Create Income with Zazzle at Home For Free!

So, I know we are all doing our best to stay home and be safe right now. I can imagine it has been a huge strain on the income of those who depend on their jobs, that they may not be able to attend now. Luckily for those of us willing to learn new skills and venture out, Zazzle is free for everyone!

I know what you might be thinking...

"I don't know how to make art!", or "I have no idea how to sell products online!"

Don't worry, Zazzle already makes it super easy for people to create products and make money.. And I'm about to make it even easier! I want to share with you a few simple things to help you get started on Zazzle!

(If you want to make money on Zazzle WITHOUT Creating any Products, find out how HERE)

Let me start out by saying that I am a completely self taught digital artist! I have had art classes in high school but nothing beyond this until recently. The only real skill one needs to have is the skill of Adaptation. If you are willing to learn a couple of simple (free) programs and learn how to manipulate images with those tools, then you can make money on Zazzle.

Even if you don't want to learn image editing software, you can take some winner shots with your camera, and use those images for Zazzle products! It's seriously that easy

GIMP 2.10.12

I am NOT an affiliate of GIMP in any way. I simply love and appreciate this valuable FREE tool! GIMP mirrors Photoshop in many way, and has most of the same features, but it doesn't cost $500+.

There are other versions of this program, but 2.10.12 is the version I currently have. With a little google search, you can find completely free brush packs with different textures, free gradient packs, free color palettes, and free tutorials on Youtube. It took me a while to put some effort into really learning how to use this amazing program, but once I did... I found that my design game completely changed!

The tools in GIMP include pencil, many brushes, scew, perspective (dragging corners like the screen shot you see on the laptop above), Hue-Chroma-Saturation and Color change, a fuzzy select which selects any space of the surrounding color you've chosen, Transformation and Morphing tools, Cartoonize and other popular filters, Tiling and repeat celection features... and OMGS so much more! Unlike many other image editing software, you can have multiple layers, and multiple windows open. What's more... If you make a mistake, there is an Undo History where you can click backward to any step you've performed and start again from there! It truly is fantastic!

GIMP is free to download here: https://www.gimp.org/downloads/ GIMP has been a trusted tool since 1996, and offer free tutorials for all of it's features.

• But what can I do with this?

Edit photos that you've taken and draw your own images.

• But what if I don't have any good images and lack confidence in my drawing?

IMAGES TO USE

First of all, find a way to gain more confidence! But if you truly don't feel you can create something on your own there is one resource that is well known... Public Domain Images.

There has been a huge stink about Public Domain Images, mostly raised by other designers and often times it's the idea that someone could make money for free or without much effort while they themselves are working tirelessly to create products.

Aside from that, it's important to understand that ORIGINAL work is what sells best on Zazzle for a very good reason. But also, it's nice to be a decent human being and not take other artists who provide Public Domain images to the world for granted.

The truth is that, when I started out on Zazzle about 4 years ago or something like that, I started with nothing but CC0 (Creative Commons Zero) and Public Domain Images. I was so excited! Like "Yeah! Imma make some money and I don't even have to work hard!"

Let me tell you how much of a failure it was. First, there's the fact that it's impossible to gain respect as a Designer when none of your work is original. Second, I made ZERO sales in the first 2 years! ZERO! Why? Because my content was not original, and Zazzle recognizes PD & CC0 images. So do Designers, and many Customers.

Also, I'd like to point out one of the main sources of CC0 Images: Pixabay. There are others, but to be honest, Pixabay is one the best. Just a year or 2 ago they changed their user agreement and it now states that the person using the image MUST alter the image in some way before it can be sold! So that solves the "Can I use this image just like it is on a product and sell it."

Pixabay is fantastic for artists who upload their work, because users can donate to the artist in the form of a "Coffee" which helps the artists get paid for all the hard work they do.

Regardless of what you choose to do to get started, use the images that are available to you so that you can play around with editing software and learn your strong points.

Of course, it's up to you to do your best to learn copyright laws, what they mean for you, and what you are expected to do to abide them. Zazzle has a team specifically for calling out those who violate copyright laws, and someone WILL notice! So always follow the law.

When I need free resources for images, I only ever use CC0 or Public Domain resources. It's important to make sure you trust the source you're getting your images from. There are tons of places that say "free"... And you may find yourself in a heap of trouble if you use them. Always, ALWAYS vet your sources!

There are other paid resources such as the Creative Market and Design Bundles sites that are good, and they too have their own terms of use so be clear on what you can and can't do with those resources.

LEARNING DESIGN SKILLS

I am in no way affiliated with Alison.com ! I wanted to mention this site because they have some pretty good FREE courses for Digital Design including Advanced Color Theory and Applied Design Principles. The courses offered are very in depth, incredible break downs for helping you understand what professional designers know, and how to use that knowledge to create amazing designs for your products. I admit, my designs and typography completely changed after taking some of these courses! And as a result, my sales grew because I was able to present unique work with the customer in mind.

WHAT CAN I DO WITH MY IMAGES

Sign up for a Zazzle Account and open your first store. These steps are very simple and I may talk deeper on this later on. Once you open your store and follow the promps on the store's homepage, you'll be well into creating products before you know it. I advise against "Quick Create" for a multitude of reasons. The main reason being that it's a waste of time! On the Products tab of your store, tap the blue "Create New Product" button. Here is a list of what you can create:

This view is far from complete. There are thousands of products to place your image on! When you choose the product you want to create on, you'll tap the blue "Customize" button to open up the editor and it looks like this:

Zazzle has tips and video tutorials on how to use the editor so I won't go too deep into that. But the editor has some pretty great features! It even has filters to apply to your image to change it's look. There are many wonderful fonts for text, a complete color picker... You can layer as many images as you need to on the print field, resize, flip, turn... Whatever you need to do. There is a small preview window on the bottom right so that you can see how the product will look, and when you click on that image it blows up to a larger preview where you can see all sides and situation images of the product to make sure you love how it looks before tapping "Done".

