Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Norma's Gifts


Norma has decided to wrap with a palette of 'winter white/cream' and included a wee, little snowflake ornament to round out that chilly feel. Thank you Norma!

Mollie's Gifts


Mollie has created an adorable floral influenced gift that is complete with a little satin flower on the glittery tag. Can't wait to see if the floral theme continues with a flowery Christmas gift. Thanks Mollie!

Karyn's Gifts


Love, love, LOVE the little birdies! These tiny cuties grace the outside of a nicely wrapped, brown, paper bag gift. The finishing touch: bakery string! Very sweet! Thank you Karyn for all your attention to detail...

Melanie's Gifts


Also, all the way from Germany are Melanie's gifts... I love that we are so international! Yes, folks, those are little working, decorated clothes pins on the outside of the packages which are not only super cute but add a certain something to the charm of the package. Nice job Melanie!

Sabine's Gifts


Coming all the way from Germany are Sabine's lovely gifts. Wrapped in brown paper and then topped off with stampings they are a sight to behold. I thought it was cute that she was able to incorporate numbers into her wrapping... She started at #14 so there would be no confusion with gift opening order. I guess she really loves the numbers! (The way I think all mixed-media artists do!;>)

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Robin's Gifts


Robin also has gotten her gifts to me ahead of time. Thank you Robin! She's wrapped her gifts with a nice, sleek traditional brown bag that is then topped off with some fabric embellishments. She has also added a variety of little trinket like objects to the ties. Simple but elegant! Looking forward to the surprise that lies inside this secretive wrapping. ;)

Martha's Gifts


For those of you who haven't figured this out, I am a huge Martha fan... I think her work is wonderful and inventive and she did not disappoint this time either! This morning I got a little package that was filled with these super cute, sewn/packaged gifts that are wonderful. Brown paper 'pillows' that have 'wish' printed on them with a tiny star tag on the other side. Martha and I came to an agreement that I would stamp/write the corresponding numbers (for her gift day) on the little stars so they will look a tiny bit different by the time they get to people that are in her group. Martha also included some other items that I wanted to share... A copy of her own zine titled 'ReCreations'. It looks like a lot of fun and I can't wait to read it after I have a touch more time. She also included a few samples of little, silver recycled tags. They are adorable! Thanks so much for everything Martha. Happy to have your participation and talents!

Barbara's Gifts Part 2



I think I'm going to have to become a woman of few words for the next week or so with so many gifts coming in! Barb's gifts arrived over the weekend and they are terrific. Everything bundled so nicely and the decorative wrapping is so great that I thought it deserved a couple of close-ups. Here they are... Thanks Barbara! Enjoy the well earned vacation! :)

Monday, October 22, 2007

Barbara's Gifts



Barbara's gifts have arrived! She was kind enough to take a photo of her work to save me a little time on the photography side. Thanks Barb! Although, I have promised her that I will do a 'details' photo shoot in the near future because they deserve to be featured in a close up. Barbara was one of those folks that wanted to have an assigned number so who am I to stand in her way? You'll also notice that Barbara has personalized her gifts with group members names. My other comment about her gifts... They are heavier than some of the others that I have gotten... What the heck is in there? :)

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Lilla's Gifts


Lovely work from a lovely, far away island. These are the gifts that Lilla sent to me all the way from Hawaii. The envelopes are gorgeous and every one of them is different. I had to take a couple of pictures to show the group because even the outside wrappings are like mini works of art. Lilla is a member of Group 1 so everyone in the other groups (who will ALSO get neat stuff!) will just have to check out the swap blog to see what's on the inside.

Stefania's Gifts


Another International swap participant is our good friend, Stefania, who is from Italy. She decided to go with the muted, earth tone/brown bag approach for her wrapping. The color works very well with the pretty lace and golden ribbons that she used as embellishment... And who can forget about the newspaper detail! I'm sure people in her group will be unwrapping her gift carefully so they can see if it is indeed an Italian newspaper. I'm personally curious about some of the gifts being small and some large... Hmmmmmm.

