Parcels from far and wide

 It has been a busy month for my post box and has cost me far more money than my budget allowed,so I will be curbing my future swapping for a while.

My first three Pocket Letter are on their way. One was  for a private swap on Swapbot, the other two for swaps on Pocket Letter Pals. the one was a colour swap (left) and my partner chose black, which was  challenging for me as I had to be quite creative. The other was a dog theme
 ( right), which I really enjoyed . I think they came out quite well considering they are my first attempts at Pocket Letters. I also received my first Pocket Letter in the above mentioned Swapbot private swap. It had lots of fun goodies and lovely cat artwork.

 There were quite a few postcards that arrived for me from Postcrossings. for those of you who do not know, Postcrossings is a community of people who swap and collect postcards worldwide. Once you join you are allowed to send a randomly selected person a postcard and then your name is put in to be selected for someone else to send you a postcard. I enjoy this website as I never know when or from who I will receive a postcard. It is like playing mailbox Lotto.

It is a great way of meeting new people and discovering new cultures. One postcard was written in Russian and another in Chinese.

This lovely quote on the left was part of a swap I received on Swapbot.

 I also received two lovely handmade magnets from another swap all the way from Canada.

Bird bookmark from New Zealand

Random swaps

I received a bird bookmark all the way from New Zealand with a matching postcard.


 I sent a large number of postcards and other swaps out but forgot to take pictures (sorry). Three Lord of the Rings themed bookmarks went our for a Redditgifts swap as well as a very South African cookbook with recipes from the Karoo. I really like this swap site but with postage being what it is I do not think I will be taking part in to many of their swaps as it is just too expensive.

viva la snailmail swap on Swapbot

This lovely parcel above was posted in September 2014  but only arrived in my postbox this week. It was a swap on Swapbot called Viva la Snail mail and was a lovely goodie bag of pretty handmade paper,postcards, bookmark and ink and a stamp. I had such fun unpacking it as I really thought it had gotten lost in the post due to last years horrendous 4 month postal strike. 

handmade bookmark

This beautiful bookmark above was handmade by the person who sent it, also for a Swapbot Bookmarker swap. I am almost ( but not quite) too scared to use it as it is so pretty and unique. I just love getting bookmarks as I am an avid reader and normally use whatever is lying around ( my glasses, a tissue, a scrap of paper).

Talking of reading, my Livinglesh Summer book Swap  parcel, as I wrote about in my previous post, is on it's way to South America. My swap partner lives in Brazil and with our postal system I have no idea how long our parcels will take but am really looking forward to the books that are coming. My parcel included After Dead by Charlaine Harris, as requested by my swap partner, as well as a surprise book and one or two book goodies.

I got some great news this week. Alli, over at Very Berry Handmade , has posted her next textile ATC swap. I had such fun with the last two swaps and had to join this swap. The theme is  "My Favourite..." and I cannot wait to start putting my thoughts together to make this new ATC. I want to try a vase of flowers or the Knysna Heads. I will definitely post my finished ATC before sending it out. I am really enjoying making the textile ATC's. I prefer the material to paper.

That is all for now.  Happy swapping and Viva la Snailmail

A book swap....very exciting

Winter has ARRIVED. No snow,although two years ago there was much excitement as there was a very light snowfall in Pretoria. I am not sure why it does not snow here but I am certain there is some scientific explanation for this. Nevertheless, temperatures hover just above freezing and everyone is huddled up in their winter woollies. While I have been a bit quiet thanks to load shedding and a frustrating lack of Internet access, my postbox has not. I received five  postcards in the mail, as well as bookmark swap from New Zealand and a few email swaps. This postcard of a Russian monastery is lovely.                                                                                

I apologise for the lack of photo's in this post but I have recently become the proud new owner of  a Samsung camera, thanks to my husband, and I am still learning how to use it. I am so pleased to hear that my swaps have started arriving overseas, as our post in not the most reliable in the world. Strangely my postcards do not go astray, only the lovely goodies I pack. Just saying.

I am participating in  a number of swaps at moment but the one that I am really excited about is the June Summer Book Swap over at LivingLesh. The swap involves sending two books and some book related goodies to your partner What could be better than looking forward to parcel of lovely books and goodies in the middle of a cold,dreary winter. Please take a wander over to her blog and see what the fuss is all about.

On another note, I have slowly come to realise that this swapping business can be a very addictive and even more expensive venture but it really is such fun when you get a parcel or a letter or a postcard in the postbox, especially if you need cheering up. My children are just as excited as I am and cannot wait to see what is in the letter or parcel. For an introvert like myself who has little time for socialising, writing letters to people is my way of connecting with the outside world. It is so easy to become isolated and just do work and home and little else. My swapping and writing is my way of spoiling myself and I really hope it gives the people who receive my letters and parcels as much pleasure as I take in writing them.

 I am ending this post with a wonderful quote that I came across today  from one of the people for whom I have the utmost admiration.

Happy swapping

My lovely ATC ... and other goodies

This week has been very difficult  and it was so nice to get some lovely post to cheer me up. I entered the  material ATC swap at Very Berry Handmade and my lovely Home Sweet Home ATC arrived in my post box yesterday. It came all the way from England and was made from a Victorian quilt with some lovely embellishments.









I have also quite a few postcards from Postcrossings as well as some from penpals.

 As you can see the theme was very British as all these postcards were from Britain.  I am also sending a postcard of the Union Buildings in Pretoria for the Random PC swap at Swapbot. Sorry for the blurry picture but I am still working on my photography skills. 

