The Law of Misfortune

When everything goes wrong, something better comes along,
Though perhaps you'll have to wait--it might show up very late.
But bottoms are a myth if the universe won't stop;
Every bottom is a ceiling, you're just standing on the top.

A Blanket Fort a Month: December '14

We're working on a new photo project called "You're Missing It" and this photo happens to serve as the very first photo in the project.

Christmas Spirit

We have tea that smells like those cinnamon pine cones in the front of every store and the first few times I drank it, it tasted like Christmas, but now it just tastes exactly and only like those pine cones.

Free Printable Christmas Stickers

To anybody who gets mail from Silkworm and I: you're gonna be seein' these all over your envelopes like everywhere while it's Christmastime. You're welcome.

Mission of Magic: Cellophane Window Messages

I hope somebody sees this. I hope they understand.

For somewhat of a tutorial, you can refer to our post in which we made cellophane window jack-o-lanterns for this past Halloween. Obviously cut out letters to write words instead of little jack-o-lanterns, you silly goose. And just remember to trace your letters backwards so when you put the thingy on the window with the nice side facing outward, the letters will be the right way (we almost forgot!).

This Mission idea is also featured in our Missions of Magic zine, which we've listed for sale at our Etsy shop for only $3! It comes with stickers and everything, and it would make heaps of fun for a little Christmas gift where you and the gift receiver embark on a Grand Mission to complete all the Missions of Magic in the zine before the day is done!

Have you been doing any Missions or random acts lately?

Thoughtful Handmade Gift Ideas

Want a really big squishy hug from your gift receiver this year?
Of course you do, that's what Christmas is all about.



1. An original zine about something the person loves. If they love bees, research a bunch of facts about bees and compile a zine of all the cool stuff you learned so they can learn it, too.

2. A deck of cards with 52 reasons why you love the person written on the cards. Sweet things like "I love you because you smell like honey and flowers" or goofy things like "I love you because your name spelled backwards spells Ynot."

3. A mixtape or CD playlist of songs you know the person would love. Songs with inside jokes living in them, or songs with sentimental meaning, or just sons you think would delight your person's musical taste buds.

4. A scrapbook of things that made you think of the person. You know when you're scrolling through the Internet and you stumble across that one meme? Or when you're in the grocery store and something related to an inside joke happens but your friend isn't there to share the moment? Collect those things and put 'em all in one spot to let that person know how much they're on your mind!

5. Silly badges for doing things that mean a lot to you. Best backrubber in town. Chef genius. Superior snuggler. Check out this fantastic badge tutorial for making your own badges!

6. A heavily annotated and analyzed book you know the person would love. I don't know, I find it fun to compare my interpretations of fiction with someone else's! Point out quotes and use sticky notes to write what you were thinking while reading a certain part.

December 6th's Full Moon

So didja catch that we never mentioned November's full moon last month? Welp, strange things did happen, but we weren't at liberty to speak of such things until they were done and done, so we just let it slip and hoped no one would ask. Kudos to you for not gettin' too curious.

Anywho, now that's what's done is done--Silkworm was chosen by the moon to be part of Team Plan B for a top secret mission which we're still not allowed to blab about, but rest assured all the stars are nicely aligned and there's no need to panic anymore. He spent November training for the mission, which pretty much means I slept alone every night while he was awake on the moon doing whatever magical stuffed bears do with minimal gravity and what not.

There was surprisingly not much to talk about every morning when he returned, though I am quite jealous about one thing: he learned how to fly. Unfortunately, exhilarating as it is, he has to dip into his own magic and use it like gasoline, and although it replenishes, flying leaves him thoroughly exhausted, stiff, and mute. Supposedly he can train himself to use his resources more sparingly and therefore efficiently, like how a bear slows its heartbeat and breathing in winter to hibernate, but as of right now, he's mostly grounded.



Graciously, as a treat for his participation, the moon allowed Silkworm immunity from moon sickness throughout December, thus we have nothing to report back about December's full moon yesterday morning. Actually, we had a lovely night's sleep Friday night into Saturday morning. Both of us are wishing Silkworm would be given more opportunities like this, if only for the benefits that come with them. In the meantime, I think we'll be researching magical flying techniques. Do you think they have books on that kind of thing at the library?

