The last present

Well I've opened my last Christmas swap present. Thankyou Paula for the very beautiful decoration. Our grandaughter called it "a dream catcher". What beautiful creations everyone has made once again and I feel priviledged to be part of this wonderful idea. Thankyou Miranda, Hazel and Wendy for your great organisation and Seini for helping. I hope everyone in both Christmas Groups has a happy, exciting and wonderful 2011.

Happy New Year. From Julie from Kaiteriteri.

GROUP 1 -24TH DECEMBER

Marion, Amah (Edna), Jean from Cairns, and I had a pre-Christmas evening last night, followed by a drive around the neighbourhood to see the decorated houses
We looked at the clock and it was 12.14 -so NO we didn't cheat.

Glasses in hand, with the last of the BUBBLES we opened our gifts.

What has Jacqui made I wonder?

Inside the red wrapping, camera at the ready revealed the most amazing gift.

A beautifully handcrafted little box and inside the most gorgeous set of gift tags.

Wow - we have never seen this medium before, the card , the punched out shapes, the colour co-ordination, the detail - this is truly gorgeous

So much in fact that Marion `Googled' the word FLOCK, little pieces of the cards are made with the self embellished designs, some in red and some in black and covered with little butterflies, flowers and beads.

This is beautiful Jacqui and tooooooooooo good to give away.

Thank you so much - this is our last gift (until next year)

Hazel, Miranda and Wendy, you have done a fabulous job of -coordinating our SWAP, next year will be a breeze for you

Christmas Eve Group 2

Our last day of the swap. This year has been fun once again with such talented participants and interesting gifts to open.

Today is no exception. Paula has created our last gift of this years swap, and it is encased in a sliver folded envelope. Can not give this the squeeze test though.

We have a beautiful red decoration with a cluster of beads in the centre. Wow these must have taken ages to do. The work is so intricate and all the little beads are

threaded and gathered and stitched in place.

Well done Paula this is really lovely.

Hazel

Merry Christmas and I hope everyone has a safe and happy festive season.

THIS AND THAT

I am sooooooo lucky as Marion brought all her goodies to Auckland especially so I could see them - we have oooh and aaaaahed over each gift.
If you double click any of the photos they will enlarge, so will give you a better idea of the work, creativity, detail and beauty of our gifts.
Liz

Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou!!!! from Julie

At last a few moments to say an enormous THANKYOU to some more talented people. Allan and I have an accommodation business in Kaiteriteri so this is the busiest time of the year for us with people arriving to their holiday homes everyday and so much to do. I open my pressies at breakfast and can't believe we only have one more to go. It was the turn of my gift this morning and I'm really sorry that someone will have a Christmas Tree missing. I finished wrapping the 12 and oh no one left over. Please either phone me on: 03 527 8274 or flick me an email: allanh@ts.co.nz and I will post it to you straight away.
Rachel your black and white purse is so lovely and love the contrast of the red zip. Eileen what beautiful embroidery on the glasses case, thankyou. My beautiful earrings from Meredith are blue so will get a lot of use, thankyou Meredith you are very clever. Hazel the notebook cover is exquisite, I love it, thankyou so much. What a beautiful felt purse Jennie, the flower on the front is gorgeous thankyou.
One left I wonder what it will be !!!

GROUP 1 23RD DECEMBER

Up with the larks this morning, much to do before I go to the Airport to pick Marion (Group 2) What can be in the beautifully packaged parcel? Silver wrapping with silver and pink ribbon, the tag has a heart shape punch and the heart shape has been attached with bling!!
I have been in Debbie's group before, and also she and I did a
Valetine Day swap, so it was with great excitement to see what she has crafted this year.
Amazing, beautifully painted art box with .....wait for it... a felted angel, she even has a pretty pink beaded Halo.
This is just fantastic and so clever.
I shall place her on my dresser for everyone to see.
Thank you Debbie - you are a very talented lady

Thursday 23rd Group 2

Ting ting a ling went this mornings parcel. What is in here and making that jingle sound? It has come to us from Julie who lives in Kaiteriteri. Julie is also Mum to Miranda one of this years co ordinators.

The parcel is all wrapped up in gold papaer with gold glitter swirls.

It is soft and I can hear bells.

Wait wait till you see this. Sorry photo does not do it justice. Rope has all sorts of colourful material knotted down it, the most amazing handmade felt santa boots,christmas trees and star all with buttons and beads on them too. A little wooden peg holds them in place.

I love this it is awesome, so much detail time and thought has gone into this gift.

