The History Keeper

8GB iPod Touch Giveway at Curbly.com - this week only!

2011-10-10T09:11:00.000-07:00

The folks at Curbly.com are giving away an iPod Touch with a pre-loaded Caesarstone app to inspire your remodel or redesign! All you have to do is comment by October 16, 2011 on this post: http://www.curbly.com/bruno/posts/11315-giveaway-win-an-8gb-apple-ipod-touch-pre-loaded-with-the-caesarstone-app-199-value#comment_28496

My Free Credenza

2011-09-14T06:23:00.000-07:00

Last week, I passed this beautiful credenza at the side of the road! I quickly drove around the block and asked my friend, John Spindler, if he'd be able to get it to my house (I didn't think I could get it into my small car, especially by myself - it's heavy!), and he did.

This is it's temporary place - eventually, it'll have my tv sitting on top of it. But for now, it's just fine right here. Great storage! Besides the three drawers, each side has double doors that open onto shelves. It still has a plate in the top drawer that reads:
Richardson Bros. Co.
Contemporary Furniture
Richardson/Nemschoff
In the little research I've been able to do, Richardson Bros. Furniture teamed up with Nemschoff in 1959. I would say this piece was produced within the next decade, most likely during the early 1960s.

2011-09-02T07:58:00.000-07:00

Just recently, I've picked up a couple of cool midcentury pieces. Don't know what company made them, but I love both of them!

This bureau (the cat was already here - that's Shelby) has two large drawers at the bottom. The top part opens like a bi-fold door and inside there is another drawer and a shelf on top of that with two removable upright dividers on it. Great storage!

This is an unusual bookshelf - one flat shelf at the bottom, then two angled shelves above that. Just had to put a few midcentury books in there to see what it should look like!

David John Rader

2011-07-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

Today happens to be five whole years since my husband, best friend, companion, partner, soul mate, confidante, and chum passed away. I still think he's around sometimes, making sure things are going to be okay. But I can't believe so much time has gone by! He loved history and cemeteries, genealogy, our kids, grandkids, brother and sisters, aunts, moms and dads, and pets, and we all miss him! His favorite thing was to be helpful to someone. I just don't want him to ever be forgotten.

Our wedding day, July 5, 1988 at the Howard County Courthouse in Kokomo, Indiana.

At the shore of Lake Erie.

A drill for Christmas.

Triumph! At the top of Seneca Rock, West Virginia with my brother, Jeff, circa 1989.

With his Aunt Grace and cousin Ralph - it was Aunt Grace's birthday.

At left, with his sister Sue, brother Bob and sister Pati.

Placing a veteran's marker and flag at Thomas Coady's gravestone in Mater Dolorosa Cemetery in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Ivy

2011-04-29T10:44:00.000-07:00

Well, a dog is back in my life again. Her "fostered" name was Cagney, which is a nice name, but I just think she's an "Ivy." Besides, it's a little easier to say. She's made herself at home, and the cats finally have come back out. I don't think they're "in love" with her, but they tolerate her. She's a little bigger and a little younger than I was looking for, but here she is. The next one will be a little senior!

Almost Finished!

2011-04-06T08:25:00.000-07:00

Last week, I stopped at my local Habitat for Humanity ReStore, just to browse. As I passed the tile area, a small box of pretty vintage yellow tile caught my eye, but it wasn't nearly enough for the bathroom. But a couple of steps later, I hit the mother-lode! 400 full-size tiles piled on the shelf, along with a box of bull-nose and pieces! A few short minutes later, they were mine! Even after my calculations (which showed I needed 450 tiles and 40 bull-nose tiles), I wasn't sure I'd have enough for the bath area. So I came up with a design that worked in slightly smaller new white tiles (since the fixtures are all white). Here it is mostly finished before grouting: And here it is after grouting. The only thing remaining to be done is putting the shower head, spout and escutcheons back on. I think it looks really awesome. But after it was finished, I realized that I really do have enough of the tile to have done the whole thing in yellow. You see, they were made a little bit bigger back then (just like ice cream cartons!), and I had also rounded up to the next full tile in my calculations. Oh well, there will be enough to save, until I find more and can do the walls, too!

