The Court Wizard’s Folio: A Cautionary Tale in Velvet

This wasn’t my first accidental collection.
It definitely won’t be the last.

I have a habit: start with one idea, end up building an entire world, complete with side characters, imaginary invitations, and way too many textures. This time, it began with a wizard folio. Just one.

Then it became fifteen listings, a velvet-soaked aesthetic crisis, and the rise of a Court Wizard with very strong opinions about color.

Here’s what happened.

It Started Innocently Enough

Just a regular day, making a plain old wizard folio - something in the style of ones I’d made before. Nothing too fancy. Just herbs, apothecaries, maybe a forest path or two.

I had these lovely woody scenes: bearded figures stirring pots over outdoor fires, apothecary jars lined up neatly on crooked shelves.

The vibe was right. The elements were solid.

And yet… I didn’t like it.

Which was confusing, because I had made a similar witchy folio that I did love. So why wasn’t this one working? Why couldn’t I just list it?

I didn’t know - so I shelved it.

Then Came the Guild Hall Phase

Some time later, I got fixated on the idea of a wizard school.
But not that wizard school.
Not anything yellow-bricked either.

I imagined something quieter, older…
A creaky old guild hall with crooked windows and professors who had definitely seen too much.

I started designing characters, writing letters of acceptance, building a world…

And then MidJourney (my AI image tool) stopped cooperating.

I couldn’t get the visuals right - not for the teachers, not for the guild hall - but I did end up with 50 stunning velvet textures.
Rich, moody backgrounds in blue, charcoal, emerald…

Once again, the project hit a wall. Too much half-finished. Too many ideas. No clear direction.

So I shelved it. Again.

The Moment Everything Clicked

Then one day, in a haze of creative frustration, I asked ChatGPT:

“If this isn’t about a humble hedge wizard…
and it isn’t about a scholarly young wizard…
then who is it about?”

And we both knew the answer.

The most pompous, pretentious, peacock-feather-wearing wizard imaginable:
The Court Wizard.

Once I had him, the rest unfolded.

I made ridiculous-yet-beautiful potion bottles.
Swirling velvet papers.
Gilded journal pages.

The velvet textures - suddenly - had purpose.

I even wrote little blurbs for each velvet pack, explaining why certain colors belonged in certain collections - because of course the Court Wizard’s aesthetic is curated.

And Then the Rooms Appeared…

At some point (it’s all a blur now), the project took another sharp turn.

The velvet packs weren’t just textures anymore.
They started becoming rooms - entire environments layered in magic, storytelling, and fabric that probably costs more than your rent.

And that’s how the Velvet Arcana was born.

Each pack became its own space:

• Ember Chamber – For dramatic exits and firelight flair

• Icebound Hall – For whispered secrets and frozen spells

• Moonpetal Parlour – For appearances, judgement, and pastel deception

• Shadowstudy – For dark academia naps and unread tomes

• Tapestry of Madness – For color theory breakdowns and velvet-soaked chaos

I didn’t mean to build a collection.
I definitely didn’t mean to build a wizard’s entire living quarters.

But here we are - fifteen listings later - with a digital trail of velvet, spellcraft, and design decisions I no longer remember making.

Want to See What All the Madness Turned Into?

✨ Browse the Court Wizard’s Folio & Velvet Arcana Collection on Etsy
Includes texture packs, printable ephemera, quote pages, journal cards, and - eventually - a zine or mini-book, if I stop getting distracted by new ideas.

With glue-sticky fingers and way too many open tabs,
- Persephone Grace
Come as you are. Stay as long as you like.