....And May All Your Christmases Be BRIGHT with Love!

~*~

Winner of the Giveaway for the Stocking

Just picked a winner for the stocking and it is


JENNIFER

Congratulations, Jenn! I'll get it in the mail on saturday.

Gifts for The Pink Chick!

My eBay group spoils me rotten as I've said before. Here is more proof. Truly, I am ever astounded by their generosity to me.

A Christmas Swap brought this little beauty to my door. When Love Bunny and I arrived home one evening after an exhausting day running around there were 5 packages on our front porch. I had no idea what any of them were. I was sooooo surprised to have that many packages in one day!

The lid.

One of the gifts was wrapped in this delightful little paper. I'm going to figure out a way to incorporate into the pink tree. The unveiling of the pink tree will probably precede this post so I'm showing you an up close view of it. Isn't it darling?!?!?!

And this sweet little vintage looking card. How cute!

A cross stitch made with love from my PRH sister in Texas plus this sign. Squeeeeeal. She and I share a mum, but I'm adopted. I think she loves me more though! ;-)

And this absolutely adorable "so-like-me" sign...

...and I added the roses because

I painted a little chick with a rose and this is similar to that painting: roses and chicks.

Do not be fooled; this is not an edible cupcake. It's a "bath bomb" that smells exactly like a chocolate cherry cupcake. I'll not be using it in the tub. I plan on elevating its status to "mantel"! The Godiva chocolates? They no longer exist. I did, however, share them with Love Bunny. ;-)

The sister that made this is one of the cleverest designers I know. She makes a lot of Victorian things out of vintage wedding gowns. She does exquisite things. The next 3 photos are things she made me.

Pinch me because I'm in a dream! A pink watch I received from a sweet sister who lost her daughter earlier this year, just before we lost our son-in-law. There have been many tragedies in our little group this past year but none of them have broken our spirits or gotten us down for long. We're a very strong, loving, giving, charitable group.

~*~

Love Letters

A favorite book to linger over is this one called Passionate Love Letters. It not only quotes passages from those romantic letters but includes some little envelopes with facsimiles of the letters inside the envelopes.

I have always loved reading love letters from historical figures. I also love writing beautiful letters even if they aren't frequent. It is so much easier to just send an email to people in today's world, but think of the thrill when going to the mail box and finding an actual letter from a friend or relative instead of bills and spam mail. Just about all the mail received today is one form of spam or advertisements.

How thrilling it is to receive something in a pink envelope with lovely script flowing on flowered paper. I have a plethora of writing paper. All of it has flowers on it. When I write a letter I usually note the date, but also the time of the day and where I am sitting when I write it and my thoughts on the day I write. Now, I'm going to be brave and tell you that if you would like a letter from me, just send me an email from the address I have on my side bar and I'll be thrilled to fill your heart with a letter from me.

When one isn't married to a "romantic" it's a bit of a challenge. Love Bunny isn't a letter writer except when he and I were separated due to him being stationed in far away lands. I think I'll ask him for a love letter for Christmas since we've given up the commercial aspect of the season.

Are you one to save old love letters? I am. I love going back and reading cards sent to me and the love letters from hubby. There is always space in my heart for that.

Just a few photos of just some of my correspondence papers and note pads. Some of these are extremely rare. The roses one just below the violets cannot be found at all anymore and is the most gorgeous note paper I've ever seen. I'll usually include a few sheets of this paper when I gift some one with a swap. It is truly the prettiest paper ever.

Some of the papers are die cut and some are so delicate as to appear ethereal as is the one on the bottom left.

Small selection of note cards along with some stickers I've collected over many years. I have beautiful colorful ribbons around the sets to tie them together also.

Some have fruit themes. ALL are beautiful.

Even my staples are colorful and lovely. Nothing goes unnoticed in my world.

This is my favorite set of stationery. I've even embossed it with my name. Sorry, but I obliterate my last name on the blogs to preserve me and my family some privacy.



And all of it in beautiful storage boxes. Just a small sampling for you.

And if you are very fortunate, I'll drop in a bauble or two to brighten your day when I correspond with you. ;-)

Lastly, I have to admit I took these photos in that ethereal light just before the sun peeks over the horizon. BUT today it was 5° with a wind chill factor of -3° while taking these photos on the back patio with just a sweater on. I decided to come in and capture a photo of my red cheeks and nose. And this was before I even ran a brush through my hair and, of course, no makeup. See how brave I am!
~*~

The Stockings Were Hung......and a Giveaway!

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes of Saint Nicholas soon would be there.
Okay, okay, HINT: You need to use your mouse here.
Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!
About right now everyone—especially little children—are awaiting the night when in a few days the wonder and awe of Christmas will be upon us. I was late in coming up with this idea but it's better late than never. I made these stockings many years ago now to sell but they never did. Trust me, I can't imagine why because they are quite adorable. Just not meant to be I guess. Anyway, I wanted to keep them but I don't need three of them, so I'm giving one away. I love them all equally but one is smaller than the other two so I'm giving that one away. No, it won't be in time for Christmas this year, but what's wrong with having it for next year? In fact, you could absolutely display it all year long. It's a shabby chic, romantic, darling stocking after all. ;-)

Now, as I've said, in my eBay group I've had giveaways but I wanted to challenge them. I didn't want to make it too simple and easy. ;-) So here are the giveaway rules.

1. You must reside in the U.S. It has gotten too risky sending them to other countries. I've lost 3 items in sending them to Peru, France and Canada. I'm truly sorry but I hate to see something get lost as I feel a responsibility to replace it and it had gotten lost twice in going to France. That was an item paid for but I still made good on it. I can't afford to do that anymore.

2. You must be a follower of mine. It's really very simple to just sign up on the sidebar. You can gain many privileges by doing that. :-) You just never know when I'm having a giveaway and I can promise you that you'll never be disappointed in what I'm giving away. Items are being made this very day for future giveaways. It gives me pleasure to do this.

3. You must leave a comment on this post. Now, how much easier can that be, chicks? ;-)

4. There is a secret hidden in this blog post and you have to identify it and tell me what it is. THAT'S a little bit tougher for you, but if you put on your thinking cap you CAN get it. Don't you just love these games?! Hah. I did tell you that I was going to challenge you though, didn't I? Hmmmmm???

The contest will end on Christmas Eve at 7 pm. I'll draw a name at that time. We'll see how many can guess the secret.

This is the one to be given away. While smaller than the other two, it is still a big size. The other two are just huge!

~*~