Christmas Decorations

Whether you have already decorated, are just pulling it all out, or wait closer to Christmas to decorate, I wanted to share some beautiful Christmas gifts and/or decor for your home.

DaySpring has given away some beautiful children's products, home decor, and Christian jewelry here on The Gift Closet. And last, but not least, I would like to show you their Christmas items. The have everything ranging from snow globes, to Christmas cards, to Candle Holders.

One of the things I really love about their products, is that a lot of them have Bible verses on the bottom.

I like the simplicity of their Christmas Cards...

I LOVE this Christmas Card holder! What a great way to display them!
This beautiful Christmas snow globe is based on a beloved Dayspring Christmas card. The front side exhibits an ornate Christmas tree decorated in traditional gold trimming. Turn the globe around and the Christmas tree exposes a rugged cross, adorned with the crown of Jesus Christ! The profound message, “When you strip away all the tinsel and glitter… God’s real truth shines through,” is etched along the ornament’s base.

Scripture on the bottom:
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6


I love the star that is illuminated when these are lit.....
Hurry on over to DaySpring because this discount code expires December 12! Enjoy 25% off and free shipping on orders over $40 using this code at checkout: CLOSET25

Twelve Days of Christmas starts Monday!!! Twelve straight Days of Giveaways!!! ~Giddy!~

Friday's Feature - Nest Bags

I would like to introduce to you Kim from Nest Bags! I came across her site & I love her unique bags and accessories! The fabrics & styles are so classy, and the photography on her site displays them beautifully! She is also featured in the magazine, Fashion Manuscript. Congrats Kim!!






Here is what inspired Kim to start her business:

"I have always loved fabrics… I remember the thrill of getting lost with my mother in the over stuffed and seemingly unending catacombs of tiny fabric stores in New York's garment district. We always found treasures that we would take home and make into something beautiful and all our own…

That treasure hunt is my inspiration. Finding beautiful fabrics and creating unique accessories with them is my dream come true. I hope you will find and treasure your own individual style in our distinctive line of handbags and accessories!

Kim Bost studied fashion design at The Fashion Institute of Technology and The University of Delaware. She has designed accessories for companies including Liz Claiborne, Cole Haan and Ellen Tracy among others for the past 15 years. She now lives in Hickory, North Carolina and is truly surrounded with what she loves: her husband, son and two step daughters who all provide her unending inspiration!

Kim has generously offered a 20% discount to Gift Closet readers! Simply enter the code GC20 @ check out! Click here to shop at Nest Bags.

Happy Thanksgiving!

As the Holidays approach I seem to be falling into the same habit of being sad and thinking of when we lost my Dad 3 years ago at Christmas. I am working hard to break that pattern this year. It seems as though God has been sending me the same message over and over....be thankful for what you do have this year, instead of thinking about what you do not have.

I thought about that a few weeks ago and decided to try & focus on that this Holiday season. Since then, I have been seeing that same thought written in several different blogs and articles I have read.

So, as I gather with our family to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, I will remember to focus on what a wonderful family I am blessed with, instead of the ones I have lost.

Hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving & God Bless!

Win It Wednesday - $25 Gift Certificate

Welcome to Win It Wednesday! Before announcing this week's contest, I need to announce 3 winners!
First, the winner of the Christmas Banner from Sugar Britches & Co is #2 Jessica

The winner of the Sterling Silver Bangle from DaySpring is #112 Gabriel

The winner of the Pendant Necklace from DaySpring is #14 Sue

Congrats to all and feel free to snag my "I Won @ The Gift Closet" button and wear it proud!

And this week I am pleased to announce Jaybird Designs will be giving away a $25 gift certificate to their site!! CONTEST CLOSED



Jennifer Cirka is the owner and designer of Jaybird Designs. She makes beautifully crocheted hats, scarfs, purses, and much more! She has items for babies, children, and adults as well.


I asked Jennifer what inspired her to start her business and here is what she shared:

"I started my business after I quit my job to stay home and raise my daughter
in 2003. I always loved to craft and was crocheting a ton of baby blankets
for her! Then, one day, I was introduced to the ebay custom boutique world
and thought I'd start trying to sell some of the items I made. In 2007 I
started writing crochet patterns to sell and in 2008 I became a published
crochet designer."

