I just received this great swap from Bren at Brenda’s Little Cottage. It was hosted Crafting by Candlelight for Halloween. There’s this great scrapbooking mini tote that I can’t wait to fill with toys. In the little pull out drawer Bren put a great “Friend” stamp. There’s also a pair of bat socks with “Battitude”, apple (my favorite) tealights, Halloween toothpicks, a pampered chef biscuit cutter and a bag full of wonderful chocolate candy. I especially love the caramel filled eyes. Oh and I just found goofy Dracula teeth at the bottom of the bag! Thanks Bren!
The shaker box is decorated with an ‘adorable’ witch and sparkle spiders. Those are cupcake candles decorated in the most precious pink designs and they were in the shaker box. And I love the Kahlua truffles. I’m using the Halloween pencil as I write and there was this great skeleton key. The irony isn’t lost on me.
I sent her this package:
Jenn said she’d love to learn how to quilt. So I found a small McKenna Ryan applique wall quilt pattern (Beneath the Boughs) that I thought was peaceful and fall like. I selected a choice of fall colored batik fat quarters and fat 8’s for the applique and a 1/2 yard for the border, backing and binding so all she’ll need is the batting and iron on sheet for the applique (Wal-mart has it for 99 cents a yard). My thrifted item is the crocheted ghost from my grandmother’s rummage sale and the handmade item is a bright orange and yellow polka dot round ruffled candy table cloth. Jenn likes sugar free candy so we added some and a fall Yankee candle wax tart for those calorie free days when she wants to inhale her sweets. She got it today too and loved it.
I’ll be away for some family events so I have made Jenn’s Thanksgiving box up already and will send it early. I found these great fall colored dish towels (who doesn’t need more towels when prepping Thanks giving dinner?). I also found a kitchen aid silicone scraper in fall colors to match. I made some fall leaf linen coasters for her handcrafted item. There are some turkey and pumpkin cookie cutters, fall colored tic tacs, and some peach cranberry dip mix. The thrifted item is the stalk of fall colored willows. I also found a turkey mobile DIY craft. I hope she likes it.
An antique hat box worked really well to decorate with the yellow and orange summer theme as well as fill with goodies to make it safer and easier for shipping. I filled the hat box with fun things for summer. I included a Tupperware yellow drink pitcher (thrifted item) filled with orange crystal light drink mix for when she sits at the beach or outside and writes letters on the yellow and orange moon and stars laser cut stationery on the bottom. There’s a wooden hand painted stamp roll (hand made item) to hold her roll of stamps for when she finishes her letters. There is also a box of orange (peanut butter) Girl Scout cookies to munch on while she writes as well as an Orange Smoothie drink mix and Artichoke parmesan dip mix. Don’t forget the sunflower coasters to set her drink on or the orange and yellow spatulas and matching tea towel to use to make more cookies for when she runs out. When she’s done with her letters there’s orange poppy seeds to plant and orange and yellow star post-its to write all her “I need to remember” notes on. There was the cutest orange and yellow duck that just begged to be included!
The second swap was done after a bit of confusion, but I feel really lucky to get 2 swap partners. Summer swaps are so much fun. Jane said she loves to quilt and do lots of crafts. So, I found this great yellow and orange throw blanket in grandma’s footchest and thrifted it from her garage sale. I figured Jane is so busy having fun that the orange marinater would come in handy and then I filled it with fun things like lemonheads, orange tic tacs, yellow and orange ribbon, yellow and orange star post-it notes, flourescent yellow and orange note pads, orange and yellow tye-dye craft felt and pipe cleaners, some orange and yellow scrapbook sayings, an orange votive in a palm tree holder, 2 great oak quilt holders and a handmade sunflower ‘dishes are clean and dirty’ magnet.
