Showing posts with label WINNER. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WINNER. Show all posts
Here we are at the end of week 2! Have you enjoyed the things we have shared with you? Did you try any of the recipes or make any of the craft ideas? How about those giveaways? Did you find anything you just can't live without? I for one have found many new items I have added to my "Wish List", LOL! Don't forget, tomorrow Sosanna has another Saturday Craft-tacular and then the Siren's will be back on Monday with more stories, giveaways, recipes, crafts, music and WINNERS!!

Today's Post ~ U is for Un-Everything


By Sosanna from Confessions of A Modern Witch

When I started this project it was unthinkable that I would be able to actually complete the entire thing.  I was concerned about finding enough topics to tackle this unique but understandably unifying event.  We've taken the letters of the alphabet and brought them together for an entire year.  Not only that; but I have also unknowingly united three separate blog projects into one.

My post today is for The NaBloWriMo, The Pagan Blog Project 2012 and The Samhain’s Sirens Blog Extravaganza.  I decided that one word wouldn't be enough to cover all the different blogs so I thought, why not use ALL of the words.  I also decided that instead of using “bold” to emphasis the words, underline would be more fitting.

Samhain is the beginning of the New Year for unashamed Pagans around the world.  We spend our time preparing for the thinning of the veil so that undoubtedly we can reach out,  pay respects and possibly unite with our ancestors.  On a personal note, Samhain is when my partner and I uttered a set of vows that tied our lives together as well as our hands in a lovely ceremony.  People said it was uncanny and unusual, but we have been together for ten years now.

For me Samhain is quite different than the traditional Halloween.  Now I do love the costumes, people walking around as the undead, ugly witches walking the malls, while teenagers dress as sexy Cancan girls or the lovely assistant on the high wire delicately keeping balance with an umbrella certainly providing their parents with ulcers.  With umber skin or the grayed out uniform of Ulysses Grant our families march along the parade routes in the US for one lone night allowing our kids to indeed do the unbelievable deed of taking candy from strangers.  Samhain opens the divide in the spirit realm and allows us ever so briefly to see those that are gone from us.   It allows for happiness and understanding as we pay our respects by setting out apples or lighting a candle for those long gone.  Ultimately the way one celebrates is very personal.  Those unable to take an offering to the crossroads or to bury your apples at the four corners can take it upon themselves to find a way to pay homage.  There are really no unacceptable ways to pay respects to the dead. 

A great way to celebrate Samhain is to bring those unaccustomed to real meaning of this time of the year and show them a new way of thinking.  We take an unaccepted position and a view of a holiday that is unjustly and unfairly labeled as an unholy day and change it to something utterly amazing.

Use your time here to remember that those that are gone into the spirit world are not unavailable to you.  Simply open your mind and your heart.  They are not unreachable. They are just unaware of the barrier.  Do not unbalance the force but use it to create an unbiased space for your ancestors to unite.

With that, I hope that I've uncovered the point I was unarguably trying to make.  I had hoped to unmask the uncertainly and show that this wonderful Samhain holiday needs something that is not unattainable in order to be successful.  Just like life, this day requires one thing…..
U

Namaste and Blessed Be
Sosanna
)O(

Today's Giveaway


From Eliora at Elegantly Enchanting

Besom Candle Snuffer

Witch's Besom / Broom Candle Snuffer

Elegant little altar tool - a gift for yourself, or a favorite Witch!

Birch-wood handle and natural bristle mini besom doubles as a candle snuffer. The metal snuffer is made from tightly-coiled steel cording.

The broom bristles are embellished with a pretty, black satin ribbon with iridescent details, and a silver-pewter pentacle charm.

This besom snuffer measures approximately 10.5 inches in length.

Remember:

Your first entry is to follow us here. (make sure you comment and tell us that you're following!)

Bonus entries:

Go to Elegantly Enchanting and peruse her wares. Come back and tell us what you like best there.

