A Simple Candle Spell for Lammas

Whether you call it Lammas, Lughnasad or something else, many Pagans will celebrate the halfway mark (cross quarter) between Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox (Mabon) on August 1st.  Traditionally, this is a harvest festival and concentrates on the harvest of grain.  Baking and/or eating bread is a great and simple way to celebrate the season.  I've created a simple candle ceremony for those who like to celebrate the sabbats in a simple manner - or those who are so busy with life, work and family that they need something quick and easy!

Items needed:

• A candle of your choice: Traditional colors for this sabbat are golds and yellows, but a white candle is always a good substitute.  If you have one on hand, a candle that smells like something baked would work nicely, too. (You can even find candles on Etsy that smell like a  cinnamon bun, birthday cake or fresh baked bread!)
• A lighter or matches
• A drink:  Since beer is brewed with yeast, like bread, it's a very appropriate drink for this sabbat.  Try a nice ale, porter, stout or a wheat beer. Mead, wine or juice are also good choices.
• A slice of bread: Homemade is awesome, but a slice of a nice whole grain bread (or some Wonder Bread, we won't judge) is just fine, too.  Alternately, if you can find a cookie that represents a man (like a gingerbread cookie or one of those character cookies you can find in your grocery store's bakery), you can "sacrifice" it, as was the tradition of old.  Your neighbors will appreciate this choice over a large burning wicker man in the back yard, believe me.
• A candle snuffer (optional)

Ritual:

When you have a few moments, gather your items, and center yourself.  Take a few deep, cleansing breaths, and consider the sabbat.  This is the time to be grateful for what this year's harvest is bringing you, and for having enough to feed your family and asking for blessings through the rest of the summer and fall.

When you feel ready, light the candle.  You can say something like:

I light this candle in gratefulness of the plentitude which has blessed me/my family.  I ask the Lord and Lady to continue their blessings on me/us, and to spread those blessings near and far so that others share in our bounty as well.  In gratitude, I eat this bread (or sacrifice this cookie man as a symbol of), and give thanks to deity and nature for their generous bounty." Eat the bread, drink the drink (saving a bit of each to put outside as an offering) and take as much time as you like (or can!) to count your blessings and maybe consider how to help spread those blessings to others.  

When you feel ready, snuff out the candle and go about your day!

More Lammas posts:

Lammas activities

The Lammas cookie I used last year for my "sacrifice":

And (for Nydia!) a little Cernunnos graphic to get you in the Lammas mood:

This post and photo copyright CPSM.  They may not be reposted or printed without express written permission of the author.  The sharing of the link is happily allowed and appreciated.

My Cook Book Blessing

Photo courtesy of the author

For the domestic witch, a recipe book is something more than just a book filled with recipes.  It's a book filled with memories of time spent with friends and family and meals shared in good times and not so good. Whether kept in a shoe box or a bound journal, a recipe collection, for the domestic witch, will be honored as high as a book of shadows.  

A book blessing, either borrowed or  created, can said over the collection each time it's used or on a regular basis:  during the full moon or every year on a certain sabbat - whatever feels right to the individual witch!  The blessing can also be placed in or on the book to help bring blessings upon all that is created with it.  

Here is my personal book blessing*:

In this book my recipes do reside
Traditions and memories locked inside.

I ask that this book be blessed from above
And all created with it be filled with your love.

Blessed be.

*Copyrighted to Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom.  Please do not repost in it's entirety without permission of the author.  Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.

Beyond Magical Giveaway!

Today's giveaway comes from Beyond Magical Candle Company!  This is a great company for a number of reasons: candles are made using natural soy wax from American farmers. There are no additives or dyes in the candles. The wicks are made from renewable resources as well, paper, cotton, or hemp or any combination of the three, and they are cured in natural wax. Their fragrance oils are high quality, undiluted, and body safe.


Besides all that?  10% of proceeds from anyone who orders will go to the Pagan Assistance Fund.  The shop also offers discounts on orders from other Etsy dealers and to new customers!


So what's the prize?  A 10 oz natural soy candle comes in an apothecary jar scented and charged with your choice of energy or intent/purpose!  The candle will come decorated with a corresponding ribbon.  Info on your personal candle will also be included. Your choices for intent include, among other things, Banish Negativity, Love & Passion, Health/To Heal or Protection.  There are a ton of choices for scent as well - Green Tea, Lilic Dreams, White Tea & Ginger - just to name a couple!   Find a full list of possible intents and scents here.  