The Bathroom Renovation Begins!

2011-03-30T07:06:00.000-07:00

For a LONG time, I've wanted to get rid of the really disgusting tub surround that's been in the bathroom since who knows when. It's impossible to clean, it's never been what I really wanted in there, and it's just ugly! These are the before pictures: Yesterday, my handyman pulled it out and removed the wet layer of dry-wall that was behind it. This is what was under that - plaster and lathe on the top half and real wainscoting on the lower portion!

Here's the bucket of parts - I hope I can get the calcium deposits off the faucet pieces because they're perfect for my bathroom of the future!

Someday in the future, I want a sink vanity something like this one:

The style is perfect, but I'd rather it had either two doors opening traditionally or sliding doors. It would be great to have a laminate top with a hudee-ringed sink, too, but the laminate companies are rapidly discontinuing any laminate pattern that might work. They all seem to just love anything that looks like granite or marble, but nothing with the sparkle and charm of 1960!

Although the wainscoting is mostly in good condition, that's for the person who owns my house fifty years from now and wants to renovate the bathroom. My plans are 4" tiles with bull-nose tiles around the edge. Don't know the color yet (although, since it's "forever," it will probably be predominately white so it goes with anything), but it's going to be something very 1950's-1960's. I don't care that my house was built in 1870 (the original portion), 1915 (the front room and attic over it, along with this bathroom), 1941 (the kitchen) and 1965 (walling in the back porch), the rooms are (eventually) going to reflect a mid-twentieth-century impression. I'll keep you posted!

Dressing Up the Bed!

2011-03-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

Really, really complete primer on making bedspreads! I especially like the photo on the last image, probably because it's orange and rather unique. I'd probably end up making something much simpler than that one, though! Have fun!

On to Slipcovers!

2011-03-23T06:51:00.000-07:00

Today, I thought I'd put up the instructions for slipcovers fromt he 1970 Better Homes & Gardens Sewing Book. Slipcovers can cover stains and rips, protect upholstery, fit into a decorating scheme and unify.

Making Curtains and Drapes via the 1970 Better Homes & Gardens Sewing Book

2011-03-22T07:05:00.000-07:00

One of these days, I'm making my own pinch-pleat draperies. I've wanted them for a while, but everything in the stores is really expensive (if you can even find nice looking drapes), or they are really nothing but glorified curtains. And I have perfect instructions right in my BH & G Sewing Book binder, printed in 1970. This is the divider for the "Sewing for the Home" section:

For anyone else who wants to learn more about it, who might want to try it, here are some images from the book, showing the process:

Keep watching for "Slipcovers" and "Bedspreads!"

My Newest Branchell Melmac Dishes!

2011-03-21T09:37:00.000-07:00

Quite unplanned, I was in an antiques mall yesterday, browsing, not planning to buy anything. All of a sudden, I spotted a great find - at least in my area! Forty-three pieces of Branchell Melmac, mostly Color-Flyte, for $22.00! Thank you, Auntie's Antique Mall in Parkman, Ohio http://www.auntiesantiquemall.com/! Although I had several of the pieces already (of course, I can certainly always use more dinner plates), there are seven lug bowls (with the little fan-shaped handle on one side) and a pastel yellow dinner plate - not Color-Flyte, but definitely Branchell - that I did not have!

