500th Post Celebration and Giveaway!

It’s my 500th blog post celebration! So Marty and I are having a grand giveaway! All the things you see below will be raffled off to a lucky blogging friend: a birdhouse carving, an antique doily with a pen-ink illustration, four picture note cards, and a National Monument patch. Can you tell that the theme is “birds”? I like critters of all kinds (almost), and I have a particular fondness for our winged friends. And it’s finally the spring season, that time of year when the birds are starting to build their nest and raise their young. Three cheers for spring! So I have collected this special assortment of prizes to commemorate my latest blogging milestone.

One of the treasures is a wooden birdhouse and little bluebird made by Appalachian whittler, Bill Henry. Bill is a long-time member of the Foothills Craft Guild and the Southern Highland Craft Guild. He is a dear friend of ours and was a handcrafting colleague of hubby’s mom (who was a famed hand weaver). Bill holds the distinction of being one of the nicest people I have ever known in my life. Sad to say, I don’t have a personal picture of him, but you can see Bill whittling away right HERE. The carving is about 7 inches tall and couldn’t be a more charming piece of folk art.

Another special treasure is an antique embroidered doily. An adorable sketch of birds has been applied to the linen by talented artist Michelle Palmer. The ink drawing is entitled “Brothers and Sisters – Perched!” Measuring a dainty 10” by 5½”, you should be able to find a place in your home to display this endearing art piece.

Carrying on with the feathered theme, I am including a set of four of my handmade note cards. I captured the image of a momma wren a couple of years ago while it was tending its brood in our Williamsburg bird bottle. A gentle watercolor application was applied to the image for additional charm. Also, I picked up an extra Petroglyph National Monument patch in New Mexico to include in the giveaway box. This patch features a petroglyph image of a bird that we saw along the park’s trail.

Here’s how to get your name in the proverbial hat to win this bevy of prizes:

1. Leave a comment on this post to get one entry.
2. If you follow my blog, please leave second comment to get two additional entries.
3. Entries outside the U.S. will be accepted. However, only those from bloggers with active web sites will be eligible.

The last day to enter is Sunday, May 1. Good luck and thank you for helping me have so much fun through 500 posts!