Claire Burke on Sale Until End of 2011

Dear Friends,

I hope all of you had a very blessed holiday this year.  After all the bad weather we had here in central Alabama this year, I think many organizations pulled together and most families who lost most, if not all, of their belongings were able to have a good holiday.  I'm very thankful for that.  I hope next year will see that even more of those families are able to get back to life as normal.

I want to announce that all of my Claire Burke home fragrance items currently in stock at Dogwood Square are on sale until December 31, 2011.   Take advantage of these prices and stock up on your favorites or purchase some gifts for upcoming events. Room sprays, potpourri, reed diffusers, simmering oil, candles, electric fragrance warmer refills, and concentrated refresher oil are now discounted 15% off their normal everyday price, so get them while they are on sale.

All Claire Burke fragrances such as:  Christmas Memories, Oh Christmas Tree and Slice of Spice as well as Apple Jack & Peel, Tropical Flowers, Wild Cotton, Vanilla Bean, Cherry O!, and the newest fragrance Sparkling Citron Verbena are included in this sale.  And how could I forget - Original (the most requested Claire Burke fragrance of all time.)

This is the perfect time to stock up or to try that new fragrance you've been wondering about.  There's bound to be a fragrance item that is just perfect to give for a birthday, anniversary, surprise or just to keep for yourself.  If you didn't get everything you were asking for this Christmas, this is the perfect time to treat yourself to a small luxury just for you - and at a very reasonable price.

Dogwood Square also has several items from discontinued fragrances such as:  Blushing Rose, Citrus Blush, Fresh Cut Spruce, Pomegranate Plum, Pumpkin Strudel, Sheer Vanilla, Simply Jasmine, White Gardenia, White Lavender and Wisteria.  These items have already been discounted and with the additional 15% reduction in price, you are not only saving a lot, you will be getting fragrance items you haven't seen in years.

We are trying to clear out as much of the current stock as possible because Claire Burke has some exciting new fragrances and items coming in January. We are trying to make room for all of them by giving you a gift of low prices on all remaining stock.  So, now is the time to take advantage of these low prices.

This sale is only until 12 midnight on December 31, 2011, and only on Claire Burke home fragrance items.  The Claire Burke prices do NOT reflect the 15% reduction.  The amount of your order will be adjusted before your order is billed.  If you have any questions, please e-mail della@dogwoodsquare.com.

Until next time ...

Della

New Items from Jamie Clair Candles - Fall 2011

Dear Friends,

I have recently been looking at all of the new items being offered by Jamie Clare Candles.  They now have some really nice looking candles in their Fine Fragrance Collection.  Here is an example of one of them:

I do have these candles in stock now and will have them on the site this week.  They have fragrances like:

• Bamboo
• Clementine Ginger
• Jasmine Tea
• Lemongrass (like the one pictured)
• Lily of the Valley
• Platinum
• Rosemary
• Sandalwood

These 12 ounce candles are priced at $18.00.

This next item is just right for Halloween.  It is a Plug in Fragrance Warmer.  You can use wax tarts, wax melts or fragrance oils with these cute little warmers.  I have them in now too and will be putting them on the site this week also.

These Plug in Fragrance Warmers are priced at $8.00.

I also went ahead and ordered some of the Christmas Plug in Fragrance Warmers.  They look like this:

I also have wax melts in these fragrances:

• Apples & Spice
• Bead of Roses
• Cherry Blossom
• Christmas Day
• Cool Citrus Basil
• Evergreen
• Fresh Linen
• Hot Apple Pie
• Island Breeze
• Pumpkin Spice
• Snickerdoodle
• Vanilla Passion

These 4 ounce wax melts are priced at $5.00.

All of these new products should be appearing on the DogwoodSquare website very soon.

Until next time...

