Wednesday, July 31, 2013

And the Winner of the Lughnasadh Giveaway is...

....Vikki Sorros!

Congrats Vikki, your name was randomly selected and I will be sending you your goodies ASAP.

Thanks to everyone who participated and I hope you will all join me again for the giveaway that I will be doing for Samhain! :)

Laurel

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Lughnasadh Giveaway Now Closed

The Lughnasadh giveaway is now closed. I will randomly draw a winner soon and will post the results within the next few days. Thanks to everyone who entered!

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Lughnasadh Giveaway

I am sorry it has taken me so long to get this giveaway posted folks! But here it is. This is what is in the Lughnasadh giveaway....
 
 
 
  • One $20 Cyber Gift Certificate
  • 1/2 oz Fertile Fields Incense
  • Abundance Herbal Beeswax Candle
  • Vintage J & G Meakin Studio "Poppies" Sugar Bowl
  • "Country Remedies" by Karen Thesen
  • Prosperity Herb Bottle Charm
  • 10 Wee Baggies of Herbs

$20.00 Cyber Gift Certificate

{cyber gift certificate example}

I will email the winner a cyber gift certificate of $20.00 {CDN/US} value to the winner which can be used to either purchase from my Etsy shop or purchase services that are available on my website.
 
Fertile Fields Incense
 

Fertile Fields has a scent that is reminiscent of freshly mown hay thanks the sweet woodruff that it contains. Also added are elder berries, which gives it a touch of an earthy smell. This blend was created to be burnt for fertility, abundance, harvest blessings and other agricultural rituals, Lughnasadh and as an offering for Macha and equine allies. Some may find Fertile Fields is a suitable offering for other deities such as Tailtiu, Amaethon, or other deities associated with agriculture and the harvest.

Abundance Herbal Beeswax Candle
 
 
This candle is was made by me with harvest and abundance in mind. It is made from premium local beeswax which has been hand-poured into a small harvest-themed mason jar. Throughout the candle there are botanicals such as grain {locally grown}, lavender and meadowsweet {grown by me} and hawthorn berries and elderberries {wildcrafted by me}.
 
Vintage J & G Meakin Studio "Poppies" Sugar Bowl
 

I thought that this sugar bowl would make a lovely offering vessel for Lughnasadh {or Lammas} or perhaps would be suitable for a candle holder. The design is 1970's poppy motif by the English J & G Meakin Studio. It is in excellent condition and apparently this particular design is very collectable.
 
"Country Remedies" by Karen Thesen


Country Remedies by Karen Thesen is a lovely little book published in 1979. It is full of great herbal recipes and lore and the decorated with sweet botanical images. From the back of the book:
"A book full of natural wisdom & old wives' tales that work; the recipes & remedies that have been handed down for generations, from mother to daughter, from good fairy to godchild, to form the heart of self-sufficiency & country lore. Here are remedies that are born of experience & common sense, brewed up in country kitchens with ingredients from the pantry or gathered from gardens & fields."
This copy is in good shape with no missing pages. I think is a must for any herbfolk's library. :)
 
Prosperity Herb Bottle Charm

 
I made this little charm to draw in abundance and prosperity of all types. It is a little corked bottle with a variety of ingredients including grains, comfrey root, peppermint, juniper berries, bladderwrack, hollyhock leaves, and cinquefoil. The bottle was then sealed off with melted beeswax.

Ten Wee Baggies of Herbs

 
A gaggle of herbs that I recently harvested in my garden or out in some of my favourite wildcrafting haunts:
  1. Mugwort {Caution: can be toxic!}
  2. Wormwood {Caution: can be toxic!}
  3. Periwinkle Leaves {Caution: can be toxic!}
  4. Common Tansy {Caution: can be toxic!}
***Should the winner live in a place where any of these herbs are considered controlled substances, then they can be replaced by another herb of choice {I will provide a list of what else I have available}.*** 
 
How to Enter the Giveaway

For those who are interested in entering, all you need to do is share a favourite summer/early fall recipe. All entries must be submitted to the comment section of this post; you can either just type it out there or link to a video or blog entry that is posted elsewhere. Previously some folks were having issues posting in my comment section, so I will accept entries that are emailed to me {unfetteredwood at yahoo dot ca} and I will post them in the comment section, along with listing who the name of the person it is for.  The winner will be drawn at random right after the closing date. Below you will see the vitals:
  1. Only one entry per person.
  2. Entrants must be 18 years or older.
  3. The giveaway is open for all countries.
  4. To enter you are not obligated to purchase anything from me or to subscribe to any of my social media haunts.
  5. All entries must be submitted by Sunday July 28th at 3pm EST.
  6. The winner will need to provide a mailing address to receive their pretties. The information provided will not be used for any other purpose than to receive their winnings. The information will not be given to anyone else, or sold to a third party.
*********
 
Good luck to all of you who enter!
 
Sláinte!
 
Laurel



Monday, July 1, 2013

Harvesting & Giving Thanks for Healing Herbs

 
Hello dear readers, I hope that everyone is having a lovely summer so far!
 
One of the most exciting times in my garden for me is when I get to harvest herbs in early summer. Last year I did a more in-depth post on some of the rituals that I do around this time for those who are interested. This post will just mostly be photos.
 
The lovely bounty.
 
My Midsummer shrine dedicated to Airmid & honeybees.
 
Offering stones, double pink columbine and hand-rolled beeswax candles.
 
 
Bee artwork done by Amanda Clark.
 
A vessel I made for healing.
In other news, I am getting everything together for a Lughnasadh giveaway, so stay tuned for that.

Sláinte!

Laurel