Thank you so much Julie, I love it, and will be finding the perfect spot for it when I get home from work, and have time to position properly.

Hazel

Crafty Friends

I am overwhelmed at the talent of our swap friends so many surprises I hope i have thanked everyone up to now Miranda. Jean Julie Vicky I haven.t taken any pics yet as my camera is on strike !!! only 2 more days to go I wonder what other surprises are waiting Love Edna (Amah)

GROUP 1 -22nd DECEMBER

Michelle is Wendy's daughter and like Mummy is a very talented lady.
Oh check out this lovely Christmas boot tag, that is so sweet.
Now the parcel is very, very soft, careful Nicole tells me as I am in great haste to open it.
Michelle, this is incredible, stunning and so unusual.
I have a gorgeous Christmas Cushion, (she made 12 of these!!!!!!!!!!!!!), Michelle has embroidered a sweet little feline angel, the detail and the amount of work blows me away.
She is so pretty and hopefully my camera has picked up the detail.
But wait ... there is more, can you see the knotted edging, I imagine this would have taken ages to do and I love the idea.
Thank you Michelle, this is neat.

Group 2 Wednesday 22nd December

This morning we are getting up to open a gift from Jennie.

Jennie comes from sunny Nelson, and yes I think it may even be sunny today.

The parcel is wrapped in red paper with gold stars and tied with gold tinsel and a cute little tag. It's soft to touch.

Wow when I get inside there is a layer of tissue and inside the tissue is the most beautifully stitched, black and red felt purse. Oh my goodness Jennie I love this, it is just awesome.

On the front is an amazing red and black flower with a really cool red and yellow bead in the centre. Blanket stitched around the edges in red thread.

I can see this getting a lot of use, thank you so much just amazing work, a really awesome gift.

Hazel

Late! But not forgotten!!

A big thank you to Jean, Julie, Amah & Miranda for your wonderful presents!
It really is very exciting getting up each morning to open a wee parcel :-)

A very Merry Christmas to all!!

Vicki xox

GROUP1 21ST DECEMBER

Miranda must think I don't like her gift to us, as I am sooooooooooo late posting, the morning turned to custard, but here we are -Nicole with camera in hand as Fergus is trying to open the gift.
I once worked with Miranda, and for someone who says she cannot create , we will all disagree with that.
Miranda this is just beautiful, pretty wrapping, and then inside the wrapping , another beautifully tied tissue wrapping.
What has Miranda made for us?
MMMMMMMM ...so you agonized over what to make, this is fabulous.

The most gorgeous little purse/bag -I cannot make up my mind if it is knitted or crocheted.
I hope you can all see this as it is sort of bobbled, with a pretty ribbon to tie it.
Mine is white/of white and so soft.
Inspirational my friend and a huge well done

Group 2 Tuesday 21st December

Hi everyone, well today is my gift to you all. It is a bit odd to be writing about my own gift but here goes.

I found the wrapping paper in this cool shop called nood, and then designed a tag to match.

I made you all a little notebook. I bought the pads and then covered them with coloured card,and decorative paper. I then stamped a message on them and punched out some shapes and glued it all together. My dining room table was a bit of a mess for a few weeks while I created.

Hope you get some use out of it.

Hazel

Thank You Stella Cole!!!!!

Have to share with you all the first day of another swap that started today. 5 girls participating and it has been organised by Wendy (co-organiser of this years Christmas Swap). The five girls are my daughter Seini, my niece Kayla, two of Wendy's grandaughters Kyla and Breena and Liz's grandaughter Stella.

It was Stella's gift that was opened this morning, very beautifully wrapped with lace, gold, and stickers. Inside was a candy cane, a gorgeous dove decoration with wings, a message holder and two messages decorated with glitter and beads!

I've tried to take photo's to show you all I hope you can get an idea of what Stella (7 yrs old) has made. Very cool Stella!!!! Love from , Miranda and Seini

GROUP 1 20TH DEC:

A little late this morning as my son had commandeered my computer and Nicole late with the photo shoot.

Amah (Edna) - this took me back as this is what my own mother used to do.

What can be in this pretty gold bag with a very special tag with Christmas wishes

This dear little Cupie -Kewpie dolly dressed in a sparkly dress, even a glitter Halo.

The skirt has been so beautifully gathered , so the fabric is all sparkly, she even has a little star around her neck.

Amah is 80+ , her eyesight must be sensational as you cannot see any sticthing - just amazing

This is so neat as I didn't know you could still buy the dollies. My grand-daughter is equally enthralled. She is hanging on my tree nestled amongst the branches and Nicole arranged the lights so as to pick up her sparkles.