So what do you need to do to enter?  
PLEASE Read the Requirements and terms to enter.  Comments that are not entries, or do not comply with the rules will not be published, nor will they count as entries. This is so that I can use the entries in order when picking the winner.  Thank you.

Pagan Students and Their Rights, Part I

Though the following was not written specifically for Pagan students, but to cover all religious expressions, it is, I think, a must have in your parental tool box.  Whether you are fighting for your child to be able to wear a pentacle necklace (when other students are allowed to wear their religious symbols),  trying to keep other students from harassing your child about their beliefs, or supporting your child in forming a Pagan study group,  this document covers a lot.

The list was compiled by former Secretary of Education Richard Riley in 1995 at the request of President Bill Clinton. The list was updated in 1998 to include more recent court decisions.  You can find Riley's original letter to educators on this subject here.  And there will be more Pagan Student articles coming up soon!

Religious Expression in Public Schools

Student prayer and religious discussion:The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment does not prohibit purely private religious speech by students. Students therefore have the same right to engage in individual or group prayer and religious discussion during the school day as they do to engage in other comparable activity. For example, students may read their Bibles or other scriptures, say grace before meals, and pray before tests to the same extent they may engage in comparable nondisruptive activities. Local school authorities possess substantial discretion to impose rules of order and other pedagogical restrictions on student activities, but they may not structure or administer such rules to discriminate against religious activity or speech.

Generally, students may pray in a nondisruptive manner when not engaged in school activities or instruction, and subject to the rules that normally pertain in the applicable setting. Specifically, students in informal settings, such as cafeterias and hallways, may pray and discuss their religious views with each other, subject to the same rules of order as apply to other student activities and speech. Students may also speak to, and attempt to persuade, their peers about religious topics just as they do with regard to political topics. School officials, however, should intercede to stop student speech that constitutes harassment aimed at a student or a group of students.

Students may also participate in before or after school events with religious content, such as "see you at the flag pole" gatherings, on the same terms as they may participate in other noncurriculum activities on school premises. School officials may neither discourage nor encourage participation in such an event.

The right to engage in voluntary prayer or religious discussion free from discrimination does not include the right to have a captive audience listen, or to compel other students to participate. Teachers and school administrators should ensure that no student is in any way coerced to participate in religious activity.

Graduation prayer and baccalaureates: Under current Supreme Court decisions, school officials may not mandate or organize prayer at graduation, nor organize religious baccalaureate ceremonies. If a school generally opens its facilities to private groups, it must make its facilities available on the same terms to organizers of privately sponsored religious baccalaureate services. A school may not extend preferential treatment to baccalaureate ceremonies and may in some instances be obliged to disclaim official endorsement of such ceremonies.
Official neutrality regarding religious activity: Teachers and school administrators, when acting in those capacities, are representatives of the state and are prohibited by the establishment clause from soliciting or encouraging religious activity, and from participating in such activity with students. Teachers and administrators also are prohibited from discouraging activity because of its religious content, and from soliciting or encouraging antireligious activity.

Teaching about religion: Public schools may not provide religious instruction, but they may teach about religion, including the Bible or other scripture: the history of religion, comparative religion, the Bible (or other scripture)-as-literature, and the role of religion in the history of the United States and other countries all are permissible public school subjects. Similarly, it is permissible to consider religious influences on art, music, literature, and social studies. Although public schools may teach about religious holidays, including their religious aspects, and may celebrate the secular aspects of holidays, schools may not observe holidays as religious events or promote such observance by students.

Student assignments: Students may express their beliefs about religion in the form of homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free of discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions. Such home and classroom work should be judged by ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance, and against other legitimate pedagogical concerns identified by the school.

Religious literature: Students have a right to distribute religious literature to their schoolmates on the same terms as they are permitted to distribute other literature that is unrelated to school curriculum or activities. Schools may impose the same reasonable time, place, and manner or other constitutional restrictions on distribution of religious literature as they do on nonschool literature generally, but they may not single out religious literature for special regulation.

Religious excusals: Subject to applicable State laws, schools enjoy substantial discretion to excuse individual students from lessons that are objectionable to the student or the students' parents on religious or other conscientious grounds. However, students generally do not have a Federal right to be excused from lessons that may be inconsistent with their religious beliefs or practices. School officials may neither encourage nor discourage students from availing themselves of an excusal option.

Released time: Subject to applicable State laws, schools have the discretion to dismiss students to off-premises religious instruction, provided that schools do not encourage or discourage participation or penalize those who do not attend. Schools may not allow religious instruction by outsiders on school premises during the school day.

