Showing posts with label Giveaway. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Giveaway. Show all posts
Happy Saturday Everyone! Can you believe this is our final Saturday together? This month has flown by!! But not to worry, there is still time to get yourself entered into the Grand Prize Extravaganza giveaway. Since today is Saturday, we have the final installment of Sosanna's Craft-tacular Saturday. Please remember the Siren's are off on Sunday, but we'd really love to have you all stop by The Secret Life of the American Working Witch and see what goodies Kallan has in the Sunday Stew for this week...

Now...without further ado, I give you Sosanna's

Craft-tacular Saturday Giveaway!

Welcome to the final Samhain's Sirens' Craft-tacular Saturday Giveaway.

On this final Saturday Craft-tacular, I thought we'd look at making a beading project.  Not your typical one mind you after all Samhain is just around the corner.

Making a Crystal Spider


Photo Credit - Elijah Olson                     
First gather your supplies
1.       Large and small crystal bead
2.       Beading wire, 24 gauge
3.       80 small elongated seed beads (for leg length)
4.       24 small colored seed beads to add contrast to legs (optional)
5.       Beading plier
6.       Beading wire cutter

Photo Credit - Elijah Olson                     

Start by using beading wire through both the large and small crystal bead; allow spacing in between for leg attachment. Twist to a triple loop at each end, making a couple rounds is so that you can adjust as you add legs later.
                                           
Photo Credit - Elijah Olson                     

                                     

Cut 4 wire strips approx. 5 in. long and loosely bend in half. 
                                
Photo Credit - Elijah Olson                     


Add your elongated beads 5 at a time then use 3 colored beads as separated. Do this to both sides.
                                 
Photo Credit - Elijah Olson                     


Voila! You just made 2 legs! Continue for the other three pieces.

Now attach legs by twisting once around in between two crystals, do this for the remaining legs.

Photo Credit - Elijah Olson                     


                                        
You will need to form the legs as you go and tighten or loosen the triple loops on each end as mentioned above for accommodation of legs.

Photo Credit - Elijah Olson                     

                                             
You now have a great crystal window hanger or just a really cool spider for your curiosity cabinet!

Photo Credit - Elijah Olson                     

                                                          
That's all there is to creating your crystal spider!

Photo Credit - Elijah Olson                     


To Enter the Giveaway for the spider you have seen being created here please complete the following:

Comment that you would like to win this spider.

Like Sosanna's Closet on Facebook

Follow Sosanna's Closet on Twitter

For a bonus entry head over to Sosannas's Etsy shop "favorite" something and come back to tell us what you favorited!

Tweet about this Giveaway and post the URL to your tweet in the Comments

That's it!   Winners will be announced on the blog and prizes shipped within 5 business days!

GOOD LUCK!

Saturday's Recipe!


Caramel Apple Cider Boo Shooters
from TasteSpotting

1 cup apple cider

4 tablespoons caramel

Halloween sprinkles

4 slices of apple

1. Dip four shot glasses in the caramel and then dip them in the Halloween sprinkles to rim the glasses. Make little boo faces on the shot glasses with a Sharpie if desired!

2. Pour the cider into the shot glasses and garnish with apple slices. Drizzle any remaining caramel over the apple slices. Serve!

Music on a Saturday!

Brought to you by our own DJ Siren Kestril Trueseeker...

There was no way a section on 80’s Halloween music or Halloween music in general could not feature this song. Ladies and Gentlemen, the King of Pop:


That's it for this final Saturday! We send you wishes for a peaceful weekend, be safe and watch out for Hurricane Sandy! We will be back here on Monday if the storm doesn't leave too much damage in our neck of the woods...  
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Hekate & Cerberus, Apulian red-figure krater
C4th B.C., Antikensammlungen, Munich
Hello Everyone and welcome to Tuesday! We are well on the way to the month being half over... can you believe it's already October 16th? Just 14 more days until Samhain! this month has really flown by, LOL!!

Speaking of the month being half over, did you see that Grand Prize Extravaganza in Monday's post? If you didn't, you REALLY need to go check out all the goodies some lucky someone is going to win at the end of the month. Our Siren's have really outdone themselves this time...

Today's blog post is from our Darlin, Sosanna from Sosanna's Closet... ENJOY!

Hecate and Samhain

As a devotee of Hecate and a lover of all things Samhain it stands to reason that I wouldn't have a Samhain night rituals without invoking Hekate Adonaea (lady of the underworld).  As the veil between the world of the living and dead become thinnest it's a perfect time for working with Hecate.

As Hekate Kleidoukhos (keeper of the keys), she is said to have the keys to the underworld and assists souls in finding their way from one world to the next; much as she assisted Persephone in finding her way back to Demeter.

