The Time Has Come - At Last!!!

PLEASE NOTE!!!!! Due to my dad's hospitalization, I am extending this through midnight Eastern time on Friday night. I'll do the drawing as soon as I can after we get him home, but I'm not sure yet when that will be - I'll keep you posted! B.

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I wanted to do this to celebrate the 10,000th hit on my blog. But just a week or so before I got there, my hit counter went AWOL, and I didn't know when that 10,000th visitor came. Then there was vacation, two more trips to the hospital with my dad, and yada, yada, yada! I just never got around to it.


But now, it's ON!!!


The first ever Camellia Cottage's Hearth and Home giveaway!!! I've been obsessing for weeks over what I wanted to give away. You know our budget is in a crunch these days, and anyone can go buy something, but I wanted to do something special! I wanted to give away a collection of things that meant something to me, so that you would know it was from the heart, and not just to get MORE hits on my blog!


I've been blogging about a year now, and I've met some wonderful people, and learned so much about such a wide spectrum of things. I've gained much more than I ever expected, and I want to say "Thank You" by sharing some of my treasures!


The giveaway is made up of a collection of seven goodies, a few I've bought at estate sales or the Goodwill shop, others I've made using bits of vintage chicken feed sacks from the 1950's. I know they are from the 1950's because they held feed used at our chicken house when I was a child, and my mama lovingly took out the stitches, washed, dried and folded and kept them, and only a couple of years ago gave them to me. You can read more about that HERE.


So, shall we start with the goodies???


A little pillow (about 5-6" square) I made from an old feed sack with purple cherries and green stems and leaves. There is a tiny packet of lavender inside, so you get just the lightest of lavender scents. This could even be used as a pincushion if you liked.





The center has a button covered with the same fabric on both sides.






A pretty bow (corsage) I made that would go great on a denim jacket! The lace is relatively new, but the fabric is more of the feed sack scraps from my stash. I've had the watering can button for ages and ages! There's a large safety pin sewn on the back so you can pin it onto a piece of clothing, or whatever you choose.





This precious little glass plate (or bowl) that I bought at an estate sale. It's about 6-8 inches across, and I've not been able to find a chip or crack anywhere.





A mini pincushion, also handmade by me! It's about 2-3 inches tall and 1 1/2 inches across. The blue checked fabric is more of the feed sacks, and when I was a little girl, one of my favorite dresses was made from a piece of this same fabric. (Did I tell you we were poor, and most of my clothes were homemade, and many from feed sacks???) The pink lace and ribbon rose are new.





Next up is this precious vintage tea cup I bought at the local Goodwill shop a while back. The gold on the outside is lovely, but the pink rose on the inside is precious!






There are no markings on the bottom, so I can't share a brand or pattern with you, but even if you don't use it for tea or coffee, it would be great for paper clips and such on a desk!





And this is something special! Remember THIS post about sweet Helga who shared her vintage doilies and things with me??? Well, she wanted me to share them, so I'm sharing two of these pretty vintage doilies. They are off-white, and can be used either as squares or diamond shapes. I think they would be lovely on a table underneath simple candlesticks or bud vases, or maybe even sewn onto a pretty pillow!





I'm showing them on an old chicken feed sack, and I think I may have to make a pillow or two for my sofa and sew some of these on them!


And last, but definitely not least, my little BLOOM pillow! I hand embroidered the word bloom onto an old piece of white feed sack while at the hospital with my dad a few weeks ago. I then made a pillow using pink and white gingham for the back.









On the back, there's a pocket that holds a little gingham pouch of lavender buds. This way, if you don't like, or are allergic to lavender, you can remove it.



Well, that's it! Here is a picture of all of the bits together >>>

One lucky winner will receive all these goodies, and to be entered here's what you have to do:

1. You have to be in the US. I'm sorry, but I'm just not able to afford international shipping charges.


2. You must either leave me a comment on this post, answering the question below, or send an e-mail answering it to camelliacottage1@live.com.


3. For an extra two entries, post about this giveaway on your blog, and let me know about it so I can put your name in two more times.


4. And the question is . . . On yesterday's post (Thurs. 7/23) I talked about 'sensory delights'. Some of my best memories are triggered by sensory delights! The smell of hot biscuits coming out of the oven reminds me of my mama, the smell of freshly mowed grass takes me back to my childhood when I loved to walk barefoot in the cool grass. There are many, many more. But the question is:

What is your favorite 'sensory delight'???

Is it the smell of new mown hay, the sound of a newborn baby's cry, or the taste of a fresh strawberry right off the vine??? And what memories do they trigger? Share with me, please!

The entry period will end on Wednesday, July 29th, and I'll announce a winner sometime Friday, July 31st.

Thanks again for sharing this blogging community, showing love and kindness, even lifting prayers when my dad's not doing so well. Each and every visit, comment, prayer, WHATEVER, is so much appreciated! Blessings friends, Becky!