....and the WINNER is!

Congratulations Trisha ~ you are the winner of the Happy Holidays Giveaway!! Please email me your complete name, address (city, state and zip) and I will ship it out this week for you. My email address is: maranderson13@aol.com

Thank you all for entering and look for my next Giveaway ~ which will be posted the week of December 26th! It will be a big Giveaway ~ and the winner will be announced on January 1st - 2012.

Thanks again for your participation.

Hugs,
Marilyn

The Victorian Wedding and Bridal Showers

Weddings are so beautiful ~ they are religious, filled with tradition and personally I love the old vintage images of the Victorian Bride.

I also love making lavender Sachets. This is the photograph of one ohe more than 50 sachets I made for a bridal shower and because they can last up to two years ~ they make wonderful 'thank you' gifts for the people attending a special occasion.



My shop is filled with Lavender Sachets ... for all occasions. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Marilyn

The Treasury

Welcome.

I have three shops in Etsy and not all my friends visiting my blog are aware of Etsy. It is a worldwide website where people can open a "shop" and display and sell their handmade items; antiques and collectibles; and get to meet so many wonderful artisans from around the globe.

Many of the 'sellers' create Treasuries ~ whereby they create a 'theme' and then select 16 items from sellers around the world to showcase their 'wares'. As a seller myself I strongly believe in supporting the craft movement (hundreds of years old) and so whenever one of my items is chosen I try to promote it as much and as broadly as I can.

There are many times I promote them even when one of my items is NOT included.

Please stop by and visit this gorgeous Treasury ~ WEEKEND IN PARIS ~ to see the items selected. How honored I am to be included.

There is still plenty of time shop so visit the Etsy shops and see what creative and brilliant artisans the world has to offer YOU ~ and especially at this time of year. Thank you so much!

Marilyn

Giveaway ~ Happy Holidays

The Holiday Giveaway

All you have to do is sign in, leave a comment and the winner will be chosen on Sunday ~ 11 December. It will be mailed out the next day and hopefully ~ you will receive it before Christmas.

Also ~ there is another gift ~ my painted and distressed box filled with rag balls. The fabric may not be as seen in this photograph as they are a 'one of a kind' box of vintage fabrics that I rolled and displayed in a box filled with Autumn/Winter raffia.



Good luck!
Marilyn

'Tis The Season

This is my favorite time of the year and I still cannot believe September and October has quickly gone by ~ Thanksgiving has come and gone and now only three weeks remain until Christmas day.

I am designing and creating all handmade items this year and will be listing them in my Etsy shop.



Also some vintage family photos and recipes from family members will also be included.

So, be sure to visit us again in the next few days for holiday cheer and some creative ideas and gifts.

You can visit my Etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/maranderstudios and also http://www.etsy.com/shop/visionofanglescards for holiday greeting cards that are available for sale.

Look forward to your next visit.
Hugs
Marilyn

My Altered Books

These are my latest creations as I inherited tons of books. Some I've kept to read, and some I create altered items and will share with you.



This one is an altered Hymnal. The book jacket was pretty much torn apart and thought I could do something special with it.



This is now available in my Etsy shop and there are more to come.



Enjoy and thanks for stopping by.

Hugs,
Marilyn

Status of Tracey's Job

Yippee ~ Tracey will back to work on Tuesday!!!

All workers for Verizon will be reporting to work on Tuesday. Negotiations are still going on but in this terrible economy it was determined that people need to work and earn a living for their families.

God has definitely answered all our prayers.

My Grandson Tyler

This photograph was taken by my grandson Tyler Gauthier. Tyler (8 years old) is a wise, loving and special little boy.

This past week I took him and his older brother Matthew for the afternoon as his mother works for Verizon and she is picketing after contract negotiations broke down on August 7th. This is a very tough time for them as she receives no pay, no health insurance and the stress of that alone is extremely worrisome.

Tracey suffers with Lupus. Basically, Lupus is a widespread and chronic autoimmune disease that, for unknown reasons, causes the immune system to attack the body’s own tissues and organs, including the joints, kidneys, heart, lungs, brain, blood, and skin.

Obviously all of us who love her dearly ~ worry.

Now ~ back to Tyler.

Off we went ~ 'junkin' and stopping by a local outlet where we could check out items available for sale. Both Tyler and Matthew saw a few things that interested them and I saw a LOT of items that interested me. We were getting hungry so we packed my stuff in the car and off we went. A local drive-in is known for fabulous food so we stopped and had fish and chips, clam strips and Tyler had a hotdog with french fries.

Although it was a gray day with sprinkles of rain off and on ~ I set out to take some photographs. We came across a gorgeous piece of land ~ with tractors out in the field picking *stuff* ... and a fabulous old barn. After parking the car, Tyler and I crossed the street and positioned ourselves to take some quick photographs. I had my camera ~ Tyler had his iPod. It began to rain in earnest so we went back to the car and called it a day.

Once we got home ~ Tyler showed me the three photographs he took.

One ~ was magnificent.

I told him I would upload it on to my computer and if he would like, I would put it in my Etsy shop to sell for him. He was all excited but I don't think he realized the magnitude of it all.

I explained that he could do whatever he wanted with the money ... if it sold. After a lengthy discussion he decided that he wanted 50% of the sale of this photograph to go to the Lupus Foundation ~ so he could help to find a cure for his mother. Tears came to my eyes as I realized that not only does he have the 'eye' (to take outstanding photographs) but that he was doing this for his mother.

The photograph sold.

Half of the proceeds were mailed to the Lupus Foundation. He received the other half ~ and he wants that to go into his college fund.

What a special and loving person he is. I am SO proud of him.

I relisted the photograph and I am praying more people will want to purchase this photograph. I will keep re-listing as they continue to sell.

This is Tyler. All my grandchildren are special and all four are kind, loving little people with their own special talent. Tyler's gift is photography as well as the gentle kindness of his heart and a loving soul.



We are going out 'picture taking' next week and I'll keep you posted.

Love and hugs
Marilyn