Thanks for a great run

Hello friends...

Thanks for visiting. I'm finding that I no longer have time to devote to swapping. I've had a great run, met some incredible people along the way, and have been inspired.

I'm leaving this site up to provide the Gimmeyourstuff community with idea as they look to put packages together.

Thanks again, it was a lot of fun while it lasted! =)

Say hello to my little friends

Aren't they adorable? By Heidi from my paper crane.

Long awaited goodies from Netherlands

I receive a surprise yesterday -- Erika's package from the Netherlands!

The package has gone through quite a journey. We had arranged the swap in December, and unfortunately Erika's package to me got returned to her in the Netherlands. Erika was so kind to mail it to me again, but by freight. Behold, the package arrived save and sound 6 months later!! :)

Erika sent a beautiful Dutch-themed package. Wonderful items included: handmade messenger bag, a banner made in the colors of the country, fabric, a ceramic figurine, an illustrated children's book, cards, and stickers. What a wonderful surprise. It's almost inspiring me to start up swapping again.

THANK YOU so much Erika. Your package brought me such joy. Warmest wishes on your new store-- I hope many people discover your lovely handmade items! :)

Not lost...

Sorry...not much news to report on the swap front.

I've been very busy lately with other things going on, so I've put swapping on hold for now. I may opt to start up an occasional swap when I have some more time to devote to putting together a good package.

Other swap news, I got an email from Erika in Holland where I learned that the package she mailed to me in December got returned to her in Holland! She's so kind in that she will be mailing it again to me -- but by boat. So I will have a sweet surprise waiting for me in a couple of months. THANK YOU ERIKA!!

I'm actually contemplating buying a sewing machine to that I can make crafty things...if anyone has recommendations for a beginner in sewing, post a comment here!

Must spread the word!!!

OMG! I must spread the word -- you can buy Tim Tams in the USA!!!

In fact, you can purchase them at Cost Plus World Market -- check it out!

Tim Tams are just about the most heavenly cookies I've ever eaten, especially with coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.

GO! Go now, buy, & eat!!!

Happy New Year!

Ok, so my new year's wishes are coming a couple weeks late, but it's the thought that counts, right?

Anyway...on the swapping front:

I received my lovely package from Open Yours Too - Thanks Dawbis for organizing! I will try to post a photo of the goodies I received soon. In the meantime, I think the trade results will be posted here. I participated in Trade 12.

Sadly, I think my package from Erika in Holland got lost in the mail. It's been over a month & a half since she mailed it -- and I still haven't received her packate. It's a bit distressing since Erika puts together to loveliest of packages. Not really sure what I can do about it ... Lesson learned - don't organize a swap during the holiday mail rush. :(

Anway...thanks for the continued comments to swap with me. Unfortunately, I think I need to put swapping on hold for a little bit. Happy swapping to everyone in the meantime!

Going AWOL again

Nothing much to report given the holidays.

Looks like I'll be getting my OYT package in the new year, and I'll probably receive Erika's package while I'm traveling for the holidays.

That's a good thing, it will give me something to look forward too!

Hope everyone has a lovely winter holiday. See you all in the new year!

Mystery solved

Yesterday I received Maize's mystery Crafty Karma Tuesday giveaway. See what it is below!

What fun! I've got some ideas for these lovely beaded creations! Thank you Maize!

A slow news week

Not much going on...will be mailing off tomorrow my last swap for the year to Erika in the Netherlands. I made some little things for her little girls out of the beads and craft items I've been receiving in my swaps. I hope they will like them!

Looking forward to receiving a few things: a package from my swap with Erika, a package from the Open Yours Too trade, and a surprise item from Maize Hutton's weekly craft give away (I won last week!).

Inspired by all the crafty blogs I've been reading, I went out a bought a bunch of colorful yarn to make some scarves and a sewing kit to make some small items. (No sewing machine, oh the horror!) If there are any patterns for very simple knit scarves or fabric bags, please send them my way. I've only knitted one scarf in my life and still don't know how to read all the pattern codes. So "simple" is the operative word behind my request for simple patterns! :) Oh and if there is a simple pattern out there to make a beanie (winter hat) or socks let me know too!

Crafter's delight

Two packages in one day! This package is from Isa in Germany. Isa and I have swapped before. I just love reading Isa's blog particularly because of all the delightfully adorable things she makes.

