Announcement AND Giveaway!

Hello my blogging friends! 

I know, I said I'd be back but it took me a little longer to get here than I had anticipated ;-) However... it has been for good reason. I have been up to some really exciting things that I want to tell you about, AND I am going to be giving away a bunch of fun blog candy!

First of all I want to share some pics with you showing what I was doing for a big part of the Summer. (You'll get my reason for sharing things as we get closer to the giveaway details!)

If you've been following me at all, you know I LOVE antiques stores and flea markets. And it's "all about the hunt"! :-) So I went to as many flea markets, antiques stores, estate sales and even garage sales as I could over the Summer. And WOW did I find some awesome stuff! Here's just a small a sampling:

 This was one of several flea markets I attended in Southern California. The weather was great but boy the sun could get awfully hot. You have to be extra careful when picking up things like silver. Ouch! ;-) 

 And here's my oldest daughter. It was so great to have her join me on so many of my treasure hunts. She always makes it even more fun!

 Ooohh.... don't you just love this store? I could have been in there all day! I got lots of inspiration in this place!

 The ladies who do the displays in here are fabulously creative!

 Oh, how I love old perfume bottles. Can you tell ? ;-)

 Some more of my sweet and feminine finds

 Bottles for altering and repurposing!

 Another passion of mine: antique buttons!

 I love tiny glass ones, too. They are so great to use on cards. 

 And of course I found some wonderful lace!

Check this out: A fantastic old knife tray filled with various wood objects- mostly textile spools and bobbins. I love the rolling pin with different handles on each end. 

Okay, so there you have a sampling of where I went and the kinds of things I found. Now for the really cool part of all of this:

(A little background first) For as long as I can remember I have loved pretty things. Especially old things that have a history and tell a story.  And as I got older I even started to appreciate things maybe not quite so "pretty" but maybe rustic would be a good word for them. Still, the old vintage and antique things that have a great history are what I enjoy most- and what inspires me to create. 

And for years I have had a dream: To someday have my own little antiques store. I dream of buying an old barn and refurbishing it to house all sorts of wonderful treasures to sell to people who are passionate about antiques- and who love to hunt for them- like me ;-) My cousin and I used to say that one day we'd buy an old barn to live in- and from the rafters we'd hang wagon wheels made into chandeliers.  Well, I'll admit I love my home and don't really long to live in a barn anymore, lol, but to have one as an antique store would be a definite dream come true!

Yet as my Mom would often remind me, "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride". And the truth is, I can't buy a barn to make into an antiques store right now. Not that I don't still hope for one some day, but for now I am going to settle for an alternate kind of store. (And here comes my announcement!)

I am opening an Etsy shop this weekend! I am also planning on selling at various local boutiques and some flea markets. Yes, "My Little Somethings" is now going to be my little business as well ;-) 

And I'll bet you can guess what kinds of things I will be selling, right?

Hand made cards, of course! But also other hand made items AND vintage treasures!! Also, I will be selling supplies in my Etsy shop- including vintage items like lace and buttons for you to use when creating your own projects!

So that's why I have not been posting much lately. I have been super busy hunting for things and getting things ready and made.

So to kick this all off, what better way to get started than with a blog candy giveaway?

 I have put together a group of items- lots of supplies (since I know most of you are crafters, too) and some fun vintage things, as well. Also I am including some things handmade by me ;-)

 Here are the supplies. Among this group of stash are things like rubber stamps, Tim Holtz distress ink, 2 wood frames for altering, a Stampin' Up! chipboard book, rub ons, Martha Stewart baker's twine, Sizzix die, eyelets, ribbon, Stickles, a bar punch, and embellishments

 And for the "made by me" items, I am including a boxed set of mini gift enclosure cards with envelopes. These will also be sold in my Etsy shop. 

And here are some really fun vintage treasures- and supplies, as well! 

There are 3 different laces: the beautiful yellow lace is wrapped around an old textile spool. I love them for adding a primitive look in my studio- or anywhere in my house, for that matter. There are 6 yards (yes YARDS- not feet!) of this gorgeous lace wrapped around the spool and secured with one of my hand made stick pins.

And then there is royal purple lace. Soooo pretty! 5 yards are wrapped around an old vintage bobbin and secured with another stick pin made by me.

And there is some dainty white lace, too. That is wrapped around an old wooden Coats & Clark spool and has a little stick pin- made by me, naturally ;-) There are 3 yards of the lovely white lace.

Besides all that lace, there are a ton of vintage buttons. A whole pile of fun plastic, wood, mother of pearl, etc. And finally, I am including some fun vintage costume jewelry. Did you know brooches are coming back in style? Yep- they sure are! And according to Nordstrom's Department store, vintage style brooches are among the top ten fashion items for Fall. So here you have a chance to win a couple of vintage brooches- and 2 pairs of cluster earrings. Wear them OR repurpose them like I do! They are great to use in all sorts of crafting :-)

Okay so how do you win all this yummy stuff?

It's EASY to enter my giveaway! And I am going to give you multiple ways to increase your chances!

All you have to do is go to my new FaceBook page here 

http://www.facebook.com/MyLittleSomethings

and just hit the "like" button on the page! It's as simple as that!

(Note: If you already have liked my page, you have an entry.)

And tell all your friends about it. If a friend also likes my page and mentions your name saying you sent them there, you will get TWO additional entries! And there's no limit to the number of friends you can refer- each getting you two more chances! And finally, if you have a blog and post this to your sidebar, with a link to this giveaway, you will get FIVE extra entries. Just let me know in the comment section  here on this blog post that you have done so. (Then I can visit your blog, too!)

So there you have it- lots of ways you can get entries to my giveaway! The winner will be chosen one week from today, Wednesday September 19th. Thanks so much for visiting me today. I hope to see on FaceBook. Also, please stop by my Etsy store this weekend! Good Luck!

And as always, I wish you many blessings,

Sarah