I've posted the names of the winners of the three Cottage Charm Giveaways I offered this year. Just click on the links below to see who won!
Giveaway #1 (for hostesses)
Giveaway #2 (for everyone)
Giveaway #3 (for those adding banner to blog)
Thanks again to EVERYONE who made this years Cottage Charm Giveaway event a great success! I hope everyone had fun!
Many thanks to all of you who are participating in this years Cottage Charm Giveaway Event by hosting giveaways on your blog. We couldn't do this without you! For those of you who are thinking about having a giveaway, there is just one week left before the big blogwide drawings on May 30th. You have until then to post your giveaway and then let me know so that I can add your link to the giveaway list. We've almost hit 50 giveaways and the original goal was 75-100 this year. I think we can still at least reach 75 this final week, so let's see what happens! If you are interested in participating, just click on the banner below for instructions. Thanks again, everyone!
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If you would like to read more information about the 2009 Cottage Charm Giveaway event taking place during the entire month of May and see the list of current cottage style giveaways, just click the banner below!
I'm so thrilled to have something fabulous (and free!) to share with you today! The Nester, of The Nesting Place has written an E-book based on her mantra,her battle cry - It Doesn't Have to be Perfect to be Beautiful!
"I truly believe that the home where you live in right now can become your dream home. This ebook isn't a step by step list of rules for you to follow to achieve a perfect home but rather a fun read that will free you to make your home what you want it to be starting now." ~The Nester
For more information and to sign up to receive this free e-book, just visit the Nester here!
Well, we're exactly one week into the 2009 Cottage Charm Giveaway and I'm happy report that we already have (as of this writing Friday morning) 24 giveaways- almost a quarter of a way to our goal of 100 giveaways! Thank you ALL who are supporting this event either by hosting a giveaway, spreading the word by telling others about it on your blog, or by signing up to win the lovely giveaway offerings! We couldn't do this without you! I've set up a Flickr account just for photos of all the giveaways, so take a peek and become a Cottage Charm Giveaway Flickr contact if you'd like to stay up to date with all the giveaways that are added daily.
I enjoyed reading about your "forever" pieces in my last post. Thank you to the following visitors for sharing!
Cherry's Jubilee, Digiscribbles, The Cottage Around the Corner, From House to Home, Cottage, The Gathering Nest, Walnuthaven Cottage, and Yarborough House 1929
Have a great weekend everyone! We'll be working on my studio tomorrow...but what are you up to?
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If you would like to read more information about the 2009 Cottage Charm Giveaway event taking place during the entire month of May and see the list of current cottage style giveaways, just click the banner below!
For this years CC Giveaway, I wanted to make sure that I also included an offering just for those that are helping to spread the word on their blogs about our annual event. If you have added the linked banner (coding below) to the right or left hand column of your blog, feel free to enter your name in this special drawing! (I will ship within the continental U.S) Whether you host a Cottage Charm Giveaway this year or not, you can help us to get the word out...and then sign up for this drawing! Thanks to everyone that's helping out in this way! 
<a href="http://owcl.blogspot.com/2009/05/sign-up-now-for-3rd-annual-cottage.html"><img border="0" src="http://www.onewomanslife.com/giveaway2009.gif"></a>
This Cottage Charm Giveaway offering is for everyone, so if you want to enter, just add your name below! I will ship within the continental U.S. Be sure to include a way for me to contact you. If you have a blog, I can contact you that way :)
I will be doing three different giveaways for this years giveaway event, but my first one is especially for all of you who are hosting your own Cottage Charm giveaways! After your name has been added to the giveaway list, you qualify for this special drawing and can put your name in by commenting right here. I will ship within the continental U.S.
I just wanted to let everyone know that I've received word from Andrea of the Cottage Style Street Team at Etsy and Sadie Lou of Lollishops and they are both definitely "in" as far as getting the word out to their shop owners about the 2009 Cottage Charm Giveaway event. If you haven't already, take a few moments to peruse the sweet shops at Lollishops and Etsy to see what kind talent and beautiful items these vendors have. Who knows what they may offer in their giveaways?!