We decided to swap again; this time I asked for some of her adorable handmade crafts, and she asked me for fun Christmas fabrics.

Isa sent exactly what I wanted and then some! She sent me: 3 of her cutest Minis (a giraffe pin, cat & cow keychains), a Mini coin purse, a handmade Christmas stocking, a vintage craftbook, mixed CD, and candies. Isa just makes the most ADORABLE things. I was so excited to receive her handiwork. I especially love seeing how Isa uses the fabric & trims as sent to her from my last swap with her in her crafts.

The Minis and the stocking are definitely my favorites. In fact, the stocking is already up in my cube to herald in the holiday cheer early!

DANKE, Isa!!! I cannot wait to see what beautiful things you make with the Christmas fabrics I sent to you. I hope you like them!

From the Highlands

An early Christmas -- two lovely packages arrived today! One from Jo in Scotland.

I've been fasinated by Scotland, particularly after seeing the cute indy film "Dear Frankie." (Yes, I watch lots of movies, but how else do you get to travel the world so cheaply?)

Jo sent me cute Scottish things like: a Scottish flag tea towel, magnets of Scottish words & phrases, books, Scottish recipes (unfortunately, I don't cook -- I'll have to see if my friend the chef can whip up something yummy with these goodies!), seeds, toffee, beads, a handmade bag, and some pamphlet of sights to see in Scotland. Lovely!

Thanks, Jo. I especially enjoyed the letter you included to tell me a little bit about the things you sent!

Maravilhas de Portugal

Tania was kind enough to swap with me a few month ago because I had visited Portugal, but came back with no souvineers. What a fabulous package that was!

That swap was so much fun, that we quickly decided to do another one. And of course yet another wonderful, wonderful package from Portugal arrived yesterday.

Tania send all sorts of Portuguese marvels like: another beautiful children's book (I really want to learn the language now!!), ceramic Christmas ornaments, a fabulous handmade ceramic bowl, soap, knick knacks, tea, candy, souvineer tiles and magnets, and a very cute notebook. But, the most marvelous item of all was Tania's handmade patchwork pouch! Simply beautiful!!! I had been enjoying Tania's craft projects through her blog so much, that it was so exciting to actually receive one of her amazing creations.

MUITO OBRIGADA, Tania! As always, you send some of the most lovely things I've received yet. Thank you Tania (and Teresa) for sharing a bit of Portugal with me again. I hope to return to Lisboa someday!

Chasing cars

Quick update - received yet another marvalous package from Tania in Portugal!! Will blog about it when I have my camera back in commission.

Sending out 3 packages tomorrow: (1) to Open Yours Too, (2) to Isa in Germany, and (3) to Jo in Scotland.

Working on my last swap package for the year to Erika in Holland.

That's all for now! =)

Open Yours Too

I signed up to participate in the swap at Open Yours Too (Trade 12). Below are my contributions to the swap. It took a good two weeks of drawing every night to get these done.

I haven't sat down and drawn anything for a really long time. And when I do, I usually have the hardest time giving my drawings away. So participating in this trade is great for a number of reasons: (a) I get to draw, (b) I'm giving my work away (I like this idea!), (c) I'll be getting cool original pieces of art in return (I hope!), and (d) it's a low cost swap (my wallet thanks you, Open Yours Too).

I hope whoever receives these drawings likes them as much as I do!

Tired Angel

My print that I purchased from Irisz in Hungary arrived this week. Isn't it just lovely?


I've found another illustrator that I really like, Patricia, but I prefer the illustrations on her blog over the ones she has for sale. I'm just going to have to wait and hope some of the ones on her blog will be up in her shop soon!

Home of Hamlet

Malene's package from Denmark arrive today! I have to admit, I've always had a small fasination with Denmark. Particularly after watching that silly Julia Stiles movie "The Prince & Me" a few years ago. That movie completely satisfied the little girl in me.

I mean, come on! Every little girl dreams of marrying a prince! Especially if the prince looks like Luke Mably!

So Malene send all sorts of nice things my way: postcards, a crafting magazine, a children's book, stickers, paper, little toys, and felted flowers. My favorite was the tin post mail box, where children can use it as a piggy bank (i.e. money bank). It even comes with little vintage style keys to lock up the box! Too cute!!

THANK YOU Malene, for sharing Denmark with me! I hope to travel there someday!

Owl swap!

