Tea cup and Mug Exchange - results

 I have recently completed another swap, although this one was an exchange.  It was the 8th Annual Tea cup and Mug exchange, organised by Stephanie at The Enchanting Rose.  The idea is a lovely one - send a tea cup or mug along with tea or coffee and other gifts (if you wanted to add any extras) to your recipient.  Someone else would send you a gift too.  I signed up and was sent my recipient's details - Sandra at Ravenhill Cottage.  You could also add in some details about yourself, such as favourite colours, blog information, hobbies.  So, I sent my parcel off to Sandra in Canada and duly received a parcel back from Mary in the USA.  She had obviously done her homework and had chosen the most lovely gifts.  There was a beautiful mug with blue flowers on it, two very generously sized pieces of material (which I was very excited about), black tea and white tea, handmade earrings in the shape of seeds and some petunia seeds.

 I think she had chosen beautifully for me!

How pretty are the earrings?  A HUGE thank you to Mary for the generous and thoughtful gifts. I am really looking forward to making something with the material.

 I found out that my recipient liked pink and purple, so off I went.  I made a bookmark, pearl earrings, a bracelet, and added a tea bag stand and English breakfast tea.

 Sandra had asked for a mug (as I had too) and I found this one with pinks and purples and cups on it.

Here were the gifts ready to be securely packaged up.  It was an incredibly straightforward exchange thanks to Stephanie's wonderful organisation (it must have been a mammoth task requiring military precision) and I really enjoyed taking part.

Happy Things

I thought I'd share some things currently making me happy and thankful.  A yummy Victorian sandwich cake...

 ...and flapjack.

 Some cheerful yellow daffodils.

 Crocuses coming out in the garden.

 Buds of Prunus Incisa 'Kojo-no-mai' starting to green up in the sunshine.

 Silky flower buds of Magnolia 'Susan' against a beautiful blue sky.

Snowdrops in the garden - this one is a double.

 Tulip buds hopefully promising a colourful Spring.

Flower buds from Blueberry 'Blue Pearl'.  

 A little china pot bought for £1.00 in a local antiques shop.  It was so pretty, I just had to buy it.  It will look lovely with primroses and grape hyacinths in it.

 My seasonal tree, full of wintry-coloured decorations.

Finally, a pretty mug from my friend Alison.  Lots of happy things.

Extra blog swap gift

Here is a photo of the extra gift that I sent to my blog swap partner which I said I would post once it had got to her.  I saw this mug after I had sent the swap parcel, but thought it was so appropriate, I just had to send it.  I also included some hot chocolate and a second pair of earrings so that she can ring the changes (but forgot to take a photo of them).  The items all arrived safely and she was very pleased with them, so that is good.  

Blog Swap results

 You may remember me mentioning that I had signed up to take part in my first blog swap.  The theme was 'cosy autumn' and we could send a minimum of five items, two of which had to be hand made.  Here is what I received from my swapper - the cookie jar- who is from Ireland.  It came in this lovely sturdy storage box (this was something I hadn't though of doing, but will do if I take part in any more swaps).

A treasure trove of purple packages.

Or should that be a mountain of purple packages!  My swapper had been extremely generous.

 Here are all the lovely goodies.

 A gorgeous scarf (in my favourite colours) and a pair of long length fingerless gloves/mittens which will get a lot of use because I have extremely cold hands.

 Hot chocolate and some fair trade chocolate with marshmallows and pieces of honeycomb in it - Chris has already decided we are sharing that!

 A cat and knitting wool mug, some beautifully scented soap and a scented candle.

 An embroidered notebook, a cake/biscuit recipe book and a copy of 'Dubliners' by James Joyce.

 Finally, two sets of tulip bulbs and a card.

Wow! What an amazing swap this was.  Chris remarked that it felt like Christmas.  I am very lucky, absolutely delighted and am hugely grateful to my swapper.  Thank you so much!  So, what did I send, you are asking?  That will follow in my next post...