The Polls Are Open until Midnight Nov 2nd

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!


Of course the time I really need my power to be on, it is mysteriously off. It's ghosts, I know it. They have it in for me and they knew how much y'all would be fretting and waiting to see the results so they make the power go out. Plus, we froze our tushies off all night without the heat. SORRY for getting this up late-blame the ghosties.

We want to thank you all for sharing your spooky, funny, touching, creepy, chilling stories with us. It's been a privilege to get a peek into your lives.

It was too difficult for us to choose, so we asked 6 professors at BYU Hawaii to judge and put through the top 4 in each category. Thanks you so much smarty pants professor peeps.

But seriously, the finalists were paper-thin close so we have decided to post the top FOUR funnies and spookies.

The Spooky Story Finalists are:

Binks
Alyson
Elizabeth
Funny Farmer

Ready . . . Set . . . VOTE!

Go to Crash's blog to find out the Funny Story Finalists.


Now it's time for the special award ceremony!

(some of these will get prizes too):

Best first freaky-AND-well-written story goes to Andrea. (Great story, Andrea! Keep writing. And old boat guy, Andrea needs a grandpa too).

Best well-written-funny-freaky-story-about-a-fly-that-wasn't-actually-entered goes to Jami in my Ghosts are People Too Comment box. (SHOULD have entered smart/dumb girl).

Best hilarious-scary-story-that-wasn't-actually-scary goes to Pat. (LOVED it so much!)

Best string of super-real-super-intriguing-hauntings-in-Canada goes to Deedra (Totally freaked over the bed-wetting story. Crash wet the bed until she was 8 years old and had terrible nightmares every night.)

Best short-scary-story-within-the-word-limit-by-an-old-boat-guy goes to Arlon. (Your story rocked! Get it? Rocked! hee hee. And I award you BEST story title/s.)

Best silly-scary-story-about-Sewl, plus most SPOOKtacular purple Halloween blog goes to Ginger. (LOVE that purple blog!)

Best extremely-touching-true-ghost-story-about-grief-within-the-word-limit goes to Pokemom. (Sincerly appreciated this story! Thanks.)

For some reason I didn't add Pokemom to the poll and now I can't add her. If you want to vote for her story please email me @ crashnsewl@gmail.com. Sorry 100 times over.

Best creative-fiction-with-a-super-cool-twist-and-that-only-went-one-word-over-the-word-limit goes to Wendy. (Wendyburd, you are gooooood. And don't tell me you're shy again.)

Best creepy-clever-story-about-night-munching-rats-and-dirty-fridges goes to Laura. (Cute job, Girl (in a swirl) You were so close! Argh!)

Best cewl-photospooky-entry-with-a-way-cewl-orange-jacket goes to Audrey. (Sooo cewl and eclectic and way out of our league).

Best scary-then-disturbing-then-scary-again-then-puzzling-then-funny-then-what-the-?-story-that-was-soooooooo-close-to-getting-in-the-finals-it's-not-even-funny goes to Jake. (The judges accused this entry of plagiarism. (hee hee) But I cleared it all up).

Thank you all so much for participating. It has made this Halloween SUPER scary and so much fun.

Now go vote!


After you vote read this below from the talented Vanessa at A Fanciful Twist.
She got her entry in late but it was spookiliciously GOOD.
Also go checkout her amazing blog. She has some sweet Halloween treats for all of you.


My grandparents live in a very very old house. Well over a hundred years old. it is haunted it is weird, it is creepy it is wild!!

But before they moved in, the house had been boarded up (windows and doors) because it was in the family but noone was living in it...

The house next door, just as old, was inhabited by my great grandmother (now these are rickety old three story houses with double attics and on a cliff...)

So, one day, my great grandmother who lived in the house next to the boarded up house, ordered groceries from the market...

So, the delivery boy, delivered them to the house that was boarded up instead...

When he knocked on the door, a woman named Agnes (I believe), little old woman, came to the door and said, I didn't order groceries.

