Saturday Craft-Tacular - Jar-o-Lanterns Day 5, October 5

Welcome to your first installment of the Samhain’s Sirens Saturday Craft-Tacular with Sosanna!

Remember, if you need assistance, please reach out to Serena via email or use the contact form at the top of this page.

And, now on to your Saturday fun!


Meet Sosanna

Renee (aka Sosanna) is one of the Sirens Administrators, as well as a contributor to the fun.
One voice in a chorus of many sending out a much positive and protective energy as she can. She roots for the underdog and spends her life fighting for those that cannot fight for themselves. She is an advocate for LGBT, Children's and animal rights. She loves some of everything and all of nothing. She likes to say, "I have a relationship not a religion".

You can find Renee’s blog at Confessions of a Modern Witch

Her shop: Sosanna's Closet

Her: Facebook Page

To kick off our hauntingly excellent Samhain Blog event, I decided to start with an old classic.  The Halloween Jack-o-Lantern.  Not specifically a Samhain tradition but one that I've found the kids love just the same.

The history of the Jack-o-lantern is said to come from the people of Ireland and the “Legend of Stingy Jack”.   The story is about a stingy guy who tricked the Devil into turning himself into a coin, Jack pocketed the money and was punished by being forced to wonder the earth after death with a piece of burning coal in a turnip.  The figured was called “Jack of the Lantern” and eventually turned into “Jack-o-lantern”.  When Irish immigrants came to the US, that custom came along with them, but was transferred to our American pumpkins.

Sometimes carving pumpkins can be a bit messy and need to be carved year after year.  For this craft tutorial I decided to show how a simple recycled jar can be used to create a festive holiday decoration that can be reused year after year. 

So let’s get started!

Supplies

Photo Credit - Renee Olson

• 1 Glass Jar
• Pumpkin face cutouts that I printed from the web
• Tape
• Paint brush
• Black Acrylic Paint
• Spray glass frosting
• Tea Light

Instructions

Photo Credit - Renee Olson

Start out by cutting the outline of the image you want to place on the jars

Tape the image to the glass jar the same way you would to a pumpkin

Photo Credit - Renee Olson

Trace the image with a marker

In a well-ventilated area spray the jar with the glass frost

Fill in the image with black paint

Set aside to dry

Add the tea light

Photo Credit - Renee Olson

And you’re done!

These Jar-o-lanterns can be used year after year by just replacing the tea light.  A wonderful way to recycle and a great way to show your creative side.  I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial.  If you’d like to see more, please take a moment to head over to my Facebook Page.

Remember, you have until Monday at 6am EDT to enter both Friday and Satiurday's giveaways!

NOW for the giveaway.  You are entering to win a the  Jar-o-Lantern posted above.

Here’s how to enter:

You have until 6am EDT on Monday (October 7) to enter. Winner will be emailed and his/her name will be posted on the blog on Monday (October 7) at 9am EDT.

Note: These giveaways are open to the U.S., Canada and where allowable. Void where prohibited. Canadian residents, please pay close attention as by law, you have to use a different set of rules. Not to worry, we have you covered :)

You MUST provide a valid email address in order to win.

1. Go to the Sosanna's Closet Etsy Page or Website. Find your favorite item, come back here, and tell us about it in the comment section. (1 entry)

2. Blog about this giveaway (make sure you link back here), come back and leave us a link to your blog or head over and LIKE the  Sosanna's Closet Facebook Page (1 entry) be sure to tell us you did.

3. Tweet about this giveaway (link to us, please), come back, and leave us a link to your tweet (1 entry)

4. Be a follower of this blog (Samhain's Sirens). Let us know you're a follower. (1 entry)

5. Like Samhains Sirens Facebook Page. Let us know that you did (1 entry)

Note: If you want your entries to count as separate entries, you must post them separately. If you post 1 comment with all three on it, it will only count as 1 entry.

Canadian residents, by law, instead of the above, you must answer the following question to be eligible:

What is 9+1? (No worries, we'll give you 3 entries for this just to be sure it's fair)

You MUST provide a valid email address in the comments to be entered.
What's cool about being a Canadian? You automatically get 6 entries per giveaway for just answering 1 question! :) 

with Loren Morris

Meet Loren

Loren is one of the Sirens Administrators, as well as a contributor to the fun.
Mom of 3, grandmother to 1. Loren likes to paint things that interest her, which includes Pagan and Halloween art. Her favorite style is folksy. Her black cat, Kissy, is her art familiar, staring at her for long periods to convey what he would like to see in her art, which would be himself. Loren is also trying to make her entire home into a giant mural.
Her blog: Saga's Cottage
Her Shop: Saga's Cottage
Her Facebook Page

Today's mixed drink is: Witch's Brew

For this drink you will need:

1 oz. melon Liqueur
2 oz. gin
Tonic water

 I forgot the tonic water, so I used the what I had. 

Mix together, pour over ice. 

Enjoy.

See you on Monday!

Don't forget to check out tomorrow's Sunday Stew over on Kallan's blog (The Secret Life of the American Witch), featuring several of our Siren bloggers!