Morgan Greer Tarot Pouch

I have been commissioned to create five Tarot Bags to match certain decks for one of my customers, whom I have created custom bags for before. One of the decks is the Morgan Greer.... I was a bit stuck at first, but then I started playing and I am so pleased with what I came up with! I am not usually one to blow my own trumpet about my art, but I really think this is *perfect*!!! My own Morgan Greer deck is now extremely unhappy about the shabby old bag it has been forced to live in....

I will shut up and let the pictures speak for themselves :O)

Pouch for Morgan Greer Tarot by www.thetarotbag.com

See how the lining matches the back of the cards? I am such a clever Tripp at times... And the stunning shot silk velvet matches the yellow and reds in the deck perfectly!

Pouch for Morgan Greer Tarot by www.thetarotbag.com

Shroud for the Zombies!

A few days ago I received my long awaited  Zombie Apocalypse Tarot. Ok this is a large deck as Tarot decks go, but nowhere near as large as the box it came in!! Just look at this waste.... not to mention expensive shipping. Thankfully The Game Crafter are addressing the issue and were keen to hear the thoughts of Tarot collectors, which is good to hear. I shall continue to support them.. we all have to learn.

Large Box with Lots of Brown Paper ...... and Zombies!

So.. time to meet some of the Zombies.... I am actually very fond of them!

A few of the Zombies Up Close

 

 

 

Because the bag that came with the deck was very very flimsy and plastic-like and not at all a suitable place to keep such a collection of self respecting Zombies, I had to make them a special shroud.. of course! You can see part of it in the photo above... I dyed the inside to give a blood soaked bandage effect :-/

The photo below shows the gorgeous Zombie blood red Moon and the outside of their shroud, it was all made from old hand dyed and torn fabrics and a ton of free machine embroidery.

Zombies with Shroud

 

 

 

 

 

I did actually use real first aid gauze and bandages in the making of the shroud... I even sewed through my thumb once, so there may be a touch of blood in the mix too ;)

 

Close Up of Bloodied Bandage!

The last two photo's show the shroud wrapped around the deck, I stitched one end into a pocket so they dont fall out and get even more damaged!!

Zombie Shroud with Ripped Edges

Other Side of Shroud

And if you ever fancy a custom made shroud, wrap or bag for a special deck... I do make them to order, just give me a shout!

...... and more bags!

Three more bags I have made recently... for my very spoiled Tarot decks.

This is more of a wrap, than a bag, it is perfect for my Icelandic Tarot, and doubles as a spread cloth for up to 5 cards.

Icelandic tarot Wrap - Open

I love the size of these cards and their stark black and white contrast...I love its smudginess too :) 

Icelandic Knitted Tarot Wrap with Matching Cord.

I really love this little deck, and trying to get it back in its box was nigh impossible, but it looks great in this snuggly knitted wrap, and I made the cord from satin ribbons and wool, to match the cards. I love how the cord matches the backs of the cards.

Icelandic Tarot Wrap Closed

This next bag was for my Thoth tarot deck.... it needed a special bag and it needed to go with the deck. After a few trials this is what I ended up creating. I made the bag with layers of metallic and sheer fabric scraps, silks and lots of free machine stitching.

This photo shows the card that inspired the bag, the Two of Disks, or Change as it is labelled. The evolving circles give a feeling of movement and change.. transformation. The bag is padded and lined in cream coloured silk, which matches the edges of the cards.

Thoth Tarot Bag

My latest bag is this fluffy little beauty that I made for my newly beloved Tarot of the Silicon Dawn. It had to be fun and funky. It had to have colours from the deck in it, and some fluff, and dangly bits.... and it also needed to be soft and comforting.

Funky Bag for Tarot of the Silicon Dawn

I think the bag is perfect for this deck.... I like the way it's softness contrasts with the streetwise, futuristic feel of the deck, and yet the colours blend so well. The fluffy collar gives it added zing to fly with!

New Tarot Bags

I have been having some fun recently,  making new bags for my favourite decks.... knitting, stitching, crochet...... whichever medium seems to suit at the time.

Each deck has its own personality and has to choose where it wants to sleep when not working.... so the latest ones I have made are pretty eclectic in style!

I made one for my Witches tarot by Dugan & Evans, it is knitted in several different yarns and ribbons blended together. I tied it with torn silk and added a silver Moon charm inlaid with Paua shell.
The charm came from a pair of earrings I had in my twenties and wore and loved for many years, so it adds some of my life to the deck too.

