace it quite easily.

I have very basic sewingskills so pretty much anyone should be able to make this for themselves if they want to
You need:
*The pattern
*a piece of thickish cotton the size of 2 A4's washed & ironed before you start cutting & sewing.
*batting of some sort , I used wool because A: I have a lot of it and B: it doesn't burn, it smoulders for a few seconds and then goes out.
*A needle, you want something fairly long
*Thread doubled up or use quilting thread.
*a marker that either dissolves in water or dissapears within 24 hours due to light exposure
*You might want a linedrawing of your power animal/guide/an important symbol
*and you might want crayons to colour the fabric using this tutorial
*you will also need a couple of bits of tape and pins

Print out the pattern that's here and pin it to the back of the fabric and use your tape to stick it against a window (or if you are fancy and have a lightbox use that) use your special marker to draw it onto the fabric take it of and now place it on the other piece of fabric but the other way around. So you are drawing it reversed.

Cut it out leaving an extra 1.5 cms or so around the entire fan. Place the two piece together the drawn on sides facing each other make sure everything lines up well pin it together.
Sew around the outside line leaving a gap to turn it inside out and stuff it
Turn it inside out fill it with your stuffing of choice and sew the long pink line going all around the fan.
Next up is the second longest line (dark purple) then working from the pointy end you sew the shorter lines. You don't need to sew a circle if you don't want to. It makes it a bit firmer but not significantly so.
Carry on sewing the shortish lines until you get to the big light pink area. If you decided to fill this area in with your power animal sew that now.
Tuck in the bit of seam that will be hanging out and stitch the fan shut.


If you want to you can attach ribbons and bells and such whatever you fancy! Make it yours. When you are done get your smudgestick and enjoy a moment of self care :)