I got mail!!

And it totally made my day!!
Dear Allotment Lady sent me this stunning atc as a thank you for drawing her name out of the bag in my Guessing Game. And then she told me how she did it on the back of this delicious postcard. I feel like I've had my own Somerset Studio tutorial!!
The scan doesn't do it justice - it has so much texture and sheen and is built up with many different layers - including gold leaf!!!!!! Truly gorgeous!! I will treasure it, Lottie - thank you sooo much!!

Can it be....

... that my beloved daddy is 65 on Friday????
This is him at 19, when he got engaged to my mum - and OK the hair's thinned a bit, but he pretty much looks the same :o) Hard to imagine he was a father at the tender age of 22...
The card is one thing I made over the weekend. Most of the time was devoted to my crow page for a chunky book swap, but I can't show that yet... boy, reproducing 22 of the same page - front and back - is exhausting!!!
Mind you, I guess being my dad is pretty tiring too :o)
Thank you, Universe, for giving me this wonderful man for a father!!! Love you, Pops!!!

Ooooooh!!!

... can't you just feel all the happy energy whizzing around the globe as all these prize winners are announced!
Awesome - as ever - Lisa Oceandreamer has helpfully put on her blog those giveaways that have drawn the winners.
This is just SOOOO much fun!!!!!

Wouldn't you know it??!?!?

My digital camera - which has been playing up for a while - has finally decided to quit taking pictures!!!! Just at THE critical moment!!

But all is not lost!!

I have a scanner... scroll down to see the names before they enter the bag... and of course - the winner!!

And I have a lovely assistant.... so just revisit the pictures further down the blog and imagine my lovely daughter once again drawing a name from the mystery bag...

Here they are....

... ready and waiting to go into the bag!!!

As you can see, I always use scrap paper - as a freelance book copyeditor there's always masses of paper only ever printed on one side :o)

So, I'll now call upon my beautiful assistant to once more pull out the winner's name....

And the winner is....

Congratulations, dear lady!!!!!

Can you send me your snail mail address using the email address I've listed on my profile???

And a HUGE thank you to all you lovely people who signed up for my giveaway!

And THE HUGEST, BIGGEST thank you of all to dear Lisa Oceandreamer who started the whole wonderful event!!!!

Today's the day!!!

I'll be drawing the winner's name later today - when my trusty assistant comes home from school - so there's still time to get your name in the hat!! I've managed to produce two more atc's - so the winner will receive three atc's and the little holder.
We have THE most glorious Spring sunshine today - even the daffodils have perked up after all the snow flurries and the bitterly cold wind of the past few days.
Hooray!! We made it through another winter!!!!!!!!!!!
BRING ON THE SUNSHINE!!!!!!!!

OK, the suspense is over!

We have a winner - nay, we have THREE winners!!!

Yes, I am indeed a parsnip!!

And guess who was the first correct guesser?? (she was also the 3rd and the 23rd and the 63rd...)

Yes, it was indeed, Mrs Nesbitt!!!

Congratulations, me duck!!

And what of the funniest answer???

Well, there were some absolute gems like Flassie's dandelion and burdock :o) (Non-Brits will need to email me for an explanation....)

And Everything Altered's birth control - ouch! :o{

But the one which genuinely made me laugh out loud when I first read it, because it seemed so perfectly suited to the picture, but none of the clues was Liz's car airbag! And apparently after several days of staring at the photo it still looked like a car airbag!! And you know what - I rather think it does - though I doubt it's a sweet tasting vegetable! :o)

And now to the final prize drawing....

Drum roll please....

And will my beautiful assistant please step forward...

The names of everyone who's played the Guessing Game are in the mystery bag...

And we have a winner...

Who could it be????

Oooh, I can't quite make that out...

Can you step a little closer, please....

And it's allotment lady!!!

Phew! I'm exhausted from all the excitement!

Many, many thanks to my beautiful assistant - and to all of you lovely, lovely people who have joined in the fun playing my Guessing Game!

If the three delightful winners:

Mrs Nesbitt

Liz and

Allotment Lady

could email me (I've added an email address on my blog profile) their snail mail addresses, some little goodies will be winging their way to you in due course :o)

THANKS AGAIN TO EVERYONE FOR PLAYING - I'VE HAD SO MUCH FUN!!!

Last Chance Saloon

I'll be drawing the winners' names later today (UK time) for my guessing game. I'll ask Esther to help me after school...

However, my modem's being distinctly temperamental today, so if the winnes don't get posted till tomorrow, it's 'cos I've lost my internet connection again!

In the meantime - why not have one more guess??? Just what am I??? There's a prize for the first right answer, another for the funniest answer and a lucky third prize for the name drawn out the bag from all those who've entered.

Talk about Spring giveaways...

Look what's appeared on some scrappy ground in front of our house!!!
The Great Artist is giving away beauty every day of the year!!

One World - One HeART

Dear Lisa Oceandreamer has had the inspired idea for a wonderful worldwide art giveaway, and here's my little offering.
It's an atc (or ACEO, if you prefer) holder made from a slide mailer, painted with my favourite Stewart Gill paints. On the front is a beautiful vintage image in a little handmade frame, a diddy clay butterfly and some vintage Nottingham lace.
Inside is an atc I've made. My intention is to make several more but I cannot promise how many there will finally be.
All you have to do to have a chance of giving this little thing a home is to leave a comment on my blog sometime between now and 20th March. You can leave as many comments as you like, but I will only enter your name once, so everyone has the same chance of winning. I will draw the winner's name on the first day of Spring (21st March).

You can keep on my playing my guessing game right up to the 15th March, by the way!
I'm just having SOOO much fun making stuff to send off around the world!

Spring Fever

Obviously the season is going to my head! But I've been having so much fun with all the lovely folk playing my guessing game that I've decided to hold THREE prize draws on the 15th (Ides of March).
One will be for the first correct answer.
One will be for the funniest answer (and there have already been some absolute gems!)
One will be a simple lottery draw - the names of everyone who has taken part (right up to the closing date 15th March) will be put in the hat.

So keep on playing - and I'll get busy making some little goodies!!