I've blogged about the Owl Project before...and yesterday my owl swap with Kwoozy arrived from Australia!

Meet Kylie, owl #3! Kylie came with a adorable handmade card certifying her ambassadorship from Australia.

As a part of the owl swap I sent Kwoozy a handmade badge pin and will be doing my goodwill project working at a local kitchen feeding the homeless, which I blogged about here.

What other things did I receive? Kwoozy sent all sorts of exciting goodies like: another awesome tea towel about Australia, souvineer coasters, candies (Cherry Ripe!!!!), Tim-tams, sweet smelling soap, magnet, a postcard, a badge pin and my favorites -- a boomerang and an aboriginal cloth print. Simply fantastic!

THANK YOU, Kwoozy! I just love it, expecially the aboriginal souvineers. I can't decide whether to really try out the boomerang or not. I'm definitely getting the artwork framed and up on my wall, and I'm looking forward to trying the famous Tim-tam dunk! =)

Land of Kiwi and Cadbury

So Charlene and I recently went on trips to exotic places and decided to do our own swap. Charlene got me fabulous things from New Zealand. Like everyone else in the world, I wanted to go to NZ after seeing the Lord of the Rings movies. Since I haven't been able to make it out there, Charlene did the next best thing by getting me cool souvineers and eats from NZ.

Charlene sent me: goodies from the Cadbury factory (CRUNCHIE BARS!!!!), a kiwi pin, a kiwi crystal, a magnet, a necklace she made from a shell she bought in NZ, a Maori style keychain, and a mini pooh bear. I just LOVE it all!!

My dentist is probably not going to be happy with me after I eat all this fabulous Cadbury candy, but hey, it's Halloween tomorrow! I need to get into the spirit somehow!

THANK YOU, Charlene. You always pick out the best things for me! Thanks for bringing a bit of New Zealand my way!

Eu amo Portugal

Another package filled with fun arrived at my door last week! This package is from Teresa in Portugal. I've said it before, and I say it again: I just love Portugal!

Teresa sent me all sorts of beautiful things. Tea towls, sweets, a children's book, a magnet, a mix CD of traditional Portugese music, tea, trim, yarn, postcards, soap and an assortment of items with the Galo de Barcelos on them. My favorites? Teresa sent me a handmade bag & a pair of handmade earrings!! I've already put the bag and earrings to good use. I can't wait to listen to the CD and try the candy. I have big plans for the yarn.

Also in the package was another little treat: a vintage saco-guardanapo. There is a better photo of it to the left (it got covered by the CD in the photo above). The embroidery is exquisite!

MUITO OBRIGADA, Teresa! This is such a fantastic package. Thank you also for all your wonderful emails during the swap! =)

Dreaming of clouds

My print that I purchased from Monica (from Spain) came today! Isn't it lovely? Monica even send a little note & tiny surprise along with the print.
The postman nearly ruined it because he folded the envelope (that the artwork came in) and stuffed the envelope into my tiny, tiny mailbox. I was so upset that I called the post office to tell him to stop doing that to my packages. He nearly ruined my beautiful print! Hopefully, the postman will not do that to Irisz' print when it comes!

Craftiness

One thing that swapping has really opened my eyes to is how there is a HUGE community of crafty people. Like I've said before, I am NOT crafty. But reading all these blogs is starting really inspire me to buy a sewing machine and try my hand at making things.

Anyway, I usually still read the blogs of people I've swapped with, just to keep up with what they've been up to. I swapped with Isa over the summer. She makes the cutest things, and recently made a bag collection of cut zoo animals. She used some of the fabric I sent her in the swap, so of course, I just had to include a link to that bag here.

Isa also has an Etsy shop where you can buy all her lovely creations.

UPDATE: Ok, are these not the cutest things ever?? My favorite is the plushie cow & plushie giraffe key chains. These too!!

Illustrations from around the world

I've recently been bit by the home decorating bug. I have a very strong desire to purchase art to decorate my home.

Through the Gimme Your Stuff site and following blog chains, I discovered two amazing artists and have recently purchased their work. From Irisz in Hungary, I bought the Tired Angel print. From Monica in Spain, I bought the Dreaming of Clouds print. I can't wait for them to arrive!! I'm anxious to get these prints framed and hanging on my wall!

