Essay Contest Prizes!

Well, we have less than a week left until our Essay Contest is closed to entries! I'd encourage you to check it out and write an essay (and enter it of course!). It's always good to push yourself to write and you never know - you just might win and receive a really wonderful bundle of goodies!

I thought I'd detail the prize list here with descriptions and pictures (where I have them!).

The first person to contribute to our prize was Amelia's Aprons. Amelia's Aprons has supported our contests in the past and was so kind to do so again! The 9-13 year old category winner will be receiving the Amish Apron Pattern, which is an adorable pinafore style apron - very cute and very practical! Perfect for using to be a "prairie girl" or just for wearing around the house to keep your clothes tidy. The 14-25 age group winner will receive the Ruffles & Curves Apron Pattern; another super cute style with a curved hem and ruffles! (surprise!). Both patterns come with a child's size, adult size and a doll size, so you can make some for all the ladies in your family!

Next up is a Sense & Sensibility ePattern! I have the Afternoon Dress pictured here, but you will receive the ePattern of your choice. Sense & Sensibility is a widely recognized and respected pattern company for historical gowns. If you visit their website, you can see dozens of beautiful gowns made from the patterns (and get ideas for making your own dress!). The ePatterns are printable PDF versions of the pattern that you print and then tape together. It is perhaps more work than a regular pattern, but you have the advantage of being able to download it instantly (no waiting for it to ship!) and you will have it on your computer if you lose a piece or need to make it again in a different size.


Our third contributor is Roses and Teacups, one of my favorite online stores! And guess what they have given to our prize... yep, a lovely china teacup for each category!

Seasons at Home is a lovely magazine for keepers at home, filled with tasty recipes, craft projects and encouraging articles. They have graciously donated one issue to each winner! The subjects covered in this issue are: Flowers of Virtue, Stitching Old Fashioned Flowers, Summer Rag Quilting, Little Ladies Victorian Tea, Make a Hope Chest (Father project), Whole Grain Flat Breads, Ice Cream Cones and Pasta! This is a beautiful magazine and after you get this sampling you just might want to subscribe. :-)

***Here's where it gets different. I have two completely different prizes for the different categories:***

The younger group will get a knitting kit for making mittens! It includes yarn in a fun variegated purple and green yarn, knitting needles, and of course, instructions. Knitting is such a fun and practical skill to learn - you can easily make gifts, things for around the home or to put in your hope chest! (photo to come!)

The older category will be receiving a beautiful pair of earrings from The Joy of Jewelry. The Joy of Jewelry is a new business that creates gorgeous handmade Swarovski crystal jewelry (I admit I have a weakness for Swarovski crystals!). I have a necklace and bracelet from them and they are both high quality and look great! These lovely little droplets are from their "Passionate Purity" collection and are hand crafted from gold-plated surgical steel, deep red Swarovski crystals, and Grade A Swarovski pearls. You'll love them. :-) The winner will have a choice of pierced or clip-on earrings.

So now... doesn't it make you want to enter?! It makes me want to... but it would hardly do to enter my own contest. So head on over to read the rules and get writing! You have till June 30, 2010, to enter!

Tell Me... Uh, Monday - My Harp!

Last Wordless Wednesday I posted this photo:

I meant to post my Tell Me Thursday about it on Thursday like I was supposed to, but didn't have time. So it's coming late... on Monday.

Those of you who have read my blog for a while know I play the harp and I have been saving for my own bigger harp. Well, a little over a week ago I had a wonderful surprise. Back in March, I was able to order the harp, but the company was backed up on orders and told me it would be 6 months before it would be done. So I was prepared to wait till September to get my harp, and I was praying hard for patience (and at the same time praying that somehow it could be finished earlier - say, August).

Well, the Lord loves to answer prayers and He answered that one far beyond my hopes. A week or so ago I was working on a sewing project in the basement, and I heard a lot of screwing, banging around, and general racket going on upstairs. I, however, was deeply engrossed in making a ribbon flower, and absently thought my mom and sister must be hanging pictures (which would be very odd and besides, there was far too much noise to be only picture-hanging. But you must understand, ribbon flowers take a lot of focus).

Well, my mom called me to come up and "let the cat in." When I came up, Mom had a video camera in her hand. That meant something was up! I still was clueless and had no idea... I walked into the family room and there... was... I'm sure you can never guess. :-) Yep, my harp!!

Isn't she a beauty? It sounds beautiful and I LOVE the deep, full bass notes. It's been so much fun playing through all my old songs and hearing how much fuller they sound! Once again, a huge thank you to my friend, Raeanne, who let me play her little harp for nearly two years while I waited for this one... it was an immense blessing.

The Lord is good!

Wordless Wednesday - My Harp!

The Essay Contest! Finally!

Yes, today I finally got things up and running for the 2010 essay contest! Our subject is one that, surprisingly, I haven't covered yet in any of my contests. It's a popular and controversial one, so we should get a lot of good entries. Want to know what it is? You'll have to check the website and see!

Now, I got over 30 votes on my poll about what kind of contest to do (figures, it was tied again, so I had to pick myself!). So I'm expecting at least half that number in entries... just for your information. :-) Hey - it's free to enter, it will challenge you to write, and if you win, we have some great prizes as usual! (more on that later).

Ready? Here's the link - happy writing! http://maidensofvirtue.com/essay_contest.html

Cover Your Hair Giveaway

Miss R.J. at VirtuousGirlhood.com is having her very first blog giveaway from Cover Your Hair! CYH carries cute hats, scarves, headbands, and more hair accessories. I personally like the berets and headbands with tails!

Check out THIS LINK and find out how to be entered to win a free headband!

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P.S. I just realized it is May and I still haven't announced any details on this year's writing contest. I can tell you one thing - I am thinking it will be another essay contest. I know many of you wanted a poetry contest, but here are my reasons: I am just better at writing essays myself, and feel I can judge it more fairly. I prefer rhyming poetry, which is not fair to those who write free verse. So... I promise, there WILL be a writing contest some time this year. :-) Thanks for your patience!

Sorry!

I apologize if you tried to visit my blog or website the last 2 days and got a "This account has been suspended" notice. Somebody hacked my site and started sending out spam, and thus everything was shut down while we resolved it. Thanks for your patience!

Contest Update

I just realized that it is March and this is usually the time of year that I host either a poetry or essay contest (did you vote on which one it should be? If you didn't, click here to do so - but please don't vote again if you already did). Life has just gotten in the way and I have not had time to organize details for that right now. I will (Lord willing) try to have the contest in April sometime, so be looking out for news on that!

In the meantime, check out the photography contest that is going right now!