Update on the PCF Team Spring Track Flip Flop Scavenger Hunt

Update on the 

PCF Team Spring Track Flip Flop Scavenger Hunt 

 - April 23rd at 7am EST, to April 31st midnight EST

Now is even easier there are a total

of 37 shops

Hey there everyone! Do you want to win some amazing prizes? If so, keep reading..we have over $800 in prizes during this event...8 prize packs will be awarded to hunters at a value of at least $50 each, and 1 super duper prize pack with prizes from all 40 shops in the hunt will be given to the person who spends the most money at PCF team shops during this week-long event; this is valued at over $400! Read on for details........



The PCF Team on Etsy is having a great event for April! It is called the Spring Tracks Flip Flop Scavenger Hunt! There will be 40 shops, and all will have a hidden picture that you will have to "hunt" through their shop items for (HINT- the picture is the image in this listing)! Each shop has donated a prize worth at least a $10 value; that is a total of $400 plus in prizes...woohoo!!! There will be a total of 8 prize packs given out (winners will be chosen at random, based upon number of entries correct and complete entries we have)...each prize pack will consist of 5 prizes..so each winner will get a prize pack of at least an incredible $50 value..how about that? The contest will begin at 7:00 EST on April 23rd, and will run for one week; all entries must be submitted by midnight April 31st...and no entries will be accepted after this time.

********************HOW TO ENTER*******************

 http://www.etsy.com/listing/96395906/pcf-team-spring-track-flip-flop


 is the starting point for this event!!! rom here,  you will then follow the links to the next shop on the scavenger hunt list! Every time you find the hidden picture, that item description will give you a link to the next shop. As you go through the shops, make a list of all shops, in the order you are given them. At the very last shop, you will be given an email address; you will send the completed list to this address. If anything is incorrect, you will be notified, and given a chance to re-do the hunt to get it all right! :)

***********WANT MORE CHANCES TO WIN? READ ON!!!**************

Everyone who sends a complete shop list, in the correct order, will receive one entry to win a prize pack. 

If you "FAVE" the shops as you go through (you have to fave every single shop..this means having an Etsy account, and adding each one of the 40 shops to your "favorite shops" list..simply click on the tab to the left that says ♥add to favorites), then you get another entry.

If you "FAVE" one item from each shop as you go through (again, you have to fave an item from every single shop...to do this...when you have a single item from a shop pulled up..look to the right, and click the ♥icon that says "favorite"), then you will get a third entry.


If you BLOG about the team event, and send Nichole (info above) a link to the blog post, you will get 5 extra entries!

So, you have the opportunity to receive a total of 8 entries to win a prize pack in total!

****SUPER DUPER PRIZE PACK DETAILS-$400 VALUE AT MINIMUM*****

In addition, all shops are donating another prize...all 40 of these prizes will be combined into one HUGE prize pack. This pack will be valued at a minimum of $400!!! The winner of this super duper prize pack, will be the one person who spends the most cumulative amount of money shopping at PCF team shops during this week-long event...it can be from the 40 shops listed in the event, or any other PCF Team shop..all PCF shop purchases will be combined for a grand total! Please send transaction links of all purchases to Nichole at kidd.robin [!at] ymail.com ...thanks! Purchases not submitted will not be counted! You will get 1 entry for the surpise prize pack, for each dollar you spend...money spent at different shops will be combined for your total entry points. 


Winners will be chosen on May 2nd! :) They will be announced on Nichole's blog at: http://ciaraandcompanybowtique.blogspot.com/ , on the PCF Team blog at:http://pcfteam.blogspot.ca/2012/03/pcf-team-spring-promotion-event.html , on other member's blogs, on the PCF Team Etsy Group: http://www.etsy.com/teams/10036/promoting-creative-friends, and on the PCF Team Facebook page! You can join us on Facebook to keep up to date on this event, plus all of our ever-so-cool upcoming events...we always have something in the works! :) Our PCF Team Facebook page can be located at: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pcfteam

Many of the prizes are featured on the PC team's FB page, so go check it out...you will see for yourself, we are talking some great loot here for the 8 winners of this event! (Surpise Prize Pack pics will not be shown..it is a surprise, lol..but most fabulous indeed)! 

If you love this event, let us know...we are thinking of doing them often..let us know you want us to! :)
Good luck, and we hope to see you there!  

PCF Team Spring Track Flip Flop Scavenger Hunt 

 - April 23rd at 7am EST, to April 31st midnight EST

Hey there everyone! Do you want to win some amazing prizes? If so, keep reading..we have over $800 in prizes during this event...8 prize packs will be awarded to hunters at a value of at least $50 each, and 1 super duper prize pack with prizes from all 40 shops in the hunt will be given to the person who spends the most money at PCF team shops during this week-long event; this is valued at over $400! Read on for details........



