The French Connection Giveaway

Thanks so much to all who entered my French-inspired giveaway!

If it were possible to do so, each and every one of you would

win the prize.

Alas...

there is but one winner and her name is...

Tanya @ twelve-0-eight.

Congratulations Tanya; you get to walk away with the goods!  

And don't lose heart dear ones!

Another even bigger giveaway is on the horizon!!!   ; )



100th Time Travel Thursday - The French Connection Giveaway

It's time to celebrate!!!

Last night marked the 100th party post for Time Travel Thursday.

And you know what that means—a giveaway is in order!!!   ; )

For this very special occasion, I decided to have

the giveaway follow a French theme...

and 

tie into the time travel theme, as well.

The metal clock face represents time, the vintage wood and metal shoe stretchers, travel.

They are part of the prize.

And all of the treasures in this giveaway—except one—are vintage.

Their past lives provide yet another nod to time travel.

I selected some beadboard from

 the stash in the barn for this gorgeous box.

The beadboard we pulled out of that old Victorian years ago has provided us

with so much character-filled material to work with.

We've created quite a few of these charming boxes—

each with its own unique, timeworn patina.

I showed you some of the others in

the post where you caught glimpses of one of my porches.

But, I have to say...

this one is my absolute favorite so far—

making it quite difficult to give up.   ; )

This tiny vintage brass and glass case is

from my private collection.

When I posted about my collection last summer, I only showed you

a few of the different styles I have.

This beauty will go to the winner.

Remember my lovely French book collection?

The winner of this giveaway will receive a trio

of these beautiful Classiques Larousse books

and...

a bunch of fabulously fragrant Provence lavender from

 the gardens of Brambleberry Cottage.

Last, but not least...

one the fabulous "Paris Cafe" tea towels—

from All Tea Towels—will be added to the bounty of giveaway loot.

Here's how to enter the giveaway:

1.  Visit the All Tea Towels online shop and choose your favorite towel,

then come back and share by leaving a comment on this post.

2.  "Like" All Tea Towels on Facebook (a comment there would be appreciated),

then come back and leave a comment on this post.

3.  If you are a follower of The Brambleberry Cottage on Google Friend Connect,

leave a comment on this post letting me know.

(You can double check by clicking the Sign In link.)

4.  If you are a follower of The Brambleberry Cottage on Linky Followers,

leave a separate comment on this post letting me know.

5.  If you party at Time Travel Thursday,

leave a comment on this post.

(What, you've never partied here?!  Well, it's not too late; the link is still up.)

6.  Put the party button below on your sidebar, so others will know where to go

for a great giveaway.  Then come back and comment on this post.

7.  Tweet about this giveaway, share it on Facebook, post about it on your blog,

and use any other means you can to get the word out.  Then come back and leave a

separate comment for each shout-out you've given.

The more you do, the more chances to win!   ; )

This giveaway starts June 7th and ends June 20th.

The winner will be announced on June 21st.

Joining:
 Beverly's Pink Saturday.
Kathleen's White Wednesday

Fantastic End-of-the-Year Giveaway!!!

Congratulations to Jo—the winner of this giveaway!

Many months have passed since my last giveaway.  So, I guess I'm a bit overdue!

But I have great news!!!

RAMSIGN, a Danish company that produces beautiful, classic porcelain-enamel signs,
 has graciously donated a "sign of your choice" for my final giveaway of 2010!

Here's a brief history of the company from their website:

"Porcelain enameled signs has a long tradition in Europe. They were originally
manufactured in large quantities at a number of enamel factories, for example
Glud & Marstrand's Fabrikker in Denmark which were also suppliers
of porcelain enameled cookware to the European homes.

 During the decades following WWII many consumers turned to cheaper,

mass produced signs, made from plastic and other low cost materials. Moreover,

in the beginning of the sixties companies turned to mass advertisement and the

authorities seized [ceased] to order enameled car number plates. Consequently,

almost all enamel production was eventually closed down.

In 1991 Ramsign revived the production of porcelain enameled signs by the
help of skilled craftsmen with life long experience. Today the signs are still
produced by hand with the original stencil technique and porcelain enamel,
 also referred to as vitreous enamel, or glass enamel. "

As you can see, any of their quality, hand-crafted signs would make an attractive 

addition to your home.

As the winner, you will have the choice of style, trim, and typeface for your sign.

And, you will get your choice of a house number plaque, as shown

in the images above...

OR 

a name plate, as seen in these two examples...

OR

one of the charming door signs.

Any sign you see on the website, with the exclusion of the address plaque, can be

customized just for you...

the winner!

This giveaway is open to everyone around the world!

Here's the lowdown on how to enter this giveaway:

1) Join me as a follower, and leave a comment on this post telling me you have
become a following friend.

2) If you're already a follower, leave a comment on this post letting me know you are.

3) Announce my giveaway on your blog, to be entered two more times, and be sure
 to come back and leave a comment on this post, so
I'll know you did so.

Remember, all comments pertaining to the giveaway must be left on
this post.


The winner will be announced January 1, 2011!

Fourteen Days of Love - Day 6 - Oh...You're so Crafty!

