The Spoolie Swap!

 

 I signed up for the "Spoolie Swap" that Deb and Sandy were hosting this season. My partner was Joyce of "Scrap For Joy"! She sent me this adorable tag and...

 

such an amazing spoolie! Joyce and I both love Mary Engelbreit! Isn't the bat so cute?

 

 Joyce also sent me the most amazing chocolate bars from "Sarris Candies", a company that it local to her! I thought it was a great idea to send candy from a local shop, and I may have to start doing that as well when I swap.

 

 Joyce went above and beyond! Knowing my love of all things vintage, she included this recipe journal from 1957, a pretty satin pouch, and lovely vintage postcards!

 

But that wasn't it! Joyce was so sweet to include a couple x-mas items! I can't tell you how much I love this mug! And I feel lucky to have one of Joyce's paper creations. She is a master paper artist...and I am soooo not! lol  So I really appreciate this!

 

OK- Here is what I sent to Joyce. Though I fear I once again came up short in comparison!

 

 The Spoolie I made her is topped with an owl that I made from paper clay.

 

Yep...she totally out did me. Sorry Joyce! I sent her a package of Halloween washi tape, a book of Halloween scrap booking papers, coffee, cookies, chocolate, and then I also added a batch of vintage Santa scraps that I forgot to photograph.

Joyce said she has a difficult time finding little vintage embellishments for scrapping, so I believe I may have to send her a little package to help her out with that.

Thank you so much Joyce for a wonderful swap! It was great getting to know you!

And thanks to Deb and Sandy for another fun swap!

Erica :)

 



The Christmas In July Fairy Was Here!

 

 Yesterday the FedEx guy game to the door with a box. Oh Yay! My X-Mas In July is here I thought. When Angie brought the box into the living room I was so confused! It was literally the size of the ottoman in front of the couch! Did Chris (of Perfectly Printed) send an actual Christmas Tree? LOL

 

 Inside were package upon package...and then more packages. I think I was in some sort of haze or something as I opened them...just total disbelief that she had sent me this much stuff!

 

 Shiny Brites, bells with glass beads, and this beautiful pink and white x-mas stocking.

 

Hard to tell, but there are 3 really cute silver sleighs, and I will cherish the trio of mercury glass candles too! I've only seen them online. Ohh! This pink fluffy tree is so sweet, and I'm thinking it will be perfect as a new body for the Holt Howard angel tree topper that I found a couple weeks ago!

 

 Three red deer, super cute tree picks, vintage paper plates, coasters, and even three rolls of x-mas tape! I've never come across the tape before either!

 

 Two more stockings! What?? 

 I already held the puppy one up in front of my mantel to get a preview! Sooo sweet!

 

Somehow Chris knew that I was on the hunt for foil light reflectors! Bulbs that I can actually use, and beautiful x-mas cards! Shouldn't we have been done about 3 pics ago? But nope...it keeps coming!

 

 This big mailbox was full of fun little things! Super cute cloth napkins, books, and funky coasters!

 

 I collect old x-mas card boxes, and this one with the holly leaves is so pretty! Plus it was filled with x-mas seals...something else I collect.

 

And then there is this sheer red apron with a x-mas tree pocket! Could it be any sweeter? And could Chris be any sweeter and GENEROUS?

 

I don't think I deserve this many wonderful x-mas things, but I love it all! And I appreciate each and every little thing that you sent Miss Chris!

Thank You to everyone who joined my swap! I hope you had a ton of fun!

Erica :)

 

Merry X-Mas In July Y'all!  -W

Vintage Christmas In July: Let's Swap!

Hello, Hello My Friends! Are you ready for Christmas? lol

Have you been tucking little x-masy things away for this swap?

I sure hope you'll join in!

 I found this Christmas tin at the Goodwill for a dollar and it gave me an idea for the swap! This is your basic sized cookie tin. And since I know it's something everyone can easily find at the GW, thrift, or garage sale, I think it will be the perfect container to hold our swap goodies.

 

The best part of using a sturdy tin is that we can include a couple glass ornaments, and they'll be safe for shipping. This tin isn't "vintage", just vintage inspired. So don't worry if you can't find an old one.

