Winners Anounced!!

Congratulations to Raquel, the grand-prize winner of our recent Vintage Roses Cards giveaway contest.

Raquel will receive 6 of our pre-printed Vintage Rose Greeting Cards and a free collage sheet of her choice.

  

Thanks also go out to all of our entrants for taking the time to write to us, leave a comment and/or link to us on their blogs. For their efforts, all will receive a free digital download at DigitalCollageSheets.com! That's right! Everyone who took the time to comment on the giveaway will receive a free collage sheet of their choice.

So if you made a comment or added me to your blog email me at Michelle@DigitalCollageSheets.com and let me know which collage sheet you would like (DCS number) and also if you would prefer PDF or Jpeg format.

We hope that Raquel enjoys the Vintage Rose Greeting Cards as much as we enjoyed making them. We’ve created an entire collection of downloadable images that are sized perfectly for printing on Shutterfly’s 5” x 7” Greeting Cards. Although not a paid endorsement of Shutterfly, we have to mention how pleased we were with the quality of the finished cards. Simply purchase and download the image from us and then upload to Shutterfly… A week or so later, you’ll receive the most attractive all purpose cards. It really is as simple as that!

Congratulations again to all of our winners!

Giveaway Ends Soon / New Rose ATC / ACEO Collage Sheet

First, I wanted to thank all my wonderful followers for the sweet comments made regarding my health. It's taken quite awhile, but I'm finally starting to feel better and hope to get back to 100% soon!!

Reminder... Don't forget to comment on my giveaway post for a chance to win a free collage sheet and a six-pack of my new 5 x 7 Rose Greeting Cards. Contest ends on February 4th. Click Here to view that post..

I just listed a new ATC/ACEO Collage Sheet They would be perfect for Valentine's Day ATC's

Click Here to view and/or purchase this collage sheet

Todays freebie is one of the ATC backgrounds on my new Rose ATC collage sheet DCS-1145  

Click on image to enlarge...

 Enjoy!!

New Collage Sheet Vintage Couples Framed

With Valentine’s Day just a few short weeks away, I just listed my newest collage sheet featuring vintage couples in frames.  And if you don't like the frames, you can always edit them out...  Today's Freebie is one of my favorite images from that collage sheet.

That image is also one of my favorite vintage photos!   I would love to know the story of this couple. Were they just lovers stopping by the photo booth at the fair to get their picture taken?  Were the married?  Was this their wedding day?  The back of the photo said it was 1943 and that Joe was in the US Army... Did he survive the war?  I guess we'll never know...

This handwritten note was found on the back of the photo.

With love to the finest soldier in the U S Army.

Good luck and may your heavenly father be with you always.

Mary & Joe

 1943

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Reminder...  Don't forget to comment on my last post for a chance to win a free collage sheet and a six-pack of my new 5 x 7 Rose Greeting Cards.    Contest ends on February 4th.  Click Here to view that post.

Collage Sheet Giveaway

Hi All..  I know it's been awhile since my last post, but sometimes life gets in the way. Our youngest, who has been in the Army for several years now, was deployed to a NATO base in Kosovo this past September and will be there for another 9 months. With two children of his own, his wife has had her hands full since he left, so we try to help out by watching our grandchildren at least one weekend each month. And, if you have little ones, I'm guessing you know what children carry with them everywhere they go this time of year...  GERMS and lots of them! I picked up a flu bug from one of them back in early October and haven’t been 100% since. I’ve seen three different doctors and  I still don't know for sue what's wrong. I'm starting to feel like I'm on an episode of HOUSE. Oh well…

Looking back, at least I can say that some good came out of all this... All three doctors agreed on the treatment. Mega doses of steroids. Within a few days, the not so obvious side effects of this unconventional cough medicine became readily apparent. A little bit of rage, compounded by very little sleep, topped off with a voracious appetite. On a few of those nights when sound sleep eluded me, I went shopping online to pass the time and found some of the most beautiful rose postcards! With loads of time on my hands and my creative side experiencing an unexpected boost, I went to work enhancing my new rose postcards with vintage textures, text and whatever else I could find. And when the sun finally came up, I’d created some of my very favorite new collage sheets of all time. I hope you like them as much I do!  I've included a few examples to the left.  You can also Click Here to see a few more examples online at DigitalCollageSheets.com

Several of my new Rose images turned out so good, I thought they might work well on a Greeting Card. I looked online for available cards and discovered that Shutterfly has a  5 x 7 card sized perfectly so I uploaded my images to their site and ordered a box full of several different designs. I had no idea just how nice they would turn out until I actually saw them. OMG! I was so pleased with the quality and look, I immediately ordered more. And then it hit me… These would be a great addition to our product offering at DigitalCollageSheets.com

If you're feeling creative, you can purchase digital downloads of the rose postcards and create your gift cards from scratch. If your creativity has left the building and not expected back anytime soon, you can purchase the finished images. They’re perfectly sized for Shutterfly’s 5 x 7 cards, but you can resize them for smaller cards if you want.