It's that easy. Once you're done, you can tap the "Sell" button and input your Title, description, tags, and royalty rate for that product. These things are going to play a crucial role in how your products gets placed and found in the marketplace, in searches, and even on google.

Zazzle has a very extensive reach and does most of the marketing for you! They have ads on Pinterest, Google search, many websites, Facebook and other Social Media, and they even do deals on Groupon. Zazzle's SEO is fantastic, and making sure that your tags, descriptions, and titles are fantastic is what will get you the most sales.

Pinterest is aother really great way to promote your products. Pinterest has become a search engine of it's own as well, and I personally have seen my sales boost WAY UP since I started using pinterest less than a year ago!

GETTING SEEN

People can't buy what they can't see!

When you've finally posted your product for sale, now it's time to promote it! But how? Where? When? I started out with simple free promotions on Facebook, which I still continue today. A great way to promote your Zazzle Store is to create a facebook page and begin sharing your product links (making sure you're signed into your zazzle account so that your referral link is intact). Zazzle has some pretty amazing sales all the time, so make sure you highlight on current sales in your text attached to the post.

I try to share on my pages frequently, and what I do once I've made a post is to go ahead and share it in as many groups as I possibly can. You can share your products on your personal account to your friends as well as sharing your page post on your personal account, but we want to reach more than your friends and family too. You can join "Buy, Sell, & Trade" groups that will allow your posts, Advertising and Promoting groups, and Artist groups as well provided they allow your product posts.

FACEBOOK GROUPS

A few years ago I tried out this tea company that turned out to be really shady, but they had a great advertising program and one of the only things I took away from that program was that Local Buy, Sell, and Trade groups bring the most customers. It actually turned out to be true for Personalized Zazzle Products as well. So what I mean by "Local" is not specifically local to you, but more as in a specific town or area, for example "Tulah County Buy, Sell, & Trade" (as an example and I don't think that's a real place haha!) But you get what I mean. It can be local to you, or local to another state. It's important to always abide the rules of any group you join of course, so make sure your posts are allowed. I always check, or message the admin and ask before I post. If you are not in that group's "local area", you may not be allowed to post in the group. Some care, some don't.

One other reason I find that local groups are more effective, is the fact that in "Advertising" groups, the majority of people in the group are TRYING TO SELL SOMETHING! I've gotten sales from these kinds of groups, but not as many as a targeted area or a targeted audience like "Witches & Pagans". Sellers of other kinds of products ARE STILL CUSTOMERS AT HOME though. So that's something to think about.

I've also found that in Promotion and Advertising Groups, some of these businesses may need things that Zazzle provides, like Business Cards, Event Invites, and other Promotional material that can be found in the "Office-Small Business Supplies" category on Zazzle. So those promoting their own business can still become your customers if you target the audience of the group you're posting to.

PINTERST BOARDS

Pinterest has become a huge deal for me lately. I don't always have time to get on there, but when I do, I try to pin as many products as I can. Zazzle also promotes on Pinterest and you may very well find your design promoted by them after you've posted it to a board! It may not seem like a big deal, but consider the thousands of people posting products to Zazzle every day. Pinterest's home page caters to the individual's viewing and pinning history. Say that you pinned a product related to other pins that you have pinned to a board. Everyone who is interested in that board or similar pins will have this pin suggested.... and everyone interested in what that person is interested in could also see it. The longer these pins stay up, the more views they acquire, raising your views per month. At a certain level of views per month (not sure on the actual number) you enter SEO and get suggested to more people. My Pinterest is currently at 180K views per month and I'm aiming so much higher! haha!

I'm learning from a wonderful lady who is also a Zazzle Designer and she has taught me how to use Pinterest the way she does to get so many views and sales. I am by far no expert! But she is, and what she says is to be sure to add other pins that compliment or go along with the Product pins. I'm not that great at it but 180K in a few months is pretty awesome I think.

BLOGGING

Well, as you can see from this particular blog that posting content people are interested in along with relevant products is pretty important. Again, this is something I've only recently started.... (again). I had several blogs over the years and sort of gave up on them because I didn't understand WHY it wasn't getting any views! The real problem was promotion and back then I didn't understand how to do that. Regardless of how amazing your blog posts are, what's most important to focus on when attempting to advertise on a blog is that the blog itself gets seen! This is going to mean learning SEO strategy for blogs in particular making sure it gets found by search engines, and making sure it gets seen on social media.

PODCAST & VIDEOS

Many people have had success with Podcasting. I'm still learning how to keep up with it and finding ways to let it help me create sales. Of course, my particular podcast isn't focused on selling products. It's focused on Occult Spirituality. But I do utilize the website to include Zazzle ads, and I sell merchandise specifically designed for the Podcast. You can check the site out here: https://quixoticeap.wixsite.com/cosmiccrowpc

Unfortunately I haven't been able to create any new episodes since after taking my son out of school. It has proven difficult to find quiet time to myself to make a recording worth listening to. But I do hope to return to that some day.

I add my podcast to videos that I upload to Youtube, with links to the site and my Zazzle shops in the description box. This, again, is something I'm not an expert on but many people have had success with Youtube and there are some wonderful free tutorials on how to make money with Podcasts and Videos.

OTHER PLATFORMS

I've heard many Designers talking about using Instagram and Twitter to generate sales. I haven't done so well with Twitter myself because I haven't taken the time to learn an Advertising Strategy for either of those platforms. But like any platform, all it takes is time, effort, and willingness to learn and adapt.

Other platforms I'm not sure about (but would like to explore) PaganSpace, Tumbler, Reddit, Qzone, LinkedIn, Medium, Mix (StumbleUpon), Skyrock, LiveJournal, and OpenDiary. There's also a great site called about.me where you can create a free profile with links to your shops. I thought it was really cool so I created one for myself. I'm not exactly sure how effective it is, but it's worth what little effort it takes.

CONCLUSION

I do hope this helps anyone interested in selling on Zazzle to make extra money in difficult times. Like I stated at the beginning of this post, you can still make money on Zazzle WITHOUT creating products! Be sure to find out how HERE.

