Making everyday Magic

The first few drops of rain spatter on the window, as stormy darkness swallows up the last rays of daylight. Toil, Trouble, Scissors and Glue, tis a good night to make something New! Let the Magic begin!

An old glass spaghetti sauce jar, aluminum foil, clear glass stones, black paint, a brush, towels, a glue gun, and my trusty Fiskars scissors lay before me. The spark of inspiration starts to flicker. Several hours later, and many a burnt finger (Public Service Announcement- hot glue be HOT) a little child of the stars joins the Magical Menagerie that has invaded my house.

I have always been inspired by Walt Disney. His quotes "If you can dream it, you can do it” and "It's kind of fun to do the impossible” have always resonated with me. His attention to detail in everything is what I have strived to accomplish in my own work.

I believe I was born with a pencil in one hand and wielding a pair of scissors in the other. I have always created things further back then I can remember. I wrote stories and drew pictures, made up games, sewed my own doll clothes, made TV and movie props, and I even constructed my own amusement park -complete with rides.

My sister and I were home schooled, and we grew up wild in the mountains of Northern California. It was not like we didn’t have toys, but I was happier when I made our own. I loved to create worlds and make Magic for my younger sister to explore. I would make things out of and with anything I could get my hands on, which did not always make my parents happy. I can still remember my mother always asking where her good sewing scissors went and “they are not meant to cut that!” still rings in my ears. I can appreciate that now. I have a full arsenal of scissors for every known cuttable medium I may encounter.

I would take empty tissue boxes, old home movie film canisters, tinker toys, yarn and milk jug rings and turn them into fancy wagons and carriages for our dolls and model horses. We would fight over who got to pick out the tissue box at the store and then wait (not so patiently) for the box to empty.

When you live in the woods and you don’t have close neighbors, it can make social activities a little bit of a challenge. Each year, I would secretly make several Halloween costumes so we could take turns dressing up and trick or treating our own house. It was several years before my mom caught on it was just us in different costumes. The big plus is you always get your favorite candy because you helped pick it out for the “trick or treaters.”

For the sake of their scissors and other tools, my parents started gifting me these items instead of toys. With them I would let my imagination run free. I used them to make fantasy worlds where anything was possible. They would go on to make costumes and props for the movies I used to make for competitions. I would later use them to make jesses and snuggle pouches for injured and abandon wildlife and birds of prey when I was a wildlife rehabber and vet tech. Years later, the scissors would serve me as I became my youngest child’s full-time nurse and helped me to grieve through creativity when she crossed over.

Seven years into my law enforcement career, I was injured in a training accident that would shut the door on that chapter for good and drastically change my way of life. I once again found the solace from an old friend, and we went back to work creating Magic out of whatever I could find.

Today I love the challenge in taking dollar and thrift store items, items that are broken and stuff laying around the house and fabricating movie props and creating all manner of magical things. I enjoy bringing Magic to everyday life. For Life is too short to be surrounded by ordinary things. My house is not typical- pirates have invaded our enclosed patio, sharks have infested the pool, our chickens attend Chickenwarts, there is a rabbit hole to Wonderland in the back yard and yes, there be dragons and a fire breathing tiki too.

The most important items that I make are memorial decals, candles, and plaques for those that have lost loved ones and fur babies. There is nothing more fulfilling then bringing a little light to those that are travailing through the dark forest of loss.

My oldest daughter has grown up in this crazy little world that my husband and I have built. She was a little shocked to discover that not everyone had fairies and gnomes living in their walls. We have tried to pass on the love of creating, and bestow her with the tools and knowledge to make her own Magic. For armed with the keys to unlock the imagination, nothing is impossible.

It never ceases to amaze me what imagination and a pair of scissors can create. For the ability to create, in whatever medium you choose, is a power that wields love, loss, birth, growth, perseverance, acceptance, sympathy, strength, joy, memories, tradition and Hope.

In the end isn’t that what real MAGIC is made of!