12 Days of Christmas Swap Report

I received my box of return swaps/presents in the mail today. Since I signed up twice I have received 24 gifts. On the outside of the package was included a beautiful slide mount ornament made by our very organized, creative and thoughtful hostess: Sweetpea!
When I opened up the package there was a gorgeous Christmas card done by Sweetpea. Sorry, I was so excited, the picture is blurry.
Here are the gifts, are gorgeously wrapped, waiting to be opened. I have not yet decorated my home for the holidays, so this is definitely getting me in the mood. Since the package came with a present attached, I'm counting that as the first gift I've opened. I will be opening one (or more) each day and adding them to this post until they are all opened.
12/8: First day of gift opening. I love a mystery and this shiny red present has no gift tag on it. So I "had" to open it to find out who it was from.....

I didn't find a name on the inside, maybe the label fell off in transit, or I dropped it in my excitement to drool over all the lovely packages. Never mind the gift is wonderful. A tag transformed into a beautiful key chain. Love the antique feel of the key hole. I think it's done from a mold, something new to try...... And I love the metallic gold paper and stamped image on the back. A big Thank you to my mystery gift giver! No longer a mystery: Chris Bennett is the artist, she lives and creates in Australia.

12/9: Second day of opening, deciding which gift to open is harder than I imagined, I want to open them all!!! As we were leaving church this morning, there was a very light flurry of snow flakes coming down. So I picked this appropriate package from Trish Latimer. This present has come all the way from the United Kingdom.

What fun to find it wrapped in this lovely shimmery bag & purple tissue paper. More unwrapping fun.

What joy to find this gorgeous necklace inside. I love the colors and it is surprisingly very light weight. I have it on and feel very festive! Thank you Trish for this beautiful necklace.

12/10: For day's 3 gift I choose this intriguing little package with chickadees on it. It comes form Tamara Spredemann in Wisconsin. I love seeing chickadees in the winter.

Inside was this beautifully decorated matchbox. I love the special message she included.

12:11 For day 4's gift, I choose this delicious package from Annie Mackay in the United Kingdom. The photo doesn't do the shimmer justice. I can't wait until everyone has opened all their gifts and I can find out how Annie made the paper and tag.

Inside were these gorgeous stamped sachets and I love the embellishment, which was on top, but I moved to the side to get a better photo. Thank you Annie, you have give me many great ideas.

12/12: Day 5's gift was chosen because I've been eyeing these luscious fibers since I first opened the box last week. This gift comes from Chrissy Bornfleth in Wisconsin.

This is so fantastic for an avid crafter: 6 decorated tags with a description on who she made the backgrounds on the back AND permissiion to alter/embellish them and use in other art work of give as gifts. Thank you Chrissy for this generous gift of your talents & creativity & permission to use.

12/13: Day 6's gift is the fun package from Autumn Labbe-Renault in California. Love the elongated sour cream tube shape and the festive bubbles & swirls stamping. And the shimmer on the tag is unbelievable - love it!

Sorry about the photo quality, but it is a very gray day today and I had to use the flash. No natural light today.
The gift is this gorgeous necklace Autumn made and she has a post on her blog about it here. Very glittery and yummy colors.

12/14: Day 7's gift is from Debbie Reid in California. I love the bright red wrapping on this present. Plus it is big & her tag has the comment: "Have an Artful Christmas!".

In the folds of wrapping paper were two paint brushes and this lovely batik fabric was wrapped inside.

A beautifully hand made carry case for paint brushes and other art supplies, complete with brushes. Love it! What a fantastic gift! Thanks Debbie for this creative & extremely useful gift.

12/15: Day 8's gift is this gorgeous snowy gift bag from Margaret Rogers in California.

She made this incredibly beautiful art journal. There is so much I love about it. I need to learn what techniques she used. Acrylic paints??? Love the image transfer.

Here is the inside cover: fantastic! This will be used for Art projects in 2008. Thanks Margaret for a gift every artist would & will love.

12/16: Day 9's gift is this shimmery package from Pauline Hampson from the United Kingdom. I have to find out how she created this glitzy paper.

I love this altered metal treasure box, complete with chocolates! I will enjoy the chocolates and keep some embellishments in here, to have them handy on my craft table and keep this treasure box in view. Thank you Pauline, your gift is a treasure to me!

12/17: Day 10's gifts are from Kathy Beringer in Wisconsin. (In order to finish opening by Christmas morning, I will opening 2 gifts a day). I love these gift bags, so glitzy and reusable.

The colors and textures on this necklace are fabulous.

