My Brambles

The Flames of Magic ...

1/19/2021

To know of the Blue Flames of Magic requires knowledge of Dragons, hatchlings... and specifically, Wish Dragons. A Dragon creates a special nest of collected stones for their one and only egg which can sit for eons before hatching.

Now this is the normal process for most Dragons, but not for a Wish Dragon. A Wish Dragon also requires the Blue Flames of Magic and a Wish for their unique egg to hatch.

For the Flames of Magic to occur, the Wish Dragon must be willing to sacrifice it's most important possession. Some might call it the ultimate sacrifice.

When this great sacrifice happens powerful magic is created. That magic floats above the little egg awaiting a wish to release it.

The wish is just as important as the sacrifice as it defines the personality of the Wish Dragon that will be. When the Dragon hatches that is also the same time a Spite is born. A Spite and a Wish Dragon are almost like soul twins as they are forever magically connected.

Now you may be asking as to how this applies to Dewin's Spite? She was born when the Dragon that moved the village to the Realm of Wymsy realized that he screwed up. When the Dragon sat on the mountain he created the situation that caused the mountain top to fall which would crush the people of the village. As he was a Dragon that lived to "harm none", he sacrificed his life and with his last breathe, made his final wish saving the village and it's people. With this act, he was turned into a blue flame, the Flames of Magic. This sacrifice and wish then combined - and as another Wish Dragon was hatched, so too was a Spite created.

For in every wish, there is a moment of doubt. This is where the old saying, "it was perfect in spite of..." comes from. Which is also why Spite carries the Blue Flame upon her forehead. It is a symbol of where she came from and as a reminder to think before acting. Now where is the Wish Dragon she is bonded to? That is part of her story as these events happened long before Hungry was even born.

Following the Bread Crumbs...

1/12/2021

I do feel like at times I am the little bird eating the bread crumb trail dropped by Hansel and Gretel that they left behind as a way to find their way home. Each crumb was to be a clue so they wouldn't get lost in the Woods but instead they ended up at the Witch's Gingerbread house... but that is a tale for another time.

So what are the clues that I have been indulging in? Why, of course, the tidbits of inspiration and information that Spite has been revealing about herself to me. Tinkerbell and her are laughing at me as 'Tink' was to be just an inspiration only, not the direction I was to go.

The first piece of bread was when Atian, leaving for his forever home, left a hole that needed to be filled as not just any blue Fae could do. Then another crumb was seeing a tattoo that inspired me as a story that needed to be told. Many more crumbs followed. Now with all these different directions I could have been taken, the bread crumbs eaten and the trail now gone, I could have easily gotten lost. Then my North Star showed up. One should always look to the North Star (the brightest in the sky) to find their way home.

So, inspite of all these bread crumbs that Spite had left behind for me to follow, I can now see that she is going to develop into quite an interesting character with a strange tale to share. For what self respecting impish Spite wants to be boring? *lol*

Looking into the Mystic Ether (AKA 'What the Future Holds')...

1/4/2021

Awena was sitting in her room doing her daily meditation when she felt a 'pull' to take out her crystal ball. As she gazed into the ball it began to change from clear crystal to a swirling mist. "Well... it might not hurt to check on the little Wish Dragon and those that seek to find him," Awena mused to herself.

"Several new characters have appeared in the search and Hungry is still looking for his pillow, but where are they?" she muttered as the mist began to take a shape.

Granny Flare was the first to appear with Parsley, the Dowager Griselda, Efem, and Cornelia. "This Zooming on their PEE-Cs is almost like looking into a crystal ball," Awena thought with a smile. She could see they were discussing the need to expand the search for the Wish Dragon as the Mushroom Line, the Bee Gs, and the Twitter birds had still not located Hungry. The only problem with a crystal ball is that images may appear clearly, but it is difficult to hear all of the conversations completely. "I really need to work on getting better at lip reading," she reminded herself (not for the first time and probably not the last) as she pieced together the searchers' conversations.

As the ladies faded out, Passporte' and the wizard, Dewin, came into focus. They were still out in the forest of the Shadows' Realm. Awenda could feel something in the ether that each had a different purpose in mind in regard to the little Dragon though she didn't feel that it was truly evil. Awena had noticed that the Spite still has not reappeared since Dewin last saw her in his cave where he left his magical spell book behind. "I'm sure Dewin's journal book would make interesting reading," thought Awena as she watched Dewin telling Passporte' before they faded from the crystal ball that in Spite of her not being there, "She might actually be useful for once."

As the crystal searched for another, soon Hewy, the troll, appeared. He too was out with Sprout trying to find the Dragon. Hewy had decided that if Sprout had met Hungry earlier by the Sugar Plum Bakery and since Sprout had told him that the Dragon was as hungry for sweets as Sprout - it was a perfect place to start. "And of course Sprout offered to go since they were going to be near the bakery," she snickered. "It must be a great magical gift the way that kid can make food disappear."

Then the huge Mansion of the The Baron's popped in. The Baron, Fiddlefaddle, and Sneefle were sitting in the Drawing Room playing with some cards and wondering what will happen next as they await word from Griselda and the others about the search.

