Psa: If Your Magical “tool Kit” Doesn’t Also Include Critical Thinking Skills And Common Sense,

Science is the explanation.

Magic is the experience.

An explanation cannot destroy a true experience, it can only enhance it.

An explanation cannot destroy a false experience, it can only aid in the trueing of it.

Astrology Basics- THE PLANETS

SUN Governs individuality, distinct style, and drive or motivations that fulfill your life. Delineates general character, and the broad strokes that define the self. Vital force, individuality, willpower.

MOON Stands for emotions, instincts and the unconscious. Represents the instinctual reactions one has to the world. The mecca of the inner world governing how we feel emotionally and respond to certain situations. Unconscious force, personality, instinct.

**Whereas the sun represents the will, the moon represents the instinct**

MERCURY The planet of mental activities, communication, and intellectual energy. It rules perception, intelligence, reason, memory, and communication. It reflects the way you see, hear, understand, and assimilate information.

VENUS The planet of love and pleasure. It rules over one’s capacity to express affection and interact with the idea of beauty. Represents your allure and desire. Rules over love affairs, art and beauty, fashion, social harmony and friendship. Gateway to higher emotions.

MARS The planet representing what drives your passions, the strength of your willpower, forcefulness, aggression, and the way you handle conflict. Rules over energy, boldness, and force. The courage and strength one cultivates to get their way.

JUPITER The planet of good luck, optimism, success, and generosity. Associated with where you’ll find expansiveness and abundance. It rules over philosophical knowledge, the extent to which you’re a visionary, higher learning, and honesty. Whereas mercury governs a clever intellect, Jupiter governs deeper wisdom and philosophy.

SATURN The planet of responsibility, ethic, and hard work. Teaches discipline and remains influential until self discipline is understood. It is associated with diligence, self control, limitation, patience, stability, maturity and realism. Governs how trust and respect, along with discipline, are integrated in the self. Are you self disciplined, or does the world deliver these lessons to you?

URANUS The planet of change and originality. Brings and symbolizes the manifestation of awakening, shock, and revolution, the “flash of genius.” Associated with both scientific and humanitarian movements. Similar to Mars, but relating to inner will and secret power. Unconscious purpose revealed over a lifetime.

NEPTUNE The planet of mystery and illusion. Represents power of imagination. It’s the planet of idealism and spirituality. The realm of the subconscious world, hidden memory, intuition, and psychic clairs. The ideals, goals, and lifestyle of the higher self detached from ego.

PLUTO The planet of epiphany associated with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Signifies death and rebirth, regeneration along with destruction and annihilation. Pluto wipes the slate clean. Strong and dramatic changes, especially to collectives, have a significant influence from Pluto.  

Recycling Old Candles 🕯🌿✨

Here’s my second recycled candle. I had this one sitting around for quite some time and was always sad I couldn’t burn it since I bought it from the thrift store melted over. But I brought new life to it and adding some fresh honeysuckles. I also added lemon and vanilla extract since it didn’t have much fragrance before. I can’t wait to light it!

SAY THEIR NAMES

source

How to Tell if You’ve Received a Sign ✨

Let’s face it, although it definitely feels exciting to think that you’ve been gifted a sign from the universe or any deities that you worship, not everything is a sign. In fact, most experiences aren’t a sign- but that’s not a bad thing! This just makes signs all the more special when we do receive one. Think about it: if we were sent signs from the universe or our deities all the time, they would slowly lose significance and meaning as they blended into the regular aspects of our lives. Eventually, they would no longer stand out to us and it’s possible we would stop noticing them altogether. So, don’t be discouraged if you realize that something you experienced wasn’t a sign- there will be plenty of opportunities for you to receive a genuine sign in the future when the time is right! If you’re having trouble discerning what experiences are actually signs and what’s just a coincidence, here are a few tips: 

It probably was NOT a sign if… 

The experience is suited to its surrounding environment- If something is likely to happen within a specific environment due to the nature of the environment, then it’s most likely not a sign, instead it’s just a result of your surroundings. For example, if you see a deer while you’re taking a walk through the woods, then that’s probably because you’re strolling through the natural habitat of a deer, not because you’re receiving a sign. 

You haven’t requested a sign from the universe/your deities- If you haven’t reached out to your deities or asked the universe for a sign lately, then it’s more likely that your experience is just a coincidence. If there’s no present issue at hand that you’ve asked for help with, then there’s less explanation as to what message the sign could be carrying and too many possible meanings to examine. 