Some other artists I've recently taken a liking to: Georges Meis, Natasha Wescoat, Andrea Laliberte, and Monica Stewart. I'm saving up to buy a nice bigger print for one of my empty walls. So hopefully by the time I have enough money, I will have decided whose art to buy. =)

Lost

Have seen these earrings? I sadly lost them during vacation recently. They were a gift from a friend I met on my travels (to remember her by) and were absolutely a favorite pair of mine. (My friend had gotten these when she was on vacation, so no easy access to getting them again.)

I'm wondering if anyone else has come across earrings of a similar style. All I know is that these earrings were originally from the Philippines, Thailand, or Singapore.

If you have, I would love to do a swap with you for more earrings like this one in the photo. Please leave a comment on my blog with your email if you do!

In swap news, I mailed off more swap packages last week to Europe. I'm excited that my swappers have been asking for screen printed tees, because I have so much fun shopping for them. These vintage styled screen printed t-shirts have been in fashion for sometime. I actually loved the one I bought for Teresa in Portugal so much that I bought the exact same t-shirt for myself and have been wearing it all over town! My only hope is that she will like it as much as I do!

Goodwill to all and goodnight

The company I work for strongly supports volunteerism and giving back to the community. Last week through a program at work, I signed up to volunteer at a local homeless shelter. There, I will be spending a few hours to prepare and serve dinner to the homeless.

Since the shelter won't be needing me until the end of November, volunteering ends up coinciding well with my swap with Kwoozy and her Owl Project.

As such, I've decided to make this my goodwill event for receiving an owl from the Owl Project. If I get Kwoozy's owl by the time I volunteer at the shelter, I will take a photo of the owl in front of the shelter for Kwoozy to post! :)

To the right is a not-very-good photo of the my badge pin that I will be sending to Kwoozy for the Owl Project. I had originally wanted to send one of the California State Flag, but there is no easy way of purchasing it where I live. Also, ordering it online is expensive if I only want one or two pins. I used to be able to purchase it in the airports (I've been traveling a lot lately), but they don't sell pins anymore, I suppose for security reasons.

So I ended up making a badge pin myself out of a commerative quarter dollar coin. The US Mint started a few years ago to create special state versions of the quarter dollar coins. Each state coin has its own unique design. The coin here for California depicts John Muir, Half Dome at Yosemite National Park, a California Condor, and a Giant Sequoia. I think this make for a more interesting than the state flag.

But the backing of the pin doesn't look very elegant because I used crazy glue, nearly getting my fingers glued together in the process!! All said and done, after purchasing the pin backings, crazy glue, and giving up one of my two California quarters from my state quarters collection, it probably would have costed me the same to order the flag pin online! Well, it was fun making it, and more personal I think. Hopefully, who ever ends up getting this pin will think so too!

Beware of bad swaps

Have you ever had a bad swap? :(

I received my first bad swap from Leena in Germany today. I'm feeling sad and a little upset about it. Particularly since I really try my very hardest to put together a sizable package filled with things that I think my swappers would like (after getting their wish list via blog or email).

I guess I've been really lucky thus far to have swapped with some really nice and absolutely wonderful people. I suppose something like this is bound to happen once.

The silver lining in all of this is that I have some swaps currently lined up with some great people that I've swapped with before. And I'm going to optimistic about my new swaps too.

This really gives me an incentive to continue to put great swap packages (which has always been my goal) so that no one ever experiences a bad swap from me. I just hope that my good intentions do not get exploited again.

I'll probably delete this post later to avoid bad kharma, but just had to blog about this to get it out of my system. Thanks for lending a sympathetic ear! :)

Austria arrives

When Barbara contacted me back in August for a swap, I just couldn't resist. I so rarely meet someone with my name that I just had to agree. After over a month of anticipation, Barbara's package finally arrived from Austria today!

Barbara sent all sorts of Austrian fun: a children's book, pamphlets about Graz, souvineers from Graz, a cute tee from Zara, and Austrian candies. I especially liked how she wrote little notes to explain all the items she sent. (I really appreciated the note attached to the book, telling me about the story line!) I also really liked the pamphlets about Graz she sent, I haven't had a chance to read them, but and looking forward to it as I love learning about new places.

THANK YOU, Barbara! I'm so glad we swapped. I've also enjoyed the emails we've been trading in the interim. Keep me posted on how the rock climbing goes! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. =)

Bonbons de France

Emma's wonderful package arrived from France while I was on vacation as well.