"Our group is for artists/sellers at Etsy that specialize in Glitter, Ephemera, Old Photographs, Collage, Mixed Media, Roses,
Polka Dots, Tea Stained, Ball Fringe and all around beautifying the world with our Romantic, Shabby, Cottage Style!" Visit CSST profile page or blog or Flickr pool.
"Lollishops - The Frou Frou Friendly Marketplace" Visit Lollishops marketplace or blog or Flickr pool.
Now I'm off to work on my giveaway items!
It's almost here! The 3rd Annual Cottage Charm Giveaway! I'm so excited and just wanted to let everyone know that on May 1st, I will post the official Cottage Charm Giveaway details and will then begin compiling "the list" of giveaways as they are posted by hosts/hostesses! I will keep adding to the list for the entire month of May, so if you are planning on hosting a giveaway this year, you've got some time! I'm going to take my giveaway photos next week and have my giveaways listed at the very beginning of May :)
Check out my last post for a little more info, but remember that all the specific instructions will be posted on May 1st. Just a few days away!
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Now on a personal note...I'd like everyone to know that I've been doing ok - and thank you so much for the warm well wishes that I've received lately. I know we worry about those that we don't see blogging as much as usual and this year, well, this year I think so far I've blogged less than I ever have in all my years of blogging! I feel bad about this...blogging has always been one of my favorite hobbies and I love sharing and exchanging ideas. At the same time, I continue to struggle with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue symptoms that can just be relentless. Trying to get just the basics done (basic cleaning, laundry, dinner, caring for kids) is very overwhelming at this point so I just do what I can while the rest seems to pile up around me until hubs can come home and help or I can get to things on better days. This in combination with trying to live on a tight budget (who isn't nowadays?) has really had an impact on our productivity - the three things you need at least a little of to complete projects are time, money, and energy.
The "Good Friday Tornado" damage here in Tennessee that you may have seen on the news happened right down the road a few miles from us, so hubs has helped with the cleanup efforts, plus our place of worship is about to undergo a remodeling project of it's own this weekend and he will be helping with that during the weekends for most of May. So our own projects have taken a back burner for the most part right now.
I've wished a thousand times that I could be the girl I once was in my early 20's (well before I knew anything about the Internet!) She was a project-a-day kind of girl - and with a baby in tow! But for now, I find myself taking a step back from projects here out of sheer necessity. I hate to say this on my blog because I strive to inspire and motivate but... I'm tired.
"Go confidently in the directions of your dreams..."
That said, we are, with our snippets of time and when I'm up to it, continuing to work on my studio furniture. I miss, miss, miss crafting and I feel like above all else project-wise, the studio must be completed first. Hubs has been working really hard on a huge shelving unit this week. I'm really crazy (or is it cruel? !) for giving him such an ugly, beaten up piece of furniture to work with. Can you see it there? It's been in our garage for years holding paint cans and tools and such. We've already added additional shelving to the cubes, and a new top and bottom, and we will also be adding beadboard sides and back and some fresh trim around the perimeter. I have no doubt that by the time he's finished trimming it out and dressing it up and I'm finished painting it, it will be a treasure!
So how have things been going for you? I always love hearing from you :)
We've had a fabulous time the last couple of years with the Cottage Charm Giveaway and can you believe, it's almost time for our 3rd annual event! I want to post the event date early so that everyone can have plenty of time to think about what they want to offer in their giveaways. I won't begin the giveaway list until May 1st, but the official blogwide giveaway drawing will be on May 30th, 2009.
So everyone will have the whole month of May to get their names added to the official Cottage Charm Giveaway list once it's posted here at the beginning of May, and then of course from now until then to think about what their giveaway will be.