You receive the experience in a way you’re not used to- Some people directly communicate to the universe/their deities that they would like to receive signs in a specific manner so that they can be sure it’s a genuine sign from their higher power. If you have done this and your experience is received in a way that’s different from the specifications you’ve asked for in a sign, then it’s more likely to be a coincidence or simply an odd experience. 

The experience could have happened to anybody/is too general- Sometimes, we really need to ask ourselves if an experience is actually significant, or if it’s just a coincidence that could happen to anyone. For example, say you’re contemplating leaving a relationship and you happen to see a bird near you flying away. Is that a sign? Well, it’s not exactly specific or super significant to see a bird flying away. That could very well happen to anyone on any given day, therefore it’s likely not a sign. 

You find yourself desperately trying to force meaning within your experience when there’s no true connection- It happens. At some point, we all have felt really lost in life, and as though we have no guidance. These feelings of helplessness and hopelessness can cause us to try and find meaning in our experiences when there’s no sign to be found. This is likely because, in these moments, we feel as though our lives themselves are lacking meaning, therefore we can become desperate to try and find significance in something else. 

It’s likely that it WAS a sign if… 

You have requested a sign from the universe/your deities- This is one of the first things you should consider when you’re trying to determine if your experience was a genuine sign! If you’ve clearly asked the universe or sent a prayer to your deities for a specific sign and you receive an experience shortly after, then it is significantly more likely to be an actual sign because it is an answer to your request rather than a random message being sent. 

The experience matched the specifications you have requested- In your prayers to your deities/the universe, perhaps you have made it clear that you prefer to receive signs in a specific manner, such as asking to notice it within a certain time frame, or a specific number of times. This is usually done with the purpose of having extra ways to verify signs from the universe/your deities. Thus, if your experience matches the criteria you’ve requested, then it is significantly more likely to be a genuine sign. 

There were repeated symbols within your experience- Consistent and clear repetition of specific actions, symbols, figures, meaningful numbers, or words is undeniably more meaningful than simply having one odd experience. In this case, your experience is much more likely to be a sign because the universe/your deities may be using repetition to catch and hold your attention. 

The experience was highly unusual for its surrounding environment- The key element of this indicator is contrast. If the experience seems unsuited or ‘out of place’ for its environment, then it is more likely to be a sign because the specific experience is being highlighted in notable contrast to what is around you, which is another way of catching your attention. 

There were specific symbols that connect to your deity- Most deities have specific symbols, figures, meaningful numbers, or words that are known to be connected to their role as a religious or spiritual figure. If your experience features key elements that tie to a deity you worship, then it is more likely to be a sign because there are specific references to your deity within your experience. 

You felt an intense, distinct reaction to your experience that sparked an immediate connection- If you discover after your experience that you feel extremely certain that it is a sign, and this is paired with a distinct physical/emotional ‘gut’ feeling, then you should pay attention! This is likely your intuition telling you that this is a genuine sign.

With that said, this post isn’t meant to burst anyone’s bubble or tell you that your experience isn’t a ‘real’ sign! These are just some guidelines that I’ve created along my spiritual path that I use when I’m trying to interpret the signs and experiences I receive. If you have another set of guidelines of your own that differ from mine, that’s perfectly okay- our interpretations of spiritual experiences are allowed to have variation. You may believe an experience is a sign when I may not interpret it as such, or vice versa, and that’s cool! Don’t allow anyone to make you doubt yourself when it comes to your intuition and your gut feelings- After all, you have the deepest understanding of yourself and your spiritual path. 

Fighting Consumerism in Magic

aka, little things to distance your craft from capitalism

Let’s all just admit that buying stuff is fun. That said, there’s a big issue of consumerism within the witchy/pagan scene. As magic work and the pagan “aesthetic” becomes more of a commodity in the mainstream, there’s a mounting attitude of needing All The Items in the highest quality (even if we’re not certain we’ll use them,) and big corporations mass-producing cheap stuff to make a buck off of a growing trend. Here’s some things you can do to help detach your practice from that and support other people in the craft:

Go outside. Check your backyard or local park for local plant life, waters, roots, etc. If your work involves things from nature at all, you can probably find a lot of your supplies… in nature. It takes a little more time, but it’s free and then you’ve gathered stuff yourself! 