These are just a few of my other Branchell pieces (I have some cups in the pastel colors that are still wrapped from when I bought them - since I don't use the cups very often, there's no point having them out until I have a good place for them. I also have miscellaneous other pieces, like another butter dish, at least one other set of Color-Flyte-style sugar bowl and creamer - the two bright green pieces in the photo above that look like tea cups, but have a different handle, a turquoise Royale-style sugar bowl and creamer, and some others). I started "collecting" (never meaning to really be collecting!) Branchell because that is what my grandmother used in her home when I was little (well, really all the way up to the time she sold her house). She only had Color-Flyte, but I've found I love it all! For those uninitiated, Color-Flyte colors consisted of Mist Grey, Glade Green, Glow Copper, and Spray Lime. The colors of the Royale line were Gardenia White, Charcoal Grey and Flame Pink during the first run, and Turquoise Blue was added later. There were also several different patterns - my favorite is Flyte, Buttonflower, and an unknown pattern that sort of looks like it has an atomic symbol rolling around on the plates. In addition, and probably among the last ones designed by Branchell's designer Kaye LaMoyne, were some beautiful spring-like pastels in yellow, pink, blue, peach, lavender, aqua, and green. A really definitive site (not complete, but very good) on Branchell Melmac can be found at http://notagaingraphics.com/Branchell/index.html, for anyone who finds these dishes as fun and interesting as I do (and they don't break!)

Dinner plates

Platters, serving bowls, salt and pepper shakers, and (hiding, sort of) serving spoons

Bread and butter plates, salad plates

Royale-style sugar bowl and lid, gravy boats

Here We Go Again!

2011-02-22T07:57:00.000-08:00

Well, this is what I woke up to this morning! And it was in the 50s a couple of days ago!

Ice is on some of the plants (hard to see in this photo of my Rose of Sharon bushes, but all of the seed pods are covered in a layer of ice, topped with snow.

Looking west down my street...

And looking west. Spring starts on March 20 at 7:21p.m.!

OWOH Winners

2011-02-21T09:01:00.001-08:00

Yes, I said "winners" with an S! The quilt label book was won by Nancy of Michigan - and she's a quilter!!! Because so many commented on the OWOH post, I decided to choose two additional winners, who will each receive a special surprise goody from me! Those winners are Gayle from Canada and Mervi from Finland! Congratulations, everyone!

Shelby and the Wolf

2011-02-17T10:43:00.000-08:00

The other day, I was watching a "Nature" episode on PBS that was about the grey wolf. For a little bit, I was listening more than watching, when I heard a noise that had nothing at all to do with the wolf on the television. I looked up, and there was my younger cat Shelby, watching the wolf! He had just become intrigued with the sounds of the wolf, but then he seemed to be watching its movement.

He ended watching most of the episode!

And today, Shelby and Dodger and I all wish my brother Jeff a very happy birthday, indeed!

The Fiction Project

2011-02-15T10:54:00.000-08:00

I got my notebook for The Fiction Project and thought I'd tell you a little bit about it. I'm so excited about it! It's sort of the baby sibling of The Sketchbook Project, a huge venture between Art House Co-op and The Brooklyn Art Library. Artists signing up all receive the same moleskine cahier notebook and are challenged to do something with it. They then send them back in, and they are catalogued permanently at The Brooklyn Art Library, where anyone can check them out and peruse their pages.

The Fiction Project grew out of this - the only real difference is that participants are challenged to tell a story, along with illustrations. This year's Sketchbook Project is closed, but the Fiction Project is still open for a short time. You can find out information here http://arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject and here http://arthousecoop.com/projects/fiction as well as viewing previous sketchbooks and fiction.

Is It Getting Warmer?

2011-02-11T08:46:00.000-08:00

It's going to be about 15 degrees warmer today than it's been for days! I can't imagine it - 25 degrees! And it's supposed to be in the 40's by Sunday! It'll be a heatwave! Hope everyone else has good weather and does something wonderfully fun this weekend!

I think I'll be switching time between writing - thesis and other stuff! - and reading a wonderful mystery: Well-Schooled in Murder by Elizabeth George. Although I'm way behind, it's the third (of about fourteen) in her Inspector Thomas Lynley series. Fantastic books, phenomenal writer!

