Wishing all my friends a very joyful Christmas, filled with fun and laughter and the company of friends and family. May 2016 be a great year for you, with good health and much happiness. And may the world finally find peace.
Much love, Liz xxx

Gizmo is home!

Oh what a day! You probably know by now that we have been trying to arrange the adoption of little Gizmo for my son and his family through a wonderful animal rescue charity, Paws2Rescue. And finally, today, we met up with Gizmo's foster mum in Crystal Palace and got to take him back to a loving new home with Stefan, Ashley, Grace and Emily. It was a very emotional meeting. Gizmo's foster mummy clearly loved him so very much, and Gizmo loved her back oodles. It was heartwrenching for his foster mummy and it was hard for us as well to take him away from her. Many tears were shed by all of us. I have so much respect for this wonderful young woman who clearly cared so much for him, enough to let him go to a new home where he would never be on his own. He was so good in the car, being snuggled and cuddled by my daughter in law, and was curious about everything. He did look for his foster mummy for a while, but eventually went to sleep. The girls didn't know they were getting a little doggie brother, and they were absolutely wonderful with him, gentle and calm and loving him straight away. Gizmo was a little scared at first, but soon started exploring his new home and making the most of being stroked and cuddled. What a sweet sweet little darling! I took a few photos with my phone, but I didn't want to use flash and because it was under artificial light, they are pretty crap. I will take better ones with my camera very soon -

And Ashley sent me this picture earlier of a very happy Gizmo in Grace's room, enjoying his bone -

Goodnight from Gizmo and toodlepip from me xxx

YAY!!!

I am so happy to be able to tell you that all the payments for the auction bids are in, and the last 4 packages will go out on Monday. Together with a donation from Karen Bailey from todolwen.ca and various people rounding up their payments etc, the total raised for the animal rescue charities is $469.30! I have rounded it up to $480 to make it easier to split between the four charities. I just checked on paypal, and approx. $120 converts to £78! I already made one payment of £70 to Paws2rescue yesterday, after seeing the most heartbreaking and gutwrenching video ( you can see it on my facebook page Liz La Croix Rosion ), so I will make an additional payment of £8 there. The other three charities will each receive £78 later this evening, after I have finished the blog post and probably a facebook post as well.

Just to remind you, these are the charities our $480 will help a little -

Paws2Rescue - https://www.facebook.com/Paws2Rescue/
Romanian Rescue Appeal - https://www.facebook.com/romanianrescueappeal/
Help Bulgaria Street Cats and Dogs -
https://www.facebook.com/HelpBulgariaStreetCatsAndDogs
Rudozem Street Dog Rescue -https://www.facebook.com/rudozemstreetdogrescue

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who have bid, spread the word and supported this effort. Thank you for trusting me with your donations. You have saved lives!

Toodlepip xxx

Busy, busy, busy packing up the auction goodies

This is such a lovely part of the whole fund raising episode, packing up the winners' bids and getting them on the way to them. Payments have started coming in, and the first packages will be in the post this afternoon. I am so happy. Once all the payments are in, I'll convert it all into ££ and divide up between the charities.  

A few lovely bidders don't have email addresses connected with their blog profile so I can't contact them directly. Would the following please get in touch with me at my email addy, lcrsoap@gmail.com, so that I can finalise the auctions? - I have edited this bit and taken off the ones which have been in touch, the only one still missing is -

karenb ( this is not our Karen B )

I would love to get your auctions wins to you as soon as possible.

I really must get my Christmas decorations up as well. I feel another long night coming on, lol. This is what it should look like by now -

These are photos from a few years ago. Ah, well, I do have some lovely Christmas cards from friends up though :-).

Wishing you all a happy, err, what day of the week is it?, well a happy that day :-).

Toodlepip xxx

YOU ARE FABULOUS!

The last auction has finished and I am absolutely thrilled to bits to tell you that tonight's auctions raised another $ 217.50, which makes a grand total of $ 419.00 including an anonymous donation of $34. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for making this such a success. I'll add a few more dollars to that for the buttons you put on your blogs.