The PCF Team on Etsy is having a great event for April! It is called the Spring Tracks Flip Flop Scavenger Hunt! There will be 40 shops, and all will have a hidden picture that you will have to "hunt" through their shop items for (HINT- the picture is the image in this listing)! Each shop has donated a prize worth at least a $10 value; that is a total of $400 plus in prizes...woohoo!!! There will be a total of 8 prize packs given out (winners will be chosen at random, based upon number of entries correct and complete entries we have)...each prize pack will consist of 5 prizes..so each winner will get a prize pack of at least an incredible $50 value..how about that? The contest will begin at 7:00 EST on April 23rd, and will run for one week; all entries must be submitted by midnight April 31st...and no entries will be accepted after this time.

********************HOW TO ENTER*******************

 http://www.etsy.com/listing/96395906/pcf-team-spring-track-flip-flop


 is the starting point for this event!!! rom here,  you will then follow the links to the next shop on the scavenger hunt list! Every time you find the hidden picture, that item description will give you a link to the next shop. As you go through the shops, make a list of all shops, in the order you are given them. At the very last shop, you will be given an email address; you will send the completed list to this address. If anything is incorrect, you will be notified, and given a chance to re-do the hunt to get it all right! :)

***********WANT MORE CHANCES TO WIN? READ ON!!!**************

Everyone who sends a complete shop list, in the correct order, will receive one entry to win a prize pack. 

If you "FAVE" the shops as you go through (you have to fave every single shop..this means having an Etsy account, and adding each one of the 40 shops to your "favorite shops" list..simply click on the tab to the left that says ♥add to favorites), then you get another entry.

If you "FAVE" one item from each shop as you go through (again, you have to fave an item from every single shop...to do this...when you have a single item from a shop pulled up..look to the right, and click the ♥icon that says "favorite"), then you will get a third entry.


If you BLOG about the team event, and send Nichole (info above) a link to the blog post, you will get 5 extra entries!

So, you have the opportunity to receive a total of 8 entries to win a prize pack in total!

****SUPER DUPER PRIZE PACK DETAILS-$400 VALUE AT MINIMUM*****

In addition, all shops are donating another prize...all 40 of these prizes will be combined into one HUGE prize pack. This pack will be valued at a minimum of $400!!! The winner of this super duper prize pack, will be the one person who spends the most cumulative amount of money shopping at PCF team shops during this week-long event...it can be from the 40 shops listed in the event, or any other PCF Team shop..all PCF shop purchases will be combined for a grand total! Please send transaction links of all purchases to Nichole at kidd.robin [!at] ymail.com ...thanks! Purchases not submitted will not be counted! You will get 1 entry for the surpise prize pack, for each dollar you spend...money spent at different shops will be combined for your total entry points. 


Winners will be chosen on May 2nd! :) They will be announced on Nichole's blog at: http://ciaraandcompanybowtique.blogspot.com/ , on the PCF Team blog at:http://pcfteam.blogspot.ca/2012/03/pcf-team-spring-promotion-event.html , on other member's blogs, on the PCF Team Etsy Group: http://www.etsy.com/teams/10036/promoting-creative-friends, and on the PCF Team Facebook page! You can join us on Facebook to keep up to date on this event, plus all of our ever-so-cool upcoming events...we always have something in the works! :) Our PCF Team Facebook page can be located at: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pcfteam

Many of the prizes are featured on the PC team's FB page, so go check it out...you will see for yourself, we are talking some great loot here for the 8 winners of this event! (Surpise Prize Pack pics will not be shown..it is a surprise, lol..but most fabulous indeed)! 

If you love this event, let us know...we are thinking of doing them often..let us know you want us to! :)
Good luck, and we hope to see you there! 

 toppytoppy  is offering 4 coupons for this event

SAVEWME Free shipping Domestic only


buy 1 =  SPR1NG12   10% off
  
buy 2  = JXF2X15 15% off 


buy 3  =  BUYME3 25% off

History Of Mother's Day

 Motherhood has always been celebrated. 

In prehistoric tribes the mother Goddess was worshiped as the creator of life. 

Female goddess figures are found in many archeological digs. 

In Egypt, Isis was the Queen of Heaven who ruled over all matters concerning mothering.

 In ancient Greece Rhea was revered as the mother goddess and in ancient Rome it was Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus, and another mother goddess known as Cybele.

 Most mothering festivals in early history were in the springtime to celebrate the rebirth of the land and the beginning of the most fertile time of the year. These festivities honored the goddess in all women.

During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday."

Mothering Sunday was celebrated on the Sunday of Lent (the 40-day period leading up to Easter), to honor the mothers of England. 

During this time many of England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy.

 Most of the servant's jobs were located far from home, 

so the servants would live at their employer's homes.