Make her page a favorite on Etsy and come back and tell us (separate entry)

Like us on Facebook- come back and tell us (separate entry)

Follow us on Twitter (come and tell us!- separate entry)

Blog about this giveaway (comment separately and send us a link to your blog post)

Tweet about this giveaway (comment separately and send us a link to your blog post)

Recipe of the Day


Caramel Apple Monster Munch
From Food Network

Make sure to use stove-popped popcorn for this recipe--not the microwave type--to ensure that your munch will be extra crisp and delicious.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup popcorn kernels
Nonstick cooking spray, for spraying the bowl and spatula
1 cup salted cocktail peanuts
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups lightly crushed red and/or green apple chips

Directions

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottom pot over medium heat until very hot and shimmering. Add the popcorn and immediately cover with a lid. Shake the pot constantly, holding the lid on with a heatproof holder, until the popping starts, about 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to shake the pot until the popping slows to just a few per 5 seconds, 1 to 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat and let stand for another minute to allow any last kernels to pop.

Spray a very large bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Put the popcorn in the bowl and remove any unpopped kernels. Add the peanuts. Spray a rubber heatproof spatula with the cooking spray and place next to the bowl.

Combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt in a medium saucepan and set over medium heat. 

Cook, stirring, until melted and the edges of the mixture begin to bubble. Clip a candy thermometer to the pan so the bottom of the thermometer is resting in the sugar syrup but not touching the bottom of the pan. 

Boil, stirring, until the thermometer registers 300 degrees F (the hard-crack stage), about 8 minutes.

Turn off the burner and add the vanilla. Stir briefly--about 5 seconds--being careful not to burn yourself as the mixture bubbles up.

Immediately pour the caramel evenly over the popcorn and quickly stir with the prepared rubber spatula until the pieces are mostly separated, about 3 minutes. Pull apart any larger clumps, being careful because the caramel will still be hot in spots. Stir in the apple chips.

Cook's Note: Lightly spraying the measuring cup with cooking spray before measuring helps prevent the corn syrup from sticking.

Today's Craft Idea

Mummy Spirits
From Martha Stewart

Scare up some Halloween spirit by turning an ordinary wine bottle into a delightfully sinister mummy. A spooky disguise for a wine bottle -- it's a Good Thing!

Tools and Materials

Paper towels
Cheesecloth
Coffee (cooled)
Flour
Corn syrup
Glue (optional)
Mixing bowl
Craft stick
Foam brush
Mad scientist sticker
Bottle of wine

Mummy Spirits How-To

1. Dip paper towel and cheesecloth in cooled coffee. Crumple paper towel and cheesecloth; allow to dry overnight.

2. Make a solution to attach paper towel to bottle: mix together 2 tablespoons flour, 1 tablespoon corn syrup, and 1 tablespoon coffee (cooled); stir with craft stick. With a foam brush, apply a thin layer of solution to areas of bottle to be covered with paper towel, being sure to do only one area at a time because solution dries quickly. (Glue can be used in place of solution if desired.)

3. Cover bottle with paper towel, leaving an open spot to show name of wine. Cut or rip cheesecloth into strips. Take dried cheesecloth and wrap around bottle to create the look of a mummy. Use some of the paste to make cheesecloth stay put if necessary.

4. Attach mad scientist sticker.

And the Winner Is!

The winner for the October 10th giveaway from Sabrina the InkWitch is Danni Suplicki! Congratulations Danni and be sure to send us your shipping information so our vendor Siren can get this out to you.

The Video for Today as chosen by Kestril Trueseeker

Simply hearing this song gives me the chills, bringing back memories of the Exorcist

 Don't forget, the Siren's won't be here tomorrow but Sosanna WILL be and she's got some exciting things to share with you! Look for us on Monday. See you then! ;)
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So, WOW! Wasn't the experience Sammi shared with us pretty awesome? I don't know about you, but I am really looking forward to finding out how her encounter concluded. So without further delay, here is Part 2 of Spirit Meet Ups, from our own Siren, Samantha Curtin from Bones, Buried treasures and Beliefs.

