CHEERS!

GIFTS FROM THE HEART

Here's a peek at some of the homemade gifts that the kids and I are making this year. (Not to worry, none of the recipients read this blog!)

First is my absolute favorite, maybe of all time. Gorgeous felt holly corsages via Martha. The perfect example of how handmade can be beautiful, high quality and made by children. And there's still time for this one! We actually had all of the supplies for this on hand; bits of felt, ribbon scraps and random holiday baubles. If you don't have the pin backs on hand, alligator clips from discarded barrettes will also work.

Next up a recipe tin filled with stationery, including a variation of my Cheers! Notecards available for free download here, along with coordinating bookplates, notepads, a personalized pocket mirror, some pretty pens and a matching felt corsage.

My kids take great pride in making gifts for teachers and family and as they get older, they are able to complete these projects almost entirely on their own. The time spent is not out of control either, always a factor this time of year. Ten felt corsages took only about an hour to make. The stationery and such I took care of, but they helped to make the mirrors and package everything up. The thrill and satisfaction of giving a gift and being able to say "I made this just for you." is a feeling that I know they look forward to each year. The time that we spend together chatting and creating, that's my gift. But don't tell them, I want to see what they made me this year!

Next up: Peanut's first year of handmade gifts! (hint: she took the term "handmade" quite literally)

DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS?

Can you believe it has been 25 years? Odd lyrics that sparked a movement inspiring countless other charitable endeavors by pop artists, including Live Aid and "We Are the World." Do They Know It's Christmas single handedly made activism cool all while alleviating any guilt we may have felt for our own Christmas bounty. ("tonight thank God it's them instead of you..." poor Bono - you know he didn't want to deliver that line.)

Love it or hate it, this song clearly and undeniably marks a moment in time for me and many other children of the '80's. I know I can't help but sing along. Loudly...with conviction...to the dismay of my children.

THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN. EVER.

Courtesy of Not Martha.

GIRLS CAN SAVE THE WORLD

Spotted this shirt at Old Navy and wanted to buy one for every girl on the planet. Here are my girls wearing theirs on their visit with Santa.

They were on sale for $5 at the time, but they are now apparently "on sale" for $10.00 (orig. price $9.50 - odd, no?) But no matter, I'd honestly pay double.

In other news on the "Girls Can Save the World" front, many of you have been asking for an update on Petunia's American Girl charity project. Well, I am thrilled to tell you that she reached her goal of raising enough money for a doll for a child in need and then some!

Once Petunia had saved enough money for the doll, we worked hard to find a girl in our area wishing for an American Girl doll. To be honest, it was not such an easy task. Not because there are not enough girls in need, but for so many little girls, an American Girl doll is not even in their frame of reference. After all, it is a pretty big gift in our family as well. The difference being that we do have the means to purchase one on the rare occasion as a special gift. After searching quite a bit and reaching out to several different organizations, a little girl wishing for an American Girl doll appeared on the Home for Little Wanderers' wish list! This particular little girl not only described precisely the AG Just Like Me doll she is wishing for, but also specified two outfits by name that she would love to own (one or the other, she said). The fact that she was so specific with her wishes was proof positive to Petunia that she is a true American Girl fan. We had found our girl!

Armed with our list, we set off to the American Girl store and met with personal shopper Carol who was an absolute dream to shop with. She helped us pick the exact doll that was described and also led us to the outfits requested, all while treating Petunia like royalty. Petunia was thrilled to have saved enough money to purchase not only the doll, but also both outfits for the girl even though she had only requested either/or. She said that the girl would surely be happy now as she was getting even more than she asked for. I told her that this girl was going to be beyond happy with all of it, one outfit or two didn't matter. She was likely making this little girl's dreams come true. I don't know if Petunia truly understood what I meant, but the thought of it did make her smile.

After all was said and done and the present was delivered, Petunia thanked me for all of it, the trip to American Girl and the experience of delivering to the Home. I was almost speechless because this whole project truly had nothing to do with me. Sure I was the chauffeur, but this project, from beginning to end, was all about Petunia. I was the one who should thank her (and I did!) because I never would have had such a wonderful time sharing in this experience with her if one day last January, she didn't wonder what she could do for a girl not as lucky as she.

So now I need to thank all of you for asking about Petunia's progress on this venture. I was hesitant to share the completion of the project (although it's not really the end as the collection jar is already starting to fill up again), as it is sometimes a bit uncomfortable to tell the world about the best moments in your children's lives. It's often easier to commiserate about the rat race of life than the beautiful moments (why is that?) But it was with your urging that I am sharing and I hope that this will inspire others to know that girls can save the world. Will it be done with one American Girl doll at a time? I doubt it. But it's a decent start, don't you think?