I've been advised by others not to create posts about making money on Zazzle, but honestly... It benefits both parties whether one is promoting a product or creating one. Since this is a Pagan based blog, it would stand to reason that most people who read this are Pagan, and may very well begin creating more Pagan themed designs on Zazzle. That's a good thing for all of us, so have at it!

Hopefully you can find a beginning with what you've learned here, and I plan to share more tips and tricks as soon as I'm able.

I would also like to add that if you decide to create Spiritual/Pagan/Wiccan products on Zazzle I will gladly share those on my Pinterest, and here on this blog!

Thank you for reading! Have a Blessed Day and Stay Safe!

Making $$$ on Zazzle WITHOUT Creating Products!

Yes! You really can make extra money on Zazzle without creating any products! In fact, you can make MORE from my products than I do! How? Let's talk about it...

If you'd like to become a Designer on Zazzle, check out THIS POST.

BECOME A ZAZZLE AFFILIATE (Associate)

I have a lot of people ask me why I promote other people's products as well as mine. "You're trying to make money right? Why would you promote other artists? Aren't you competing for the sale?"

No, we are not in competition. I promote other artist's work as an affiliate, as well as my own products as a designer. There's one simple reason for this: Affiliates make 15% of every sale made by clicking one of their links! 15%

For those of you who aren't creating products on Zazzle, the royalty rate we set our products at plays a part in why affiliates make more money than designers in a lot of cases. For example: I never set my rate any higher than 13%, and items I sell the most are set between 10-12%. Why? Because in the marketplace one must compete with other's products to an extent. A big part of that is the price. It's debatable and I've seen a lot of sellers who set their rates much higher and say they still get a lot of sales. They say it's Consumer logic to think that the higher priced item is better. However, I've also done some digging into ProDiamond and ProPlatinum sellers and I notice that their rates aren't typically higher than my own.

What you need to know as a potential Affiliate is that when we set our rate to 15% we are charged an extra fee, so most designers don't do it. This means that you make more money than the designers do on their designs in many cases.

HOW DOES THE AFFILIATE PROGRAM WORK?

Quite simply, you take a link and post it... Anywhere people are likely to click on it. Anytime you sell a product, you make 15%. It's that easy.

When you create an account on Zazzle you are given a Referral Number. While you are logged into your account, you can use the various share buttons (one of which is a link button) to share the link with your referral number already attached. You can also add your referral number to any link on Zazzle, and Zazzle will provide information on how to do that! These links have a 45 day cookie which means if someone visits the link without buying, but then goes back a few days later to buy, your referral number is still active and you will still get your 15%. You can find all of the Zazzle Associate Program details here: https://www.zazzle.com/sell/affiliates

Follow the prompts at the link above to sign up for a free Zazzle account and start making money now!

WHAT LINKS SHOULD I BE SHARING?

There are product links and share buttons on every single product page and you can promote any product on Zazzle that you want. Zazzle also provides pre-made Banners for the site, and they give you a link for each one with your referral link already within it (provided you are signed into you account).

Here is one of their Banners:

I won't lie... I'd love for you to promote my products! But you can promote any product you that you can find an audience for.

CLICK HERE to learn more about promoting (closer to the bottom of the post)

Options for promotion include Social Media, Video Ads, Blogging, Radio & Podcasting, as well as others.

WHAT KIND OF PRODUCTS DOES ZAZZLE CARRY?

There are literally Hundreds of Thousands of products on Zazzle created by very talented designers! Zazzle's Categories include:

Accessories (229)
Art & Wall Décor (171)
Baby & Kids (251)
Clothing & Shoes (115)
Crafts & Party Supplies (294)
Electronics (257)
Home (540)
Invitations & Stationery (207)
Office & School (417)
Sports, Toys & Games (78)
Weddings (596)

The numbers next to each department show how many blank products are within each one. This view comes from the creation link for designers, and each are hyperlinked, hopefully so that you can take a look at what items are within each category. By their creator list of categories, Zazzle currently has 3,155 products for designers to post their artwork on for selling.

DESIGNERS & AFFILIATES WORKING TOGETHER

It's important for Designers and Affiliates to work together. Why?

Because EVERYONE WINS! I've often felt an air of competition on Zazzle, and I've witnessed it in the designer forums as well. Some have this idea that they must compete with other designers in order to make money. Yes, to an extent there is competition to be placed in search results and in the marketplace. However, many sales will come organically through affiliate links that are found on social media, blogs, or elsewhere.  We all know that organic traffic is best, and we also know that if our descriptions, tags, and titles are appropriate the customer WILL find our product when they search for what they want.

This air of competition, for the most part, must end if we plan to be successful and actually make money on Zazzle.

When you create a Zazzle account, you will gain access to the Zazzle Forum and there are 2 areas in the forum specifically for Affiliates: "Affiliate Design Requests", & "Affiliate Theory Advice and Generating Traffic".

The Affiliate Design Requests is where Affiliates post designs they want to see on specific products. If you accept the request and design what they want, they will then promote the product. This is an important strategy for Affiliates, because they are better acquainted with what their particular audience wants! If you are a beginner Affiliate, consider who you will be promoting to and make sure you give them exactly what they're looking for. Most successful sellers on Zazzle focus on precise niches, and as an Affiliate you will also have to decide what niches will be valuable to your viewers.

The Affiliate Theory Advice and Generating Traffic is exactly what it sounds like. Affiliates discuss there how to target their audience and specific techniques for getting traffic through to their links. It's very important information and will make a huge difference in your own success to pay attention to those who are already making money.

WORKING WITH DESIGNERS

Designers and Affiliates work well together when everyone is clear on what they need and what they like.

As an artist, it may initially be difficult to consider what the customer wants. I know it was for me at first because I simply love to create art and I already have an idea in mind for what I'm creating. But as time went by I realized how much money I was missing out on by not being flexible.

Many Affiliates expect Designers to do this. Many customers expect Designers to do this as well. If I've created something that someone likes, but they say "Can you just make that a different color, and move this thing over, and remove that particular image?"... I will do it as quickly as I can. This builds report with customers and Affiliates who will likely come to you again with requests... and that means more sales!