Teaching values: Though schools must be neutral with respect to religion, they may play an active role with respect to teaching civic values and virtue, and the moral code that holds us together as a community. The fact that some of these values are held also by religions does not make it unlawful to teach them in school.

Student garb: Schools enjoy substantial discretion in adopting policies relating to student dress and school uniforms. Students generally have no Federal right to be exempted from religiously-neutral and generally applicable school dress rules based on their religious beliefs or practices; however, schools may not single out religious attire in general, or attire of a particular religion, for prohibition or regulation. Students may display religious messages on items of clothing to the same extent that they are permitted to display other comparable messages. Religious messages may not be singled out for suppression, but rather are subject to the same rules as generally apply to comparable messages.

The Equal Access Act

The Equal Access Act is designed to ensure that, consistent with the First Amendment, student religious activities are accorded the same access to public school facilities as are student secular activities. Based on decisions of the Federal courts, as well as its interpretations of the Act, the Department of Justice has advised that the Act should be interpreted as providing, among other things, that:
General provisions: Student religious groups at public secondary schools have the same right of access to school facilities as is enjoyed by other comparable student groups. Under the Equal Access Act, a school receiving Federal funds that allows one or more student noncurriculum-related clubs to meet on its premises during noninstructional time may not refuse access to student religious groups.

Prayer services and worship exercises covered: A meeting, as defined and protected by the Equal Access Act, may include a prayer service, Bible reading, or other worship exercise.

Equal access to means of publicizing meetings: A school receiving Federal funds must allow student groups meeting under the Act to use the school media -- including the public address system, the school newspaper, and the school bulletin board -- to announce their meetings on the same terms as other noncurriculum-related student groups are allowed to use the school media. Any policy concerning the use of school media must be applied to all noncurriculum-related student groups in a nondiscriminatory matter. Schools, however, may inform students that certain groups are not school sponsored.

Lunch-time and recess covered: A school creates a limited open forum under the Equal Access Act, triggering equal access rights for religious groups, when it allows students to meet during their lunch periods or other noninstructional time during the school day, as well as when it allows students to meet before and after the school day.

Above graphic is courtesy of Vladsinger , via Wikimedia Commons.

Candle Colors for Magical Purposes

Because I'm no longer writing for Examiner (I just don't have the time to commit to it right now), I'm moving some of my articles here for future reference.  Some of you might have read these already, though I may add a bit more info.  =)

If you've read this blog for a bit, you know how I love a simple candle spell.  Sure, you can do any type of work with only your intent, but for those of us who still prefer or need a bit of help with focusing our concentration (amid the chaos of everyday life, lol!), a candle is the perfect tool - inexpensive, easily stored, easy to use.

A white candle can be substituted for any color for any spell or ritual, and it's great to have a few extras on hand.  Stock up when you find a sale (IKEA always has great prices on bundles of  plain candles of all colors and on Etsy you can find every type of candle imaginable!).  Dressing a candle in specific oils and rolling them in corresponding oils can give an added boost to your work as well.

When you want to really get your mojo working, though, sometimes you'll want to reach for a candle for a specific need. Here are some choices you might consider:

Black candles can be worked with when dealing with wisdom, self control, banishing bad habits, protection, mourning, meditation, protection, banishing negativity in all forms.

Blue (primary) candles are used when working with deep emotions, opening blocked channels of communication,  honesty, peace, honesty, truth and harmony. A dark blue (midnight or navy blue) candle is good for concentration, meditation and patience.Light blue candles are good for peaceful homes, empathy and loyalty.

Brown candles come in handy for earthy work, groundings, banishing sorrow, business success, prosperity, concentration, learning, home and hearth.

Gold is the color to use when dealing with prosperity, wealth, safety, creativity, self-confidence and anything dealing with the sun or solar energy.

Gray candles work well for groundings, stabilizing a negative influence and getting rid of bad habits.

Reach for primary green candles when dealing with nature, balance, healing, prosperity, business success, garden or plant magic, personal goals, finances and luck.  Emerald green attracts love and helps with fertility. 

Orange candles represent warmth, motivation, endurance, law, creativity, selling and ambition.Orange-red works for high energy and successful competition.

Pink candles stand for nurturing love, friendship, emotional healing, affection, feminine confidence, well-being and innocent romance. Peach candles combine the energy of orange softened by pink.

A purple candle would be the one to choose when working with spirituality, power, psychic works, the need for focus, independence or tolerance. Lavender tunes into intuition, nostalgia, active dreaming and intuition.