One World One Heart 2011

2011-02-03T12:17:00.001-08:00

The last one! I'm so sad, but I want to thank Lisa Swifka so much for hosting them the past five years! Anyway, I'm finally participating in the fifth and final One World One Heart 2011!

I'm a fifty-something widow who is also a graduate student in mid-nineteenth century American history, a grandmother of several, mom to five kids and two cats (first time I haven't had a dog in several years!), and a lover of writing, art, and craft. I also love to watch (when I can) old television shows (Ironside, Hawaii Five-O - new and old, Columbo, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeanie, etc.) and British shows (crime dramas like Inspector Lynley and Inspector Lewis, and comedies - my favorite being As Time Goes By). And a lot of the time when I'm watching the old shows, I'm gazing fondly at the decor because I love mid-century modern anything! So, while all of my current history projects are centered in the 1860s, my heart floats in the 1960s! I even find the arts and crafts of that era amazing, both in observation and in creation. I also am adamant that if we don't fix our environment, nothing else will matter much. So in that vein, most of the crafts that I enjoy involve at least some recycling.

I'm giving away the book "A Treasury of Quilt Labels" by Susan McKelvey, a wonderful source of all manner of labels to attach to your quilts! In order to win, leave a comment at the end of this post. I'll be choosing a winner by random generator and will announce on February 17. If possible, I'll be adding another gift for a second winner. Hope you win!

Snow! And Ice!

2011-02-03T11:28:00.000-08:00

Wow! Snow, then ice, then snow again! Finally, today nothing much is happening - but it's freezing! I can't wait for winter to leave!

It's Been A While!

2011-01-31T10:18:00.000-08:00

I've been quite busy with school and writing - my thesis still isn't done, but it's getting there! And I've become fond of pen and ink - doing a lot of writing NOT on the computer. I've also been participating in things like Swap-Bot (http://www.swap-bot.com/) - and loving it! And I've been planning and mostly dreaming about fitting my mid-century modern mindset within the confines of a house built in 1870! Not an easy task... But there is quite a bit of historical support for people living in older houses and "updating" them in between 1940 and 1970. That's why you sometimes see old frame houses with 1950s front doors. Or why, if you're able venture inside, you sometimes find living rooms or kitchens that, while not reflecting 2011, certainly don't look like they came out of the nineteenth-century. It used to bother me (as an historian) when houses were treated this way, but there is such a precedent for mid-20th-century remodeling that I've made my peace with it!

Now I'm hoping to get this blog more active again, hopefully posting at least a couple of times a week. We'll see how it goes... I'd like to center my posts on writing topics, mid-century design, my pets and occasionally, a craft I find splendid! Wish me luck!

The Things We Miss When We're Not Looking

2009-09-25T10:16:00.000-07:00

Well, summer has put a crimp on my blog entries, hasn't it?
Over the years, I've become more and more (and more) interested in mid-century design and the history of material culture of the 1950s and 1960s. Lately, in looking at our family photos, I've begun to look beyond family and have become intrigued by structures within the photographs...a chair, the wallpaper, floors, cars, etc. Most of these things were around when I was a child, but they were such fixtures in the background that I never really took notice of them. Here are a few photos I recently pulled from the hundreds I've already scanned that show some really neat things in the background (or foreground, as the case may be). I think they're fantastic (and kind of miss them, too).

My mom's wedding shower, February 1955. My grandmother's kitchen table was sooooo cool!

My grandpa Ralph and a family friend. Love the chairs - each one is different!

Great-grandma Katie in her very 1950s kitchen. Look at the metal cabinets - I wonder if they're still in this house?

Speaking of Green...

2009-05-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

This is my new rechargeable electric lawnmower. Yes, it's in my living room (well, it was when the photo was taken)! That's the battery charging at the left side of the picture. I love it! Well, if you can love a lawnmower, anyway! I have a reel mower, too (for anyone who doesn't know, the kind that has no motor and the blades rotate kind of like a cylinder), but this one is so much faster on a big lawn - and still green!