Then she pointed to the house next door, which was my great grandmother's house.

The grocery boy went to my GG's house, and said, I am sorry I was late, but I went to the wrong house (mind you, you have to go down 100+ cobblestone stairs, to get to either of the houses). He then went on to tell my GG that the old lady Agnes at the house, told him he had the wrong house and sent him over to my GG's house...

My GG turned pale white. She said to the boy. Noone lives in that house. It is boarded up and vacant right now, and has been for years...

You see, the man who owned the house before my family did, had murdered his wife Agnes, and her bones were found in the cess pool... EEEEEK! True family story. No joke...

It was the Ghost of Agnes that opened greeted the grocer...

And, dare I utter the words that, Agnes haunts my grandmother to this day... It is all very scary and awful...

But true!! BOOOOOO!!! Spooky tales I tell ya...

The End is Nigh

Thank you to everyone who has participated so far in our 1st Annual Spook-A-Rama. It has been so much fun reading your stories and encounters. Midnight tonight is the deadline. Then we will let you judge the winner from our top 3 picks. If you are waiting to submit an entry, then don't procrastinate. Today is the day. Get your butts round the blog fire and read up if you haven't had the chance yet.

I wanted to share a lot more of my stories but taking care of my sick family has left me with little free time. I will just share a couple other things briefly and then put this Spook-A-Rama to bed because too many weird things are happening and I am getting too scared...I'm totally serious too.

While we lived in England my parents had a lovely, big, old house. It was such a nice house with a huge back yard. Just the kind of house every kid wants to grow up in right? WRONG!! That house had major ghosts in it. Many things happened there but as my Dad said here (very last comment) there were some VERY STRANGE things that went on. I heard footsteps all the time. A certain room had a horrible feeling to it. Every time I would walk past it I would have to run. We would hear things all the time and call cops out thinking there were burglars and nothing was out of place. One of our friends stayed in the house while we were gone and heard her name being called right by her ear...ahhhhh. Things would move on their own. It was such a creepy home. I got married and moved away thank goodness. And no, that is not the reason I got married. :)

Another experience I had was while we were on vacation is Tuscany. We were staying at this very old farmhouse in the farmhands quarters. It looked right out onto the vineyards. It was breathtaking during the day to see the views and beauty, and just as breathtaking at night.

My hubby was not with us. He had to be back to work one summer after we went to visit our parents in England. So we went on to Italy, and at night I was alone with my 5 and 3 year
old.

Our room was on the other side of this large farm house from where my brother and parents were staying. It was dark and dimly lit throughout the house. We got the kids tucked in and then I went and washed my face and came back to the room where I noticed the enormous armoire doors were open. To open these armoires you had to turn the key and that is how it popped open. I know it was closed when I left and both kids were sleeping deeply. It was weird but I really didn't give it much thought. Well~ during the night I heard what sounded like a key turning and then pop, the door opened. I saw the door open slowly and then nothing. I couldn't get out of bed to go get anyone because that meant leaving my kids alone with what ever that was, and I couldn't scream for my family because I would wake the kids up, and they didn't need that after all the walking and sightseeing their little bodies were doing. I just laid there and tried to keep myself from crying. I eventually fell asleep and it never happened again. Thank goodness!


All of this ghost story telling has gotten me thinking a lot on this subject. I have realized that I seem to have a lot happen to me. I wonder, like someone said in my comments, if I am a ghost magnet. I don't know if that is it. It could be, but I think that perhaps I am just a little more sensitive to this stuff than others may be. While it is scary and frightening to have strange things like this happen to you, there is also a flip side. Now I have never died and then come back, so I can't tell you what happens after we die, but I can say that I don't believe that Heavenly Father is cruel and has spirits wandering the earth aimlessly. I can't explain what ghosts are, but I know there are good spirits too. Ones that help us and protect us. I have felt these good spirits as well. I have felt the presence of my Grandfather on many occasions. I have known without a shadow of a doubt he was there comforting me in times of sorrow. I think it would be sad to think that once you die all contact is lost. My point is, that while we may be spooked out and scared from the telling of these stories like I TOTALLY am, we need to remember that GOOD will always conquer the bad.

