December 18 -- A Christmas ornament exchange

This season, the lovely Stephanie at The Enchanting Rose invited her readers to participate in a Christmas ornament exchange.  Stephanie has often hosted teacup exchanges in the past but I have been hesitant to participate, fearing a teacup might get broken in the mail. 

So when I saw the ornament exchange, I thought it might be fun to take part.  Stephanie worked out all of the logistics for the 63 ladies who participated.  A registration type form helped her know about people's likes and dislikes and so on.  She emailed each of us with information concerning our swap partner, and gave detailed instructions, also:

1. This is an ornament swap so please send either a handmade, store-bought, or vintage Christmas ornament. Please make sure it's in nice condition with no breaks, tears, or wear.

2. Include a sweet little something with the ornament. It can be anything, my friends. Be creative and send something that is sure to bless the recipient's heart.

3. Please send a letter or card introducing yourself. Be friendly, share some fun Christmas traditions with your new friend.

4. Also, please send a "Thank You" card to the lady that sends to you. Remember, you are sending to someone and someone completely different is sending to you so you will make 2 friends during the swap.

5. Wrap everything well with bubble wrap and tissue paper. Please send your items in a sturdy box, and please make sure your goodies are shipped out by Saturday, December 1st. The sooner you send your package the better!

6. There will be a reveal post on my blog on Monday, December 17th. If you have a blog, please feel free to share your Christmas ornament on it and then link it up on my blog. If you don't have a blog than you can send me a picture of your swap goodies and I will share it on the reveal post.

If you check out Stephanie's reveal post, you will see that some ladies really went over the top with their gift-giving.  There seem to be many talented crafters among this group!

 The person who sent my package was Ashley.  I'll just share photos and captions.

The gift was packaged in this nice box with chalkboard label. 

Ashley had read on my blog that I enjoy sewing, so she sent me two pieces of pretty fabric.    It will be fun deciding what to use this for!

What a lovely Christmas card!

Ashley made this pretty ornament for me using sheet music. 

Tea bags (Lemon Lift is one of my favorites!); sticky notes and pen; and a lovely gold snowflake completed the gift.

Thanks again, Ashley, if you are reading this!  Your thank-you note is in the mail.

My package was sent to Susan.  Again I'll share photos and captions of what I sent to her.

A variety of handmade gift tags and a sparkly "S" for Susan (or perhaps for Sparkle!)

Susan likes blue, tartan, and plaids, so I used a blue Christmas card to write my introductory note.  The "Joy to the World" journaling card is by Jaime at Raising Up Rubies.

I sent 2 ornaments -- the gold sparkly heart made by a friend, and the cross stitch one made by me years ago.  I also included a glimmering acrylic tree which I found at Wal*Mart.  I liked that so much, I bought more for myself.

A handmade coaster with a blue fabric included and a mulled cider mix, both made by me

Lastly, Susan also mentioned liking chocolate, so I included a tiny box of chocolates and a teensy bag of Lindt truffles

I hope that Susan enjoyed her package as much as I did putting it together.  This was a fun experience for the Christmas season.  Thank you, Stephanie, for orchestrating this ornament exchange!