April Showers Giveaway!!!

Good Morning, Ya'll!
Starting April 1, I will be hosting an April Showers Giveaway on The Pagan Mommy Facebook Page, where several vendors including myself will be giving away handmade wonders for all of our wonderful fans! To get to the page and see what's in store, click here.

I will be giving away a 4-pc set of Disney Coasters that I made myself, colors will be winner's choice!

If you are interested in being a vendor in the giveaway, you can either message me through my facebook page for details, or email me at thepaganmommy@gmail.com with a picture of what you will be giving away, as well as what details you want displayed about the item, and whether you will be adding a shipping cost or not.

I will keep ya'll updated on this as well as a couple more giveaways I will be having on here!

Blessed Be!
Have an amazing day ya'll, and as always, keep it magickal! )o(

February 2, Oh Why Must You Torment Me!

So February 2 has always been a pretty intense day for me. For as long as I can remember, every year on Feb 2, I cry. Why you ask? Because Feb 2 is my grandmother's birthday, the one who I was closest to as a child, the one who past away when I was only 4 years old. I learned a lot about death that day, more than any 4 year should should know, or even be able to comprehend at that age. And though I welcome the groundhog, and celebrate Imbolc, I still cry over the passing of my grandmother.

The memories are what flood my mind the most, and the thought that always plagues me is that although I know she is always looking after me, she isn't here in the physical form to celebrate with us all that we have accomplished over the years. She'll never get the chance to hold my son in her arms, she won't be able to be there to congratulate me when I get my college degree, she won't be there to hug me when I get married...All of these thoughts bring me to tears, and I replay the moment she was buried in my head, over and over, with every year that passes, no matter what I do.

She was so young, just shy of 41 when she passed....

 My grandmother was one of the most amazing women in the world, she was always there for everyone, even if it meant going out of her way to help, she never hesitated to do it. She was the glue that held our family together, and when she passed away, the glue slowly dissolved, and eventually everyone went their separate ways, even as far as leaving to other parts of the country.

My grandmother and my grandfather..She was his entire world,
quite literally. When she passed, he was more than devastated,
and he went to a dark place within himself for a very long time.

I know within myself that this day will never be different for me, that my love for my grandmother and sorrow from her passing will never dwindle in the slightest, but I'm ok with that. As long as I hold on to the good memories along with the bad memories, I can live with crying my eyes out once a year. I will leave you with this poem that every time I hear or read it my thoughts always turn to her:

My Grandmother

© Victoria L. Payne

In my Rose Garden of memories
I see you standing there
An angel in disguise
Who taught me how to care
I long to hear your voice
for real not in my dreams
I am missing you so much these days
how empty my world seems
People say time heals all wounds
that someday the pain will subside
But Grandma I can tell you
I think they must have lied
The emptiness I am feeling now
is strong and I am weak
These days go by without you
so dreary and so bleak
In my Rose Garden of memories
I know you'll always be
for though you're gone
from this mortal world
In my heart you'll always be.

Sorry to sadden you all, I hope you all have a great evening! Keep it magickal always!

Palmolive Fresh Infusions Dish Soap Review and Giveaway!

    I had the pleasure of testing the brand new Palmolive Fresh Infusions dish soap thanks to Influenster and Palmolive! I was so excited when my box arrived, but I never would have expected to receive 3 full sized bottles of this amazing dish soap! Here is the statement from the Palmolive website:

Just like the best recipes, the freshest scents and elegant simplicity are what inspires us in the kitchen.  Taking cues from nature, we created inviting, naturally inspired fragrance blends- and combined them with the sparkling clean you've always trusted from Palmolive dish liquid.

My box of Palmolive Fresh Infusions from Influenster!

I'm always a skeptic when it comes to dish soap because if it's watery from my experience, it will not be sudsy at all, or it won't clean the dishes properly. With Palmolive Fresh Infusions, not only do you need but a dime-sized amount of soap to do a considerable amount of dishes, but it makes a nice bit of suds and the smell is simply aroma-therapeutic!

Dime-sized amount of soap on sponge
(Don't worry, that's coffee residue!)

After cleaning a few dishes, there are
still plenty of suds left on the sponge!

I can never stand the smell of the sponges after washing dishes because they end up smelling like grease and after a while the grease not only sticks to the sponge, but it sticks to the dishes and your hands as well. With Palmolive Fresh Infusions, I no longer have to worry about that revolting smell and greasiness again! After testing the soap out on my greasiest pots and pans, the sponge still smelled fresh, and each dish looked as if they were washed with their own sponge individually! 

This mountain of suds was made with
only a quarter-sized amount of soap!

My favorite part of this experience was smelling the delicious scents of each soap. It was my favorite part because these are my ultimate favorite scents in general, especially the White Tea and Ginger!

Me and my White Tea and Ginger soap!

After all was said and done, I can definitely say, this testing experience has been one of my favorites! Thank you so much Influenster and Palmolive! If you want to pick up a few bottles for yourself, these amazing soaps are being sold exclusively at Walmart and Target for only $2.99!!

Me smelling the Lime Basil soap!

Enter for a chance to win ONE (1) coupon
for $1.50 off one bottle of Fresh Infusions!

Now for the best part for you all, my amazing readers! I am giving away 4 of the coupons that I received to 4 lucky readers! Just fill out the Rafflecopter Form below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I made this review in exchange for testing the products from Influenster, there were no monetary rewards involved.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Yule!