 

This Swap is open to non-bloggers. I've had great results in the past with opening my swaps to non-bloggers, and I hope that will continue! If you don't have a blog please make sure you leave an email address in your comment.

 

 

OK, Here are some things that I want to say and I hope that you'll still like me when I'm done. :)

 

  If you want to participate you must send primarily VINTAGE x-mas items. You'll need to dig into your personal stash if you haven't found enough to fill your tin by the deadline. Hopefully you'll have luck at Estate, Garage, and (my favorite) Church Sales!

I don't consider Christmas things from the 80's or 90's vintage. Even the 70's are iffy. lol

This swap is for people who really love old Christmas items! And the idea is to receive a pretty tin full of exciting things for your collection or holiday crafting!

 



  You CAN include supplies for holiday crafting. And 1/4 of your tin can be NEW items. This silver tinsel is from Michael's. You may also make one or two items for your partner, whether it be an ornament, card, etc.

 

And these cupcake liners and candy cane ribbon were from Michael's too! Also, it's totally up to you if you want to include additional things for your partner besides the filled tin in your package.

 

Let's ship our packages no later than Monday, the 8th of July. That's right after the holiday weekend. Please comment on this post only if you would like to participate. Make sure to leave me a way to contact you if I don't know you! I'll leave the swap "open" for a few days, and then I'll post your partners! As with my other swaps, please take the time to get to know your partner! It's such a great way to make a new friend!

 

I hope you'll join in! Thanks,

Erica :)



Easter Fun, NO PEEKING If I'm Swapping With You!

 Hi Friends! I'm sorry that my posts have been few and far between. I haven't been feeling the best with my R.A. When I do get a bit of energy though, I've been making little Easter things for swapping. It's so much fun!

The cute cards in this post were recent purchases on EBay. I needed a little "pick-me-up"!

 I tried my hand at a Vintage Easter Putz House!

 I made my first little match box!

 At my local thrift store I found these two vintage bunnies and a great book! I made a doily basket for the yellow one. Look at what they've been doing at the thrift! They now pull out the old books and write "vintage" on them. This one was marked $2.50. In the past it would have been $1.00.

The next time I visited the store, they had put out the other two bunnies that go to the set! They're so cute!

 But not as cute as these little bunnies!

These were at the thrift too, and they're marked "Made in Spain"

I think I have to trim the awning of the one on the right. He's so cute under there...painting Easter eggs!

But you can't see him unless you pull up the fabric.

 I found this Good House Keeping ad online and thought it was just great! So I made a couple of these wooded plaques. They're heavily distressed and glittered. Sometimes I get carried away with making things look old! It's just so fun to do!

Another card that I couldn't resist.

These handmade paper mache rabbits are sold, unpainted, by a seller on Etsy. I had fun painting and decorating these up last night. These guys are little, but I have a large one that I'm going to make for myself if I get around to it!

 And here is a tip. I don't have one of those little machines that make perfect paper medallions, but I knew that I would want that look for my Easter Swap spoolies. I remembered that our Goodwill always has these huge badge/ribbons for $1.00! And the two smaller pink and yellow ones were from Target's Valentine's section. They were 75% off, and I just had to remove the heart on the front.

And here's one of the spoolies that I made with the large medallion ribbon!

You may want to look for some of these because it worked really well.

I hope you're all doing well!

I mentioned that I had some exciting news to share, and here it is.

I'm moving!!!!! My (twin) sister ended her LTR with Mr. NOT Right. So that means that she's able to live with me! We got a very cute townhouse, and we move in on April 1st! I can't wait for this new chapter in my life. My parents are wonderful, but it's been quite difficult to live at "home" during my early 30's. I can't wait to show you all the new place, and to decorate it!

So, you know how I just got out of my cast a couple months ago? I still have lots of pain and limp quite a bit. Well the other day Angie (my sister) fell down the stairs and broke her foot. So she went to the ER and got her cast. Then she came home and stumbled down the stairs AGAIN with her crutches! This time she cracked a couple ribs!

We are quite the pair! It's pretty ridiculous! :)

Erica

What Miss Maddie Sent!

