Handmade Joy Exchange

Thanks to a suggestion made by my buddy Judy, (you can find her over at Hartfelt), I enjoy reading a blog called My Giant Strawberry, written by a very creative and thoughtful young woman. Anne has been sharing a "joy list" on Mondays, where she articulates what has given her joy in the past week. It has become a ritual of sorts and it has helped her find gratitude and happiness in a very thoughtful way.

A while back, Anne invited her readers to participate in a "Handmade Joy Exchange". She asked us to send her our name and address, and she swapped all of us around and assigned each of us a name. She included a link to that person's blog, if they have one. I received Sharon's name, and popped over to her blog, The Tea Cup Incident. Sharon shares recipes and beautiful table settings, and she's very fond of birds. I decided to stitch her a set of four linen napkins, with a bit of appliqued birdy fabric. I also read that Sharon likes sachets,  so I made her a balsam sachet with needles from our trees in Vermont.

I wrapped everything up in white tissue paper, string and added my signature bit of birchbark to the package. It arrived safely at Sharon's house, and I like to think of her setting a pretty table with the simple napkins I stitched here in CT. 

I was a very lucky participant, because Anne had my name, and look at what lovely things arrived in my mailbox! Anne created a very pretty blank journal and a sweetly crocheted bracelet. I love the bracelet so much that I custom ordered another from Anne's Etsy shop. It just arrived and I love it.

It's quite amazing that a bunch of folks can have such a fun interaction without ever meeting in person. The world grows tinier by the day...

Many, many thanks to Anne for inspiring and organizing us via the Handmade Joy Exchange! Be sure to pop by her blog today to see what everyone else has done!