Happy Christmas Swap

Hello all... well, we're nearly there...  two more days to go.  And I've got some very happy Christmas mail to share today.  


The fabulous Trace of inkypinkycraft and I arranged to do a Christmas tag swap, and it's time to share it a little more widely.


I got the most amazing tag from Trace - an absolute wonder of texture and beauty, as well as some delicious little parcels of little crafty goodies.


Not the least exciting bit was that they were all wrapped in bits of TH tissue wrap, all carefully preserved, and now added to the stash!  You'll be seeing some creations using the lovely bits and pieces Trace sent me very soon, as they're irresistible - so generous!

But this amazing tag is irresistible too: I love the UTEE'd flower (melt pot fabulousness, I'm thinking); and it's brilliant to see some of Trace's much-loved and oh-so-cool rusty, twirly wire in real life.

And some rusty wire was in one of my little packages... very much looking forward to having a little play!

You can also see the fantastic acetate holly leaves, with gold text running across them - wow...

The deer is a delight - and I love the new flourish stamp across his middle and around the tag.  I just love it - thank you Trace, and I will cherish both it and our crafty friendship!  If you haven't seen Trace's work, head over here for a real Christmas treat...


I'll show you a quick picture of the tag and little bundles I sent in the opposite direction, and I hope to offer you a chance to see my one in more detail with some 'making-of' details very soon.  But I wanted to keep this post short and sweet to share the swapping fun!


So here's the tag below.  I made it keeping in mind what I know of Trace's love of hearts.







There are loads of differently textured ones, with even more on the back - so you'll just have to come back to see those, or maybe Trace will give you peek at them over at hers.

And here are the little parcels I included.  I also popped in my recent My Heart Has Wings ATC that I knew Trace had loved.  If there's one thing she likes more than hearts, it's hearts with wings!




So I'm going to leave it at that for this post.  I hope perhaps you'll come back soon (perhaps even later today) when I'll share some of the details of how I made the tag for Trace.  





But for now, I'd just like to say this swap represents the tip of an enormous iceberg.  It's hard to express how much I value this extraordinary community of crafters - the generosity, creativity and inspiration I have found here in Craftyblogland in the six months I've been at this has been truly astounding, and I am so happy to have discovered this wonderful world.  I wish you and yours a peaceful and joyous festive season, and look forward to much, much more in 2013!

For centuries men have kept an appointment with Christmas. Christmas means fellowship, feasting, giving and receiving, a time of good cheer, home.
W.J.Tucker