Would You Rather: RaChil at The Cwafty Blog

This is RaChil. She's a crafter filled with quirk and a jack of all trades, always eager to learn a new skill. She organizes hosts around the world for a flat-Stanley-esque creature, Venture the traveling gnome, and goes on awesome art adventures. This is what we asked her:

Q: Would you rather be unable to look up at the sky or see everything in black and white?

A: To be honest this one is sort of easy for me. I like sunsets, clouds, stars and everything the sky has to offer really, but I would much rather see in color than black and white forever.So I personally would sacrifice my sky privilege for my seeing in color privilege.

I'm an artist so color plays a giant role in my life. I use color daily in my work and regular life. Purple in specific is very important to me and I like to surround myself with purple things. My life would be much sadder if I could not identify the color purple but only saw in black and white.

Color brightens my day, I like seeing strange or rare colors in my daily life for example in someone outfit I pass on a street or a plant I see while on a walk. I like to have discussions with other artistically minded people about what the exact color something is and what the appropriate name for that shade is, that's a great time to me.

On the other hand if I could look at the sky but everything was in black and white I wouldn't be enjoying the true splendor of the sky. A sunset isn't the same in black and white, neither is a good dark-purple clouded night. To get Shakespearean, T'would be better to never place mine eyes on such beauty if by seeing, I muddied the water.

I would wear an extra long visor my whole life never to see the sky if it meant I could retain the ability to see in color.

- RaChil

Playlist: For Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
Santa Claus is Coming to Town - The Jackson 5
Shake Up Christmas - Train
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Jack Johnson
The Christmas Waltz - She & Him
Baby It's Cold Outside - Zooey Deschanel and Leon Redbone
O Tannenbaum - Vince Guaraldi Trio
Douglas Mountain - Raffi

New Missions of Magic Zine Listed on Etsy!

Looky looky, my cookies! Silkworm and I have finally listed on our Etsy shop a special zine we've been working on since we posted that notice about Enchantemissary recruitment! This thing is chock full of information on Missions of Magic, but the best part about it is that it has 8 assignment Missions in the last bunch of pages for the reader to complete, and along with those Missions, you get little badge stickers to use when you finish a Mission. There's a page with a collection of circles with each Mission title inside, and upon completing each Mission, you can stick down the sticker badge for it over the corresponding circle.

We've had this idea floating around in our heads for quite some time as we weren't sure how we wanted to go about it, but I think we're both ecstatic about how this came out. If you have any feedback or questions, please let us know--and without further ado, have a look inside!

In Preparation for Christmas

I genuinely get a little nervous every year around Christmastime, questioning if I'm being disrespectful to say I celebrate Christmas. This year I think my head has figured out a satisfying answer. I like to think there are two different Christmases--and I like to think that's okay. One is a religious holiday for Christians to celebrate Jesus Christ, and the other is "the Christmas spirit," which belongs to anyone else who believes in spreading happiness and kindness. I like to think as long as you're not disrespecting the original meaning of Christmas whilst celebrating the secondary meaning, it's no act of blasphemy. But that's just what I like to think. What do you think?

Nevertheless, Silkworm and I have been preparing for months now. We've already sent a package to my best friend at college--not like it made a dent in our to-do list. Here's a peek of what's been happening and what's to come for Zauberbear!



Being that December 1st was a Monday, we've already started doing a Mission of Magic every Monday with yesterday's mission. Stay tuned for more, and that playlist, and our greeting card photo, and a bunch of other wonderful updates!

Mission of Magic: Rock House Community in the Woods

We went out early while the sunrise faded away. The air was warm and damp and I felt five pounds heavier on my right side with a bag full of rocks in my pocket. Silkworm was free to skip along ahead since our car was the only one in the parking lot and he insisted he couldn't sense any other humans in the park. We vowed to go out this early for hikes here more often.

We found a tree with nice roots to set up the community. One by one, I pulled the rocks out of my pocket and positioned them neatly in the grooves of the roots, hoping it'd be enough to keep them upright.

It would be nice to return to see them still there, but it would be just as nice to return and see some the houses, or all of them, have disappeared, probably to belong in other peoples' gardens. Either way, they'll make wonderful homes for any fairies that can find their way inside when the weather drops below freezing again.