How To Win a $25 Gift Certificate to Jaybird Designs:
CONTEST CLOSED
1. Leave a comment. You must leave your email address in your comment if it is not visible on your blogger profile.
2. Earn an extra entry by becoming a follower of The Gift Closet. Go to my Left sidebar, near the bottom. Under the words "Thank you to my loyal readers!" there is a button to click that says "Follow This Blog". Click on it and it will simply list you as a follower. After doing that, come back here and leave a comment telling me you are now a follower and that will be your extra entry! ;)
3. Contest ends Tuesday 12/2/08 @ midnight and is open to US residents only.
Thank you for reading and commenting @ The Gift Closet! It's a lot more fun to write each day knowing I have friends & supporters out there!!! Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!! ;)

Tuesday's Tip - Win this!

I have swapped products with Karen over at Lillybella Boutique and LOVE her unique goodies! So when she approached me and wanted to giveaway some of her Handmade Coffee Coasties on The Gift Closet for the Holidays, I couldn't resist!
Click here for more info on the Coffee Coasties!

All of her gift items can be monogrammed, for that perfect personal touch.

For the women on your holiday gift list she has personalized Tote bags, Travel cups, Address and Datebooks, Checkbook covers, Sports bottles, etc.

For the Kids on your gift list, check out the Tote bags, placemats, doodle pads,chalk mats, adorable coin purses, and sketchbooks for that budding artist!

What I really like is that her products are created using oilcloth, a stain-resistant and waterproof fabric. It is perfect for busy women and kids. It is waterproof and cleans easily with just a damp sponge.

Please also visit her blog for a new sale every day through December 2nd!



CONTEST CLOSED



How to Enter:
1. Leave a comment here. You must include a valid email address if your blogger profile does not have one.
2. Earn an extra entry by blogging about this contest. After doing so, come back here, leave a 2nd comment, and a link to your blog post.
3. Contest open to US residents only & ends Monday 12/1/08 at midnight.

P.S. Please visit this worthy cause! Preemie Presents
I have given birth to 2 preemie babies, and this has touched my heart...what a wonderful way to help and serve others!

P.P.S. Please check out my new addition! Look near the top of my Left sidebar and you will see a list of current contests @ The Gift Closet. Click on the one you are interested in to enter.

Make It Monday - Georgia Cracker Pie

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving this week, I have a fabulous recipe to share with you. I don't make it often, cuz it has pecans & my hubby won't eat it. I honestly haven't made it in about 7 years and made it the other night for a family member's b-day. It was a hit & I have fallen in love with it all over again!

Georgia Cracker Pie
3 egg whites
1 C. Sugar
1 sleeve chopped Ritz crackers
1 C. chopped pecans
2 tsp. Maple flavoring extract -divided
1 tsp. baking powder
1 small tub cool whip

Beat the 3 egg whites until stiff. Then add: 1 C. Sugar, ritz crackers, chopped pecans, 1 tsp. Maple flavoring extract, 1 tsp. baking powder.
Mix together and pour into greased pie plate. Bake @ 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
Cool minimum of 5 hours. Mix 1tsp. Maple flavoring into a small tub of cool whip. Spread over pie and enjoy!


Hop on over to Baby Fish Mouth and see their newest onesie. The sale ends December 5th!

Would you like to be one of my Fridays' Features? Please email me at heatherldt at bellsouth dot net

Be Still Sunday

Giving Thanks

Our church kid's newsletter this past week had a little activity that I wanted to share. I'm always looking for fun conversation starters for meal time. We did it at the dinner table the other night with the kids & they enjoyed it. I know there is a name for this, and I can't remember for the life of me what it is called. You take the word Thanksgiving and for each letter name something you are thankful for that begins with that letter. For example, T- my daughter said Uncle Tom
H-we said Hayden (another family member) and so on.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16:34

Have a great weekend!

Interested in hosting a giveaway and getting your product in front of thousands of readers? Please email me at heatherldt at bellsouth dot net.

Friday's Feature - Kiki and Lele & a Winner is Announced!

