Exciting Week

Yes it's definitely been an exciting week with packages arriving every day, so the postie is my new bestest friend. LOL

It's been so exciting but why was all this post arriving? For my birthday. Yes, I was born on July 8th more moons ago than I usually like to think about....... so please dust off those rusty vocal cords, wet your whistle and join me in a little sing song of: 21 again, 21 again! LMAO Nah, I'll fess up that it's actually my 48th year. I'll warn you in advance - this is a pretty photo intensive post as I've been well and truly spoilt, which means there's lots to share. :0)

I had a lovely card from DH but no gift, as yet, as we're waiting for it to arrive: we're going halves on a decent MP3 player for our birthday's, so we can listen to all our favourite music on holidays without having to take half a ton of CD's with us. LOL There were DVD's from DS (those are also part of my Yule pressie too) and gifts from Alex:

The Album is a gorgeous stitching journal and the Star design looks like it'll be a fun stitch to do. Here's a close up of those lovely earrings:


Those are spiral motifs below little beads (possibly mother of pearl or moonstone - I need to ask next time I see her) and they go really well with my spiral triskele necklace that I wear most of the time. :0)

My DSis gave me this fab Jordash blouse:


Yes, folks, I am definitely leaning towards a decidedly hippy/Boho/slightly Goth trend at this stage in my life. Now that weight is going the confidence to wear the things I've always wanted to has arrived..... reckon I'm now of an age where I don't need to worry about what folks think - it's more important to let the real me out. :0)

So what about all those packages the postie brought? Well here's what was inside them:


They made a real pretty display. Now I was debating being really cruel here by leaving the pics of all the wonderful goodies that were inside those wrappings for another post *insert evil laugh here* but I had a lovely morning opening the envelopes and unwrapping all the lovelies inside and really can't keep the suspense going any longer.

This was the delightful surprise waiting inside the package from Julie:


Meet Wanda the Witch Bunny, a friend of Mr Stick's who will help keep me in line on UFO Night. I didn't unwrap her until today but whatever mojo she has definitely worked from inside that packaging last night because Night Watchman came out of the bag for the first time in a while. She's adorable, from the top of her pointy hat to the tip of her broomstick - you can't see it in the pic but she is also wearing a black cloak...... and has pink bloomers under that dress. Thank you so much Julie, she's fabulous and she'll have a happy life in a loving home. :0)

I am now the proud owner of another of Karen's wonderful creations:


I'm afraid I couldn't get really good pics of this, no matter how hard I tried - the digicam is no good at close ups at all. The barrel bead is carnelian and has a Buddha's face etched into the front and a stylised lotus flower and what I think is an Ohm mark on the back - below are citrine and carnelian gem chips and two of Karen's glass bead creations. I was stunned when I saw it: it is a beautiful piece and doesn't just look lovely and serene but also has the loveliest calming feel to it too. Thank you again Karen, I will love wearing it. :0)

The pretties just kept on coming. This extremely lovely pinkeep was inside the package from Sally:

It is so beautifully stitched and finished and Sally has also stitched our initials on it. Here's the pretty fabric on the back:

All perfectly co-ordinated and so very, very pretty - I really envy her eye for colour. I have got a wicker basket and when I find a nice cloth to drape the base and sides with I shall be using it to display the lovely stitched pieces I've received, including this pinkeep. Thank you again Sally, it's gorgeous and I love it. :0)

Next to be opened was a card and package from Mylene:

One of her lovely hand made cards and some great card making goodies: a booklet of decoupage card papers and embellishments. I rarely do decoupage but the designs are so pretty I shall really enjoy making cards from them. Thank you again Mylene and I hope you all have a safe journey and a great time visiting with your family and friends in Asia. :0)

This little cutie was waiting inside Rachael's package:

I laughed out loud when I saw the cute character on the pillow. As I said to her: DH and DS often think I'm quackers so it is extremely apt! ROFL Behind the pillow is the box it came in and it's covered in the same pretty fabric that the pillow is backed in. And there was a badge to wear too - how cool is that? Unfortunately wearing it didn't get me out of having to do the cooking or cleaning. LOL Thank you again Rachael - that little chap makes me smile every time I look at him and that is worth it's weight in gold. :0)

That wasn't all, as there was then a card and gift from Helen to open:

I love those pyramid cards, they are so effective, and this one is a little beauty. The chart is one I haven't come across before and it has the most wonderful saying - I shall enjoy stitching it. There's also a skein of Weeks Dye Works thread (noticed I managed to cover the label) and a bookmark that is just too pretty to use and also has a saying: Happiness isn't getting what you want, it's wanting what you've got. Powerful words. Thank you again Helen for your lovely, inspiring gifts - still sending positive thoughts and (((((((((hugs))))))))) your way. :0)

One more card and package to go, this one from Barb (no blog):

The card is made from quilled paper: each element has been twisted/rolled in a particular way to make a flower or leaf etc and then they are put together to build up the picture. Very time consuming and an extremely pretty result. :0) The box is deep blue satin and just look at the flowers and gorgeous dragonflies decorating the top. Wow! Dragonflies hold a special significance for me, as several appeared in my garden the year after my Dad passed away: I spotted one on the ivy, swelling it's wings after emerging from its larval skin; we then had as many as three dancing around the garden on every warm day we sat outside; then I saw one at Rosehill, where we'd gone to lay flowers, after asking for a sign that Dad was OK - each event was magical and breath taking - and we hadn't seen those dragonflies before then nor seen them since....... but occasionally, usually when I need a lift, there will be a picture of a dragonfly on the internet, in a paper or magazine, or even in a shop window. Barb had said that this design hadn't been her first choice to stitch (that hadn't arrived in time) but I reckon the Universe stepped in with this, don't you? :0)

It didn't end there though because when I opened the box there were other surprises inside:


This is what I found inside the tissue paper:

A sweet little amethyst angel (my all time favourite crystal), a stained glass angel that her DH had made and a Polstitches Flippin' Frogs thread. The stained glass angel is now decorating my kitchen window where she will vastly improve the view (I spend an awful lot of time in there and the brick wall of the next door house is boring!), she's also the perfect colour for the eventual colour scheme in there and she'll protect a window that I've always thought was vulnerable/a security risk as it isn't in plain view of neighbours, being between the houses. As for Flippin' Frogs - Barb has long since completed her Sea Stars whilst I have still got to frog that mis-stitched motif. LOL Thank you again Barb, and Martin, for your gorgeous gifts. :0)

So yes, it has been a wonderful birthday that was made extra special by all the lovely cards and wonderful and thoughtful gifts these special people gave to me. Thank you again for thinking of me and for sharing in my day my friends. :0)