In My Closet Secret Santa Exchange

Anna of In My Closet had arranged last Christmas a crafters handmade gifts and supplies exchange and it was a great success!
So this year she organized it again after popular demand!
And again it was a great success and lots more crafters took part!
Here's what I received.
Sweet Alexandra from far away Kongo was in Greece just before Christmas to post her parcel which included so many lovely things.
Everything was in this big green box.

Her handmade gift was a big beautiful shawl which I coordinated with a crochet pin from my school bazaar,

a card,

two bars of chocolate orange and caramel which vanished into thin air!!!!!!!

and five supplies inside beautiful little glass jars and a tin.
They were ribbons because one cannot have enough,

 hematite beads,

a wooden bead necklace, some feathers and a brooch for me to recycle

and two pieces of red and green felt.

I adored everything dear Alexandra.Thank you so very much!
 I have already started making some things with some of the supplies.
I used the ribbon on this good luck cloud ornament I made for a friend.

I used some red felt and some ribbon on this pomegranate good luck ornament I made for my best friend Gia.

I used some red felt and some pink ribbons to cover the tin and make a candle holder.

I also made a keyring with charms, a good luck charm and some of the hematite beads to hang at my new bag.

All that so far. I don't know yet what I will do next with them, we will see.

And here's what I sent to Daphne in Athens.
I made a felt bookmark and a felt mug cozy both in colours she likes blue and purple and in the shape of a cat as she loves cats.

I sent her a set of earrings, necklace and ring I had made during my jewelry lessons., and a glasses case Anna of In My Closet had made in one of our workshops but the colour so suited Daphne's choices.

Chocolate of course.
A Christmas card I made.
A book to read.
Some soap and bath salts
Some coasters I painted.
The supplies I sent were postcards to recycle,
beads,felt wool, papers for scrapbooking, and colours to paint with

I am looking forward to seeing what Daphne will make with her supplies.
Thank you Anna for organizing all this again!It was fun!

EGST Secret Santa exchange

Although I am not active anymore in my little etsy shop I decided to take part in the
 Etsy Greek Street Team Secret Santa exchange again like last year!
It was great fun!
This is what I received. Eleftheria of Personal2Treasures was so creative and generous with me.
I received a huge heavy box and wondered what was inside!

 Amazingly inside there was a heavy glass vase filled with blue aquarium pebble. The vase was covered with a handknitted case which Eleftheria suggested I can wear as a cap and indeed I can and will. It is in lovely colours!

 There were tealight candles inside the vase too. Also Eleftheria sent me some polymer clay Christmas ornaments, handcrocheted coasters and a beautiful fused glass keyring.

In total a lovely package! Thank you Eleftheria.

I was to send my gifts to Emilie of Prosinemi. She had sent me gifts in a previous exchange.
I made her one of my stones in the colours she likes.

 I added a Christmas card I made, some cards to recycle, a book to read, and a jar filled with chocolate. The jar was painted by the Art teacher at school who is amazing in making such things.

 It was a great egst exchange once again!

Secret Santa

Zina of Efzin Creations blog organized one more Secret Santa exchange this year.
Zina has a lovely blog and you should follow it and get ideas how to make beautiful simple things.
This year the person I had to send my gift to was Zina herself and I was really happy about this.
So I made this for her.
I stitched a Prairie Schooler design I had won in a giveaway by Gillie, a stitching friend.

 I backed it with fabric I had won at another giveaway by Sarah of Sarah in stitches.And I used some vintage trimming I had found a long time ago but loved how the trimming matched the colours of the Santa. And finished it as a pinkeep for the first time and I really liked this finishing.

 I put it on an easel, too.

 I also made a little felt owl and added a bar of handmade soap, some jewelry I had made, and one of my wedding favour key rings. Also a book.

 And included a handmade card.

I am glad Zina enjoyed her parcel.
A couple of days ago I received my gift too.It came in a little beautiful box.

 It was a beautiful fabric flower made by Fairytale Flower.

 It is a key ring but I can also wear it as a brooch.Isn't it lovely?And so much detail!

Thank you Gia for the lovely gift!
Thank you Zina for the exchange!

Gifts sent and received (in November and December)

Although I have become rather slow in writing letters I still send cards and parcels and other things around the world but also receive lots.
So here is a blogpost about mail I sent and received in November and December!
I sent lots of Christmas cards and received lots but I didn't take photos of them all.
But I did take photos of other mail I sent.
At some time in November I sent my friend Marabeth in the States a thank you gift.
I made her a Shutterfly photobook with photos from our trip.
I also made her a Shutterfly thank you card and I cross stitched her a card as well for her birthday.

Now here's the parcel I sent for the In My Closet exchange. Although I shared what I received (you can read it here) I never shared what I made and sent.So here it is.
I made a stone of course. And as Aliki of My Angels, My World blog loves white I made it in her favourite colour. I loved that stone, one of my favourites!

 Here's the rest of the parcel.

 I also made this little cute Christmas card in a box!

Here is a sea glass felted stone I made for my Etsy Greek Street Secret Santa Exchange and it went to far away Canada to my dear Stella of Inspirations by Stella. I also made her a sea glass pendant, both in her favourite colour turquoise.

I made this sea glass owl pendant for my dear Juliana in Scotland for Christmas. I used the owl charm that Erina Katerina sent me along with other supplies in the In My Closet exchange.

I received lots of Christmas cards.Here are the ones from my friends Annie and Stavros and Julia and Stratos in the States, Johanna in Finalnd and Christine in France.

This is a lovely gift from Andria, another friend in the States. She sent me this lovely card, and my name made with wire and a little parcel with her love. Don't you love everything?

More Christmas cards from Kerry in the States, Tua in Finland and Andrea in Trinidad&Tobago.

 I made this little green fox for my friend Frieda on Skiathos island. Frieda is trying hard to support The Green Fox of Skiathos recycling programme so I made her this little fox in green for her. I found this in Crafts Beautiful magazine if I remember correctly!

It was in brown so I made it in green for Frieda and added one of Erina Katerina's art supplies she sent me.

 Some time ago I had bought this emroidery from the destashing sale of Laura Lupin of
Bugs and fishes. So I put it in a hoop and it looked lovely for Christmas. Laura still has a destashing sale in her shop.

 I made this card for Anna's of In My Closet Christmas card competition. I used a bamboo box in which I had once received a gift in. Some washi tape.

Felt and felted cut outs I had bought at Xeirotexnika.

And some stitched wishes and a 2015 charm and some buttons of course!

One more stone I made in December.

I will make another blogpost about the Christmas cards I received (most came in January) and more mail and other things that I sent and received in the two first months of the new year!