Each month I participate in something called Hecate's Supper.  Around the 13th of the month (give or take) on the day of the dark moon I collect my offerings and prepare a supper for the Goddess.  It usually consists of fresh eggs, honey, garlic and leeks.  I sometimes do a complete meal or simply arrange the offerings on my altar for the day; burning incense and participating in chants to her.

Here is an example of a chant I wrote for Hecate.

Hecate Mistress of the three ways
Offerings at the crossroads, you find
Hecate, Light bearing Queen
Come forth and enlighten my mind.
Hecate, Queen of the Witches
Give power to my magic this night.
Hecate, Keeper of the Keys
Unlock your power and bless this rite.

There are a great number chants that you can add to your Samhain rituals for Hecate on YouTube.  These are my favorites.



Hecate is a wonderful addition to Samhain rituals and rites.  I encourage you to learn more about her.  More information can be found at the following sites:
The Covenant of Hekate
Hekate, Her Sacred Fires
Friends of the Covenant of Hekate - Facebook

Today's Giveaway!

NOW for the Giveaway!   This giveaway is for a wonderful Print of a Painting by Loren from Saga's Cottage.

To be entered in the drawing please complete the following steps:

Leave a comment here stating you'd like to be entered in the drawing

Follow Saga's Cottage and Sosanna's Closet on Facebook & Share

Tweet this Giveaway and post the URL in the Comments.

Winners will be notified and the print will be shipped within 5 business days.

Recipe of the day!

Picture and Recipe courtesy of Free N Fun Halloween

Witches Brew Cupcakes Recipe

Double-bubble, no toil or trouble! One bite from these mouth-watering cupcakes and they’re sure to put anyone under their spell.

Ingredients

White cake mix
White cream cheese frosting
Mini marshmallows
Mini chocolate chips
Bite-sized braided pretzel sticks
Pop Rocks candy
Green gel food coloring

Instructions

Prepare the white cake batter according to the directions on the box, adding a few drops of green gel food coloring to the batter. Pour batter into greased cupcake pans. 

While cupcakes are baking, mix a few drops of green gel food coloring into the cream cheese frosting until the desired color has been achieved. Set aside 2 tbsp. of frosting.

After the cupcakes have cooled, frost the top of the cupcakes.

Using the frosting you set aside, create the “eyeballs” by adding a drop of frosting to the mini chocolate chips and sticking them to the mini marshmallows. Place the marshmallow “eyeballs” onto the cupcakes, slightly pushing the marshmallow into the frosting to secure in place.

Press a bite-sized braided pretzel stick into the cupcake to represent the witches’ brew stirring stick.

Sprinkle the cupcakes with Pop Rocks® right before serving to give them an extra “pop”.

Tuesday's Being Crafty 

Easy Pumpkin Centerpiece
by Rachel Paxton

What you will need:
Pumpkin
Fall flowers
Sharp knife
Large spoon

Need an easy, inexpensive centerpiece for your autumn table? All you need is a pumpkin and a handful of fall flowers. You can complete this project in less than an hour!

Prepare your work area by spreading out some old newspapers. Using a sharp knife, carefully remove the top of the pumpkin.

Use the large spoon to scoop all of the pulp and seeds out of the pumpkin.

If you need this done in a hurry for a dinner party, go ahead and arrange your flowers inside the pumpkin. If you have the extra time, let the pumpkin dry out for at least a couple of hours before you arrange your flowers.

I used artificial flowers in my pumpkin centerpiece, but you could also use fresh flowers. If your pumpkin is wide and deep enough, you could place an entire flower pot in it.

Use your pumpkin to decorate your fall or Thanksgiving table, or place it anywhere in your home to give your home the feel of autumn.

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What's for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For more recipes, organizing tips, home decorating, crafts, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com

Song of the Day by  Kestril Trueseeker

Pulp fiction filled with gruesome stories in 19th Century Britain were called Penny Dreadfuls. One of those Penny Dreadfuls featured the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, better known as Sweeny Todd. The story outlived the media it was born from and evolved into a ballet, a musical and a movie





Remember, you have until 8pm tonight to get in on yesterday's giveaway!
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HAPPY SATURDAY!! Are you ready for today's Craft-tacular brought to you by Sosanna from Sosanna's Closet? She's got some pretty groovy things going on and she's sharing them here with us. And, we have a special treat from author Sally Dubats!!

Don't forget, Samhain's Sirens won't be posting on Sundays, so please follow this link to Kallan Kennedy over at The Secret Life of the American Working Witch for some Sunday Stew.

