Tina, at Tiny Bear You Won

...and the winner is ~ #4 Tina @ Tiny Bear!!!

You won Tina and congratulations.

Please email me your address so I can mail it off to you tomorrow. I can be reached at maranderson13@aol.com

Also, let me know if you would like lace straps sewn in or left as is.

Again, congratulations to you!

Hugs,
Marilyn

Tuesday Treasure Giveaway

Well, hi to you all and welcome to this weeks' giveaway.

I have had a vision of this purse in my head for sometime now but couldn't quite figure out how I wanted it to look.

It measures 8" (wide) and is 9" long. I originally designed it on paper and figured the winner could tuck a paperback book in there ~ to take with them when they had a few minutes to read (waiting for a plane, train, automobiles). Ha! Had to inject a little humor in there as I am living on Tylenol and spiked a fever again today (flu).



The purse is made of designer fabric, royal velvet, and a beautiful compilation of fabric items that I purchased from Annie (Glitter Your World/Blur Babies). Thank you Annie. I knew when I received this one I just had to do something special with it.



The jewelry is not included (sorry girls) but there will be a brand new paperback book tucked inside (what the industry calls a "Cozy Mystery") and a few other little surprises.

PLEASE NOTE:

At present there are no straps, however I will sew straps on to the purse per the request of the winner.

All you have to do is: 1. become a follower if you aren't already and b. post a comment. The winner will be chosen on Thursday ~ 29 September 2010 at around 6:00 pm EST.

Good luck everyone.
Hugs, Marilyn

The latest ...

Hi everyone. Well, I survived my first computer crash. Turned it on last Thursday evening and the kiss of death 'blue screen' appeared. I just hung my head and said a few choice words and then saw nothing but $$$ signs slipping away. Can't live without a computer ~ I am sorry to say. Well, I could if I had to but it took some getting used to.

Now all is well. Had a few minor glitches with uploading photos as my 'program' was destroyed and the fine young man who came to the house and replaced the dead hard drive found a free software that is 100 times better than the one I had before. Wizard is for the birds ~ it wouldn't allow me to change the size, etc. of all the photos.

Attached are a couple of photos of greeting cards I made on Saturday ~ then the flu bug hit. Today with lots of hot tea, Tylenol and *some* sleep ~ I was able to upload these into my Etsy shop. http://www.etsy.com/shop/maranderstudios.



Hope you are all having a wonderful week. Remember to stop in for the Tuesday Treasure Giveaway which probably won't be uploaded until tomorrow evening.

Marilyn

What a beautiful time of year this is.

I drove my mom to West Concord this morning to find a few places to shop and then on to Concord, MA for lunch in one of our favorite restaurants. It was a cool day ~ we kept waiting for the sun to appear ~ but in a way I am glad it didn't as the cloudy gray sky, coupled with the cool breeze, added to the ambiance the season. Autumn has arrived here in New England.

Pumpkins (I didn't know there were white pumpkins) are now displayed on many of the front porches of homes in our quaint New England villages; stores are putting out the Halloween candy and displaying the costumes and do-dads to create your own "costume"; and the leaves are now beginning to change in the glorious colors this area is famous for.



One of the biggest fairs in the area will be held next week and I am truly looking forward to purchasing cider to make cups of hot mulled cider; picking apples in local orchards to make my grandmothers recipe for Apple Crisp; buying a couple more mugs to make hot chocolate; stock up on yarn to make afghans and scarves for the troops; and visiting all the fall fairs that are scheduled for the next month or so.

Here are some of photos I took at the Idylwilde Fruit stand that has everything under the sun the for seasonal decorations ~ as well as vegetables, cheeses, fruit, meats, plants, flowers and homemade baked goods and candy.



I hope all of you get to enjoy the changes of the season where you live. And don't forget that Tuesday (21 September) is the Autumnal Equinox ~ a celebration of the day that has an equal amount of daylight and darkness.

Enjoy!
Marilyn

Jo ~ you are this weeks' winner of the Giveaway

Well lucky #7 of Clubs was selected and Jo, of My Gramas Soul is this weeks winner of the Tuesday Treasure Giveaway!!!

Jo's blog can be found at: http://mygrammassouljo.blogspot.com/

Congratulations Jo. Please send me an email with your address so I can put all of the items in the mail for you. Would you like the scarf with or without the fringe? Please let me know so I can put it on (if you so desire) as it won't take but about a 1/2 hour to do so.