I will post the official details on May 1st, 2009. Consider this a "mark your calendar" reminder:)
If you are new to the Cottage Charm Giveaway annual event, feel free to take a peek at last years event to get an idea of how it works. It's really great fun for both those that host giveaways and of course those that win the wonderful gifts. Last year we had over 50 giveaway hosts/hostesses and I think this year there will be even more. I'm going to be contacting Cottage Style online market places and ask them to notify their vendors of our 3rd annual event so that they, too, can join up if they like! I have contacted the Etsy Cottage Style Street Team leader and asked that the team be notified as May approaches and she sounded very excited about the CSST participating! And just like last year, my own giveaways this year will include one giveaway drawing for everyone but also a giveaway drawing just for other hostesses.
I'm really excited and hope you can join us as either a giveaway hostess or participant!
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I want to add that if you would like to receive important announcements about our upcoming Cottage Charm Giveaway, please enter your email address under "Cottage Charm Giveaway Mailing List" in the right hand column of my site. I will post all announcements on my blog as well. Thanks!
We've had a fabulous time the last couple of years with the Cottage Charm Giveaway and can you believe, it's almost time for our 3rd annual event! I want to post the event date early so that everyone can have plenty of time to think about what they want to offer in their giveaways. I won't begin the giveaway list until May 1st, but the official blogwide giveaway drawing will be on May 30th, 2009.
So everyone will have the whole month of May to get their names added to the official Cottage Charm Giveaway list once it's posted here at the beginning of May, and then of course from now until then to think about what their giveaway will be.
I will post the official details on May 1st, 2009. Consider this a "mark your calendar" reminder:)
If you are new to the Cottage Charm Giveaway annual event, feel free to take a peek at last years event to get an idea of how it works. It's really great fun for both those that host giveaways and of course those that win the wonderful gifts. Last year we had over 50 giveaway hosts/hostesses and I think this year there will be even more. I'm going to be contacting Cottage Style online market places and ask them to notify their vendors of our 3rd annual event so that they, too, can join up if they like! And just like last year, my own giveaways this year will include one giveaway drawing for everyone but also a giveaway drawing just for other hostesses.
I'm really excited and hope you can join us as either a giveaway hostess or participant!
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I want to add that if you would like to receive important announcements about our upcoming Cottage Charm Giveaway, please enter your email address under "Cottage Charm Giveaway Mailing List" in the right hand column of my site. I will post all announcements on my blog as well. Thanks!
Well, this year's Cottage Charm Giveaway is all but over! Drawings are taking place now and into tomorrow for some and it's so exciting to see who all the winners are! We've had a blast and I thank each and every one of you for playing along.
I received some exciting news yesterday from Sadie Lou, the administrator of the Cottage Style Street Team @ Etsy.(As you probably already know, Etsy is THE place to buy and sell all things handmade and vintage.) The Cottage Style Street Team was put together "for artists/sellers at Etsy that specialize in Glitter, Ephemera, Old Photographs, Collage, Mixed Media, Roses, Polka Dots, Tea Stained, Ball Fringe and all around beautifying the world with our Romantic, Shabby, Cottage Style!" There are, as of right now, over 160 members in the team. How wonderful is that?
Anyway, Sadie contacted me and expressed interest in working together next year to promote the 3rd Annual Cottage Charm Giveaway. This would be an awesome way to promote the members of the Cottage Style Street Team as well and I'm all about promoting small businesses - especially those specializing in cottage style! So who knows...with the help of many more shop owners, next years Cottage Charm Giveaway could be even bigger!
So check out the CSST @ Etsy...Maybe you even qualify to join their team if you have an Etsy shop. They also have a blog that you won't want to miss. I've added it to my blogroll already.
While we're on the subject of exciting announcements, I wanted to let everyone know that I've set up a mailing list for those interested in receiving upcoming announcements regarding future Cottage Charm Giveaways. (Thanks to KJ at eye-dyllic for the great idea.) I know that time flies by and we can easily forget - so it would be convenient to have reminders when the next giveaway rolls around. You can join the mailing list below as well is in the right hand column of my blog down near where the other Cottage Charm info is.
