Happy Mail to the Max

Lately, I've been lucky enough to be the recipient of some awesomely fun mail. This is largely due to me joining a group that does a lot of swapping. This means that I've also sent items to partners. I thought I'd share this eye-candy of postal bounty with you.

First, I participated in a beginner's altered post card swap. The theme was Spring. I mailed out this card to my partner.

And, in return I received this cute bunny.

I don't know if she intended it, but all I see is chocolate!

She even decorated the address side of the postcard.

Pretty!

I've also gotten a 'happy mail' package. In the art journal realm, happy mail is a package of ephemera, small art pieces, supplies or any other item that might bring a smile to the recipient's face. I forgot to get a picture of what I sent out, but let me tell you it was YELLOW (that was the theme). I got these goodies.

I had a HUGE smile on my face with this happy mail.

 I've also signed up for a motivational deck swap. Basically, this goes in stages to make and receive a whole deck of cards altered with motivational words, sayings, quotes, etc. on them. I've really been enjoying the process and just mailed out my second set. I can't share those yet, but here's the first set I sent.

 And, what the hay. . .here's a better look at them.

My partner for this swap made me a cool accordion book with six cards that spelled out a single, resounding motivational word: CREATE.

The book all folded up with a few tiny playing cards tucked inside.

The book in all its glory.

Finally. . . I have also gotten some jewelry-making mail. Cynthia of Antiquity Travelers e-mailed me to let me know she had a box of old jewelry coming my way that she's been collecting on her desk. The pieces she sent were from family members as well as other odds and ends. She encouraged me to use what I can and do whatever I want with the rest. I opened the box to find this inside.

Holy moley!!

I immediately saw strands of beads, Lucite, chain, keychains, brooches, and old earrings. I took my time sorting though the box of treasures to uncover all the amazing bits she generously shared with me. Creative friends are THE BEST! Just look at what all she sent.

I was seriously blown away. Make sure you check out Cynthia's blog and her Antiquity Travelers Etsy shop. Not only is she a very kind and generous friend, but she's an inspiring and talented artist.

Now it's time to actually make something with some of this exceptional happy mail. So, have you been a little more than excited when the mailman shows up lately too?

Jewelry for Upcycling and True Generosity

On Friday I stepped out the front door to find a big, heavy box on the front porch with my name on it. At first I was confused because I knew I hadn't ordered anything, and it was too heavy to be journaling 'happy mail'. It all became clear when I saw whose name was on the return label, my friend, Christine of One Kiss Creations!

She had mentioned a while back that she was gathering up some items for me. I didn't think much of it really, other than "How sweet of her!" However, the weight of the box told me it was much more than I had imagined.

Jeez Louise!! Look at all that bounty and beauty. I've got lots of pictures of what Christine shared with me so I'll try to keep my words to a minimum (TRY is the key word here, because it's hard for me not to exclaim and gush over all this awesomeness.) Oh, and clicking on the pictures should open a larger image for you.

There were TEN baggies jammed into the box

Here are the first two baggies I opened

A little closer look at some of the goodies

Baggies three and four held whole necklaces and loose beads with a few pendants

Baggie five contained several seed beads necklaces, while baggie six was full of loose beads

These little. . .gnomes/trolls/pixies caught my attention for sure. They are each clasping a quartz crystal

Baggie seven was full of chain in various forms

This glass pearl and rhinestone bracelet made me gasp at its beauty!

The eighth bag held various necklaces and an envelope of plastic pearls (love the ephemera)

In the ninth bag, I found a variety of jewelry and beads.

I purposely saved this bag for last as I knew it would be my favorite.

It was full of misc. jewelry findings, earrings, and pendants.

Almost all of it is something I know I can find a use for.

Look at all the sparkle and shine. How Christine parted with these, I'll never know.

Christine let me know in a sweet note (involving a dream she had about me) that I could do anything I wanted with her gift: use it, pass it on, donate it, toss it (WHAT!?). So, I've since gone though the baggies a second time to sort out what I know I won't use from what I could possibly use.

