{All Wrapped Up} A Dash of the Colourful...

Weekend Project {Free Printable Gift Tags}

one. via 'Love vs. Design'

two. via 'Brightside Prints'

three. via 'Domestifluff'

four. via 'Blush Printables'

five. via 'Miss Pickles Press'

six. via 'Eat Drink Chic'

"Gifted Magazine"

{All Wrapped Up} Touches of Gold

Weekend Project {Christmas Jars}

via 'Tortoise and the Hare'

"Homemade Holiday"

{All Wrapped Up} Touches of Silver

Weekend Project {Fabric Poppy Gift Toppers}

 via 'Creature Comforts'

All Boy...

"Lalé Suitcases"

Back in September, my mom was wondering what to get the girls for Christmas... She wanted to get them suitcases... The night before she'd visited, I'd seen these Lalé suitcases online... I showed them to her and she was just as pleased as I was... I love the vintage inspired fabrics... And think the girls will be hang on to them years beyond needing grown-up luggage... We were even more excited to find them stocked at shop from Montreal (no duty, yeah!), "Mini Bulles"!

"Giddy Giddy"

One night while on the web, I came across these perfect little pouches from 'Giddy Giddy'... Brennah has been asking each Sunday if she can bring a purse to church, but we really don't have anything that works... And of course, Leah being the little sister, she wants to do whatever her big sister does... I was smitten with octopus and Jay loved the pink bird... So we ordered them... They arrived quickly, in lovely packaging and I was more than thrilled! Why not head over to 'Giddy Giddy' and see if there is something that tickles your fancy... And then when you're done, head over to their blog, full of amazing ideas for kids!

Sleeping Bags...

It took a long time to decide what to get my girls for Christmas this year... And as with most years, I began planning back in August... I like Christmas... And I love trying to pick out the perfect gifts for the people I love... While watching 'Treehouse' one day, a character on one of Bren's favourite shows went camping... She promptly declared, "I want a sleeping bag"... Most evenings I spend 15-20 minutes cleaning up the girls numerous toys in their playroom... So I was thrilled that she was looking for something a little more practical and a little less cumbersome to clean up... And thus began my search for the perfect sleeping bags... I thought they would be perfect for sleep overs, trips to the cottage and watching movies tucked inside on a cold winter night... These are the sleeping bags we settled on for the girls this Christmas... How pretty are they?

"Society 6"

Just a few of my favourites from the thousands of iPhone cases available at 'Society6'... Like what you see? Download the free 'Society6' Daily Wallpaper App here...

The Results of the {First Annual Gift Exchange}

A sneak peek at just a few of the lovely packages that were part of the {First Annual Gift Exchange}! Have a lovely weekend friends and please don't forget to enter this week's giveaway!

Giveaway {Lola's Room Calendar}

This week marks the end of the giveaways for the time being... I'll be taking a break over the Holidays and will likely be introducing one giveaway a month (rather than one a week) in the New Year... And trust me friends, we're ending the year off with a bang!

The photographs from 'Lola's Room' make me dream of an eternal summer... And with the cold weather bearing down around us, summer is nearly always on my mind... This week, Cassia of 'Lola's Room' is offering a mini calendar of the winner's choice from her shop (valued at $30 US) + international shipping...Win a piece of that eternal summer to keep you dreaming all year long!

{Shop}

{Blog}

{Twitter}

{Flicker}

 This giveaway runs from December 13th to 19th at 7pm (EST)... The winner will be chosen and announced on Sunday, December 19th

1. Visit 'Lola's Room', look around and choose your favourite piece from the shop... Come back here and leave a comment along with your email address, mentioning your favourite item...

2. For an additional entry, link to this giveaway on your blog, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

3. For an additional entry, tweet about this giveaway on Twitter, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

4. For an additional entry, link to this giveaway on Facebook, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

5. For even more entries, POST again (Blog, Twitter, Facebook) at any time later in the week, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

* YOU MAY ENTER UP TO FIVE TIMES FOR FIVE CHANCES TO WIN!

In order to keep offering these fantastic giveaways, I need to get as many comments (and visits for the sponsors) as possible... Please help me spread the word so we can keep a good thing going!

The winner will be randomly chosen and posted HERE on the blog on Sunday, December 19th... Please check the blog on Sunday to see if YOU are the winner! Enjoy... Please help spread the word and a dear thank you again to Cassia of 'Lola's Room'!