Awesome Amah, you are sooooooooooooooooo talented.

Group 2 Only 5 days to go!

Our gift is from Meredith from Auckland.

Today we have a tiny little envelope to open. What has Meredith created for us?

I open the envelope pull out a dear little card and low and behold inside the card is the most sweet pair of earings.

There is a wee note inside that tells us the polymer clay bead is handmade too. Very clever indeed. 12 sets of these well done.

Meredith these are awesome and yes I will enjoy them.

Thank you very much.

Hazel

SUNDAY 19TH DEC: GROUP 1

Vicki and her Mum (Jennie) -group 2 stayed with me early November and Vicki still had another 12 gifts to make for a Group in ChCh and was a tad stressed.
Vicki this is just gorgeous, the work and detail on our Xmas Dec is exquisite.
But the tag............. wow!!! I love it and actually am going to use it as a decoration as well.
I love the colours and hopefully they show up as Nicole is back with her camera.
Beautiful fabrics , pretty embellishments and some handstitching, when did you find time?
Thank you Vicki- this is just lovely

Group 2 Sunday 19th

Today our gift comes from Eileen, who lives in Auckland.

When I gave this soft gold parcel with glittery star shaped tag the squeeze test it had me wondering what would be inside.

Once inside the gold wrapping, there was another layer of red tissue to get inside. Inside that layer was a lovely glasses case.

Look at the detail on mine, very clever Eileen.

There is a ribbon attatched to the top of the case too.

Thank you so much this is a very useful gift indeed.

Hazel

GROUP 1 -SAT 18TH

I am a little late this morning, a Christmas Party last night..........
Anyway here I am and today's gift is from Jean in Nelson.
mmmmmmmmm this feel soft and squashy.... let's see
Pretty Christmas wrapping and a lovely tag.
Wow! you made 12 of these gorgeous bags, especially made for the beach because they are made of waterproof fabric with little pockets - Jean this is fantastic and the sewing is so neat.
Can you see the bright and summery colours that Jean has used? My camera again doesn't do justice.
This will be used almost immediately as the family are going to beautiful Whangaparaoa for Christmas and the beach is close by.
Thank you Jean, this is a lovely gift -another talented lady

Group 2 7 Days to go.

Well here we are 1 week out form the big day.

Today is a the sweetest red pokadot parcel wrapped with a ribbon and a felt star tag. This gift is from Rachel.

Rachel is one of Wendy's daughters and lives in Christchurch.

I can see that crafting talent runs in the family.

Inside the parcel is the most devine little purse. Lined inside with bright striped material. Rachel has attached 3 wee beads to the zip too.

What a neat idea and, Rachel you made 12 of these, they are awesome.

Thank you so much I love my purse.

Hazel

From Julie in Kaiteriteri

Hi All

I'm Julie and live in Kaiteriteri. I'm Miranda's mum and this is my second year in the Christmas Swap. Believe me it is wonderful to be part of it.
Isn't it just sooooo exciting opening a new parcel each morning. Allan and I were away for the first two days so I packed the appropriate parcels and sat on my sister-in-laws bed to open them. She was blown away with the gifts and the skills some people have and also the wonderful idea behind the Christmas Swap. Thankyou Alison for the decoration it is amazing and so clever.
My bottle apron and chefs hat is delightful and I know will cause lots of comment when I use it. Thankyou Marion. Gail what is the lovely smell coming from the exquisite snowflake, it is going to look great on the tree. Thankyou. Anita thankyou so much your necklace, it is divine and no I can't understand why you were nervous with that talent. This morning I opened Jean's pressie and it's the most beautiful sewing kit. Thankyou Jean it certainly will get used.
I've also brought out some of last years gifts to use this Christmas and they're filled with warm fussies and good memories. Hurry up tomorrow morning!!!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone - been having a bit of trouble to figure out the computer stuff to make a comment - however I think I have it sussed now. It has been so amazing to open these lovelly gifts each morning, and still we have 6 to go. I have to admit it is so tempting so have a wee peek the night before, but I have not sucummbed. Yet !! Thankyou so much to you all - so much talent in so many different ways. Hope you all have a great Christmas and New Year. Jennie

GROUP 1- FRIDAY 17TH

What can be in this tiny, tiny package from Julie?

Julie is Gail (Group 2's ) Mummy and lives at beautiful Foxton Beach- correct me if I am wrong.

