birthday weekend

A few snapshots from the weekend. Lovely cards, a panama hat and clothes from a clever husband (he had the dress made and screen-printed for me at one of my favorite shops!), a beautiful brunch at José Andrés Tres complete with mimosas and bloody marys, and sweet presents from dear friends.

Hope you've had a wonderful weekend, too!

unexpected easter

My husband has been away for three weeks...and since I actually like my husband, that's a pretty long time. He was away for both his birthday and for Easter, so my rather sad dinner last night consisted of two slices of toast and some tea and chocolate biscuits.

It was therefore a lovely surprise to go outside just now and find a little present hanging on the door. Our former neighbor left a small basket filled with pysanky eggs, fun clips, and a large nut-covered penuchi that I'm pretty sure she made herself.

It was such a sweet and so thoughtful thing for her to do...and certainly teaches me to try and leave the house every once in awhile.

calling cards, squared

I received a lovely set of name cards from my partner for the Laura's Old-Fashioned Calling Cards swap that I hosted.

My partner catsandbutterflys made me a dozen cards printed on nicely textured beige card stock in a rather unusual square shape and stamped with a pretty border. Best of all, the cunning little images are color plates from a decoupage book from the 1970s that she carefully cut out and pasted, which of course is a perfect choice for someone who enjoys vintage as much as I do. I wouldn't have thought to make squared off cards, but my partner explained that though the shape was somewhat unconventional, she thought it showed off the images better...and I absolutely agree.

I love seeing how different people interpret the same idea. Aren't these cards beautiful? I can't wait to use them as gift enclosures or swap cards!

bookmarks...made for me!

I received a lovely pair of handmade bookmarks from bionicrobyn this week. She sent me one with a Kate DiCamillo quote from The Tale of Desperaux with a lime-green ribbon, featuring an illustration with a spool of thread.

Since Robyn knows how much I like Mary Poppins, she also kindly drew Mary's parrot umbrella for me with the wonderful quote "Don't you know that everybody's got a Fairyland of their own?" Which, if I remember correctly, was said with a disdainful sniff. I like that she wrote the quote herself instead of printing it, and I like the little sprinkling of stardust on it, too. The umbrella is parted at the bottom so that the two sides of the spine slide right over the top of a page. Ingenious!

It's so fun to see what people do with the same idea and I especially like to receive things that are drawn or painted, since I can't do it myself. Those genes, sadly, skipped right over this particular bee.

handmade lettersets

I'd never thought about making handmade lettersets, but apparently creative people find all manner of things to make. Hollycm6 sent me some wonderful stationery stitched from Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan book paper, and both lettersets include self-adhesive strips for easy sealing.

I really like the handmade envelope she sent them in, too, especially since I get to keep that particular one instead of feeling as though I need to use it! I also like the stamps she affixed on them, particularly the faux stamp for the Dandelion Weald that she made herself. I finally got postage-edge scissors recently and I can't wait to try making my own faux postage at some point.

nightingale paper cutting

Recently I hosted an Adopt a Book Pet swap, in which participants were invited to make an animal from a children's book, along with adoption papers. The swap was of course inspired by the Adopt a Monster Plush swap from awhile back.

I haven't finished my own outgoing pet yet, but I've already received a nightingale paper cutting from my partner Sarah, aka Lavender Lizard. I love scherenschnitte and I love The Nightingale, so this was just perfect!

As it happens, I also just posted a Fairy Tale Paper Cutting swap over in our Once Upon a Time group, so this was really serendipitous timing. Great minds think alike and all that! Apparently Sarah is writing a grant based on Hans Christian Andersen's paper cutting, so she has this stuff on the brain, too. Knowing that I really like narwhals, she also sent me a narwhal ATC that she made from stamps she carved herself. I quite like the expression on his face, as well as the swirly blue ocean in which he's immersed.

one tiny thing

I was invited to join the group One Tiny Thing recently. I really like the concept, which is that you send one handmade item that is less than 4 inches in any given theme. Things that are small are always somehow so much cuter! Plus I like that the group rules state that you are not to send anything other than the thing itself. I love an extra as much as the next person, but sometimes in the world of handmade, the expectation to send additional "stuff" gets to be a little much.

I received my first package this week, which happened to be in sort of an open theme "send what you like" type of thing. Happily, my partner SunnyBlueSkies likes Pooh, and after visiting my blog saw that I did, too! So she painted a beautiful little matchbox and decorated it with book papers, and enclosed little glass magnets that she made inside. So sweet! The packaging with the drawstring bag and paper tag are just perfect, too.

i am loved

I keep saying this, but unexpected surprises might be my most favorite kind.

