outgoing packages

Posting a quick photo of some of the packages that went out this week. One of them is the Velveteen Rabbit adoption package, and the others are an assortment of prizes. I'm hosting a storybook-inspired recipe booklet swap and decided to do a quick little game asking people to identify the book foods identified in the swap description. Since several people chimed in, I decided to award a few winners with little children's lit-related presents.

It's always fun to receive packages that are decorated--and honestly, Swap-Bot people send the most amazing and happy-making embellished parcels. I love using deco tape and rubber stamps, but sometimes adding recycled book paper or printouts of interesting images are a really wonderful and inexpensive way to decorate, too. Since these envelopes were for children's book swaps, I thought it was fitting to use vintage Mother Goose pages and fairy tale illustrations. I hope they make their recipients happy!

bookish valentines

When you were little, did you decorate shoeboxes and paper bags for Valentine's Day? I fondly remember how much fun it was to make them with construction paper and glue and to watch the pile of thin white envelopes and little candies accumulate.

That was the idea behind the Sweets to the Sweet: a box of bookish valentines swap that I hosted. I thought it'd be fun to decorate and fill a box with cards signed by children's book characters, so everyone was asked to pick cards and write short messages that might've been chosen by characters they liked.

I wrapped and glued a cracker box in pretty red and white wrapping paper and then put on a few graphics so it looked sort of candy box-ish. I then printed out vintage cards or images that I found online, and embellished some of them with bits of glitter and ribbon.

I found a penny valentine with a worm on it that was perfect for Ramona Quimby to send to Henry Huggins, since of course she proposed to him with a worm wrapped around her finger; I printed out a Nancy Drew silhouette and pasted it to a doily for a card from Ned; and more penny valentines from Joe Willard to Betsy Ray, from Sheila Tubman to Peter Hatcher, and from Jules to Ella of All-of-a-Kind Family. The only two that weren't real "cards" were the one from Harriet the Spy to Sport and the card to Emily Byrd Starr from Teddy Kent, because he would of course send her something he'd painted himself. I always loved that Teddy had "the trick of putting [Emily] into every portrait that he painted," so I took the liberty of attributing A Meadow Flower to him. (Apologies, Mr. John White Alexander!)

I also used a few cards I scanned and printed from the box of 100-year-old valentines my mother-in-law sent me, including ones from Gilbert Blythe to Anne Shirley, from Mr. Darcy to Elizabeth Bennet, and from Peter Pan to Wendy Darling. It actually made me really sad to re-read the end of Peter Pan again; it'd been years since I read it, so it brought tears to my eyes when Wendy tells him she doesn't remember how to fly. Such a bittersweet ending.

Anyway...I put everything in the box with some candy, and I hope my partner will enjoy opening it. I'm looking forward to getting some bookish valentines of my own to read, too!

christmas tea parcel

Last week, I sent my gentlemen friends a Christmas package to help them get through all those cold winter nights. They're both tea drinkers, but they've never owned a proper tea pot, so I thought it was time to get them one.

I sent them a pretty white china tea pot and creamer, as well as our new favorite blend of tea from American Tea Room. This company, which is located in Beverly Hills, used to be known as the Palais du Thé and I'm a big fan of their lapsang souchong, which is a dark tea that tastes exactly like smoke. For this gift, we decided to go with the beautifully addictive new tea Nirvana, which is made up of Japanese sencha, figs, berries, rose petals and kiwi. I'm not usually a fruity tea person, but I love this particular drink--it's a subtle, sophisticated blend of florals and green tea that is mellow and smooth and absolutely unforgettable. If you'd like to order some for yourself or for a friend, the company does offer free shipping for orders over $50, and they have lots of great gift packages available as well.

It's not Christmas without books, of course, so I also sent them a copy of Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce. I don't think either one of them have read it, and it's a nice cozy mystery to curl up with during the winter holiday. I really enjoy the challenge of finding children's books for my friends to read--I worked in book stores for many years, and my favorite question from parents was always "My son doesn't like to read. What would you suggest?" so I'm culling from that mental list as I send them books. So far, so good!