COLOR INSPIRATION

I am itching to show you my favorite holiday card designs from this year, but cannot do so until I'm sure they've all been mailed and received. Can't ruin the surprise, after all! But until then (likely Christmas day or just after), I will share the inspiration for many of the custom designs I have been working on.

One glance at White Snow Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt and I was hooked. Originally published in 1947, this book has a warm, vintage feel with a fresh and beautiful color palette. The overall feel of the book is festive, without being overtly and traditionally Christmas. Well, I just fell in love.

HELP PORTRAIT

Today, all around the world, people will feel beautiful and special. For many, maybe even most, this will be the first time they have ever felt that way. All thanks to people like my friend Domenica and everyone participating in the Help Portrait movement.

You know you rock, right? I thought so.

CHRISTMAS COLLECTIONS

Just when I'm overwhelmed with boxes and ready to turn my scrooge on and grumble about the hassle of putting the house together for Christmas, I find these. My beautiful collection of vintage Santa mugs and sugar and creamers. Shown is just a sampling of my happy little collection...still unpacking. What do you collect for the holidays? I'd love to see! Link up in the comments and I'll share them all in a post next week.

MITETEES FAMILY {CHRISTMAS} TREE WINNER!

We have a winner of the Family Christmas Tree Shirt from Mitetees! The winner was chosen at random using randomizer.org, where I entered the number of entries and randomizer generated a number between 1 and 19. And the winner is...

Entry #8 Rapunzel's Room!

Rapunzel's Room said...

And I'm a FB fan!

It definitely pays to be a Facebook fan, doesn't it?!! Congratulations Rapunzel's Room! Contact me via email at jcoe [at] pumpkinpetunia [dot] com and I will hook you up with Cindy from Mitetees.com to collect your winnings!

MONOGRAM NOTECARDS JUST FOR YOU!

Since Giveaway week is creeping into Monday with the Mitetees Family {Christmas} Tree Shirt giveaway ending tonight at midnight, I thought I'd offer one more freebie just for fun! Remember the free Cheers! notecard download on Friday? Well, I have done some of these up with a monogram and they look super cute. Soooooo, I'm going to offer the first ten people who respond in the comments section a custom download of the red floral notecard with the monogram of your specification.

Simply comment here with the three-letter monogram of your choice (first initial/last initial/middle initial) and how you plan on using the cards. Whether it be for yourself, a wonderful teacher, or a special addition to a gift package, tell us all about your plans! I will send the first ten people who respond a pdf file of the notecards with your specified monogram via email for you to print to your heart's delight! Be sure to include your email address either in the comments or privately via email so I know where to send the files.

Not in the top ten? Comment anyway as I may just send you a download as well. Who knows -the mood may strike to just go crazy and send to everyone! (Only the first ten are guaranteed a custom download). But don't forget that the Cheers! download is still available for you to download and print as many times as you like. Just remember that these are for personal, non commercial use only.

MELISSA AND DOUG GIVEAWAY WINNER!

The winner of the FOUR Melissa and Doug craft kits, as chosen by the random number generator at random.org is entry number 12 - Whitney!!!

Whitney said...

I am already a fan on facebook.

Congratulations Whitney! Please contact me with your information and I will pass it along to csnstores.com who will send you your awesome prizes!

Enter our Mitetees Family {Christmas} Tree Shirt Giveaway Here.
(ends Monday at midnight EST)

And everyone's a winner with our free Floral Notecard Download!

HOLIDAY GIFTING: FREE PRINTABLE NOTECARDS

I love having giveaways. Love it! The thrill of pulling a person's name and making their day is a total rush. But then, like any rush, there's the let down. In giveaways, the let down is that once you choose the winner, you've just made everyone else who entered a loser. Well, not a loser, but you know what I mean. So in the spirit of holiday gift giving, today, everyone's a winner here at Pumpkin Petunia! And the best part about this gift is that you can regift it! That's right, go ahead and give it away, I won't mind. Honest.

My gift to all of you is a free download of these beautiful Floral Cheers Notecards! Simply download the file and print on letter sized cardstock. Cut on the solid line, fold on the dotted line (use a bone folder for best results) and you're done! Package a set of these up with A2 sized envelopes and a pretty pen and you have yourself a lovely little gift!