Make stuff. This one is pretty straightforward. There may be key items to your practice that you can make yourself instead of buying it! That said, I know sometimes spending money is inevitable so I won’t dwell too much on this… let’s talk more about shopping:

Shop mindfully. The price of a lot of items will skyrocket once it has a pentacle or other symbol engraved on it. For example, little mortars and pestles can be very pricey in witchy shops, but you could probably get a bigger one that’s actually food safe for less at a nice grocery store. Antique stores and international markets are now your new best friends.

Support small businesses! Things are cheaper on Amazon, but the extra money goes to support real people, likely other practitioners. If you can, supporting small, local, independent shopkeepers and crafters does a ton of good. It also helps build and sustain a local community. 

Shop based on need. Don’t get something “just in case” (unless it’s banishing or hex breaking stuff; those are decent to have on hand.) It’s tempting to impulse-buy a ton of niche items and ingredients, but unless you have a reasonable idea what you’re going to use them for in the near future, it’ll probably just create clutter for you to deal with later.

Prioritize effectiveness over aesthetic. Ultimately your practice has to work for you, not just look good. I think making your work aesthetically pleasing to yourself can be an important part of really connecting with what you’re doing, but don’t make that desire burn a hole in your wallet and distract you from what brought you to this path in the first place. Altar envy is a real thing. 

Recycle/Upcycle. Use old clothing fabric for an altar cloth. That old trinket dish makes a great offering dish. Enchant jewelry you already own. That jar of strawberry jelly you just finished off will work just fine for that spell. Things can be re-purposed and made into new things.

Analyze your offerings. Special occasion wine isn’t a special occasion if you do it every time. Not every offering needs to be a grand gesture, regular maintenance is more important generally.

Organize trades. Have any pals that also practice? See if you can help each other! You could trade different goods (that old mini cauldron you bought and never used for that abandoned tarot deck, maybe?) but also services. A protection spell for a luck charm. A reading for a reading. You help them with the laundry and they cook you a meal one day. 

As always, the goal is to foster a local community of individuals doing honest work, and shedding the consumerist mindset society taught us to make us spend more money. Take up the idea that you can do magic completely on your own with what you already around you, and if you do want to spend money, see if you can do it in a way that helps the world a tiny bit.  :) 

50  witchy things to do in quarantine:

cleanse your house thoroughly

banish any unwanted energies

put some time into making solid wards

rearrange/cleanse your altar space and tools

take inventory of your supplies

make new batches of sun and moon waters (and any salts, tinctures, etc. you like to keep on hand)

start a dream journal now that you have the time

find a witchy article or book on somewhere like JSTOR and learn something new (and tell other witches about it)

try kitchen witchcraft if you haven’t already

create a new sigil or charm to display in your house

bless or add a glamor to an item in your home (ex. adding a glamour to a centerpiece so the food always looks good or to the welcome mat so people don’t notice the messes so much)

send a blessing to those who are helping (and donations, if you can)

or perhaps jinx, hex, curse, or bind those doing harm

set aside time each day to meditate– it’s the perfect time to start such a habit!

leave an offering to or commune with a spirit or deity you have not in a while due to time constraints

try a type of magic you are interested in, but struggle with

practice with your divination tools to get better at them

update your grimoire with things you’ve been meaning to write down

make a crystal grid of your own

make your own pendulum and board

make your own oracle deck

using the items you already have, make a new powder, oil, or tincture for an intent you have often

make a sigil and set it as your phone background

paint your phone case with a sigil, a symbol, or a color coordinated with your intention (use acrylic and then coat it in mod podge!)

create a new talisman

write a hymn or incantation

create a playlist to listen to during witchy things

buy a service from a local witch if you can afford to– many are in need of money right now, especially

draw, paint, or sculpt a deity you worship and add it to your altar

use notecards to write down and categorize things you have for each basic intention (ex. write down all of the herbs, crystals, etc. you have for love, for money, etc. so you never have to sit and think hard on what you can use– it’s a quick-reference for yourself)

write down your favorite spells or ones that you want to try

in your school or work space, add a sigil or charm for productivity, focus, or stress-relief

make a new sachet for sleep

contact a witch friend and facetime them to meditate together or do readings for each other. it’s important to stay in touch!

