Sharing my Gifts With You...and Another Sneak Peek

 Back in October, I spent a couple of days enjoying the Halloween Party that was sponsored by  

A Fanciful Twist.  Over 300 blogs!  It was tremendous.

I was so glad to know that over 100 guests stopped by  
The Open Window as I hosted a small get-together as well.

Not long after the party ended, I was contacted by 2 other party hosts telling me I had been chosen to receive lovely gifts that they were giving away.  So I thought I would share those with you today.

The parcel above arrived all the way from Belgium today courtesy of  

Inge Bekaert of Pinkepinke.

The packaging of this lovely vintage button box was beautiful!  The fibers that wrapped these treasures were so vibrant and the photo of the baby holding the word BOO was so appropriate for the time.

 Inside...these lovely vintage buttons sewn on amazing hand-aged cards!  The photo definitely does not do this lot justice!  There was also a spool of black Gutermann thread and a little hand-sewn pouch with an old needle, threaded and attached to the pouch.

Again, the photo cannot tell the story...

I love this little quote, again in relation to the Halloween spirit that we were all
experiencing.

Inge...thank you so kindly for such a soul stirring gift.  It was lovely to see every little nuance you included with this special gift!

I was also the recipient of another beautiful gift that just kept getting better and better as I 'clawed' my way through the box!

This courtesy of  
Komis Couture.

I kept finding scary trinkets and chocolates before I ever got to this masterpiece!

This unbelievable necklace is constructed of bits n pieces of vintage costume jewelry.

Silver and gold, black, copper and pearl...layer upon layer, until you reach...

This beautiful bright yellow rose!  What a focal point!

I hope you will visit the girls from Komis Couture.  They have the most unique blog.  If you love stories, this is one for you to follow.

Thank you so very much for this stunning memento of a fabulous weekend!

Sneak Peek #2

Isn't this sweet?  Yummy...the mystery continues...

BOO! Catchin' Up With You!

I was trying to think of all the things that I have done over the past couple of weeks that I haven't talked about.
I've been extremely busy organizing The Play Date Cafe Blog
and my attention has been divided.

So let's catch up, shall we?!

 There have been a lot of fun things going on in blog land, especially this month.  The weekend of October 17th-18th, I participated in 'The Hauntingly Magical Celebration' sponsored by A Fanciful Twist.  This was a blog hop-style party to end all parties!  I visited over 300 blogs and met so many creative people.  Yes, I truly did visit each blog and yes, it really did take me two days, but it was terrific.  One of the bonuses when you participate in these hops is that many hosts have giveaways just for stopping by and leaving a comment.  I was notified not once, but twice this week that I would be receiving gifts.  So when those arrive, I will be sure to share them with you.  I was also contacted by Michelle from Faerie Dust Dreams.  She mentioned that I was officially her 100th follower, so she is sending something as well.
WOW!  What a week!

 What else?  OH!  My friend Mona from Cupcake's Creations was recently asked to participate on the DT for the new Just Us Girls (JUGS) Challenge.  I am doing my best to get a project submitted to show my support and I hope you will make a visit as well.  Mona is actually this week's host so perfect timing!  When I was over at Mona's blog earlier today, I left my comment and as on many of our blogs, I had to type in the 'verification code' before my comment was complete.  Well, look what my code was:

How fun was it to find a security code 
that actually had some meaning?!

Well...I think it's time for me to get ready for tomorrow's  
Play Date Cafe Challenge.  Are you ready to play this week?  I hope so.  The designers and I have had so much fun preparing projects to jump start your creative juices.  Our first challenge had entries from all over the globe and we couldn't be happier.

 Beginning at midnight EST, you will see not only the new challenge for the coming week but also

OUR VERY FIRST CHALLENGE WINNER 
and our 
FAB 4 HONORABLE MENTIONS!

Good luck to all!