Thursday, December 26, 2013

My Christmas and Swap Gifts

Well, after all the build up another Christmas has been and gone. It is now late afternoon on Boxing Day in New Zealand (26th December).

New Zealand is the first country to greet each day and we are therefore also the first to greet Christmas. I thought of my mini friends around the world and imagined you still preparing for your Christmas Day or fast asleep hoping that Santa would visit.

Guess what I got on Christmas Eve? - A COLD!!  Luckily I felt reasonably okay and my husband Pete, daughter Jamie, our friend Ben and I travelled the hour to have Christmas with my family and my nephew's 'in-laws to be' and relations that had travelled over from England. My nephew and his fiancé are getting married on 4 January. A group of about 22 of us had a lovely Christmas day but by late afternoon my cold starting setting in again and we drove the hour back home where I pretty much crashed out for the rest of the day. I had fully intended to get a blog entry done yesterday but I just didn't feel up to it.

We were all rather spoilt with lovely gifts from family and friends. My husband bought me Adobe Photoshop Elements 12 (photo editing) and Adobe Premiere Elements 12 (video editing) for Christmas so hopefully I will be able to use those to improve on my blog entries once I have learned how to use them.
Our Christmas tree.

 One of our dogs, Smudge, proudly showing you his new
black and yellow socks he got for Christmas.
 
While my mind is struggling to function properly today I just wanted to thank my two swap partners in Fabiola's Christmas Chain Swap 2013 for the wonderful Christmas gifts I received from them.

First of all, from Francesca of Italy - Blog: Mini Ricamo  http://miniricamo.blogspot.com
I received this exquisite little mat of such fine needlework. It is a beautiful design and lovely colours. I just know it is going to look fabulous in one of my mini houses.


 

My other swap partner was Maribel of Spain. Blog: Miniaturas Isabel http://maribel41.blogspot.it/
From Maribel I received:

 This exquisite little tea-pot with blue roses.
 
 This lovely cushion.
 
 This crocheted baby carry-cot with bedding.
I had the perfect little baby doll to tuck inside.
 
 Beautiful crocheted scarf beret and cap and a lovely towel.
 
Everything together. What a beautiful range of hand-crafted items.

Thank you so much Maribel. Your work is just beautiful.

I love miniature crochet and have always wanted to learn to crochet, so I have set it as a challenge to myself to learn crochet over this Christmas break. I have bought Jamie and myself a crochet hook each. Wish us luck! Now I just need to find a tutorial.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas day shared with family and friends, celebrated in a way that is meaningful to them through traditional, family and cultural traditions. For me Christmas is about special time spent with family and friends.

I will post a blog entry soon on the swap gifts I sent to Maribel and Francesca.

In the meantime I just wish to send you my best wishes for your Christmas break and best wishes for a Creative 2014. I look forward to following your blogs throughout the year. I am hoping to be much more creative in 2014.


19 comments:

  1. Me alegro muchísimo que te hayan gustado las minis que te he enviado. Felices Fiestas.

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    1. I cannot thank you enough for the beautiful items I received. It has been a pleasure being your swap partner.

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  2. I'm very happy you like my little mat! And I'm happy yoy received it in time for Christmas! Please wait to post my swap gift: I'm still waiting for the parcel. Hugs, Francesca

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    1. I hope the parcel finds its way to you soon Francesca. I assumed you would have received it. I sent it at the same time as Maribels and I know she got hers around the 19th of December. I will not do a blog post on what I sent you until I have heard from you that you have received it. If you have not received it soon let me know and I will look into it.
      Sharee

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  3. What lovely swap gifts you received! I have always been in awe of people who can knit or crochet in mini. It is such an incredible skill. Hope that you feel better soon & so excited for your Adobe software! My cousin has the Elements 12 & loves it.
    Hugs,
    Lisa

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  4. Wonderful gifts! :D Merry Christmas!!!

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  5. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you! I hope you feel better soon. The gifts you received are lovely.

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  6. Such wonderful swaps! I do look forward to seeing some interesting photo effects on your future shots!

    Very happy holidays to you and your family! Rest up and feel better ;)

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  7. Merry Christmas Sharee! I'm sorry to hear you caught a cold..... But you got lovely gifts in your swap!!! (Make a pot of tea and wrap the scarf around your neck...!)
    I hope you feel better soon and I hope you enjoy the New Year with bountiful creativity!

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  8. Lots of great mini's and great photos! I like the little scarf and hat. I hope you had a Merry Christmas.

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  9. Wonderful gifts, Sharee, enjoy!
    My best wishes for you and yours for 2014!
    Hugs, Ilona

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  10. Felicidades por esos hermosos regalos. Feliz año nuevo:-)

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  11. Bellissimi doni hai ricevuto.
    Un abbraccio e auguri da Manu ♥

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  12. those are so cute! Happy Holidays :)

    Hugs
    Marisa

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  13. Great swap items! I especially like the little mat.
    Hope the cold is gone and that you can enjoy your new Christmas presents =) Happy new year!
    Hannah

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  14. Lovely photos. Happy New Year and greetings from Montreal, Canada.

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  15. Wow! Great swap gifts. I love the mat Francesca made for you.
    I love everything Maribel made, especially the baby cot and hat and shawl set. Enjoy your treasures.
    Happy New Year to you and yours!
    Hugs, Drora

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  16. Lovely treasures! I saw this post earlier but my tablet was uncooperative!
    On an unrelated matter, maybe you want to start practising the chandelier...
    Casey has a tutorial http://caseymini.blogspot.nl/2013/06/of-silk-purses-and-sows-ears.html
    Good luck :-) :-)

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  17. That was bad getting sick on Christmas when there's so much to do. My entire family had the flu last year. It was awful! This year everybody was fine. Your gifts are terrific! Happy New Year to you! I can't wait to see how you edit your photos with your new program.
    Hugs♥,
    Caroline

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