I, too, am now a proud owner of some of Emma's original prints. What talent!! These were my absolute favorite items in the package, and what lovely prints they are. I'm definitely getting them framed.

Emma also sent a fantastic assortment of stuff, including a magazine, a beautiful illustrated children's book, postcards, stamps, lovely fabrics/buttons/trim, nougat candy, sweet smelling soap, and a mixed CD. What an eclectic mix of items, but some how it works so well! I just love every item in this package!! I've already got great plans for the prints and the craft items...

Emma, MERCI BEAUCOUP!! I've never been to France, so thank you for sending a little piece of it my way. You're creativity is really inspirational, now if I just had a fraction of that creativity then maybe my swap photos for the GYS site would be more up Rikki's alley! :)

Cositas bonitas de España

As promised, here is my post about Veronica's lovely package.

She sent all sorts of goodies: children's books, mixed CD, handmade crafts, knick knacks, stickers, candies and a lovely knit shirt.

The Spanish music will be a great way for my to brush up on my rusty, rusty Spanish language skills. The lovely postcard brought back happy memories of my trip to Spain as well. I just remember that the Spanish know how to live life well with their siestas and awesome night life.

¡Muchas gracias, Veronica! ¡Me gusta todo!

Reporting for duty

Did you miss me?? I've returned from two amazing weeks of vacation. Here's a photo for you to guess where I've been:
* sigh* I have to admit I'm a little sad to be back. I'm not looking forward to going back to work. And I'm suprised to find myself missing the amazing people I met on the trip, in particular a tall skinny boy with dark hair, blue eyes and a cute accent -- who is a complete dork, but funny & charming at the same time. Ah well, c'est la vie.

Going AWOL

Received Veronica's package from Spain today!! Will blog about it properly when I get back from vacation!

See you all in October! =)

The Owl Project

I think this is such a fabulous idea that I just want to show my support by including a post and link to Kwoozy's Owl Project.

I'll be getting Owl #3! I'm already on the search for a cool badge pin, as well as brainstorming ideas on what my goodwill activity will be and names for the little guy. I'm a little inspired -- I think may take my owl on my travels with me for fun photos ops! We'll see what fun follows...

Thank you Kwoozy for letting me participate and be a part of this project!!

Land of the Rising Sun

Yet another fabulous package arrived today. This time from the land of the rising sun!!

We have a very robust Japanese community where I live; I also think we can get a lot of Japanese things here because of our proximity to Asia. At first, I thought: "what could I possibly get from Japan that would be any different then what I could get here?" I was wrong. Look at the fantastic goodies Lulu sent my way...

Wonderful things like -- Japanese fabrics & buttons, a craft magazine, a children's book, postcards, lavendar incense, socks, a mixed CD, Japanese paper dolls, a notebook & pen, and pretty origami papers. They really do make things differently there. The fabrics are just so beautiful, my favorite is the Anne of Green Gables print (loved the books as a kid). AND the mixed CD - I am no longer Cat Empire deprived! Thank you!!! And can you see the postcards?? The Japanese really know how to do ultra-hip art. I want to see if I can find poster sized prints when I go to Japan sometime this year. I can go on & on about this package! =)

ARIGATO GOZAIMASU Lulu!! (Did I spell that correctly?) You are a lovely person to swap with! Thanks for all the wonderful emails. I absolutely love this package!

Obrigada a Lisboa

Last year during a trip to the Iberian peninsula, I discovered the wonders of Portugal & Lisbon. Such a lovely country, with wonderful sights, people, and....desserts!! I'm absolutely addicted to the custards they have there. Sadly, I didn't get a chance to buy any souvineers, except for a scarf from a gypsy woman by the Tower of Belem.

But Tania saved the day by sending me an absolutely wonderful, wonderful package that came today!! She send me a fabulous t-shirt, 2 beautiful illustrated children's books, ceramic souvineers, postcards, magnets, yarn, a vintage tamborine, and a lovely honey cake from Madeira. The illustrations from the Gira Gira book are just fantastic (and is one of my favorite items in the swap). This package was more than I could have ever expected!!

I think a big reason why I'm thrilled with this package is because it reminded me so much of my very short trip to Lisbon. I have such happy memories, and I definitely would love to go back again.

Tania, THANK YOU so much for this wonderful package. This was such a thoughful package, it's absolutely fantastic!!

