Category: SWAPS, CONTESTS & GIVEAWAYS

SPRING FLING AKA SPRING SWAP

I just signed up for this swap and it’s going to be a fun way to welcome spring.
Head on over to Sweet Goodness to check it out and sign up.

I love Paris in the Spring!

Bonjour, Swappers! The Goodness Girls are happy to announce our new spring Sweet Goodness swap!

PARIS IN THE SPRINGTIME SWAP
Sign up by: Monday March 31st
Partner names will be sent out by Friday April 4th
Send out by: Monday April 28th
Description: You will send your partner a swap package including one handmade item, one thrifted item, one sweet treat and one craft supply. Feel free to send more but not less! Get to know your partner! 🙂 Anything goes as long as it sticks to following rules:
Colors: Pale blue/teal/aqua, white and black
Theme: Must include at least one item that is French-inspired. Examples, something must say France or Paris, or include an Eiffel tower or the fleur de lis. Be creative! If you are signing up for this swap you most likely have some French-inspired ideas already rolling around in your head!
Open to: The first 60 swappers so sign up quickly! Just PLEASE remember that if you sign up you MUST complete the swap ON TIME. Please please see the sidebar for details.
Value: Please try to make your swap value $20 (not including shipping).
Please email us at parisswap@hotmail.com to sign up! Remember to let us know if you are willing to ship internationally should we have any overseas participants. Also make sure to include a link to your blog or Flickr page in the email!
We’re excited for this swap and think it will be so much fun! 🙂
The Goodness Girls
Rebecca, Lucy, Leigh Ann & Heidi

It's Easter and I'm so Blessed – Look what was just delivered!

My Easter Swap Pal Jill, over at Baliwick Designs, sent me this super fantastic Easter Basket full of goodies.

Up through the center of the adorable ivy covered basket was this beautiful purple German bearded silk iris which I ironically have a bouquet of here in the house to remind me of my antique ones in the garden. I only get to those in the spring and summer.

All around the flowers were all sorts of goodies: a new pair of gardening gloves and packets of flower and herb seeds, purple floral lavender sachets (which are perfect for the spare bedroom), black currant scone mix (which is my favorite by the way), a See’s Candy Bordeaux Egg (my absolute favorite all time candy that I can’t get here), hand made scrap booking tags, a loofa and some wonderful smelling soap, pastel Chinese take out boxes full of candies, the cutest resin rabbit, a “B” magnet, a floral initial T, a spiral note book that will fit oh so well in my purse, C Howard’s Violet mints and the most wonderful surprise of all was the bag addressed to hubby and one to the dogs too! How perfectly sweet she is to remember them. I have been so blessed with this Easter swap partner. THANK YOU JILL!

Easter Swap Basket

I participated in Bella Enchanted’s Easter Swap this year and was partnered with Jill over at Baliwick Designs. I had a lot of fun putting together this basket for Jill. I started with a Vintage 1980’s Hallmark Easter basket with stenciled blue bunnies and pink crimped paper grass. I found this adorable wire chick in my stash and put a cute purple bow on him and filled him caramel filled Hershey’s sticks, Ferrero Rocher and a bag of pink gourmet jelly beans. Easter baskets are all about fun right?

Oh, and lots of candy. I found an adorable shaggy bunny, a Mr. & Mrs. Resin bunny statues, some sparkle painted egg refrigerator magnets, a couple of egg tripod stands and pastel painted eggs, blue and green polka dot napkins, 3 fat quarters in Easter prints, mini stringed carrot garland, cherry bath crystals for a bubble bath, and I peppered the basket with Hershey’s kisses, Chiclets (remember those?), Russell Stover Marshmallow eggs, Ghirardelli dark chocolate caramel filled squares, caramel filled Cadbury eggs and chocolate truffle eggs and then accented the basket with yellow lilies and of course PEEPS, green chicks and pink bunnies. I sure hope she likes it.


I had to borrow Jill’s picture as hers is adorable!

DRUMROLL PLEASE… and the OWOH WINNER is…

Let me just say that I had no idea that my participation in this giveaway would result in 166 visits from Bloggers all over the world. Can you imagine how many it would have been had I joined on day 1. I will never be able to thank everyone enough for visiting and leaving such sweet comments about my blog! This has been a great experience to visit so many wonderful blogs and a chance to meet so many wonderful bloggers and crafters.

Now for the random generator results:
(I did delete all duplicates and those that did not leave contact info in order to make it more fair)

#1Serenity Angel is awarded to Lisa at the Heart of the Nest
I think everyone will have to agree that this is pretty terrific and befits all the time and effort Lisa put into this ~ she’s going to need the serenity.
the 2nd, 3rd, & 4th stationery sets go to:
#146 Chris in Oz @ My Creative Corner
#19 Kathy @ Kathy’s Quilts
and I don’t know her name but she’s at#49 New Creation Art

I have sent messages to everyone and will ship as soon as I have addresses. Thank you so much for visiting and I’ll see you all again next year.