 On Mothering Sunday, the servants were encouraged to return home

 and spend the day with their mothers. 

A special cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along to provide a festive touch. 

As Christianity spread throughout Europe,

 the celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church"

the spiritual power that gave people life and protected them from harm.

 Over time, the church festival became combined with Mothering Sunday 

and people began honoring their mothers as well as the church.

Across the ocean in Boston, Massachusetts, 

the first Mother's Day Peace Proclamation in 1870 was penned by Julia Ward Howe, 

social reformer and poet who also wrote the words to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." 

It was a rallying cry for women to press for peace and called for women

 to leave their homes to seek peaceful solutions to international affairs. 

This tradition spread, and was later organized in other areas of the country as well.

In 1907, Anna Jarvis took Howe's idea a step further 

and began to campaign for a nationally recognized Mother's Day.

 In the late nineteenth century, Jarvis's own mother had tried to establish

 "Mother's Friendship Days" as a way to heal the scars of the Civil War.

 Persuading her mother's church to celebrate Mother's Day on the anniversary of 

Jarvis's mother's death, the second Sunday in May, our Mother's Day holiday was born.

 By 1911, Mother's Day was being celebrated in almost every state in the country.

 On 9th of May 1914, President Woodrow Wilson made the official proclamation 

that Mother's Day would be a national holiday to be celebrated annually 

on the second Sunday in May.

MOTHER'S DAY CELEBRATIONS AROUND THE WORLD:

More than forty-six countries around the globe have a special day 

when they pay tribute to mothers. 

England for instance, celebrates Mother’s Day on the fourth Sunday of Lent. 

Mother's Day is not celebrated on the same date in all countries. 

In fact, some countries, such as Ethiopia, do not celebrate Mother's Day at all. 

Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia and Belgium celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May, just like the United States.

In Cameroon, Mother's Day is celebrated on the last Sunday in May. 

On that day, mothers are chosen to lead the worship service in Lutheran churches.

 In Mexico, Mother's Day is celebrated on May 10th.

 It is very common for mothers to be serenaded the night before 

with mariachis or other types of music.

 In schools, children prepare dances, poems, songs, plays and presents

 to honor their mothers.

 It is a popular day to treat mother to a dinner out or for someone else

 to prepare a special dinner at home.

  Mother's Day in Mexico has its origin 90 years ago,

when a journalist named Rafael Alducin

who worked for the newspaper "Excelsior",

invited on April 13, 1922 to all mexican people,

 to propose a day in celebration of mothers.

The first Mother's Day in Mexico, was celebrated on May 10 1922

In Egypt, Lebanon and most other Arab nations,

 Mother's Day is celebrated on the 21st of March.

 Families usually gather for a special celebration

 and give gifts to their mother to honor her.

 In Egypt, an "ideal mother" is selected and honored for that year.

Both Argentina and India celebrate Mother's Day in October. 

In Argentina, it is the second Sunday of the month, 

while in India a 10-day festival is held in honor of mothers in early October.

Mother's Day is celebrated on December 22nd in Indonesia. 

It is common to send flowers or clean the house for mother on this day. 

A special dinner is prepared to honor her as well.

In Taiwan, the flowers most often associated with Mother's Day

 are the carnation and day lily. 

It is common to wear flowers representing one's mother,

 red if their mother is alive and white if their mother has passed away. 

Some people wear two flowers, one for their own mother and one for their mother-in-law.

From About.com

I LOVE YOU MOM.

I Was Honored With The Liebster Award

The Liebster Award! 

Do you know what this is about?  No?  Neither did I, until today.

 I was awarded the Liebster Award!

Updating.... I was honored TWICE!!

 A dear friend that honored me passing this on to my blog, made some research 

and found a little about it as she states:

" I had never heard of it before yesterday.  And after doing a tiny little bit of research it seems that the origin of the award is very unclear.  This is what I found":

'Liebster' means 'favorite' or 'dearest' in German. This award, which originated in Germany, recognizes up and coming bloggers with less than 200 followers. 

In accepting the award, the recipient agrees to: 

Thank the person that gave the award and link back to their blog.

Copy and paste the award to your blog

Reveal the 5 blogs you have chosen to award and let them know by commenting on their blog.

Hope they pay it forward by accepting and awarding it to bloggers they would like to honor.

Is not to much wrote about this but we can get the idea and I like it. 

I think it's a good way to connect us, the bloggers, with the "almost unknown" blog, and helping us to get more traffic and exposure.

  I'm so happy  and honored, accepted the award and now is my turn to say thank you to the person  who passed it on to me:

Maya, from

Thanks so much Maya, I hope this will bring good exposure to http://bkinspired.blogspot.com and more sales to

http://www.etsy.com/shop/bkinspired Your  pyrography  work is so beautiful.

I have to say Thanks to Amy too, from

http://jewelrybyamyt.blogspot.com/

Thank so much!!!

