Sunday, March 27, 2011

Some Bunny Loves Me!

So, below I have posted what I sent and what I received in Aunt Pitty Pat's Easter Mug Rug Swap. But APP herself sent me a *surprise* Mug Rug package! Aren't I the mostest luckiest girl??? Here's what she sent. The Mug Rug is sooooo cute! See the shadow quilting around it? And, APP is the Queen of Applique :-)
And she tucked in one of my favorite candies which is coconut cream eggs. The cup and little saucer/plate is so very cute, too. And she included teas and cider and cuppy-cake liners! There were some cookie cutters too, but they somehow grew legs and walked off when it was picture-taking time. I found them hiding under some fat quarters afterwards.
Thank you APP - I feel sooooo loved!!!

More Mug Rug Madness

And here's the Mug Rug goodies I sent to my partner, Val, for Aunt Pitty Pat's Easter Mug Rug Swap!
I created a landscape for the Mug Rug front, complete with some yummy carrots for that rascially Easter Bunny...
Here's the back of the Mug Rug...
A tea wallet...
I love making wraps for the mugs...and they really DO keep your tasty beverage warm a bit longer!

Thanks APP for another great swap!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Easter Mug Rug Swap

I was in Aunt Pitty Pat's Easter Mug Rug Swap, and here's what I got from my partner, Val! First of all, when I got the box in the mail, and opened the flaps, I was greeted by what struck me as "An Easter Egg Hunt!" because there were all these pretty foil-wrapped chocolate Easter egg candies hiding and rolling around the other items in the box. I thought it was so cute, I had to snap a pic:

And look at the goodies I got! In addition to the Mug Rug, which sported some awesome embroidered eggs, Val sent me a really cute mug. She also added a beautiful metal tag, and we BOTH sent each other a Reese's Carrot Cone - we both thought that was pretty funny! And she very thoughtfully made a hand-stamped card with such a nice note in it. Look at the fabulous crocheted dishcloth she made just for me - I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

Here's a closeup of the Mug Rug. Thank you soooo much, Val!
Now here's the really funny part - Val used plastic grocery bags to cushion the swap items. Good re-use of grocery bags, right? Well, when I spotted all those plastic bags, I literally yelled "Woo Hoo!!!"  You see, I RELIGIOUSLY use my homemade cloth bags when shopping - not only for groceries, but at the fabric store, Target, the hardware shop...pretty much everywhere I go! All well and good...however then I never have any plastic bags to put "icky" stuff in, like puppy pads (even though the puppies aren't puppies any more - let's not go there...), fishy wrappers/trays, oily stuff - you get the picture. So I was REAL excited about getting all those plastic bags!
Also, if you've been reading my blog for awhile, you probably already know our family is weird (we take pictures of dead coyotes, have a Redneck Newspaper Holder, and there is an incident about a dead rabbit in the middle of the road that I haven't actually blogged about yet...). So you may understand the fascination that abounded when I found not ONE, but TWO receipts still in the bags. One was somewhat boring in that it was for a saladwith LITE dressing (ugh). But the other one had no store name nor did it say what the items were. So we, as a family, sat around the kitchen for WAY too long, conversing about what that receipt MIGHT have been for. Most of the guesses aren't fit for blog-land. Sorry, but that's just our family. Take it or leave it. At any rate, it entertained us for awhile but then again we are easily entertained. So thank you, Val - for the gifts that were "intended" and also for the ones that weren't, LOL!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

And, Here's the Swap Package I Sent for Hot Mamas

Here's the package I sent to Madelyn for the Hot Mamas Chicken Lovin' Apron Swap! I thought Madelyn would like some vibrant fabric, so I came up with this for the apron:

I included a potholder and a tea wallet:
And...a chicken pattern and some chocolate!
Also...I wrapped it up in a matching tote bag:

Thanks, Val, for another wonderful swap!

Chicken Lovin' Apron Swap!

I'm such a lucky chick :-) Here's the apron package I got from Madelyn in Yarni Gras' Hot Mama Chicken Lovin' Apron Swap! Madelyn spoiled me by letting ME pick out the fabric - is that cool or what! I picked the blue chickens fabric and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Here's the apron - it's full sized, has roomy pockets, and is reversible, too!

She made a fabulously useful oven mitt to match...and included a wooden spaghetti fork, pretty nail file, and BEADS!!! I LOVE BEADS!!! And the BEADS!!! are BLUE!!!
Ok...I think I've calmed down now from my BEADS!!! euphoria ;-)  Madelyn also embroidered these fine chickens on some dishtowels! Too pretty to use? Probably...but I'm going to try to make myself use them anyways. She also included a chicken cookbook and some very yummy mints. When I saw the mints, I thought "Hmmm...mints..." but when I put the first one in my mouth, I thought "WOW...mints!" because they are sweet little pillows of heaven that melt in my mouth! Ummm, I don't have a picture, because, ummm, well, they are all gone! Thank you, Madelyn, for a wonderful swap package! The apron and mitt are hanging on my fridge right now, and maybe I'll convince myself to use the towels real soon ;-)