I'm so very excited about today, Tuesday, August 24, 2010!  Why???

1. It's my 35th birthday today!
2. In this blog post I get to share with you a little bit about my maternal grandparents who are no longer with us :(
3. My first giveaway was so much fun and such a success, I am going to host another giveaway starting today so that one of my readers can get an UN-Birthday gift from me!
4. I get to share with you about a very talented, beautiful 7 year old friend who worked so hard to make the jewelry that I am giving away!
5. I get to share with you about my 7 year old friend's dad who works so hard to create such beautiful artwork and you will be blessed when you view his masterpieces!

As a child, my maternal grandparents, John and Anne Arricale (also fondly known as "PopPop" and "Nanny"), lived in NY while I lived with my family in the South.  So growing up, our visits with them were limited due to the miles that separated us.  But, one special memory I have of my PopPop and Nanny is that they would always send "un-birthday" gifts to me and my other "un-birthday" siblings when one of my brothers or sister were celebrating their birthdays.  These "un-birthday" gifts were very small like crayons and a coloring book, but I remember being so excited to get my special treat in the mail from my special PopPop and Nanny.  Here is a photo of my sweet grandparents in 1997 when my hubby and I first moved into our new home as newlyweds.  PopPop and Nanny, we love and miss you so much! (does anyone have a Kleenex for me to wipe the tears as I go down memory lane tonight? )
As a way to celebrate my birthday today and to keep my grandparent's un-birthday gift tradition alive,  I would like to give one blessed reader a "Happy UN-Birthday!" gift. (including S & H by me!)
The gift for this giveaway is this beautiful hand-made necklace and matching earrings:
This long necklace is silver-platted with green clear beads with small blue flowers in the beads.  The matching earrings are surgical steel that are hooked backs.  The earrings are also the same green color beads as the necklace with small blue flowers in them.

The creator of this jewelry is my 7 year old friend, Amelia, who made this jewelry for this blog giveaway with such love and care! Here she is making these lovely pieces:

Amelia is in our TORCH homeschooling group in my hometown with her other talented siblings.  She has 2 younger sisters and a younger brother.  She has been making jewelry for quite some time now and is so very good at it.  The winner will also receive an autographed tag on the necklace and the earrings with her beautiful cursive writing.  Amelia is very excited to share her God-given talent with the blogging world and the winner of this giveaway will have a unique and beautiful gift from an awesome, talented little girl!

Little Miss Amelia not only has God-given talent, but she also has parents that are as creative and artistic as Amelia and her siblings.
Amelia's father, Cameron Smith, (no relation to me at "A Slice of Smith Life") is a Catholic artist who has done some absolutely incredible paintings and sculptures.  Cameron's latest paintings, the "Sacred Heart of Jesus" and the "Immaculate Heart of Mary", can be viewed and purchased at his website Smith Catholic Art.  Everyone who views his masterpieces is sure to be touched in a special way, whether you are a Catholic believer or not.  So visit Cameron's website today!  I'm sure Miss Amelia would love for you to support her daddy!

OK so how do you enter this AWESOME, SENTIMENTAL, MEANINGFUL, INSPIRING, UN-Birthday (hand-made) Jewelry Giveaway????

Here are the details of the giveaway:

• One reader will win a hand-made necklace and matching earrings made by my friend, 8 year old Amelia.
• Entries close Tuesday, August 31 at 9:00 PM EST.
• Entries open to all my readers since I want to share so much talent with everyone!
• You can enter with a blogger profile with an email or include your email address in your 'entry comments'.
• This giveaway is also open to those that do not have a blogger profile or do not leave an entry comment.  If this is you, please email me at atsmith@ec.rr.com, with subject line "Blog Jewelry Giveaway" and I will enter your name into the giveaway.
• Winner will be notified via email, who will have 48 hours to get in touch with me, otherwise I will redo the draw. Once contacted I will post the winning details on my blog.
• Once I have made contact with the winner, I will ask for the winner's name and address so that I can ship the jewelry to you. I will pay the S&H to make this an even better "un-birthday" gift!
• It is possible to receive 5 entries (and 3 bonus entries) into the draw and here's how...

To Enter:

MANDATORY ENTRY: (Entry #1)
Visit Cameron Smith's art website at Smith Catholic Art and view his prints.  Comment back to me making sure you include your email if you don't have one on your blogger profile or email me at atsmith@ec.rr.com and let me know you viewed his artwork and which print you liked the most.


AFTER you do the Mandatory Entry you can grab more entries by doing one or more of the following: 


To grab 2 entries, become a follower of my blog and comment back that you are following.  Please leave your blog link so I can follow you back.  If you already follow my blog, just tell me in a comment and your entry will be counted.

To grab 3 entries, Click on my "Like" A Slice of Smith Life on Facebook badge on the right sidebar and leave a comment that you "Like" A Slice of Smith Life now on Facebook.

To grab 4 entries, vote for my blog by just clicking on this "We're #10 on the Fence" button.  (Leave a comment each time you vote for me per day (more votes, more entries) and if your blog is on the Picket Fence website, let me know because I'll vote for you too!)



To grab 5 entries, leave a 5th comment letting me know that you have posted about this great  giveaway on your blog. Include a link to the post in your comment please.

To grab 3 bonus entries, order one or more of Cameron Smith's prints directly from his website at Smith Catholic Art !   Leave a comment or email me at atsmith@ec.rr.com and let me know you placed an order and which print(s).


Thank you again to my PopPop and Nanny for all their love and "un-birthday" gifts and to my talented friend, Amelia, for making such beautiful jewelry for this giveaway.  I also thank Amelia's dad, Cameron Smith,  for sharing his faith and incredible artwork for all the world to see!