Southern Lights

Alright, we are getting some entries in now, so I will share another one of my weird experiences. This one will be a little lighter. Not so spooky, but totally true.

If you are wondering about the prizes that you could win, and what the rules to the Spook-A-Rama are, click here.

Two years ago I was watching Ghost Hunters with my brother. It was this time of year and I had a this candle burning, like I do right now. The one in black. Not that it has anything to do with the story, but oh my gosh, this is the best candle ever. It really fills your whole house with the nicest, spicy, warm, autumn smells. And they last forever. I am smelling the same one right now..lol. Click on the pic if you want to go get one. Gosh- they should be paying me for this.

Anyway, just trying to set the scene for you. It was dark, we were all tucked in, with the fire blazing. We had just finished a particularly scary Ghost Hunters and I said to my brother that if anything like that ever happened to me, I wouldn't know what to do.
Right as I finished saying that, I saw a bright white light, so bright it was bluish. It looked like a sparkler that had been lit up and then exploded, then all of it traveled to the right in a flash. It was like a little comet. It left a tail of light and as it disappeared to the right, about 6 or 7 feet. I froze and thought that maybe my brain was malfunctioning, that I was having a stroke or something. I looked over at my brother with tears in my eyes to see if he had just seen that too. He had eyes the size of plates, so I knew that he did. We both couldn't speak. I pulled my throw over my head and just lay there trying to process what that was. Literally a few minutes went by before we started to talk about it.

We took the Ghost Hunters approach, and tried to debunk it, like they do. It could have been car lights, (it was nothing like that) but what if.
So we went to all the back windows and saw that all blinds were closed tightly. Plus, at the back of my house where the family room is, a car couldn't get headlights to magically bend around the house. Besides that, it was bright, like looking right into a sparkler bright. It was hot white, and moved strangely and with crazy speed.

The funny thing is where that happened is a place I had always been keenly aware of. I'd often be watching TV and look at that spot because I thought I saw movement there. Then this goes and happens in the same spot!!! It was strange, very strange. I still don't know what to call it. Was it paranormal? Was it a spirit using energy to show itself to us? What!?!?! How does all this work. I guess this is why I am so intrigued by it all. I believe we go to heaven after we die, or hell, so what are so many people experiencing?

Everyone we told after that just laughed at us. I saw it and so did my brother. That made me believe it. I would have played it off in my mind as having something on my contact, or my eyes being tired. It was incredible. I can't explain it to this day. I don't know if that is what some people call orbs, but it was quite the experience. I wonder if watching shows like Ghost Hunters actually makes it easier for things like this to happen? I don't know. My Dad says so, and hates that I watch it. I love it, so for now I will continue to disappoint my father..ha, what's new J/K

I'm loving the stories so far and based on the CRAZY traffic I am getting, we should have hundreds by now, so come on peeps, join the fun.

Emily aka Sewl

Oh, and just one AWESOME thing to share. I was just notified that I was featured on Etsy!!! Me!! Well not me but one of my paintings. The big Orange Poppy.

Here's the link http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=17022

Get your spook on...

If you are just joining us, scroll down to the next post and see the wicked awesome prizes, plus the rules to the contest and welcome.

Don't be scared off by the rule list. Just come share your experiences and if you are a great writer, enter a story. If you're not a great writer, don't worry, just share what you have experienced. Your real encounters count too. Join in and let's share our spooky happenings and you could win a great prize for it. Remember to link to your blog in the comment box too.

Right- for those who know me in real life. Don't look at me different next time you see me. I am not crazy, this is all 100 % true. I don't lie or exaggerate (like Crash) or tell stories about crazy brain eating bugs. My stories are actual paranormal events.