Craft-tacular Saturday and the Veil Between the Worlds


Samhain and Halloween for that matter wouldn't be what they are with out ghost stories and divination.  Bobbing for apples for example has it's roots in a divination game.  All the apples are dumped into a large tub of water and everyone tries to pick up an apple with their teeth.  The first one to get an apple was said to be the first to get married.

Communing with the Dead is always something that ends up happening this time of year.  Either from using a "Ouija Board" to using a Scrying Mirror everyone has their own preferred method of divination.  Scrying, also called seeing or peeping, is a way of gazing into an object to "see" an answer.  This can come in the form of an answer to a question, a message from the past, or beyond the grave.

Last year I did a blog series on the book "Scrying for Beginners".  This was a great book and went through the steps of learning Scrying. It reviewed different techniques as well as different objects through which to Scry.  From pans of water to crystal balls.  From fiery flames to a black mirror.  I found my best luck with scrying by using a scrying mirror.  Scrying mirrors can be pretty expensive.  However I've found a great way to make your own scrying mirror for pennies.  In this post I'm going to give you the directions for creating your own scrying mirror and as part of the Samhain's Sirens Blog Project and Giveaway one lucky reader will get to win this mirror.

Supplies
Picture frame with glass pane - this can be as cheap or as expensive as you like, I recommend starting out       cheap.
A can of matte black paint
Some newspaper
A well ventilated space - I work outside

Take the newspaper and spread it out on the grass or on a table - I used old cat litter pails
Open the picture frame and remove the glass insert (be careful its sharp)
Lay the glass pane on the newspaper
Shake the spray paint can until the paint is ready to spray
Using short bursts coat the glass pain until it is completely black (take care to allow the paint to completely dry between coats)
You may need to apply 5-6 coats
After the paint is completely dry reassemble the picture frame with the painted side of the glass facing inside the frame.  That means the unpainted side will be displayed on the front side of the frame.

There you have it, a completed scrying mirror.


Now you can create your own scrying mirror.  These are great as gifts or as a new edition to your altar.

To Enter the Giveaway for the Scrying Mirror you have seen being created here please complete the following:

Comment that you would like to win this mirror.
Like Sosanna's Closet on Facebook
Follow Sosanna's Closet on Twitter
Tweet about this Giveaway and post the URL to your tweet in the Comments

And as an extra special treat, we'll be doing another giveaway!!!

This one comes from author, Sally Dubats and is her latest book, Veil Between the Worlds


Sally Dubats
From Sally: Hi Samhain's Sirens! You have done such a FANTASTIC job with this blog. Each day has been a treasure! Thank you! 
Just a note about the give-away book: I'm writing "The Grimoire Chronicles" to balance the negative material out there about Witches, and have found fiction to be a better bridge than non-fiction. 
I want the world to know who most Witches are: healers and spiritual people who love their friends and family and do works of magick for the good of all. 

 This will be an 8-book series with plenty of action, and each book takes place during a Sabbat. "Veil Between Worlds" is during the New Year, Samhain. The story is fantasy; the spells are real. Enjoy! 

 Book two, "Winter Shock" takes place at Yule and will be out soon! May your Samhain celebrations be filled with love and light.

From all of the Sirens: Thank you, Sally!!

So for all of you joining us, this is a special treat.. with just one entry, you get two chances to win! Rules are the usual. PLEASE NOTE: In order to get extra chances, you have to put them down as separate entries (comments) on the blog here:

1. Follow us here. (If you already follow, be sure to put the comment down)
2. Go to Sally's website and let us know what you like best.
3. Go to Sally's Facebook author page and leave her a comment saying hi and that the Sirens sent you ;)
4. Tweet about this giveaway. (don't forget to give us the link in the comments)
5. Blog about this giveaway. (same as for tweeting.. give us the url so we can check out your lovely blog!)

We'll announce the winners on Monday, October 15. Happy Saturday!

The Recipe for Today

Photograph by Levi Brown

Dark Chocolate Martini

 Who doesn't love chocolate? And to have chocolate incorporated into a cocktail is just more decadent than I could possibly imagine.


Directions
Mix 2 tablespoons each raw sugar and finely chopped dark chocolate on a plate. Combine 2 ounces each chocolate liqueur and vodka, 1 ounce chilled espresso, 1/2 teaspoon fresh orange juice and a strip of orange zest in a cocktail shaker with ice; stir well. Moisten the rim of a chilled martini glass and dip it in the sugar-chocolate mixture. Strain the cocktail into the glass and garnish with an orange wedge.

