Posted on December 18, 2025

You've probably heard the phrase "made with intention" thrown around in handmade and spiritual spaces, and maybe you've wondered what it actually means beyond just sounding nice. I talk about intention all the time when describing my work, so I want to break down what that really looks like in practice. Crafting with intention isn't just a buzzword or marketing language—it's a fundamental shift in how you approach creating anything. It's the difference between mechanically assembling something and infusing it with purpose, energy, and meaning. Whether you're a maker yourself or someone who appreciates handmade goods, understanding intention changes how you see the objects around you.

Intention is More Than Just Attention

When most people make something, they focus on the technical aspects. They follow the pattern, measure correctly, choose colors that look good together, and execute the steps properly. That's attention to craft, and it matters. But intention goes deeper than technique. It's about the energy and purpose you bring to the work while you're doing it. It's the difference between stringing beads while thinking about your grocery list versus stringing beads while holding a specific feeling or goal in your heart for the person who will wear that piece.

I learned this distinction after my mother died, when I first started making bracelets. In the beginning, I was just trying to keep my hands busy and my mind occupied. The bracelets were fine—they looked good, they held together, people liked them. But something shifted when I started paying attention to how I felt while I was making them. I noticed that when I was grieving and sad while working, the pieces felt heavy to me. When I consciously chose to think about love and healing while I made something, it felt different in my hands. I can't prove this scientifically, but I can tell you that the pieces I make with focused positive intention move differently in the world. People respond to them. They come back and tell me stories about wearing them.

Intention means being present with your work instead of checked out. It means choosing what energy you want to put into the piece before you even start. For me, that might look like taking a few breaths before I begin, thinking about the person who will receive this bracelet or necklace, and holding a feeling of love, protection, strength, or whatever energy seems right. Then I maintain that awareness as I work. When my mind wanders to anxious thoughts or negativity, I gently bring it back to the intention I set. By the time the piece is finished, it's been bathed in that focused energy for the entire creation process.

Why Intention Matters in Handmade Goods

There's a reason people are willing to pay more for handmade items when they could buy mass-produced versions for less. On some level, we all sense that objects carry the energy of their creation. A bracelet made by a person who was present, focused, and pouring good energy into their work feels different than one assembled by someone exhausted and resentful on a factory line. Neither of those workers is at fault for the energy they bring—we're all human and we all have hard days. But the reality is that how something is made influences what it becomes.

Traditional cultures have always understood this. There's a reason certain objects were made only by specific people at specific times, often with ritual and ceremony involved. A wedding dress sewn by loving hands carries different energy than one bought off a rack. Food prepared with care and love tastes better than food thrown together in annoyance. We know this instinctively, even if our modern rational minds want to dismiss it as superstition. The energy of creation matters because objects are not separate from the people who make them. They're extensions of our attention, our care, and our state of being during the creation process.

When I make jewelry with intention, I'm not just creating an accessory. I'm creating a talisman, an object that carries specific energy into the world. Someone wearing one of my necklaces isn't just wearing pretty beads and a crystal—they're wearing the love, the focus, and the positive intention I held while making it. That piece becomes a reminder and a carrier of that energy throughout their day. If I made it while thinking about strength and courage, that's what it radiates. If I made it while focused on peace and calm, it carries that frequency. This is why I keep my prices affordable despite the time and energy that goes into each piece. I want people to have access to objects made with genuine care and intention, not just those who can afford luxury goods.

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How to Bring Intention Into Your Own Life

Start small if this is new to you. Pick one daily activity and practice bringing intention to it. Maybe that's making your morning coffee. Instead of mindlessly going through the motions while your brain spins through the day ahead, take a breath before you start. Decide that you're making this coffee with intention for a good day, for energy and clarity, for a moment of peace before the chaos begins. Hold that feeling as you measure the grounds, pour the water, and wait for it to brew. Notice how the experience changes when you're fully present with it rather than rushing through to get to the next thing.

The same approach works for bigger projects. If you're cooking dinner for people you love, set an intention before you start. You're not just feeding bodies—you're nourishing people you care about, creating a moment of connection, offering comfort through food. Hold that feeling while you chop vegetables and stir pots. If you're creating something to give as a gift, think about the recipient while you work. What do you want them to feel when they receive it? What energy would serve them right now? Let that guide your hands and your choices as you create.

One thing I've learned is that you can't fake intention. You can't just think the right words while feeling nothing and expect it to work. The feeling matters more than the words. If you're trying to make something with loving energy but you're actually feeling annoyed and rushed, the annoyance wins. This is why I said earlier that I don't force myself to work when I'm in a bad headspace. It's better to wait until you can authentically access the energy you want to put into your creation. Intention work requires honesty with yourself about what you're actually feeling, not what you think you should be feeling.

The Practice Becomes the Magic

Over time, crafting with intention becomes less of a special practice and more of a natural way of being. You start to notice how different energies feel in your hands and in your body. You become more sensitive to what you're putting into your work and what's coming out of it. This awareness spills over into other areas of life. You start noticing the energy of spaces you walk into, the intention behind words people speak, the care or lack of care in objects around you. It changes how you move through the world.

For me, intention has become inseparable from my craft. I can't imagine making jewelry any other way now. Every piece I create is an opportunity to practice presence, to choose love over fear, to focus on what I want to birth into the world rather than what I'm worried about. The jewelry is almost secondary to the practice itself. The practice is what heals me, grounds me, and keeps me connected to something bigger than my own small concerns. The jewelry is just the beautiful evidence that the practice happened.

If you're drawn to handmade goods, this is probably part of what you're responding to. You can feel when something was made with care, even if you can't articulate exactly how. You know the difference between an object that's just an object and one that carries something extra—presence, love, attention, intention. That's what makes handmade special. That's what makes it worth seeking out and supporting. You're not just buying a thing. You're buying the energy of focused human attention and care, and that's increasingly rare in our world.

Creating Magic Together

Every piece I make carries this practice of intention. Whether it's a bracelet, a necklace, a keychain, or a spell jar, I craft it with presence and purpose. If you're looking for something made with genuine care and focused energy, I'd love to create that for you. Custom pieces get even more specific intention work because I'm holding you and your needs in mind throughout the entire process. If you want to talk about what you're looking for or you have questions about bringing more intention into your own life and spaces, reach out to me via email or call (810) 358-0873. Let's create something meaningful together.