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The Marie Antionette
Real Person Award


Wendy at http://www.craftingcrazylady.blogspot.com/ sent me the sweetest email saying that because she loved my blog so much she had nominated myStoryART for The Marie Antoinette, Real Person, A Real Award. WOW! I am on a roll LOL... two awards in December! Thanks sooo much Wendy. I was very touched by your lovely email and the award.

Here are the rules for this award . . .

1. Please put the logo on your blog.

2. Place a link to the person from whom you received the award.

3. Nominate at least 7 or more blogs.

4. Put the links of those blogs on your blog.

5. Leave a message on their blogs to tell them.

My nominations are:

My art friend and stained glass whiz Mar

My other art friend and ultra talented group Mom at the Latest Trends, Cindy (if you haven't bought her book that she co-authored with three other very talented artists, you are really missing out! Use some of your Xmas money and run, not walk, to get it at Cindy's site)

My "Digital Art" at its finest and photoshop guru bud, Christy (check out her "Graphics This" link on her blog and just drool!)



Even though Norma Kooi does not have a blog, I love her work! Take a peek here to see some of the fantastic collages and altered art Norma does!

Another artist who does some fantastic art I enjoy is Teesha Moore. You can find her work here.

Congratulations ladies!

Sharon

A Christmas Tale for You - A Gift from Saint Nicholas

A Gift from Saint Nicholas as retold byS. E. Schlosser (adapted for telling by Sharon House)

Claas Schlaschenschlinger was a wealthy cobbler who lived on New Street in New Amsterdam (today... New York City). He was a contented bachelor who could afford eight - eight mind you! - pairs of breeches and he had a little side business selling geese. He cut quite a figure in New Amsterdam society.

Now Claas was happy being a bachelor until he met the fair Anitje! She was as pretty and fair as a picture, and Claas fell head over heels in love with her. He was not her only suitor, by any means. The local burgermeister (mayor) was also courting the fair Anitje. But, alas, the burgermeister was a stingy, hard man, and in the end, Anitje gave her heart and hand to Claas.

Now at first, Claas and Anitje were very happy and prosperous, raising geese and children. But the burgermeister was a vengeful sort of fellow, who began a series of "improvements" to the local neighborhood, charging highly for each one, until all their money was gone. The arrival of a blacksmith who repaired shoes with hob nails, so that the shoes lasted a year or more, left Claas, Anitje and their six children as poor as church mice.

One Christmas Eve found the Schlaschenschlinger family down to their last, cold meal of bread and cheese. Claas was wondering what he had left to sell, in order to feed his family. Suddenly he remembered a fine pipe that he had found in one of his stockings on a long ago Christmas morning in Holland. Now this was a fine pipe, too good for a mere cobbler. Claas knew even then that such a gift could only be from Saint Nicholas himself.

Claas leapt up and went to dig through an old chest until he found the pipe. As he unearthed it from under a pile of clothes, a draft of cold air came from the open front door. Claas scolded his children for playing with the door and went to close it. But there, standing in the doorway was a merry, round figure of a stranger.

"Thank you, thank you, I will come in out of the cold," said the man, stomping in the door and taking a seat by the poor excuse for a fire that blazed in the hearth.

The family gathered around the white bearded old fellow as he tried to warm himself. He scolded them roundly for not keeping the fire hot, and when Claas admitted that they had nothing left to burn, the old man broke his fine rosewood cane in two and threw it on the fire.

The cane blazed up merrily, heating the whole room. The fire was so hot that the hair of the cat was singed! The cat leaped away with a cry of indignation, making everyone laugh.

It was hard to be sober around this merry old man, who made sly jokes, told riddles, and sang songs. After sitting for half an hour with the family, the old man began rubbing his stomach and gazing wistfully at the cupboard.

"Might there be a bite to eat for an old man on this Christmas Eve?" he asked Anitje.

She blushed in shame and admitted there was nothing left in their cupboard.

"Nothing?" said he, "Then what about that fine goose right there?"

Anitje gasped, for suddenly the smell of a tenderly roasted goose filled the room. She ran to the cupboard, and there was a huge goose on a platter! She also found pies and cakes and bread and many other good things to eat and drink.

Her children shouted in delight, and the whole family feasted merrily, with the little white bearded old man seated at the head of the table.

As they ate, Claas showed the old man the pipe he meant to sell.

"Why that pipe is a lucky pipe," said the old man, examining it closely. "Smoked by John Calvin himself, if I am not mistaken. You should keep this pipe all your days and hand it down to your children."