When you become an Affiliate, be sure you are prepared to ask for what you want. You can always choose from the thousands of products already on Zazzle, but if you like someone's style and want to cater to a specific audience, be completely clear in what you want.

One Affiliate, which I now consider a dear friend, has absolutely no problem telling me what she does and doesn't like. She will straight up tell me, "You need to move that thing, or make this color brighter. I like it but it's just off center. It needs to be fixed." At first I was put off and kind of feeling pushed around, but I realize that she's been designing for many years and that she wouldn't tell me something that isn't going to benefit both of us. Her instinct and technique is incredible, and I have come to value everything she says to me with the highest respect.

The point I wanted to make here, is that if we work together in a professional and friendly way, we all make more money than we ever would alone. It's just a WIN-WIN situation.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

I hope I've covered the most important topics here for potential Affiliates. When you create your account, you can go to "My Account" by hovering over your avatar in the top right corner. On that "My Account" page you'll find everything you need from Zazzle Tutorials to Promotional Tools.

While you may be stuck at home right now... Never underestimate the buying capabilities of other people who are also stuck at home. I've made 7 sales in the past few days which is way more than I expected (with what's currently happening in the world).

When I first started creating seriously on Zazzle, I definitely underestimated potential sales in the Pagan Community. My Pagan/Witchcraft focused shop sells more products than any other shop! If you're interested in selling within that niche you can visit the Cosmic Crow Designs shop to see what products are available.

Thank you so much for reading! I wish you Abundance and Success!

The Food and Medicine in Your Yard

One really fantastic thing you can do right now is learn about the plants we all like to call "weeds" that grow in our gardens and yards. You may be asking yourself, "Why would I care about weeds?

So the systems we've all adored and have grown comfortable with just aren't panning out. I won't talk about why, when we all know why and we're all tired of hearing about it.

Instead, let's focus on the most important things right now...

FOOD AND MEDICINE!

Both of which are growing all around you.

Notice & Warning: I am not a licensed anything at all! If you consume something or take any of this advice, you do so at your own risk. Be sure to perform your own tests to make sure you aren't allergic to something before you ingest it! I am not responsible for what you do with the information I give you. You alone are responsible for doing your own research on anything I present to you here. I am giving you general information for plants that may become useful to you, and it's up to you to research them and find out where you can get them.

It is spring time and many of these plants can be found, dried, and stored for medicinal uses. But keep in mind that the flowers especially are needed by pollinators to continue existing... So make sure you leave some for the bees and other important pollinators!

With that said, it may be more difficult for those living in large cities or concrete jungles to find these common plants, but not impossible if the need arises. The point here is to be informed about what you can take action to do in the event that you should need to.

Many of these plants can be found all over the United States, and so these are the ones I've chosen to present in this post. I will likely do a similar post for Louisiana specifically because that is where I live. I ecourage you to search for groups on facebook that focus on local foraging, what is edible, medicinal, and toxic, etc. Research your area and it's wildflowers and other plants that may be of use to you.

The first one I want to mention is one we all know. The Dandelion!

Taraxacum officinale, or Dandelion, has wonderful medicinal properties! The entire plant from root to flower is edible. The dried or fresh roots are often used to make tea, coffee, tinctures, decoctions, and salves. The flower can be used to make healing salves as well. It has been used to make treatments for stomach and liver issues, acne, high colesterol, diabetes, cancer, heartburn/indigestion, premenstrual bloat, and other bothersome problems. Photo from Pixabay.

Dead Nettle

Lamium purpureum is in the mint family and is sometimes confused with Stinging Nettle, which it certainly is not. Henbit can also be confused with Dead Nettle, but I'll talk about Henbit soon enough. Dead Nettle is completely edible, and can be use pretty much any way we would use any other greens as far as meal prep. What makes Dead Nettle so important right now is the fact that it is antibacterial, anti fungal, and anti-inflammatory. It can be used in poultices and salves for scrapes and cuts. It is also a great astringent and diuretic. So... Fantastic! I've read up on this plant and it seems that bees prefer this flower over others, so be sure not to take them all. Photo from Pixabay

Henbit

Lamium amplexicaule L., or Henbit, gets it's common name because chickens love it so much! Also another favorite choice for bees too. It reduces fevers and is super high in iron, fiber, and antioxidants which may encourage detoxing. The best ways to distinguish Henbit from Dead Nettle is that it's flowers generally point upwards, and it's leaves seem to wrap around the square stem in rings. Leaves, flowers, and stems of Henbit are edible, and a poultice of Hebit can treat many things such as cuts, burns, insect stings, and other ailments. Photo from pixabay.


Common Yellow Wood Sorrel

I tried to get a decent photo of sorrel. They are best identified at this time by their 3 green leaves in patches, but if you often confuse these with clover leaves, notice the long stem with yellow flowers that are still trying to bloom. Oxalis stricta, also called Lemon Clover or Sourgrass is edible! Ediblewildfood.com says "Wood sorrel is an incredible thirst quencher and is refreshing to eat. The leaves, flowers, and immature green seed pods are all edible having a mild sour flavour that some say resemble lemons. Wood sorrel can be added to salads, used in soups, sauces and it can also be used as a seasoning." Wood Sorrel is commonly used to treat Scurvy which is Vitamin C deficiency, as well as liver and digestive problems, and swollen gums. consuming Wood Sorrel is something of a debated subject and I have found warnings that it contains oxalic acid which could potentially damage organs, so do please do your own research on this plant before consuming, and come to your own conclusions. I add it to my salads on occasion and it tastes very good, and I've not personally had (or known anyone who's had) any serious complications because of it.


 Beaked Corn Salad

 Again, I tried to get a good photo that would show the forking stem, but I also found a great public domain image that illustrates Corn Salad for a clear look at how these stems fork upward. Valerianella olitoria of the Velarian family is edible and rich in Vitamins A, B, & C. I found a warning here: https://www.foragingtexas.com/2006/02/corn-salad.html about a very similar plant called Cudweed that one should NOT eat and be cautious of so study this plant before consuming.

