G I V E A W A Y ! ! !

I hope you all had a very happy Thanksgiving with your loved ones and tons of yummy autumnal foods! Those of us who danced in Natasha's vintage prom certainly burned off enough calories to have a huge piece of pie with whipped cream. Or at least that's what I was telling myself as I ate a manly piece of pumpkin pie decorated with Vermont maple sugar candies :)

Now ... to the giveaway! My 100th post is just a few posts away, but I just can't wait to celebrate! I struggle so with my crippled camera, my non-photoshop paint program and my verbiage that getting to 100 posts is definitely something to celebrate! With two small rambunctious boys most of my posts (and blogging) are done way before the sun rises and I have so enjoyed making my cup of tea, parking my chair over the heating vent and visiting all of you, immersing myself in your thoughts, creations and worlds, and then adding my own voice to that community. Truly I feel blessed to know such wonderful women! I never dreamed that the blogiverse would be as rich, as rewarding and as wonderful as I have discovered it to be! Thank you all for your friendship, your visits and for sharing of yourselves at my blog for the past 100 posts!!! For the "first 100 posts", I thought a giveaway of "firsts", in this case first editions of great magazines, would be fun.

I also have the results of the etsy banner poll. The winning banner is: The second fancy one! I liked both of these so thanks for helping me decide which way to go. With banner in place .... I took the plunge and opened an etsy shop! You can see my new mini-etsy thing on the left. I've always wanted one of those -- they are so cute!! For opening my etsy store, a zen giveaway package to help promote calm and serenity though the crazy holiday shopping season

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post letting me know which prize you would like to win, "A" or "B".

New etsy shop ... sad little notice saying zero items sold. Zero is not the most confidence inspiring thing for a potential shopper to see. Anyone who would like to help that number transform itself out of 0 into a 1 will get my eternal thanks and a free little handmade thank you goody in their order in addition to the free holiday treat. Yeah for free stuff!

***Edited*** A very nice person has just helped me transform that zero! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Now .. I'm off to make a thank you goody!

And finally ... something sweet for the week. Look what I found when I was making an emergency milk run on Black Friday! Now I can make Starbuck's pumpkin spice lattes at home! Fraction of the cost, no lines, and same great pumpkin flavor! BTW I've never amused myself so much buying milk. Place was packed and everyone, and I mean everyone, was running around the store like rabid chickens heaping their arms up with sale goodies, many lugging two shopping carts around, ringing up bills that averaged 400 dollars,... and there was me.. two liters of milk and my new treat. The staff was very concerned that I simply hadn't been able to find what I needed. Hahaha..haahah! Are you not supposed to buy normal groceries on Black Friday?

Virtual Vintage Prom Night!!

It's time for the Virtual Vintage Prom hosted by the artistic Natasha. It's getting late, I better get dressed before my date comes to pick me up, but what frock to wear?? After trying on a few things in the mirror, there really isn't any doubt. Has to be this c. 1928 chartreuse silk chiffon flapper dress. Oh yes, it does!It's just coated in tiny pearls, silver beads and rhinestones that glitter and dazzle the eye. And oh that glorious pale green color! Maybe not for everyone, but if you have a touch of red in your hair like me, it's going to look great! :) What a site I will be doing the Charleston!

And what prom outfit would be complete without some jaw-dropping jewels? THIS is the stunning necklace I would go for! The Royal Juliette, inspired by French aristocratic fashion. J'aime ce collier!!! [If you're listening Santa I have been a VERY good girl]
My date's here! What a beautiful peach rose he brought me. My favorite color! He's pinned it to my dress and now it's off to the prom! (Click on Natasha's link above to go visit other prom goers).
(p.s. I really, really tried to fit into my old dress because it is really cool -- think 1930's, midnight blue, spaghetti straps, and lots of beading and sequins -- but alas .... I think it must have shrunk in storage :) .....so I'm glad this is a virtual party!)

Getting Ready for a Holiday Show

I'm off to the Deepwood Holiday Show in Salem this weekend and my studio has been a flurry of activity - beads, wire, glitter and vintage papers flying everywhere. Everything needs to be packed up by tomorrow night. Better get these necklaces finished in a hurry!I call these the Maid Marian girls. Wait, that last one's not a girl, it's an egg! It's an Inspiration Egg!
More Inspiration Eggs!One of four lovely Tropical Butterfly earrings. I love how the image is bisected, one half on each earring.

Wish me luck! This show is 45 miles away from my home and I need to drive there and back again each day in rainy, stormy weather, so I'm a bit concerned about the commute but I think it will be a lot of fun!

