"Parcels Between Friends" Swap....

Oh, what a wonderful day it was on Thursday at my house! The bell rang, my heart skipped a beat, and there my dear sweet mailman, Ed, stood with the much awaited box from a friend. Just look at this darling label. This sweet little girl is holding a "dangling" rose heart.

I ran for the scissors, cut open the box, folded out the flap, and there, in all its glory stood this amazing sight! How can you be welcomed any better?

OK now, can you guess who it might be from? Surely I've given you a "HUGE" clue!

My dear friend, Madai, from Wren Cottage and I decided to have a swap way back in May. We have a history of being swap partners due to being paired by Heather, my daughter, from Pretty Petals, "Junque In My Trunk Swap" last year. But, due to this and that, and because we absolutely wanted "NO PRESSURE", we got our boxes shipped off last Tuesday. We took the summer to shop, hunt and select for just the right things.

I gently pulled out these deliciously wrapped parcels - all wrapped in vintage linens! All adorned with sweet ribbons, pins, german glass glitter embellishments.... (sigh..... big sigh.....). So elegant.

Beautiful ephemera. And in the little blue envelope were those precious seeds from Madai's post on striped Four O'clock flowers. She received the first seeds from this flower from another wonderful friend! Passing on the seeds of friendship. Just love it....

And look at all of this. Look how she made a "delicious" little banner for the books, "For Loving A Book". Just seeing how she made this sweet little banner made me want to open each and every one of those sweet books. And isn't that sheep so cute.

And look at this wrapping. Just love it... Inside is a baby picture, atop a baby dress.

She also sent this sweet goblet, the stem has a cherub. So beautiful. Can't wait to drink from it. Or maybe I will use it to store some wonderful little treasures in my crafting area.

More ephemera. This little picture says, "The Fairy Goldfish". Isn't that just too cute! And of course, "The Secret Garden" pages..... I know it is from Madai when I see these..... Madai also sent a CD children's story of "Le Petit Prince" (The Little Prince). I listened to the author's name, but could not spell, so please forgive. I haven't had a chance to sit and relax and sip a cuppa while listening to this CD, but I am relishing the thought. Here it is, below, all wrapped up so sweetly.

Now, here is such an amazing thing. I opened the box and found these wooden hands and just about fainted. They must have come from a doll? These are so very precious. And look at the sweet charm Madai attached. It was laying on top of this sweet butterfly, which is done on the flap of an envelope. How creative, how inspiring. It just made me want to rethink how I package things. How to create differently. Madai is one talented sweetheart!

Madai creates these wonderful banners. This particular one is done in silver german glass glitter, and it will go above or around my nativity set. This picture does it no justice at all since it just shines like a diamond!

And the sweet blue tin you saw in an above picture was wrapped so beautifully inside. Beautiful rhinestone jewelry. I believe this is a sweater guard because it has 3 clips n the back and a pair of beautiful earrings.

The treasures inside.... A sweet pin cushion. This was owned by two unmarried sisters who were born in the 1890's. Isn't it just adorable?

And she did not forget my sweet tooth. A delicious selection of those divine "Two leaves and a bud" teas, lemon curd (just like eating lemon pie!) and these delicious chocolate biscuits covered in powdered sugar, I might add... YUMMMMMM!

And such sweet refinement??? These Noritake soups are just so sweet with their dainty florals and the lovely pin that was on the top of the package. It was all wrapped up in this lovely linen they are sitting on.

In keeping with the sewing theme (which I love sewing paraphanalia), look at the graphics on these wonderful needle cards. Why don't they make stuff like this anymore?

And now for the grand finale! If it weren't for Madai, I would not have such a wonderful selection of children's books. She added to the meager few I had last swap and now all of these lovely books. Look at the graphics on these and feast your eyes.... Just so wonderful....

So, Madai, my dear friend. Thank you so much for all of these beautiful treasures. Our "Parcels Between Friends" swap was more memorable than I could have imagined. I'll be thinking of you, all the while, as I read these sweet books and listen to "Le Petit Prince"......

Blessings,

Kitty

xox

A Post From Home......

A "HOME" banner was the theme of a story in a recent article in Somerset Home, Volume 4. When the feeling of Fall comes in the air, I start thinking in terms of snuggling up, lighting the fire, and putting on my comfies, everything home encompasses.

Since I am actually in another swap, I took the opportunity, and inspiration from this article to make my own rendition of the "HOME" Banner.

Madai from Wren Cottage and I decided to swap, way back in May. We decided to put absolutely no pressure on ourselves, and took the entire summer to collect, create, and find treasures for each other. Well, time is up. We are both mailing early this week. But, just for fun, I thought I would share my creation for her.

Madais' colors are brown, cream, and just a touch of very pale pink, blue and green. Madai has a way of making a person feel "Right at Home". I can just imagine, if we didn't live so far away, having a cup of tea with Madai and spending a few hours, laughing, catching up and telling stories.

Here is how I created my HOME banner for Madai:

I did not have antique cardboard picture frames to use, but I did have a picture album that had the same type of cardboard forms. I cut 4 of them out of the album and aged them with Distressed Ink (in the stamping section) which you can get at any Michaels or Joanne Fabrics.

Age both sides.

Glitter 4 letters. I used Martha Stewart's "Brownstone" colored glitter. Let dry, well.