Vintage crafts

I noticed that Emma used one of the vintage images (that I had sent in my swap to her) in her artwork. I just had to add a link to her posting here.

I found the great store that sells reproduction of vintage images for scrapbooking. The vintage image of the people on the beach is one of the ones I sent to Emma in her swap.

I'm so glad to see that she's putting my swap to good use! :)

Hallo aus Deutschland

I received a lovely package from Isa in Germany!!

What did she send me?? Lovely NICI items like a panda bear and lion key chains. German candy & chocolate -- yum! An illustrated children's book, postcard, and cute notebooks. Isa also send an adorable handmade surprise: a super cute amigurumi finger puppet! These furry friends are keeping me company on my desk at work, my co-workers keep asking where I get such fun stuff.

Isa, THANK YOU for swapping with me! I love every item in this wonderful package!! =)

Spreading the joy

I've mentioned before that I love getting emails back about the packages I sent. I've been getting a few great ones, like Barbara's email today -- it really made my day! You're enthusiasm is so infectious!! I'm so glad you like the package I sent, Barbara!

Barbara's equally enthusiastic review of the package I sent can be found here. Reading it really makes my day!

I wish I was a punk rocker...

...with flowers in my hair...

Check out this great music artist, Sandi Thom.

You can hear her single on the flash player on that site.

Fabric galore!

So, I am the first to admit that I am not a crafty person. I have a bad, bad habit of buying craft items like beads or yarn, and then never doing anything with them. I'm positive that I've spent A LOT of money on craft items for myself, and it's all sitting in a bag in my closet. Terrible waste, isn't it?

Still, I can't help myself. All this recent shopping for all things fabric & crafty for my swaps, I just had to get these fabrics for myself. Lovely, aren't they? I really love the prints of vintage advertisements that my friend found for me. I'm determined that I will make something out of these, but check back in a year. Let's just say, it took me 10 months to knit my first scarf because I get easily distracted.

I'm hoping this week I'll have lots of exciting swaps to blog about. (Am I the only person to find using the verb "to blog" a little weird?) I'm waiting to receive packages from Portugal, Germany, Austria, and France. Just sent off my last packages to Japan & Spain today. Fun!

From the Great Land Down Under

Kwoozy's package from Australia arrived today!!

What fun from the land down under!! Kwoozy sent a lovely tee with the Aussie flag, candies (including the ever important Crunchie bars), two little furry friends (a koala & an echidna - though I think echindas are more spiky in real life), and my favorite: a little tablecloth (tea cloth) about things found in Victoria.

I used to eat Crunchie Bars when my childhood friend would mail them to me when she went home to Australia. She's since grown up & moved away, and I've been pining for these super sweet treats ever since.

THANK YOU, Kwoozy for sharing a little piece of Australia with me. I've been dying to go for a visit some day, particularly since I'm always meeting such cool & wonderful Aussies during my travels. Some day...some day! =)

To Austria or to Australia?

You would think it wouldn't be too much trouble for the post office to get the postage right for the two packages I sent today: one to Australia, the other to Austria.

But no, they mixed it up! Good thing I was paying attention!! No fear, Gimme swappers, I made sure that the packages were being correctly routed to the correct country. They should get there in 6-10 days! =)

blech...

It has been such an insanely busy week at work that I haven't had a chance to do anything else, like pick up things for my Gimme swaps!

On a lighter note, I've decided that one of my favorite things about these swaps are the emails I get when my swappers receive their packages. Isa sent me a sweet little note about the package I sent her, it totally brighten my day!

I finally finished putting my packages together for Kwoozy & Barbara today, will ship them first thing Monday morning! Started to pick up a few things for Emma and LuLu as well. Loved the stuff I was buying for them so much that I got some for myself! :).

Swedish delights

What timing! The day after Malin received the package I sent her, I received the package that she sent to me!!

Such excitement: Malin sent me an illustrated children's book, postcards, candy, a key chain, Swedish army chapstick, and a Dalecarlian horse pin. (Can you spot the pin in the photo?) I especially liked how Malin included a letter telling me all about all the things she got me, particularly about the storyline of the book! The illustrations are quite fun.



THANK YOU Malin for sending these Swedish delights my way!!

Martine & Tintin

Oh my it's like Christmas in August!! The rest of Marie's package arrived today!! I've posted a photo of the entire package, including the Tintin stuffs I receive a couple weeks ago.

