GABBRIELLA'S SAMPLER BOX: SPRING IS NEARER!!!!!

These branches were picked off the ground by my son after the snow storm that blasted us at the beginning of the month. Today I looked at them and the top picture shows one of the buds is going to open....do you know what this may be? We do that is why we decided to try to force all these glorious buds open as to not hault the glory that awaits us. If you are the first to respond with the correct answer as to what this is and the aproximate date it will bloom Gabbriella's Closet will send you a free gift in the mail.

About Gabbriella's Sampler

Promotional tool for artist/designers to get their products to the consumer & a chance for the consumer to purchase a nice quality sampler to be able to find you & your products. The web is so huge that sometimes we get lost in the shuffle of all the big companies & no one finds our remarkable products. We will also be sending out to retailers across the States to try to make them take notice. I have landed a deal like this for myself so why can't we help you?! There will be no January box. Samples for the February 2010 box will be due in to me by January 25 so each month on the 1st of the month Gabbriella's Sampler will go on sale! As soon as you know you would like to be in the sampler I would like to know which months so I can log you into a slot & when I recieve your samples I then will post your link & blog about you on my sites of blogging. Please contact me at gabbriellascloset@yahoo.com if you would like to participate so we can begin to advertise for you.
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Barbie

Dear Kathy,
Just wanted to let you know that I tried the " melt" by Tuxedo-Enterprises and it was a lovely experience! I have always used the Yankee Candle "tarts" and I found that the "melt", by Tuxedo-Enterprises melted just as well as the ones by Yankee Candle! The fragrance was awesome! It imparted a lovely scent that made the room smell very fresh without being overpowering. I was very pleasantly surprised because I have always thought that Yankee Candle took the cake for their melting tarts. They have stiff competition now! I would definitely purchase these melts! The fragrance I sampled was Midnight Rose....such a lovely rose!!

Dear Kathy,
Thank you for letting me sample the cards from Memories by Olenka. They are beautiful hand made cards. I have seen some hand-crafted cards that were either too sparsely decorated, way over embellished, or just looked like a child had tried their hand at card-making. These were none of the above. The embellishments were tasteful simplicity. They looked quite professionally crafted and the card stock used was a very nice quality. Kudos to Memories by Olenka for crafting such lovely cards.

Thanks!!
Barb
Dear Kathy,
What a creative and awesome way to be "green" and do your part to recycle! I am referring to the box by Eco Vintage Vegan! My box that I sampled is covered, I am told, by a "vintage" Time Magazine cover with a picture of Mick Jagger gracing the lid of the box. It sure must be "vintage" because Mick looks pretty good! The box is sturdy and well crafted. It would be great for use as a gift box for all sorts of things like candy, cookies, or jewelery! Another use would be to store jewelery or perhaps potpourri. The uses are many! Thank you for letting me sample the box. It is nice to see that someone is using creativity to be "green".

Thanks!
Barb

Dear Kathy,

I would like to thank you for allowing me to sample some chocolates from Angels Chocolate Shoppe! I love chocolate so much that I feel that chocolate should have it's very own food group or at least be included in the fruits and vegetables group. It is a vegetable, isn't it? First off, I sampled the chocolate covered cherries. One of my favorite candies as a child was chocolate covered cherries. These days, I feel good ones are very hard to find, but Angels did not disappoint! They brought back memories of being a kid and having a piece of candy with my grandma! Not only are they delicious, with creamy, yummy chocolate covering a crisp cherry surrounded by a creamy goodness, but they were very pretty to look at! After the cherry, it was on to the Mint Chocolate Cookie Bark. To me, one of the only ways to improve chocolate would be to add a taste of mint to it! Along with the light, but not overpowering mint flavor, they added a yummy crunchiness with an oreo-type cookie! Can I say pure Heaven? No wonder they are called Angels Chocolate Shoppe! All I can say is, Godiva, eat your heart out!!

Thanks again!