Primary red  candles represent love, desire, passion, lust, victory, anger, the military, sexuality, luck, childbirth, health, career goals and courage.  Dark red or maroon candles can be used for respect, wealth and power.  Magenta candles  are used for spiritual healing.

Choose silver candles when working with lunar energy, understanding, female power, clarity, self-worth or the Goddess.

White candles can be used for anything, but can be used specifically for purification, purity, harmony or enlightenment. 

Yellow is the color to pick when doing candle work for happiness, cheerfulness, luck, alertness, wisdom, action, communication, concentration or solar energy. Yellow-green works for confidence and new growth.

Choosing an appropriate candle color can help the domestic witch to create simple, speedy rituals of all kinds.  Need an inexpensive way to build up your candle color choices?  Try birthday candles!

This article is © Kris Bradley.  It may not be reproduced in any way without express written permission of the author.  Photo courtesy of Rehinhard Krichner, via Wikimedia Commons. 

Winner of the Yum-Yum Bento Box Book!

Thanks to Quirk for offering up this awesome book!  The winner of Yum-Yum Bento Box is....


Nikki/Veronica!  Please use the contact form via the tabs at the top of the page to send me your shipping info!

(And if you didn't win this one, seriously, think about getting this book.  It is UBER cute!!)

A Quick Note on Blog Buttons

There were a few questions yesterday about blog buttons, so I thought I'd take a quick moment to answer them:

What is the purpose of blog buttons?
Basically, the purpose of the buttons is to get your blog's name out there for networking.  If you blog just for yourself and/or for family and friends, you might not really need one.  If you are trying to grow a readership, promote an Etsy shop or business, or are hoping to monitize your blog, then a blog button can help you with that.  Trading buttons with other bloggers within your blog genre can bring bring new readers over as they peruse their favorite bloggers exchange partners.

It can also help put a quick "face" on your blog.  If you have or are trying to create a "brand", your button might be the first thing people see.  It should represent you, what you write about, and give people a quick idea about who you are - or at least make them wonder!

I was also asked about the code I use for the scrolling button, which you can add to your blog to keep it uncluttered from a ton of buttons.  I use the code located at this site: http://bloggerstop.net/2008/12/auto-scrolling-text-or-image-slide.html.  If you aren't too familiar with code, it can take a bit of time to figure out, but if I can do it, lol, anyone can!

To make your own button, you can make one online, but most will add their own URL to your button.  To create one that is all your own,  you'll need to use a photo editing program, such as Adobe or Picture It.  A good size for a button is 125x125.  That will fit in almost any blog sidebar.  Add your image and whatever text you want to the button and save it as a gif or jpeg.  You'll need to upload it to a photo hosting site, such as photobucket.com.

After a couple of attempts to share the code for making a "grabbable" button, I realized I have no idea how to add the code to show you without actually making it grabbable, lol!  So if you contact me, I will email you the code and how to add it to your blog!

UPDATE TO ADD: Here's a great tutorial for doing this: http://girlichefofftopic.blogspot.com/2010/06/how-to-make-blog-badge-blog-button.html

Blog button day!

I thought that we'd do a bit of networking today!  If you have a blog button that you'd like to exchange with other bloggers, sign up on the mcklinky below.  Visit the other bloggers, see if you'd like to exchange with them, and if you put up their button, leave them a message on their blog to let them know!

If you are sporting a CoaPSM button, and your button is not in my button rotation, please let me know and I'll get it up ASAP (or if you have an updated button and you'd like me to trade it for an old one that's listed).

Please be aware that having a code so that your button can be "grabbed" will make it much more likely for people to want to get it.  And if you don't have a button, you can create one on http://mybannermaker.com/

Monday Magic!

I've been working a lot lately on different banishing spells and thought I'd share a few of the quick fire ways that I've come across or thought up to banish something/someone from your life.   I'm not going into great detail here, just working in generalities - these tips are aimed at those who have experience in such things, not for someone who's not studied banishing practices or ritual magic.  If you are just looking to keep something out of your life, you don't want to "play" with a banishing spell that might, if done incorrectly, cause more harm than you intend.

Though you might be banishing a thought, a dream, a bad habit, etc., for the sake of simplicity, I'll just be using the term "name" for the list.  And remember,  any magic is more about the intention you put behind it than the physical aspect of what you are doing.  

