'You ought to return thanks in a neat speech,' the Red Queen said, frowning at Alice as she spoke. . . .In fact it was rather difficult for her to keep in her place while she made her speech: the two Queens pushed her so, one on each side, that they nearly lifted her up into the air:'I rise to return thanks--' Alice began: and she really DID rise as she spoke, several inches; but she got hold of the edge of the table, and managed to pull herself down again.-- Chapter 9, Through the Looking Glass
The US Thanksgiving holiday is this month, and many people are dedicating the month to a spirit of gratitude; after all there is nothing like counting your blessings to make you realize how many blessings there are!
Our theme this month is GRATITUDE, and you can interpret that any way you like as long as you explain it in your post. Enter by Friday, Nov. 23; all entries are welcome but those that feature Wonderland will have two chances instead of one. Multiple entries are encouraged, but each must be on a separate post to have additional chances at the prize, which is quite wonderful!
The theme ties in nicely with this month's sponsor, Nature's Blessings, who have offered a $30 shopping spree to the randomly chosen winner! Nature's Blessings stamps were the beginning of my love affair with Alice in Wonderland stamping, as they have beautiful rubber versions of the original Tenniel illustrations of
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland AND
Through the Looking Glass. Without Nature's Blessings, The Altered Alice might not exist! In their words:
As avid readers and bibliophiles, we fell in love with the beautiful line drawings in the books in our family library. Our antiquarian stamps are a collection of our favorite images. If your tastes range from the classically elegant to the quirky and fun, then we make stamps for you! We also offer a variety of original art: be sure to visit John Wagner's page of Calligraphy and Art Lettering, and Laura Ann's pages of stamps for holidays and special occasions.
Your Weekly Inspiration:
Barbara Washington of Magic Delights came up with a fantastic idea for our gratitude challenge; she made a thank you card and a set of charming hostess gifts for the upcoming holiday season! I love her thank you card, pictured above, don't you?
Everyone on the design team decided they would like to invite Barbara over when they saw these charming gifts! This night light with the custom made Alice shade is absolutely charming, even when unlit.
It is even lovelier when illuminated, isn't it?
The next hostess gift is a set of coasters in a holder. Gratitude is indeed the memory of the heart, and some of my dearest childhood memories are involved with reading Alice in Wonderland! Here are the individual coasters:
I love it that Nature's Blessings has such a complete set of the original Tenniel illustrations! These coasters are fantastic; hasn't Barbara done a wonderful job with this gratitude theme?
Please stop by Barbara's blog to tell her so!
Amy Bowerman Stucki of Plucking Daisies dyed a vintage handbag (her grandmother's) with rit dye and created iron on transfers with Nature's Blessings stamps and "Transfermations". Amy is our queen of upcycling, and this bag looks new and funky and fun!
I was so pleased to learn about this product; look how well it transfers onto dark fabrics! It is designed for ink jet printers but Amy has great results with stamping!
These stamps have such wonderful detail; the cross-hatched lines are crisp and distinct. Lizard Bill is looking good!
Some Blue Moon charms add interest!
Gratitude is embodied in what this bag was used for; in Amy's words:
The bag was used to transport a package to hurricane victims. A friend of mine from NJ has spearheaded a campaign called "Socks for Sandy" . Such a simple necessity that so many are lacking since the storm hit. As far as grattitude I'm thankful that power was the only thing I lost in the storm when others have lost so much.
You can read about Socks for Sandy
HERE. They are in urgent need of socks, winter gloves, mittens and hats, and NEW packages of underwear for men, women and children.
Please stop by Amy's blog to leave a comment on her stamped "Transfermation" bag, her Alice post will be up soon so check back at her blog to read all the details.
We look forward to seeing your interpretation of our gratitude theme! Enter your projects in the Linky list below by November 23, and PLEASE include your name or blog name in the TITLE. This helps me enormously when it comes time to had out the honorable mentions! (Note: if you are viewing this post in a reader or email, please click on the title of the post to go to the blog to see the entries or submit a project.)
Please leave a comment before you go!