I am going to spend a few more hours this evening going through the auctions. If you have won more than one auction, I'll package your items together to make sure you don't pay more postage than it actually is. As soon as I have done that, I will email you and ask you to send the total amount to me per Paypal. NOW THIS IS IMPORTANT. WHEN YOU MAKE YOUR PAYPAL PAYMENT, CAN YOU PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU USE THE " SEND MONEY TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY" OPTION, SO THAT WE DON'T PAY ANY CHARGES.

I am so happy, and can't wait to tell the 4 charities that they will get a nice donation. Have to wait until all the money is in, of course, but, I am just so excited.

Thank you all once again for being so supportive. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, call it what you will, just have a wonderful time with your family and friends.

Toodlepip xxx

Last CHARITY AUCTION day !

The last animal rescue charity auctions are finishing today. Please have another look at these auctions, some haven't been bid on, sob sob, and I would so love to raise enough through these auctions to be able to give each of the 4 charities $100. Yesterday's auctions raised $201.50, so we still have a way to go. So far, we have just $130.50 on today's auctions. Also, if there is anything that you may have had your eye on in my shop, or something you have seen on my blog, please please let me know you are interested and I'll try and sort something out for you.

Just look at this little boy, just posted on FB by one of the charities I support, and this is why I am trying to help -

This is what the charity said - Another day another rescue. This terrified little boy found his way onto someone's property. They got in touch with us and asked for our help. Inside his ears, chest and legs are bleeding through scratching because of fleas. The white powder you can see is flea powder. He is a little skeleton and at the moment he is to scared to take food.


Can you imagine just how terrified this little thing must be to not even care to take food even though he must be crazy starving?

Until now I have refrained from posting pictures on here, but we are into the last few hours of the auctions and I wanted you to just once see what your $$ could help with. This is one of the easier to look at photos. Some are so heartbreaking, I couldn't bear to post them.

Thank you all for participating and helping. Toodlepip xxx

AUCTION No. 34 - BUY IT NOW for SUZY

BUY IT NOW - $16

Thank you, Suzy, for chosing another set of medals in lieu of the ones you missed out on in the auction! Extra funds for the charity, yay!

I'll tot everything up this evening after all the auctions are finished. 

Thank you!

The first round of auctions has finished!

Wow, thank you sooooo much. The first 13 auctions have raised $201.50! I am so happy that so many of you joined in. The second and last round of auctions is tomorrow, starting at 7pm UK time. I won't contact anybody until all the auctions have finished, in case you have bid on more than one item ( and if you haven't as yet, there is plenty of time to still do so ;-) ). I think I have gone through all the auctions and put a comment on to inform the winner.

It means so much to me that you are supporting these good causes via me, your bids will help pay for vets' fees, medicines, flea and heartworm treatments, spaying and castrations, and treatments for so many horrible horrible injuries inflicted by cruel and uncaring humans. 

Toodlepip xxx

CHARITY AUCTION UPDATE

The first set of auctions to raise desperately needed funds for 4 animal rescue shelters finishes today. When I set the finishing times, I was a bit of an idiot, totally forgetting that 4pm my time in the UK would be the middle of the night for people in Australia and New Zealand. So to make it fair and give everybody a chance to put in some last minutes bids, I have changed the finishing times to start at7pm UK time, which still means getting up early for some of you, but at least it is not the middle of the night. I have also put the finishing times much closer together, 5 minutes apart, so that you don't have to hang around too long. I promise I will think about these things more carefully the next time I hold a charity auction, lol! But please do check the new finishing times on any auctions you have bids on. 

I have just totalled up what has been bid so far, and it comes to $307.00, which is fabulous, thank you so much to all of you who have already put in bids. I would dearly love to be able to give each of the 4 charities $100, so please take another look at the auctions, perhaps bid a little more on some, and perhaps consider some of the auctions which don't have any bids on them yet. They feel sad and left out!!!

Total has just risen to $312.00! Thank you JeanFB :-).