In addition to the washi tape, my friend Linda also sent me some other Valentine-y presents in the mail. I've been saving them up to share because I love them so much! I received a SWAK rubber stamp, pretty salt water taffy in the only flavors I happen to eat, sweet vintage buttons still on their cards, and best of all, a wall hanging she embroidered and framed especially for me.

The wall hanging is actually a delayed Christmas present, but one well worth waiting for. As I've mentioned before, "The Owl and the Pussycat" has special significance to us since it was one of the two poems read at our wedding. I already have a copy of Sonnet 116 from an old book framed for my curio wall and had been looking for something similar for the other poem--and now here it is! 

Linda took an illustration of the poem and embroidered it onto cloth, ingeniously filling in the large spaces with watercolor marker. I love the end result, which looks appropriately like a real children's book illustration. Both the animals are so sweet and dreamy and serene on their moonlit journey, and I can't wait to find a good place to hang this. 

It's always wonderful when someone makes something with you in mind, but when someone chooses something as personal as this, it renders me practically speechless. It's wonderful to have dear friends. Especially when they're both thoughtful and crafty.

more valentine cupcake toppers

My friend Naomi sent me some cute cupcake toppers for the Sweetly Vintage Valentine Toppers swap recently. As I've mentioned, we keep getting partnered in swaps, which is kind of nice because then you know you'll be getting a good package in the mail.

Naomi used adorable stickers to make her toppers along with the pleating technique I used for the holiday toppers I made for Christmas. They're so pretty and so sweet! She also sent me some wonderful glittery Valentine postcards from Cavallini and Company, which I'd seen in stores and really liked. She  was also clever enough to write a note on one of them, knowing full well, I expect, that this would give me license to actually keep it.

In other news, my husband is finally home after a month away, plus my gentlemen friends were staying with us for a few days while they were in town, so it's been a little nutty around here lately. Hopefully things are back to normal, however...I've missed the blogosphere!

thomas keller, thumbelina necklace

Trading handmade can be wonderful, but sometimes you can just trade away stuff you don't want for stuff you do. Paperfarm and I set up a swap recently in which I sent her a couple of things I already had in exchange for a couple of items I was interested in. 

I'd been salivating after Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home so she sent me a copy from my Amazon wish list. I'm so excited over this book, and I can't wait to try his recipe for lemon-brined chicken. It sounds amazing!

My partner also makes jewelry, so she made me a Thumbelina necklace for me using a tiny fairy charm, a thimble, and some little silver spoons. Isn't it cunning? I also like the silvery moon shining above. 

All in all a most satisfactory exchange!

another pooh candy gram

So here is the Pooh Candy Gram that my partner Simple Seamstress sent to me! A sweet box lined  with E.H. Shepard illustrations, tied with printed fabric ribbon, and filled with neat rows of vanilla caramels.

These candy grams can be so much fun to send instead of a just an ordinary card, and they come with the bonus of sweet treats for the week ahead. They would make adorable greetings for birthdays or other occasions, too.

fairies and rabbits

A few lovely handmade items sent to me from mmilesesq for a Children's Lit Paper Goodies swap I hosted recently:

-- set of 8 Beatrix Potter tags cleverly adorned with butterflies and picket fences
-- a selection of Winnie the Pooh cards
-- a set of bookplate labels
-- sweet personalized Pooh swap card
-- set of 8 glittered fairy tags with envelope pockets
-- wonderful books!

This was meant to be a lightweight, inexpensive swap consisting of at least 5 paper items, but my partner went well above and beyond what was required with her thoughtfully chosen and generous package. I'm always touched when people take my likes and dislikes into account, but it's especially nice when people make things especially with you in mind!

sweet stamps and cookies

Continuing the Random Acts of Kindness theme, I received three packages this week that made me emit little high-pitched squeals.

I am in a number of groups with hollycm6, and she sent me not one, but two random packages of goodies. One was filled with chocolate and Beatrix Potter stickers, and the other...with hand-carved rubber stamps! That she made especially for me! I love that I have my user name and a little wandering bee on a stamp. I've always wanted something like this because "honeybee" is my husband's nickname for me, but I don't actually make any sort of bee (other than tiny needle-felted ones)--so this is just perfect! 