I swear, just sifting through these pretties was a rockin' good time. I've made a few piles of what to keep, not keep, and pass to a friend. Next will be dissembling and sorting by type. Oh, what fun you've blessed me with, Christine.

I don't even know how I'll ever say thank you enough for this truly generous gift. Christine makes some beautiful creations using seed beads and bead weaving, a skill I just don't have. I do recommend that you go check out Christine's blog, One Kiss Creations; follow One Kiss Creations on Pinterest;  and become a fan of the One Kiss Creations Facebook Page!

Thank you Christine for your generosity, kindness, and friendship. I feel truly blessed.

Happy Mail

Today was one of those days when I was happy to check the mailbox. I found it loaded with three packages all addressed to me! I just wanted to show off the awesomeness.

Two of the packages were my winnings from the CBC 2000 giveaways.

First were these beautiful lentil beads from Kimberly Rogers of Numinosity!

As well, there was the kit for me to make the hydrangea patten from Sherri Stokely at Knot Just Macrame.

In addition, I received a larger package from Cindy Cima Edwards.

I had purchased some items from a de-stash sale she was having.

As well, she and I had decided to have a bit of a swap. She sent me a bundle of goodies.

She included some ICE Resin and some ICED Enamels with some Medium for it.

As if that wasn't enough, she included all these other goodies.

 

Yummy, right!?

Oh, and do you see the awesome resin-ed heart that I'm sure Cindy made.

It looks like some of the amazing work that can be found in her Zimaj etsy shop.

I can't wait to play with each and every bit that was contained in these packages. I do love me some happy mail. Have you received anything awesome in the post lately?

Happy Mail

I was so excited about getting some happy mail yesterday, I just need to share it with you.

Sweden and Canada?? International for the win.

First, I opened the package from Sweden. It was from Birgitta Lejonklou. During the Button Swap Blog Hop, she held a button givaway of her own. I happened to be the lucky winner. Just look what she sent!!

So much loveliness!

The other package was from Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp of SkyeJewels. She's up in Canada. I've been wanting to order some of her lovely pendants for quite a while and finally broke down. She'll put hole(s) in the pendants anywhere you want if you just let her know.

Aren't these DARLING!?

Those holes are EXACTLY how I wanted them. Of course, if you'd rather leave the pendants unmarred, she'll let them be too.

Since I brought up the subject of giveaways, don't forget that Friday's post was full of them!!
As well, Raida of Havana Beads is giving away this adorable ceramic birdie set.

You just need to leave her comment to be entered!

Speaking of adorable, I re-listed this sweet necklace today.

Jewelry Box Necklace

And I'm hoping to get some photography done this afternoon. I've got a pile of newly crafted pieces that are screaming for their close-ups. What have you got planned today?

Beady Bullet Points

I'm just popping in to make a few announcements and share a few things, so I'll try to do it in bullets.

•  I got a bunch of happy mail yesterday (see above)!!
• For one, Mellisa at Chinook Jewelry picked me to be on her Chinook Blog Partner Design Team this month. Here's what I found in the mail from her. The reveal will Feb. 27th. I'm so excited to have been chosen for this and even more excited to be designing around a BLUE BUTTON!!
• Also in the mail was this awesome Rainbow Heart from Tree Wings Studio. 
• Lastly, I ordered a grab bag of Pottery Pendants and Beads from Captured Moments and was pleasantly surprised to find it bursting at the seams! 
• I'll be sending out some mail soon too as I signed up for the 7000 Bracelets of Hope Blog Hop.   It's being hosted by Erin of Elysian Studios and Christine of One Kiss Creations. You can sign up to participate in this wonderful cause on either of their blogs. The Hop will be on Feb 25th.
• I'm still steadily trying to get pictures edited of new jewelry so that I can write descriptions and get some new jewelry int he shop. Until then, I've placed quite a few items on sale from 10-30% OFF! One of the sale items is this necklace which has proven to be quite popular (going by the number of people who have favorited it!)