I packaged the tea things up in huge amounts of bubble wrap in a sturdy box, then prettied it up with paper adorned with birds, sequined ribbon, and a brass jingle bell. The book was a humble secondhand copy, but it's still befitting of holly tissue and vintage red velveteen ribbon. At the last moment, I also slid in a decorative pine cone that I glittered, and I quite like the overall festivity of the package. The presents are both simple and fancy...just like the boys they're going to.

little house christmas stockings

There are many books I re-read every year during the holiday season, but none that embodies the spirit of Christmas to me more than the Little House series. I mention Laura Ingalls Wilder all the time here on the blog, but if only you knew how often I think of her...especially during the cold winter months! I learned so much from Laura as a child, and I feel I learn from her still.

This is my favorite Christmas passage, from On the Banks of Plum Creek:

(Then) Ma told them something else about Santa Claus. He was everywhere, and besides that, he was all the time. Whenever anyone was unselfish, that was Santa Claus.

Christmas Eve was the time when everyone was unselfish. On that one night, Santa Claus was everywhere, because everybody, all together, stopped being selfish and wanted other people to be happy. And in the morning, you saw what that had done.

"If everybody wanted everybody else to be happy, all the time, then would it be Christmas all the time?" Laura asked, and Ma said, "Yes, Laura."

Isn't that just the loveliest way of thinking about the holiday season? It makes my little heart grow three sizes bigger whenever I read it, I swear it does.
As such, the Little House Christmas swap I hosted recently meant a great deal to me. It was a chance to put together some of the things I see in everyday life that remind me of Laura and of the true spirit of Christmas and to share it with a partner, and I've been so happy to work on it these past few months. I actually had two partners for this swap, one that was randomly assigned and one with my friend Naomi for obvious reasons.

Every month this fall, we've gone back to various flea markets and antique malls, and I've been especially vigilant because I was searching for Little House items. I was thrilled to find vintage cross-stitched gingham aprons, vintage handkerchiefs (which were of course tucked into the apron pockets), a small heart-shaped tin pan along with a card with Ma's heart-shaped cakes recipe, and even an old crock of bear grease! Just what Pa used to use to slick down his hair when he was courting Ma. I love the old paper label on that container, which is mercifully empty now, but would still be very nice for holding little bits and bobs.

Naomi is a teacher, so I thought she'd appreciate a copy of McGuffey's First Reader, which Laura might've used as a teacher--this volume was originally published in 1867, and this particular copy is dated 1920, as well as an old autograph album. The album is dated 1952, but it's filled with great handwritten messages, and is especially appropriate because the owner was a girl named...Mary!

I also made a few things that were Laura-related, including small gift tags collaged with quotes from the books (stamped with Christmas horses, little houses, and a bright-burning candle), Little House postcards, fashionable calling cards that could double as swap cards, and small paper and tin ornaments (made with vintage book pages, a miniature sleigh bell, vintage lace and buttons, a flat peppermint candy, and striped bakers twine).

No Christmas is complete without Christmas candy, of course, so there was also a big peppermint candy cane, thin striped ribbon candy (I was *so* pleased with myself for finding those!), little "Victorian" chocolates, and old-fashioned caramels. Plus a shiny penny in the toe, just because the Ingalls always seemed to manage that somehow. I wrapped everything up in red and white striped tissue paper (like the kind Ma used so her packages would look extra festive) and plain brown waxy tissue with colored string (just how the presents were wrapped when the Boasts paid them a surprise Christmas Eve visit) and packaged them in embroidered stockings I made from wool-blend felt and vintage lace, one of which is adorned with a heart and the other with a little house in the big woods.