Our first giveaway of 2010…    I’d like to start the New Year off with our first giveaway. Six lucky readers will have the chance to win! One lucky winner will receive six of my new 5 x 7 Folded Greeting Cards (printed originals, postal mailed to you at no charge) along with one free digital download of your choice from DigitalCollageSheets.com. Five runner-ups will receive one free digital download of their choice.

To enter this giveaway contest, you must:

• Be a follower of this blog (through Google Friend Connect) and leave a comment on which collage sheet you would like to win. Be sure to include your email address in comment or if you would prefer send us a follow up email so we can have your contact information in case you win.

• If you have your own blog and want a 2nd chance to win… After leaving a comment on our blog regarding which Digital Collage Sheets you’d like to win, mention DigitalCollageSheets.com in a new post on your blog and let us know about your post. Do so and we’ll enter your name a 2nd time in our random drawing.

Remember....  Be sure to send us a follow up email so that I'll be able to contact you if you win.

Deadline for entries is February 4th at 11:59 pm EST. Instead of using a random number generator we will be writing down names on slips of paper and have our precious granddaughter draw them out of a hat.

Looking forward to your comments and contest entries!

Michelle

Vintage Letters Collection - Emma Williams Henderson, Born February 2, 1870 - Died August 6, 1895

Lebanon, Ind.

August 8, 1895
Mr James Williams


Bro Jim
I will write and tell you the events of this day. We left the house at 10 O'clock and had just a short service at the church. I wish you could have seen her. She looked so nice and natural except her face was a little poor. She wore her brown dress and I had a dark casket as it looked nicer than white. We took the last look at the house. I could hardly go away at all.

Page 2

Some did not like it because we did not open it at the church, but it was her wish and I would not make a show of the dead. If a person wanted to see her very much, they would have come to the house. She died real quick and did not suffer but a short five minutes. I felt so scared, it was a few minutes before I could call the folks to come in. Anna was here at that time. Everyone was good to me and I felt that they thought a good deal of Emma. I want you to write every time you can as I will like to hear from you.

Page 3

I will enclose about as near the notice the preacher read as I can. I will write again when I feel better.

Yours truly,
J.W. Henderson

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Preachers Notice:

Emma Williams Henderson,

Born Feb 2, 1870 at Morning Sun, Pueblo County, Ohio. She came to Indiana in 1887. Was married to J.W. Henderson, Jan 2, (18)95. Died August 6, 1895. One sister (Anna) and two brothers (James L. and Charlie Williams) survive her. She joined the W.P. church at the age of 16 and unites with the L.P.C. when she came to this state.

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Editor's Note:  After reading and transcribing Emma's letters for the last 6 months, I have to admit that I never saw this one coming!  Looking back through the past few letters from Emma, Anna and J.W. Henderson, here's what little I could find about her illness:

• In her June 10, 1985 letter to her brother and sister (James & Anna), Emma said she'd been sick for nearly two months, so I'll assume whatever the illness was, it started back early April.  She died four months later on August 6th.

• In that same letter, she "the trouble is my lungs."
  
• In her July 15, 1895 letter sister Anna told James... She was better than when I wrote to Carley. She is stronger, don't cough so hard or so often as she did the day I was there before and has more appetite.  But she was not so well when we came as when we went. Had taken a severe pain through the chest and in her right leg. She was rubbing her leg and I noticed it was somewhat swollen. The rest said her feet and legs have been swelling for some time but I did not ask her about it lest I should trouble her. She does not care to be asked too many questions you know.  She seems a little more hopeful than she did.  She was taking Cod Liver Oil and drinking beer.

Any idea as to what may have taken Emma's life as such a young age?  She was just 25 years old when she died.  We were thinking maybe Tuberculosis or some other lung disease...  Tell us what you think...

We've spent months searching online for more information on Emma, but unlike her sister Anna, finding any additional info or even a picture of the real Emma proved to be an exercise in futility.

I hope you've enjoyed reading these Vintage Letters from Anna, Emma and family. There are still a few miscellaneous letters left to post, but those that are left are just single letters from various friends and family of the Williams, Anderson and Henderson families...

A Special Christmas Greeting From Pork...

Vintage Letters Collection - From J.W. Henderson, August 4, 1895 - "Emma is getting lower and lower."

Lebanon, Ind.
August 4, 1895



I write you today as I have not had time before. Emma is getting lower and lower. I did not think she would live last night through, but she rallied up about day light. I am very afraid of this night as she is so weak that she cannot cough with out hurting her lungs. Her mouth is getting very sore; she does not eat any thing.


I will write every day or two.

J.W. Henderson