To get things rolling, I have decided that for every 5 comments linking to your blog & story, I will tell another experience with the paranormal, and believe me I have tons! So join me, and don't make me feel embarrassed for telling these private stories that I have told only a few people about.

Let me begin by giving you some background on me. I was 13 when my family moved to England from the U.S. I ended up marrying a sexy Brit and we now have 3 GORGEOUS kids. While we lived in England I had a lot of my "experiences". I think it is because the history is so rich, and the amount of lives that have begun and ended there, is innumerable. It is a relatively small island, crammed full of people.

The weather only adds to the spookiness. The cold, damp, wet winters are long and bitter. It begins to get dark at 3 pm during the winter months and the winter is really 3/4 of the year. It is always raining in England.

So let's go back to one winter in Ascot, England.
Yes, Royal Ascot, where the famous horse races take place. The one where the women get to wear those big, cool, fancy hats and the men have to wear morning suits. You know, the ones with the tails at the back. And where the Queen comes riding in her royal carriage to begin the races. Think Eliza Dolittle. The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain, and all that silliness.






My sister Mary and I were asked to babysit for a family who lived near us. I was 16 and she was 18. Being that she was older, she was the real babysitter and I was her company. I know now, why they asked for both of us.

I had never been to this family's house. We were literally a stones throw from the raceway. As we turned into the drive I was shocked to see the size of the house. It was big, really big. Straight out of the movies. Huge stone pillars lined the drive. The back yard was like a local park and thick fog was covering the grounds. This huge, stately, and did I say huge home, was going to be our home, for the next 2 weeks. As we walked in, I got a little scared to be honest. There was definitely a "feeling" to the home. It's one of those things you can't explain.

The parents left and the first few days went by with no incidents. I was never comfortable there, but we managed to get by and the crazy kids helped keep our mind off of things. One night after the kids had been put to bed( hours before), we figured we would hit the sack. Our room was on the 3rd floor. We got settled into bed then heard what sounded like a harmonica playing on the 1st floor. I figured it was the kids trying to scare us, so we went to go tell them to knock it off and get back to bed.

We went to all their rooms, and all of them were fast asleep. We even waited in the hall way to see if they would pop out of bed thinking we were gone, and run downstairs to play that nasty trick on us again. I forgot to mention there were 2 stairways on either end of the house. They could have snuck down and done it, with out us seeing them. As we waited in the hall, WE HEARD IT PLAYING AGAIN!!! No one was out of their beds. We were the only other people in the house. We ran to our beds and got under the covers and tried to forget it happened, or tried to explain it away as being an alarm of something.

The next morning, once the sun had risen and given us our courage back, we got the kids up and asked them if it was them messing around. In this crazy house, there could have been secret passageways. They swore it wasn't them and we believed them. They all said that they had heard it before anyhow. Yikes!

As we were waiting for them to get their jackets and shoes on in the front foyer I looked at a shadow box on the wall, and what would be encased in it. Yeah- only a HARMONICA. That night I was scared of everything. I didn't want to be alone, or be at that house anymore really, but my sister couldn't be left alone in that house so I swallowed my fear and just tried to carry on as normal. We were waiting on my Dad, who was on his way over to come and make sure the house was secure and that we felt safe. As we waited for him to finish with a church meeting, we heard various other noises. Outside we heard what sounded like a shovel being dragged in the gravel driveway. We would watch as the motion sensor lights would come on and off whenever we would hear the noise. Various other things happened in those 2 weeks but nothing as scary as what would happen to me after my Dad had left.

He brought over one of his friends with him to make sure the house was locked and that there was no one on the property. I am sure they thought we were just young girls getting spooked in a big scary house. We were, except we weren't just getting spooked by our imagination, these things were truly happening. They came in and told us everything was locked and fine. We had a prayer and they said goodbye. I felt better and tried to convince myself that it was my just my imagination.