Green Sewing

2009-05-08T08:25:00.001-07:00

I FINALLY got a copy from my local library of Green Sewing by Betz White. I have GOT to get me one! I love this book - possibly the best "being green" book I've ever seen. I hope to have more on this post later, but for now, just go check it out! (http://www.amazon.com/Sewing-Green-Projects-Repurposed-Materials/dp/1584797584)

An Earth Day Project

2009-04-23T13:13:00.001-07:00

An impromptu project for Earth Day - just a stick, nine bottles with their caps and some fishing line (the lizard isn't climbing onto the stick - he's just hanging out on the wall). When I get it balanced, it's going out on the porch to swing around in the breeze.

Let's Save the Earth!

2009-04-22T06:17:00.000-07:00

Happy 40th Earth Day (counting the very first one on April 22, 1970)! Although I tend to honor Earth Day every day by trying to reduce my carbon footprint as much as possible, each year I add something on Earth Day. This year, it's water - I'm going to attempt to reduce my use of water, water my garden entirely from my rain barrel, shorten my showers, not buy water when the water from my tap is perfectly fine, turn the water off when brushing my teeth, keep my gutters cleaned out to reduce rainwater run-off, etc.
On the Go Make Something site (http://gomakesomething.com/), the weekly "Make It Mondays" this week is anything inspired by a footprint, and all I could think of was a carbon footprint! So I added another page to my art journal, and here's my entry - very impromtu among all the other things I was doing last night - enjoy!

Spring!

2009-04-17T06:40:00.000-07:00

I've seen signs of spring for a few weeks now - a little more sun in this part of Ohio, more rain than snow, a generally more green appearance. But yesterday, it really LOOKED like spring! My first tulip is blooming! Peonies and raspberries are coming up, and the buds on the trees are noticeable. And a little grey squirrel sat watching me as I walked around taking photos. Welcome spring!

A curious little grey squirrel..

Leaves on the bushes

and trees...

Rasberries

Peonies!

My potted plants

And my beautiful little first tulip!

Orange You Lucky!

2009-04-03T07:34:00.000-07:00

I just discovered this blog, showcasing the really delightful designs of Helen Dardik! The illustrations remind me of the graphics of my childhood, like they ought to be on greeting cards or bark cloth somewhere! Now go check them out at http://orangeyoulucky.blogspot.com/!

A Girl of the Limberlost and Gene Stratton-Porter

2009-03-31T11:32:00.000-07:00

A Girl of the Limberlost, a book written by Hoosier author Gene Stratton-Porter (born Geneva Grace Stratton, nicknamed at an early age "Little Bird Woman"), turns 100 this year. The cluster of Indiana State Historic Sites encompassing the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site in Rome City, Indiana, the Limberlost State Historic Site in Geneva, Indiana and the Loblolly Nature Preserve near Bryant, Indiana will all be holding events during the week of April 24 through May 2 - designated "Go Green with Gene Week." According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (http://www.in.gov/dnr/5296.htm), these events include hiking, nature photography, and stories about the life of Stratton-Porter. If anyone is in that area at the time (or really at any time), these venues would be well worth a visit.
For my part, I've decided (of course, in addition to everything else I'm doing right now) to read the book once again. It has always been one of my favorites. Alternating between routing for Elnora and wanting to be her, she was a significant part of my childhood. When I was about 8 or 9, my great-aunt - an avid visitor of the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site herself - purchased several of the author's books for me. From her, I received A Girl of the Limberlost, Freckles, The Keeper of the Bees, The Song of the Cardinal, A Daughter of the Land, and Her Father's Daughter. My grandmother had At the Foot of the Rainbow and Laddie and eventually gave those to me. Beyond those, I've also acquired The Harvester and Michael O'Halloran. But in my heart of hearts, I love A Girl of the Limberlost best!
If anyone is interested either in reading any of these wonderful old books, visiting the sites or supporting the Friends of the Limberlost, please visit one (or all) of these sites: http://www.genestrattonporter.net/ or http://www.genestratton-porter.com/ or http://www.in.gov/ism/StateHistoricSites/GeneStratton-PorterCabin/index.aspx.