Suddenly, the image shifted and the entire crystall ball was filled with a Cheshire grin! It was The CAT. He seemed to look right at Awena as if he knew she was watching him. She could see past The CAT that the archer Nemmer was still searching for the Wish Dragon and trying to avoid the Dusty Mytes. The CAT then turned and went his own way. Awena didn't have difficulty realizing that The CAT was thinking that chasing a Twitter Bird might be a little more fun than Dragon hunting. Funny that he should be the one to find Hungry first...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

12/23/2020

Everyone in the Realm of Wymsy (and Shadow's)
wish you and yours a
Merry Christmas

May you be blessed
with the spirit of the season
which is Peace

The gladness of the season
which is Hope

And the heart of the season
which is Love.
~ author unknown

and a very Happy New Year!!!

The Holiday Dash...

12/15/2020

As sparkles glitter in the cold air with the crisp scent of Magic just slightly tickling her nose, Meen knows that it is almost that time again. This is her favorite month of each year and she does love going all out to deck the halls. Well, maybe not her halls, but the Shadow King does love seeing the finery around the palace too. Normally Meen took her time decorating, but not this year. She was in a rush. The little Pyksee was excited and wanted to head on over to Granny Flare's cottage to find out more about this new Pee-C Granny just received. The Twitter Birds have been chirping all day long about this new magic and it sounded like a lot of fun!

While Meen was hopping around the palace, Griselda was digging through the books in her library at the mansion. The colorful glo-bug lights and decorated tree certainly were putting her in the mood to curl up in front of the fireplace with a good book. What better place to read the stories of old and enjoy a nice cup of tea?

She too had heard of this wonderful magical toy that Parsley and Granny Flare were playing with. Maybe she would drop by and check it out herself later, but first that cup of tea.

As the Dowager continued looking through some of her books, out dropped a letter from an old friend that lived in a magical place called the North Pole. Now Griselda hadn't been able to stay in touch as much as she liked because the Twitter Birds didn't really like flying that north if they didn't have too. Plus the Mushroom Line wasn't reliable for popping up when the ground was covered in snow and ice. Somehow, they always seemed to get lost and always headed for warmer climates.

"Maybe there was something to this zooming stuff that the others were gossiping about," she thought. Griselda gathered up her letter from Mrs. Claus with the Coffee Cake Muffin Recipe and decided that a visit to Parsley just might be the thing to do. "Nothing like reaching out to friends far and near... or was that dear (*smiling*) for the holidays".

Cooking with a PEE - C!

12/8/2020

"Yep! The holidays are going to be soon here so I had better get busy with my cooking," thought Granny Flare. There is nothing better that this special little house Brownie enjoyed more than cooking for the holidays - other than maybe cooking with friends. But this year was different and Granny couldn't get together like she would have in the past. "I wish the gang and I were doing this together. There must be someway that could happen," she grumbled to herself.

That is when a message was delivered by a Bee G. It was Bee Glad who had showed up with a message from Parsley. Granny listened with interest as how the little Bee G explained that Parsley had found a new "Outie" tool called a PEE-C that was faster than the Mushroom Line and almost like opening a magical portal. Parsley was going to send one over today as she picked up a few for her friends. Now this was interesting!!!

As Granny continued to listen she found that when her PEE-C arrived, she was going to need to connect to something called a Zoom. There she would find a portal where she could cook and talk with Parsley just like she was in her kitchen.

After the PEE-C arrived Granny was glad she had listened to the instructions that Bee Glad had given her as she was soon connecting to this Zoom portal. Before you could say "Twitter Bird", Parsley was talking to Granny just like magic.

They were both so excited that they had this new toy to play with that they almost forgot that they had things to bake. That was until Sprout walked into Parsley's kitchen asking what was for dinner.

So, as Granny and Parsley dive into their cook books and herbs, let me share a recipe or two from them for this holiday season.

And if you haven't tried the gluten and dairy free pumpkin pies... click on this link to go there -
GLUTEN & DAIRY FREE PUMPKIN PIE RECIPIE (oops - Recipe)

Spite 3.0

12/1/2020

I hadn't wanted to show Spite until I was sure she was going to stick around this time. It might seem like magic that here I showed her off after just starting to sculpt her last week and now she is off to be put into a mold.

But actually this is the third time I have started her and yes, she would laugh at me and then suddenly disappear. After all, often I start only with an inspiration and wait for what character I am working on to show up.

I start a character and then struggle with them as sometimes something doesn't seem right. The clay starts drying out or for whatever reason, the character alludes me. I only know that there is a lesson within each of my sculpted pieces and it is for me to discover.

Patience is definitely one of my requirements mixed in with a whole lot of curiosity. Did I say it takes up to three months to make a doll? Actually, at times when I am challenging myself to create something new, it can even take longer. Spite is one of these.