Cassia has also taken the time to answer a few questions:
What does a perfectly ordinary day in your life look like?
"I get up early with my two year old son. We have breakfast then prepare to go out for the morning. Every morning is dedicated to him. We meet friends, go to the park or go to the library. At lunch time we come home to eat and play for a while then my son has his three hour nap while I work. I use this time to edit photographs, pack prints and note any orders that were made overnight. The early evening is spent cooking my sons dinner, bathing him and putting him to bed, with help from his dad! Some evenings are work related but my fiance and I put aside a few nights to watch films and spend time together."

What time of year most inspires you?
"It has to be summer, I love the bright sunshine. Everything seems more colourful and the longer days are definitely good for photography."

What do you think of as comfort food?
"My comfort food is tea and toast, they go perfectly together. I am a foodie so anything goes."

If you could hop on a plane, without giving one thought to your budget, where would you go?
"New York! I have always wanted to go. In fact I would love to travel around America, my big dream."

What are five things you would like to do in the next five years?
"Have a baby
Get married
Move to a bigger house
Work hard so my business grows
Travel"

Giveaway {Sixth and Main Calendar}

I'm really thrilled to have another calendar giveaway this week... This week's winner will get to choose a beautiful fine art calendar from HERE or HERE! Myan of both 'Sixth and Main' and 'Myan Print Shop' takes such pretty, dreamy photographs... Don't you think one of her calendars would make the perfect addition to any table top?

{Sixth and Main}

{Myan Print Shop}

 This giveaway runs from December 6th to 12th at 7pm (EST)... The winner will be chosen and announced on Sunday, December 12th

1. Visit 'Sixth and Main' OR 'Myan Print Shop', look around and choose your favourite piece from either shop... Come back here and leave a comment along with your email address, mentioning your favourite item...

2. For an additional entry, link to this giveaway on your blog, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

3. For an additional entry, tweet about this giveaway on Twitter, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

4. For an additional entry, link to this giveaway on Facebook, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

5. For even more entries, POST again (Blog, Twitter, Facebook) at any time later in the week, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

* YOU MAY ENTER UP TO FIVE TIMES FOR FIVE CHANCES TO WIN!

In order to keep offering these fantastic giveaways, I need to get as many comments (and visits for the sponsors) as possible... Please help me spread the word so we can keep a good thing going!

The winner will be randomly chosen and posted HERE on the blog on Sunday, December 12th... Please check the blog on Saturday to see if YOU are the winner! Enjoy... Please help spread the word and a dear thank you again to Myan of 'Sixth and Main' and 'Myan Print Shop'!

And don't forget to sign up for the First Annual Gift Exchange HERE before Wednesday at Noon!

Myan has also taken the time to answer a few questions:
What does a perfectly ordinary day in your life look like?
"my day has to start with coffee or i can't function. :) then i do yoga/meditation to get grounded before i start my "work" day. after that i answer emails, package orders, harrass my 3 cats, run to the post office and then i edit photographs until my hubby comes home. then it is time to eat dinner, and chill for the night. really boring i know!"

What time of year most inspires you?
"autumn is my absolute favorite season but since we moved to l.a. it has been quite some time since i have seen a proper autumn. so i try to recreate it myself at home with everything pumpkin. art & photography wise, definitely winter. especially a cold moody day at the beach."

What do you think of as comfort food? 
"cupcakes. hands down, a big fluffy vanilla buttercream cupcake! along with hot tea with a splash of rum. ;)"

If you could hop on a plane, without giving one thought to your budget, where would you go?
"oh such a tough question! it would be between england and argentina. but if i didn't have to care about a budget i guess i would go to both! :)"

What are five things you would like to do in the next five years?
"more photography, more painting, be a mom, move back east and learn the cello."

The First Annual Christmas Gift Exchange!

I've been at this blog thing for two and a half years now... And over the years, I've gathered some pretty loyal readers... I enjoy this blog... A lot... It's one of my favourite things to do... And the best part is reading your comments, getting to know you all a little bit! So this year, I thought it would be really wonderful for you to get to know one another a bit better too!

Drum roll please... Welcome to the First Annual Gift Exchange! Would you like to get a sweet little gift, all wrapped up pretty, in the mail this Christmas? Who doesn't like to get mail?

