Gifts of Caterina's Holiday Swap 2011

Caterina just published all of the photos from the Holiday Swap 2011. Now I can show you what I made and sent AND what I received--yay!

I was a little nervous about making minis for the swap, since I'd never made any before, but I decided that challenging myself with this swap would be a good idea. I was right, because it helped me to overcome my fear and just do it.

Most of my supplies came from thrift stores, which is how I prefer to buy things. When I can, I buy used and vintage, to save the earth's resources. I also considered my partner, Stacy from Texas, and what I thought she might like. So I tried to learn about her from her blog.

Here's what I ended up making:

They are items for a little visit to the beach. There's a bamboo roll-up mat, a beach towel, a red polka-dot bikini, flipflops, a beach bag, a sun hat, and a book to read while wearing the bikini. The book is called How to Lose Weight, and it is vintage from the 1970s, from the second dollhouse I recently bought. I also included a couple of tiny shells from my great-grandmother's beads. They are at least 25 years old, and probably older.

Now here are the gifts I received from my partner Erika in Italy:

She made a platter of stuffed tomatoes and a second platter of sliced watermelon with a cut watermelon bowl filled with colorful melon balls. How cute! Erika also included a beautiful hand-written note in Italian with a recipe for making her homemade stuffed tomatoes. How thoughtful! Thank you again, Erika! A big thanks, too, to my friend Savina. Her family is originally from Italy, and she visited my home and translated Erika's letter for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the swap and will look for other opportunities to participate in miniature swaps in the future. I received so many different "gifts" as a result of the swap that I feel it was a big success all around! Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer