Ready to get started!

Well, I've ordered the final components for my grimoire, and I'm ready to get started! I've got book board, leather, endpapers, screw posts, glue and ribbon! I'll probbly need to wait until things slow down a little bit, but I look forward to it! I've also got my lectern on the way, (see below) so before long I'll have a total setup! Hopefully my next post will be showing off my completed book!
Until then!

My finished lectern!

I'm so excited! My lectern (courtesy of New Renaissance Woodcraft) is finally done! It is made of purple heartwood (yes, it is naturally that color, and it gets darker over time!) with black leather panels. It also features a built-in compartment to store (and lock away) my grimoire when it's not in use! The lectern was roughly $300. If you'd like a lectern, I highly recommend New Renaissance Woodcraft. They will make your lectern completely customized to your needs. Just ask! I originally wanted to make the lectern out of ebony, but the price would have been over $1000 dollars for such a rare wood. But I am more than happy with the purple heartwood. When I receive it, and when I get settled in (after moving), I'll be sure to post pictures of the lectern in its resting place!

What do you think?

Hey everyone! I don't know if anyone still checks up on here because it's been so long, but things have been so busy! I'll be moving home on Tuesday! Yay!
So anyway, I was desperately thinking of something to post, and an idea just came to me! What is your grimoire/book of shadows like? Do you keep a disc? Do you have an elaborate leather book? Did you buy it or make it? What inspired you to compile it? What sorts of things do you write about? Leave a comment and tell the world!
Oh, and I've updated my jetpack of links, which you can see from the link to the left.
Be back soon!

Usefull Website

See, I told you I'd post soon! Anyway, I found a wonderful website called the Internet Sacred text Archive. It's basically a huge database with thousands of religious books, new and old. Two sections of note are the Internet Book of Shadows, here, and the Grimoire page, here. I think that page is still under development, but it's worthy of bookmarking! Be sure to explore the rest of the site too. It looks like a good way to learn about world religions, not to mention interesting!

Speak out to this misinformation site!

Hello again everyone. This article is not related to grimoires, but I really want to spread the word about it. Here is a copy of the article I posted to the Witch's Voice . . .

Today I came across a horrible website that is spreading hate about not only witchcraft and Wicca, but also Judaism and many other peaceful religions! While I think that the site owner may have good intentions (to "save" so-called "evil-doers") , he/she doesn't have a clue what he/she's talking about . . . We as witches, Wiccans, Pagans, etc, have enough trouble with superstitions and hate as it is. Unfortunately, when I searched for "about witchcraft" on Google, this website was the fourth link on the results page. How will we ever be able to face the world without persecution if this and other websites are blaring out our supposed evil ways? Let's speak out to the site owner; tell him or her who we really are. We are not evil criminals out to cause harm in the world. You know as much as I do that we just want to be able to live happy, healthy and peaceful lives. This is one way that we can make a difference. Together we are strong!
Here is the link to the page in question:
http://www.exposingsatanism.org/witchcraft.htm

Much love and light to all,

Nefabit

Sacred Mists Grimoires

Sacred Mists is a wonderful store with a huge selection of products. One of their highlights is the Create-A-Grimoire system, designed to make grimoire crafting easy and fun! Their binders are scrapbook-style and post bound, and come in a wide variety of materials from leather to silk. They also have a huge selection of parchment and paper to choose from, as well as scrap booking embellishments to add some sparkle and fun to your pages! These ready to make grimoires are perfect for someone with a whimsical taste. To check them out, go here!

Florentine Papers

Florentine papers are by far my favorite - for bookbinding and everything else! When I'm done with my grimoire, I'm going to pick another Florentine paper for whatever my next project may be. These papers are so beautiful! They are inspired by traditional Italian patterns from the Renaissance and are now made by Rossi Cartotecnica in Florence, Italy, just like they were centuries ago. I have samples of some of these patterns, and I can tell you that the pictures do not do them justice. The pigments are so vibrant, with gold accents that are harder to see in the picture. Even so, you should really click on the picture to see the full size image. If you're interested in these papers, the best selection I have found is at Paper Mojo on this page.

What is your grimoire really worth?

It's a question worth asking. If you read the previous post I'm sure you're thinking about what you can do to prevent loosing of damaging your grimoire. But sometimes it can't be avoided, and if you do loose your precious book, it's a good idea to be able to receive some funds to make a new one. How do you do that? Again, with an ounce of prevention. Make a list of all the supplies you have bought for your grimoire, from paper and ink to binding glue and book leather. Think back to the beginning. If your grimoire was once housed by something different such as a three ring binder, include that into your costs. If you write by hand, include an estimated cost of the pens you have used, whether that includes three 20 count packs of ball point Bic pens or a Chaeyhane feather dip pen and four bottles of Aladine calligraphy ink. Have you bought a thumb drive or other portable gadget to store your digital grimoire? Count that in. If you do hand illustrate your book, include all art supplies used. Just really scour the nooks and crannies of your mind to include every penny you spent on your grimoire.
So what good will all of this do? Well, not only will this reinforce your appreciation of your grimoire, but even better, you can insure it so that if it is ever lost, stolen or destroyed, you can claim that money to cover the costs of replacement. And once you calculate how much money went into making your grimoire, you'll really appreciate that security. You will also know how much to insure your grimoire for if you must ship or mail it somewhere.
To give you an idea of what your grimoire is worth, check out this image, a list of all the expenses of making my grimoire.
As a final tip, make sure to keep a copy of the costs in at least two places!

