A Wonderful Gift

A quick apology: I am sorry I am not blogging much right now, I am getting ready for my wedding and though it is a small wedding, it is amazing how much of my time it is taking up with all of the preparations. I will get back to more regular blogging (God willing) as soon as possible :)
Arwen Sniffs the Large, Mysterious Package
A few months ago, I purchased some beautiful vintage pins from my good friend Jen at Epic Farms (http://www.epicfarms.etsy.com). While purchasing them I mentioned that Brennan and I are getting married in September. Well, she then said that she had a little something in mind and that, as I wasn't in a rush to get the pins (I'm using them in my wedding, details below and to come), she wanted to do a little something to go with them. Now, I was thinking a little something to be just that, but I wasn't thinking it would be this wonderful something. I want to share with you one of the most wonderful gifts I have ever received. Upon getting the package from the post office, I noticed it was rather large. When I opened it I found...
The "Bliss Box", and its Beautiful Poem
...An absolutely beautiful box! On the outside it was decorated with beautiful paper, reminiscent of Italy, and the front had a label saying "Bliss Box" and on top was a poem:
"The Bliss Box
In this box when you are joined together,
place joyous memories to cherish forever.
Your wedding announcement, a special note,
a flower, some ribbon, a thoughtful quote.
And on the papers of pink and blue,
write a loving word or two.
Then set it aside in a special place,
secure it with ribbon or tie it with lace.
When you are down and feeling blue,
pull out this box and look it through.
In times of struggle, it times of trial,
inside this box you'll find a smile.
Remember why your love is true,
encourage each other and find joy anew.
Keep God as your center, your focus heavenly,
for marriage does not take two but three.
Jen Crowe, Feb. 2010"
Isn't that beautiful?? I've already said that she should make more, similar ones to sell in her delightful Etsy shops (epicfarms.etsy.com and wysiwigs.etsy.com), as I am sure more people would want them. I thought that would be all, and to find my little pins inside, but I was wrong...
A Handful of Envelopes
...A pack of envelopes! I wasn't sure which ones to open first, but fortunately I opened the orange envelope first and found...
Some Envelopes
...a delightful card from Jen. I then opened the pink envelopes and found...
Gorgeous Scrapbook Die Cuts From Jen
...Some incredible die cuts for my wedding scrapbook! I just went out today and got a scrapbook for our wedding photos (okay, okay, I like to be prepared, lol), and thse are going to be perfect! There is a little couple, gold hearts (the gold doesn't show in the photos, sorry), gold interlace rings, doves and hearts and heart labels and so much more, including a set that reads "Our Wedding". They are gorgeous, you need to see Jen's shop for these and more.

A Jumble of Letters Makes...
The next envelope contained a jumble of letters...what did they make? I will admit, it took me a while to figure it out (yeah, brain wasn't working well, the envelope said it all, lol). Brennan and Meghann in beautiful opalescent paper, with a beautiful green tree with matching green crystals attached to it.
The Final Two Envelopes
The final two envelopes had more stunning cuts, including a little car and sign that says, "Just Married" and letters in a little plastic envelope that say Just married as well ( I didn't take them out as they are delicate). The final cut is a beautiful cake with gorgeous pink flowers and a small pink crystal on the top. Okay, I admit it, I cried happy tears when I saw the cake cut. I don't know why, but for some reason that one made me realize I'm finally going to marry the man I've loved for almost 9 years. But STILL the package wasn't done!
Vintage Bits and Bobs
Jen also included some beautiful vintage pieces of jewelry for me to play with. I've already got some great ideas for these, let me tell you!
The Vintage Pins for My Wedding
Finally I got to the package I had ordered (seems funny, doesn't it? LOL!). These are the vintage pins I'm using in my wedding. They are silver plate with faux pearl and rhinestones on the left, and the flower one has rhinestones and some sort of mother of pearl in the petals. Here is what I'm doing with them:

Handmade Ribbon Bouquets
I ordered a bunch of ribbon from a great Etsy seller a few months ago in blue, pink and white, the colors of our wedding. I then made bouquets of ribbon roses - one for my bouquet to hold, and a small one to put in my hair (I'm wearing my hair half up and half down, so it will go where the elastics/pins will go). But where is the flower pin?

The Bouquet with Pin, and the Bliss Box
Why, the pin went on the bottom front of the bouquet I'm going to hold. It sits just below my hands, so it will add some beautiful sparkle - plus, as the bouquet will never die, it will eventually become an ornament in my bedroom! I now have filled the Bliss Box with my bouquets, as well as the jewelry I'm wearing (I'll show you that later!), and the jewelry I'm giving to my mom, soon to be mother-in-law, and friend doing my photos. After the wedding, I am looking forward to filling it with things from our marriage!
Oh, and the second pin? I'm wearing it on my dress, I'll post photos when I get married ;-)
The big day is September 10, my birthday (Brennan chose it, not me, as he says he'll never be able to forget it, lol). I'll keep you up to date with other things that are going on as I'm able to...some things I'm giving away and I want them to be a surprise, so I'll photograph them and post them after the wedding :)
Thank you for sharing in my Wonderful Gift, I hope you have a wonderful gift of your own soon!