Flower Loom Crafts While Watching TV!

2009-03-27T13:39:00.000-07:00

I just saw the neatest thing over on Craftstylish! For some time now, I've loved the loom flowers of the 1960s and 1970s (see cathy of california here: http://cathyofcalifornia.typepad.com/ for numerous posts on this really cool craft). Today on Craftstylish, there is a post on the many uses of the ubiquitous VHS tape in craft, and one of them (it is actually linked to cathy of california) is to make those flowers! Check it out: http://craftstylish.com/item/43650/crafting-with-vhs-tapes!

Cute Little Spring Giveaway on Pixie's Ponderings!

2009-03-25T12:38:00.000-07:00

Hope at Pixie's Ponderings has set up a little giveaway for spring (http://pixiesponderings1966.blogspot.com/2009/03/spring-celebration-giveaway.html). All you have to do is make a comment and you're in the drawing! Looks like just the stuff to make spring get here faster! (Of course, here in northeast Ohio, it is a rainy, chilly, typical early spring day). Good luck!

Esme 2006-2009

2009-03-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

One week ago today, I arrived home from work to find my sweet cat laying on my bed not moving, not breathing. She was already gone - and she was "just perfect" when I left for work that morning. She arrived at my house in November 2007, just after Halloween, and especially being a black cat, she was probably lucky she survived it. Anyway, one evening, I let my dog out, and she pranced in like she owned the place (little did I know it, but she did!). I put her back outside, telling her she had to go on home. So, she proceeded to sit on the table on the front porch all that evening and into the next day, staring in the window at me.

So, I brought her back in, and even though I tried to find her first owner - after all, she was spayed and looked like she'd been taken care of - I never found one. So she stayed. And my grandchildren helped me name her Esmeralda Moonstone. I shortened it to Esme for every day use.

From what the vet told me at that time, I estimate she was only three years old at the time of her death. The vet did a necropsy, and although she couldn't give me any definitive answer, she did find that Esme had only one rather deformed kidney that probably was not processing things the way it should. So she concluded that Esme probably had high blood pressure and may have had a mini-stroke that killed her instantly.

Heartbroken is only a mere word. I feel so much more than that. I had always thought she came to me just when I needed her, the year after my husband died. But now I wonder if maybe she came because she needed me.

Boys Night Over

2009-03-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, two of my grandsons spent the night. They are 7 and almost 4 years old. We had a great time. We made a picture frames with foam cutouts - I'll post the photos here as soon as they're downloaded. Then we watched "The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns" with Randy Quaid and Colm Meaney - and a great, quirky performance by Roger Daltrey as a fairy! They loved it. Of course, they've both seen it before and would probably watch it again tomorrow.

Next Friday, I'm doing it all over again with one of my granddaughters. Plans are to teach her how to play Parcheesi (one of my favorite games), to learn to use the sewing machine (I think we're going to make a tote or a purse), to make shrinky dink buttons (http://thehistorykeeper.blogspot.com/2009/03/first-try.html), and another really cool craft from shrink plastic that I saw on Instructables (http://www.instructables.com/id/Disc_Bead_Bracelet_Cheap_Easy_and_recycled_shr/). The bracelets are beautiful and so easy! Who knows if we'll get it all done, but we'll have a barrel of fun!

Here are the frames the boys made:

Jason's frame...

and Ethan's frame.

First Try

2009-03-10T08:10:00.000-07:00

I recently found a tutorial at CraftStylish on Shrink Plastic Buttons, written by Susan Beal (http://www.craftstylish.com/item/42355/how-to-make-your-own-shrink-art-buttons). It seemed so simple, I was intrigued. I used frosted clear shrink plastic sheets, a 1-1/2" round punch, a variety of colored Sharpie markers, and a regular hole punch. Here's how it looked after I colored the rough side of the plastic with the markers.