A delightful altered tin full of surprises. I have never seen one open like this before, took me a little while to figure it out. More fun! Then it was full of lovely embellishments. I can do lots of creating with these. Thank you Kathy for two fabulous and inspirational gifts.

12/18: Day 11's gifts are from Trish B in the United Kingdom. I love how the gift tag on one of the presents is an ATC by Trish.

This tag book calendar is so scrumptious. My photos can't do it justice. Love the colors, glimmer and metallic sheen. Trish tells how she made these on her blog and has photos of the individual tags.

Love this Christmas key ring and it's attached to another gorgeous ATC by Trish. Check out her blog for more info. Thanks Trish for the fantastic & creative gifts. So glad I got two of the gifts you created.

12/19: Day 12's gifts are from Maggie Grabowski in Wisconsin. I love this box that looks like a large matchbox, and blue is my favorite color.

Maggie made a beautiful pendant that comes with a pin back that can be used as a pin or for a necklace. And she made this beautiful altered wall walling. Thank you Maggie for two delightful gifts.

12/20: Day 13's gift is from Priscilla Hill in North Carolina. I was intrigued with this package. I love how she used a colorful map from Asheville to wrap her gift.

Her gift tag is this lovely booklet, throughout the pages you read: "As you, journey through life, choose your destinations well...But do not hurry there, it will arrive soon enough wander the back roads, and forgotten paths keeping your destination in sight like the fixed point of a compass seek out new voices, strange sights & ideas foreign to your own. Such things are riches for the soul. And if upon arrival you find that your destination is not exactly as you had dreamed, do not be disappointed think of all you would have missed but 4 the journey there and know that the true worth of your travels, lies not where you came to be at journey's end, but in who you came to be along the way!" I love how she used a variety of fonts and how she spaced it out.

And inside the map was a delightfully decorated door sign she made. Thank you Priscilla for the booklet and this creative and fun door sign.

12/21: Day 14's gifts are from Adrienne Goodenough in Wales (left package) and Barbara Stapleton in Massachusetts (right package). I went for the pink ones today.

Adrienne's gift is this gorgeous necklace. I had received one from her when we met up at Art & Soul in Portland last October, so it's great to get one of another style. These are so scrumptious, you wouldn't know the base was a formica sample chip. For more samples of these check out her blog.Thanks Adrienne, I love all your art work and am thrilled to have this necklace.

Barbara also sent a gorgeous necklace made from a bamboo tile. I love the design and the embellishments she choose. Thank you Barbara for this beautiful necklace.

12/22: Day 15's gifts are from Fiona Davis in the Uhited Kingdom (left package) and Linda Strawn in Idaho (right package). Love these purple packages.

Fiona made this delightful mini art journal. Some of the pages have diagonal folded flaps to add enclosures. This will be fun to fill up. Thank you Fiona for this beautiful little book.

Linda created this beautiful domino necklace. I love how she stamped and decorated it. Thank you Linda, this necklace is gorgeous.

12/23: Day 16's gifts are from Rena Sawatski in Canada (left package) and Denise Rand in Connecticut (right package). Love these purple packages. Rena added a decorated glass pebble to a green paper clip to attach her gift tag, very clever.

Rena sent this beautiful miniature canvas with an image of a Quhatka Indian Girl, complete with how she made it on the back. Thank you for this gorgeous canvas Rena, I love the quote also.

Denise made this delightful magnetic book mark. I love the altered slide and the saying, as I enjoy mysteries. Thank you Denise for this beautiful book mark. It will get a lot of use.

12/24: Final day of gift opening. These beautiful packages are from Paula Hill in Florida (left package) and Leah Weber in Idaho (right package). Love these purple packages. Paula made and decorated this beautiful package. Leah added some lovely green fibers to her tag, they will be fun to add to projects.

Paula created a gorgeous mini fabric tote, and placed a sachet inside. The gift card reads "I hope you enjoy this gift & fill it with childhood memories or quiet places." This is so beautiful, I love the image, the colors and the flowers are so fantastic! Thank you Paula for this wonderful gift.

Leah altered a journal to create this masterpiece. It brings back so many wonderful memories of my trip to Paris last May. I love the images, the variety of fabulous embellishments and the colors, so evokative of Paris. Thank you Leah for this priceless gift I need to know how you decorated the "P".

What a delightful experience this swap has been. I loved making gifts to give out, and was overwhelmed with the fabulous gifts I received. I hope to do this again next year.
To everyone a Very Merry Christmas filled with love & joy.