Finally, the church bells tolled midnight, and the little old man cried: "Midnight! I must be off!"

Claas and Anitje begged him to stay and spend Christmas with them, but, he just smiled merrily at them and strode over to the chimney.

"A Merry Christmas to you all, and a Happy New Year!" he cried. And then he disappeared straight up the chimney!

The next morning, when Anitje was sweeping the fireplace, she found a huge bag full of silver, bearing the words "A Gift from Saint Nicholas".

Suddenly they heard a clamor of voices outside their house. When Claas and Anitje went to investigate, they discovered their wooden house was now made of brick!

Now, as you can imagine, at first the townsfolk thought they were in league with a wizard but when Claas told them the story and showed them the new possessions and riches left to them by the old man, they made him the town alderman.

The transformed "Dutch House" in New York City remained a landmark for many years following the death of Claas and Anitje.

A Christmas Tale for You - The Three Purses

A Legend about the good Saint Nicholas by William S. Walsh (adapted for telling by Sharon House)

Now, when the good Saint Nicholas was Bishop of Myra, there were among his people three beautiful maidens, daughters of a nobleman. Their father was so poor that he could not afford to give them dowries. Now in those times and in that land, no maid could marry without a dowry so these three lovely young maidens could not wed the youths who loved them.

The poor nobleman. Things did not go well for him and finally he became so very poor that he no longer even had money with which to buy food or clothes for his daughters. He was overcome by shame and sorrow as his daughters wept continually for they were both cold and hungry.

One day, just before Christmas, Saint Nicholas heard of the sad state of this noble family. So that very night, when the maidens were asleep, and the father was watching, sorrowful and lonely, Saint Nicholas took a handful of gold, and, tying it in a purse, set off for the nobleman's house. Creeping quietly and silently up to the open window, he threw the purse into the chamber, so that it fell on the bed of the sleeping maidens.

The father picked up the purse. When he opened the pouch, he discovered the gold. He rejoiced greatly and awakened his daughters. He gave most of the gold to his eldest child for a dowry. The very next day she wed the young man whom she loved with all her heart.

A few days later Saint Nicholas filled another purse with gold, and, as before, went by night to the nobleman's house and tossed the purse through the open window. Thus the second daughter was enabled to marry the young man whom she loved.

Now, the nobleman felt very grateful to the unknown one who threw purses of gold into his room. He longed to know who his benefactor was so he could thank him. So the next night he watched beneath the open window. And when all was dark, lo! good Saint Nicholas came for the third time, carrying a silken purse filled with gold, and as he was about to throw it on the youngest maiden's bed, the nobleman caught him by his robe, and said:

"Oh good Saint Nicholas! why do you hide yourself thus?"

And he knelt down and kissed the saint's hands and feet. Now Saint Nicholas, overcome with confusion at having his good deed discovered, begged the nobleman to tell no man what had happened.

Thus the nobleman's third daughter was enabled to marry the young man whom she loved; and she and her father and her two sisters lived happily for the remainder of their lives.

Santa's on his way! Track his journey in 3D...

Christmas isn't just for kids! Every Christmas Eve I track Santa's journey around the earth with NORAD, the bi-national U.S.-Canadian military organization responsible for the aerospace and maritime defense of the United States and Canada. Kids love this site but so do adults... and this year you can even track Santa on his journey with google earth. So for some fun for the kids and you... visit NORAD and perhaps even start a family tradition!

Happy Holidays...

Sharon

A Tale for you - The Fairy Tulips...

Even though the English folktale, "The Fairy Tulips" is not a Christmas tale, it is a lovely story nonetheless. For me, it conjures up beautiful imagery as I hear or read it for it is a tale of love, caring and goodness... A tale we can all appreciate as our families gather together to celebrate this holiday season.

Each Christmas, I choose a tale to tell to my family as we gather together on Christmas Eve. It has become a wonderful tradition and everyone looks forward to "this year's story"! This year, I have chosen this story to be my Christmas Eve tale.

Perhaps you could start a similar tradition this year by choosing a favourite story from one of the stories you will find here in the next few days or another story that speaks to your heart and you would like to share with your loved ones.

Have a lovely Christmas everyone!

Check back on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and January 1, 2009 for more tales!

THE FAIRY TULIPS

Once upon a time there was a good old woman who lived in a little house. She had in her garden a bed of beautiful striped tulips.

One night she was wakened by the sounds of sweet singing and of babies laughing. She looked out at the window. The sounds seemed to come from the tulip bed, but she could see nothing.

