Lens and Needle

winners!!

first off, i would like to thank EVERYONE who donated, blogged, facebooked, tweeted, and spread the word around about the Gumpy's and this giveaway. thank you so much!!!!!! together we raised $175.00! thank you thank you thank you!!!

tomorrow i will be back to blogging, starting with a post featuring all our lovely sponsors!

 

okay, now onto the winners!!!

 

 

winner of prize pack number one is...

Dawn!

congrats Dawn! (watch for an email from me shortly.)

 

now, winner of prize pack number two is...

Jessica!

congrats Jessica! (watch for an email from me shortly.)

 

ladies, i hope you enjoy your prizes!!

 

thank you again to everyone who donated! i wish i could give each of you a prize. :-)

sponsors, thank you so much. i couldn't have done this with out you all!

 

xoxo,

Ashley

 

 

 

 

 

note

i will be leaving the giveaway (below) open for one more day. so it will be closing Tuesday at 5 pm pacific time.

don't forget to spread the word!

Giveaway!

Today I'm excited to be hosting a giveaway to raise money for my friends the Gumpy's.

Bryan and Rachel's first baby was born ten weeks early on September 6, 2010. Little Charlie lived for three days. His medical bills and funeral expenses are high, so I thought about how I could help.

 

Hosting a giveaway seemed like a good idea, and I was blessed by so many lovely bloggers and shop owners who donated items to give to two lucky winners!

 

First I'll show you what you could win, then I'll give you the giveaway details.

 

I've put the donations into two prize packs. Prize pack #1 anyone can win, international entries welcome! Prize pack #2 can be shipped to US addresses only.

 

 

in prize pack #1 you'll receive...

 

 

ilene of muchloveilly is giving away a $15 gift certificate to her shop! she makes the loveliest headbands, hair clips, earrings and rings. her new fall collection is simply lovely.

 

 

 

 

erica of 28thstreetphoto has donated this pair of her lovely earrings! these Dainty Blossom Earrings in Cream are so sweet and simple, and will go with any outfit.

 

 

 

penny of sewtakeahike has offered 2 of her PDF patterns! her Skillet Handle pattern and Market Bag pattern. around here we love going to farmers market, and cloth bags are the best! we have one that is net, like penny's market bag, and it's my favorite.

 

 

 

   

 

joslyn of Simple Lovely has donated this "lovely bird branch motif glass paperweight". isn't it so sweet? i have a weakness for birds. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

randi of FreshSqueezedFabrics has offered this fun fabric jelly roll! this Punctuation Jelly Roll by American Jane and Sandy Klop for Moda is made of 2.5"x44" strips. this is another weakness of mine, fabric.

 

 

 

 

okay, prize pack #2...

 

 

jami from the blog HELLO! from the nato's has offered the winner of this pack a couple of these super cute flower pins like the one pictured above. cute!!

 

 

 

 

 

rachel of Smile and Wave and Red Velvet Art has donated this lovely handmade leather journal! The winner will receive either a yellow or orange journal, depending on what's in stock. 

 

 

 

 

 

wendy from the blog Living Creatively has donated an adorable fall/Halloween banner, like the one above. Decorating for fall is so fun!!

 

 

 

 

angela (my mom) from the blog Wondering has donated one half yard of Amy Butler's Love Lime Arabesque fabric and three rolls of Japanese washi tape! I love washi tape.

and lastly, i am donating a $10 Starbucks or Target gift card. the winner can choose which they prefer!

okay, here's how to enter to win one of these fabulous prize packs:

use the Paypal Donate button located on the top right sidebar to donate any amount of money to the Charles Benson Gumpy Memorial Fund. the button is linked to my mom's account, so when the giveaway is over i will send a check for the entire amount donated to the Charles Benson Gumpy Memorial Fund at US Bank. you do not need a Paypal account to donate.
come back here and leave a comment telling me you donated.

that's it! come on folks, lets see how much we can raise for the Gumpy's!

the giveaway will be open until next Monday, September 27, at 5 pm pacific time.

xoxo,

Ashley

saturday night ramblings

• today was Charlie's memorial service. i don't know quite what to say about it, except it was good. no, nice? i'm not sure what the right word is.

• on the way home dad asked if anyone had turned the pot of beans off before we left. negative. so, we came home and our house was filled with burnt bean smoke. everything that is made of fabric smells. ugh. but, the house didn't burn down, and we are thankful for that. 

• we started watching the first season of Gilmore Girls. i love that show. :-) anybody else out there like it too?

• how 'bout Lost? i'm pretty sure we are the last people in the world to start watching it. but we're hooked. at the rate we watch tv, we'll be through season one in, 6 months? but we like it. :-)

• i'm hosting a big giveaway on monday. be sure and come check it out!

• my momma made a cute (and simple) headband today. maybe i will have her do a little tutorial on her blog.

• the above photo i took yesterday at our friends house. the sky was beautiful and i love that they still have they're Christmas lights up from last year. :-)

have a great rest of the weekend!!

xoxo,

Ashley

farm fresh eggs

the water towers

i snapped this photo with my cell phone a few weeks ago. the light was perfect and i loved the way you could see the water towers through the trees.

i actually have lots of cell phone photos. perhaps a cellular photo's post is called for? :-)

{cowgirl boots}

i went red

this is the first time i've got my hair dyed. and i love it.

i snapped a few photos while i was holding babysister earlier. i love her expressions. can she get any cuter? :-)

 

remembering...

 
how true.

 

today i'm remembering all those who died nine years ago today.

 

and remembering how blessed i am to have been able to be with little Charlie during his short life on earth.

 

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

 

i'll be having a giveaway next week to raise money for the Gumpy's (see below).

i'm working on a button to advertise it; it would be great if y'all would put it on your blogs! i'll try to get it up soon.

 

 

*photo source

there are no words

On Monday morning our dear friends Bryan and Rachel Gumpy were blessed with their firstborn, Charles. He was born 10 weeks early, and was quickly flown to another hospital. Bryan and Rachel got to spend three days with their little man. This morning he went to be with Jesus. My Dad and I, and our pastor and his wife, went down to see Charlie and his parents Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. He wasn't expected to live through the night. But he did, and all through Wednesday. Dad and I came home last night.

I have known Bryan and Rachel for three years. Before they got married, Rachel lived with us. She became part of the family. They are so young, not much older than me. It is very hard to watch them hurt.

We know that God will be glorified through this somehow. But it is hard. Please pray for Bryan and Rachel, and all of their family and friends.

For only living on earth three days, Charlie sure touched a lot of lives. He had thousands and thousands of people all over the US and the world praying for him and his family. I have never witnessed anything like it.

I have a few ideas I've been tossing around on how to raise money for the Gumpy's (for doctor/hospital bills, etc.). One of the ideas is a giveaway on here. To enter you would donate any amount to a PayPal account on my sidebar. If there is anyone reading who would like to sponsor the giveaway, please email me (my email is located in the left sidebar). 

Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"