make shoebox, on-the-go, or pocket altars so when quarantine is over you’ll keep your practice up in daily life

write yourself affirmation cards or letters to open in a month/year/whenever you like

make your own runes

enchant a piece of clothing or jewelry for stress-relief or motivation

learn more about your own natal chart

transfer the info you look for in your grimoire most often to make a quick-reference book of the most important pages for yourself

learn about the plants and trees around your house and their properties

sit in your yard for a little while and enjoy nature and it’s sounds

open your curtains and blinds and windows to let in a little fresh air and sun into the house

start journaling– being in-tune with yourself will improve you as a witch

write letters or send care packages to witchy friends with things like bay leaves, sigils, and kind notes

on your next grocery run, grab some seeds or plants and plant whatever is in season where you are. try something that can grow in your windowsill, if you’re new! this is a way to have sustainable ingredients for your witchcraft that has no pesticides and is cultivated with your energy.

alternatively, get flower seeds and plant them around your home. this will also give you a reason to step outside to tend to them from time to time.

learn a new song or hymn and perform it as an offering to your deity of choice

make a list of this year’s dates of full and new moons, transits, and holidays and mark them in your calendar or put them in the notes of your phone

take the time to monitor your own energy and take care of yourself <3

When NOT to Trust Your Intuition

“Trust your intuition” is a phrase we commonly see thrown around in witchy spaces, and in many cases it’s good advice. Part of practicing witchcraft (especially if your craft has a focus on divination or psychic abilities) is learning to trust in your intuitive promptings. In a lot of cases, going with your gut feeling is the right call. But not always.

Our intuition can be wrong, or can give us an incomplete picture of a situation. It can also sometimes be difficult to tell the difference between intuition and subconscious programming. The human brain is designed to find patterns. Because of this, it can sometimes be hard to tell if we are genuinely receiving a psychic prompting or just connecting dots that are actually unrelated.

There are a few common thought patterns that often get mistaken for intuitive messages by new and experienced witches alike. It’s a good idea to read up on these and to keep them in mind when determining the validity of intuitive messages.

Cognitive Distortions

According to Rebecca Joy Stanborough, MFA, writing for Healthline, cognitive distortions are “thought patterns that cause people to view reality in inaccurate — usually negative — ways. In short, they’re habitual errors in thinking.”

Like a computer error, cognitive distortions cause us to misinterpret information and draw incorrect conclusions. Cognitive distortions are common symptoms of mental illnesses [see below], but all of us experience them at some point, even if we’re 100% neurotypical. Research suggests that cognitive distortions may have evolved as a survival mechanism, and that they’re usually tied to trauma or negative experiences.

This is way too big of a topic to cover in a single post, but here are a few common cognitive distortions to look out for:

Black and White Thinking (also called “All or Nothing Thinking”): only thinking in extremes, framing every situation as either/or. (Example: “I have to do this ritual right or I’m a failure as a witch.”)

Overgeneralization: applying a conclusion based on a single experience to a whole group of people or things. (Example: “People who cast curses and hexes are all evil.”)

Catastrophizing: assuming the worst in every situation; turning everyday worries into major catastrophes. (Example: “I didn’t feel the gods during my ritual — the gods must have cut me off because they’re angry with me.”)

Personalization: taking things personally when they have nothing to do with you. (Example: “My friend cancelled our lunch plans for today — they must have decided they don’t like me anymore.”)

Mind Reading: making assumptions about what other people are thinking or feeling, usually projecting your own feelings onto them. (Example: “My partner is being quiet tonight — they must be angry with me.”) This cognitive distortion is especially important for witches to look out for, as it can be mistaken for empathy or claircognizance.

Mental Filtering: excluding positives and focusing only on negatives OR excluding negatives and focusing only on positives. (Example: You draw the Tower, the Sun, and Death in your tarot spread. You become fixated on the negative messages in the Tower and Death cards, ignoring the positivity and blessings heralded by the Sun.)

Labeling: reducing yourself, another person, a group of people, or a thing/activity to a single, one-word label. (Example: “I’m lazy.”)

I strongly encourage all witches to do research into cognitive distortions and learn to recognize them, especially if the nature of your magical practice has you leaning heavily on your intuition. A cognitive distortion is not an intuitive message — your intuition should be logical, and can often be fact-checked.