The next morning she walked among her flowers. But she could find no signs of any one having been there the night before.

On the following night she was again wakened by sweet singing and babies laughing. She rose and stole softly through her garden. The moon was shining brightly on the tulip bed, and the flowers were swaying to and fro. The old woman bent down and looked closely. What a beautiful sight she saw. Standing by each tulip, was a little Fairy mother crooning and rocking the flower like a cradle, while in each tulip cup lay a little Fairy baby laughing and playing.

The good old woman stole quietly back to her house. From that time on she never picked a tulip, nor did she allow her neighbors to touch the flowers.

The tulips grew daily brighter in color and larger in size, and they gave out a delicious perfume like that of roses. They began, too, to bloom all the year round. And every night the little Fairy mothers caressed their babies and rocked them to sleep in the flower cups.

The day came when the good old woman died. The tulip bed was torn up by folks who did not know about the Fairies. They planted parsley in the garden instead of the flowers. But the parsley withered and died and so did all the other plants in the garden. From that time on, nothing would grow in the garden.

But the good old woman's grave grew beautiful. The Fairies sang above it, and kept it green. And on the grave of the old woman and all around it there sprang up tulips, daffodils, and violets, and other lovely flowers of spring.

Happy Holidays,

Sharon

A Christmas Tale for You - The Christmas Fairy of Strasburg

THE CHRISTMAS FAIRY OF STRASBURG

This is a German folktale by J. Stirling Coyne that I have adapted for telling...

ONCE, long ago, there lived near the ancient city of Strasburg, on the river Rhine, a young and handsome count. His name was Otto. As the years flew by he remained unwed, and never so much as cast a glance at the fair maidens of the country. For this reason people began to call him "Stone-Heart."

One Christmas eve, Count Otto ordered that a great hunt should take place in the forest surrounding his castle. He, his guests and his many retainers rode forth into the forest. The chase became more and more exciting. It led through thickets, and over pathless tracts of forest, until at length Count Otto found himself separated from his companions.

He rode on by himself until he came to a spring of clear, bubbling water, known to the people around as the "Fairy Well." Here Count Otto dismounted. He bent over the spring and began to wash his hands in the sparkling tide. To his wonder he found that though the weather was cold and frosty, the water was warm and delightfully caressing. He felt a glow of joy pass through his veins. He plunged his hands deeper into the water. All of a sudden, he fancied that his right hand was grasped by another, soft and small, which gently slipped from his finger the gold ring he always wore. And, lo! when he drew out his hand, the gold ring was gone.

Full of wonder at this mysterious event, the count mounted his horse and returned to his castle. He resolved that the very next day he would have the Fairy Well emptied by his servants.

He retired to his room. Throwing himself upon his couch, he tried to sleep but the strangeness of the adventure kept him restless and wakeful the whole night through.

Suddenly he heard the baying of the watch-hounds in the courtyard. Then he heard the creaking of the drawbridge, as though it were being lowered. Next came the patter of many small feet on the stone staircase. To his utter dismay, he heard the sound of light footsteps in the chamber adjoining his own.

Count Otto sprang from his couch at the ready. As he did, there sounded a strain of delicious music. He flung the door of his chamber open. Hurrying into the next room, he found himself in the midst of hundreds of Fairy beings, clad in gay and sparkling robes. They paid no heed to him, but began to dance, and laugh, and sing, to the sound of mysterious music.

In the center of the room stood a splendid Christmas Tree, the first ever seen in that country. Instead of toys and candles, the lighted boughs were filled with diamond stars, pearl necklaces, bracelets of gold with colored jewels, ornaments of rubies. sapphires and feathers, silken belts embroidered with Oriental pearls, and daggers mounted in gold and studded with the rarest gems. The whole tree swayed, sparkled, and glittered in the radiance of its many lights.

Count Otto stood speechless, gazing at all this wonder. Suddenly the Fairies stopped dancing and fell back, to make room for a lady of dazzling beauty who came slowly toward him.

She wore a golden crown of jewels on her raven-black tresses. Her hair flowed down upon a robe of rosy satin and creamy velvet. She stretched out two small, white hands to the count and addressed him in sweet, alluring tones: --

"Dear Count Otto," said she, "I come to return your Christmas visit. I am Ernestine, the Queen of the Fairies. I bring you something you lost in the Fairy Well."

And as she spoke, she drew from her bosom a golden casket, set with diamonds, and placed it in his hands. He opened it eagerly and found within his lost gold ring.