My darling son Stefan and his family are hoping to adopt this little fella, Gizmo, through the Paws2Rescue charity. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well, please. They have fallen in love with this tiny little chap.

Sending big thank you hugs to you all, toodlepip xxx

AUCTION No. 33 - Jeanne d'Arc medal No. 2 - FINISHED

This is another little Jeanne d'Arc medal from my collection or antique French religious medals. It is a plain brass medal, perhaps it was silver plated at one point in the distant past, but there is no evidence of it left. It is a very sweet little medal though with the tiny roses framing the top of the oval medal. It measures a little over 3cm long incl the little hanging loop -

PLEASE START THE BIDDING ( in US$ ) IN THE COMMENTS AT $8

Payments at the finish of the auctions can be made in US$, British£ or Euros.

UK postage £1.00( $1.55 ), Europe $5.75, US/CAN $7.35, AUS/NZ $7.85

Of course, if you end up winning more than 1 item, I'll combine postage, you could save oodles on shipping ;-).

Who will benefit: -

Paws2Rescue - https://www.facebook.com/Paws2Rescue/

Romanian Rescue Appeal - https://www.facebook.com/romanianrescueappeal/

Help Bulgaria Street Cats and Dogs -

https://www.facebook.com/HelpBulgariaStreetCatsAndDogs

Rudozem Street Dog Rescue -https://www.facebook.com/rudozemstreetdogrescue

Auction closes 15th December at 8.35pm UK time.

And this is definitely the last auction now! The first lot of auctions finishes tomorrow beginning at 7pm UK time. The others will finish on Wednesday, beginning at 7pm UK time. I won't finalise anything until the last auction is finished, and then publish the list with the winning bidders on Thursday. Thank you all so very much for supporting this! 

Toodlepip xxx

AUCTION No. 32 - collection of 6 vintage French religious medals - FINISHED

Six different vintage French religious medals, no precious metals, just aluminium. Great for using in your projects rather than just displaying them as part of your collection -

PLEASE START THE BIDDING ( in US$ ) IN THE COMMENTS AT $5

Payments at the finish of the auctions can be made in US$, British£ or Euros.

UK postage £1.00( $1.55), Europe $5.75, US/CAN $7.35, AUS/NZ $7.85

Of course, if you end up winning more than 1 item, I'll combine postage, you could save oodles on shipping ;-).

Who will benefit: -

Paws2Rescue - https://www.facebook.com/Paws2Rescue/

Romanian Rescue Appeal - https://www.facebook.com/romanianrescueappeal/

Help Bulgaria Street Cats and Dogs -

https://www.facebook.com/HelpBulgariaStreetCatsAndDogs

Rudozem Street Dog Rescue -https://www.facebook.com/rudozemstreetdogrescue

Auction closes 15th December at 8.30pm UK time.

AUCTION No. 31 - wine lover's set

(Almost) essential for a wine lover, this bar/man cave/dining room display set consists of a silver plate vintage French wine bottle carrier, a vintage wine barrel tap and sommelier wine tasting cup. There are some tiny rust spots in the tastevin, which would need to be dealt with if you wanted to sample wine in it - 

I have these sets in the shop at $49.50, but starting bid here is just $20.

Payments at the finish of the auctions can be made in US$, British£ or Euros.

UK postage £2.80( $4.35 ), Europe $10.60, US/CAN $16.00, AUS/NZ $17.30

Of course, if you end up winning more than 1 item, I'll combine postage, you could save oodles on shipping ;-).

Who will benefit: -

Paws2Rescue - https://www.facebook.com/Paws2Rescue/

Romanian Rescue Appeal - https://www.facebook.com/romanianrescueappeal/

Help Bulgaria Street Cats and Dogs -

https://www.facebook.com/HelpBulgariaStreetCatsAndDogs

Rudozem Street Dog Rescue -https://www.facebook.com/rudozemstreetdogrescue

Auction closes 15th December at 8.25pm UK time.