Della

Prayers for Alabama

Dear Friends,

Wednesday, April 27, 2011, started off badly.  Storms early that morning caused a lot of people to lose power and heavy winds and rain brought trees down and soaked the ground.  However, it was not enough for me to stay at home so I went on to work.  Then about 10 a.m. we got word that the schools were going to close at noon because of the possibility of really bad weather that afternoon.  The weathermen were predicting very severe storms later in the afternoon and into the night time hours.

I live in a small town called Trussville just to the north and east of Birmingham, AL.  I live in a house on the top of a ridge of hills and we are usually very fortunate because when bad storms come through our area we are somewhat protected by where we are located.  We usually get winds blowing toward the back of our house, but there are a lot of trees there and they generally break the force of the wind so we don't get a lot of damage.  We did have a very large tree uproot itself and fall on our driveway several years ago, but that aside from the occasional limb is about the extent of the damage we have had.

Nevertheless, I went home about 2 p.m. and went down to our "den" which is a room we have finished in our basement to ride out the storm.  I turned on the tv and watched the local weather so I would know when to come upstairs.

My husband came home about 5 p.m. He is in charge of the IT Help Desk for our county and had been on the phone with the local EMA which had mobilized that morning.  He always sends one of the technicians who work for him to the EMA when they mobilize to make sure all of their computer and AV equipment continues to function during whatever the emergency is.  He had been getting overtime authorized and technicians in place to man the EMA offices.

He came down to join me as we watched the storm intensify.  Then we saw probably the most scary tornado we had ever seen.  It had started in Mississippi and was heading for Tuscaloosa, AL, at about 60 miles per hour.  It was terrifying.  They said it was in places a mile across and we could see it just demolishing homes and businesses all along McFarland Boulevard very near the University of Alabama campus.  We saw it continue to come toward Birmingham and destroy areas in Pleasant Grove where we had friends whose homes were just wiped off the map.  Then it continued on through areas in midtown Birmingham and now it was coming directly toward us.  We still had power so we could see the path it was taking and knew it would be on us in no time.

Just before it got to us, I looked at my husband and said "pictures, I've got to get all of our pictures and bring them down here."  So we went upstairs and rounded up all of our family, wedding, baby, and grandbaby pictures and hurried back downstairs with them.  About that time, the weatherman was saying that the storm was right over Trussville and the tv was showing places in Trussville so we know it was here, but instead of hearing the signature "train" roaring outside, we didn't hear anything.  It was still.  There was no wind, just a sprinkling of rain and no sounds to speak of.  It was eerie.  This is what it looked like when it got to Trussville.

In a couple of minutes the weatherman said that the radar showed that the storm had passed us and was now heading for Springville, AL, where our son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter were in their "safe place" and waiting for the storm to pass them.  Thankfully it did pass them without dropping a tornado down to the ground.  They did have some orange sized hail, however.  Then the "beast" went on toward Anniston and Gadsden, AL, where it caused more damage.

We were just incredibly fortunate that that beast of a storm did not drop a tornado down while it was moving over either Trussville or Springville.

When it was all over and well out of the State of Alabama it was after dark.  There was so much total destruction and loss of  life, it was hard to fathom.  Tuscaloosa sustained major damage as has been reported in the news.  My husband and I have both had several friends who totally lost their houses and all their belongings.  And, of course, there were so many people who lost love ones in this disaster.

I ask for your prayers for all those who were victims of this natural disaster, who were left homeless, were hurt or injured and especially those who lost loved ones.

Until next time...

Della

A New Way to Try the Claire Burke Fragrances

Dear Friends,


I have not talked about the mini gift sets in a while.  These are GREAT!!!  For a really reasonable price you can try one of the standard Claire Burke fragrances like Original or AppleJack & Peel or this is a way to try one of the newer ones like Wild Cotton, Vanilla Bean, Tropical Flowers or Cherry O!.


Claire Burke Mini Gift Sets from Dogwood Square.com

CLICK Here to Order Claire Burke From Dogwood Square.com

As you can see in the picture above these Mini Gift sets contail a candle a fragrance diffuser and a bottle of room spray.  They are attractively boxed and are ready to give as a gift to someone for a birthday, a secret pal, a bunko gift, a gift for a Mom or Mon-in-Law (remember Mother's Day is coming up very soon!!).  They could also work as a house warming gift or for a thank-you to someone for doing you a favor.  They are just perfect for so many rememberances.  And at only $20 they won't break the bank.

