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It's my 30th birthday today, and I've had a really nice time with friends and family. And also, I've had lots of treats and kindness shown. Thank you, everyone. I was a bit nervous about turning 30 because it seems properly grown-up, (and also, I happen to remember my parents turning 30), but I think it's going to be okay after all, if today is anything to go by.

And so, just like I did last year, I'd like to offer a little giveaway here to thank you, too, dear blog-friends. I realised today that I've spent the last half of my twenties blogging here- and it's been great. I treasure you, tiny-happy-readers.

I've made up a parcel with an embroidered locket inside (a bit like this one) and also a small embroidery kit, including a wooden hoop, embroidered needlebook with pins and needles and some thread.

If you'd like to go in the draw to win the parcel, (I'll send it anywhere in the world), just leave a comment on this post, telling me something about yourself. Maybe the book you're reading at the moment, or your favourite thing to eat. Or what you're working on at the moment. Something like that.

Have a great weekend! It's going to be party time here.

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344 responses to “a birthday giveaway”

  1. Carrie at Rhubarb Sky Avatar

    Oh! Happy Birthday, Melissa! I turn 35 on Sunday. . . and, I have to say, 30 was one of my most favorite years. Enjoy YOUR day. ♥♥♥

    Like

  2. Katie Avatar
    Katie

    Happy birthday Melissa – what a wonderful day spring turned on for your milestone birthday.
    Have a fantastic day, full of treats fit for a 30 year old!
    Katie xx

    Like

  3. Sarah Jackson Avatar

    Happy happy birthday!! 30 seems like a lifetime ago but it was only 11 years.
    Something about me… I start a lot more than I finish.

    Like

  4. Eveline Avatar
    Eveline

    Happy birthday Melissa!
    I hope you have a wonderful day today! I have yet to turn 30 (in two years time) but hope that I can face it as bravely as you have.
    I love your blog and have been so inspired by your embroidery that I have been thinking of taking it up. I have borrowed some books from the library to figure out how to embroider and what’s required (needles, etc). Anyway, love your blog and hope you have a happy year ahead! 🙂
    Eveline xx (all the way from Singapore!)

    Like

  5. delwyn Avatar
    delwyn

    Hi Melissa, a very happy birthday to you!
    I remember turning 30 – no party for me as my very little, very prem baby was 4 weeks old and hospitals don’t cope will with parties, nor mothers being too far from their little ones!
    He’s 4 and a bit now and not so little. Perhaps I’ll have a party next year!

    Like

  6. maria Avatar

    oh happy happy birthday Melissa, I hope you have a wonderful day…
    I am Maria and I just moved to Sydney and it is about to get Spring here which is a little weird to imagine as Europe gets its first really cold days and nights at the moment..Anyways..Spring is beautiful too..Your blog and what you create is so wonderful…I am working right now on a pillow case for a friends birthday…:)

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  7. camilla Avatar
    camilla

    the simplicity of your pictures
    your embroidery reminds me of sweden.
    the clean lines
    not too much nor to little.
    A few years ago i brought back
    one kit for the needles and pins to be put in
    i think it was my grandmother’s.
    It is light blue and lay dorment for quiet
    a while until i started to sort things out
    in the haphazardly thrown into a box all the stuff for
    embroidery and sewing,gathered from here and there.
    so my maternal linage is with me now and then
    now when I mend or stitch…
    it seems that with age certain objects takes on a
    depth of memories collected..
    you encourage that with your work….
    the memories of time gone by though right here and now
    timelessness within time
    much love to you

    Like

  8. Carole Powell Avatar
    Carole Powell

    Happy birthday Melissa. I am Carole, I live in Whangarei, NZ and I have a million unfinished projects on the go right now!

    Like

  9. Julie Avatar
    Julie

    Happy, happy 30th birthday Melissa!!
    Hope your weekend turns out great. Just love your work and your blog and all that you do.
    Have a great year ahead and I look forward to many more postings.
    Julie 🙂

    Like

  10. HappyHappy Avatar
    HappyHappy

    Oh you’re just a pup. It only gets better.
    Celebrate every year.