Before I introduce you to a Leslee and Kacey from Kiki and Lele, I would like to announce the winner of the "The Gift of Christmas" DVD and a Really Woolly "Baby Jesus is Here" Book from DaySpring.com.
The winner is # 42 Joanne Major

Congrats! Please feel free to snag my "I Won @ The Gift Closet" button and wear it proudly on your blog! Thank you to DaySpring for a great gvieaway and to all 118 of you who entered! Don't forget to use your discount code, CLOSET25, when shopping at DaySpring.com for 25% off and FREE shipping for orders over $40!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I originally stumbled upon Kiki and Lele they were making Hand-Stamped Jewelry. I love their beautiful creations! And now recently they have added bows clips and buckets too!

I just love their hand made products. Let the pictures speak for themselves!

If you are a regular Gift Closet reader(many hugs and thanks if your are!) you have noticed I always ask what inspired the person I am featuring to start their business. I just love learning about what inspires people! Here is their reply:

"Kiki & Lele is a company created by Kacey Randolph and Leslee Phillips. It is based on the foundation of our mutual love for jewelry, our love and commitment to our families and our commitment to charitable contributions. This is a company that started out with a simple conversation. We are moms, sisters, daughters, friends. We’re just like you. We both have the type of life that we like to describe as “happy chaotic.” We both have toddlers and Kacey has twins as well, need we say more?

We want to create jewelry that inspires you, because when you are inspired you can do amazing things. When you have a fire of inspiration beneath you, it is contagious. We would be honored if one of our pieces gave you that type of energy, or at the very least, just made you feel really good every time you wear it.
This company is our prized possession and we feel we are creating a legacy for our families. We are proud of the pieces we create and extreme care and love go in to everything we do. We research each piece and part and try to come up with innovative designs. We only purchase or design pieces that we would wear ourselves."

And if you want to learn about the charity they support please visit their site by clicking here!

So hop on over and visit Kike and Lele and tell them I said hello! If you make a purchase, and tell them you are a Gift Closet reader, you will get 15% off and free shipping on orders over $100. Enjoy!!!

Check out my new button on the left sidebar! You can quickly see all my current giveaways and click on the ones you want to enter. Thanks to Traci my awesome blog designer for helping me with that! Have a great weekend!

Do You Like Jewelry?

Now what kind of a question is that? If you are female, chances are, you probably like jewelry. And if you don't, you surely know someone who does! And that is why you will want to enter this spectacular giveaway!

For the 1st time on The Gift Closet, I am giving away not 1, but 2 items! That's right, 2 different winners on this one folks! And here is what I am giving away.........

You may have seen in some of my prior posts the adorable Children's products or the beautiful Home Decor by DaySpring. (Click here to enter that giveaway, it ends tonight!)

Some of my very favorite products from DaySpring are from their line of Christian jewelry! And what I like best of all is that these pretty pendants each comes with a little card that looks like a miniature greeting card.

This one in particular I gave to my friend, Paula, who is currently battling Breast Cancer for the second time. The little card that came with it said this,
"I wish I had a big yellow umbrella that would keep away all the rain in your life. I would hold it over your head, and the drops would splash splash and you would never even feel it.
But I don't have a big yellow umbrella, so I'll walk through the rain with you, and cover you in prayer, until the sun comes out again."

How sweet is that?



Here is another one of my favorite pendants from DaySpring:





And another beautiful pendant....


The other side of it and the miniature card that comes with it:

DaySpring has generously offered a 25% discount to my Gift Closet readers and FREE shipping for orders over $40! Enter CLOSET25 as your code when checking out. And best of all, I have 2 pieces of jewelry to give away from them as well!!
One winner will receive this this beautiful sterling silver bangle which features this engraved scripture: “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” The scripture reference “Psalm 23” is engraved on the inside. This stylish bangle is a perfect gift for a loved one. Wear multiples of their 4 different designs as a great way to make a Christian statement through jewelry.

Product Details:
- Made of sterling silver
- Standard size bangle: 2 ½” diameter and 6 millimeter width
- Made in the USA
- Ships in white gift box
- Product by Sunriver Jewelry
-Retail value: $46.95

And another winner will receive this pendant:
And the other side of it:


Hang this lovely hand crafted pendant around your neck or give one as a gift. The message serves as a constant reminder of the love and blessings we receive from God, which we should in turn bestow on one another.
The Necklace features attached 2-sided glass charm pendant with lead free silver-based solder edges.
Product Details:
• Cord size: 16" with 2" extender
• Features cross detail on extender
• Pendant is one inch square
• Mini card with message included
• Ships in a decorative gift box
• Designed by Heather Steck
• Handcrafted in the USA
-Retail value: $26.99

