Saturday, May 8, 2010

favorite things gift swap.

since i joined a couple of swaps in a row, i've decided to share one each saturday. This week i decided to showcase the brown paper packages gift exchange that the lovely Cole hosted. The idea was to send 3 of your favorite things.


i was truly lucky to have Tillie of New Zealand get me. She really is such a sweet, fun, delightful person! between emails we had already exchanged- she might have let the cat out of the bag that she got me *wink, but instead of ruining a surprise, it made it that much better because i knew that it was going to be something fantastic- we had so much already in common! is it any surprise i LOVED everything this gift-giving goddess gave me?

first of all, the most darling letter on the back of a subway map / fun-as-she-is cards from her fabulous card line with different greetings (the one shown is my favorite, of course!) / pocket notebooks she covered with beautiful fabric {not only a gift-giving goddess but a crafting one at that!} / the most prettiest hand made bows - that same night i wore one out to dinner. love!!! / awesome postcard she got while in Oklahoma City by a local photographer / delicious blueberry lip sorbet / and a mod tote bag!

SERIOUSLY SPOILT. Tillie, i loveeeed EVERYTHING sooo very much! they were all very much me, even Max agreed. i hope you'll receive my thank-you soon! x i couldn't have asked for a better swap mate. YOU'RE LOVELY SWEET CHEEKS!!!




i got Sophie in Australia. It was nice because Sophie and i had already exchanged letters before i was matched to her, so it was fun surprising her! My 3 brown paper packages holding a few of my favorite items:



in every book i give as a gift, i put an envelope inside with a letter of why i loved that particular book so much to pass on. I sent along these chained wings earrings i bought and loved from CMEdesign on etsy & my favorite mascara that has never let me down, with a note saying that a girl can never be too glamourous.


it was such a fun swap! next week: a postcrossing surprise.

23 comments:

Jamie said...

You give the best gifts! So much thoughtfulness! I loooove that you include an envelope with a note in every book you give! Such a great idea!!! Hope you're having a wonderful weekend, Lovely! xo

TanyaMarie said...

awwwwwwww.. this is so sweet!
lovely

xox

Zoƫ said...

such beautiful sent and received swaps, and the note in the book is genius. I always leave notes in books but i've never seen it done that way and it's absolutely lovely. I also love seeing book recommendations, I'll be sure to check it out :)

Anonymous said...

I agree with Jamie! that is such a cute idea! And what great gifts! -Katie

Claire Kiefer said...

That sounds like pretty much the perfect exchange--favorite things! The package you sent out was so beautiful, Micaela--though of course they always are. :) I love it when you share these exchanges you participate in--so fun! So sweet how you always make time to gather and mail beautiful packages despite how busy you are. <3

Anonymous said...

i seriously need to participate in more swaps! these looks so fun and i seriously love putting things together and sending them off in the mail. makes you feel like santa clause!

Belen said...

ooooooo gosh, i love that envelope with the lace! i think it's a brilliant idea! hmm, i'll need to do this one day! :P

Jennifer said...

You recieve thee most gorgeous mail! I love it! That tote is sooo nice! :) we should do mail together one day when everything settles down! I'd love to do some with you! :)

I love your blog! x

Cassie said...

That phrase 'brown paper packages tied up with string' makes me just a little excited at the possibilities!
xx

Ria said...

Those swaps gifts are lovely! I love the lace on your packages and envelope.

You can see my tube stop on that underground map, heheh :)

Sandy a la Mode said...

awwwwww you got some GREAT gifts! i hope to participate in some gift swaps sometime!

Cole said...

I'm so glad you got such lovely things in the swap! And I'm so glad you participated! I love organizing it and am already planning for the next one!
PS-I sent my package to Tillie and sent her a book, mascara, & staionary (and candy), but I thought it was funny how similar our packages were :)

Phibster said...

Such a lovely gesture.
I love the hand decorated packages, spruces up a plain brown parcel perfectly!

Tillie said...

Oh miss! YOU ARE ADORABLE! I am glad you liked it! Looking at the things I sent you in photos i feel like i should have sent you more! haha!! I might sent another little gift your way soon, just because you are the most amazing. I hope you are well and i loooooove you xo

Unknown said...

how to do swap ?
this is soo cute stuffs :)

Jillian (back to the nest) said...

Where do you find out about these swaps? I may just have to start one of my own...hmmm!!

Jillian (back to the nest) said...

Where do you find out about these swaps? I may just have to start one of my own...hmmm!

Unknown said...

I want to get cute packages in the mail. Jealous.

Anonymous said...

I think that's the best idea...putting an envelope with a letter inside each book you give as a gift. I'll have to steal that delightful idea from now on though. Of course if I'm talking to the person I'll have to tell them where the idea originally came from! =D

For as long as I can remember, my gram, my aunt, my mother and I have always gotten eachother books as gifts. I'll never top what I did a few years ago though.

Gram and I were watching Little People, Big World. Have you see the show? I forget their last name. Matt, the dad, had written a book. A couple I think. One was a biography. Gram didn't know this. All she knew was that a few years ago at Thanksgiving, I spent a few extra days with her, helping her, watching TV and talking about how she admires these little people.

Gram is one of the bravest women I know. To hear her talk about how she was so impressed by the family, was interesting.

I ordered Matt's biography online and sent my printed out order form along with a typed letter. I told him about Gram. About how we spent one full day watching his family on TV. How Gram had become adventurous and visited Arizona one summer. How we miss Grampa a lot and life isn't the same without him. How books are comforting and how I hope he would know just how much this woman admires him, what he has done, his wife, and his entire family.

Gram opened the gift and promptly started to read the packing slip. Whoops! "Oh! No, don't read that, that's just garbage."

She read the cover of the book. "OH!" she exclaimed.

That's not all.

I told her to look inside and with help located the written words from Matt.

"To Merwyn, All my best, Matt"

Short, sweet, and it made the book so special.

This might be the longest comment ever. Hope you have a lovely Monday!

danielle and dinosaur toes said...

how funny, i got sophie for the accessory swap! i love all of these swaps, and i've really gotten to be spoiled with them lately. on the plus side, it's a good way to keep from doing too much shopping when i know i have a swap package on the way!

esther said...

ahhh i want to do a gift swap! that sounds like the most fun. i love that you gave a book and wrote why you like it...i think i need to add that book to my List. yes. also i just love everything about this post/idea in general. did i say that already? gorgeous packages!

Lauryn said...

I love favorite things swaps! I have to keep my eye out for the next one. I don't want to miss out!!

Tanya said...

Such a lovely swap!:) I adore brown paper the most!<3 :D

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