Today's Spooky Ookie Song of the Day as chosen by Kestril Trueseeker

For day 13 I had to give a nod to another iconic horror film, Friday the Thirteenth, even though today is Saturday...
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Hello Everyone! Have you enjoyed this week as much as we have? It's been a blast bringing all these goodies to you. The Sirens will be taking a break on the weekends throughout the month. This gives us time to regroup and re energize so we can bring you more fun and excitement. But don't despair! Our very own Sosanna has taken care of Saturdays and will be bringing you a Craft-tacular Saturday each week. And, if you watch closely, you might even find a giveaway mixed in with the craft projects.

And since we won't be posting on the weekends, be sure to follow this link on Sunday to The Sunday Stew written by our own dear Kallan Kennedy, who brings us lots of information and weekly happenings.

Samhain's Sirens Craft-tacular Saturday Giveaway


Welcome to the Crafty Listings for our Samhain Siren's Blog Project and Giveaway.  In this entry I'll be going over a hobby of mine and sharing photos as well as providing a list of other's involved in the blog project with dates when their contribution to the Crafty Siren posts will be added to the Samhain's Sirens blog.

One thing I love to do is re-purpose or re-use items.  Thrift stores are a great place to locate gently used objects that can be reused.  I make different types of wreaths, but taking wreaths from the thrift store and breaking them down to create new works ready for a long life in a new home.

Here are a few of my examples:

This wreath was created using recycled/re-purposed artificial pine wreaths.  Usually you can pick these up for next to nothing at the thrift store.

I found a wreath of all of these little red apples that I could cut off into little decorations for this wreath below.  The ribbon I got from a spool of ribbon at the thrift store and the little raven/crow as on another wreath that I added to this one.




This wreath is affectionately called 'Day of the Dead' or 'Ancestor Wreath'.  This was another set of pine wreaths that I was able to find at the thrift store.  The center part of this wreath was found on one of my thrift store journeys and actually drove the design of this wreath.  The little orange objects are from a bag of potpourri and are also a re-purposed item.



 Grapevine wreaths are very easy to repurpose for other crafts.  This wreath below was a spring wreath that I took apart and changed into a Whimsical Halloween Wreath.  A tip for re-purposing on Grapevine, just use your glue gun tip to melt the glue from previous decorations, it cleans up much easier and looks great when finished.




So, you can see how easy it can be to create a wonderful Halloween or Samhain craft idea, give something new life without the need to buy new things from the store.  Re-using objects for new purposes is a great way to save money and save our environment.

Our Saturday Craft-tacular will be published here, on Samhain's Sirens Blog.  Each comes to you with amazing ideas for getting one of my all time favorite times of year going as well as a fantastic giveaway!


October 13th, 2012 - How to Make a Scrying Mirror
October 20thl, 2012 - How to Make a Dream-catcher
October 27th, 2012 - How to make a Crystal Spider

As these are crafts that are for adults, I wanted to list a few resources for crafts for kids:

Proud to be Pagan Kids - Offers songs, activities and crafts for Pagan kids.
Austin Pagan Kids - Offers downloadable coloring pages, BOS and crafts for Pagan Kids
Martha Stewart - Halloween Crafts
Parents Magazine - Halloween Crafts

DRUM ROLL PLEASE

And now for my giveaway.  As many of you know I am the owner/operator of Sosanna's Closet.  The majority of my projects are handmade pieces and custom works.  I recently started a new line called Witch's Rosary.  These are rosary or ladder strings made with glass beads and finished with a decorative pendant.

Here is an example of my pieces.





For this giveaway you'll be trying to win the following Rosary.


In order to collect chances to win you'll need to do the following:

Comment that you'd like to win the Rosary
Follow Sosanna's Closet on Twitter - Link
Like Sosanna's Closet on Facebook - Link
Tweet this giveaway and post the link in the comments
Share this giveaway on Facebook


That's it!  That's all there is to it!  I look forward to hearing from you all soon!

Namaste & Blessed Be
Sosanna
)O(

Recipe of the Day

                                                      Picture credit The Coexist Cafe

Pumpkin Pie Martini
From The Coexist Cafe

Okay, let’s wet our whistles! This is an adult-friendly beverage we served at our Halloween wedding in 2010, and it was a HIT. Pumpkiny, a bit spicy, and sure to leave you a bit lightheaded with glee, this drink is best enjoyed standing outside with neighbors and making them jealous enough to make their own!

 Ingredients

 * 1 oz vanilla vodka

* 1 oz pumpkin spice liqueur

* 1 oz Bailey’s Irish Cream

* sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice

Method

In a martini shaker, combine all liquors with a handful of ice and shake until the shaker is frosted on the outside. Take a martini glass and pour the mix into the glass, then top with a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.

Saturday's Video of the Day

I rather love this one by Stevie Nicks. It doesn't get a lot of airplay compared to her more popular songs
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