We all know there is no shortage of
 creativity out in the blogosphere.  So, there
should be quite a show of special crafts dedicated to LOVE
for this Valentine's party!

I come from a long line of crafty women—no,

not that kind—the good kind!!!   ; )

My grandmother was a seamstress, who passed that skill on to

her daughter—my mother—who passed it on to me.

 It's a craft that has proven to be quite useful for all of us,

especially during the years of rearing children and making our homes

our families' havens.

I have a daughter who now also has a daughter—my granddaughter, Lana.

My daughter, Asheley, set out to find a very 

unique Christmas stocking for her daughter's very first Christmas.

(I know you must be thinking I have my holidays mixed up, but I don't.

Since the current holiday is all about love, I thought I'd share a very special

craft project that I feel totally represents that topic.  So just

hang in there!)

Asheley looked for weeks for that special stocking,

but found nothing she felt was special enough.

So, Grammy—that would be me—put the old (but not that old!)

thinking cap on and came up with this solution.

I felt that if I could pull together everything I needed,
from bits and pieces gathered from the four generations who came before her,
I could craft a very unique Christmas stocking for my first grandchild.

Each of the items you see in the photo above represents something that
belonged to either my grandmother, my mother, my daughter, or me.

My grandmother had already moved on to heaven,

years before Lana was born.

And the only thing my mom could find that had belonged to Grandma—something

appropriate for this project, anyway—was a pink cotton nightgown,

stored away in her keepsake trunk, along with some vintage buttons.

My mom donated a variety of lace pieces
and several cards of tiny vintage buttons that were
just perfect for a baby's stocking.

From my collection of vintage fabrics
and notions, I was able to select a fabric for the stocking itself and several
battenburg lace doilies to use as embellishment.

Asheley has not yet taken up the craft of sewing. So, it was even more challenging
 to determine what her contribution to this project would be.

But, as she and I sorted through her keepsakes, I spied two items that
were exactly what was needed to finish off this one-of-a-kind gift.

There was a garter from Asheley's wedding—there had been two,
one to throw and one to keep—and a piece of sequined trim that
we had used on a costume we'd made for her senior prom.

The theme for her prom had been Phantom of the Opera and that pretty 

trim had been used on an elaborate mask we had

created to go with her gown and cape.

Now, with all the necessary elements assembled,

I was ready to embark on the journey to create that

 "special" Christmas stocking.

The pink cotton from Grandma's gown was used for the lining

and the inside ruffle at the top of the stocking. 

The outer ruffle, at the top, was created from a piece

of my mother's lace.

There could not have been a more appropriate trim—to unite

the ruffles at the top and the stocking fabric itself—than

 Asheley's bridal garter.

Look back at the image above.  See how the solitary

 rhinestone heart plays up the tiny hearts in the lace?

Hearts are synonymous with Valentine's, right?  And you thought

 I was confused about the holiday!   ; )

There was just enough of the sequined trim to

 create a heart in the center of the stocking

 and accent the toe and heel as well.

Isn't that pink heart button

from my grandmother's collection precious?!

One of my battenburg lace doilies was heart-shaped,

so it became the focal point at the center of the stocking.  It made a terrific

 background for the sequined heart and pink heart button.

The other doily was cut apart and used as

decoration on the toe and heel.

I selected several other vintage buttons—from the assortment 

gathered from my grandmother, my mother, and me—and used

those as the final decorative touches.

And the bits and pieces of

four generations culminated in this.

The three generations of mothers still living, 

who have seen this sweet little Christmas stocking in person,

are well pleased with the end product.

And I believe Grandma is smiling down from heaven,

 knowing that she was able to contribute something special

to one of her great-great-grandchildren.

But Grandma's most beautiful contribution 

was not the material things needed to create a Christmas stocking.  It was her link in the chain

of mothers' love that has been passed down through the generations!

Now on to the giveaway goodies:

Crafting is so much more that just assembling bits and pieces.  It's

 an expression of who we are.

So…

today, I'm adding an assortment of fabric, buttons and trim to

this week's giveaway—some vintage, some new. 

Hopefully, the winner will be able to create 

her own very special keepsake for a loved one.

And...

did I create a little suspense about yesterday's giveaway?

I certainly hope so!!!

I know you're just dying to know what it is.

So, without further delay...

here is the adorable set of mini bowls

that will be added to the giveaway, for yesterday's topic—Seeing Red.

Sharing at

Tiffany's Making the World Cuter Mondays, Kaysi's Motivate Me Monday,

Diana's Just Something I Whipped Up Monday, and Summer's Market Yourself Monday.

Beverly's Pink Saturday.

Reminder:  Please be sure to publish your

Valentine's post, before you link to the party. And

don't forget to mention the Brambleberry Cottage

in your post.

Remember to leave a comment to be entered in this
week's drawing for the giveaway!

1. Patricias Heart Banner 2. Jenn Raley 3. http://sweetnothingsbj.blogspot.com/2010/02/hugs-and-kisses-to-you.html

4. http://beansiebabbles.blogspot.com/2010/02/day-six-of-fourteen.html 5. Ann Creek 6. http://donna-sugarspicesouthernlife.blogspot.com/

7. barbara jean 8. Marilyn

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