#thriftcraft

In one of the Discord Servers I am a Guardian of, I posted a list of Thriftcraft techniques and some pointers/tips that had been brought up. The Question of the Week was discussing Thriftcraft tips and ideas. Here was my contribution that some people do not normally think about:

Ivy went to Goodwill and Dollar Tree today, and came back with a few really neat things!!!

Gifts From Your Garden by Norma Myers

and Easy Enchantments by Lexa Rosean

$2 each can’t wait to see what I find within these pages 💖 🖤🔮🌿

Brooklynn Music

shot by: @alwaystowi 

Elemental Candle DIY

All you need are 

some base candles (I chose white because 2 reasons, I had them on hand, and conveniently, Magic to me is White in color)

A t-lite for a constant flame source,

 lighter

 a metal spoon for melting large quantities of wax

I also used some old bits of colored candles, and crayons to make the colored wax blends you see on each. 

I have seen a TON of youtubers do videos about ordering from wish, and how it always goes a little bit wrong. So, I decided to buy the riskiest thing I could think of....Rocks. 

I have been studying rocks and minerals for about 5 years now, longer if I really think about it, so I know what to look for when buying rocks, especially online. Most people don’t, which is why they end up with bad purchases and fake stones and end up leaving bad reviews complaining of FAKE! I searched for about 45 minutes to find what I was going to buy in order to best avoid fake stones. 

Stones and minerals are so often faked, sometimes a stone is straight glass, other times it’s one stone disguised as another stone, sometimes it’s resin and plastic in the shape of a stone. So I bought a lot of rocks that looked pretty amazing

I had gotten it for $12 at time of purchase, with $8 shipping. $20 not a bad deal for 3 spheres on their own so I said okay sold. 

Packaging wasn’t bad at all really! I don’t have complaints about how it arrived. It was cushioned with multiple layers of bubble packing, then a velvet lined pouch within, and then within some plastic bags. 

So, really not bad! 

So, are they real? Was it worth it? 

For the most part, this was not a bad purchase. All of it seems to be real, if a little lesser quality than the ad made me expect. the only piece I think is man made, is the howlite obelisk. It has a really weird texture, and leaves your hands feeling chalky. I have never handled cut and polished howlite that made me feel this way after touching it, and the striping in the stone are all settled near the bottom. Makes me think more of granite than howlite. 

The hearts are decent, not the best cut, but decent. The agate teardrop is beautiful, and gives off an orangey tint when held to light. 

There are a couple of things I am disappointed in. 

The main photo, shows Malachite in the small mix, I sorted through the entire little baggie, and got 2 itty bitty chunks.

 Everything else was a mix of your standard tourist shop pieces, tiger’s eye, aventurine, sodalite, clear quartz, carnelian and red jaspers, and a bit of amethyst. 

These are all useful stones for sure, but they are TINY; Everything in this set is smaller than the picture makes it appear. The small bag of mixed stones, the stones are smaller than aquarium gravel. Super tiny. Luckily for me, I have use for pieces this small, but most people won’t. 

The spheres are 1.5″ in diameter, and I have no idea what the dark one is. I thought smoky quartz, but it is not see through in the slightest, so I am assuming it’s obsidian, or black glass. 

My other complaint, is that the labradorite, amethyst point, rhodonite piece, and kyanite shard are all minimally tumbled and cleaned. The kyanite still had dirt on it from collection, and the labradorite has no shine, even on it’s semi-polished side.