A Package in the Post

I found a package in the mailbox. It was from NickiLee!  Oh, boy!  My Christmas CQ block!

Once I was home, I gently opened the package.

An envelope with a pretty card.

I began to unwrap the tissue paper.

Ooooh, a peek!
I see red velvet and beads and beautiful fabrics, lace.....

I uncovered more tissue paper.....oooh, so lush. Rich fabrics, beautifully embellished. I picked up my square to open it fully......




What......?




Hey!  Wait a minute! This isn't a CQ square!

I flipped it over.



Hmmm. It's so pretty. Look at that button clasp   ...and the wreath!



I opened the clasp.

It's a sewing kit! With treasures inside! Blue beads, gold metallic thread, and 7 beautiful, porcelain (?) beads with delicate flowers......... and a beaded brooch. Wonderful!

These beads are lovely!

The whole outside of the sewing kit. Isn't it gorgeous? I love it! Trimmed in red velvet, it's soft to the touch. I didn't have a sewing kit, so this is just perfect!

What a great idea, NickiLee! Thank you so much!

Thanks for visiting.

Hugs from Suz

A Swap and Some Nice Surprises

I was in a swap with Thespa of Vintiquities Workshop. I sent her a small selection of tats (ooops, I forgot to take pictures) and she sent me this

Beautiful bracelet!  I do love that bling nestled between two fabric roses! And there's lovely lace, too. The rhinestone pin looks very vintage. It's nice having something new that has a history. I wonder how many ladies held this brooch in their hands. Who were they? Where did they live? What was their life like?
Thespa makes beautiful, creative items. I'm so glad we had this swap, Thespa! Thank you!

Then I found in my mailbox--- a package all the way from Bornholm! A lovely surprise from Dorthe! This sweet, talented lady sent me these:

lovely laces wrapped on a branch with a fancy tag. It has my initial in sparkles on it!  a postcard from Bornholm, and a beautiful mixed media fabric creation with a piece of tatting. How sweet is that!
I feel like Christmas has arrived a little early this year. Thank you so much, Dorthe!








I had lost my tatting needles....all but one! Arrrgh! I searched high and low, in all my current project totes, in my tatting boxes, and tatting bags, in drawers, and large totes. Two hours later, I still had only 1 needle.
I yelled, and swore, and stamped my feet!
The next day, I found them---- right where I thought they should have been, and where I'd looked at least three times!! Were there gremlins in my house? Needle gremlins?
I sighed with relief, and went back to tatting.
But 2 weeks later, I'd lost my needles again! I ripped the house apart looking for them. Boxes, drawers, desks. The art room, the sun room. Oh, no!
I found them two days later. I guess the needle gremlins had tired of their game and put them back. hehehe
Determined not to have to go through this another time, I ordered a new set from Georgia Seitz. Look what she sent with them:

two samples of Lizbeth thread. Yay! I've never tried Lizbeth before, so I am looking forward to testing it. Also included was a needle threader.
Thank you so much, Georgia! What a nice surprise.











Are you in any swaps? Or have you found a nice surprise in your mailbox?
I hope all your surprises are happy ones.
Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

Treasures In The Mail

Look what I found in the mailbox!
Inside a large envelope, I found this:

A cute fabric heart with hand embroidery, a lovely card, and a beautiful fabric bag from Jillayne. Trimmed with lace and adorned with a gorgeous bling button on a fabric rosette, it held the following 5 inch squares from other artists participating in Jillayne's Winter Swap.

Winter Song was created by Teresa. A blue jay gathers red berries from a snow-laden branch. Layers of paper, sheet music, and paint are fused together to make this lovely square. Since I love to watch the birds at the bird feeders each winter, and the jays are frequent visitors, this square is special because the elements here are a part of my winter. I sing in a community choir, so how perfect is it that the music on this square is "There's a Song in the Air"! Thank you so much, Teresa!

Freda used felt, laces, beads, trim and a snow angel in the creation of Silent Night. Isn't it beautiful? So delicate, and feminine it evokes romantic memories of sparkling snow crystals underfoot. I can almost feel the breeze that the folds in the cloak indicate as the angel clasps the basket of snow blossoms. The beauty and colour of the snow shows in the sequins and beads. It's lovely, Freda, and I adore it! Thank you.

Appleshoe
created Chickadee. I've always loved chickadees, and spend hours at the window watching them at the bird feeders. I see this little one perched on a holly bush, surrounded by holly berries dusted with snow. The felt is adorned with hand stitching, and the edges sparkle. I love my Chickadee, Appleshoe!  Thank you.

 Marcia. is the artist who created this beautiful and whimsical painting. I see a snow angel, with sparkling wings, and it reminds me of all the snow people my children and I built on the front lawn many years ago. Our snow creations were not as lovely as Marcia's! Thank you so much for calling forth happy memories! I love this snow angel!

Silvery Nature is created from several glittery and lacy fabrics, tulle, ribbon, fabric pictures, and pearl trim sewn together. It evokes shivery cold with the colour blue, frosty window panes, ice crystals and layers of snow. The sun must be shining to create so much snow glitter. Thank you so much, Dorthe! This square really creates the feeling of winter: cold, ice and snow.

 I have wonderful treasures to always remind me how much I enjoyed participating in my first group swap! Thanks to all the fantastic artists who created my new treasures, and to Jillayne for being a marvelous Swap Host.

I hope you have treasures in your day.
Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

Postcard Swap

Judy and I swapped a postcard not long ago, and we had so much fun, we decided to do it again!

I found this in my mailbox!

      Judy told me she'd been working on a 'Faces' theme. Now, who would have thought she'd create the face of the sun? How marvelous!


 Isn't this gorgeous? The scanner just can't capture the intensity of colour nor the sparkle of the beads she used to create this. There are fabric pieces, machine embroidery, decorative threads, organza, and tulle all woven together. I love it, Judy! Thank you so much!

Judy's theme was "Faces", but she said I could do anything I wished. I thought about it. Should I do something safe? Faces are not my forte, so I knew it would be a challenge. I decided to go for it! (After all, I reasoned, if it didn't work out, I could always scrap it and do something else, couldn't I? Who would know?)Here's what I sent her:  

I started with a found piece of fabric, which I think might be polished cotton, and sketched the head, painting it onto the fabric using small brushes and watercolour crayons. At first, the paint kept dispersing and disappearing into the fabric, but once I decreased the amount of water, it seemed to work better.
I created an off-the-shoulder dress from some of my Birthday fabric, tatted her jewelery, and styled her eyelash yarn hair. Isn't she cute?

While there are many flaws in her creation, I am still rather pleased with the over-all effect...sort of a stylized  pixie look perhaps.

 

I hope you find some lovely surprises in your mailbox.

Thanks for visiting.

Hugs from Suz

Another Swap

Judy of Judy's Fabrications and I had a postcard swap. And here's what she sent me:

A wonderful Clown! Isn't it great? Everytime I look at this marvelous postcard, I smile! Wonderful fibers, metallics, beads, a fabulous painted face with the most realistic-looking eyes--Thanks so much, Judy! I love it!














It was my first postcard swap, and I sent Judy this:

On a background of green 'suede' material, I layered different fibres to give the impression of a garden, and covered them with a layer of organza, quilting them together. Since Judy loves colour, I then tatted flowers and leaves with Yarnplayer"s  'Garden Afternoon' in size 40, adding white seed beads in the centre. I then 'planted' assorted grasses at the base. I'm so happy Judy likes her postcard!

In fact, we both enjoyed swapping so much, we've decided to do it again! Yeah!

Hope you have a wonderful day.

Thanks for visiting.

Hugs from Suz