An Otchipotchi giveaway win and purchase.

I have many a time mentioned otchipotchi and Paula Valentim from Portugal. I love her work.

 Every Christmas she makes some lovely ornaments.

 I loved this year's too and bought a set. They are very reasonably priced! And I was very lucky and won a set in her giveaway on her blog too!
So here they are.

 As always she added some little extras!

 And here they are on my small fir tree branch! I know they don't show much and maybe I should have put them by themselves but I also wanted to put some of my other friends' ornaments like Cathy's felt hearts she made for me some years ago,Gaby's little Scottish doll,a couple of my cross stitched ornaments, Gara's snowflakes and finally some ornaments I bought from the Metropolitan Museum of Art shop in New York at their summer clearance!!!!!.Now that I compare their prices to their on line shop I am shocked how great a bargain I scored!

What the mail brought...

...in December!
Of course December mail was Christmas mail and maybe it is too late to show it but I want all my friends to know that I really appreciated all the things I received, wishes, letters, Christmas cards and presents. I have answered by e-mail to say that I received the parcels but I still owe letters, I know!And there are some people I never sent a Christmas card even but this year I really tried to send as less as possible as postage has gone so high that at times it isn't affordable.
So here are...

Gaby's card and gift from Scotland.Doesn't the Scottish flag look like the Greek one?My school keys are on this now.

 Johanna's Christmas card from Finland,

 Juliana's parcel from Scotland(I have worn this scarf so much this winter J&J)

And there are some great but very difficult patterns in this!

 J&J you sent so much thank you!

  I loved those dishes that you can see in the dark under UV light and filled with beach finds from Kos island.

 Juliana's Xmas card.

Juliana made lovely sea glass ornaments and I use this keyring for my home keys every day.

 Tua's card and driftwood reindeer from Finland,

 Christine's card from France,

 Ruth's card and vintage cross stitch book from Israel. (the book has lovely simple designs. I will use some when I start stitching again when Barca allows it!)

and a parcel from dear Marabeth.

which included this amazing vintage thrift store find. A cross stitch piece that shows the landmark of my city the White Tower and the Greek and American flag. This was probably stitched as a commemorative piece from a Greek lady and given as a gift or kept till not wanted any more. I am so glad Marabeth has an eye for great cross stitch pieces and she got me this!Thanks Marabeth!

 And this lovely cross stitched bag for my sea glass walks.

 Also another find of Marabeth's, a crochet bell for my tree. This year my tree was all cross stitch and crochet ornaments.

 And this lovely heart brooch.

 Cathy's card and letter.

 I loved those stamps.

 Kim's card and calendar.

 Andria's card, calendar and sea glass ornament.You can find similar ornaments and lovely jewelry at Andriasserendipity etsy shop.

 Brigitte's gifts and card. Go to objectifseychelles  if you want to organise yout holidays to the beautiful Seychelles.

 Again thank you all for thinking so warmly of me!

What the mail brought and gifts.

As I have not been writing many letters any more I don't receive many either.
But I recently received...
Spoonful the beautiful zine from Australia. That was the only thing I charged my credit card with for the last six months as I cannot afford any online purchases any more. But I have been reading Spoonful since its first issue and I do not want to miss it. You can buy it here too.

I loved its pages on dragons and cross stitch as well as about Anthea's wedding! Congrats dear!

I also received a letter from Gabrielle, a life long pen friend from Scotland with whom I had lost contact for some time. She wrote a snail mail letter and sent me this lovely pair of earrings. Thank you Gaby!Friends are for ever!

Finally my other dear sea glass friends from Scotland Juliana and John sent me another big beautiful parcel with sea glass from Scotland as well as gifts from their recent trip to Zakynthos, Greece. It was strange getting Greek gifts from Scotland! The Caretta Caretta sea turtle hutches on the beaches of Zakynthos so the tea towel and the onyx egg base are turtle themed.

 Sea glass from Scotland.

 Shells and sea glass from Zakynthos island.

 I managed to frame my Count your Blessings in a beautiful IKEA frame I had. It looks lovely in it, doesn't it? Whoever wants the travelling pattern still has time to comment on the blogpost here only and you might win it!

 Last but not least a lovely handmade recycled gift from a dear friend. She made the pouch and the necklace herself. The pouch is made with recycled cut pieces of chips bags and the necklace has handmade beads made of paper from magazine pages.

I really loved it!
I suppose by now you have realised that the analysis of the photos I am posting is low as I have no more free Picasa space. So you can see my photos even if they are originally beautiful and clear they look a bit blurry on the blog. Unfortunately I can't do anything about that right now.
Also I have changed my background putting the sea sunset theme. It looks so much like the beach at my summer house at sunset that I prefer it for the summer.
Good night every one...or good morning! Thanks for reading!