Chickweed

 (Photo  posted to Flickr by John Tann at https://www.flickr.com/photos/31031835@N08/9642726485)

I encourage you to google this plant to get a better look at it. I couldn't find any in my yard just yet but I'm sure it's on it's way, or maybe I just couldn't see it because it's typical for our yard. Stem, leaves, flowers, and seeds of the  Stellaria media plant are edible. I've read that people who are allergic to daisies should not eat chickweed. The leaves are used to make herbal medicine for treating stomach problems such as constipation and bowel complications, asthma and lung disease, muscle and joint pain, skin irritations, and Vitamin C deficiency such as Scurvy. Please do research before ingesting any plant.

Cleavers

Galium aparine, also called Bedstraw, Sticky Weed, Catchweed, Goosegrass, and many other names, is commonly used for it's diuretic properties. It is edible, highly nutritious, and thought to be great for the lymphatic system.

Cleavers are said to disolve small kidney stones. It's also reported to be good for skin irritations such as psoriasis, and has been used for snake bites, spider bites, and other wounds. It was even used to heal cancer apparently.

There are so many fantastic uses for this herb! I found a wonderful site with much more information that you'll want to check out if you are interested in using this fairly common plant usually thought of as a nuisance.

You can find more info here:

https://www.rjwhelan.co.nz/herbs%20A-Z/cleavers.html

I've also read that it's a good idea to blanch Cleavers for eating, as it will get rid of the "Sticky hairs". 

Common Plantain

(Photo by Jesse Taylor found HERE.)

Plantain is one of those plants I seriously wish was growing in my yard! But my bestie Amiti mailed me some seeds and this year we'll have plenty of it! Plantago major is one of those "weeds" you are going to want to pay attention to! It is anti-viral, anti-microbial, anti-fungal, and an anti-inflammatory. It is an expectorant that soothes bug bites and stings as well. Not only that, but it's full of important Vitamins and Minerals such as Iron. All parts of this plant is edible.

Lyre-Leaf Sage

Hopefully you can see them good enough. Be sure to look them up if you're not certain! It's leaves toward the ground tend to have "purple veins", and the plant has a square stem. Salvia lyrata (also called Cancerweed) is a great source of Vitamin C. Dried leaves and flowers of the Lyre-Leaf Sage are used to make tea for treating coughs, colds, and digestive problems. The root is used to make poultices for wounds. It has a good amount of fiber, is used as a gentle laxative and natural "Gas-X", and antiacid. The entire plant is edible.

There is much more food and medicine to be discovered in your own yard, parks, woods (where you have permission to look). These are only a few, and I may add a new post with more plants later as well.

On the list of plants you should check out are also:

Perslane

Dewberries

Spiderwort

Mugwort

Pennywort

Ground Ivy

Cattails

Red Clover

White Clover

Wild Onions

Garlic Mustard

Miner's Lettuce

Stinging Nettle

Yarrow

Willow

Daisy Fleabane

Many of these plants and "Weeds" grow throughout the United States, and have many medicinal uses. And they are all edible!

If you're interested in learning more about foraging, I suggest joining a local foraging group. I've found one for Louisiana that is absolutely fantastic and I learned much just by scrolling and reading posts and comments. Join a group that will help you identify edible and non-edible plants. Learn about the healing properties of plants and trees, as this can be quite invaluable information in any situation.

Take care, stay Blessed, and Bring Light and Knowledge to those around you.

Altar Tiles: What Are They Good For?

🎼 Absolutely Everything! 🥁

The Altar Tile is an interesting subject for me. I often find myself wondering... 'Does everyone see the altar tile the same way I do? Is it this important to everyone else?'

So I really wanted to explore this concept and find out just how important these things are. I asked 20 people who practice magick in one form or another if they use an altar tile, and how important it was to them. I was in for a surprise when I compared the answers, and I think you'll be surprised too!

18 out of 20 people prefer to use an altar tile during ritual. 16 people have an altar tile on their permanent altars, and 2 people have one stashed for ritual purposes. As we know, some people are not able to have a permanent altar and that's understandable!

What I found interesting though, is that only half of the participants in this survey were able to sufficiently explain why they even use one. So I think it's an important issue to explore and discuss.

The round altar tile you see above has been a part of my permanent altar since 2003. I found it in a Goodwill store in South Louisiana as part of a small plant stand, and decided I could paint it and use it for my own purposes. I have other altar tiles that I've purchased for more temporary setups or "open" rituals and I tend to keep this one out of anyone else's reach.

What should be noted is WHY this tool becomes important the more you use it, especially over time. Not only does it collect combined focused energy... But the importance of the pentacle symbol will come down to your own connection with it's purpose.

When we begin learning magick, whatever form it might be, we learn about tools, what they represent, and how they should be used. Now it has been repeated by me many times that "the tools don't make the magick!" and that is very true. What makes the magick is YOU, but we've got to understand the very psychological roots of what makes magick work.

All of the major tools used inside of the circle correspond to an element, and like the elements, those tools in turn correspond to very deep psychological stations within the subconscious or unconscious mind. Air is the sharpened mind, Fire is the passionate will, Water is the emotional tide, and Earth is the manifested physical world (the body).

The pentacle represents Earth on the altar, as we all know... But more than this, we use it as a focal point because it represents taking that which is yet to manifest and giving it physical form. It acts as a gateway or a window through which we pass the incorporeal into manifestation.

Aside from the element of Earth literally embodying the essence of physical form, the symbol of the pentacle with an enclosed circle represents all 4 elements in unity with the 5th element... that of the Quintessence. The 5 elements in unity hold the physical form together in balance and animation.

It is only when we make deep connections to why we are doing something that we give it true purpose and meaning. The Altar Tile (or paten) holds some physical object during ritual to which we focus all energy of the working into. It may be a candle, a stone, a piece of paper, or anything else we are working with, and that placement upon the pentacle becomes the portal through which we change something from an energetic state into a physical reality.

