How my Book of Shadows was made

For those of you curious as to how my Book of Shadows was made, Kirstin (wickedd_redhead) was kind enough to send me progress updates to share with you!

Hello, and thank you again for the opportunity to create your Book of Shadows. I just wanted to share a little about my creative process. 

Step one is selecting which type of tea the pages get bathed in, and which crystals are going to hang out to help infuse the book with intention. 

For yours, I selected a loose leaf cranberry blood orange tea, which always gives me lovely spooky, witchy vibes. The accompanying crystals are smoky quartz for protection, divination, and grounding. Tiger’s eye for maximum creative flow, and labradorite for activating your personal mystical gifts. I also burned this spooky scented candle called “Taranchula Tonic” as a somewhat working candle the whole time your book was being created. 

The pages get soaked overnight and baked in the oven to produce unique and saturated color and to give the pages that distinctly satisfying crinkly edge. 

The binding is done using the kettle stitch method, which I have found to be the most secure. The edge is also reinforced with PVA glue before inserted into the cover. Also, that gorgeous patterning is from baking on a very old cookie sheet. I have no idea how the patterns appear, but it reminded me of the surface of the moon! 

The pretty outside design is actually fabric that is wrapped around book board. One element I always include is a protective sigil on the inside raw surface. Yours, in particular, is one I created myself, specifically for protection of the book itself, and from eyes that would cause it harm. Once the glued fabric dries, it’s time to finish it up. 

I chose the endpapers intuitively for you. Something told me you are a classic gal, with sophisticated taste. I decided to include pockets in both covers for you, to hold any bits and bobs you may choose to include inside. 

Altogether this beauty is 450 pages! So much room for spilling all your magical thoughts.
I hope you love her and grow to love her even more over time. 

Much love and blessed be.
Sincerely,
Kirstin Bozyk