AUCTION No. 30 - Vintage French enamel lunch pail - FINISHED

I am parting with one of my much loved vintage French lunch pails, which I use everywhere in my craft room here and in the kitchen in France, for storing all kinds of things. This one is a gorgeous shade of blue, not sure whether to call it turquoise or duck egg blue. Covered with tiny speckles in a pretty orange shade. It doesn't have the inner tray. For storing stuff in them I prefer them without the tray -

PLEASE START THE BIDDING ( in US$ ) IN THE COMMENTS AT $15

Payments at the finish of the auctions can be made in US$, British£ or Euros.

UK postage £2.80( $4.35 ), Europe $8.50, US/CAN $11.90, AUS/NZ $13.10

Of course, if you end up winning more than 1 item, I'll combine postage, you could save oodles on shipping ;-).

Who will benefit: -

Paws2Rescue - https://www.facebook.com/Paws2Rescue/

Romanian Rescue Appeal - https://www.facebook.com/romanianrescueappeal/

Help Bulgaria Street Cats and Dogs -

https://www.facebook.com/HelpBulgariaStreetCatsAndDogs

Rudozem Street Dog Rescue -https://www.facebook.com/rudozemstreetdogrescue

Auction closes 15th December at 8.20pm UK time.

AUCTION No. 29 - 4 Edwardian floral cards

From my collection of Victorian and Edwardian greeting cards. Three of them are birthday greeting cards, one is a sweet general greeting card. They were taken out of a broken Edwardian scrap book by the dealer I got them from, so they are only suitable for using in your projects, not for sending as a greeting :-) -

PLEASE START THE BIDDING ( in US$ ) IN THE COMMENTS AT $10

Payments at the finish of the auctions can be made in US$, British£ or Euros.

UK postage £1.26( $1.95 ), Europe $5.75, US/CAN $7.35, AUS/NZ $7.85

Of course, if you end up winning more than 1 item, I'll combine postage, you could save oodles on shipping ;-).

Who will benefit: -

Paws2Rescue - https://www.facebook.com/Paws2Rescue/

Romanian Rescue Appeal - https://www.facebook.com/romanianrescueappeal/

Help Bulgaria Street Cats and Dogs -

https://www.facebook.com/HelpBulgariaStreetCatsAndDogs

Rudozem Street Dog Rescue -https://www.facebook.com/rudozemstreetdogrescue

Auction closes 15th December at 8.15pm UK time.

AUCTION No. 28 - Victorian photographs, children

PLEASE START THE BIDDING ( in US$ ) IN THE COMMENTS AT $12

Payments at the finish of the auctions can be made in US$, British£ or Euros.

UK postage £1.26( $1.95 ), Europe $5.75, US/CAN $7.35, AUS/NZ $7.85

Of course, if you end up winning more than 1 item, I'll combine postage, you could save oodles on shipping ;-).

Who will benefit: -

Paws2Rescue - https://www.facebook.com/Paws2Rescue/

Romanian Rescue Appeal - https://www.facebook.com/romanianrescueappeal/

Help Bulgaria Street Cats and Dogs -

https://www.facebook.com/HelpBulgariaStreetCatsAndDogs

Rudozem Street Dog Rescue -https://www.facebook.com/rudozemstreetdogrescue

Auction closes 15th December at 8.10pm UK time.

AUCTION No. 27 - Victorian photographs, handsome men :-)

The first one is a rare photograph from a studio in Tunis.

PLEASE START THE BIDDING ( in US$ ) IN THE COMMENTS AT $12

Payments at the finish of the auctions can be made in US$, British£ or Euros.

UK postage £1.26( $1.95 ), Europe $5.75, US/CAN $7.35, AUS/NZ $7.85

Of course, if you end up winning more than 1 item, I'll combine postage, you could save oodles on shipping ;-).

Who will benefit: -

Paws2Rescue - https://www.facebook.com/Paws2Rescue/

Romanian Rescue Appeal - https://www.facebook.com/romanianrescueappeal/

Help Bulgaria Street Cats and Dogs -

https://www.facebook.com/HelpBulgariaStreetCatsAndDogs

Rudozem Street Dog Rescue -https://www.facebook.com/rudozemstreetdogrescue

Auction closes 15th December at 8.05pm UK time.