    Like

  11. Marcia Avatar

    Happy days Melissa, I do enjoy your blog but I can`t do needle work to save myself !! Instead I keep honey bees on a city section in Hamilton (NZ), hence I am an urban apiarist !! I am passionate about caring for these amazing little insects that we need very badly in our lives. I try to go as natural as I can – check out my blog, oh, and I also love collecting, pressing and mounting leaves and flowers for my herbarium.

    Like

  12. heather smith jones Avatar

    Happy Birthday Melissa! October birthdays are the best. 😉
    Hope you had a super day and have a blessed year!
    Oh, I’m working on stretching new canvases.

    Like

  13. Emily Moss Avatar

    Happy Birthday to you dear Melissa! I hope you will find the 30’s to be ever so delightful! I must say they were a wonderful decade, quite a relief actually after the more stressful 20’s. Hugs to you!
    emily xo

    Like

  14. Amy Avatar

    Happy 30th. We share a birthday month,I celebrated #34 on the 12th. Right now I am working on this vest and I love it so much!
    http://www.knit1la.com/2010/04/magnum-reversible-vestwrap.html

    Like

  15. teresa Avatar

    Happy birthday!
    I have just finished reading Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and it was heartwrenching. Also, I really, really like Polaroids.

    Like

  16. Jo Avatar
    Jo

    Happy Birthday Melissa .. the 30s are wonderful sadly I will soon be leaving them behind … sob!!

    Like

  17. Jo Avatar
    Jo

    I’m making little button hairties to sell at the school fete on Sunday, digging through my fabric scraps, finding Liberty gems.

    Like

  18. Steph Avatar

    Happy birthday! I like my 30’s even more than my 20’s surprisingly. I’m working on that ever increasing pile of WIP’s that tend to get abandoned and breed like bunnies. I hope to find the bottom of my workbasket one day.

    Like

  19. Miss Smith Avatar

    Happy Birthday! What can I tell you about me…? I like peurile jokes and craft and I do not like to eat kidneys.

    Like

  20. Natasha Avatar

    Happy birthday. I am in Lower Hutt, NZ. I remember feeling a sense of anticlimax when I turned 30 two years ago. I didn’t have any anxiousness at all, it was just another birthday and I have enjoyed my 30s more than my 20s so far!
    At the moment I am on day 2 of the Master Cleanse so I am not eating much at all 🙂 And I am working on a long list of yet to be completed projects.

    Like

  21. Valerie Avatar
    Valerie

    Happy birthday and thank you for our nice blog. I’m 40 and believe me, it’s great!
    I live in Luxembourg and really like to read that it’s spring in your part of the world now!
    Enjoy your day !

    Like

  22. Cynthia Avatar
    Cynthia

    Hello Melissa – happy birthday to you! I live on the other side of the world from you, but I’ve been to NZ several times. Reading your blog is like a daily visit back for me, and I smile to see your flowers and read your stories. Cynthia

    Like

  23. Alice Domett Doyle Avatar
    Alice Domett Doyle

    Happy Birthday. I am a Playcentre mother who has had an inside day with 24 children from 0-4 years. I was worried about it today but am still buzzing from it. Kids are just wonderful and fun to be around.

    Like

  24. Margaret Oomen Avatar

    my life is richer from having discovered your tiny happy world.
    i wish you mountains of happiness for your birthday and oceans of blessings
    I am clearing furniture and prepping the walls to paint what will soon become my studio. Hip hip hurrah!!!!

    Like

  25. Mervi Avatar

    Happy Birthday, Melissa!!! Haven’t followed your blog much but love your creations at Flickr… they’re are wonderful!
    I turned 30 almost nine years ago and that was an awful year… but the life became much better after that. Now I’m a happy creative mom who enjoys all kinds of creative things :)!
    Have a lovely day!