Spirit Meet Ups ~ Part 2

The Penn State campus of Mont Alto that I spent two years at was situated between Gettysburg and Chambersburg Pennsylvania. This meant that our campus had rich history complete with many spirits that hung around the various buildings. The two buildings that had the most activity were Weistling hall in the center of campus and the Chapel right at the campus line. Weistling Hall used to be the house of General Weistling who used it as an infirmary for both union and confederate soldiers. In addition it was also part of the Underground Railroad and in the basement was evidence of where they would hide the slaves. It is now the student center on campus and consequently where I worked for the Events Coordinator.

I had countless experiences there, including participating in a full scale ghost hunt with Paranormal Investigator John Zaffis (who now has his own show Haunted Collector on the Syfy channel). The spirit that I ran into most was of General Weistling’s sister Sarah. She was a nurse and helped the General both with the soldiers as well as the slaves that they hid in the Underground Railroad. Tragedy struck her when a confederate soldier fell in love with her. She didn't return his love so he shot her eight times on the front steps of the house. She then ran up the steps bleeding and died in one of the rooms that is now the music room.

Sarah took a liking to me. My first encounter with her (after I had learned about her story at orientation to become a tour guide on campus) were of her playing with the lights and doors upstairs. See I worked nights at the Hall which housed the coffee shop, game room, pool room and other areas for students to hang out. It was my job to lock up the upstairs and turn off all of the lights. After that the campus cops would come and lock up the building for me. They always refused to go upstairs and I found out why on one of the first nights I worked there.

First I must explain that there are two different way to get to the upstairs. The main way is up the front stairs of the building and the other is up the back narrow staircase that I usually took. Upon getting upstairs one night while my friend who I worked with was downstairs I found all the lights were on. I then walked around the upstairs switching off all the lights and headed back to the back staircase. As I reached the steps all the lights flew back on and I heard the door to the music room open which was to my right.

My first thought was that my friend was playing a trick on me since she knew that I was into all the “spirit stuff” as she said. I called for her and heard her call from down the steps up back at me. I replied with a never mind and walked over to the music room to shut the door. I pulled the door shut and put the key into lock it when suddenly it felt like someone was pulling on the other side. I pulled back as hard as I could but suddenly it was yanked out of my hands. Honestly I expected to see someone on the other side of the door as it banged against the wall but there was nothing. The door then flew back shut. I then went to lock it to find out that it was already locked.

At this point I realized that it was probably Sarah so I just let it go and went to turn the lights back off down the hall. The same thing happened though when I reached the stairs. At this point all I wanted to do was lock up and go back to my dorm room so I addressed Sarah, asking her to please stop since I was tired and wanted to go home. The lights went out and I said thank you as I walked downstairs.

The lights and doors became a regular thing and soon the new cop we had on campus learned fast that this spirit didn't like men. He would try to lock the door upstairs but they would always unlock themselves. I would lock them and they would stay locked. It became obvious that Sarah felt comfortable around me and even perhaps liked my company. Every time I would go upstairs by myself I would talk to her and one night I got an answer back in the form of her showing herself to me on the balcony of the building. I could only see her torso and head since it was dark outside but I could see she had long brownish red hair that was pulled back into a low ponytail tied with a ribbon and she wore a long dark colored dress (was too dark to tell what color). I smiled at her and she smiled back at me then disappeared.

When John Zaffis came to campus to give a lecture and do what he called a “ghost walk” of campus I was the first to tell him about Sarah and also the Chapel, which until that night hadn't been in. He agreed that after the lecture he would take the interested to the buildings and bring his equipment. To say I was excited was an understatement. First we went to the Chapel where John Brown used to teach Sunday school and also gave his famous speech before his raid on Harper’s Ferry. John set his K2 meter by the baptismal font and he instructed the spirits in the Chapel to light up one light for no and all the way across for yes. He instructed us that we could try asking the spirit questions.