AUCTION No. 26 - Victorian photographs, ladies - FINISHED

Today's auctions will be the last ones. I have pulled out some of my Victorian photographs and made up some sets, also 1 set of floral postcards from an Edwardian scrap album. A vintage French lunch pail, a wine lover's bar set, and if I have time a couple more bits and pieces which I had taken photos of but not edited yet.

Starting with a set of 4 Victorian ladies photographs for your projects or display -

PLEASE START THE BIDDING ( in US$ ) IN THE COMMENTS AT $12

Payments at the finish of the auctions can be made in US$, British£ or Euros.

UK postage £1.26( $1.95 ), Europe $5.75, US/CAN $7.35, AUS/NZ $7.85

Of course, if you end up winning more than 1 item, I'll combine postage, you could save oodles on shipping ;-).

Who will benefit: -

Paws2Rescue - https://www.facebook.com/Paws2Rescue/

Romanian Rescue Appeal - https://www.facebook.com/romanianrescueappeal/

Help Bulgaria Street Cats and Dogs -

https://www.facebook.com/HelpBulgariaStreetCatsAndDogs

Rudozem Street Dog Rescue -https://www.facebook.com/rudozemstreetdogrescue

Auction closes 15th December at 8.00pm UK time.

AUCTION No. 25 - And now for something completely different !

Yep, very different. This lot is dramatic, somewhat eccentric, bold and very French. I don't know whether this is vintage or modern, but it looks so fabulously 1960s to me. I bought it in France of course. Wear this gold and black brooch and bracelet set with your little black dress, or for even more drama, with a white outfit. Make a statement, I dare you ;-) -

PLEASE START THE BIDDING ( in US$ ) IN THE COMMENTS AT $15

Payments at the finish of the auctions can be made in US$, British£ or Euros.

UK postage £2.80( $4.35), Europe $6.15, US/CAN $7.75, AUS/NZ $8.45

Of course, if you end up winning more than 1 item, I'll combine postage, you could save oodles on shipping ;-).

Who will benefit: -

Paws2Rescue - https://www.facebook.com/Paws2Rescue/

Romanian Rescue Appeal - https://www.facebook.com/romanianrescueappeal/

Help Bulgaria Street Cats and Dogs -

https://www.facebook.com/HelpBulgariaStreetCatsAndDogs

Rudozem Street Dog Rescue -https://www.facebook.com/rudozemstreetdogrescue

Auction closes 15th December at 7.55pm UK time.

This is the last one for today. I had intended to put up some beautiful antique and vintage French lace, but the weather didn't play ball, it got so grey and dark so early, there was no time left to photograph them. Ah well, perhaps tomorrow, eh? I'll also put up for auction Victorian photographs and postcards tomorrow. See you then ;-).

Toodlepip xxx

AUCTION No. 24 - French wooden finials, altered art/mixed media - FINISHED

I love these little wooden finials, they are fabulous for altered art/mixed media projects. They measure approx. 8.5cm and 7cm and there are 10 in this batch -

PLEASE START THE BIDDING ( in US$ ) IN THE COMMENTS AT $10

Payments at the finish of the auctions can be made in US$, British£ or Euros.

UK postage £2.80( $4.35), Europe $6.15, US/CAN $7.75, AUS/NZ $8.45

Of course, if you end up winning more than 1 item, I'll combine postage, you could save oodles on shipping ;-).

Who will benefit: -

Paws2Rescue - https://www.facebook.com/Paws2Rescue/

Romanian Rescue Appeal - https://www.facebook.com/romanianrescueappeal/

Help Bulgaria Street Cats and Dogs -

https://www.facebook.com/HelpBulgariaStreetCatsAndDogs

Rudozem Street Dog Rescue -https://www.facebook.com/rudozemstreetdogrescue

Auction closes 15th December at 7.50pm UK time.