Mary went to the 3rd floor to go tan in the tanning bed (yeah- they had their own tanning room) and I went to go read by the fire in the enormous family room. The family room had an adjoining room that was used as the father's office. They didn't want anybody going in the room. So they locked the room from inside the office and then on the outside door, leading to the back garden before they left. So if you are with me, NO ONE could have been in the office that joined the family room.

As I sat reading my book I noticed how much colder and colder it kept getting. I put more logs on the fire and still, I was freezing. I sat up to go and get a blanket from my room, when I heard and saw this door leading to the office, shaking violently and loudly. It was being shaken like a bear was trying to get in and the old door knob kept spinning back and forth. I started screaming and in the back of my mind I thought Mary must have found a key and been trying to scare me. I bolted up the stairs with my heart in my throat and to my astonishment Mary was calmly walking out of the tanning room with her towel on. Unless she had the last name Houdini, Copperfield or Blaine, there was no way that was her in that office.

I don't think she really believed me, but that may have been a good thing. I couldn't hack it anymore and went home, leaving her to finish out the last week.
Sorry Mary- still to this day I feel so bad about that one. There were no further strange events at that house while she was there, and life went on for both of us. I never accepted babysitting jobs from them again (obviously). I still wonder what that was trying to get in. Why was something trying to scare me so bad?

My Dad went back the next day and everything was locked, no broken windows in the office. There was no way any living thing had been in there. My Dad later told the parents what had happened and the father said he had taken the keys to both doors with him. I guess they had experienced some strange events before that too. It would have been REALLY nice to know that before I accepted to babysit.

So the moral of my story is this: don't go babysit at old, HUGE houses in England, and don't leave your sister alone with spooky ghosts, no matter how scared you are. That was the start of many strange and scary things that have continued to happen to me in the last 13 years. Like I said, if you start to share I will continue to share my stories, my TRUE stories, unlike Crash's.

Sleep tight tonight,

xoxo Emily

Crash-n-Sewl's Spook-A-Rama Starts . . . NOW!

First,the PRIZES! The exciting, amazing PRIZES!


Then the RULES! The dull, constricting RULES!

LOOK at all these AWESOME prizes.


Click on the photos to link directly to these talented-women-websites.

Plush Moments Photography: Shelle over at Blokthoughts is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. You could be the lucky winner of 1 family photo session-1 hour, which includes a DVD or CD and all rights to your photos, plus 20 edits of Shelle's shots.

Seriously, So Blessed: TAMNERS will give you 60 seconds in her e-store to load your cart with anything you want. Just say BOO when you go to check out and Tamn will pay for one of your t-shirts, (plus a pedi and a Diet Coke). Just kidding, no pedi. Or Diet Coke.

Art-n-Sewl: Emily, the great, Emily the cewl, will donate a beautiful fresh custom 16X20 original painting. Check out her Etsy. Sooooo fresh.

See My Designs by Shauna: YOU too could win a nip and a tuck. Heck, Shauna says she'll give you a whole blog-make over if you win.

Audrey Eclectic: Audrey is Eclectic AND authentic. You could win a group of beautiful note cards that have prints on them of her artwork. (Don't send them, just frame them) Go inhale Audrey Eclectic's vibe RIGHT NOW! She did a family portrait for my Anniversary present. LOVE HER!!!!

A Fanciful Twist: Vanessa at A Fanciful Twist is fanciful AND whimsical. If you want to escape reality for awhile, go to her enchanting blog. She's giving 3 surprise canvas prints from her shop. Go breath in her vibe RIGHT NOW! (after you breath in Audrey's vibe.

Stupid Vampire T-Shirts: Lovely, but lonely Annie Valentine is trying to earn money to go see her super-hot secret agent husband so she made these stupid vampire t-shirts. (Not calling the shirts stupid, just saying.) Go check out her site for all the hilarious designs.