Everyone seemed either apprehensive or skeptical but my boss decided to ask the first questions. She asked simply if there were any spirits in here. We got a yes answer and I smiled. Soon other students started to ask questions but the K2 meter never lit up. John asked if there was more than one spirit and got the answer no. More people asked questions but no answers. Finally I decided to ask some questions. I asked if the spirit was a female and got the answer yes. Other people asked questions but now answer. I asked if the spirit hung out in both the Chapel and Weistling and got the answer yes. I asked if the spirit liked to watch the weddings in here and got the answer yes.

At this point John asked me what my name was and asked me to come to the front where he was since it was obvious the spirit liked me. I continued to ask questions until I asked the question if this spirit was Sarah, since I was sure it was. I got the answer no. This confused me but at that point John wanted to move on to the other building. As we were walking up the hill to Weistling he pulled me aside and told me that spirits seemed to be drawn to me. He asked if I knew I was sensitive and I told him I had been experiencing it all my life but never labeled myself as sensitive. He told me I had a great gift and that I should treasure it. This made me glow.

The rest of that night we had small experiences in Weistling Hall. We heard water running through pipes, doors opening and closing, lights flickering and at one point I felt a rush of coldness run up my body. All in all it was a great night in which some students vowed never to return to that building. When we were in the basement I even had a 6 foot tall freshman boy grab my hand at one point in fear. I will never forget that night.

Once I got up to the main campus I had many different experiences all around campus but especially in my dorm room. Junior year was the year I had some not so nice male friends who treated me like shit. The spirit in my room hated them and made it known. I had things thrown around my room, banging coming from inside our closet in the kitchen and constant slamming of my room door. It continued until senior year when I stopped hanging out with them, they stopped. I think my favorite act of the spirit was the destroying of my movie ticket from when my one roommate dragged me to one of the Twilight movies. I couldn't stop laughing after that happened. It looked like it was gone through a shredder.

After I graduated and moved back home I didn't have many encounters except for the normal hearing my name and the steps. I was unemployed so spent most of my time either working on my book or looking for a job. Then I started volunteering at the Laurel History Museum which was housed in the old Mill House. The first time I walked into the museum I could feel many presences in there and I loved it. Most of the time they stayed in the attic but I saw a couple shadowy figures by the exhibits or in the collections office. The attic was full of activity though and I would make excuses to go up and catalog artifacts up there.

 One day I was searching forever for an artifact when suddenly felt something hit me in the back and I turned to see a box jutting out from the shelf. It was the box I needed. Many times I heard people walking around up there with me and I would try to follow them but never saw them. A couple times I saw shadows but that was it. None of the other employees had experiences except a few when they were around me. Soon I had a full time job and spent less and less time at the museum before eventually quitting all together.

About 3 and half months after I started working in August of 2011 I met Grant through a mutual friend who worked with him at the gym at Maryland. He still worked there even though he graduated and still lived at a house off of campus. I would then hang out with him at his house though I never experienced anything there until Hurricane Irene hit. We were stuck at his house with no power and the wind and rain pounding around us. The house had a completely different feel to it. It had a very heavy feeling and I constantly felt like something was watching me.

Around 11pm that night we were sitting on the bed with the door open and all of the sudden the air grew incredibly heavy and cold. I looked to the open doorway and saw a black mass standing there. It wasn't in the shape of anything in particular just a thick black mass. It froze in fear as it radiated pure evil and stared right at me. I turned to Grant and barely got out the words, “Please shut the door.”

He got up not knowing what was going on and went to the doorway. He paused, staring right at the thing as my heart was in danger of beating out of the chest. He then slammed the door shut and walked over to the bed and put his arm around me asking, “There was something there wasn't it?”  I just nodded and a few minutes later left that house. I only came back once the day he moved out but the vibe was completely different. To this day I am convinced that I had an encounter with a demon and I refuse to ever go back to that house.