Click on the picture above and you will be taken to a page where you can order them from Dogwood Square.  We have plenty of these mini gift sets in stock as well as other great fragrance products from Claire Burke. Please stop by Dogwood Square for a visit soon!

Until next time...

Della

P.S.  And remember at Dogwood Square, if your order equals $50 or more it ships for FREE every day.
CLICK Here to Order Claire Burke From Dogwood Square.com

It's Been Such a Long Time...

Dear Friends,

As the time says, "It's Been Such a Long Time" since I have posted anything on Dogwood Notes. I have been having problems getting in to add any new posts and just today after sitting here at my computer for the last 3 hours and reading and trying things have finally discovered a way to get to the screen which lets me type a new post.

Well, enough about that -- It's Spring--at least it is here in middle Alabama! The tulip trees, daffidils and forsithia are blooming and soon my favorite, the dogwoods, will be in bloom.

As you may or may not know, Dogwood Square is an online ONLY business. There is no brick and mortar building with this business. I run Dogwood Square out of my home as a part time job because I also have a full time "day job."

In the last year or so since the downturn in the economy, the number of orders I have received through Dogwood Square has decreased along with other businesses of this kind. I am now struggling with a decision. Whether to continue the business or just stop it.

I have been thinking about doing this for about 6 months and unless business picks considerably, I will probably shut Dogwood Square down this summer.

I would very much like to hear from any of you about your thoughts.

Until next time...

Della

Dogwood Square Says Good bye to Tyler Candles

Dear Friends,

This is a sad announcement. 
Due to a reduction in sales of Tyler Candles for this year, we have lost our franchise to sell them. 

Candles are what we would term "luxury items" and as such in a bad economy, they are items which are overlooked when buying gifts.  People will purchase more reasonable or practical gifts and leave the luxury items for times with there is more available money.

So...our sales of candles across the board this year has been dismal.  We are hoping that it will pick up now that the economy is creeping back.  Also, now that the weather has changed and people are again beginning to think of the holiday season.

However, we will have to go into the holiday season this year without Tyler Candles.  We have enjoyed having them as a product we offered to you and will miss them.

We are currently in process of trying to find another candle product to replace them with and when that happens we will notify you.

We still do have several of the 3.4 oz size candles in stock and are currently trying to do an inventory so we can narrow down the fragrances on the site to reflect only those still in stock.  That should be completed very soon.

Thanks

Della

Special Sale of Vitabath Travel Sets

Dear Friends,

I have recently done an inventory and discovered that I have far too many of the old Vitabath travel sets in stock.  Vitabath has a new travel set and I need to reduce my stock of the old sets to make room for the new.

So I have decided to run a special to try to reduce my stock.  I have Vitabath travel sets in Original (6) and Spa (2).  Each set include shower gelee, lotion, sugar scrub, a bar of soap and a bath pouf in a zippered travel bag.

These sets originally retailed for $15 each and my everyday price for these are $11.75, but during this special you can get each one for $10. 

This special will last until August 31, 2010. 

These travel sets are obviously great for travel, they are also a wonderful idea for an inexpensive gift for a birthday, a secret pal gift, or if you are a fan of Vitabath and just want to test another fragrance, this is a way to find out without having to spend a lot to find out.  Stock up now for future birthdays or Christmas stocking stuffers.

Use the code SPEC83110 when you are checking out and your travel sets will be charged at $10 each.  As always, all purchases of $50 or more qualify for FREE shipping and if you live outside the State of Alabama, you do NOT pay any sales tax.

Go to the Vitabath Page on Dogwood Square.com and you will find links for all 3 of the Vitabath fragrances.