Carried away by the wonder of it all, and overcome by an irresistible impulse, the count pressed the Fairy Ernestine to his heart, while she, holding him by the hand, drew him into the magic mazes of the dance. The mysterious music floated through the room, and the rest of the Fairy company circled and whirled around the Fairy Queen and Count Otto. Gradually they dissolved into a mist of many colors, leaving the count and his beautiful guest alone.

Count Otto forgot about all his former coldness toward the maidens of the country. He fell on his knees before the Fairy and besought her to become his bride. At last she consented on the condition that he should never speak the word "death" in her presence.

The next day the wedding of Count Otto and Ernestine, Queen of the Fairies, was celebrated with great pomp and magnificence, and the two continued to live happily for many years.

Now it happened that the count and his Fairy wife were to hunt in the forest around the castle. The horses were saddled and bridled, and standing at the door, the company waited. The count paced the hall in great impatience waiting for the Fairy Ernestine to arrive. But she tarried long in her chamber. At length she appeared at the door of the hall, and the count addressed her in anger.

"You have kept us waiting so long," he cried, "that you would make a good messenger to send for Death!"

Scarcely had he spoken the forbidden and fatal word, when the Fairy, uttering a wild cry, vanished from his sight. In vain, Count Otto, overwhelmed with grief and remorse, searched the castle and the Fairy Well. He could find no trace of his beautiful, lost wife. Only the imprint of her delicate hand set in the stone arch above the castle gate.

Years passed by, and the Fairy Ernestine did not return. The count continued to grieve.
Every Christmas Eve he set up a lighted tree in the room where he had first met the Fairy, hoping in vain that she would return to him.

Time passed and the count died. The castle fell into ruins. But to this day may be seen above the massive gate, deeply sunken in the stone arch, the imprint of a small and delicate hand.

And such, say the good folk of Strasburg, was the origin of the Christmas Tree.

Happy Holidays,

Sharon

Christmas Story Time......

As Christmas nears, I've decided to share with you some of my favourite Christmas stories. Here's the first in a series of lovely stories for you to savour, enjoy and cheer you. It is my holiday gift to all of you and a gentle reminder to take a moment to count our blessings and find hope for the future in spite of all the topsy turvy we are living through in this world this holiday season...

THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER
BY HORACE E. SCUDDER (adapted by Sharon House for telling)

THERE was once an honest shoemaker who worked very hard. Still, he could not earn enough money to live on. At last, all he had in the world was gone except just leather enough to make one pair of shoes. He cut these out at night, and meant to rise early the next morning to make them up.

His heart was light in spite of his troubles. His conscience was clear. He was a good and kindly man. So he went quietly to bed, left all his cares to God, and fell asleep. In the morning he said his prayers, and sat down to work. He looked at his work table in surprise. For there, to his great wonder, stood the shoes, already made, upon the table.

The good man knew not what to say or think. He looked at the work. There was not one false stitch in the whole job. All was neat and true.

That same day a customer came in, and the shoes pleased him so well that he readily paid a price higher than usual for them. The shoemaker took the money and bought leather enough to make two pairs more. He cut out the work in the evening, and went to bed early. He wished to be up with the sun and get to work.

He was saved all trouble. When he got up in the morning, the work was already done. Pretty soon buyers came in, who paid him well for his goods. So he bought leather enough for four pairs more.

He cut out the work again overnight, and found it finished in the morning as before. So it went on for some time. What was got ready at night was always done by daybreak, and the good man soon was well-to-do.

One evening, at Christmas-time, he and his wife sat over the fire, chatting, and he said: "I should like to sit up and watch to-night, that we may see who it is that comes and does my work for me." So they left the light burning, and hid themselves behind a curtain to see what would happen.

As soon as it was midnight, there came two little Elves. They sat upon the shoemaker's bench, took up all the work that was cut out, and began to ply their little fingers. They stitched and rapped and tapped at such a rate that the shoemaker was amazed. He could not take his eyes off them for a moment.

On they went till the job was done. The shoes stood, ready for use, upon the table. This was long before daybreak. Then the little elves ran away as quick as lightning.

The next day the wife said to the shoemaker: "These little Elves have made us rich, and we ought to be thankful to them, and do them some good in return. I am vexed to see them run about as they do. They have nothing upon their backs to keep off the cold. I'll tell you what we must do. I will make each of them a shirt, and a coat and waistcoat, and a pair of pantaloons into the bargain. You can make each of them a little pair of shoes."