Vivian's Gifts





Vivian from Group 3 has also sent her gifts. Another very creative wrapping job that the pictures do not do justice. Every now and then I think I can almost see the gift through all the red shredded paper but then I turn the bag another way and simply cannot. Well ,whatever is in there, if it's anything like the wrapping job and tags, it will be a top notch gifts that everyone in her group will love. Thanks so much for all your efforts Vivian!

Sheri's Gifts

Sheri has sent me some great gifties from Germany where she and her family are stationed. It has been an interesting postal education as to how much and how long it takes items to be shipped back and forth from a US base. The coolest thing is that you know that things are coming and going from Germany but it is still being handled by the USPS.
Also cool are Sheri's gifts! Who knows what lies beneath the pattern tissue paper with the very cute felt flower tag... For the moment Sheri will have to harbor the secret! We'll all find out between Dec. 14th and 25th. Thank you Sheri for making such beautiful gifts. :)

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Welcome Martha!!

Hi everyone!
We are getting closer and closer to the due date for gifts so keep em' coming in. I have had a somewhat steady stream of gifts trickling in and can't wait to have all of them in my hot little hands. Thank you SOOOOO much to the people that have already sent them in. It makes the workload a bit better when I can do a little at a time. On that note, I am currently backed up on posting pics of gifts that I have received and I apologize. As much as I love doing all of this, the work/life thing is getting in the way. It will get better at the end of the week so no need to worry. :)
The biggest thing that I wanted to report is a member from Group 3, Lotte, has told me that she needs to drop out of the swap due to moving issues. That's fine and I think we can all understand what it's like to be fired up about something and then find you just can't make it happen. Thank you Lotte for your honesty and also letting me know ahead of time. I look forward to swapping with you in the future!
So, you folks in Group 3 are saying "We are down a player!"... Fret not because I have already looked to my trusty wait list and have a fantastic replacement for you... Her name is Martha and she is AWESOME! Not only a very nice person to work with but she is an amazing artist. I was in a fabric tag swap with her this summer and her tag was one of my favorites. She will be an asset to her group. Make sure to check out her work at http://m-is-for-martha.blogspot.com/
More pics coming soon and please don't hesitate to contact me if you have an issue or questions.
Best Wishes,
Holly :)

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Sheri and Stefania's Gifts Have Arrived...


I was so happy to see that my overseas friends had come through yesterday with the delivery of their gifts! Thank you Sheri and Stefania... Most folks e-mail me to give me a heads up that their package is coming but I always hold my breath a little more when they are coming from overseas. Happy they are here! Check back again soon to see the contents! ;)
Best Wishes, Holly :)

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Tracy's Gifts


Thank you Tracy! Your gifts have arrived and we all can't wait to see what's inside... Especially after that picture that you created to tempt us. Everyone in Tracy's group will be happy to know that not only do her gifts look awesome but they also sound good. They all have tiny little bells attached that completes that holiday feel. Very cute and creative! Thank you some much for all your hard work. It will be appreciated!
Holly :)

Theresa's Gifts




So, Theresa's gifts have arrived and they look fantastic! Theresa, you are going to have to reveal how you got your gifts into the little cans... Yes I said cans! They even have a little pop top... They are not only clever but wicked (New England term) cute. Thanks for all your efforts and nice job Theresa!
Holly :)

New Packages from Theresa and Tracy!



I was so happy to see some packages in my post office box this morning. It's funny how the simple act of getting something in the mail can make you smile... I actually felt my lips curling up into a smile this morning when I saw what was left for me. For as much as I love the Internet and the electronic experience, nothing will replace how it feels to get an actual 'something' in your mailbox in the form of a pretty package or letter. Thank you Theresa and Tracy... They arrived safely and pics of what's inside of the boxes will follow shortly!

Best Wishes, Holly :)