I really don't know how we've accumulated so much in the few years that we've lived here. Have I been sleeping for five years? How have I not noticed? Our yard sale was postponed another week simply to allow more time for me to pull out and go through everything. And I do mean through everything. I need the space! Until now, our sunroom / office has pretty much been used as a temporary storage area for remodeling supplies and other things. But as hubs will tell you, my craft and business supplies are slowly taking over the house! I need this space, not only to store my supplies, but to provide a quiet place of my own to work. 
Here you see a couple of old photos of the space as it was being cleaned out a year or so ago. It's not huge and it's lacking in a lot of wall space, but I'm sure that with proper planning, I could make it work somehow. We've since removed the banister from the steps and I think I'd like hubs to build a pony wall (is that what they're called? a short half-wall is what I'm talking about) in it's place. This will give me a little bit more wall space for a desk or smaller work table. The light in this room is amazing - full sun just about all day. The ceilings are high but need work. They currently have old flimsy beadboard on them which I would like to replace with real wooden beadboard. The walls need to be remudded as they are in bad shape as well. 
The view in the last photo is from the kitchen. There is currently a single french door separating the kitchen from the office (future craft studio!) but we will be replacing it with a solid pine door like we've installed in the rest of the house. Hopefully hubs will remember to order it this week. I think I'll enjoy the added bit of privacy a solid door will provide - and the ability to lock it if I want! Another thing that I appreciate about this space is that there are views to the both landscaping beds and the deck and backyard. Though there is nothing to look at out there now, the potential is there at least, even with my so-not-green-thumb. Also, the door you see in the second photo leads into the garage which is perfect because I do a lot of work in there, too.
Though the rest of the house will be getting wood flooring, I think I'll leave the tile flooring in this space because it's practical. It's already white though I may regrout to brighten it up a bit. And those little windows way up high? I think they would be sweet framed out like our other windows, and the sliding french doors need trim, too.
Ah, and then there is storage and shelving and paint and furniture to consider! So much to think about - and what fun! If anyone out there has some great craft room inspiration photos and ideas - be it your craft room or not - could you please send them my way? I can't wait until this yard sale is behind me so that I can work on some fun stuff again! It seems that when I'm extremely busy with necessary mundane chores and projects, I get huge bursts of creative energy and ideas...how ironic is that?! That's probably why it takes me so long to get things done around here- I putter and daydream too much! I'm sure I'm the only one:) *wink*
EDITED to ADD: Someone asked about the layout/position of the craft room in relation to the rest of the house and I thought I'd post a couple of exterior shots (these pics were taken right before we moved in). It's really in a pretty "inspiring" part of the house with the aforementioned landscaping beds to one side and the side/back yard to the other side. One thing we liked about this house was the potential for more space in the future. There is a *huge* unfinshed space upstairs above the garage with high ceilings and four big windows - and a bathroom! It's about 3 or 4 times the size of the sunroom and I can see that being a wonderful craft studio at some point. We have to get finished with the rest of our unfinished house first:)
From the backyard side of the craft room:
From the other side of the craft room:
We went to view the found cockatiel on Thursday and I'm sorry to report that it was not our Buddy. I had a good cry because I was so hoping that it was him. But on a positive note, we are now the official foster family of a little lost cockatiel. We know someone out there has to be missing their baby (as we are) and hopefully we can reunite them soon. We are calling it "Sunny":) Thanks for all the well wishes regarding Buddy - he's out there somewhere and maybe with a foster family of his own:)
Thanks so much to everyone that has joined up in this years Cottage Charm Giveaway and to others that are helping to spread the word! Last year we had 40 hostesses join within 6 weeks (I started it early last year!)but this year so far, we've had 32 giveaways added in just 11 days - and there's plenty of time left for others to join! That's amazing!