Here are a few ideas for banishing:

• Write the name on a piece of paper and use a permanent marker or white-out to "erase" the name completely.
• Write the name on a piece of toilet paper and flush it away.
• Write the name on piece of paper, and put it through your paper shredder.
• Write the name on a scrap of old sweater and unravel the yarn.
• Carve the name on a black candle and let it burn all the way down.
• Carve the name on a scrap of wood and burn it (Fallen branches are the best choice here, as lumber scraps might be treated with chemicals and plywood contains glue).
• Write the name on a leaf, river rock or shell and throw it into running water (only throw into the water what came out of it or what might naturally fall into it).
• Write the name on a piece of paper and burn it in a heat proof container or fire place.
• Carve the name into the skin of a banana or other fruit and bury it in the earth.
• Whisper the words "I banish you, (insert name here) into a soap bubble and let the wind carry it away from you.
• During a storm, shout the words above into the wind.
• Use a needle to inscribe the name onto a piece of self-lighting charcoal.  Light the charcoal and when it's ready, sprinkle an appropriate banishing herb on it and let it burn to ash.  Dispose of the ash by wrapping it a banana skin and burying it, flushing it away, or just throw it out with your garbage.
• Write the name on a piece of paper, put it in the bottom of your pet's litter box or cage.  Dispose of the next time you clean the box.

I'd love to hear about any other quick banishing spells that you have in your aresenal!

Above photo courtesy of Puck Smith, via Wikimedia Commons

MrsB Cooks: Corn on the Cob on the Grill

This is a pretty standard, simple way to cook corn on the cob - but man, it's got such a great flavor when it's done on the grill!!

What do you need?  Simple.  Corn with the husks still on and a hot grill!  Easy peasy.

First things first.  The corn needs to be partially husked.  I suggest laying out a few sheets of newspapers for this, especially if you are doing more than a couple!

Pull down the bigger leaves, taking off anything that looks bad and taking out all of the "silk", and save a few of the thinner pieces of husk.  If there aren't some stringy thin ones, cut one into a few strips.

When the corn is pretty cleaned off, pull the outer leaves back up, and use those strips to tie it up at the top!  Just a quick tie will do, you don't need anything fancy.


When you have all your corn cleaned and tied up, soak them for about an hour in a tub or bucket of cold water.  This will keep the husks from burning right up on the grill, and will keep the corn all nice and juicy!
















When the corn is almost ready to come out, start your grill to heat.  You want it to be about medium heat - if you have a really hot grill, move the corn over to the side where it won't overcook too fast.  You don't want flames hitting the corn.

Remove the corn from the water and place it on the grill.  Turning frequently, grill the corn for 12-15 minutes, turning every so often so that it cooks evenly.  When the husks have almost completely charred or turned a nice brown color, the corn is ready to take off!

Pull the husks off, butter it up, and you are ready to eat!

If you want to take it a step further, make a nice herbal butter to put on the corn - just soften a stick of butter, add a handful of fresh herbs, chopped well (basil is really good on grilled corn!), a pinch of salt and pepper and mix well.  Slather on the hot cooked corn - delish!!

Book Review and Giveaway: Yum-Yum Bento Box

Yesterday's blog post discussed seasonal eating.  Today we'll discuss a book that might get your kids to try new foods and eat those veggies!

Yum-Yum Bento Box: Fresh Recipes for Adorable Lunches by Crystal Watanabe and Maki Ogawa is book full of wow.  Not only did I squeal when I got it, my 11 year old squealed when she saw it, and so did my son's 16 year old girlfriend (I thought I might have to wrestle the book away from her, but she finally handed it back over).

This book could not be more detailed or organized - not to mention the pictures (one for every recipe!) are really fabulous.  Yum-Yum Bento Box starts off with an introduction to all things bento, including a primer on the boxes themselves, tools that will come in handy and all the optional accessories (I want every one of them, lol!)  There is also a reference chart, again complete with a picture for each, of all the ways to create the little details for your creations: from sesame seed eyelashes to cheese shaped flowers to noses made out of peas.

Then we move on to the recipes.  Each recipe comes with a great picture, the time it takes to make the recipe (all are 30 minutes or less!), and simple instructions for creating the box as pictured.  There are tons of adorable boxes and critters to create: rice ball chickens and frogs, sandwiches in the shape of bears and bunnies, a teeny tiny polar bear made from a hard boiled egg.  All the recipes are based on 4:3:2:1 food group ratio, which includes 1 part fruit, dessert or condiment; 2 parts grain; 3 parts meat or protein; and 4 parts vegetable. A very healthy way to eat!

Here is a video on how to create a three little pigs bento!