Congratulations Jo.

Thanks to all of you who participated and be sure to check back here next week as the giveaway will have two winners.

Jo ~ my email address is: maranderson13@aol.com

Hugs,
Marilyn

The Cherished Object

There are folks who feel it is more important to love a living being than "just an object". I won't even begin to debate the issue however, as a lover of antiques, artifacts, old things and yes ~ even some 'junk' I have always thought of it as a history lesson. Often, you can love an inanimate object just because of what it represents.



At many a yard sale, I would sometimes come across an item, pick it up and just hold it. I used to look for 'markings' and often became frustrated when I could find nothing. I'd put it down and go off to look at some of the other tables but found myself going back to that special item. Again, I would feel the wood or see if the porcelain had any chips or cracks. Even if everything was intact I often felt as though I needed to justify its worth. So, I put it down again. One more look around at everything else and then ~ almost instantly ~ I had to go back, pay for it and take it home with me. Now, without panic in my eyes, I would saunter over to the table where the item was sitting. One time, I went back and it was gone. I could have cried but as an adult I composed myself and tried to act as if it was no big deal. Suddenly, there it was. Someone else had picked it up and like me ~ didn't "see" the $ value and put it back. It was whispering to me. So, I carefully picked it up ~ paid for it immediately and brought it to my car.



I love the imperfections of the past. I often wonder who held it. If it is linen or lace I would love to know who made it, how old were they, were their hands fumbled by youth; were their fingers sturdy and confident; were they made by old arthritic fingers ~ yet steeped with experience and knowledge? Just holding these items I can often feel the spirit that has transcended through time. I love the imperfections ~ and often you can tell if they were left or right handed ~ depending on the direction the item follows when you lay it on a table.



A dear friend (Michelle from PetiteMichelleLouise) included a piece in her blog by Harold Darling (I LOVE OLD THINGS) so I purchased his book. I found it on Amazon.com and it is now one of my cherished items. In the book he wrote "...I feel that it is right to cherish that which has been cherished by those who came before me".

Enjoy the hunt, cherish the past and embrace the future.
Hugs,
Marilyn

God Bless America

In honor and respect for the thousands of lives lost ~ my sympathies go out to the families who lost their loved ones on September 11, 2001. My heart also goes out to all the other victims whose lives are still affected by this horrific act of terror.

I hope and pray God will continue to heal and bless America and all the people who live with hope!

Marilyn

...and the winner is

The "2 of Hearts" was chosen and the winner of this weeks' giveaway is Shane of Roses, Lace and Brocante ~ the #2 entry.

Congratulations Shane and it appears "luck" has been by your side as you escaped the tragedy of the earthquake (much more significant) and now a giveaway!

Please send me your mailing address and I'll get it out to you right away.

Hugs,
Marilyn

Sammy, Ben and Name

Two of my grandsons, Sammy (7) and Benjamin (2) had a sleepover here not too long ago. Benjamin's baby bear (created and designed by Doreen Frost at http://www.vermontharvestfolkart.com) for Benjamin's 2nd birthday in June and the bear was christened "Bhalu". Every time Ben would see him he would say "name"? I would say "Bhalu" and he would say "Name?". We'd go back and forth until last week ~ because he now can say more words and express himself better in sentence form. When he got here he ran to the rocker on the porch (where Bhalu sits) ~ picked him up, gave him a hug and said "Name?" I said Bhalu and he said "Granny ~ he's Name". He named the bear Name. Heavens, we could have gone on for hours ~ like Who's on First! So precious. Anyway, I couldn't sleep all night long but Sammy assured me he would take care of Ben. I tiptoed in the bedroom and I took this photo around 5:00 in the morning ~ Ben's arm (Ben is on the left/Sammy on the right) is still linked through Sammy's and Name is between them.

~ And the winners are ~

There are two winners this week. The first name drawn and the winner of the Postale Journal....



is #4 Carol Gardner of http://www.etsy.com/shop/nolan3863

The second name drawn and winner of the Bonjour Purse....




is #5 ~ Michelle Ferrulo of http://www.etsy.com/shop/petitemichellelouise

Congratulations to you both.

Please email me at maranderson13@aol.com with your addresses and I'll get them in the mail for you.

Thanks so much to all of you for your participation in this Giveaway. Please visit me again soon and don't forget to next weeks Tuesday Treasure Giveaway.

Hugs,
Marilyn