The process of manifestation through witchcraft always has and always will be a psychological process, and understanding how the imagery and tools attribute to that process will make all the difference in the world. The point of "practicing" magick isn't simply to repeat rituals over and over until something works. It is to condition the subconscious and unconscious mind to respond to the language of magick that we use within the circle. If we misunderstand the purpose for the tools and symbol that we use... They most likely will do us no favors in manifestation.


But I don't Have an Altar Tile! What Can I do?


Don't Panic! It's not necessary to rush out and spend tons of money on a fancy tile. If you can't afford to buy one, draw a pentacle on a piece of paper! If you can, stay within the realm of what triggers your deep understandings and purpose for using it. maybe use the color brown, or black on brown paper... Or orange, or whatever that symbolism is to you personally.

If you would like to purchase an altar tile, I always advise that you choose something that speaks to you! Don't just buy something because it's "cool". Really observe how your body and mind respond to it. If it feels like manifestation... It Surely Is!

Here are some of my favorite Altar Tile designs from Zazzle designers, and myself of course.

The Temple Stone Medieval Tile is a VERY nice design by the Celestial Coven Atelier shop. It has fantastic details of Celtic knot work with a dome shaped feel toward the center of the pentacle.

This beautiful Celtic Dragon Pentagram Tile is from the "pentagramster" shop, and there's something about this design that just strikes me as... Well I don't know, It's Just Friggin Awesome and I love it! haha!

This is one of my more recent designs with the element of Earth in mind. The Gold Pentacle and Snake with Roses tile features a beautiful and surprisingly colorful Serpent and watercolor floral arrangement. The serpent is often considered an Earth Elemental so creating a tile featuring this lovely design just had to happen!

If you're wanting something a little simpler, here is a wonderful "Wiccan & Magick Pentagram Sandstone Coaster" design created by the La Marea Naranja shop. The sandstone coasters are 4.25" in diameter, have a cork backing to save surfaces, and make a great alternative to ceramic tiles.

The Copper Pentacle Coin Celtic tile is one of my best sellers! The medallion behind this pentacle gives the illusion of an etched metal surface and that somehow felt very "earthy" to me.

If you're looking for something a little "lighter", the 3D Floral Pentacle Tile might just be the thing. It was created by the Gemini_Moon shop and I love this hand drawn artwork!

Or if you're wanting something a little more serious, the Sigillum Dei Aemeth Ceramic Tile could be what you need. Coming from Elizabethan era system of Dr.Dee & E Kelley for altar piece created by the 10th_aethyr_sigillium shop.

Here is another recent creation of mine. The Earth Pentacle with Sunflower & Dragonfly Altar Tile design was again created with the element of earth and it's powers of regeneration and manifestation in mind to hold those deep connections to the earth element.

Here's another very simple design by the CD Symbols shop. The Pentacle Grunge Rust Ceramic Tile is my top pick for the "least girly altar tile", as I notice that a lot of the designs within the search for altar tiles are often purple, girly, or floral... Something I shall ponder on remedying in the near future in my own shop. I guess being who I am as a designer, I most typically create things that I think are pleasing, so maybe I can afford to "grow" as a designer just a little!!!😂 But just like everything else we do, it's a learning process.

While it was on my mind, I did manage to create this design with some amazing high quality leather texture.

The Brown Leather Embossed Bronze Corner Tile was somewhat satisfying to finish. I think it's those simple textures and accents that give me a certain "medieval" reminiscence, maybe? I did enjoy creating it!

Now this one I'm pretty proud of! The Silver Triple Moon Diamond Star Altar Tile was intended to emit a very light and ethereal vibration. It is decorated with shining diamonds and rests over a marbled blue foil background. I added in some text that you can customize on the top blue ribbon, and along the bottom curve. The idea I had was maybe a sacred name and personal mantra or something to that effect. That's completely optional and I think it looks fantastic without the text as well. The Blue Ribbon Silver Frame is fairly recognizable as a CC0 image but I think I spruced it up just enough to create something elegant and intriguing.


Many of the tiles that I have created which aren't "girly" in a sense, are Goetic Seals and other Sigils. So if you're interested in those you can check them out in the every growing Altar Tiles Collection along with many other designer's work.

I hope you like my picks for Altar Tiles on Zazzle! There are many other beautiful and interesting designs to discover so follow any product link in this post and use the search tool to find what you're looking for!

However you choose to practice your magick, make sure it speaks to you personally, on the deepest level! When you can feel it in your bones... You're doing it right!

Spring Book Review "A New Beginning" by Wendy Rfeffer

I am so delighted to review this book! I did leave a glowing review on Amazon for this book which is where I found it. I gotta say... As a homeschooling pagan family this book meets all needs of teaching children about spring traditions that stretch back thousands of years, from all over the world! The author is not shy about using the word "Pagan" among discussions on other religions, and it's so wonderful to show children that it's ok to learn about many religions and cultures besides their own.

"A New Beginning - Celebrating the Spring Equinox" is a fact filled, bright and colorful book perfect for kids of all ages. The illustrations are colorful, keeps a child's attention, and shows some of the most fascinating traditions. The author explains in detail scientific facts about the equinox, animal behavior during that time, as well as a run through of what the sun does throughout the seasons.

But my favorite part of all... are the activities added to the back of this book! After reading about all the wonderful spring celebrations, there are crafts and even recipes that are perfect for kids and parents to try out together making this book one of my all time favorite Spring Time books!

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who celebrates the Spring Equinox in any way, pagan or not! I'm always looking out for material rich in tolerance and support to share with my son, and this purchase has been one of the best.

If you know of other books like this, share them with me in the comments!

Ostara Spring Equinox Celebrations!

The Spring Equinox is upon us, and in the spirit of springtime, we celebrate new light, new life, and the springing forth of all the Earth's bounty. This equinox, which typically falls around March 20th, is celebrated by many different cultures all around the world. It's ancient pagan traditions are found within many modern religions today in the form of colorful eggs, themes of death and rebirth, and in our little hopping, long eared friends displayed as fictional characters bestowing sweet gifts and blessings.