But before you get started, I have to give props to the source for the amazing floral pattern used in this design. Thanks so much to the Inspired Bride for sharing this lovely pattern. Please remember that the notecards (and the design elements at Inspired Bride) are for personal use only. You are free to print as many notecards as you like; use them and give them away to your heart's content, but please do not sell or represent these designs as your own.

Download the Floral Cheer Notecards Here.

HOLIDAY SHOPPING GIVEAWAY WEEK CONTINUES

{Image via Fifi flowers. You must check out her beautiful work.}

Be sure to enter these two great giveaways that are still open!

Melissa and Doug Giveaway

Mitetees Family Christmas Tree Shirt Giveaway

HOLIDAY SHOPPING GIVEAWAY WEEK: WINNER!

This is definitely the best part of Holiday Shopping Giveaway Week - announcing winners! And we have a winner in the drawing for two Personalized Silhouette prints! The winner was chosen at random using randomizer.org, where I entered the number of entries (12, can you say your odds are good?) and randomizer generated a number between 1 and 12. And the winner is...

Entry #9 - thatgirlblogs!!!

thatgirlblogs said: I like the tennis the best. Could your header be any cuter???

Congratulations! Email me at jcoe [at] pumpkinpetunia [dot] com and let me know which two prints you would like to receive! So many designs and colors to choose from - happy shopping! (Hint: for even more design options, check out the aluminum water bottle designs as well. The silhouettes you see there can also be made into prints.)

By the way, if you've never visited thatgirlblogs, drop everything and go there now. It's a MUST read! But before you go, don't forget to enter these other great giveaways still running through Friday night and Monday night, respectively:

Melissa and Doug Giveaway

Mitetees Family Christmas Tree Shirt Giveaway

MITETEES FAMILY {CHRISTMAS} TREE GIVEAWAY!

Next up for Holiday Gift Giveaway Week is a fantastic prize from Mitetees! Mitetees is a wonderful little company that adds another dimension to personalized gift giving by offering cute, smart designs that celebrate family and this Family Christmas Tree Tee is no exception! Simply supply Mitetees with your family names, and they will create adorable, customized Family Tree shirts for your littles available in sizes from newborn to 6T.

You can win one of these adorable Family Christmas Tree shirts right here, right now! Simply go to the Mitetees website and browse their awesome selection of unique and personalized products. Be sure to check out the production onesies, which are the brainchild of Mitetees creator Cindy Hoeppner and a product exclusive to Mitetees. Then come back here and leave a comment letting us know your favorite Mitetees product!

Earn additional entries by becoming (or being!) a Facebook fan of Pumpkin Petunia, posting about this giveaway on Twitter or posting about this giveaway on your blog. Please leave a separate comment for each additional entry and include a link to your blog post or tweet. Giveaway ends on Monday, December 7th at midnight EST.

Oh, and don't forget to enter our Personalized Silhouette Print giveaway that runs through tonight at midnight EST and our Melissa and Doug giveaway that runs through Friday! All a part of Holiday Gift Giveaway Week at Pumpkin Petunia!

TODAY. 14 YEARS OF WEDDED BLISS.

i'd close my eyes and wish...once each year... for puppies or monies or supergirl powers.now i hunt down dandelions and first stars and stray lashes. no more black cats or sidewalk cracks. salt flies over my shoulder and i close my eyes and wish at 12:34...twice each day...for one more kiss from you. a lucky penny, face-side up? always yours. as am i.

{brilliance by the trufflegirls. the best news: there's a shop too!}

SILHOUETTE PRINT GIVEAWAY!

The next prize featured for our first ever Holiday Shopping Giveaway Week is a personalized silhouette print from our shoppe! The winner will receive TWO personalized silhouette prints. Choose from our huge selection of design and color options to customize a print that suits your gift-giving needs perfectly!

And just to make sure that everyone wins during giveaway week, I am extending our Cyber Monday special on these prints through today as well. Until midnight tonight PST, all personalized silhouette prints are only $10 each - that's a discount of $6!! From toddlers to teens, these prints are a truly personal and unique gift. If you place an order and then win the giveaway, not to worry, the purchase price and shipping charge for two prints will be will be refunded!

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post letting me know which print design is your favorite. You can earn additional entries by becoming (or being!) a Facebook fan of Pumpkin Petunia, posting about this giveaway on Twitter or posting about this giveaway on your blog. Please leave a separate comment for each additional entry and include a link to your blog post or tweet. Giveaway ends on Wednesday, December 2nd at midnight EST.

Oh, and don't forget to enter our Melissa and Doug giveaway that runs through Friday!