This is something that I plan to do yearly in May. I think that beginning next year, I'll start the giveaway at the beginning of May to give everyone a full month to join. Six weeks was a little long, 2 weeks is a little short, but a month is just right, don't you think? So mark your calenders for May of 2009! I'm already starting to put items away for my personal giveaway next year:)
Next year, I would like to give back to those that are posting the Cottage Charm Giveaway banner on their sites even if they aren't personally having a giveaway - this really helps to get the word out and I truly appreciate it! So I may have a special giveaway just for everyone that posts the banner on their blog, as well as separate giveaways for other giveaway hostesses and everyone else, too.
I love doing this giveaway for several reasons. For one thing, it's a great way for many of us to get rid of some of our excess. There are some things that I know I could easily put in a yard sale or send to Goodwill, but how much more wonderful it is to give it to others that you know share a love for cottage style?! These giveaways are also a great way to discover other inspiring blogs filled with great ideas! My blogroll will probably double after this year's giveaway is over and maybe yours will, too! For those of you who have shops, I think it's a wonderful way to promote your shop (and that's ok - nothing at all wrong with that! I encourage it!). Some shopkeepers are so generous in literally pulling items from their "shelves" to give away. Lastly, it's just so much fun both putting together "prizes" to give away and to also have a chance at winning one or more of the beautiful giveaways!
If you have any ideas, comments, or suggestions for future Cottage Charm Giveaways, please let me know! Thanks again to everyone!
Because that's what I have on my mind right now...cookies and feathers - or more specifically, cookies and our missing cockatiel named Buddy. I've recently written about how, about a month ago, hubs walked outside without knowing that Buddy was on his shoulder. It only took a second for Buddy to fly away. We searched feverishly for him, canvassing neighborhoods, putting up flyers, placing ads in the paper and Craigslist, calling vets offices and pet stores, going door to door and personally asking folks to keep their eyes open for him - but to no avail. There were a couple of sightings of him in the first week, but that's about it. Until now. Imagine our thrill when several people called and emailed us this week letting us know about a recent Craigslist ad posted by someone who had found a cockatiel matching our Buddy's description! Now, I'm really, really, really trying not to get my hopes up. This cockatiel was found about 32 miles away - which isn't unusual for a bird, but it really could be anyone's bird. Tomorrow (Thursday) I meet up with the person that found the bird so that I can handle the little guy and try to figure out if it's ours. The manager at a nearby pet store is going to kindly let us use one of their rooms. Yes, I'm really trying not to get my hopes up but I guess I'll know by tomorrow evening if our Buddy has been found or not:)
Now about those cookies...
This is the last week of school and of course, the last week of school is filled with fun activities, end-of-year celebrations, and gift giving . My oldest girl requested that I bake a couple of batches of cookies for her school party and she chose M&M cookies and Peppermint Surprise Brownie Bites. The latter are made with York Peppermint Patties and when I went shopping this morning and found that I would have to spend $7.00 for two bags of patties, I decided that I would make Andes Mints cookies instead:) So that's what I've been working on today (reminding myself that these are for the children and teachers - not me!) I'm also baking Snickerdoodles and Chocolate Chip Cookies to go along with some of the M&M and Andes Mint cookies for gift boxes for the teachers. I thought it would be fun to give them a nice selection of four different kinds of cookies. I'm going to be up late, I can tell!
The recipe that I used for today's M&M cookies and the Andes Mint cookies (and the chocolate chip cookies, of course!) was taken from one of the chocolate chip cookie recipes in the book Mom's Big Book of Cookies: 200 Family Favorites You'll Love Making and Your Kids Will Love Eating . Oh.My.Goodness, what wonderful cookies it makes! They turn out to be very soft and moist and oh so yummy. Not puffy, fat, and dry like many of the cookies I've made before, hehe! I will use this recipe time and time again for all types of cookies, just substituting the chocolate chips for whatever we have a craving for!
The Snickerdoodle recipe is just as delicious and is my family's personal favorite. I'll try and post some recipes when I have some more time. In the meantime, check out that book - it's wonderful!