Ostara, or Eostre (Eostra), is the Anglo-Saxon Goddess of the Dawn. In modern Druid Traditions Ostara is Called Albon Eilir which means "Light of the Earth", and is the second of three spring celebrations which is celebrated between Imbolc and Beltane.

For my family, the Main themes of our Ostara celebrations are Rebirth, Love & Warmth, Fertility, and the Sharing of Blessings and Support. This year, Ostara falls on March 19th for us, and as we prepare for this holiday, we can see the wildlife outside bounce and sway to the drums of Spring, adding their own sweet notes to the symphony of renewed life that follows the Sun's path as it grows warmer. All of nature becomes filled with the anticipation and excitement of Spring.

As a homeschooling mom, I find great joy in sharing the earth's cycles and pagan traditions with my son, helping him gain a sense of appreciation for the natural world around us. I've found some amazing pagan friendly books to share with him about the Spring Equinox and I can't wait to share those with you! You can soon find those reviews here on this blog. But for the moment, I'm more interested in sharing with you some wonderful ways to celebrate, and decorate, for this glorious occasion!

1. Dyeing eggs is one of the most common activities during the Spring Equinox. One of the coolest things I've found that my son and I can do is try to find plants and foods to dye eggs with, and see what kind of colors we can get. Here I've created an image to show some simple and common ingredients used to naturally dye eggs:

The dyes are made by bringing your chosen ingredient and one cup of water to a boil in a pot, and then simmering on low for about 15-20 minutes. Allow the dye to cool, then strain it and add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar per each 1 cup of water. This solution can then be poured over the eggs, and placed in the refrigerator until you get the color you like. It's such a great and fun little experiment to try with kids!

2. We also enjoy making "Sprout Houses". I've found some wonderful instructions for making those HERE, so you can check that out and see what kind of Fairy Castles are possible with this method!

Like any other family we enjoy a good Egg Hunt, we like to make Kites, plant seeds, and above all... Just enjoy nature all together. We also Love to Make what I call Casting Eggs!

3. Casting Eggs (or Blessing Eggs) are hollowed out egg shells filled with herbs, perfumes, glitter, and love! Eggs filled with Confetti are still a common tradition in Mexico today, and they are called Cascarones. In ancient pagan traditions, it was customary to surprise someone with the Blessing Egg, which was filled with blessing herbs and perfume, by smashing it on top of the person's head and running away! It's also remeniscent of the Anglo Saxon celebrations of the Goddess Eostre who brought her friend Lepus down to Earth to spread joy and blessings among all creatures. I love this tradition, and we've incorporated all of these ideas into the "Casting Egg".

To create these fantastic cells of joy, we poke holes at each end of the egg and blow out all the insides. We then carefully create an opening at the top of the egg once it's dried, and add in everything we want to put inside. I, of course, always take into account the ingredients I add to create an actual spell for fertility, prosperity, and blessing. Once the egg is filled, we then tape the tops back on. If you'd like more detailed instructions, I'm sure there are better ways and you can find many videos on youtube about how to make Cascarones. It's just such a fun project, and an absolutely delightful way to deliver your bright blessings to everyone you love!

With all of the great traditions we can discover for celebrating the Spring Equinox, it's also important to ask yourself as a pagan...

• How Can I Decorate for Ostara, or Find Pagan Specific Products for This Sabbat?!?

I know it can be hard. My son and I would always end up making our own paper decorations because all I could ever find in stores are Easter Bunnies. While some of those decorations could work here and there, it was hard to feel like "we" just don't have a marketplace specifically for Pagans and Wiccans full of things we actually care about.

Once I discovered Zazzle and saw that there were other pagan artists with the same idea... I realized that there really WAS a market for us! It is the main reason I began selling on Zazzle, simply to provide items for Pagan & Wiccan families and individuals! For my son and I, it's difficult to feel a sense of community where we live and I'm sure many families have the same issue. With access to the internet, to pagan specific books and products however, it becomes much easier to provide a sense that we DO have a place in the world and that there are many, MANY people out there just like us! So here are my top picks from Zazzle for Spring Equinox Celebrations!

This Spring Equinox Flower Maiden Party Invitation is my first stab at a Sabbat invitation and I think it worked out quite well. It is a beautiful and vibrant watercolor collage design for inviting your friends and family to your Ostara celebration. Zazzle takes the invitation and card industry quite seriously, and even with the amount of Pagan shops on Zazzle there are very few Sabbat Invitations. This is a market I will definitely be exploring more of, simply because I think our celebrations deserve to be treated as if they are important to us... Because they are!

Here's a colorful way to serve your Ostara Treats! The vivid Celtic Equinox Sun and Moon paper plate design was created by "That Pagan Artist" on Zazzle, and the image is simply beautiful! It displays the equal day and night of the Equinox and honors the reason for our celebration.

Here is a wonderful Ostara Banner created by the ScreamingShadows shop. It is a clear depiction of Eostre walking the Earth to give blessings and fertility to all. The banner is of lightweight and flexible material and is 2.5'l x 6'w (horizontal) or 6'l x 2.5'w (vertical).

Now here is something I wasn't able to find, so I decided I better make some! These are Temporary Tattoos for Ostara! What a fun way for kids and adults to adorn themselves with vibrant spring colors and Goddesses to celebrate the Equinox! Each of these designs are also available on Greeting Cards, Keychains, and many other products that you can find HERE!

Need Napkins for your party? Here is a bright and colorful Sweet Wildflower Spring design perfect for Ostara, or any Spring Gathering! This design is also available on Coasters, Car Air fresheners, Pillows, and More!

As for Home Decor, one of the coolest products on Zazzle, I think, are the custom Photo Plaques! As a customer you can add any image you want to them, but as a designer I've chosen to use the Photo Plaques for a specific purpose. These plaques are perfect for the altar, and for Sabbat Decorations. This Sun Shine Ostara Rabbit design is a watercolor collage full of bright and colorful flowers and springtime imagery. I've created many Altar Plaques over the years, but this by far is one of my favorites!