Comment on this post before Wednesday, December 8th at Noon EST, letting me know that you'd like to participate along with your email address

I will then send you an email, requesting your mailing address

On Wednesday evening, December 8th, I will send you the name of another blog reader and her address

You'll then have the rest of the week and weekend to get your package ready

I recommend you ship your gift by Monday, December 13th so it will {hopefully} arrive by Christmas! (Of course we're dealing with the mail here friends, so please be patient with one another)!

What would be fun to send? Wrapped candy, handmade items, small books, stickers, magazines, Christmas decorations or anything you think might help to bring a little cheer to someone else's Christmas... And don't forget... Wrap it up so it looks as pretty as pretty can be!!!

Be sure to include a card with a bit of info about yourself

It's up to you how much time and cash to spend but I think around $25 would be about right

Finally, if you'd like to take a few high quality shots of your package before it ships out and email them to me, I will post some of the photos on Thursday, December 9th!

1. via 'Paper Crave'

2. via 'Art as Life'

3. via 'Oh Hello Friend'

4. via 'Scrapbook Lady'

Any questions? Shoot me an email at rebecca@theardentsparrow.com

I hope I've remembered everything... I'll add more info if need by, as I tend to be a bit forgetful! 

Enjoy my friends... And happy gift-giving!

And don't forget to take the time to enter this week's giveaway for a calendar from 'Honeytree'!

New at the Shop... Monthly Clubs!

Ah... The holiday buying season is now upon us! And in honour of that, I'm sprucing up the shop a bit! This week, I've re-introduced the 'Ring of the Month Club' and added the 'Studs of the Month Club'... No, that's not a fireman calendar (as my husband suspected) but an stud earrings of the month club! Enjoy... And please take the time to enter this week's giveaway with 'The Little Happyshop'!

A Few Gifts for My Sweet Leah...

When I was preparing for Brennah's first birthday, Etsy was still relatively new to me... I took the opportunity to explore it a bit more and purchased many of Bren's first birthday gifts from some of my favourite sellers... I decided, where I could, to purchase the same items for Leah's first birthday... I try to purchase gifts for my girls that I believe will stand the test of time... I hope that someday, when they are older, they will still cherish their first birthday gifts!

Custom Matryoshka Doll from 'Ravenhill'

Personalized Baby Footprint Bowl

1800's Seashell Lusterware Demitasse Teacup & Saucer

 Custom Plate & Bowl

And please, don't forget to enter this week's giveaway with 'La Marquise des Anges'

Giveaway {The Gilded Bee}

I am so excited to introduce you to one of my favourite Etsy shops, 'The Gilded Bee' for this week's giveaway... Sasha has graciously offered $40 in store credit to be spent in her shop! Full of lovely items to make anything pretty, I'm sure you too will find so many items to inspire you!

{Shop}

{Blog}

Sasha has taken the time to answer a few questions!
What does a perfectly ordinary day in your life look like?
"It involves a lot of paper. I make things, esp. for my shoppe. I cook. I read. I play with my cats and dogs. I blog. I take as many photo's as I can squeeze in."

What time of year most inspires you?
"Late spring/early summer. Right now actually. :) I garden, and love flowers very much."

What do you think of as comfort food?
"Chocolate :D and soup. :)"

If you could hop on a plane, without giving one thought to your budget, where would you go?
"In my fancies: the UK, Southern France, and Australia."

What are five things you would like to do in the next five years?
"1. create.
2. learn another language
3. read 1,000 books
4. travel somewhere outside of the USA
5. be healthy, and laugh a lot"

This giveaway runs from June 7th - June 12th at Noon (EST)

1. Visit 'The Gilded Bee' and choose your favourite item from the shop... Come back here and leave a comment along with your email address, mentioning your favourite item...

2. For an additional entry, link to this giveaway on your blog, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

3. For an additional entry, tweet about this giveaway on Twitter, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

4. For an additional entry, link to this giveaway on Facebook, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

5. For even more entries, POST again (Blog, Twitter, Facebook) at any time later in the week, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

* YOU MAY ENTER UP TO FIVE TIMES FOR FIVE CHANCES TO WIN!

The winner will be randomly chosen and posted HERE on the blog on Saturday... Please check the blog on Saturday to see if YOU are the winner! Enjoy... Please help spread the word and thanks again to Sasha of 'The Gilded Bee'!