Remember this special sale will end at the end of August so to take advantage of it and get yourself 1 or more of the travel sets.

Go to these links now:

Vitabath Original Spring Green Travel Set

Vitabath Spa Skin Therapy Travel Set

Until next time...

Della

New Product Just in Time for Spring!!!

Dear Friends,

Have you been to DogwoodSquare.com recently???  If not, you should go.  We have just announced a couple of new products.  They are from our friends at Sweet Grass Farms.  You know the folks who make those lucious soy candles like Green Tea and Fresh White Lilac.

Anyway...these are luxurious body washes and shea butter lotions in their Meadow Collection.

The lush, rich body wash that is lightly scented. It will leave your skin feeling refreshed and invigorated. Rinsing cleanly, it is composed of a sugar based, all natural cleanser, and it features extracts of Milk Thistle and Meadowsweet for their antioxidant properties, as well as Linden Flower for its cell renewal properties. A wonderful everyday shower and hand wash for the bath or by the sink.

The lotion provides rich, skin soothing properties and a healthy dose of shea butter and vitamins to protect and feed your skin. Both Milk Thistle and Meadowsweet extracts lend their antioxidant capabilities to this lightweight, non greasy formula. Non greasy and lightweight, yet nourishes your skin with an envelope of moisture. A great lotion for everyday use.

Just in time for Spring and for Mothers' Day giving, we are carrying their Almond Blossom ~ A rich and warm mixture of almond blossom and almond nut. Old Fashioned and Classic and their Vanilla Milk ~ A sweet and light fragrance featuring vanilla and milk notes with fleeting musk.

We have priced these products very reasonably at $9.95 for the 16.9 oz. pump of body wash (down from $11.00) and $10.95 for the 16.9 oz. pump of lotion (down from $12.00).

Until next time...

Della

Snow in Alabama...It's a Wondrous Thing!

Dear Friends,

Yes, when it snows in Alabama, it's a wondrous thing.  The usual weather in Alabama is mild.  Our coldest months are January and February, however the temperature is normally only in the 30's - 50's during those months.  However, this year has been abnormally cold.  We have had several days and even weeks in the 20's and even teens.  And Friday, Feb. 12, we even had snow.

We live in a suburb of Birmingham which is right about the middle of the state.  It started snowing on Friday at about 10:30 in the morning and lasted until about 2:00 in the afternoon.  We finally got about 1 - 2 inches.  Everything looked so pretty and clean.

I mentioned where we live because to our south in Mobile, Alabama, and even on the coast they had snow.  That hasn't happened in a long time.

The picture is of my granddaughter (almost 3) building her little snowman. You gotta love it!!  By the way, the next day it all melted away.  That's the way it does in Alabama.  That's why snow is such a wondrous thing!

Until next time...

Della

Congratulations Crimson Tide!!

Dear Friends,

I have to say something about the Alabama Football Team.  I have told you before that I am a Tennessee fan and always will be, but...I do live in Alabama and have since high school.  So, I do owe some aligence to one of the Alabama teams.  I hope Alabama wins all their games except when they play Tennessee and I hope Auburn wins all their games except when they play Tennessee.  It really doesn't matter to me who wins the Alabama-Auburn game, I just watch it.

But the National Championship is something totally different.  I had to be for Alabama over Texas, even though my brother lives in Texas and my niece goes to the University of Texas.  After all I am an Alabamian!

The fans here in Birmingham are fanatics.  I heard one of the announcers before the game saying that even if the tickets were $3,000 each there would be Alabama fans who would pay the price.  That is absolutely true.  Just to give you an idea of how fanatical these fans are, the championship trophy was put on display at one of the local Wal-Marts and there were 6,000 people in line just to have an opportunity to stand next to it and have their picture taken.  (They weren't allowed to touch it.) -- 6,000.  Football, and particularily Alabama or Auburn football is sacred here.

Well all that said, I still am pretty proud of our Alabama players and especially Mark Ingram, the first Heisman trophy winner for the Crimson Tide.  It's been a pretty magnificant year for them and for all these Alabama fans.

