The Puttery Treats Challenge!

Welcome to the very first BrocanteHome Puttery Treats Challenge!
Closing Date: November 20th 2007.
Over the three years that BrocanteHome has been online I have amassed a scrumptious little collection of ideas that I like to call  “Puttery Treats“. From making winter nights cosy, and winter colds endurable to yummy things to do with vintage ribbon, teatowels and postcards, there is in fact probably something deliciously happy to do on  each and every day of the year….
Start collecting twigs and berries and branchs and cones and conkers
and add them to your seasonal pot pourris, wreaths or displays. Fill
baskets with logs and put next to the fire. (Even if it’s electric.)
Dry huge bundles of dried lavender, basil and sage to use as smudge
sticks or to throw on the fire late at night.
Find a blackboard and write
yourself a daily maxim;  a  favorite quote or a  line from a poem that
makes you smile.  Make a commitment to yourself to change it regularly.
Root through
your larder and fill glass jars with dried whatever, then fasten
vintage paper scraps to the outside of each with a velvet ribbon
flourish. (Who says you can’t have a bit of fripperie on your kitchen
shelves?
But never before have I wondered out aloud which of the treats you were most inspired by,  which brought back  memories of seasons past , which you took, ran with and created  something my  silly little imagination could  only have dreamed up….
Until now that is… and so in a  moment of  delightfully early  Christmas Spirt I am declaring a competition of kind… a celebration of all that is puttery and yummy and delicious and above all else a celebration of you, my gorgeous loyal readers, your blogs, creativity, homes and imagination…
The Challenge.
Simply choose just one of the puttery treats from the list here and create a blog post around it… write an essay, create a tutorial, use as many photographs as you wish, endow it in emotion and imagination, or show us what you have  created in a  video or podcast…  In short use one of my puttery treats as a starting point and conjure up the bestest blog post  you have ever created…  tell us why this particular treat made your day, or sparked your imagination, bless your post with, authority, humour or  pathos, but make it as personal as you possibly can and endow it with a sprinkle of the spirit of BrocanteHome…
Every few days a collection of your posts will be featured on the main page of Brocante Home with a link back to your blog and the five shortlisted for the prize will go to public vote…
Don’t Forget To Read The Rules!
The Prize.
Well now, that would be telling wouldn’t it? Suffice to say, that  damned postal strikes allowing, the chosen winner will on the first day of Advent receive a  scrumptious little box  jam-packed with a selection of divine deliciously wrapped festive treats, some vintage inspiration and a literary  prize or two to keep you cosy on cold Christmas  nights… Tiny little nothings that will I hope make all the difference to your Christmas…
The Rules.
The competition closes on November 15th. No entries will be considered after this date.
Your post should be titled The BrocanteHome Puttery Treats Challenge and should include the full text of the puttery treat you have chosen in the body of your post.
Your post must also include a link back to the main page of BrocanteHome.
Once your post is live on your blog leave a link back to the permalink of your post along with your name, email address and blog address in the comments box below. Entrants who haven’t linked to the permalink of their post will not be eligible.
I, Alison May, will judge the initial entries, until on November the 20th I will issue a shortlist of five blog posts that will then go to public vote in the form of a poll on the main page of BrocanteHome.
The results of the public poll will be considered final.
The winner will be notified on November the 28th, and the prize  despatched thereafter.
Good luck!