And Quirk books might just have a little extra copy laying around of this fabulous book for one lucky CoaPSM reader!

Monday Mutterings

Well, after a lovely staycation and a visit from my sister in Texas, we are today going back to our regular lives.  It was tons of fun, but I have to say I'm ready to slow back down and get back to work.  I have things to bottle, things to create, and still have a certain package to mail (though the package gets bigger and bigger, lol!).

Though I posted before about a few of the things we'd done last week, I also wanted to share a few photos of our last adventure, a trip to a local "pick-your-own" lavender farm!!

(Sorry to those who follow on FB and have already seen these, lol!)

All the big white blobs here are butterflies, all the dark specks are fat bumble bees!  The farm has their own hives and offer a delicious lavender honey, too!

I picked up (for only $6!!) this great "lavender knife", with a curved blade and a wooden handle.

Miss M. in one of the fields.

My bunches of lavender, hung up to dry.  Got both English (best for cooking) and French.

Just gorgeous out there!  If you want more info on the farm, you can find them on Facebook at Pleasant Valley Lavender.

In other news, this week will start another great book giveaway, I'm hoping to have the forms ready to start submitting for The 31 Days of Halloween, and I've harvested and dried a batch of mugwort that will go up in my shop, hopefully by the end of the day!

You can also find this little guy there:

Hope your week is off to a great start!

Staycation all I've ever wanted....

Things I Have Done This Week on My Staycation:

Day 1, Saturday:  Picked up my sister from the airport.  Partook in my neighborhood 4th of July block party.

Day 2, Sunday: Stayed in bed until 1:30 in the afternoon.  Vowed never to drink alcohol again.

Day 3, Monday: Took the family to the American Museum of Natural History.  Saved Mr. B. from dinosaur attack.

Day 4, Tuesday: Visited the beach at Sandy Hook, drove through Fort Hancock to look at the lighthouse.

Day 5, Wednesday: Went to see Avenue Q off Broadway.  Hilarious!!

Day 6, Thursday: Went to the farmer's market and browsed the antique stores in Keyport.  Found a set of old cast iron jail keys (perfect for unlocking and banishing rituals!), and an old brass mortar and pestle from 1964.

Today is Day 7, Friday: Thinking we might hit the in-laws pool and just chill out today.

Tomorrow we are off to the pick-your-own lavender farm that I found up the road!  How cool is that?

Hope you are all having a great week - I'll be back to regular posting on Monday!!

Booze Cake Winner!

The winner of Quirk Book's full of awesome book, Booze Cakes is.......


K(Banterings of a Basketcase)!!   Congrats!  Please send me your shipping info!

And I'll be back with a "Staycation" post soon!

Where the Hell is Tanner...... 80's Edition

(Featuring Tater!)

"Gag me with a spoon."

It's getting closer.....

If you've been following my blog for a while, you already know about my annual The 31 Days of Halloween event.  It's a month of freaking out and trying to keep things organized giveaways, guest blogs, recipes and more.

Last year, with the help of some awesome donors, I gave away almost 200 items during the month of October - everything from a Starbuck's gift basket to jewelry to blog makeovers to candles and spell kits.   I had some awesome guest bloggers who blogged about Halloween and Samhain and all the goodness that they contain.  I also introduced the Haunted Halloween Walking Tour, where every day in October I linked to a different blog that was decorated for the season!

All in all, last year's  The 31 Days of Halloween event was way bigger than the year before.  It had more giveaways, awesome recipes and crafts, huge networking opportunities, and in that month alone, the blog got over 80,000 page views!

This year I'll be starting again in August to get organized, though this year, things will be somewhat different.  I will have a submission page so that donors, bloggers, etc. can get all their info together and submitted at once and I can stay better organized.  

I'll once again be rewarding those who help get the word out early with extra giveaway entries. 

 I'll also be selling space for 125x125 ads for the month.  

This year, I will also be accepting donations to help run the event in exchange for a listing of a shop or blog as a sponsor (those who donate prizes will of course have their shop listed as always).  Last year I put in not only hours and hours of time posting, moderating and communicating back and forth with sponsor, guest bloggers and such (which I am more than happy to do!!), but I actually lost money through having to ship several packages.  This year I'm also paying out of pocket for hosting for my form letter, to make sure that I can handle all the forms for submissions.   I feel a bit bad about adding this feature, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to keep her events running smoothly!  But more on all that later.

For now, get your glue guns heating, warm up the cauldrons, start researching your favorite superstition.  In other words, start preparing, because Halloween is closer than you think!!