So this is my tribute to a group of guys who really played hard this year and showed that they deserved to win the National Championship.

              ROLL  TIDE  ROLL !!!

Until next time...

Della

Holiday Special for Customers of Dogwood Square

Dear Friends,

We, at Dogwood Square know that money is tight this year, but with the holidays coming, everyone wants their house to look pretty and smell wonderful when those friends and family come to visit. So with the help of the Claire Burke Company, Dogwood Square is offering a holiday special with every order of Claire Burke products or Vitabath products.

The special is a full 14 oz. Claire Burke pillar candle which normally retails for $14.00, but during the 2009 holiday season it will only cost $3.00. The fragrance of these candles is Pomegranate Plum and it is a shimmer candle. The burn time of these candles is 70 hours.

Like a sugar plum fairy, this illuminating pillar candle twinkles with gold speckles and is sure to captivate. Enjoy the rousing aroma of Pomegranate, plum, papaya and vanilla.

Dogwood Square has been lucky enough to secure quite a number of these so there should be plenty for everyone. However, when they are gone, the holiday special will be over.

If you haven't decided on a gift yet for Aunt Sue or your secret pal, this is a wonderful and luxurious gift which you can get "for a song." And isn't that what we are looking for during this time when finances are in short supply. I think most folks can save $3.00 and buy that friend or family member something they will really enjoy. I don't know many folks who don't like candles.

So consider a purchase of time-honored Claire Burke Home Fragrances or luxurious Vitabath bath and body products and get that extra $3.00 gift to finish out your holiday shopping. You won't regret it!

Until next time...
Della

Thinking About Gifts for the Holidays Yet???

Dear Friends,

The chill is beginning to be in the air and if you are thinking about gifts for the holidays, then you should stop by Dogwood Square.  We have some of the MOST wonderful soy candles ever.  We have just added several lines of soy candles to the site which you can see on the soy candles page.  Not only are there a lot of fragrances to choose from (over 400), the prices are so so reasonable.

Then there are the gift sets by Vitabath.  I will remind you that our prices are THE LOWEST on the Internet for Vitabath products.  Go to the Vitabath page for information about these products.

And, of course our Claire Burke time-honored home fragrances.  It's time to put out that great smelling potpourri and stock up on the electric home fragrance refills in scents like:

• Apple Jack & Peel
• Pumpkin Spice
• Pomegranate Plum
• Christmas Memories
• Oh Christmas Tree
• Slice of Spice - new this fall

Our prices are great and also remember our every day FREE shipping for orders of $50 or more.

Come in and begin your holiday shopping with us today!!!

Until next time...

Della

Natural Soy Candles - The Right Thing to Do!

Dear Friends,

I have been carrying soy and soy blend candles now for several years. I like the whole idea of candles made of wax produced from soy beans. Why, well there are many reasons. Soy wax burns cleaner (no soot), it washes off with soap and water if it gets on something, the candles made of it last longer, it holds fragrance better, and best of all it is "green".

I consider myself to be a patriotic person. The thoughts of using, selling and promoting soy wax candles really appeals to my patriotic nature. This wax is made from soybeans which are grown in the USA by American farmers. Regular candles made of petroleum based wax is made from oil and I bet that oil doesn't come from America. And in this down economy, helping Americans and especially American farmers just seems like the right thing to do.

Another thing I like is finding candles made by "the little guy or gal". Those small, family-owned shops who have their own formulas and hand pour their own candles. I have found that these kinds of candles are unique in shape, fragrance, container or some other way which just sets them apart from the "big company" type of candles. Again, buying candles from them makes me feel like I'm helping them out. And again, it's just the right thing to do!

I have gone out and found several of these small shops who sell wonderful, lovingly created, hand-poured, soy candles in so many fragrance it blows my mind. I have put a bit about each company on my Soy Candles Page with links to other pages which gives all their fragrance descriptions and where you can purchase them.

