LOANING IS THE NEW GIFTING | Episode |

May 2, 2012

Sally explains how a new trend creates closer connections to your friends.

Hope you guys liked seeing a new seasonal mantelscape. I enjoyed building it, from all of my friends' incredibly inspired loaned items. Here are some more details that didn't get as much love in the video:

KID CONTRIBUTIONS

Big ups to FRANKIE (pink egg and flower items, right), CALE (Hello Kitty jewelry box, below), EVIE ('You Are Special' frog, below), and STELLA (chick with eggs in the video) - my best young friends who very kindly parted with some meaningful items in their lives for my mantelscape. I PROMISE I will return them!

DAISY BABY

A loaner from a friend who did  Google search on "new beginnings, new chapters," and found copious information on fertility. I'm not personally in baby mode right now, so I've interpreted it as my own moment of rebirth/youth restoration. And this tin "Daisy Baby" says "happy happy" to me!

POETIC WORDS

Mixing images and items with text and words will give your mantelscape have more detail and depth - with books or appropiate Table Topics cards - or, in this case, a beautiful card that my friend Nancy gave me, along with her mantelscape items, for my bday. I love the sentiment of this card as art.

Finally, some of the items in the mantelscape were mine, or are my mantelscape staples, like the hands. And some items, like the silver door, were not loaners but actual "you-can-keep-this!" gifts. And, hey - loaning may be the new gifting, but gifting is always very good-looking.

ONE DOOR CLOSES...

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one, which has been opened for us.”
- Helen Keller -