Bag for my Witches Tarot Deck

Then my Faeries decided they wanted a bag, and of course we know how fussy they can be! They had a ball choosing wools and ties, as well as some stones and charms that they insist live in the bag with them!!

The Faeries' Bag with Bling!

They wanted lots of mossy textured wool and although I made them a lovely silk tie they wanted this purple and gold blingy cord which they found on my workshop floor, instead!!

Faeries' Bag

Once the Faeries were happy.. I had the bag bug....

I found a silver Ankh that had been given to me a few years ago by a close friend. The Ankh reminded me of my Ludy Lescot deck.. so ta-da..! another bag was born!

Bag for Ludy Lescot Tarot

The dark colours and the frayed hand dyed lace and muslin ties and the sombre colours seem to suit this deck very well.

Ludy Lescot Tarot Bag with Lace Tie

Watch this space for more of my bags, and I do custom make bags in many styles to suit different decks. One of these days I will get a proper shop online but until then feel free to contact me if you have any requests!

The Cosmic Tarot

Another deck I recently acquired in a trade, is The Cosmic Tarot. This is the original edition printed by  FX Schmid in 1988 according to the LWB and I love it. It is almost 70's style, has an *Age of Aquarius* feel to me and the people in it remind me of the men and women of my youth, their look and style.

The Cosmic Tarot

The colours are subtle, and subdued, they speak to me of summers long gone, they are early summer morning pink, sunset gold and lazy afternoon blue... they have a watery feeling, that life is flowing gently along, and all you have to do is lie on a raft and float with it down the river. They are not quite real and bring an air of escape, of being lost in a cinema...while the world gos on around you. The film stars featured in the cards make me think of the old movies they used to show one after the other at Christmas time. I don't recognise many of the stars, having never seen much TV, but there are definitely some familiar faces. One I thought I recognised was the Eight of Cups, I thought it was Andy Garcia but apparently it is Martin Sheen... oh well..! The High Priestess is my daughter... absolutely, she has her eyes, her look to a T! One of the things I love about the deck is that the font is actually not a font, it's all hand drawn or written..... and gorgeously done too....

Court Cards from The Cosmic Tarot

 
The deck seems to be more Thoth than Rider Waite based, which does seem to suit it's overall mood somehow. Justice is at 8 and Strength at 11, rather than the other way round as with the Rider Waite. The minors look to be fairly close to Rider Waite but I haven't studied it enough yet to really be sure.

I will look at some of the cards in more detail in future posts as I use the deck more, but I have my favourites already, and then there are some cards I am not so keen on, I really don't get all the gymnasts and sword fighters in the Minor Arcana although I guess they come from the silver screen era. The Devil has a disturbing odd cheesy kind of smirk, but one card which is just *YUK*, is the Ten of Swords... it is supposed to give this feeling though, so I guess it does a good job..... even so I would prefer something less blatantly ugly.

Cards I am particularly taken by are the Five of Pentacles and The Hierophant. The Five of Pentacles shows people leaving a scene of ruin, war and destruction.... so much of this was flashed across news screens in the past 20 years, to me it speaks of the indomitable spirit of humankind. I always tend to see this card in this light, although many see it as a bad card, to me it spells hope. The Hierophant I love because of the light shining from his eyes, like he is seeing incredible visions somewhere out in the heavens. I like to think of him as Galileo, or Dr John Dee.

The Hierophant from The Cosmic Tarot

Of course I had to make a wee bag to suit it, and I had this scrap of lemon velvet and some purple satin lying around, so...... the deck has a home and its box can be saved for another day....

Velvet Cosmic Bag for the Cosmic Tarot

Barbara Walker Tarot Bag

I couldn't resist making this special bag for a tribe member, when she mentioned that she wanted  a bag for her new Barbara Walker Tarot.

I don't have this deck, so I looked it up and was stunned by the design of the backs. They seem so powerful and the colours are so strong. Crying out to be translated to fabric and thread.

I found some heavy black felt in my stash and some hand dyed orange cotton and set to making this wee treasure. I just love the combination of orange, black and white. The deep orange lining looks great and the symbols which I embroidered freehand, stand out so well.

Barbara Walker Tarot Bag

 
The only thing I wasn't so cool about was using Velcro as a fastening... but I wanted it to stay plain, unfrilly and simple.

Barbara Walker Tarot Bag Front

I actually wish these backs were on a different deck as this is not a deck I can imagine ever desiring to have in my collection. I find the images too ugly... maybe ugly is the wrong word.... they just don't connect with me. But the backs did.....!

Triple Moon Tarot Bag & Cloth

I had a great time today making a special order Tarot bag for a trade.