The other stamp is another one I requested, which is an Ernie the Envie stamp. He's the super cute Swap-Bot symbol designed by Rachel Johnson--you can see his cheerful face on the link on the right side of this blog--and I can't wait to see him smiling approvingly on my future packages. Holly, by the way, is also the artist who sent me those great Red Riding Hood cards. 

I also received a small box of koala cookies from TraceyK. So cute and so delicious! There are a number of different koala bear designs, including koalas...eating cookies. Asian snacks and sweets always seem to be so much cuter than those produced in the rest of the world. Erm, even if the animals on the boxes have their heads removed so you can see the chocolate oozing out from inside.

It's always fun to receive swap packages, but when they're sent for no particular reason, somehow it makes it even nicer.

unexpected kindness

I have to confess that swapping online can sometimes be a chancy prospect. I join most swaps for the pleasure of creating something and just hope for something fun in return--and I'm lucky that I've mostly been paired with great partners who have sent me many unexpected and wonderful presents.

One thing I've never been able to understand, though, is when people say they will do something and then they just...don't. How is it possible to make a commitment and not fulfill it? If something comes up, as things sometimes do, shouldn't you at least let your partner know?

I've been really bothered about this for the past few months, since a number of issues came up over the holidays. I've been pretty lucky in that I've only been completely flaked on a couple of times this year, once for the Design a Calling Card swap and for an ornament swap through another blog. But several people flaked on the Little House Christmas swap, most of them apparently quite deliberately, which left their partners disappointed and empty-handed. For a big package. At Christmas time. With an incredibly sentimental theme.

I was pretty heartsick over the whole thing. Even though I wasn't personally flaked on, I don't like for members in my groups to be disappointed or to go through unpleasant swapping experiences...and I felt a huge responsibility for this since we had several people join Swap-Bot specifically just so they could participate in that particular exchange.

But the amazing thing was that so many wonderful people stepped in to help as soon as they heard what had happened. Each of the missing swaps was "angeled" by other Hundred Acre Wood members, who volunteered to send extra packages for no reason other than that they are kind and generous people. Naomi sent one to Paris, and chickadeebijoux (Courtney) sent one to England...and there were more volunteers besides. I can't thank them enough for being so quick to respond to their fellow members, and for filling the stockings full of meaningful presents despite the holiday rush. These ladies also braved an extra trip to the post office just a couple of days before Christmas, and for their modern-day "swim across the creek with precious presents on their heads" efforts, they both certainly deserve the Mr. Edwards Award for going above and beyond to make someone else's Christmas special.

I sent out an angel package as well, and it was a pleasure to do since ftdlynn "adores" Laura Ingalls Wilder. It was enough for me that she received something she really enjoyed...but to my great surprise, I also received a "thank you" package from her in return this week. Teresa sent me a beautiful hand-tatted piece that she watched a local craftswoman create in Texas, a set of book plates, and a variety of bookmarks featuring books and quotes that I love. Best of all, however, she enclosed a wonderful note to express her appreciation and thanks. It made me a little teary, because it was so completely unnecessary, but so incredibly sweet--and it more than made up for the frustration I experienced. It can sometimes be a lot of work to host a swap or to head up a group, but the efforts are rewarded tenfold by what I receive in return.

So in spite of the occasional Grinch, it's because of people like Teresa and Naomi and Courtney that it's a pleasure to swap on Swap-Bot. Beyond the wonderful presents they send, it just lifts the spirit and gladdens the heart to be reminded that there is such beauty and kindness in human nature. It's that same lump-in-the-throat feeling I get every time I watch It's a Wonderful Life; life, and people, are wonderful indeed.

 Photo #2 courtesy of Courtney.

embroidered tea towels

One of the pleasures of swapping on Swap-Bot is that you get a chance to receive crafts you might never get around to doing yourself. I do a bit of basic embroidery here and there, but I've never done tea towels...so it was really wonderful to receive this set from tishous.

Tish hand-dyed the towels especially for me, and chose a squirrel and a matryoshka design to stitch. I really like the colors she used, as well as the patterns from Sublime Stitching. The towels are nice and soft and will be lovely for all those times when recipes call for something to be wrapped in a "clean cloth towel," as these are much too pretty to use to wipe things up with.

I especially appreciate that Tish worked on these over the busy holiday season. I've actually done a number of postcard exchanges with her before, and she's always a fun and reliable partner to get! I'm glad we did a 1:1 swap this time for the tea towels, as I'm going to get to enjoy these for a very long time.