Another fantastic design I found is this "In Bloom" pillow design created by Ashley Ryan from her ArtOfAshleyRyan shop. Her art is simply Luscious and Magickal!

For those of us who enjoy making mini "Egg Trees" for Ostara, here is a wonderful Ostara in Blooming Tree ceramic Ornament! The Goddess is depicted elegantly and peacefully, surrounded by the beautiful blooms of spring.



Zazzle has so many wonderful products created by Pagans, for Pagans that just can't be found anywhere else! I truly hope you've enjoyed my ideas and product picks for Ostara. And I sincerely hope you have a Blessed and Beautiful Spring Equinox Celebration!

Growing Popularity of the Pixel Glitch

The Pixel Glitch digital abstract technique isn't exactly new, but had only come into my world a few years ago. Once I found myself admiring abstract "Glitch Art", I attempted to figure out how I might be able to create some myself. It took a long time to perfect these digital creations of course since at the time I had only begun learning digital arts, and once I did I became absolutely addicted to it!

Example of the well recognized "Glitch". Image by Enrique Meseguer on Pixabay

The glitch was first observed as an abstract art form in a new media art display called "Digital TV Dinner" by Jamie Fenton and Raul Zaritsky in 1978. The "Glitch" grew from there into both genres of music, and artistic visual expression through the 80's, 90's, and into the 2000's. It has been embraced by Fractal Artists as an addition to textural aesthetics and continues to claim a relevant place within the artistic expression of many graphic designers today.



I enjoyed creating these so much that I've dedicated an entire category in my PillowVine shop. To the left you can see one of my favorite Pixel Glitch designs "Dark Blue Falling Pixel Glitch", which gives the illusion of a deep recess between each layer of falling pixels. The "Falling Pixel" glitch is growing in popularity, and for good reason. These modern digital creations add a touch of artistic value to every space, and mix well with nearly any modern decor style.


 After experimenting with pixel glitches, I tried to incorporate more iridescent looks since glitter and shine has become quite popular as well, and the mixture gave me a tremendous surprise!

Needless to say, I've fallen in love with Falling Pixels! And it's apparent that many others have as well! Just a few months after I perfected my own system for creating these artistically expressive pieces, I noticed many others taking to this wonderfully delightful trend!

It occurred to me then, to search Zazzle for this fantastic digital art style and gather up my favorites for the Best Glitch Art on Zazzle Collection. It seems I'm late to the party! There are so many amazing artists on Zazzle and many digital artists who create Glitch Art. I hope you enjoy the products I've selected for the collection, and discover more beautiful and artistic expressions!

Kelly Who?

I bet you're probably wondering, "Who is this weird person?"

Obviously my name is Kelly, I live in Louisiana, and LaCreaux is not my real last name of course. I prefer to keep my real last name to myself, although it's not too difficult to find out for those talented diggers who care to try.

I'm a single mother of a special needs boy who's currently 8 years old, and he happens to be my favorite person in the whole world! And why wouldn't he be?! He's super awesome!

I like to think of myself as a unique individual, having gone through very in-depth works of individuation in both a psychological and spiritual sense, if indeed those two things can be separated. I'm a digital designer, experimental artist in acrylic medium, writer, amateur photographer, podcaster, mystic, and ordained minister. I find art where others may see the mundane, and I find magick where others may see nonsense I suppose. I've practiced magickal traditions for nearly 30 years, have performed many public ritual services, and taught many students over the years. 

But is this really what you want to know about me? I find it difficult to explain myself to people, like most other introverts I assume. There was a time in my life when I didn't consider myself an introvert, when I traveled as much as possible and made the best of any situation I found myself in. Today, I'm more of a homebody. I spend my time homeschooling my son, creating new designs for my Zazzle shops, and traversing the astral realms to discover that which has yet to be discovered within.

You're probably asking yourself, "Why does she have to talk about weird things?"

Over the years I've learned the connection between psychology and magick, and it's one of the things I have frequently address during episodes on my podcast. Magick and spirituality is a language used to talk about things we simply have no other words for in most cases, and as someone who works intensely within the realm of Jungian Psychology it becomes apparent that Carl Jung also discovered these languages and their connections to the human mind. Most notably in his works are expressions of Alchemical Transformation, which birthed every western mystical tradition that we know of.

It should be noted that things are not always what they seem, and no word has only one meaning. But more to the point, spiritual and emotional mastery is always an important goal of mine, and so these things will always be in the forefront of everything I do. It's always good to take things less literal, and more playful or metaphorical from me.

As for my art.... I began as a self taught artist, and for years I painted portraits for clients until I developed carpal tunnel and could no longer do as I once did. So I took to experimental paint pouring with acrylics and found it quite enjoyable though I consider it more of a hobby than anything else. I became interested in digital design about 5 years ago and began my journey as a self taught digital artist. I came upon an opportunity to better my knowledge and skill through Graphic Design courses and have scored very high, gaining both professional technique and confidence in what I do. It's quite easy to tell the difference between zazzle products I made 3 years ago, and those I create today with a better sense of design quality. My high scores have earned certificates in Graphic Design, Applied Design Principles, Advanced Color Theory, Visual and Typographic Design, as well as Modern Marketing Strategies, Personal Relations, and Advertising.

I love creating beautiful imagery! While a lot of my end products are considered "collage art", this in no way diminishes the hours of working those pieces together to create something unique and visually attractive. It has become my full time job and I love every minute of it!

And now, I bet you're wondering what you can expect from this blog...

I have so many interests and it was very difficult for me to decide on one thing! Therefore, you should expect a melting pot. At least that's where I'm starting, and like all great goulash it must begin with a mixture and cook until it resembles something delicious! I plan to begin with what I know, and see how things shape up! While I am a very busy lady, with homeschool and work, I intend to update the blog once a month to bring you fresh designs, information, and chatter! So I hope you enjoy it!