And finally, Katie Holmes is throwing some gas-cash into the pot. $50, folks. (You'd think she could give more because she's so rich, being married to Tom Cruise and all, but whatever.)

The 2008 First Annual Crash-n-Sewl Spook-a-Rama Hair Raising Ghost Story Contest Rules, Regulations and Guidelines:

Drumroll please . . .

1. You may enter as many stories as you want in 2 categories:

Category A: Fiction and real funny

Category B: Non-Fiction and real real (as in spooky, real)

(Photos are a completely acceptable accessory).

In other words your story can be either real or not-real. If it's not-real it has to make us laugh. If it's real it has scare the bajeepers out of us.

2. If you enter more than once, you must promise not to neglect your duties to serving God, your country and 3 square meals a day.

3. Contest will begin right when you wake up on Thursday, October 23rd.

4. Contest will end right when you go to bed on Wednesday, October 29th.

5. October 30th will be spent deliberating with Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul.

5. The top three not-real but real-funny stories will be posted @ Crash Test Dummy Diaries on Halloween Day and, because we love American Idol as much as the Brits, the voting polls will be open to the public, that's YOU, until All-Hallows Evening (Oct 31st--not to be confused with All-Hallows Eve, which is October 30th) at Midnight. Late entries will be docked 10% per day until the winner is announced.

6. The top three real and real-real, stories will be posted @ Art-n-Sewl on Halloween Day and, because we love American Idol . . . yada yada yada . . . see above.

7. Prizes/Winners will be announced on November 1st on both blogs. Prizes will be distributed after Christmas, (just in case I can recycle some gifts) Calm down, I was kidding! You'll get your prizes before Christmas. Sheesh!

8. If you are under the age of 45 and you are afraid of giant snails, you must have a notarized parental permission slip in order to participate. If you're parents are deceased, thus preventing you from gaining the proper notarized signatures, you will not be eligible to participate.

9. Number 8 does not apply to anyone living in the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii or North Korea.

10. There is a word limit! YES! I said word limit. Don't moan and groan about it either because really good writers are concise and succinct and get to the point quickly and at once and without any further delay or redundancy. The word limit number is 500! I promise you can do it if you're willing to kill-your-darlings. (You won't get that unless you went to creative writing school). If you go over the word limit, please send us a lock of your hair so we can create a voodoo doll and make your body do silly tricks.

11. There are some requirements:

1.a) You must send your entry to crashnsewl@gmail.com post dated before the All-Hallows Eve-Eve deadline.

1.b) You may (notice I said may and not must) post your story on your own blog if you're an attention addict or you seek after fame and fortune and everything that goes with it (except the bad exciting stuff). But make sure you drop your link in either Crash or Sewl's comment box so we can all read it.

1.c) Besides sending an email, you must also drop a comment in either Crash or Sewl's comment box (extra-credit if you do both) In your comment you must make 3 things clear: a.) When your story is posted on your blog so we can link up and read it. b.) Which prize you prefer c.) Which blog you like better.

1.d) Can we scratch number 2? Or at least amend it? Please don't tell us which blog you like better. It will just make Crash feel bad about herself. But do tell us when your post is published so we can all link up and read it and then you can get lots and lots of hits. And do you really think we're going to let you pick your own prize? (But it doesn't hurt to try.)

We will wave the $50 entry fee for the first 500 entries, so bust a move! :)

Okay. Let us Review for those of you who like lists, but not long, entertaining lists.

• Two Categories: Fiction and funny or non-fiction and spooky--photos are AWESOME!
• More than one entry per person is only acceptable if you continue to feed your children or pets
  
• Contest will run from Oct 23-29th (midnight)
• Email entries to crashnsewl@gmail.com
• Leave a comment on either Crash or Sewl's blog with the link to your ghost-post. If you're shy and don't want to publish the post, just leave a compliment in both of our boxes so we can play favorites with your entry.

Prizes will be given for the top 3 entries in each category, (and plus a few special surprise awards too).

