12 Days of Christmas Exchanges

I hadn't participated in a 12 Days of Christmas Exchange for a couple years, so this year I joined two!

EXCHANGE #1
From Berly at the I-Love-Cross-Stitching group, I received two skeins of Carries Creations floss and a box of Peppermint tea for Days 1-3.  I love that tea, and who couldn't use more floss?!

 

Day 4 - 28ct Evenweave

 

 

Days 5, 6, and 7 - Carries Floss and 32ct Linen

 

 

Day 8 - Skittles and Tea

 

 

Days 9, 10, and 11

 

 

Day 12 - 28ct Linen "Babbling Brook"

 

 

On Christmas Eve, I also received a gift certificate from 123stitch.  Thank you very much, Berly.  I enjoyed all the gifts.

 

EXCHANGE #2
From Greta at the Stitchers Circle group, I received:

Day 1 - Flowers Limited Edition Kit by Lizzie Kate

 

Day 2 - Cardinal Tweet Chart Pack by Just Nan

 

Hmmm... Both make me want to start a new project!! Must.... hold... out!

Day 3 - Crayola Erasable Twistable Colored Pencils

Day 4 - Cute "Peppermint" Soap

 

Day 5 - Main Street Station by LHN and Linen

 

Day 6 - Cardinal Ornament. So Cute!

 

 

Day 7 - Lemon Citrus Hand Soap

Day 8 - Notepads

 

Day 9 - Beads From My Wishlist

 

Day 10 - Snail Tape Measure!

So cute... inches on one side and cm on the other.

Day 11 - A Billion Dollars!

 

Day 12 - Matching Table Runner and Placemats

Thank you for the beautiful gifts, Greta.  I really enjoyed the exchange.

Secret Santa Exchange at Work

I received an email a couple weeks back about the departmental Secret Santa exchange.  Since I started in December a year ago, I missed out on the exchange.  Here's what my Secret Santa "snuck" onto my desk while I was in talking to the boss today...

Day 1 - Orange Green Tea

 

Day 2 - Peanut M&M's and a Glass Tray

 

 

Just so you know... I did get full bag of M&M's, lol.  And no, I didn't eat them all.  I actually put most of them in the bucket I received on Day 1.  I also drank the tea.  Yum!

 

Day 3 - Floral Arrangement Diamonds

 

 

Okay, I do have to say that I am scratching my head over this gift.  We all filled out Secret Santa questionaires before the exchange.  I did not say I'm into flower arranging nor does anything in my cubicle even remotely would elude to it.  (Personally, I think this is a re-gift because the packaging is very scuffed up)

 

Day 4 - Penguin List Pad and Bag of Tea

 

 

 Day 5 - The "Big" Gift



 

On Day 5, we were to buy a $10-15 gift.  I received a vase.  (Yes, to go along with the re-gifted diamonds)  Paris, flowers, vases, birds... none of these were on my Secret Santa questionaire.  It's been an interesting exchange, that's for sure.  The BF asked me, "Did you open *that* and say: What the hell is this?"  LOL (No, I didn't.)

Marvelous Monday Update 12/16/13

Yikes... How can it be that over a month has passed since I last made a blog update.  Alas, I've been busy working out (lost 10lbs so far, Yay!) and trying to get ready for the holidays.

HOLIDAYS
Last weekend, I managed to get up all my Christmas decorations.  Normally, I only put up my two 4ft trees.  However, this year I am hosting the family Christmas so the big tree had to be put up as well as more decorations.  So far, I have 12 family members confirmed and it could be upwards of 18 people total.

 

STITCHY STUFF
I've been focusing the bulk of my stitching time on a mailart piece.  Several months ago, Anne of Dolls Musings and I agreed to do a private exchange for a Christmas mailart.  This is the second private exchange I've done and am pleased that it worked out.  The person I did the first exchange with flaked out on her end, but I digress.  This is what I received from Anne:

I just love it! I had it with me when I visited my parents over the weekend, and even they were intrigued by it. My Dad was so interested that he pulled out the Atlas to see where Anne was from, LOL. Anne has not received hers yet, so I will have to wait to show pics.

Next up is progress on Balloon Glow which is the project I work on during my lunch hour.

Since I haven't worked on Yuku's backstitching for months, I plan on working on that project for a while. I've been itching to start a new project, but no-no-no! I have other things I need to work on first. *slaps hand* No new projects!

As part of their Black Friday sale, JoAnn Fabrics had OttLites for $20 which also included free shipping!  I couldn't pass up a deal like that (especially since I'd been kicking myself for not getting one back in October when they were $24.95).  I really wanted the light green one, but they were already sold out by the time I got up on Black Friday.

Winner!  Winner!  I was a lucky winner of a 12 Days of Christmas celebration at the Stitcher's Village.  From Glendon Place, I received a chart and beautiful floss.

SEWING
I was in a sewing mood a couple weeks back. Inspired by some bags I saw at the PALS retreat, I made a couple of lined project bags. I sent this one to Pam as a birthday gift:

I made this one for myself to hold my work stitching project:

I have some cute cupcake fabric that I want to make another one to keep my home project in.

WORK
My one year anniversary was last week!  Hard to believe it's been a year already.  I know I'm probably still in the "honeymoon" phase, but I have to say that it's the best move I've ever made.  Btw, how long does the honeymoon phase last? 

Those of us who have December anniversaries get to celebrate by having "Breakfast with the President" on Thursday.  I heard through the grapevine that we get gifts!

Until next time....

Marvelous Monday Update 11/11/13

HALLOWEEN

Did you and/or the kiddos have a fun Halloween?  It was cold and rainy here.  My employer encourages employee extracurricular activities and Halloween was no exception.  There was a contest for individuals and groups.  Employees voted on the best in each category.  The winners received a $10 gift card for a local deli.  Here were this year's entries (images are clickable to get the full effect):

At the end of the day, employees' children and grandchildren were allowed to come dressed up and do trick or treating.  It was quite noisy and chaotic, but it was fun to see all the costumes.


STITCHY STUFF

Since the weather has been colder, I've not been going for walks during my lunch hour.  Know what that means?  More progress on Balloon Glow...

 

I received a "spooky" Fall/Halloween mailart from an exchange I recently participated in.  In addition, June in WV also send a lovely letter and a few goodies.

 

Thanks again, June!

 

Before I left for the PALS retreat, I ordered the newest DMC floss colors. 

 

Years ago, I purchased the DMC color card that has actual floss samples.  The color card has come in handy on many occassions.  I made a color card addendum to go with it.

 

I've started going through my charts, cataloging them, and filing them in my 'new and improved' filing cabinets.  So far, I've gone through quite a few charts and barely have one drawer half full.

GIVEAWAYS
Victorian Motto Sampler is hosting another pretty giveaway.  Click on over to check it out.

Melissa at St. John's Stitcher is hosting a giveaway, too.  She's got some interesting thoughts to ponder.  Go check it out.



DIY
I was featured by Gail on My Repurposed Life for the filing cabinet makeover I did!  How cool is that?




VETERANS DAY
Remembering those who have served...

Thank you for your service.