Prejudice

The prejudice I’m talking about here isn’t just the obvious kind, like blatant racism or homophobia. We all have prejudices, whether we realize it or not. Merriam-Webster defines prejudice as a “preconceived judgment or opinion” or “an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge.” Prejudice simply means thinking we know what to expect from something, even if we’ve never experienced it before.

You may have an image in your head of what “real” witchcraft looks like. You might feel like emoji spells, for example, aren’t “real magic” because they seem silly, they don’t take a lot of time and effort, there’s no historical precedent for them, etc. etc. In short, you feel like they aren’t “real magic” because they don’t fit your idea of what magic looks like. This is an example of prejudice, and buying into that prejudice prevents you from having access to an easy, fun form of techno magic.

If you find yourself receiving an “intuitive message” that someone else is faking it, is lying about their spiritual experiences, or is only imagining those experiences, take a step back and seriously examine that thought and where it might be coming from. It’s possible that the thought came not from your intuition, but instead from your own prejudices. It doesn’t matter if the way someone practices magic or experiences spirituality is different from your path — it’s the right way for them, and that’s what matters.

When you bring your prejudice into a tarot reading or other form of divination, you bring a set expectation for what the cards are going to tell you. The cards are going to pick up on that, and they may very well tell you what you want to hear — or you may twist the meaning of the cards to fit your expectations. This prevents you from getting clear, accurate readings.

I know it’s hard, but witchcraft requires us to leave our prejudice at the door. There is no “right way” to be a witch or to practice magic. There is no “right way” to communicate with the gods or the universe. Prejudice, biases, and expectations will only keep you from fully exploring your spirituality. Work on letting them go and opening up to the full spectrum of possibilities.

Stereotyping

This one goes hand-in-hand with prejudice and is closely related to overgeneralization (a cognitive distortion). Stereotyping is a necessary coping mechanism that we use to simplify our social interactions — but it is also the root of serious social issues like racism and misogyny. We all use stereotypes without consciously thinking about it.

While it’s important to be aware of stereotyping in order to avoid contributing to social issues, it’s also important for witches to learn the difference between an intuitive hit and a stereotype. This is especially important for witches who use claircognizance, where information often comes in the form of “downloads” that can sometimes be difficult to tell apart from our own thoughts.

For example, you might “just know” or “have a gut feeling” that a man you know is gay. But if that man talks in a higher pitch, acts effeminately, and puts a lot of time and effort into his appearance, then your gut feeling may have less to do with intuition and more to do with applying stereotypes to your friend.

Mental Illness

Many common mental illnesses, like depression and anxiety, can cause you to feel like you know that something bad is about to happen. “Anticipating disaster” or feeling like something is going to go wrong, is one of the most common symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and other anxiety disorders. Hyperfixating on details and worrying over small things are also common symptoms of these and other mental disorders.

As a witch with two anxiety disorders, I’ve had to learn to tell the difference between my intuition and my anxiety. Here’s a very recent, real life example: Last week, the entire staff at my workplace was tested for COVID-19. The results were expected to come back on my day off, and I found myself constantly watching my phone. Now, I do have some claircognizance, and when my phone goes off I usually know who the message is from before I even look at it. But on this day, every time my phone dinged I was just sure that it was my boss texting me to let me know that I’d tested positive. After the first couple of “false alarms,” I realized that this was an anxiety thing, not an intuitive thing. I was anxious about the test results, so that was the first thing my mind went to every time. (For the record, when my results did come back, they were negative.)

If you have or suspect that you have a mental illness that affects your thoughts and emotions, I highly recommend seeking out a good therapist or counselor. A trained mental health professional can help you sort out your symptoms and learn to recognize them, so you can differentiate them from genuine psychic experiences. (I’ve personally had really good results with CBT and DBT.)

Journaling has also been really helpful for me, as it helps me keep things straight and allows me to go back and read over my experiences when I’m having a better mental health day. (In my experience, it’s much easier to tell the difference between anxiety and intuition when you’re not in the moment.)

Resources:

“What Are Cognitive Distortions and How Can You Change These Thinking Patterns?” by Rebecca Joy Stanborough, MFA, medically reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, Ph.D., CRNP, published through Healthline

“50 Common Cognitive Distortions” by Alice Boyes Ph.D., published through Psychology Today

“Stereotypes” by Saul McLeod, published through Simply Psychology

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) Facts page on the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) website

New World Witchery Podcast, “Episode 65 — The Slender Man Discussion”

Ground yourself.