    Like

  26. Marta M. Avatar
    Marta M.

    Happy Birthday! I have been following your blog for a few years now and each year on your birthday I am always reminded of how young you are and so amazed at all you have accomplished at your age!
    Currently I am brainstorming on a quilt for my dear friend’s new baby.

    Like

  27. Santa Avatar
    Santa

    Happy Birthday!
    I recently finished reading two wonderful but very different books, one is the very exciting “Girl with a dragon tattoo” by Stieg Larson and the other is the beautiful “The Solitude of Prime Numbers” by Paolo Giordano. I am now improvising with crosstitch and sewing an orange deer brooch for my friend but the deer I created somehow looks more like a moose 🙂

    Like

  28. dgmorris@paradsie.net.nz Avatar
    dgmorris@paradsie.net.nz

    Happy Birthday!
    We share the same birthday!
    I am 43 today.and love love love TINY HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!
    My favourite food at the moment is all deliciousness cooked from my MOVIDA recipe book. Paella is prooving to be a family winner for Sunday lunch.

    Like

  29. Algae Avatar

    Happy Birthday Melissa! I enjoy reading your inspiring blog so much. I live in Hamilton and is currently struggling to sew a pair of baby shoes for my upcoming niece. 🙂

    Like

  30. Edith Miller Avatar
    Edith Miller

    What a lovely gift to give away…I’ve always said it is about the giving and not the receiving. My birthday is on Sunday but quite a few years older than you, but I log in everyday to see what has inspired you on that day. Keep up the wonderful blog! Love it!

    Like

  31. Sam Avatar

    Happy Birthday! I hope you’ve had the loveliest kind of day.
    I’m working on some layered pillow covers.

    Like

  32. helen wright Avatar
    helen wright

    happy birthday to you enjoy the cake! Beautiful stuff. X

    Like

  33. whitney Avatar

    happy birthday!

    Like

  34. yolande Avatar
    yolande

    happy birthday! Your blog is one of the few places I visit everyday– thank you for the little bits of comfort and joy you share with all of us.
    I’m re-reading Busmans’s Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers, enjoying Peter and Harriet’s courtly and smoldering marriage all over again.
    I dream of making a “housewife” for myself, and wearing over a long medieval dress. 43 and still a young wife at heart…

    Like

  35. Sarah Avatar
    Sarah

    Happy Birthday, Melissa! Have an inspired year–I love your blog!

    Like

  36. Persefoni Avatar
    Persefoni

    Ciao Melissa!!Happy 30th birthday!
    My name is Persefoni and I come from Greece but in the moment I live and study in Italy.I love your blog and I follow it every day!!I enjoy crafting especially sewing bags!The first bag I have ever made was by following your shoulder bag tutorial!Thank you for sharing your tiny happy world with all of us!
    Baci (kisses!)

    Like

  37. Lori Avatar

    happy birthday to you! 30 is a milestone, but at the same time, just a number. my wish for you is that you will always be every age you ever were. (keeps you young in mind and heart) ☺
    i am knitting “green sleeves” and a scarf from the new book “brave new knits” ( the jared flood of brooklyn tweed one), it’s really turning out so lovely. good luck to everyone, what a giveaway!

    Like

  38. Katy Avatar
    Katy

    Happy Birthday Tiny Happy! I check your blog every day for new posts when hubby is with the kids (4 and 1) reading their bedtime stories. It is my little escape at the end of the day. And as far as things I make … well, the last thing I made was a seaweed tank with my 4 year old. Don’t ask!!!

    Like

  39. n.e.h. Avatar
    n.e.h.

    Happy birthday. Your blog is my new favorite… I enjoy the ways you notice beauty in little things. I moved to S. Korea recently and I’m going to take classes for making pojagi soon. (you can see what they are here: http://threads.srithreads.com/tag/pojagi/)
    Have a happy time celebrating!