Desktop icons

If you have a digital copy of your grimoire (which is a very good idea), it's fun to dress up the folder with a pretty icon! I have a link to my digital grimoire on my desktop, and it had a poorly made icon, but these are way better. The download is clean, and they work smoothly. (I used the one to the right of the text) You can find this pack and others here!
Next post: Why you should have copies and backups in various places and how to do it best.

ChaeyAhne SilverFox Designs

These pens are *stunning* and are absolutely perfect for writing in your grimoire! Even though I don't hand write in my grimoire, I do some calligraphy and some segments of my grimoire are handwritten. I want one of these. The only problem is that I can't decide which one I want! ChaeyAhne works with so many styles, there's something for everyone! . . . If you can decide. :P
Each one is hand crafted, and are OOAK. (one of a kind) ChaeyAhne has been making these works of art for nearly three decades. She also makes a wide variety of other items, including smudge fans, herbal mixes and more! If you're not totally enthralled, you're weird. And if you are, check out her site here. Enjoy!

Rare Occult Booksellers

Well, so far I've discovered two sellers of antique, first edition, rare and out of print occult books. The first one I found, The Magickal Library, also sells new items, herbs, and occult artifacts. The second, Wierus Occult Antiques, sells extremely rare, antique books, many of them original first edition copies of hard to find texts that are hundreds of years old (yet in very good condition). If and when I become rich, this is what I'll be spending money on. Ok, maybe after I have beautiful antique European furniture throughout my house. These books go for thousands of dollars, but oh, they're worth it. When you consider the information inside them, concealed for centuries, and the fact that in many cases there are as few as two left in the world, yeah. It's worth it. Sometimes the whole language barrier could be a problem, because most of these are in Old English, French, Latin, German, Italian or Spanish, and sometimes Arabic and Tibetan. Oh well, I plan on becoming multi-lingual anyway.

The Gutenberg Project

Wow, this is way cool! I stumbled across this while researching my last post. This website offers free electronic copies of 20,000 books whose copyrights have expired in America! Pretty cool!

What beautiful lecterns!

These gorgeous lecterns are made by the company New Renaissance Woodcraft. I found their website through Brahm's Bookworks, and boy was I excited! These are perfect for displaying grimoires and other magickal texts! I want one . . . I am currently working with the owner on designing a custom lectern for me! I hope to have it made out of ebony, and although it would considerably jack up the price (probbly twice as much), it would definitely be worth it. Ebony is a very powerful wood. Its qualities predominantly include power, protection and strength. To top it off, my wand is made from ebony. It would be ideal for my magickal tools to have something that ties them together, as that greatly enhances their power. One of the great things about these lecterns is that they have a compartment inside! The craftsman/owner has told me that he can make it big enough to store my 12x9x4 grimoire! This will be a great advantage and will save me space! I'll have a place to store my grimoire away from dust and humidity, but when I wish to read it, I won't have to lug it very far or strain my neck whilst reading it in my lap. How ingenious! I can't wait. Now, these images are examples of the owner's craftmanship. The top one is crafted out of ash and stained darker. The one on the bottom is crafted out of purple heart, which is a very interesting wood!
You can find out more about purple heart here.
Of course, it will be a while before I can buy a lectern of my own. Right now I am waiting for the price of my book leather to be calculated, and the total of my order at Talas is probbly going to ring in round 200 dollars. After that, I'm going to have to save up around four hundred dollars for the lectern. (it would be much cheaper if I settled for a different wood, buy you know me.) Damn me and me expensive taste. But oh well. One of my sayings is "It is better to have a few objects that you care for than to have a thousand objects of little or no value to you." Yes, you may quote me.

Meren heart,
Nefabit :3

Exotic Leathers

Well, our trip to the fabric store has been delayed, so I hopped back on the computer and found myself at the cyber doorstep of an exotic leather retailer. They offer rare and strange leathers such as alligator, ostrich, stingray, shark, snake, lizard, fish and chicken! The only thing they didn't have was toad leather. But alas, I found it here. :P It would be very interesting to match the animal skin to the purpose of the book one is binding. Say if you were writing a grimoire about aquatic magick, ocean legends and astral water creatures, shark or stingray leather would be very interesting. I must admit, I am a bit tempted by the toad leather. However, as cool as that would be, I think I'll stick with calf leather. Not to mention that anyone who already had um, shall we say, notions about witchcraft, would only find justification from a grimoire made out of toad skin. Oh well. . . . We live in such a strange world.
Meren Heart,
Nefabit :3

Some assembly required

Well, the supplies for my grimoire are on the way! I ordered everything from Talas, and here's what I'm getting! I'll be using eterno bookboard, which is acid free, very durable and archival quality. You can find it here. Over that I'll be using forest green calf hide - a fine grain yet durable bookbinding leather. You can find it and other colors here. The image to the right is a Florentine book paper - unfortunately the picture does not display the vibrancy of the colors. Ah well. When I have finished assembling my grimoire, I'll be sure to post pictures of it inside and out! I want to be able to move pages around, so for the binding, I'll be using solid brass screw posts, found here. Other supplies include glue, knives, bone folders, etc. Anyway, now it's off to the fabric store to buy ribbons that match the endpaper! Ta ta for now!

Google Book Search

Ooh! I just found something nifty when I was doing some research. Google has a book search
that you can use to find a specific book and see a preview of it! You can also search for a keyword (grimoire, for example) and find many more books than you would on Amazon, and without having to search through all of the online grimoires if using regular Google! This is going to make my work much easier . . .