Pink Saturday Mail out for Easter Egg Carton Swap

Today is the official mail out day for a group of Facebook friends who are swapping vintage egg cartons. Not really “vintage” in the true meaning of the word, but vintage because they’re  like the old cardboard cartons of yesteryear…first, I had to FIND the 3 X 4 row size I wanted…

ETSY to the rescue! Just what I wanted for my partner, Louisiana girl, Tonya. She is also an English teacher! She has had a pen-pal in France since she was in middle school and loves everything related to Paris and France! We decided to swap Easter in Paris…her favorite colors are reds and browns…mine are soft greens and blues.
First I covered the carton with a coat of gesso. Then I decopagued layers of a beautiful napkin in her chosen colors…


A bright red tassel and a gilded knob  tops the lid and another layer of designs highlight the bottom…

I started adding French language bits of paper and washi tapes to the eggs that would hold the Easter treats.

The inside lid has a vintage look map of Paris so Tonya can find her way around when she fulfills her dream to visit the City of Lights.

Each of the half dozen eggs holds an Easter surprise…

White doves…

Brown glitter doves…


a collection of tiny crosses for Tonya to use in her own Easter card making…

Three little wooden rabbits and vintage flowers…

and spools of fibers and washi tapes mingled with gilded eggs… and one of my very favorite additions, matchbox drawers covered with the map and filled with punched die cuts…


using vintage sheet music and dictionaries and beautiful papers I cut crowns and birds and butterflies and tea pots and tea cups…I would love to get a package like this.

I filled the egg carton and the rest of the contents spilled out into the box…rolls of ephemera…a 1900’s ledger sheet,  a French newspaper from the 1920’s, pages from an antique French grammar book. A few antique Easter cards, seam binding, some beautiful  Victorian Easter  scrap. And I tucked in a few containers of that beautiful Martha Stewart fine glitter in reds and golds and browns.
I love swaps…a little imagination, a few vintage finds, and someone else’s perspective on a common theme.The swap was organized by my Paper Cowgirl friend, Sarah. Talk about a talent; she and I have been swap partners before, and she knows how to fill a carton!  Next week will be super exciting as I wait for Tonya’s package to arrive. In the meantime, I’ll head over to Beverly’s How Sweet the Sound blog for Pink Saturday and all the lovely posts. And you have a Pink Week!

Love is in the air…

Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays! It’s the first celebration of the new year…it’s a signal that spring is near…This year I had a new sparkling wreath that I won at a luncheon the week end before the 14th. Just perfect for the front door!  But the best Valentines are inside…

Valentines hand made by my Pink Saturday friends in Beverly’s Circle of Friends Journal group…we’ve grown pretty close during our journaling for each other and Nancy had the idea that we make Valentines to swap among the group. What fun it has been…the first one to arrive was Nancy’s cute Scottie card.

the vintage “To My Valentine” arrow just really sets it off! It went right on my swirly tree…Her card was joined by one from Shelia…a cute little girl just as sweet as she is.

Look at all the details and the cute birds! Right to the top of the tree it went! During the week Dana and The Stone Rabbit set a darling card with a real key on it!

Aren’t my blog buddies just the most clever people ever?  Two days later two more cards came…Jeanne’s with lots of vintage elements…

and a perfect sentiment, “Enjoy the simple things of life” Her card is anything but simple! That wasn’t all;  in the same day’s mail, I found Beverly’s beautiful card with original art work! Now I can cut and paste for days on end, but original artwork? No, Beverly’s card is in a class of its own, layers of detailed paper and a cute necklace on her pretty lady!

Did anyone know she could draw? I can’t thank her enough for sharing her talent!

Within another day or two, Kathy’s card with its handmade teabag arrived! As usual, her work is so rich with details that you keep discovering details!

There is a little verse about tea inside the tag and a handmade cup cutout. Artistic talent and poetry in one package.  This has been so much fun to participate with the group and I love displaying the group’s creations on my swirly tree.

Before they are packed up at the end of the month, I’ll make a mug of hot chocolate and sit savoring the beauty of each one. I’m still watching for Grace’s to arrive and then the circle will be complete. I cannot thank everyone enough for sharing their talents and hats off to Nancy for creating the group and organizing us.   I’mm off to Beverly’s How Sweet The Sound http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/ to see who is posting today.