Then I used the 1-1/2" paper punch to cut out the shapes.

I cut the "thread" holes with a regular hole punch (1/4"). When I punched them out, they all looked lop-sided and uneven, but it didn't seem to matter when the buttons were finished.

I put them in a 325-degree oven and watched them for a couple of minutes (the whole process took about 3 minutes). The instructions that came with my plastic instructed me to place the plastic on a piece of a brown paper grocery bag instead of aluminum foil as in Susan Beal's article, so that's what I did. They curled up a little while in the oven, and although I followed my instructions by pressing on them with a pad of paper for about 15 seconds while they cooled to flatten them, I don't think I really needed to do that. They seemed to flatten well on their own. Here's what they looked like when I first took them from the oven.

And here are a few of my finished buttons (each about 1/2" in diameter). alongside a couple of the unfinished ones. They sure do shrink! I just love my first results. I think this is going to have to be a craft that's a keeper!

Ralph

2009-02-17T16:41:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd share a photo of my best old friend, Ralph. He'll shortly be 16 years old and is about the sweetest thing I know. I've lately been remembering when he was a puppy a lot, probably because he's been really showing his age. He sometimes loses his balance, has accidents, etc. But every once-in-a-while, he still trots out after "his" squirrels.

One World, One Heart - The Winners!

2009-02-12T07:23:00.000-08:00

This has been so much fun! I want to again state I wish I had something to send to everyone - all the comments were so nice. But alas, I only have a couple of giveaways! The winners, all notified this morning, are:

Memory Quilts: Delightful Ways to Capture Today Forever - won by "Loralynn."

"Things to Do Pack" - won by "Pandora's Artbox."

I also drew a third name for an as yet unidentified giveaway. The winner of that one is "Whimsical Creations."

Congratulations to everyone - I know there are winners all over the world!

One World, One Heart 2009

2009-01-27T20:58:00.000-08:00

As you can see from my blog, I am very new at this! But this wonderful give-away idea has pushed me to jump in! This is the first year I will be participating, and I've decided to launch TWO give-aways!

The first will be the book Memory Quilts: Delightful Ways to Capture Today Forever by Nancy Smith and Lynda Milligan. It is a lightly used, but very wonderful intro into the use of quilting as a function of memory.

The second give-away is something I call a "Things to Do Pack."

These are great items for altered art, collages, scrapbooking...or just imagination! The pack includes the following: 5 pieces of decorative paper, each 3.5" x 6," 2 drawings of bugs, 1 silver pipe cleaner, 1 cream bow with gold trim, 1 piece of gold wire (I'm pretty sure it's 24 gauge), 3 Monopoly game cards, 4 Halloween jack-o-lantern stickers, 1 piece of gold netting, 6 vintage Christmas stickers, 1 vintage Christmas tag, 1 vintage three-cent U.S. postage stamp, 3 small silver binder clips, 25 beads of various sizes and designs, 3 heart charms, 1 picture frame charm, and (not shown in photo) letter beads like the ones in baby bracelets - the give-away winner's choice of one word up to 10 letters (so long as I have enough of each letter).

To enter to win either of these items, leave a comment ONLY for this post. Please include your email address, so I can contact the winner. You can enter it like "tothinkthatisawitonmulberrystreet AT whimsy DOT com." I will accept comments for the drawing until 11pm Eastern Standard Time on Feb 11. The winners will be randomly drawn and contacted on Feb 12th.

Click on the blue circle at the top of this post to learn more about the One World, One Heart Give-away. When you get to Lisa Swifka's site (the founder of the three-year-old give-away), you will also be able to enter all the drawings by clicking on the links down the right side of the page. Almost 700, so far! Have a joyful time!

(Comments are now closed. I will be drawing the winners shortly, and will notify them and announce them here sometime tomorrow afternoon. Good luck to everyone! It's been so neat "meeting" people from all over the world. I wish I had 155 things to give away!)