A Swap For All Seasons...December...from Lorraine,and a surprise package from my friend Mary, of Primitive Seasons

So much beauty has arrived on my doorstep this past week!

The theme for A Swap for All Seasons this month, as I mentioned in my last post was Happy Holidays and the color for the month was green. One card, one tag and some green destash!

My "green" package came this week from Lorraine of Over the Rainebeau (so clever).

I didn't know Lorraine before this swap but now I'm stalking following her blog.

You really need to hop over (click on her blog name) and see her beautiful work...her free images...and her Etsy Shoppe. 

So...the card that Lorraine made...

(click to enlarge pictures)

Beautiful image, ribbon, snowflakes and twine.

The Tag...

The layers are all fantastic and the glittery snowflake at the bottom is perfect!

Th Goodies..

Sparkly embellishments, die cuts and images galore. So much fun stuff to play with!

I use the wire bird cage in the dining room to display all of the handmade cards I receive.

Thank you Lorraine, I am so glad you were my "donor". Your talent dazzles me!

Our next swap is "Thinking of You" and the color for the month is blue.

Now, you can see a third card on the bird cage. That was part of the surprise package I received this week from my blogging friend, Mary, of Primitive Seasons....another extremely talented paper artist! Mary is the type of artist who sees a new crafting tool and likes it...buys it...and uses it right away to create beautiful things, unlike me, who buys something and then lets it sit for a long time to allow it to get used to being in my craft room before I take the steps to learn what to do with it! I've been following Mary's blog for several years and she always wows me with her stuff. In the last month or so, Mary showed some slippers she made using beautiful Graphic 45 scrapbook papers and embellishments. I wrote to tell her (probably with drool on the computer screen) how much I admired the slippers.

This week, a box came from Mary and inside...

Are these not stunning?! Look at the detail...

Look at the lace and trim, pearls and satin ribbon, rosette and leaves...and you did notice the paper used as the innersole...fairies?

AND, as if the slippers were not enough of a Random Act of Kindness...

A heart, with a handmade rose, gorgeous layered butterfly and a stamped quote from a Beatles song titled The End. Mary didn't even know I was a Beatles fan.

Enclosed with all of this wonderfulness was this card...(with a gracious hand-written message)

The detail on this card is hard to convey in a photograph. The layering, embossing, glittery embellishing, all of it gorgeous. Almost every element on this card is raised with spacers making it very dimensional!

This is the most glamorous owl I have ever seen!!

How lucky am I? Two delightful packages, tied up with string, holding what has become some of my favorite things!

Thank you Mary...I am so happy with your generosity and talent!

And now, back to decorating....

xoxo

Joyce