Card Message:
You are Loved
We love because He first loved us.
I John 4:19 NLT
You are Blessed
I will bless you and….make you a blessing to others.
Genesis 12:2 NLT
You are a reason to thank God
Every time I think of you, I give thanks to God.
Philippians 1:3 NLT
CONTEST CLOSED
How to Enter:Simply leave a comment here and be sure it includes a valid email address if there is not one on your profile. I need to be able to contact 2 winners and I can't do that w/o an email address! ;)
If you are not a blogger, you may email your entry. Email me your name, the name of the contest you are entering, and your email address. No address or phone number is necessary. I will contact you for that information if needed. Email to : heatherldt at bellsouth dot net
Contest will end Tuesday 11/25/08 at midnight & is open to US residents only.


See you tomorrow for Friday's Feature!

P.S. If you snagged the Homemade Chicken Soup recipe from me Monday, please be sure you cook the chicken before you add it to the soup. That was left out, but is fixed now. Sorry!!!

Win It Wednesday - Christmas Banner!

Welcome to Win It Wednesday! The winner of last week's giveaway, Handmade Note Cards from Macaroni and Glue , is

#8 - Rachael

Congrats! Please feel free to snag my "I Won @ The Gift Closet" button and wear it proud!

And thank you so much to Kelly from Macaroni and Glue for such a great giveaway!

I am excited to show you this week's giveaway....a Christmas Banner from Sugar Britches & Co. How cute!!! CONTEST CLOSED


A closer shot....
How fun and festive is that! I discovered Summer's banners and have fallen in love with them! What a fun and creative idea!





I asked Summer what inspired her to start her business and here is what she had to say:

"What has inspired me... many things!!! I am truly inspired by fabrics, textures, color, anything that sparkles and my children. I am always looking at items and thinking how can I dress that up!! I have been a scrapbooker for many years. My scrapbooking always ends up in a scrapbook tucked away on my shelf in my scrapbook room. When I make my banners & other altered items I feel like I can still scrapbook but be able to share it with others!!! I hope you will enjoy your goodies as much a I enjoy making them!!!"

And how can you win this fun Christmas Banner?
CONTEST CLOSED
Simply leave a comment here AND be sure you leave an email address if it is not visible on your blogger profile. You can earn an extra entry by adding The Gift Closet to your blogroll, or adding this button to your site:

Grab this button:
<center><a href="http://www.thegiftcloset.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd328/giftlady64/giftclosetbutton.gif" /></a></center>

After doing so please come back here and leave a 2nd comment with a link to your blog where you have added me to your blogroll or added my button. Thanks so much!!
Contest ends Tuesday 11/24/08 at midnight. Contest open to US residents only.(Sorry, it's a shipping issue.)

Be sure to come back here for 12 straight days of giveaways starting December 1st!

Click below to view some fabulous companies to start your Holiday shopping with!

Tuesday's Tip - Gifts with Meaning

Are you looking to give gifts this Christmas that have some meaning to them? I recently read not to give gift cards this year because of so many businesses closing down. And I personally have enjoyed shopping online with some of the great companies I have discovered this year through The Gift Closet. One of those companies is DaySpring.

I introduced you to DaySpring last week and some wonderful Christian Children's Products they make. (Click here to view that post and enter the giveaway.) And today I would like to show you some of their gorgeous Home Decor products!

This canvas wrap has a beautiful prayer for your home on it. I love the last verses which say, "We commit this house to You and we ask that You truly make it a home as we live, laugh, and love together."


Another product they have that I LOVE is this beautiful Tray w/ multiple inserts. You can change the inserts according to your mood or the season, etc. You can't really see it in these pictures but each insert has a beautiful Bible Verse on it. Love it!!!







I'm thrilled to have this Unique Metal Wall Hanging in my church foyer! This would make a gorgeous addition to any home or church.It measures about 2 1/2 ft tall and about 3 1/2 feet wide.


And for my Gift Closet readers DaySpring has offered a generous 25% off and FREE shipping on orders of over $40 through December 12!! Simply enter the code CLOSET25 upon checking out.

Would you like to see your button on my "Find Me Here" page? Please email me, I'd love to do a link exchange! ;)