The good shoemaker liked the thought very well. One evening he and his wife had the clothes ready, and laid them on the table instead of the work they used to cut out. Then they went and hid behind the curtain to watch what the little Elves would do.

At midnight the Elves came in and were going to sit down at their work as usual. But when they saw the clothes lying there for them, they laughed and were in high glee. They dressed themselves in the twinkling of an eye, and danced and capered and sprang about as merry as could be, till at last they danced out of the door, and over the green.

The shoemaker saw them no more, but everything went well with him as long as he lived.

Happy Holidays,

Sharon

Show and Tell time...

The last two weeks have been busy getting ready for Christmas... baking, shopping (ugh! I hate malls!), finishing up projects, wrapping gifts, putting up the tree... and getting some art time in.

There are loads of pictures to show you this week! I've been a busy bee...

Last week, Kim Parkinson held a workshop over on Latest Trends working with metal foil. Well, I have been waiting for what seems like forever, to do this workshop with her. Her project was a holiday card box but I decided to do a frame for one of my favourite photos of our granddaughter with Santa when she was just a few months old.

I had an old frame I didn't like and it was perfect for the project. I created the pattern on my computer and then got to town doing the metal work. Once the pattern was completed, I flipped it over, did some refining, flipped it back over, put Spackle on the back to give it body and let it dry overnight.

I had planned on painting it but when I did, I sure didn't like it! It wasn't my vision of what I wanted at all. I messed around with some more paint, even took some sandpaper to it and it looked even worse.

I was already tearing my hair out and about to kick myself in the derriere when ***bing*** I had an idea. I'd just make it look like old pewter. Well I didn't have a clue as to how that was going to happen, but in the end it did. I am pretty pleased with the results.

Here's a photo of the finished product, an 11 x 14 inch frame with that darling photo of our sweetie pie with Santa...


Well now I was right "into" doing metal. "More, more", said my muse! Never being one to deny my muse ANYTHING (chuckle), I whipped out some more metal and made two more pieces.

The first one is a pattern mold for printing on fabric using Shiva oil sticks. The second is a foam stamp I had. I coloured both of these with alcohol ink... what a pleasure it was to work with that stuff... thank you Tim Holtz!

So now what? Some nice metal pieces but what can I put them on? Oh, I know, I'll put them on a book cover. Hmmm... haven't got one that's big enough! Oh gosh, I guess I'll just have to take one of those old encyclopedia books and make a cover.

Out came the matte medium and old pattern tissue paper. Slap, swish, slop... nice texture! When it was dry, I brushed it with Lumiere (my favourite metallic acrylics) and here is the result..

Of course, I haven't got the pages for the book bound yet... that's going to have to wait until after Christmas now... but it's going to look pretty darn nice when it's finished!

Another project I started and got finished was a fairy jar! This is not normally something I would tackle but it was a gift for a swap friend who loves faeries. I couldn't find any instructions on how to do this so I just figured it out myself. Unfortunately because it is all white and silver it doesn't photograph all that well, but it turned out quite sweet. Even hubby liked it....and that's saying something .. don't ya think??

Here's a close up of the little angel inside. I made her wings out of a drawing that I scanned into the computer and then printed on a transparency.

Nope, not done yet... told you... I was a busy gal this week... I wasn't kidding!

Next project... a paper sculpture! And yes, you guessed right... one of those Reader's Digest Condensed Books is now a very elegant paper sculpture! This photo really doesn't do it justice... the paper is a wonderful vintage shade of ivory going into brown.

Terry Noell, the paper sculpture maven extraordinaire, really inspired me to take a crack at doing a sculpture after watching her photo show. It was fun... after awhile folding the paper becomes a very zen like activity! This sculpture reminds me of an Elizabethan collar... what does it look like to you?

When I was photographing the sculpture, I happened to look at it from above. I was fascinated by how it looked! Isn't this photo, taken from above, neat???

We're into the home stretch now... with the clear glass Christmas balls that had a date with some of my Lumiere paint, some perfect pearls, mica, glitter, "snow", spray adhesive and alcohol blending fluid.

Susan Chong, one of our art Mom's over at Art Techniques just had to go and make some of these just as I was about to clean up my art room! Of course, when I saw hers, I just had to have some too! She has some instructions on her blog if you just have to have some too! I didn't quite follow her "recipes" (remember, I am the one who never follows instructions) but I think they turned out nicely, don't you?

Here are a couple of close ups so you can see them in detail ...