While shopping this week for bits and bobs (and buttons!) to create holiday goodies, DH and I discovered the most marvelous Italian restaurant.Shopping is hard work, so we stopped to replenish our energy. I had a refreshing ice tea and this hearty Winter Squash and Wild Mushroom Pasta. YUM!! I couldn't remember the name of the restaurant when we got home, so thank goodness it's painted on their plates :)We also discussed the possibility of opening an etsy store for the holidays. What do you think about a potential banner: plain and classic or fancy and more baroque? (ignore that thin green border - blogger puts that around every photo)

Coming next week .. loads of fun and pretty at Natasha's Virtual Vintage Prom Party! Come put on a sparkly dress on Tuesday the 20th and join in the fun!
I just realized I am almost at my 100th post! only 5 more posts to go! .... ooooh, I need to start thinking of something really special!

Who Can Never Remember to Photograph Their Swaps? Me!

What is it about swaps??? I simply cannot remember to photograph them before wrapping everything up. Take this for example, my Secret Santa gift for a fellow creative soul:Sooooo prettily wrapped, ready to go to it's new happy home....but wait! I forgot to take a picture again. Gak! So, several minutes later I'm unwrapping it, taking pictures and then .... you guessed it, breaking out the roll of Christmas wrapping paper and rewrapping everything just as prettily as the first time. Actually, I think the wrapping turned out much better the second time :)

This is what was inside: A little knitted and crocheted purse!With a flower embellishment sporting a vintage button at the center and handstitched leaves.Bamboo handles.
And what else was in her package? A cute little matching brooch! [I also included a book on jewelry making since her profile said she crafted jewelry - but I didn't make that :)] It takes about 8 hours to design and plan each of these one-of-a-kind purses, so I'm *really* hoping she likes this.
After all that work [times 2 since I had to do the wrapping twice!] I thought I'd take a nap in the warm autumn afternoon sun. Oh rats! Looks like I didn't get to that sunbeam fast enough .. somebody is already there :) And looking very comfortable indeed! Looks like she even pawed that blanket into a little bed before snuggling in.
You may have noticed the new banner on my right sidebar. I've always been a great advocate of handcrafted gifts. After all, what has more meaning: A mass produced product, probably made with unsafe Chinese parts, that 10,000 other people have? OR .. something carefully selected and crafted with love, care and diligence that fits the recipient perfectly and shows that you really care? Handcrafted gifts, whether they be yummy baked goodies, a knitted sweater, or even just a beautifully crafted card epitomize the true holiday spirit of giving and sharing more than any obligatory random store purchase ever could. By buying handmade, you are also choosing to support independent artists who work very hard to turn beautiful visions into reality while still earning enough to support their families. So.... I invite you all to take the handmade pledge with me and buy handmade this holiday season!
And finally...thank you everybody so very, VERY, VERY much for all your congratulations on my holiday press! Makes my heart all warm and fuzzy to read the sweet things you say! Truly it does!

Happy, Lovely Things! And One Sad Thing.

Time to do the Happy Dance!!! Looks like I'm featured in not one, but two marvelous gift guides this Holiday Season! The Modish Holiday Gift Guide and the Creature Comfort Holiday Gift Guide!

The Modish Guide is featuring my new line of Vintage Dictionary Earrings.The Creature Comforts Guide will be featuring these combs and these necklaces.To celebrate such wonderful holiday press I would love to offer everyone a discount. Unfortunately my website shopping cart can't do discount codes, so instead .... every order $24 or higher is getting a free holiday gift! Hammered copper and turquoise earrings! (Sorry about the fuzzy picture. I need to retake this with my undamaged camera).
If you've read the premier issue of Victoria Magazine's relaunch, you may remember the glamorous photo shoot of Tasha Tudor's historical gowns. You can view all the gowns being auctioned at this site. You can also purchase a full color auction catalogue. I was a huge fan of the old Victoria and this new version, while nice, just doesn't have the same magical grace or sense of style ... at least for me. This auction gown, however, is lovely! Look at that great seafoam color! You can almost see the cameo at the neckline and the upswept hair pinned with a tortoiseshell comb.
Green Changeant Silk Dress, 1840s - Lot 77 (from the Tasha Tudor auction site)
And the sad thing. My husband and I have "date nights" (where we dress up and dine out without the kids) and I was so hoping to see Elizabeth: The Golden Age on our last date, but the movie showtimes didn't match up with the childcare opportunity available to us. So, alas .... looks like I will be watching it on DVD in the spring of 2008 in our family room. Not quite as romantic as I'd envisioned. :)

Oh! And I DID go to that graveyard. Not at midnight though :) My oldest son and I went for a walk to check out this bit of our town's history. Very still and creepy. And the creepiest part? One of the graves had ... dare I say it? ... had a stake on top of it wrapped in a silver wire! Now, I don't know if that wire was real silver or not, but one look at that and we were out of there. Waaay too spooky!