Here are some super easy grounding methods : 

Drink some strong herbal tea.

Eat some raw, organic fruits and veggies.

Take a long bath with some bath salts, herbs and oils.

Carry a grounding crystal on you, cleanse it beforehand.

Walk barefoot in the garden or at the local park.

Bury your feet in the ground and meditate.

Drum or dance, anything with good rhythm.

Practice yoga or tai chi.

Do any of these when you’re feeling drained.

Travel Altar/ Altar in a Box

I have a cat and my cat is an asshole. I’d love to have a big beautiful altar set up on my dresser, but Pip is the kind of cat that likes to knock things off of high places, take things that don’t belong to her and run, and hide things. To get around this, I decided to make an altar in a box. I used the small box that I already had, but you can use any size or shape box that you want! 

I started with a box. Obviously. I got mine from Hobby Lobby ages ago and had stained it with a dark stain and put box corners on it so that it looked nice. I had been using it as a catch-all for oddities and found objects, but decided that I would have to use it for my altar, as it’s the only box that I have. 

Step one was already done, as I had done it last year. Decorate the box. Like I said, I stained mine and added some dark box corners. I also used black ink to darken up the gold clasp so that it wasn’t so bright in comparison to the rest of the box. I wanted it to look a bit more vintage and worn.

Next, I cut a rectangular piece of fabric to line the box with. I forgot to take a picture of the fabric before gluing it in, so I quickly cut out this smaller piece to show you what I did. In order to make sure that the cloth lay flat around the edges and not bunch up, I cut off the corners. Like so.

And then I used hot glue to attach it to the box. I folded the raw edges of the fabric under so that they were hidden and the finished product looked a bit cleaner. This step was an absolute pain and I burned my fingers on the glue a few times.

After that, I cut a piece of thick board to fit inside the box. You could use cardboard or chipboard, too. I used what I had on hand. This piece of board will be used a shelf. You’ll see what I mean later. Here, I’m just making sure that the board fits. I actually ended up cutting it down a bit, because with the fabric lining in, and taking into account the fabric that will be covering the board itself, it was a bit too wide to fit inside the box.

Once I was confident that I’d cut it down to a size that would fit, I covered it with the same fabric I used to line the box. This picture shows the underside of the board where the fabric was glued down.

Next was probably the easiest step - gluing that board into the box to make our shelf. The board is glued onto the lid of the box so that when it’s closed, it sits flat against the back wall of the box, and when it’s open, it makes a little shelf! If you make this box, be sure to make the shelf narrow enough that you can still close your box. You don’t want it hitting the bottom and preventing the lid from closing all the way.

Next, we add the ribbon to the sides so that the lid stays upright when the box is open instead of falling back. Without the ribbon, your shelf is useless. I didn’t measure very well, just made sure that the ribbon wasn’t too short so that the box wouldn’t open all the way. If you’re using two ribbons like I did, it’s also important to make sure that both pieces of ribbon are the same length. 

If you use something other than hot glue, you may want to do this step before you put your lining in. Because I used hot glue, I was able to peel back the front corners of the lining so that I could glue the ribbon down, and then replace the fabric over top so that the end of the ribbon was hidden underneath. 

I ran out of hot glue for the second ribbon, so I was forced to switch to E600, which works very very well, but takes some time to dry. I glued down the ribbon and let it dry enough that it wouldn’t move around, then glued the lining back in place. I used binder clips to hold the fabric in place while it dried.

I left the project while it dried and went to eat dinner. When I came back, I was able to take the clips off, and the box was done!

At this point, you can decorate the inside of your box how you see fit! If you make one of these for yourself, be sure to tag me! I’d love to see what you come up with. Happy crafting and blessed be.

Some notes: 

When gluing in the lining, put the glue on the box, not the fabric. This allows you to fold under the edge of the fabric and stick it down without burning yourself.

Before you cut your shelf, take into account that there is going to be fabric covering the board and the box, making the fit a bit snugger. Don’t do what I did and cut your board, then have to go back and shave some more material off so that it fits.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH OF YOUR CHOSEN ADHESIVE TO FINISH THE PROJECT. 

If you have fat hands like I do, you may want to use only one ribbon, on the opposite side of your dominant hand. I’m right-handed, so I may end up going back and cutting off the ribbon on the right side of the box.

-Vyrian