Sunday, November 14, 2010

Good Things Come in Small Packages

Ad in MARY ENGELBREIT'S HOME COMPANION, November 1997

The ad says:

"Good things come in small packages ~
always have, always will."

Oh, indeed! These little enamel boxes recapture the 18th century craft of enameling. In Georgian days it was the fashion to give these little boxes as a token of friendship or to celebrate an event.



Decorated with the designs of Mary Engelbreit and produced by Alastor Enamels of England, these exquisite little boxes would please any ME fan. So you can imagine my delight when I opened this presentation box to discover . . .



This little jewel ~ a gift from a very thoughtful student.
Sarah
Sarah

The summer we married, my husband was in graduate school, and I was employed as a teacher. We took a portion of our savings that summer and purchased a sailboat. We christened our Catalina 22, “Hyacinths For The Soul” after Saadi’s poem. Our "Hyacinths" provided years of pleasure.

28 comments:

  1. What a lovely gift! I love ME, but didn't know about the little boxes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. A lovely gift indeed! How delightful!
    Have a great week!

    Sylvia

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've always loved this type of small enamelled box, your ME box is a delight.
    What nice students you have.
    Maggie

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a sweet enamelled box~ and what a wonderful gift to receive from a student! You must have been/ARE and EXCELLENT teacher :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. That IS a very lovely & thoughtful gift, Sarah!

    I have to share a story...when I was a pre-teen, I was very tall for my age. My 2 best friends were itty-bitty little things & one of their mothers said to me "Good things come in small packages". I felt bad about being so tall & relayed her comment to my mother. She promptly told me that the next time I heard her say that I was to reply "SO DOES POISON!" LOL Very uncharacteristic of my mother to be nasty but I never forgot her expression.
    Funny, the things you remember...that had to be 40 years ago, at least.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ahhh but MOTHES can have a nasty side when it comes to taking care of their daughters hearts:)

    A lovely box..what a treasure and a dear story..Love your mom:)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh, how sweet and thoughtful! I've never seen one of these. ME things make me smile.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

    ReplyDelete
  8. How sweet!
    I have never seen ME enameled boxes; they are lovely. And, yes, clearly a very thoughtful student!
    Cass

    ReplyDelete
  9. Dear Sarah,
    you must have been a very beloved teacher that your student honored you with such a wonderful enameled box. It is a lovely way to say Thank you. I am sure you deserved it well.
    Greetings, Johanna

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a fun gift and a very thoughtful student. It's lovely and that's one of my favorite illustrations by dear Mary. Did your class always look like Mary E. lived there with you? Mine does! Thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love Mary E, and that is a sweet gift!

    ReplyDelete
  12. How wonderful, Sarah! Thank you so much for sharing with us on ME Monday. I, too, am fortunate to have two of Mary's little enamel boxes. They're so special. One of mine is for Christmas and the other reads "It's the little things that count".
    How special that your student gave you one.
    Vicki

    ReplyDelete
  13. What a nice tribute to you that one of your students thought so highly of you to give you this special gift. My (wonderful) mother-in-law had so many little gifts from her nursing students and when she passed away, I kept them - it reminds me every day how one person can affect the lives of so many others.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Such a lovely gift! I know you will cherish it always! I just love it!

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a lovely gift. I love ME pictures and colors. Have a great day.
    Hugs,
    Carey

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a generous student & beautiful gift Sarah. It is gorgeous.

    Have a lovely Thanksgiving holiday.
    TTFN ~ Hugs, Marydon

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a thoughtful gift that was Sarah! It's so pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks due to the fact that this worthy article, it's very much famous blogs

    ReplyDelete
  19. What a wonderful and special gift for you.

    I love hinged boxes, and I have a small collection of Limoges boxes.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I have always loved the little tiny beautiful boxes. I have one tiny one that is a gold pineapple. Sarah, so happy you are joining the party. I got you listed. :) xo

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh, Sarah! What a wonderful gift! There is nothing as wonderful as a tiny box, and I have a few tiny limoge ones. But this one is just so pretty!

    XO,

    Sheila :-)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Now that is a sweet gift and you obviously cherish it, it sure is special.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I love Mary Engelbreit, too! My favorite thing of hers that I have is a coffee mug that says "Let's put the fun back in dysfunctional"! What a great way to start the morning:) Your box is so pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Love it Sarah! I think that student knew you well. laurie

    ReplyDelete

Thank you to each of you who take the time to leave a comment. I read and appreciate each and every one and will respond to any questions. Your notes are the only way I know who has stopped in for a visit.