Finding something that I can stand the smell of when burning is very difficult. I mostly hate candles and incense. Recently I discovered a DIY incence recipe on The Practical Herbalist website and decided to give it a try. I like it! The sticks on the left are blanks that I have coated with some herbs and resins. Surprisingly, the frankincense variety works extremely well in spite of being a bit pebbly, but is very strong. Visit www.thepracticalherbalist.com to get the full recipe details if you too would like an easy way to make your own incense. 

I have been enjoying the hairy scary purse that I made last year tremendously and since I have received a lot of complements, I am going to make another purse that will be quite similar to this one. It might take a while though! My hands and arms have seen fit to betray me this past year and it has greatly slowed my ability to do detailed work, and any work requiring repetitive motion. This purse was very hand labor intensive! I cleaned, washed and carded the alpaca and most of the sheep's wool that went into this thing, and it is NOT SMALL.
I never did get around to making the hornets to embellish it either, and I can't guarantee that I will for the next purse. I am also going to cheat a bit on the next purse and use primarily already washed and carded fibers because if I push my hands and arms too hard, I will lose the use of them entirely. I am hoping that the Hairy Scary 2 will be even better than the first one! The new model will still be materials and labor intensive, so alas, it will be expensive. It will also be roomy and unique. If you choose to carry it, prepare to get noticed and engaged in conversation!