Anyway I have never met Julie, but I do know her talented daughter.

Lets's see what is in this package!!!!

OMG..... gasp, gulp, wow... this is exquisite, the most beautiful and perfectly hand crafted Fridge Magnet Butterfly and a dear little gift tag.

Check out the colours, it truly is awesome - in fact I cannot stop looking at it, and want to know more about how you made it. Stunning Julie and welcome to the Christmas Swap.

I have hardly commented on the gift tag, but that too is perfection plus .

Thank you Julie, my Butterfly is Pride of Place on my fridge

Group 2

Yippee it let me do it, and I am ready for work too.

Group 2 a parcel from Australia

Today our parcel comes all the way from Cairns, Australia.

I have been in Jean's group for 3 years now and she is a very talented lady. This year is no exception.

When I opened the tissue paper I was amazed to see the most beautiful sewing kit with all the bits and pieces included.

Awesome gift thank you Jean.

I am having trouble today with the site today so hope this works out. Will post photos later as will not put other one on.

Merry Christmas to you all finnally have a little time to comment the gifts have been awesome each day I get a txt from my daughter Rachel group 2 to let me know what she got then its of to work to show and tell with the ladies at work. Its such good fun.You are all so clever with such different ideas. Well done. Wendy

Day 4-WENDY

Wendy, Wendy - this is absolutely fantastic, in fact awesome, something I have never owned, and have always wanted one, my camera has not done this justice, Nicole has been taking my photos, but she and the kids are at The Castle.
Wendy's packaging was so bright and colourful, bright lime green paper, with purple ribbon carefully tied in a pattern.
Inside revealed a hand -sewn and embroidered PEG BAG- we will all remember the PEG BAGS made with hessian
Mine is made with pretty green fabric and the word`PEGS' appliqued -I am very impressed.
Thank you Wendy - just amazing and I love it.

Thank you Gail. Mine was a beautiful angel, which I'll be taking to work to show and tell with Hazel. Anita

Woo Hoo 9 days to go

Good Morning everyone. Today a parcel from Hamilton awaits.

The wrapping on Gail's parcel was amazing the detail and a little christmas poem and the smell. I couldn't wait to open it and see what was inside.

Inside was the most amazing feathered and beaded snowflake decoration. The time involved to make 12 of these! I have never seen anything like it before. everyone is coming up with such unique ideas.

I will need to find a special place to hang it as my tree is outside this year

Thank you Gail an awesome gift.

Hazel

Echoing everyone's comments so far. Liz - such a lovely present in such a lovely presented way - absolutely gorgeous. Karen - cards are so precisely done - will need to match the card to the right person. Jackie - beautifully done lavender bag - thanks so much. Jean

Crafty Friends

Well what can I say there are some very talented friends around Karen,Liz and Jackie you are so clever and thoughtful - what a privilege it is to belong to a fantastic group of people I cannot wait until tomorrow Love to all Edna (Amah) Auckland

Group 1 - Wed: 15th

Jackie, soooooooooo typical and sooooooooooo beautifully made...

I have known Jackie for many years and she is known as a perfectionist - this exquisite lavender bag is just gorgeous.

It looks to be made of wide ribbon, and somehow sewn together, with a double bow, ribbon and beaded trim.

Pretty green packaging and a lovely tag with Christmas Greetings.

Nicole is up each morning and sharing the excitement with me.

Thanks you Jackie - I love it-Liz

Wednesday 15th Group 2

Day 3 is Anita from Nelson's day. Anita is also a newbee to the swap this year and feeling a little nervous, like we all did to start.

Myself an Miranda work with Anita. Last year she watched us bringing in our gifts for show and tell and this year we have her participating.

Awaiting me today was the most adorable little box with matching poka dot ribbon and colour coordinated tag.

Inside was silver tissue folded over a lovely red beaded creation.

Not sure what Anita was worried about, it is really sweet and I will be taking it to work for show and tell.

Well done Anita and thanks for joining the fun this year. I love my gift from you.

Hazel

Wow! This is an amazing idea.I'm liz's Australian daughter in law, staying with Liz for Xmas. Over the years i have heard so much about her crafting and the amazing craft projects created by her friends, and to be here and part of the action is sensational. I didn't really get it until we opened the first present, Liz's excitement was contagious, the cards were beautiful. I woke prior to Liz this morning and i was so tempted to wake her, I wanted to open present number two. Todays felt christmas decoration was just so elegant and intricate; it hangs beautifully on the Xmas tree. And it was packaged so stunningly. Nicole