Sweet Goodness Hanging Heart Swap

I just opened this great swap from my swap partner Heidi for the Sweet Goodness Hanging Heart Valentines Swap hosted by the Sweet Goodness Girls over at Sweet Goodness Swaps. I especially love the felted ornament Heidi, thank you so much. This swap showed me how small the world can be when Heidi and I realized we co-existed in my home town while she worked for the newspaper I grew up on for several years. We probably passed each other on the street or in the mall and never even realized until the blog world brought us closer together. Ironically we both live 250 miles fro there now and only 5 hours apart.

~*~One World One Heart 2nd annual Event~*~

What IS ONE World-ONE Heart?
It is a blog-wide giveaway event. Get aboard the Love Train. The original idea behind this was to bring bloggers together from around the world who may never ordinarily meet. It closes the gap of the blog community and enables us to interact, discover new and wonderful people, and in the process possibly win a prize or many prizes along the way. Last years event had nearly 100 participants and many connections were made because of it……friendships that are still going strong.

I’ve joined the fun and am participating in the~ One World One Heart Event ~hosted by Lisa Oceandreamer @ Heart of the Nest. She’s more than quadrupled (426) last year’s count of participants.

My giveaway is for this darling SERENITY PRAYER ANGEL.
This has gotten soooooooooo big. I’m adding a second & third prize of some pretty stationary sets. Can’t take a picture until hubby finishes painting and moves everything from in front of the closet door wherer they are stored.

Meet and greet other bloggers whom you’ve not met before and see all the spontaneous generosity happening with their individual give-aways!

Please leave e a comment AND a back link to your blog, so I’ll be able to notify you if you win. If you do not have a blog and would like to enter, please be sure to leave your email address in your comment. I will accept comments up to 11:59 PST February 13th. The winner will be notified February 14th.

~*~Vintage Heart Swap~*~

I received this great package today from Tamy over at Simply Mein for the Vintage Heart Swap. It is absolutely adorable. I put the stitched red & pink hearts on my mantle. Inside was the cutest vintage valentine, fringed red and pink garland, heart doilies, a recipe I can’t wait to try for a chocolate raspberry cake, conversation hearts and some fun crafts pieces. The box has a vintage music liner and and great ‘valentine wallpaper’ outside. The swap was hosted by Dolly over at From My Cherry Heart.


My Vintage Heart Swap hosted by From My Cherry Heart

I love doing swaps, especially for holidays. They’re so much fun. This one is hosted by Dolly at From My Cherry Heart.

I have an unusually spelled name despite it being a common name and Dolly thought it would be cute to pair me with someone that has the exact same unusually spelled common name. My partner is Tamy at Simply Mein. I just love irony! I’d never met another spelled exactly the same way.

Here was the swap scoop…..
You will be paired with one partner…..
for your partner you will fill a container with hearts
The container can be of your choice, store bought or handmade…
ideas… heart shaped basket, bowl, box, stocking, bucket, etc
Fill it with anything with hearts on it or heart shaped!
examples, hankies, chocolates, vintage valentines, note pads,
plate, bowl, candy dish, linens, laces, ribbon, scrap booking goodies,
candles, soaps, confetti, stickers, barrettes, etc.
My five simple requests are…
1. keep the color scheme pink, red and white
2. include at least one vintage heart item
3. all of the items have to be heart shaped or have hearts on them!
4. make sure your partner receives their goodies before valentines day February 14th!
5. please please please communicate with your partner!

So, I had an excuse to go shopping both out and here at home through my trunk of vintage goodies I save just for swaps. I found this great red basket and started filling. I was amazed how much would fit in there. As you read this list I think you will be too! I started with a Vintage heart item of a wooden checkerboard (my aunt made these a number of years ago) with a cute stenciled bag of heart pieces. The board fit nicely under the basket. In the basket she’ll find: a recipe, heart cupcake liners and heart sprinkle to make red, white & pink cupcakes, a package of cellophane bags covered in hearts to put the cup cakes in, a jar of homemade applesauce from the apples off my tree, note cards with a heart border, red Twizzlers, strawberry pink malt balls, Brach’s conversation hearts and socks covered in hearts. I also found a vintage pink Hallmark heart ornament with the gold tag daughter on it (after all she is a daughter) and vintage pink napkins with Dept 56 red cutlery napkin ring holders. Then I found room for some pink chap stick, a Jolee’s red flower for scrap booking, a Teddy Bear heart tea light candle holder with adorable red, white & pink heart tea light candles and a package of red, white & pink pencils. Then I found still more room for a package of Country Horseradish & bacon dip mix and 2 hearts & a floral corner Stampin’ Up stamps. I sure hope she likes it!