Treasured Tuesdays

I am so, so, SO sorry for the absence these last few days - I've not been feeling well, and I've been very busy, partly with a wonderful surprise that came from my friend Jen, from Epic Farms and WYSIWIGS on Etsy:
Ohhh! Let's see what it is, shall we?Woooo it is so pretty! I hardly want to wreck the paper (and look at the cute thank you tag!!), but I have a feeling this is only the beginning of the goodies to come!! Arwen, please help me open it :)Now that she has made sure everything is safe for me......Let's take out all of these goodies!!! First are the beautiful tags that Jen made me to order; the pink booklet tags, 2-sided Egg tags (with a rhinestone on one side - how cute is that??) and the 2 layer damask tags. She can make similar tags for you - great for gift-giving, thank you's and SO much more! These are going to be thank-you's for when people purchase from my store:
Next is the wonderful print of her horse, Shadow, with his security blanket (we've all felt like this before!), printed on paper made from stone:She also included some of her business cards for me to pass out to help support her newly 501(c) Charitable approved farm (FINALLY!):....But wait! What's all this???

Ohhh! a wonderful stamped horse card (available soon from her Epic Farms Store), a card with her folding origami on the front, and some garden-themed die cuts (available soon from her WYSIWIGS Store)!

AND one of her famous bookmarks (available from her Epic Farms Store), a handmade cross, and a beautiful horse charm, just like the one on her other horse bookmark (available from her Epic Farms Store)!!

Well, as usual, Jen has outdone herself and I am still grinning from ear-to-ear 4 days after getting the package! Please do visit her shops on Etsy and see even more beautiful items, where the proceeds go to her horse rescue farm (and did I mention Epic Farms is 501(c) approved?) You know it's a great place!

Fabulous Friday!! I Got a Surprise Package!!

~The Best Surprise Package EVER!!~

A few weeks ago my new friend Jen, from Epic Farms in Alabama, and I decided to do a trade: she was eyeing a few pieces of my jewellery and I was very interested in some of her die cuts and tags. I've been wanting to have some nice tags to include with my packages when people order from me so I can include another heartfelt, hand written 'Thank You" and Jen's descriptions of her new tags sounded absolutely scrumptious! She also informed me that she had "a little bit of yarn" that she wasn't going to be using and that she would gladly give to me so that I could make some more amigurumi dolls to sell for charity. I was thrilled! I waited.....and waited.....(Okay it was only about 5 days to come allllll the way up here!) and finally it came! My little package from my new friend....except that this wasn't the little package I was expecting - it was a veritable treasure chest full of goodies! It was HUGE! (see above) She included a wonderful thank you letter for my donation to her farm in December:

And an absolute TON of beautiful yarns in all sorts of shades, even a sparkly one that I had seen in a store and loved but didn't have the money for (Jen didn't even know that but included it anyway!!). She suggested I make a cute little kitty out of it and call it "Sparkles the Cat" - I love that idea! Check out all the yarn! I am so excited!!
Then she included her tags - take a look at these, they have to be the most beautiful tags in the world, and most of them are 2 layered!! I told her to get these on her WYSIWIGS Etsy Shop to sell as they are SO gorgeous and the paper quality is stunning - not too thick and not too thin with the two layers. AND these ones even have ribbon! One tag even had a little cut out flower on the reverse with a little rhinestone carefully glued on (I got the reverse side in the photo - it's the Easter egg looking one)
Finally, she even included a magnet and a photo of one of her equine residents (and my favorite) Shadow. He is one of her rescue horses at her Epic Farms and needs a yellow security blanket! Isn't that adorable? These pictures are so wonderfully cute:
What an amazing day! I have to say I almost cried with happines - it's not every day you get to meet someone with such a large heart as Jen's.
Now I just hope she likes the jewelry I sent her....maybe I should send some more... :)
You really should check out her shops, Epic Farms and WYSIWIGS, she does amazing paper folding pieces, drawings, you-name-it, she has something beautiful (and affordable!) for everyone. You can also see her farm's website, Epicfarms.com to see more horses and read all about her farm.
Have a great weekend everyone! I'm off to list more items in my Etsy shop - some REALLY cool necklaces, and I've re-done many of my older photos to show the jewelry there more clearly, I hope you like it!
Meghann