I am sure you will love these new candles just as I do. The picture above gives you a representation of one of these soy candles. It is an 8 oz. Cracklin' Wooden Wick Candle. This one is Candy Corn and is scented with candy corn fragrance a warm vanilla candy with top notes of butter with a hint of almond. These candles are just like the other company's famous candles, except they are hand made and don't cost as much.

I hope you will help me support these small shops by buying one or more of their candles.

It's just the right thing to do!

Until next time...


Della

We Might as Well Dance!

Dear Friends,

I received an e-mail from one of my friends yesterday which has a very profound message and I thought I would share it with you:

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Jeopardy' on television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, 'How about going to lunch in a half hour?' She would gasp and stammer, 'I can't. I have clothes on the line.. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast. It looks like rain.' And my personal favorite: 'It's Monday.' She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.

Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!

We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.'

When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of roller blades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.

Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to......not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask 'How are you?' Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do it tomorrow.' And in your haste, not seen his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi?

When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....thrown away..... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over. 'Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as well dance!

Well, that's it...I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did are go out and have a GREAT weekend!!!

Until next time...
Della

P.S. I'm working on something new I will be introducing next week.

May We Never Forget...

Dear Friends,

I think I have mentioned at some point that my son is a Firefighter/Paramedic. My husband and I are so proud of him and all firefighters. Today, especially as we are reminded of that terrible day 8 years ago. The sights of those two towers coming down and all the pictures of Ground Zero still make me teary eyed.

Let us never forget all those people who died that day: the people in the towers, those in the planes, and those brave firefighters who went in to help them. Also, please don't forget their families and all the people who because they helped are sick or disabled today.

May We Never Forget...

Until next time

Della

Rocky Top!!!

Dear Friends,

Well my Tennessee Volunteers really put the hurt on Western Kentucky this afternoon. The debut of Coach Lane Kiffin was eagerly awaited and he and the Vols didn't disappoint. The first quarter was a little shaky, but after that it was all Tennessee. Quarterback Johnathan Crompton leading the team to touchdown after touchdown with three of the receivers being true freshmen. The game ended with Tennessee on top 63 to 7.

I for one am glad to see Tennessee back on top where they should be!

GO VOLS!!!

Until next time...

Della

Mini Gift Sets in Claire Burke Original, AppleJack & Peel and New Fragrances

Dear Friends,

If you have not looked at the home page of Dogwood Square in a while, you are missing a new product I want to tell you about. It is from Claire Burke and I personally love them. Yes, I said them. They are the Mini Gift Sets.

They came out several months ago and are just right for giving because they include a candle, a fragrance diffuser and a vapourri all packaged in an attractive box ready for giving. And get this price - $20. That's all!

They are available in Original, AppleJack & Peel, and the two new Claire Burke fragrances - Wild Cotton and Vanilla Bean.

These mini gift sets are just perfect to give to someone for a birthday, a secret pal, a gift for a Mom or Mom-in-Law, a house warming gift, for someone who has everything, or for yourself, especially if you just want to test a new fragrance in your home.

We have plenty of these mini gift sets in stock as well as other great fragrance products from Claire Burke. Please stop by Dogwood Square for a visit soon!

Until next time...

Della

Is Everybody Pregnant???

Dear Friends,

I know when I was pregnant (a number of years ago) and when my daughter-in-law was pregnant it seemed that everywhere I looked there was another bulging tummy. I think pregnant ladies are just "in tune" with other pregnant ladies.

Well if you are "in the family way" as they used to say back in the day...or if you are a friend or relation of someone who is and you are thinking of having a baby shower or tea for that special person, then I have a suggestion for favors which will be just perfect for the event.

Look at this site: Kate Aspen Favors

These baby shower favors are so cute and unique that I know you will have a hard time choosing the one favor to use. There are so many to choose from and if you are trying to choose a theme for your shower, looking over all of these favors is sure to give you many ideas.

Once you make your decision about which one(s) of these oh so cute favors you want, then send me an e-mail at DWS-email@dogwoodsquare.com and I will be happy to give you pricing and delivery information.