For this swap, it was important to keep true to the spirit of the Ingalls family, so all of the items had to be handmade or relatively inexpensive, but this turned out to be a very easy to do. The stockings were so fun to put together, because it was not only the perfect mix of vintage shopping and hand-crafting, but because it was also hugely sentimental undertaking as well. Naomi in particular is so well-versed in children's literature, and I just knew that every single thing I made or chose was something she would understand the reason behind and appreciate. I really think I got just as much joy out of making this as I hope she did in receiving it.

vintage holiday cupcake toppers: tutorial + free download

For those of you hosting holiday parties (or who need one-of-a-kind hostess gifts!), why not dress up your baked treats with cupcake toppers? I've made a few sets this year and it's a very quick, rewarding craft...and it's so much less expensive to make your own than to purchase them. Since the two previous cupcake topper swaps I'd hosted this year got such a great response, I decided to start a Dress that Cupcake! group.

Our first swap was a holiday themed lucky parcel. My partner HoneyBunny is a really creative cook (she shared a delicious recipe for clam-stuffed shrimp with me recently that is now one of our favorites) so I was looking forward to making something for her. Since she is a fan of vintage, I thought it would be nice to make toppers that looked very old-fashioned using images from vintage Christmas cards.

I really like how they turned out, since the crinkly tissue paper adds to the impression that you might have just found them in a box in the attic somewhere. Except they're much less dusty and iffy for your dessert table.

If you'd like to make your own, I've posted a simple tutorial below and uploaded a copy of the cupcake topper images as a pdf here. Just be sure to use them for good (your own personal use) not evil (commercial use), please!

Vintage Holiday Cupcake Toppers Tutorial

Materials & Tools:

1 sheet of vintage holiday images
scissors
tape
1 sheet of tissue paper in a coordinating color
glue stick
blank cardstock ovals

Directions:

1. To make the cupcake toppers, print out a copy of the vintage holiday images onto cardstock and cut around them.

2. Center a toothpick with approximately a third of the stick on the back of the each topper and firmly tape it in place. Smooth out air bubbles with your fingers and make sure it's fastened tightly.

3. Fold tissue paper a few times and cut into long 1/4 inch strips.

4. Flip your toppers over and working from the back, accordion-pleat the tissue strips around the edge of the cardstock. Carefully tape them down every inch or so, and snip off the excess tissue when you reach the end.

5. Cut cardstock ovals of approximately the same size as the vintage images. Using a good glue stick, cover the plain ovals with paste and place onto the back of each topper. Firmly press into place with your fingers, taking care to smooth around and above the toothpick.

Voila! Easy peasy craft with very pretty results.

I packaged the toppers up in a glassine bag and also made a little cake banner using the "Wishing you the sweetest holiday" greeting along with two short bamboo skewers. Since it was a lucky parcel, I also included a batch of candy buttons I made using a Bake it Pretty mold, some snowflake cupcake wrappers, a set of "Baked With Love By..." labels, and a few little trinkets and candies for additional decor. I put then everything into a recycled plastic container that I decorated with striped paper and cupcake-themed deco tape. I hope HoneyBunny enjoys her package...and that you'll enjoy making these toppers, too!

shopper alert: pretty boxed tags

One of the fun things about going to visit other cities is the shopping! I pretty much shop in other places the same way I shop at home, which means trips to craft stores and bookstores. On my trip to Houston a couple of weeks ago, my friend and I went to a really great half price bookstore, which had a combination of both new and secondhand stock. I found a really great box of vintage reproduction romantic postcards which will be great for Valentine's Day, as well as these two sets of boxed gift tags by Potter Style.

I already had this set, which features quotes from Shakespeare and Jane Austen, but I liked the ribbons and quotes and old-timey drawings in the Proust and Cabinet of Curiousities ones even better. It's nice that they are season-less, so that they can be used for any occasion.

