Tuesday 23 November 2010

Alexandra Day Part 1 !!!

I may have mentioned once or twice before that the really lovely Alexandra and I did a swap a little while ago. She chose the theme " French ", which suited me very well of course, because we spend a lot of time in France at our little cottage.

I showed you the bits and pieces I sent her a while ago in this post. And finally, finally I can also show you the most beautiful gifts Alexandra sent me. I was totally overwhelmed with her generosity, her thoughfulness, and above all the friendship which shone from everything she sent. I couldn't believe how well she knows me and what I love. Every single thing she has gifted me with is something I would have chosen for myself and snapped up in a split second, had I seen it in a shop or at a boot fair. And the items she made for me, you can tell that they have been made with love.

I have split this into two posts, because there is just too much to show you, and I don't want you to miss anything by rushing through to the end because I have overdone it, lol. So, here goes, part 1 of my beautiful swap from Alexandra -

The first thing which greeted me when I opened the parcel was this great tag -


Perfect, isn't it? And then, gasp, I uncovered this -


We had agreed to make a bag and fill it with goodies. And this is the bag she made for me, have you ever seen anything prettier than this? It is so beautifully stitched and the embellishments are just fantastic, just have a look at a couple of close ups -


This beautiful bag was carefully wrapped in two vintage pillow cases.They are continental size, so spot on for our cottage in France, as I have continental size pillows on the beds there -


Then, I started carefully taking all the little treasures out of the bag -


Now you have to remember that this is only part 1, and this is only half of the HUGE mountain of treasures she sent me! Everything is so beautifully wrapped and presented -



Beautifully made tags with ribbons and laces-

Can you see why I was grinning like crazy? I was probably making some rather weird noises as well, lolol, thankfully nobody else was around at the time. I have to admit that my hands were shaking just a wee bit when I started unwrapping. You can understand that, can't you? And you can also imagine the oohs and aaahs when I saw all these things -

Three vintage keys-

Margarine flowers, I had never seen these before, apparently they used to be freebies in tubs of margarine!

Beautiful mother-of-pearl buttons-Lace, aahhh -

And what could possibly be in this? So very carefully protected..........

.................... a frozen charlotte!!! I have hankered after one of these tiny dolls for such a long time
An antique lady's cap -
The sweetest little pendant made from an old typewriter key with my initial -
Numbers, woohoo -

and a bunch of ephemera-

I love this hanger, isn't it fantastic?

A piece of beautiful deep blue lace-

And whats this, so beautifully wrapped in a sweet little doily and lace?

It is an excercise book from the late 1800s -

with the most exquisite handwriting -
And last but not least, candles, so beautifully presented -

You would think that this is MORE than enough to receive in a swap, but as I said, unbelievably, there is more!!! But for today, this is quite enough. You can see part 2 tomorrow. I'll now go and drool over my beautiful treasures again, lol, I do that a lot!!

Toodlepip xxx

21 comments:

Marigold Jam said...

Wow!

Jane

Tina said...

OMG... What a wonderful swap Liz. Everything is SO beautiful. The bag is so pretty - I have never anything like that. only half of it, you say...hmmm
awesome - can´t wait to see the rest.
xo Tina

Dorthe said...

Liz, OH MY GOODNESS , dear Alexandra, really spoiled you,-how many beautifull things, you shows, --the back is fantastic-and so are all the lovely packed goodies,- I mean, sooooo many butons,-the charlotte,and laces-the old note book, and the cap-so sweet- I truly understand you being so exited ,unpacking all this, dear friend.

Touch- look-and enjoy, sweetie, and have a lovely evening.
Love and hugs, Dorthe

Croap Queen said...

Erm, I can't think of anything else excpt "wow".
JJ x

Anonymous said...

OH-MY-GOODNESS!!!! Alexandra is truly a generous spirit and she also has beautiful taste! What a wonderful swap, Liz!

And...your post below this one...I LOVE IT!!! Exquisite!!

And the photo of your snowy French cottage - love that too!!!

Hugs!
Diane

A garden just outside Venice said...

Please Lizzie, pass me a glass of water, because I have any more saliva in my mouth after drooling over your goodies! You deserve each one of those thoughtful treats, I'm sure you spoilt Alexandra too!
xxx

GerryART said...

Oh, my, this is as close to heaven a gal could get without actually being there.
What has caught my imagination are the Margarine Flowers. Hmmmm . . .

Hugs,
Gerry

Alexandra said...

Liz I'm so lucky that you love my goodies so much. Your pictures are fantastic my dear. Really wonderful so much better as my own :O
Have fan and hugs *knuddel* ;)
Alexandra

Elizabethd said...

Goodness, how very generous. What lovely appropriate gifts.

Karen said...

HOLY COW!!!!
My goodness what a beautiful assortment of treasures!
I, too, would be in Heaven unpacking each and every piece.
I love how your accent comes through - even in writing!

Have a great weekend! HUGS! Karen

Cape Cod Rambling Rose said...

OH.....MY....GOSH!!! What an amazing collection of fabulous treasures; I could stare at it endlessly! What a fortunate lady you are! Have fun!!!

Barbara Jean said...

All so wonderful!

Blessings

barbara jean

Createology said...

This is beyond WOW! These many treasures are extremely incredible. Some of these I have never seen or known of and how fabulous you have been given them by such a true and generous friend. Part 2 still to come is just unbelievable...WOW!!!

Wildflowerhouse said...

My goodness what a beautiful gift, or I should say gifts you have received from your friend. I love how she made them even more special with how she wrapped everything with such care and thought. Just wonderful. Sharon

Julia @ Vintage with Laces said...

I join you drooling, Liz! Alexandra really has spoiled you and you deserve it. The bag and the collage are awesome and I love everything else she gave you. It's hard to believe that there are even more treasures to come. Have fun playing with all the wondeful goodies and have a great day :-)!
HUGS to you,
Julia

Serenata said...

I think Jane has summed it up so perfectly in the first comment...Wow! Wow! and Wow!

Marie Lost Bird Studio said...

Hi Liz,
oooohhhh,so many beautiful things!!
There all to die for.Alexandra really spoiled you.Hard to believe there is more.You two send each other such beautiful treasures -
what a great swap.TFS. Enjoy!
Hugs,
Marie

Viola said...

What a wonderful swap, Liz! You really have received so lovely things.So many, many treasures!! Enjoy!! Liebe Gr+üße! :-)

JuanitaTortilla said...

Had you not written text to these pictures, I was very certain that these were things you've made / bought for yourself! Wow, you and Alexandra are peas in a pod.
Off to check her blog now!

Evie said...

What a marvellous stash of beautiful things!! Many of them are unique - like your swap friend Alexandra!!

Sarah - Red Gingham said...

After seeing what you sent I really didn't think it would be even. But now... good grief you were totally spoilt rotten!!! Fantastic, all of it. You are going to have so much fun finding places for your new pieces to live. Of course you deserve every single present! Can't wait until the next post.