TIPS from CRASH: A reach-in-and-grab-you-by-the-throat title, opening line and closing line are shoe-in's for a prize (unless the rest is totally dumb).

TIPS from SEWL: Yea, what she said.

To post this button on your own blog or website, copy, then follow HTML code and paste it into your site:

<a href="http://artnsewl.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr102/Benjamonous/HeadstoneButton2.jpg" /></a>



And one final thing. I would like to give a special shout out to my bro. He made the posters and buttons for me ( even when he had exams to take ) because I suck in that arena.
Thanks Ben!!!!!!
Love ya dude!
Oh and ladies...he is single and the coolest dude ever. If you want to declare your undying love for him instead of sharing a story, that is perfectly acceptable too.




Now get to writing people!!!

It's Wednesday people! And you know what that means!!

Yeah baby, Ghost Hunters is on. Woot woot!! And the give-away for the fabilicious bunting- banner has come to an end.
I used the random generator and Natalie from http://flhomeblog.blogspot.com has won. Congrats woman! Email your info and I'll get it in the mail.

Now, back to my loves.

If you are not a fan already, give them a go. It's on the Sci-Fi channel tonight.

You better be getting your hands and fingers stretched & warmed up. The Crash-n-Sewl Spook-a-Rama, hair-raising ghost story contest starts tomorrow. Come back then for all the details.

You've got to excuse me now, I've got to go get so scared, I might just pee my pants.

Laters

Emily aka the biggest Ghost Hunters fan EVA!!!!!

The Praise Of Man...or Woman

So, today I am feeling a little mushy. OK a lot mushy!





See, I see things in my tiny little brain, visually. I try to connect images to my thoughts and feelings. Not crazy...just artistic. At least that's what I think.

I am feeling mushy because my long lost cousin made a rockin post about me, my blog and my art. It was very kind and so sweet. She shall remain nameless but in the blogosphere, she is known as Crash from Crash Test Dummy Diaries

She is wickedly, laugh out loud, pee your pants, kind of funny. Go check her out when you get a chance. Here is the sweet plug she gave me today, click here. And I forgot to mention one heck of a writer!!!

I loved the post. It was like this picture below. So beautiful, yet spikey at the same time. She mocked the "Sewl" in my blog title. Ouch!! Jeez, I thought it was cute. And for your information Crash...the sewl refers to SEWING.

Gosh, ( in my best Napoleon Dynamite voice) you are like the only person that probably didn't get that
(rolling eyes).

Let me explain it for you. Heart and Soul...became Art and Soul...and then my clever mind made it Art-n-Sewl because I make art (that rocks) and I make handmade SEWN originals (that rock). There, clear as mud? Good ;) Still love you Crash!!!





To celebrate our cyber-space reunion, we are joining forces and having a big Crash-n-Sewl Spook-a-Rama. It will be a hair-raising ghost story contest. Not just stories I might add. We want pics, real experiences you have had. The whole gamut of spooky ghostly events.
The prizes are going to be RADICAL. No poxy lace doily doll or something, these are going to be A-M-A-Z-I-N-G prizes.

See this picture below. It totally looks like I caught an orb or some spooky swirly ghost. It's not. Although I made you think it was for a minute, huh?
Just some kids playing with glow stick bracelets. You get my drift though about haunted pictures I hope. They have to be real. Not like mine.





Come back Thursday, when we will post all the details and contest rules on both blogs. It is going to be so much fun sharing our haunted stories. I hope that they are so dang freaky, they make our toes curl like this cute little fern.





Hope to see you all back.

Muahahahahahahahahahahahahaahaha!

Oh and in case you still want to enter the give-away, it is still open. Scroll down and look at the fun Halloween party we had this last weekend.


Emily

Party Time and a Giveaway!!!

It's time. People all over the world are gathering for Miss Vanessa's Halloween party.


I was late...as usual, but I was rushing to get there. I was all dressed up in my best witch attire. My driver just needed to crack the whip a little harder.






