Freebies, Give-aways & Contests

I might not be counted on to update this blog as frequently as I update my links blog but at least I can be counted on giving you guys as many notices of contests & give-aways as I can.

Halloween Contest over at Betty's. Wander on over with your shell out bag & leave a comment!

Here's what originally caught my eye.... Betty wrote:

It is that time of year again: beginning of the holiday season for us American folks. :D Technically I always feel that those things start in August after Independence Day when all the fake Christmas trees come out in Costco and the Macy's decorations are up already. However, since I spent most of August working with my parents, I kind of missed all that. The last time I went to the mall it kind of hit me like a sack of potatoes with Christmas hopefuls when it is not even Halloween yet! Come on! Let us at least enjoy the other US holidays like Labor Day first. That also tells ya when is the last time I went to the mall.

...I had to laugh. Does Costco everywhere start off the Halloween season
& the Christmas season in one go? The Barrie store does and every year you can count on overhearing at least one customer complain.
I'm too new a miniaturist to combine two seasons....I have nothing stocked up and readily on hand so I'll forgo Halloween this year and get right into Christmas. I have several UK friends to whom I feel that I should send Christmas presents; months ago I signed up for the Happy Holiday swap over at AllThingsMini and now I've signed up for the Christmas/Hanukkah swap at the Miniature Collectors Club.
So I think I need about 20 -25 presents! I've already started shopping. I have 10 biscuit tins, 60 glass preserve jars and now I've added 10 clear glass teddy bear cookie jars to my stash.
I was thinking about making cookies (Christmas and chocolate chip) and cranberry jelly. I have mini holly to make wreaths with. I have vintage Christmas images to make advent calendars with....all I need to still buy is the double sided foam tape. I have red beads to make ornaments with. If I could find wing-shaped beads, I could also make tree toppers. ....maybe someday Michaels will update their bead supply!
On the other hand, the MAKE swap (a homemade dressed bed) is going well. Close date is mid-November and I've already finished my bed, 2/3 of my bed skirt and I checked out every pillow making book from our local library. LOL
I wanted to make a pillow that looks like the silk Tatiana pillow that's sold at Macys.
Isn't that gorgeous! I found a pattern to make the face of the pillow but then would I want to make the sides that fancy on a 1" pillow? If my pillow face comes out looking that well, I'll be happy.

I'm still waiting to hear that Jodi Creager's received my Halloween swap so I can show it to you. Ara just sent out her two-weeks-to-go notification. Hope my little guy didn't get lost in the mail! Maybe customs is still playing with it.