They retail for $12.95 and are still available online, but at the discount store I went to, they were just $4.95 each, with plenty in stock! Half Price Books is apparently a chain with many locations nationwide, but sadly none here in southern California. I suppose it's just as well that there aren't...I'd probably spend far too much time and dollars there.

magical package

Fair warning: I am going to gush.  I received a call from my husband while I was away saying, "You got a box that is covered in bunnies." I knew immediately that it was a package from my new friend Holly in England, and I couldn't wait to get back home to Los Angeles and tear into the box. When I came back there were 4 different swap packages and 9 postcards, but I saved hers to open for last because I knew it was going to be amazing. But even with that expectation, the box completely blew me away.

I'm actually surprised this wasn't lost in transit, because look how cute and tempting it is, all covered in rabbits! Such a tease. The contents inside were even better, though, and included: a dear little recipe book of British sweets with vintage-y illustrations, two clever little pins, postcards, beautiful rubber stamps (a bee! a bee!) and tissue tape, British snacks and sweets (with bears, hedgehogs, and jelly people!), children's book papers tied up with lace, two wonderful little books she knew I would love, Pooh wrapping paper with E.H. Shepard illustrations, stamp fabric, a darling roll of deco tape, and lovely, muted fabric tape with a Norwegian doll print.

The most wonderful things of all, however, were the items she handmade for me. I've received a lot of envelopes made from recycled paper, but these were the most perfectly creased and crisp and dear little envelopes I've ever seen. I received two generous bundles of these, along with cunning little Pooh tags that I couldn't possibly give up to anyone else, a beautiful folded Secret Garden notepad, and best of all, a gorgeous Secret Garden paper garland.

I kept marveling over that impossibly perfect garland, with the book papers punched out with exactly the right mysterious words (clearly done by someone who knows and loves the book too), the rubber stamping of crow and key together, the slight distressing of color here and there, and the little glints of flower embellishments in all the right places. It's so beautiful, and I think once I reorganize my craft closet I will have to hang it up in there. I know it will inspire me and make me happy whenever I see it.

I loved every single bit of this box. Everything is so perfectly made, and so perfect for me! I can't even tell you how amazing it is to know someone after such a short little while, and then to receive something that is so exactly suited to your taste. I'm so touched over the amount of thoughtfulness and care that went into this package, and so very humbled that Holly thought I was worthy of it.

parcels of postal goodness

Departing this week: two parcels of postal goodness, filled with fun mail-themed goodies. 

According to the swap guidelines, only one item could be store-bought, so it challenged participants to be a little creative and resourceful about finding things to send. I'd actually ordered copies of the U.S. philatelic catalog awhile ago, thinking they might be fun to include if my partners were overseas, but as it turned out they're both here in the States, so I'll just save those for another time.

The packages include:

* packet of hand-stamped postal images

* fold and seal aerogramme

* V-Mail stationery sheet  inspired by stationery used to communicate with soldiers during WWII

* Secret Decoder Cipher Wheels

* vintage Cathay Airways airmail envelopes and stationery

* Griffin and Sabine postcards

* personalized address labels

* sheet of fun facts about mail from USPS

* hand-stamped "write your own story" tags

If you're a mail lover and you haven't checked out the Letter Writers Alliance, by the way, you should! The blog is full of wonderful news and information about the art of letter writing, and they offer many amazing downloads like the ones above. You can even become a member and correspond with other like-minded lovers of the written word.

I wrapped up the packages in vintage papers, one with illustrations from Mother Goose, since one of my partner likes children's storybook illustrations, and wrapped the other with maps since that particular partner likes to travel. Pretty fun stuff! I hope they'll both be able to use the items I sent, and I can't wait to receive my own.

halloween packages

Two dreadful packages will be departing from the honeybee household this week: spooky, spooky mail and Halloween cupcake toppers.

Halloween is such a fun holiday, and we used to throw lots of parties and decorate like mad. We've toned it down a bit in the last few years just because it's been so busy and we have to pull everything out of storage. But this year I'm compensating by having a ball with mailing decorated packages instead.