We love to help with event planning by offering you cute and reasonably priced favors. And remember our FREE shipping pledge for any orders of $50 or more and also you do NOT pay sales tax if you are outside the State of Alabama.

Until next time...

Della

Why Scrapbook??

Dear Friends,

I have been surfing the Internet today as I do on occasion and I have to tell you about a site I found and an article I read on that site. The site is The Angel Company™ . The Angel Company™ was founded in Salina, Kansas in 1997 by Mischelle Smith.

The article she wrote is entitled "Why Scrapbook?" Here it is:

"Why Scrapbook?

I’ve always considered myself a die-hard stamper–not a scrapbooker! Everything I’ve stamped, I’ve given away, keeping only a handful of items. I was happy knowing that I was sharing my stamping "creations" with family and friends.

But. . . something happened a few years back that I have never forgotten. We were celebrating Christmas with my husband's family and it came time to open the presents. Like most people, I like to think that I'm giving really GREAT gifts.

I mean ... I really think about the gifts I give. I want them to be perfect! I spend a lot of time trying to find that something special.

As we went around the room opening up gifts, my mother-in-law opened the gift from my sister-in-law. It was an album ... I believe a 6x6. This little album was filled with highlights of my niece's year. And that was her gift. At that moment, I knew the answer to "Why Scrapbook?"

As perfect as the gifts I bought were, they were just "things" without emotion, without memories. That little album represented bits and pieces in my niece's life that will now never be forgotten.

That Christmas, I realized I had NOTHING recorded about my children, their lives, my husband, our life together, our families. . . NOTHING! NOTHING to pass on to my children. NOTHING like that little 6x6 album! That album was truly a gift from the heart! That moment has been engraved in my mind ever since, and it has changed my life!

Since that day, I've changed. I bought my first digital camera and I'm snap happy! I successfully completed my first album last fall. I take pictures like there's no tomorrow, and I create with the pictures I take!

What I have discovered is that through scrapbooking , I am becoming a better person. When I scrap, I'm usually thinking about what I want people to remember about this day or this moment years from now. I'm reflecting on what matters most, and I'm learning how to celebrate life!

The time I spend reflecting on my children, my husband, my family, my friends ... it makes me cherish them even more. I want to be a blessing to them. I want to make a difference in their lives. I want to be a dream maker. And I can. I am truly living. And I'm having fun doing it!

I now realize that I HAVE to scrapbook so I can leave behind bits and pieces of myself, my life, my emotions, my memories, my hopes and dreams that would otherwise be forgotten. In my pages, I hope to touch the hearts and lives of my children, my family, and my friends; and of their children, their family, and their friends for generations to come."

I would like to highly recommend this site to you and if you haven't started scrapbooking yet, that is something you really need to consider especially if you have small children or like me, grandchildren.

As Mischelle said, this is a way to perserve those wonderful moments in your life on paper and in a central location (the scrapbook) so your children and ultimately, your grandchildren will have this record when you are not with them any longer.

With the many wonderful ideas on Mischelle's site and the Cricut Expression®, you should be able to create any number of terrific pages.

Until next time...

Della

Calling all Scrapbookers

Dear Friends,

I have always been a person who loves crafts. I love cross stitching, quilting and other types of crafts.

One night I couldn't sleep and was watching TV and happened onto one of those Infomercials. It was about the Cricut® Expression. Well, I just fell in love with it. It is perfect for folks who are scapbookers or for those of you who make those cute invitations for baby showers or wedding teas. This machine will even cut vinyl. You can use these pieces of vinyl to create stencils to do glass etching.

You will not believe how many things this machine will do.

Well, I just thought that I would like to take Dogwood Square into another area. So I contacted the company who manufactures the Cricut® Expression, ProvoCraft, and became one of their retailers.

So now you can buy the Cricut® Expression from Dogwood Square. I'm really excited about this new area of interest.

Until next time...

Della