  

Now, I would love to  pass the award on to:

 divinelulucreations Lulu  at      http://divinelulucreations.wordpress.com/

Melisa at  http://thecraftypandagirl.blogspot.com

Stitched with Love

Randi at http://i-stitched-with-love.blogspot.com/

Lucinda at  http://parsnips45-thisartofmine.blogspot.com/

and

 Chakra Bliss by Ananda Bijoux

Katrina at http://anandabijoux.blogspot.com/

Please take a few minutes to explore and enjoy each of these blogs. 

 All these wonderful women  they have some wonderful things to share.

Easter and The Blessing of the Baskets

All of us  have seen an Easter egg basket full of chocolate eggs and candies but not many have heard about a blessings basket. My family is from Mexico but we have been able to  have the experience of this Polish celebration first hand, because my Daughter in Law is from Poland and we are so happy to help her to maintain the tradition in our family.

We have been taking part in this traditional ceremony Swieconka (sh-vee-en-soon-kah) Blessing of the Baskets for a few years and today we just got home, we joined hundreds of Polish families in a procession and carried our baskets,  containing a sample of Easter and Mexican foods to our local church and then to a Chicago Polish Church to be blessed.








The basket is traditionally lined with a white linen or lace napkin and decorated with sprigs of  evergreen.  The three-part blessing prayers specifically address the various contents of the basket, with special prayers for the meats, eggs, cakes & breads. The priest then sprinkles the individual baskets with Holy Water.The traditional Polish churches like the one we went to in Chicago, uses a straw brush for dispersing the Water, while the more modern, like the one on our community, use the Holy Water sprinkling wand.


In some parishes, the baskets are lined up on long tables, as is done in the one near home; in others, parishioners process to the front of the alter carrying their baskets, as if in a Communion line and this method is used in the second Church we went.

The blessing of the Easter baskets is done as a sign of gratitude to God for all His gifts of both nature and grace. As a token of this gratitude, they have the food and basket blessed in the hope that Spring, the season of the Resurrection, will also be blessed by God's goodness and mercy.


Basket Contents and Symbolism:

 Butter : This dairy product is often shaped into a lamb (Baranek Wielkanocny), reminding us of the goodness of Christ that we should have toward all things.

 Easter Bread: A round rye loaf topped with a cross, symbolic of Jesus, the Bread of Life.

 Horseradish : Symbolic of the Passion of Christ still in our minds, but sweetened with some sugar because of the Resurrection. (May be white or pink [w/grated red beets].)

 Eggs and Pisanki: Indicate new life and Christ's Resurrection from the Tomb.

The pisanki derive from an ancient tradition when eggs, the symbol of life, were endowed with magical properties and were thought to ensure both a plentiful harvest and good health. The name Pisanki comes from the Polish word "pisac", which means to write. 

The practice of coloring Easter eggs is very much alive in Poland today as well as enjoyed by Polish people all over the world. There are several techniques for making pisanki including the use of wax flowing from a pipe or funnel, producing richly ornamented designs or the etching of designs onto a previously colored egg. The geometric and floral patterns or the animal and human images produced reveal a high level of craftsmanship and artistry.

These eggs are exchanged among friends and relatives with good wishes. Many American Poles design eggs with the names of their friends written on them. They exchange these decorated eggs with each other during their Easter visitations along with their good wishes.


 Sausage: A spicy sausage of pork products, indicative of God's favor and generosity.

 Ham: Symbolic of great joy and abundance.

 Smoked Bacon: A symbol of the over abundance of God's mercy and generosity.

 Salt: So necessary an element in our physical life, that Jesus used its symbolism: "You are the salt of the earth."

  Cheese:   it is the symbol of the moderation Christians should have.

Holy Water: Holy water is used to bless the home, animals, fields and used in
religious rituals throughout the year.

A candle, often marked like the Paschal Candle lit during the Easter Vigil, is inserted into the basket to represent Christ, Light of the World.

A colorful ribbon and  sprigs of greenery are attached as signs of joy and new life in the season of spring and in celebration of the Resurrection.

 Linen Cover - drawn over the top of the basket which is ready for the priest's visit to the home or the trip to church where it is joined with the baskets of others to await the blessing. The food is then set aside and enjoyed on Easter Sunday.

We enjoy to celebrate together this ancient Polish tradition.   My DIL includes always mexican food on it, because she and my grandson love it. And some modern additions to the basket are, tools, toys and some money.

‎100 comment rule is over!!

 

One Admin from Etsy wrote:

I'm so sorry for any misunderstanding. 

The 100 comment rule is only supposed to be for inactive accounts,

 not for productive members of the community.

 We are experiencing a bug at the moment that should be fixed soon.

 This forum post   

This Forum post explains the 100 comment rule