I am also sending off this fairy bookmark for a Swapbot swap. The front has a a fairy on a the back is full of butterflies. I hope my partner likes it as I had fun making it. My paper skills are still a work in progress as I have mainly worked in thread, yarn and material up until now. Making anything in paper is still quite a challenge but I am enjoying it.

I have had great fun putting together my parcel for the first swap I have organised on Swapbot. It is a colour swap with blue as the theme.The brief was to put together five blue things from your partners profile. I love putting together a parcel that I know someone will like and I only wish that I could see her face when she opens it.

I have also received my partner for the Chaotic Goddess favourite colour swap and cannot wait to start putting her parcel together. I think it will be so much fun to put together a parcel for someone in their favourite colour with their favourite goodies.

Are there any particular swaps you have enjoyed receiving or putting together this week?

Happy swapping

Favourite Colour swap

Hi there from a rather less than sunny South Africa. Winter appears to have arrived and we are hauling out our jackets and jerseys.  We seem to be having rather more load shedding than earlier this season and are regulalry coming home to a house that is dark and cold. On a brighter note ( sorry)I am so excited to share with you that I am participating in the Chaotic Goddess's Favourite Colour Swap. This looks as if it is going to be a fun swap. The idea is that your partner chooses 5 things in your favourite colour and sends them to you. I cannot imagine a nicer gift than opening up my post box and receiving a lovely parcel full of PURPLE, which is my favourite colour.With winter rearing it's freezing head here in South Africa and the nights being colder and days being shorter a bright colour swap is just the thing to cheer me up. I cannot wait to put together a parcel for my partner.

Quiet week

It has been a quiet week in my post box. I received a card from Kyiv in the Ukraine of a beautiful old church. I love old buildings, especially old churches and this postcard is definitely a favourite. I also received a lovely long letter, as well as some sticker sheets and a postcard from a pen pal in North Dakota.

I have decided that I need to get back into letter writing again and have been looking for new pen pals but have not yet written any letters. Between load shedding ( two nights this week) and a very busy work week, not to mention fighting off the last of a very nasty dose of flu, I have not really had the energy to contact a new pen pal or write a letter.

I have sent off two postcards for a personal swap and two for Postcrossing, as well as two small parcels for one-to-one swaps on Swap-bot.  I have also sent off a number of swaps that got lost in the post the first time around, so hopefully they will reach their destination safely this time and not end up in someone else’s pocket. I am trying to make amends on Swap-bot as I made a very stupid mistake last year. I joined Swap-bot about three weeks before our postal service went on a four month long strike. Nine of my swaps never arrived and I am still waiting for eight swaps that I never received. Given that I am still waiting for a present for my son's first birthday and he turns seven this year, I should not be too surprised.

I have discovered two awesome new sites that I would like to share with you. The one is called Postpals. It is an organisation in the UK that brightens the lives of sick children by organising letters,cards and small gifts for seriously ill children and their siblings. I think this is a wonderful idea and will definitely be putting a few cards in the post.

The other organisation I discovered is called Adopt a US soldier. One can “adopt” a soldier for his or her term of duty and send letters and care parcels to encourage them. I am not American but I feel that these men and women are doing an awesome job making the world a little bit safer for all of us. I have adopted a soldier and feel really privileged to be able to give support, even if it is just a letter or a few chocolate bars.

Well , so long till next week and happy swapping

An ATC and some owls

This week my postbox was really busy. I received two beautiful owl postcards. Unfortunately no pictures to show but the one has pride of place on my wall at work. I am having some difficulty taking decent photo's of my cards but I think this is improving.Any suggestions? I have also sent off  seven postcards  for Postcrossings as well as three replacement swaps on Swapbot, as my swaps went missing in the post. Hopefully this time they will arrive safely at their respective recipients.

I have also sent off my ATC for Very Berry Handmade's 6th ATC swap. I really enjoyed making this little ATC and hope it arrives safely.

I now need to start on my next two swaps, a painted landscape and a berry themed ATC. Winter is settling in quite rapidly here in the south, so I think I will have plenty of time in these long wintere nights tucked up with tea and a blanket to finish my swaps.

Happy swapping.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my little corner of the web. I have decided to start a separate blog for my swaps, as I would love to share with you all the beautiful goodies and postcards I receive as well as all the swaps I send out. I will also occasionally share swaps opportunities from other blogs as well as host one or two of my own.

I have been a member of Postcrossings for the past ten months and I have really enjoyed receiving postcards from all over the world. I  participate in a  private postcard swaps and it is such fun to open the post box and see if anything has arrived for me.

Here are some of the most recent postcards I have received. Not all of my postcards are up on my wall yet, so watch this space for an update. Don't you just LOVE the tulips?

I am at present participating in an ATC swap over at Very Berry Handmade.  For those of you who don't know, an ATC is an artist's trading card. These cards can be made in almost  any medium and are swapped and shared to showcase an artists work. In my case it is for the pleasure of creating.

This is my second swap with Very Berry Handmade and it is really stretching my sewing skills. The theme is Home Sweet Home and I decided to do an ATC inspired by this beautiful door ( sorry but I cannot remember where I found the photo. If it is yours ,please contact me so that I can give your credit). It is going slowly but I finally have a good idea of what needs to be done and the first stitches have been laid down!

Here is a photo of my very first ATC that I swapped. Not bad for a first timer?

The other two swaps I am taking part in are at ATC's for all. One ATC is a hand painted landscape, the other is Berry Season. I am working hard to finish all of these in time to send them out and cannot wait to see what arrives in the post.

Keep watching and please feel free to share swaps or add comments. I would love to hear from you.