Good evening, Ya'll! I know it's been a while, but we've been busy busy over here, what with me finishing up the fall semester and crocheting my lil heart out, plus Kriztofer-Aiden in school and out of school on account of him being a sick, cranky toddler, and the hubby doing tattoos on and off, on top of looking for a 9-5 job, so I haven't had much time to be on here, and I apologize to you all for that! Good news is I have almost 4 weeks off until Spring semester starts, so I will be making appearances on here much more often! 

The crochet business has been a little slow, but I have managed to produce a decent amount of inventory for the Winter Fest at my mom's church this Saturday, December 15, and if you live near Fort Pierce, Florida, I suggest coming on down, they will be having a bunch of stuff for the kids to do, as well as the adults! Also, there is a giveaway going down on the Facebook page, it ends December 15, so get your entries in now over at The Pagan Mommy!!

Click the Link above for the giveaway!

My biggest project as of late! A Baby Blanket!

On another note, Yule is coming up fast, we have our tree up and decorated, and we have certainly decked the halls, and walls, inside and out! This being one of my favorite holidays, I love to go all out when it comes to gifts and decorations, we love doing homemade gifts, as well as tricky ones, we do things like double wrap the presents, or if a gift has multiple parts, we hide the parts around the tree or around the house, and we make a game of it, just to make the tradition a little more fun and intriguing! The alter is also decorated for the holiday with my fir branches and my red altar cloth! 

Kriztofer decorating the tree for the 1st time!

Yuletide Blessings to all this magickal season!

Our tree and fireplace look so perfect together!!

Our beautiful tree!

If I haven't made it apparent enough, I love December!!! On top of Yule, it's my Birthday, and well as many other events, December is certainly a busy and fun filled month for us, and is always the greatest end to the year! Well, that's all I have to tell you for now, be on the lookout for many other posts from me in the coming weeks, there might be a giveaway coming up soon! *hint hint*

As always, keep it magickal, and Blessed Be!! )o(

Goody Simple Styles Spin Pins

I had the opportunity to test the Goody Simple Styles Spin Pins thanks to Goody and Influenster in the Beauty Blogger VoxBox! These little magic pieces of metal are the most amazing hair styling products ever created! When I first saw them, I thought to myself that there was no way that these little spiral pins will be able to hold my hair up because it is so long (waist length).

 
As you can see, I was wrong. The Spin Pins held my hair up seamlessly, and you can't even see them! I gave them the ultimate test, first by shaking my head, they didn't fall out, and my hair didn't fall, they passed test 1 with flying colors! Second test, I kept them in the pigtails for the rest of the day, I went out and ran errands, cleaned the house, ran around with my son, ya know, daily stuff. I forgot the spin pins were in my hair, until I laid down to go to bed and realized my hair was still up, and even more amazing, still intact. Not one strand of hair had came loose and best of all, my hair looked like it hadn't been touched. Needless to say, these little pins have become my favorite hair styling product, and they are used on a daily basis! Thank you so much Influenster and Goody!

Not Your Mother's Smooth Moves Cream

I was given the chance to test out Not Your Mother's Smooth Moves Anti-Frizz Cream, thanks to Not Your Mother's and Influenster in the Beauty Blogger VoxBox! This cream first off has the most amazing coconut scent, thanks to the coconut oil in the cream. The smell is the first thing that attracted me to the cream, and because of how frizzy my hair is, I especially was hesitant to believe that this cream is truly anti-frizz.

As you can see in the picture above, I only applied the cream to the top of my hair because my hair was already pulled up, but it worked great! The back of the bottle suggested to put the cream in when your hair is damp, but even with dry hair the cream worked wonders. My hair was very soft, smooth, and shiny, and I went outside in the Florida heat to test the cream out against the humidity, and when I came back home after being out almost all day, I came home, and my hair was still intact, with no flyaways! I can definitely see myself purchasing this hair product indefinitely. Thank you Not Your Mother's and Influenster for introducing me to my new favorite hair product!

Bath and Body Works Cider Lane Fall Mini Candle

     I had the pleasure of testing out a Bath and Body Works mini fall candle, Cider Lane, thanks to Bath and Body Works, and Influenster's Beauty Blogger VoxBox! I at first didn't expect for such a small candle to have such a strong scent, but I knew I was wrong when I opened the VoxBox and the smell of pumpkin goodness hit my nose! This little candle is amazing! The smell was a mixture of pumpkin, cinnamon, and fresh cider, and it was extremely strong! I placed the candle in my living room because that's where most of the family spends their time, and I wanted to get everyone's opinion on the scent.

   Within minutes of me lighting the candle, the scent started filling the room, and everyone that walked into the living room questioned where the smell was coming from. My hubby asked who was cooking pumpkin pie, and when I told him it was the candle that was letting off the scent, even he was surprised, and he enjoyed the scent very much, and he isn't one for candles at all. After about 15 minutes, the scent not only filled the living room, but it traveled down the hallway and into the dining room as well.
   Needless to say, I wasn't able to take advantage of the coupon that I received with the candle, but I will certainly be purchasing this scent again, it has become my new signature fall scent for my home. Thank you Influenster and Bath and Body Works for allowing me to test such an amazing product!