Just wanted to let you know how much I loved the Goat's Milk & Honey Soap by Om Shanti Handcrafts. The scent I tried was Mulling Spices. The soap is awesome! First of all, it lathers up so nicely that you don't need to use a lot of it to get a great lather. Secondly, the scent was beautiful but not overpowering. Most of all, I loved how clean I felt after my shower. Some soaps leave you feeling dry and flaky and your skin feeling like it couldn't stretch any more!! With the Om Shanti soap, I felt moisturized but still had that super clean feeling......and no itching! That says a lot from me because I have very sensitive skin and have to be careful of what soaps I use. I really love the Om Shanti Goats Milk and Honey Soap!!

BARBIE:

I just have to say that I am in love with the herbal eye pillows! Rarely do I get headaches, and I usually take ibuprophen for them.......I don't have to anymore! I was waiting to get a headache so I could try the eye pillow. I didn't think it would be fair to try it just to relax (although I did use it when relaxing!), so when I got one of my rare headaches, I took it out of the freezer and laid down with it covering my eyes. Within 10 minutes, my headache felt significantly better to the point that I didn't have to take any over the counter ibuprophen for it. Two days later, I tried it fresh from the microwave oven and it worked equally as well. The instructions are that it should be kept in the freezer to preserve the herbs and can be used cold form the freezer or microwaved for 30 seconds. I think I would use it in the winter from the microwave and in the summer from the freezer! The scent of lavender is very calming and soothing and the heat or coldness from the pillow is wonderful. To say that I am a fan of the Herbal Eye Pillow is an understatement!

Barbie

Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the Romeo and Juliet hearts green tea from SBS Teas! Up to now, I have shied away from green tea........I hadn't found one that I liked........until now! Black and herbal teas have been my favorites, but this green tea is delicious! I don't know what the difference is between this tea and the other green teas that I have tried, but I am definitely a fan! It has a nice mild flavor and a wonderful scent as I am drinking it. Kudos to SBS Teas!

Frannie
I am more of a coffee person than a tea person but when I saw Christmas in a Cup from SBS Teas I had to try it! I usually need lots of sugar and cream in my tea to mask its flavor but this tea was delicious and needed no additions! It was light and refreshing and while brewing instilled memories of Christmases past! As the card says "Brew our Tea and Taste the Magic" and I really did!

Gabbriella: Recently I gave Barbie & Frannie their samples to test in the bamboo box I ordered for the Special Mother's Day Sampler~~~~~here are there thoughts:

Barbie:
I totally love, love, love the darling little wicker basket container that the samples came in this month! It made it to fun to open up and see all of the wonderful samples that were contained inside! Like Christmas all over again! I absolutely love baskets and this one will be put to good use as soon as the samples are gone.........I plan to use it in my kitchen for either my tea bags or my packets of sugar substitute. It is not only a very "classy looking" container, but it is also quite practical and versatile for other uses. Great job in choosing this basket for your sampler this month!!

GABBRIELLA: In Sampler's past I have given handcrafted cards to Frannie & Barbie....below is what Frannie wrote:

FRANNIE:
"My friend recently had a baby and when wrapping her gift I realized I didn't have a card. I remembered there was one in my Sampler box and immediately went to check it out. Low and behold there it was a perfect handmade card by Dainty Creations The inside was blank so I wrote my personal message and my problem was solved. I thought, wouldn't it be great to have a stass of these on hand anytime I needed a card-it is perfect for any occasion. any person young or old alike and who wouldn't enjoy something handmade. I love these cards!"

Gabbriella:
Paola of Dainty Creations is making bookmarks for the upcoming samplers. She can be found at Etsy.

FRANNIE:
If you enjoy sitting down with a great cup of cocoa on cold nights like tonight, I highly recommend homemade hot chocolate from Mamaw's Attic! I mixed it in with skim milk and it was delcious! It dissolved very well and formed a nice foam on the top of the cup. It was so smooth, rich and chocolatey! It needs no marchmallows or whip cream to top it off-it was very satifying just by itself! I sipped it slowly and enjoyed every sip-a nice way to treat yourself!

READ AND RATE A PREVIEW OF UPCOMING BOOK!