So there you have it! Show and tell for this week... now I really do have to get busy and get my art room tidied up, stuff put away, floors washed, dust bunnies banished, shelves waxed and polished... you get the idea... all before my "out-laws" arrive for Christmas! That will take me at least a week considering the state it is in LOL

I doubt that I can stay away from creating more "stuff" in the next couple of weeks so tune in next week to see what I have been up to! I am sure to find a few little bits and bobs hiding underneath all the stuff on my art table as I am cleaning up that just beg to become a little project!

Thanks for stopping by... hope you enjoyed this week's show and tell. May it inspire you to make a mess in your art room too! Just be naughty... Santa will forgive you if your art room is not pristine!

Happy Arting,

Sharon

Thanks for the Award!

Diane, over at Good Mourning, Glory was a real sweetie... she chose me and mystoryART to receive the Kreativ Blogger award! She has a wicked sense of humour... a gal after my own heart.. so drop on over to pay her a visit and read about some of her escapades!

The rules of this award are pretty straightforward. I am to name 7 things that I love (gosh, only 7!) and pass the award along to 7 deserving bloggers (gosh, only 7... that's going to be tough) .

Seven Things I Love

  1. I love telling stories, reading stories, finding stories (would you have guessed???)
  2. I love making a big mess in my art room. The bigger the mess, the more creative my muse gets!
  3. I love hot apple pie and ice cream.
  4. I love figuring/trying out stuff out on my own. Instructions? What are those? Never read them. Screw up sometimes but the challenge is getting out of it!
  5. I love snuggling on the couch for an afternoon snooze with my little dog Shelby.
  6. I love the beach... anywhere... anytime (well I'll be honest...a cold, windy, rainy winter day at the beach doesn't exactly thrill me!)
  7. I love living in Victoria, B.C. with all its history, natural beauty, mountain views and beaches!

7 deserving bloggers I'd like to pass this reward on to. I enjoy visiting their sites and seeing what they are up to! Hope you do too!

  1. Arlene at Altered By Me
  2. Belinda Schneider
  3. Cyndi Lavin at LayersUponLayers
  4. Elizabeth at Altered Book Lover
  5. Margot Potter at the Impatient Crafter
  6. Michi at Michi Rhymes with Peachy
  7. Stephanie Loomis

Congratulations to these 7 creative ladies...

Thank again Diane. It is an honour and I am truly appreciative!

Sharon

Holiday Memories ... Blog Giveaway Contest Winner

Thank you to everyone who left a holiday memory! What a delight to read... entries that tug at your heartstrings, tiny stories of delight, stories that just left me feeling warm and cozy. I wish I could send a surprise package to all of you!

So I know you are probably very curious to know what is in the package. It's a "grab bag" of ephemera, game pieces and other miscellaneous items to use in your art.




Vintage papers
  • 2 music sheets from from a 1922 school music program book
  • a cover from (what else (grin) a Reader's Digest Condensed Book (1968)
  • a bookplate from a RDCB book (1972) with a matching embossed sheet
  • 3 sheets of German text from a 1932 German novel
  • 1 sheet of Dutch text from a Kahil Gibran book
  • 3 sheets of French-English dictionary pages from a 1919 dictionary
  • sewing pattern tissue from the '60's

** 3 metal embossed squares (I cuddled with my "Bug" for you)
** a small vintage crochet doily from my collection of old doilies
** 2 vintage hankies from my collection
** a small bag of old buttons
** a small bag of puzzle pieces from a '60's puzzle
** a large domino to alter (I drilled it for you)
** 4 RummiKub tiles (drilled these for you too)
** a couple of tickets
** 2 small fabric pieces with vintage images
** an altered tag with "believe" on it
** a double microscope slide holder to alter
** Miscellaneous small stickers and 8 tiny queen of hearts playing card images
** a vintage image, bamboo tile pin that I made
** some pretty wired white ribbon with irresdesant polka dots

The beads and the little doll are not included in the package...I discovered they don't pack well in a large envelope... so I just added some more flatter "stuff" to the package after I took the photo.

And the winner of this holiday "play" package is OPHELIA! Congratulations! Please get in touch with me by Wednesday, Dec. 10, Ophelia so that I can get your package off to you.

Thanks again everyone for playing. I wish you all a wonderful holiday season. The smell of evergreen throughout your house. Chocolate surprises in an Advent Calendar. Tasty little morsels of holiday cookies baking in the oven. And remember, when offered some "goodies" to sample by friends, family or colleagues... if someone else made it, it doesn't have any calories.(I wish!!!)

See ya'll again later on this week...

Sharon