For the first swap, I put together a parcel of spooky Halloween goodies that included:

-- decorated and embossed straws
-- tea-dyed "destroyed" tags that were stamped + glittered
-- stamped mini Trick or Treat tags
-- a ghastly postcard with scary movie suggestions
-- a recipe
-- a spidery pad
-- stickers
-- a little tin of vintage Halloween images
-- candy
-- and a few other fun items.

I decorated the bubble envelope with tons of stickers, stamped images, and black skull CAUTION tape from the Martha Stewart 2010 Halloween collection.

The second package was also really fun to do. The last cupcake toppers swap got such a great response that I had to hold another one, this time with a Halloween theme.

My partner is actually Rachel, the wonderful founder of Swap-Bot, and I made two sets of Halloween cupcake toppers for her using images from Martha's Halloween stamps. For the candy ones (and for the decorated straws above), I used the MSL heating tool to emboss each topper, which created a cool and shiny raised effect. (By the way, I've tried to use a hair dryer to do this...it doesn't work. The tool is very easy to use and the images set fairly quickly.) I also included a set of 6 Halloween invitations that I stamped and packaged up in a glassine envelope.

I hope both partners enjoy getting their Halloween packages! They were lots of fun to make.

shopper alert: decorative packing tape

On sale at Michael's right now: very cool decorative packing tape.

This is the stickier 2" wide tape that you would use to put on shipping packages, rather than the less tacky deco tape that you might use for crafting, but they are still super fun for decorating big envelopes and boxes and such.

I hadn't noticed these before, but on a trip to salivate over Martha Stewart Halloween goodies yesterday (which I'll share later), I found them in the dollar bin. But wait wait, there's more! Even better--the packing tape rang up at 50 cents for each 9' 8" roll. 50 cents! Big big score.

I really like the colors, and had to restrain myself from buying all the different designs. Don't you just love finding things you like at bargain prices? I know I do...

matryoshka tape

Like my beloved Hello Kitty, I fear that this theme might be becoming a little cliche, but I do so love matryoshka. We recently got a hand-painted wooden set from a Russian dealer at the fair, which we're saving for a Christmas present for someone--but what on earth was I thinking? I should have gotten a set for me, too!

What I did get recently for myself recently, however, is this fun set of deco tape as well as rubber stamps with nesting doll themes since the seller was doing a moving sale. So cute, and such a bargain! I can't wait to use them.

I'm not really a stamp collector, but I also really love the stamps from Japan that were on the package. Someone offered to send me the Wallace and Gromit Christmas stamps when they come out in the UK in November, which makes me really happy...between those and the Simpsons stamps and the Calvin and Hobbes stamps here in the U.S., my mailbox will be a lot of fun in the coming months.

studious cupcake

I held a swap recently in which participants were invited to Make Food with a Face. I sew a lot of veggie plushies, of course, though I've never made anything in the bakery category...but since my partner has a sweet tooth, I thought this would be a good time to experiment!

I made a funny little plush cupcake out of wool felt, and  decided to give him a pair of glasses as well. Being that my partner also collects yellow hardback Nancy Drew books, I had to enclose a note written on my spiffy stationery from Fred Flare, too. If I'd thought ahead I would have gone out to get a bakery box to pack him in, but instead I just wrapped him in soft tissue with a tag and sent him on his merry way. I've been sidetracked for over a week now with a minor wrist injury, so it was nice to ease back into the crafting with this project.

In other news, I can't tell you how excited I am by our little children's lit swap group. I just posted A Little House Christmas swap, in which participants send stockings filled with Laura-inspired gifts to their partners. You've probably noticed that I'm crazy about Laura Ingalls Wilder, so I can't wait to get started on this one. Sometimes I have the sneaking suspicion that I might have started this group just so I could get *exactly* the kind of present I really wanted for myself.