  

  Like the Wind Necklace

• Even though I've been working on pictures and descriptions, I'm also trying to be creatively productive. I've been focused on making some Shabby Beads to include in the shop. Here's a peek.
• GIVEAWAY ALERT!!  Lastly, I happened to notice that over at Copper Diem, there's THREE POUNDS OF BEADS being given away. Head on over there to find out more!

So that's it for now. I tried to be concise and to the point with all this info. Did I forget anything?

Goodies in the Mail

Saw this at the grocery store and had to snap the pic!

 
I'm rethinking my blog setup again.
After such rambling posts as yesterday's and well. . .most of the others, I begin to wonder if it would just be better to have smaller, more concise posts but just several of them in the day. For example, yesterday's post could have been broken down into three posts (1) a run-down of my weekend, (2)Etsy and jewelry-making, (3) meal planning. I'd really like to know what y'all think. Most likely, all of those topics would have still have been posted yesterday (maybe), but just spread out a little more. Would that have been more manageable for you or just annoying? Let me know.



Yesterday I promised lots of pictures in the post today. And, I'd hate to disappoint.
Basically, I got several packages in the mail in the last few days and I want to show off what was in them.

On Friday, the Grab Bag Surprise I won from Beth at Vintage Sweets showed up in my mailbox. 

Since it was a total mystery what was in the package, I was ripping into that thing ASAP!
Beth sent me some fabulous natural beads.

All the beady goodness still in their bags

Left: White Coral    Right: Hand-rolled Pottery

Bone and Horn Doughnuts

Beth had these marked as "Agate?" Can anyone confirm that for us?

Shell beads

I'm completely enamored with the shell ones. In fact, I immediately used them in the domino necklace I asked you about yesterday.(I'd still love to know what you think.)
Thank you SO MUCH Beth. It was a fantastic surprise!

Monday, I had TWO packages in my mailbox. Naturally, I checked the mail on my way out the door to the grocery store and REALLY needed to be on my way. . .so I had to exert some serious patience (of which I have NONE) to wait until I got back from the store to open them.

I opened my order from Mermaid Glass first

I made the decision to get into that one, because I wanted to see just how MUCH patience I had in waiting to open another surprise one. However, I found a few surprises inside the box for Laurie anyway!

The fab little box my order came in

The contents of the little box. . .my order, AND a SURPRISE of some gorgeous blue beads and an atomic fire ball!

The beautiful Fairy Flowers I ordered for Mermaid Glass

Then I ripped into the package from my Button Swap Partner, Maryanne Gross from Zingala's Workshop.

Since I just got the package yesterday, I haven't QUITE figured out what I'll be making for the big reveal on April 21st. But, I've got some time. Michelle Mach has all the rules and info about the Button Swap on her site.

Isn't this tag Maryanne made just the cutest thing?

Here's a better look at the buttons she sent. The top one is handmade by a friend of Maryanne's. COOL!

So, I've been in package heaven for the past few days...Love it!

And, because I'm weird like this, I have to also show you my "bubble wrap amusement" from yesterday

The beads from Mermaid Glass were wrapped in this teeny-tiny bubble wrap

The button tag from Maryanne was is the MASSIVE bubble wrap.

The contrast in the size of the bubble wrap really had me chuckling. . . I told you I was weird.

Moving on . . . 

One of my JUNK NECKLACES sold over the weekend, so I added another one to the shop this morning. 

White Trash JUNK Necklace

Lastly, Saint Patrick's Day is FAST approaching and I haven't shared ANY links. So, let me remedy that situation:

• Felt shamrock embroidered pin 
• Guiness chocolate pudding recipe
• Clover for Door made from yarn and cardboard
• Paper roll shamrocks 
• Clover hair pins 

Don't forget, I'd like to know:
1. What you think about smaller, more frequent blog posts
2. If those beads from Beth are indeed a type of agate
3. What you think of the domino necklace/lace issue.
Leave me a comment on one or all of those topics. I'd really appreciate it. THANKS!