Find 4 images you want to use and size them appropriately over the opening. I used a copy of a vintage photo, a copy of a vintage post card, and 2 images from old sheet music. Glue in place.

Take coordinating scrapbook paper (or you could use old wallpaper) and cover the backs so they look finished.

Take a stamp you like and stamp the top front of the plate. I used coffee bean colored ink.

Allow everything to dry well. Punch holes with a hole punch and thread vintage seam binding through the holes to connect all 4 album plates. Knot the beginning and ending holes so the seam binding will not slip off.

Hot glue a few ribbons and lace on the "H" plate in the upper left hand corner. Hot glue vintage millinery, in coordinating colors, on the H and E plates.

This is my interpretation of a "HOME" banner for Madai....

I hope you all have a wonderful time creating something warm and wonderful for "Your Home". Talk to you soon,

Blessings,
Kitty

xox

"I Thought Of You" Swap with LiLi M......

The sweet Stephenie Gray of Just A Little Bit Pink hosted this lovely swap called "I Thought Of You". I was paired with LiLi M, much to my delight! I have been following Lili's blog for quite a while now and love her creations, the sharing of her travel and heritage, and love the way she supports the many women and friends in blogland. Thank you, Lili, for being my swap partner. It has been a privilege to be paired with such a wonderful lady!

Well, the day came when my package arrived. Lili and I had mailed them just about the same time. From Pennsylvania in the U.S., it takes about 5-7 days to get from the Netherlands to my little tiny town of Darlington, PA. I grabbed the camera, and was off on my beautiful adventure!

I was careful to take things out neatly, and lay them out so I could take pictures. Lili's wrapping was simply elegant. Don't ya love the little pillow of the two angel girls, all glittered up? Just love it. And the divine scent of lavender grabbed my senses right away! The little bird tin is just a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e! Inside is a tiny bird in a nest.

Below is a gorgeous gray/purple rose covered plate, loaded with all kinds of goodies with just a smidgin of fairy dust....

And below are laces, hankies, ribbons, beautiful jewelry, and of course, a smattering of Paris!

I am showing you all of the treasures together, but Lili actually sent out 3 separate packages. Talk about loving it until the end! Here is a tiny doll head in a tiny tin, a lovely pendant and Lili's sweet note....

A paper covered box with tiny seashells and playing cards. Ribbon, a whole roll, and tiny blue seed beads in the sweetest little bottle.

And of course, my love for Bibles and old hymnals. Lili so generously sent me a hymnal in her language and a New Testament. To me, such treasures!

And let's not forget about the sweet fairies. This is an adorable book. This will be a joy on a rainy afternoon to sit and quietly read with a cup of tea or cider.

And the ephemera, papers, wallpaper and postcards. I can't wait to use some of these lovely papers in my creations. I just love it all.

Lili covered this sweet box with wallpaper and decorated it with a Paris theme. Inside were the papers in the above photo. In the little pink envelope, Lilli wrote, "I Thought Of You". What a beautiful keepsake. It is just perfect for mementos.

And isn't this a sweety?? A half loaf of bread done in redwork. OOOOOHHHHHH! Need I say more?

German scraps, a tiny little prayer book. You know it must have been a little girl's. Pages from a book with Lili's stamping, stamps. Oh, my.

I about fell over when I saw these gorgeous silhouettes. I absolutely adore them! All kinds of thoughts are going on in my head for creations with these.

Beautiful fabrics and wallpaper.

I tried to get a good shot of these buttons. They are just so beautiful. The little hair pin is darling!

Religious charms, stamps, and tags. More fun to come with these!

And yes, a PARIS map! Beautiful book pages. All the possibilities!

Whew! I know! What wonderful treasures. Lili made this one of the best swaps I have ever had. Thank you, dear friend. Just know I treasure it all and can't wait to create. All the while, I'll be thinking of you, with a smile on my face, and wonderful memories....

Blessings

Kitty

xox

I Thought Of You Swap and Catching Up....

The sweet Stephenie Gray from "Just A Little Bit Pink" is hosting the "I Thought Of You Swap". Today is the day parcels are to be shipped. I was so happy to have been paired up with Lili from LiLi M. While Lili lives in the Netherlands, I feel as if we live right next door to each other. You know how you connect with certain people? I have felt that "connecting tug" since the first day I started blogging with Lili. So, I have put a "sneak peek" of some of her goodies. Hope she finds them all delightful! I can't wait to get my box. It is so interesting swapping with an international partner. Something I have not done before. I feel like a child at Christmas, just waiting for Santa to arrive!

And of course, Heather and Stephenie, both, have already blogged about our craft night. But I wanted to show you pictures of my charms. The pictures are a bit dark, so please forgive. But, I am happy with the results. When I first put on the solder, I had lumps and bumps everywhere! Heather helped me smooth them out, but after practicing a while, it slowly came to me. Of course, it will take a bit more practice to feel good about sharing some of these. But, such satisfaction in accomplishing the task at hand!

Here are the backs. What is funny about this process is, the backs are just as important as the fronts. And you like to have something that sort of ties them together. It takes a while to cut your pictures and decide what you will pair up.

And in ending this little post, I wanted to share a picture with you that I thought was just adorable. Please feel free to use this beautiful angel as she is smothered with these gorgeous roses. Hope you all have a beautiful day, and I hope you all end the day with someone "That Thought Of You".....

Blessings,
Kitty

xox