Over the past few months, I have been overwhelmed by the love and support for Blue Lotus! To show my appreciation and return the love, I'm doing a giveaway! Yippee!

I am giving away a Joyful essential oil spray, Rose Quartz pendulum, and a bundle of amazing tumbled gemstones!

First up is a Joyful essential oil spray! With a base of Vitajuwel crystal infused water (with a mix of amethyst, clear quartz, and rose quartz), it mixes essential oils of lemon, mandarin, bergamot, ylang ylang, rose geranium, and rose. This uplifting mix can be used as a cheering room spray, and I love using it as a daily perfume! Spray some in your hair, and you can smell wonderful all day!

Next is the rose quartz pendulum. Rose quartz is a beautiful crystal that encourages love for yourself and others! Since it corresponds directly with the heart chakra, this could be a great pendulum if you find yourself needing help finding answers that come directly from the heart. To learn more about how to use a pendulum, click here to check out my previous post! 

Finally, lets check out the assortment of crystals you will receive! They have all been cleansed and charged with a crystal singing bowl session, so you can be assured they have some fabulous energy to them. 

From left to right, starting from the top row:
- gold tiger eye (a protecting, grounding stone which enhances integrity, willpower, and confidence)
- hematite (protects and connects us to the earth that improves memory and concentration)
- rose quartz (stone of universal love, trust, harmony, peace, and self-acceptance)
- unakite (enhances your third eye, assists in sleep, and balances your emotions)
- sodalite (calms the mind, encourages intuition, and releases fear, phobias, and guilt)
- green aventurine (helps with love relationships, releases stress, and brings good luck)
- banded amethyst (boosts intuition, cleanses the aura, and repels negativity)
- apache tears (absorbs negative energy and comforts grief)
- green moss agate (balances emotional energy and enhances concentration)
- quartz (opens the mind and heart to higher guidance and is a good overall healing stone)
- snowflake obsidian (calming and soothing, and gives awareness of negative patterns)
- blue lace agate (calming, gives a sense of peace and tranquility, helps with expression)
- green fluorite (highly protective and enhances personal growth)

Enter below, and don't forget to share this giveaway with your friends!

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Lots of love! 

Lately, I have felt a pull towards meditating with a mala. As discussed in my previous post, it can really help you stay focused and keep track of mantra repetition. After looking at a few to purchase, I realized the one I desired didn't exist yet, and it was up to me to create it!

Creating this mala was a great project (and not terribly difficult), so I thought it would be fun to share with you how to make your own!

During its creation, keep a general thought of well-being or your personal mantra in mind. It can help to set your intent while creating your mala, and can become a meditation in and of itself!

What you will need: wood/seed beads and/or gemstone beads, a larger "guru" bead, a strong nylon string, and embroidery floss. If mixing types of beads, try to keep them a similar size as to keep meditation as seamless as possible. In addition, I found a beading needle to be extremely helpful with threading (which can be found at your local craft store).

Begin by counting out 108 beads (not including your guru bead). For my personal mala, I chose to have 94 wooden beads, and 7 rose quartz beads on each side. I incorporated rose quartz into my mala since my mantra focuses opening up my heart chakra, and rose quartz has a soft, compassionate energy that encourages unconditional love, dissolves emotional wounds, and offers inner peace.

 

 

Now comes the time consuming, yet oddly satisfying, part. Leaving at least 6 inches of extra thread on the end, create a knot so your beads will not slide off. Since I wanted to have mirroring rose quartz on either side of the guru bead, I started with my first 7 rose quartz beads, then went on to add the 94 wooden beads, then the remaining rose quartz beads. If you have the time (and the patience), place a knot after each bead to create a small space between them (which not only helps in meditation, but also keeps beads from going everywhere in case it breaks).

Time to make the tassel! Take your embroidery floss (I used a single packet that had transitioning colors) and separate at least 8 inches from the main group, but do not cut it off (just place it out of the way to the side). Then, tie your extra nylon string coming from the bottom of the guru bead around the floss and knot on the bottom of the bundle to attach it to your mala. Fold over the embroidery floss to hide your knot, and wrap the 'set aside' floss around the top multiple times. Once satisfied, loop your remaining thread through the tassel to create a knot. Cut the end of the tassel to eliminate loops or uneven edges, and you're done!

 Congratulations! You are now the proud owner and creator of a beautiful mala!