    Like

  40. Kate Avatar

    Hi Melissa, happy 30th :-).
    I’m looking forward to seeing my two little girls begin swimming lessons again tomorrow, and to my hair cut & colour afterwards!
    Thankyou for reminding us of the beauty in simple things, I love reading your blog and seeing what you create.
    Have a fabulous weekend!
    🙂 Kate

    Like

  41. jaime Avatar
    jaime

    hi, happy 30th birthday to you.
    i have been reading your blog for almost a year now, it is delightful.
    i am currently learning how to knit slippers from a pattern my granny left me when she died recently. i am hoping to continue the tradition of providing knitted slippers for my whole family.
    jaime.

    Like

  42. Karen Avatar
    Karen

    Happy Birthday Melissa,
    I have also enjoyed your creative projects.
    I work in Aged Care as an Activities Officer,my residents love to reminisce about the old days,things they’ve knitted and sewed for their families. Even doing embroidery! I enjoy my job.
    Cheers
    Karen
    Newcastle, NSW

    Like

  43. Rachel King Avatar

    Happy Happy Birthday Melissa! I so love reading your blog, you are truly inspiring. I turned 30 two years ago and I remember having a mini crisis at the time, but am officially loving this new decade now! They say 30s are the new 20s, so we’re all good. I am soon to be a mum of 3 under 3, chaos! I have just finished reading the Lacuna which was fab, and have just started making fabric covered button hairclips which is completely addictive. Fortunately my daughter Ruby requires a large amount of clips as she seems to lose one a day these days…
    Keep up your amazing creativity! 🙂

    Like

  44. Stephanie Avatar

    Happy 30th! I am looking forward to my 31st in February.
    Something I’m working on that moment? Trying to become self-employed, whilst raising my two littles. You’re a constant inspiration ;o)

    Like

  45. Crissi Blair Avatar

    Happy day Melissa. I remember turning 30 and being proud that I’d made it after some rather shaky years. I felt properly grown up at last. I’ve loved reading your blog and following you in your creative life. I’ve just started reading Artists @ Work by Richard Wolfe which is new out from Penguin, all about New Zealand artists and how and where they work. I love seeing people’s work spaces and equipment and hope a bit of their organisational abilities might rub off on me one day.

    Like

  46. Linda Avatar
    Linda

    Happy Birthday Melissa!
    I am reading Liza Marklund at the moment. If you like scandinavian mystery stories – it’s perfect. (similar good to Mankell, Joe Nesbo, Adler Olson).
    Have a nice day! Best wishes from Germany.
    Linda

    Like

  47. Miriam Avatar
    Miriam

    Happy Birthday Melissa! I’ll turn 30 next March. It’s nice to know that such a milestone need not be so daunting…
    Thanks for your beautiful blog.
    Miriam

    Like

  48. Heart Felt Avatar

    Happy birthday Melissa, have a fantastic day. xxx

    Like

  49. Nicky Avatar
    Nicky

    glad you had a happy birthday – you deserve it! I still treasure the lovely email you sent me after the death of my brother and the encouragement your blog gives me to see the beauty in life!
    … and you’ve inspired me to start an embroidery course, which I’m loving.
    thank you xxx

    Like

  50. Carla H. Avatar

    Dear tiny happy,
    Happy BD! 30 is great and only theoretically grown up, you can still be a girl. I know because i turned 40 this year and i’m still a girl!
    I’m Carla, living in Belgium with my 2 lovely girls. At the moment i’m knitting a wide scarf in a lovely blueish angora-like wool with super thick needles. It looks like an ocean! I started a basic sewing course too in sept. Soon i will be able to try your tutorials. And every time you show your embroidery I think i should try that too…
    A few times a week i read your blog and it always makes me a tiny bit more happy!
    Thanks for that!
    PS: you wanna know my secret? One day i wanna live in NZ.
    take care,
    Carla

    Like

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