Yippee! We received our first ever "Wienie" Valentine!

 Wellie was sooo excited!

 Maddie of " The Thrifting Sister's " sent the most darling box ever, for my recent Valentine's Swap!

Look at all the details!

 I love the vintage lace and buttons plus sweet paper roses!

Of course she totally spoiled me with other things! I couldn't believe all the great things that she sent!

 Gourmet Chocolate Hearts, Vintage Cupcake Toppers, Mercury Glass Beads, and a Mother Goose Golden Book that I didn't have!

 The chocolate hearts came in both Milk and Dark! And see the vintage Squirrel Puzzle Valentine? There were three more to the set underneath! I'd never seen that style! So great for my collection!

 EOS lip balm and even washi tape!

 One of the best things was this large book of repro Valentines!

I HEART it so much! lol

And then this is the backside! Or it could be the front because it's decorated just as cute!

I love how she made flowers with the buttons!

Maddie you were such a great partner in this swap! I can't thank you enough for all the amazing things that you gave me!

OK, the sweetest little valentine showed up at my door the other day!

This came from Chris of (A Little Creation). Look at the thatched wood background and the palm print sides! It all fit's together so perfectly with the vintage hula girl image! Cutest ever!

Girls-If you visit Chris's page be sure to go to the bottom and FOLLOW her! She is so darn good at paper crafting...I'm hoping to pick up some techniques!  Thank You Chris!

Well I wanted to say THANK YOU to each of you that joined my

 "Valentine's Candy Box Swap"! Can you believe that there ended up being 30 of us? I thought I might get a couple takers! LOL  I hope you all had fun with it!

A few people have asked if I'll be hosting an Easter Swap. I won't be, but I hear rumors that there's going to be a great one to sign up for soon!

My next swap won't be for awhile, but here is what I'm thinking...

"VINTAGE CHRISTMAS IN JULY"!

Each girl will have a medium flat rate box to fill over the course of a couple months. So when you're out at those flea markets or estate sales and find a little ornament, bring it home and toss it in the box. Or if it's someday in May and you decide you feel like making a little Santa Tag, go for it, and toss it in the box! Cute snowman card at the thrift store for .25? Toss it in the box! :)

If you think this might be something you'd be interested in, you can say so in this post. But this is NOT THE SIGN UP for it. I won't do an official post until mid May.

Keep it in mind though! **I realize that vintage x-mas items aren't super easy to find. That's why I'm giving a few months notice. And some of your things can be handmade! You can also tuck in new x-masy crafting supplies. :)

This might be a lot smaller swap than the Valentine's one! We will see!

Thanks Girls!

Erica

What Swapping Is All About!

When I hosted my recent Valentine's Candy Box Swap, I wanted it to include non-bloggers as well. I paired Betty S. and Susan S. together, and connected them through email. The ladies' took full advantage of the opportunity to get to know each other across the miles.

 Each one sent special things. Things that had meaning, and came from the heart! Here is Susan's candy box for Betty. Isn't it picture perfect?

A vintage brooch adds a sparkly touch!

 The inside was packed with ribbons and trims!

 Who wouldn't want to receive this pretty box? Talk about fun!

 tinsel, lace, ric-rac, even tickets...

I think Betty will be all set for Valentine's crafting next year!

Betty's son Ford (who is legally blind) has an Etsy shop called GemTiques! He made Susan the garnet gemstone pendant because it's her birthstone!

 And here is the darling box that Betty sent to Susan! I must admit that I was the tiniest bit jealous of that lace bird!

What a pretty little rose tin!

 Until this swap, I never knew there were so many gorgeous vintage Valentine's Hankies!

Wouldn't they be fun to collect?

The vintage postcard with the typewriter is a special one for sure! And look at the beautiful necklace!

Betty and Susan, it was such a pleasure to have the two of you join this swap! You both did a wonderful job, and I sure hope you had fun. I hope you'll be back for another swap sometime in the future!

Friends, please visit Ford's Etsy Shop! He has such beautiful jewelry, including a sterling silver spoon rose ring that I think I need!

Erica :)