I made the Triple Moon Goddess cloth, and one of the tribe fell for it, and asked for a bag to match...!

The cloth is made of four different cottons and appliqued with the moon symbols which I originally cut from card templates using a small tea plate! The back is lined with a soft deep indigo cotton which I dyed by hand, it has an almost velvet like feel. It measures approximately 24 inches square, so is great for a full moon layout, or astrology spreads. Unlike my Deviant Moon cloth I didn't have a particular deck in mind when I made this cloth, so I guess it was meant to fly off to its current owner.

Triple Moon Goddess Tarot Cloth

Luckily I had enough fabric left to make the bag to match the cloth perfectly! The bag is large enough to hold a standard Tarot deck with the cloth wrapped around it, as was requested. I cant wait until it reaches its new home!!

Triple Moon Tarot Bag & Cloth

And here is the back of the bag.... you cant see the lining in these pics, but it is actually lined with the same hand dyed cotton as the back of the reading cloth.

Back of Tarot Bag

More Tarot Bags.....!

Just had to show you some more bags, before they all go. These are my Jester Bags, suitable for keeping all kinds of magical objects safe. I like the flat bottoms but for Tarot decks some people prefer them to be made envelope style. They are great for crystals or runes too. I like to use fun contrasting fabrics and add bells for some jingle to the points. My Faerie Deck is rather attracted to the one on the left with the purple lining! The red one I traded for a gorgeous Rabbit Tarot.. (more about that in another post.)

Magical Jingling Jester Bags

 

 
I had an idea of making bags for each of the four elements... to suit various decks, or just because! The one showmn below is crocheted in many weights and textures of yarn, from really fine and whispy to soft and chunky silk thread. This bag was my Air element bag. I prurposely had lacey stitches to give the feeling of airiness, and the colours were chosen to match different aspects of the sky and clouds.

Air Element Tarot Bag

 

Next another knitted bag, but very different from my Deviant Moon one.... I taught myself this lovely leafy/tree style stitch and knitted this bag using an oatmeal coloured pure wool. I am currently using it as nesting space for my Well Worn Path and Hidden Path oracle decks, which I like to use together.

Knitted Tarot Bag with Tree Stitch

 

 

Now this beauty is my Fire element bag, I love this, it feels soooo good! The main part of the bag that holds the deck is crocheted in soft orangey cotton yarn, and I added a gorgeous flamelike eyelash fibre into the mix to crochet the flap! I must take another pic of it closed to show it in it's full glory. Not sure which deck to give this bag to yet, currently it is being checked out by the Cat People!

Fire Element Tarot Bag

Tarot Bags & Cloths

I have become addicted to making bags for my decks, and everyone elses! Stitched, knitted, crocheted... all colours, shapes and sizes...I have made heaps now. Other folk seem to like them too, so I have been having a lot of fun, making them to order for my online store, or to trade, usually for decks or books on my wishlist.

The first cloth I made was for my Deviant Moon deck, and I knitted a bag to go with it, I was really pleased with my efforts, I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist, which means I can be easily put off if something is not working out how I feel it should. With knitting though, I have been happily freeform knitting, shaping the bags as I go and really enjoying the whole process.

This bag is called The Hermit, it's made from a slightly rough weave outer cloth and lined with a toning cotton, it is actually a wrap more than a bag, with a pocket at one end for the cards and the rest of the wrap opens out to a cool cloth for 1-4 card readings. Shown here opened up, with The Tarot of the Cat People. The wrap is held closed with ribbons and clay beads.

The Hermit - Tarot Wrap

This next bag is a cotton double drawstring bag, fully lined with black muslin. I embroidered the pentacle freehand using space dyed machine threads. The ribbon ties are finished with Indian style sliver beads.

Purple Pentacle Tarot Bag

This is my Deviant Moon cloth, made from four different quilting cottons and backed in heavy indigo cotton fabric. The cloth measures about 24 inches square. I painted the Moon by hand on calico and sticthed it to the cloth.

Deviant Moon Tarot Cloth

Here is the cloth pictured with the bag that I knitted for my Deviant Moon deck... I love it, it fits the cloth too and is all soft and snuggly like a wee deck sleeping bag. It is often to be found under my pillow! I even added a wee label to the bag :)

Deviant Moon Tarot Bag

This is one of the first tarot bags I made, its made from a gorgeous shot thread silk velvet and hand appliqued and embroidered. This bag doesn't have one particular deck yet, it has held a few over the years!

Shot Velvet Embroidered Tarot Bag