As Spite shared her story with me and I discovered what makes her laugh, she finally revealed more of herself. I would tell myself if I learned this one thing - like how to balance the head or find the right depth of clay to work with, then everything would fall into place. But really... did it have to take this long for me to pick up what I needed to know? Or by having to start a head over and over again. Once the head is destroyed, I can never reproduce it exactly the same again. It always comes in slightly different. That is the uniqueness of a one-of-a-kind doll.

My lesson? I know that "in Spite" of all the challenges and lessons I have learned with the Fae teaching me how to sculpt, the greatest lesson is to keep my sense of humor. To be willing to laugh and look for the lighter side of life. After all, that is the main job of a fairy is to teach us to play with our inner child.

My inspiration/imagination… In Spite of

11/24/2020

What powerful three little words... 'In Spite Of'. I even looked up the definition so I could truly understand the magnitude of this phrase. Here is what I found:

"'in spite of' is used for referring to a fact that makes something else surprising. For example, "In spite of feeling tired, we decided to go out."

These words are quite a motivator too (as this example shows) -

"Spite will make a woman do more than love" ~ Marguerite De Navarre

Or my favorite expression for 'in spite of' is:

"Courage is not the absence of Fear, but the ability to act in spite of fear!"
~Harrish Sairaman

By now you are probably asking why am I defining the words "in spite of"? It is because this is where my inspiration for my little Spite came from.

First let me explain the difference between a Sprite and a Spite. A Sprite is born from the first laughter of a new-born baby... that first burst of love, joy and wonderment of the world. (click if you like to hear a laugh *smiling*).

But a Spite is born from the left-over magic of a wish. That thought which happens when the 'what ifs' enter the mind. That small second of thought when the magic is halted from fully going into the wish because of a moment of doubt. So instead of granting the complete power of the desire that goes into a wish, the 'what if' is attached. In other words - an 'in spite of' (aka Spite) is born and you never know where the wish might go. The Spite helps the wish further along (with their sense of humor always added), to give it an expected twist.

And so, with these thoughts/wishes rolling around in my head... my little Spite is being created.

A Night on the Trail - or a Wizard Glamps...

11/17/2020

As night drew near, Dewin decided that instead of returning to his cave, he would set up camp and continue his search for the Wish Dragon in the morning. After all, he only needed to flick his fingers and a tent would appear complete with a dry bed and dinner. Now Passporte', as far as the wizard thought, could be on his own and maybe that would finally get him to leave. But then again, maybe it would be worth Dewin's effort to learn more about this missing Dragon if he offered him a place to put his head for the night.

Passporte', who didn't look at time quite the same way as the wizard, agreed to stay. He wasn't ready to continue down the trail even if it was getting dark until he could finish writing up the thoughts still swirling around in his head. That is exactly what Dewin wanted to hear. "What are you still writing about," he asked Passporte'. "Is it still about the Dragon?"

"I didn't catch all that Hewy the Troll had said. He was in such a hurry, even for a troll," muttered Passporte'. "I saw him and his friends as they were leaving the sanctuary of the Sleeping Sisters," he answered. "That was unusual right there as the Sisters very rarely invite anyone inside. I managed to catch up with them on the trail and on our way we all had a bite at a local inn for lunch. As we were eating, he shared a little of his time there with the Sisters and something about Sprout always being hungry which required them to stop a lot."

After he scribbled some more in his journal Passporte' continued, "This is when Hewy said something about a prophecy and the Dragon." Now this did intrigue the wizard for he knew how powerful prophecies could be, specially when revealed by a mystic such as a Sleeping Sister. "Please continue. This is fascinating," prompted Dewin to his guest.

So as the wizard listened to Passporte' transfixed by his words, little did they know that a little Dragon down the trail in the woods was also going through his own transformation. After all he was a young Dragon growing by leaps and bounds as he continued trudging through the Woods in search of a teacher and his pillow.

More of the Dragon tail (err... tale)...

11/10/2020

As Passporte' continues writing in his journal, Dewin is trying to find a way to get rid of him. At first, he thought that if he told Passporte' about seeing something strange on his way to where they bumped into each other on the trail, that might send the explorer off and he could continue his search for the Dragon. After a minute of thinking more about it though, he realized that then Passporte' would stay longer just to ask more questions. "I might as well wait for him to finish writing in his journal," he decided.

As Dewin continued to observe the scribbler, Passporte' mumbled something which caught his attention. "What was that?", he asked. Passporte' looked up and repeated, "When I find the Dragon, I must remember to ask about the prophecy when I find out if they are vegetarians."

Now that was something Dewin had never heard before. "What prophecy might that be Passporte'?" But Passporte' was busy finishing in his journal

Dewin knew that he must practice the extreme magic of "patience" as he waited a little longer before he would get an answer. Without looking up from his journal, Passporte' continued... "Oh, it is something Hewy, the Troll, told me the other day. Something about aWish Dragon being lost who could grant wishes. He did not tell me all of it as he was in a hurry leaving the Sleeping Sisters when I ran into him. But I am sure he would tell you if you find him and asked him." Passporte then continued to scratch his quill in his journal.

"Would he indeed," thought Dewin. Hmmmm....