Thankfully that’s the only evil spirit that I've come across. Most have been friendly, playful, and protective. We have a spirit in our apartment now that likes to make sure I’m not feeling lonely when Grant’s gone on his business trips. We have a spirit in our office that likes to randomly move stuff around in the back offices and make banging noises. All our harmless and once again make me feel comforted. This is just part of my life and people have come to realize that if they are going to be part of my life then they will be around these spirits.

Today's Giveaway


Today we have our final autographed print from Sabrina over at The Ink Witch. This one is Aradia. And if you know Sabrina even the tiniest bit, you know as with all our Crafty Siren's, she puts her heart and soul into every piece she creates. 

Remember:

Your first entry is to follow us here. (make sure you comment and tell us that you're following!)

Bonus entries:

Go to The Ink Witch  and peruse her wares. Come back and tell us what you like best there.

Subscribe to her Facebook page Sabrina TheInkwitch  and come back and tell us (separate entry)

Like us on Facebook- come back and tell us (separate entry)

Follow us on Twitter (come and tell us!- separate entry)

Blog about this giveaway (comment separately and send us a link to your blog post)

Tweet about this giveaway (comment separately and send us a link to your blog post)

The Recipe for Today


Spooky Punch from Sandra Lee at Food Network

Ingredients

For the ice cubes:

2 packages gummy bear worms
1 (32-ounce) container cranberry juice

For the shrunken head straws:

6 plastic drinking straws
6 pitted prunes
18 whole cloves
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup sweetened flake coconut

For the punch:

3 (12-ounce) bottles strawberry smoothies
2 quarts orange juice
3 cans lemon/lime soda

Directions

For the ice cubes:

Stick 1 gummy worm in each cube, with half of the worm hanging out. Pour cranberry juice into the ice cube trays. Place in freezer 2 hours before mixing the punch.

For the shrunken head straws:

Push a straw up through the center of 1 prune where the pit used to be, so it sits one-third of the way down the straw. Repeat with remaining prunes.

In a small bowl melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave for 45 second at 15-second intervals stirring between intervals. Take 12 cloves and dip the round ends into the melted chocolate. Place on a plate lined with waxed paper and allow chocolate to set about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile using a small brush or toothpick coat the top part of each prune with melted white chocolate. Carefully sprinkle the coconut on top of the white chocolate to resemble hair. Repeat with the remaining prunes.

Stick 2 white chocolate-coated cloves into each prune to create 2 eyes. Place 1 undipped clove into each prune under the eyes to resemble a nose.

For the punch:

Pour the strawberry smoothies, the orange juice and the lemon/lime soda into a large punch bowl and stir.

Take the gummy worm ice cubes out of the freezer, and add half of them to the punch. Place remaining cubes into glasses and fill each glass with punch using a ladle.

Today's Craft Idea

Halloween Pumpkin Pot Craft
From All Kids Network

This cute Halloween pumpkin pot craft is a great family craft and a fun Halloween decoration! The materials are simple and it can easily be adapted to be personalized for each member in your family.  This cute Halloween craft lets your kids create the best part of the jack-o-lantern (the face!) without creating all the pumpkin mess!  Enjoy!

What you'll need:

3-4 inch clay pot
Orange craft paint
3-D paint: black, green, blue
paint brush

How to make your Halloween Pumpkin Pot:

Paint the entire pot orange and set aside to dry.
Turn the pot upside down.  Use the blue 3-D paint to write "Happy Halloween" along the rim of the pot.
Use the black 3-D paint to paint a jack-o-lantern face on the pot.
Use the green 3-D paint to paint spirals along the top of the pot as leaves.


The October 9th winner of the Samhain print from Sabrina The InkWitch is  Robyn Chausse, rcponders

Please don't forget to send us an email with your name, shipping details, etc... so our lovely vendor sirens can send you your goodies :)

The Video of the Day as chosen by Kestril Trueseeker

In late medieval times, starting around the 14th century, it was popular to depict the dead (or Death itself) calling people to the grave in a sort of invitation to dance. These Danse Macabre depictions were meant to be sort of a Memento mori to the viewer.

See you tomorrow!!
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