The clouds are darkening and the mood is being set.







The windy drive leading up to the house was lined with these stacks of pumpkins. How divine! What a treat I must be in for.





We arrived, and look at the magnificent place we had come to.





Making the way to the door was treacherous. Spiders had covered the doorway and kept dropping on our heads.






They were even making their way into the house...EEK!





How could I forget to mention this beautiful tiny witch that greeted us. Isn't she precious?





Apparently, I didn't give the tiny witch the respect she deserved. I later found out that she is the greatest and most powerful witch. I came upon her making a few spells for the party goers. I was hoping my lack of respect was not going to get me turned into a toad or worse.








There is her cauldron and where she parks her broom. That little witch, that looks like a doll, do you see it? That is really her sister. She wasn't playing fair one day and the tiny witch told me "she got what she deserved". Yikes! I better stay on her good side tonight.






Without warning the cauldron turned a deep shade of purple and started bubbling. I could hear the tiny witch cackling as she stared at me. It was a strange stare. I began to get scared. I got out of there as fast as I could. I didn't want to hang around to see what was going to happen.





The next room I came across was warm and inviting. A roaring fire warmed the guests. The decorations were FAB, especially that cute bunting that said "Spooky" in glitter!! On the mantle a curious little cage got my attention.










I had picked it up and brought into a room with more light to get a good look.




I felt a tap on the shoulder. A rather hard tap and a masked character in a long black cape told me to "put it back on the mantle-quickly". That if the tiny witch saw me, I would be "gone in a poof". I asked what it was and he told me it was the Royal Fairy Family. You know, the RFF's. ( Now don't get that mixed up with BFF's or ROUS's.
If you don't know what I am talking about, never mind).

The RFF had died thousands of years ago, and as I looked closer I realized that it was their GRAVES.

No one ever knew where their graves were, or any fairy graves for that matter. The cloaked and masked man went on to tell me that whoever possesses the magical Royal Fairy Family graveyard, held countless powers. Now I knew why the tiny witch was so powerful!!





I carefully put it back on the mantle and made my way out. The huge house was like a maze. On the walls hung other people, well they used to be people, who must have been shrunk by Miss tiny witch. This boney character held LARGE keys. I dare not even think about touching those I told myself. My mind still wonders what they could unlock.






I passed the dining room and was told by the raven on the shelf, watching over the room, to "hurry up and get out out". That the "time for getting out was almost at an end".
Were those poison apples in that bowl? I couldn't turn back now to go look.
The head on the table yelled for help but I could not stop. I could feel something in the air. Something bad was coming.









I made my way outside and the graveyard was ever so spooky. The clouds were now darkening, FAST. Hands were coming out of the ground, even EYES. The earth started to rumble and shake.


















There was the tiny witch now. She had something in her hands. Was it her spell book!?! I could hear her chanting something and then a dark mist started forming around the graveyard. Was she calling on all the dead to come back? If so, what for?

Was she turning all the party goers into toads, or SHRINKING them? I didn't wait to find out. I hopped in my carriage and got out of there as fast as those horses hooves could carry me.











My party tonight was exciting, scary and magical. If I get the courage to go back and find out what happened to everyone, I will let you know. I did take (steal) the bunting off the mantle. Shhhh- please do not tell the tiny witch. I think it has some kind of magical powers and I would like to share it with a special friend. Leave a comment and I will put the names in my cauldron and pick a name. I hope your parties are not as scary as mine were.

What the heck is Miss Vanessa doing hanging out with such a naughty tiny witch anyway? Hmmmn- I'll never know.

I will pick the name on Wednesday evening. Tell your friends too. That's only nice :) I will post it priority mail too, so you get the magic in time for All Hallows Eve.

And if you don't win, hey, I have more in my Etsy shop
;)

xoxo Emily

P.S.

I'll even let you pick between the orange, cream and black and this witchy colored one that says "WICKED".