In the new package were three beautiful Martine books (I'm inspired to learn French now!), boxes of delicious speculoos cookies, and a little surprise from Marie: a handmade pink crochet flower pin. Gorgeous!! I've already put the pin on one of my cardigans. And one of the boxes of cookies is already half eaten and the day is not even half over!

Marie, THANK YOU again for such a lovely swap! I can't wait to see what beautiful things you make with the threads & beads I sent!

Positively regal

Just came back from a wickedly fun weekend in Las Vegas to find this wonderful package waiting for me from Bea in London.

I was feeling positively regal receiving a package via "Royal Mail" and getting the official Fortnam & Mason's ("by appointment to HRH") tea & biscuits.

Also in the package were postcards, magazines, books, pamphlets, little souvineers, the Union Jack, and Crunchie Bars!!! I was brushing up on my cockney slang just this morning. ("Not a bad Dickory Dock! It's quite a Gordon & Gotch!")

I love everything about this package...I've never been to the UK and now I want to go even more!!

THANK YOU Bea for this lovely package! I hope she enjoyed my package just as much. (I know the peanut butter chips are going to good use!)

Bea's photo of the things that she sent me is much more posh, so I've included a link to it here.

Success!

Successfully sent off 2 more swap packages today. One to Isa in Germany and another to Malin in Sweden.

The post office lady (a different one from yesterday) who helped me today was much nicer. She even helped me find alternative postage that would not be as expensive as I thought.

Obligatory rant about the US postal system

A very mean post office lady would not led me send my swap packages today using the Global Priority Flat Rate envelope because my packages were "too bulky," even though I've sent packages with the same "bulkiness" in that kind enevelope before.

This is annoying because now sending the same package will now cost me significantly more money in postage. Arrrggggh!!! Oh well, you live & you learn.

Tintin

My first package!!!

I received a lovely package of Tintin goodies from Marie.

Not only that, Marie will be sending will be sending some Martine books my way too. (Will add photos when that package gets here.)

THANK YOU Marie for being my first official Gimme Your Stuff swapper. I'm sending you (Marie) warm, sunny thoughts from California! I hope you're doing well!

Houston, we have lift off!

Sent off my first packages today!!

One to Marie in Belgium and another to Tania in Portugal. Tomorrow, I will be sending a package to Bea in England. Very exciting, isn't it? I've got 4 more swaps lined up for the next few weeks.

I can't wait to see what fun & exciting things I'll be receiving...

Shopping...

...every girl's dream...

I had a great day yesterday shopping for stuff for my Gimme swappers. I was in "the city" (as we locals call it) shopping for local souvineers and fabrics. I'm super excited with the fabrics my friend and I picked out for my swappers, I just hope they like them too!! Today, I'm going to hit up some local craft stores to pick up the rest the craft items I promised (beads/threads/etc). I will post photos later of the things I'm sending, but after I mail the packages off. (I want the packages to be a surprise!)

Can't wait to send off my first packages!!!

Swap with me!

UPDATED 1/2008

Thanks for visiting!

I am no longer swapping. Thanks again.

What I sent to my swappers 2007

Here are the wonderful people who I am swapping with, and the things I am sending them. I'll be updating this as I do more swaps...

(Friends, if you rather that I not post your name, just send me an email to let me know.)

Erika, Netherlands (her write-up)

Jo, Scotland (her write-up)
Isa, Germany [swap #2] (her write-up)

Tania, Portugal [swap #2] (her write up)
Kwoozy, Australia [owl swap] (her write-up)

Malene, Denmark (her write-up, GYS)

Teresa, Portugal (her write-up, GYS)
Leena*, Germany

(* received bad swap from her *)

Charlene, California [New Zealand/Greece swap] (her write up)

(items above are from Greece, Charlene will
be sending me items from New Zealand)

Veronica, Spain (her write-up)
Lulu, Japan (her write-up)(not shown in the photo above, but included

in the package, were some free local newspapers)

Emma K., France (GYS)
Barbara, Austria (her write-up, GYS)

Kwoozy, Australia (her write-up, GYS)
Malin, Sweden (her write-up, GYS)
Isa, Germany (her write-up)

Bea, England (her write-up, GYS)

Tania, Portugal (her write-up, GYS)

Marie, Belgium (her write-up, GYS)