Our Floozie Swap Is Complete...

I received the last two ornaments in our Button Floozies Ornament Swap yesterday, and they're really beautiful. 

The first one is from new friend, Renee from Washington state. Her ornament is completely hand stitched! I can see each tiny stitch executed by her own hands and you can see how much work went into it.

Her center motif is a lacy piece that I think she created on an embroidery machine. Then it was attached to her base and embellished with beautiful, vintage buttons. She even included two pairs of holiday-themed earrings!

She signed it in perfect stitches on the reverse, too, so I'll always remember who created this unique keepsake for me. Thank you, Renee. This will be a treasured ornament for years to come. I know how hard you worked on it and I will always be grateful for the work of your hands.

My second package contained surprises from my friend, Denise from Vermont. Denise and I have been friends almost since I moved to Florida and I was tickled when Laurie chose us to be swap partners!

Denise created a truly unique ornament for our tree...she hand-crocheted a garland and then spent who-knows-how-long adding vintage buttons and seashells to turn it into a truly southern tree ornament for me.  What a genius idea! (Don't miss the "Joy" pin in the picture, too. Denise knows I always sign my notes that way.)

She also crocheted a tiny stocking and added a vintage button on the front of it. I was so surprised to see what Denise had created for me, and I'm going to make a special display using the ornaments that have been sent to me over the past two years of swapping. Denise's garland will really stand out on it!

Thank you, Denise for creating such a beautiful and unique gift, tailored just for me. I think you can imagine how much I love everything, my friend.

I was so fortunate to receive the names of my four swap partners this year. Denise, Renee, DeeDee and Deb created that most unique and special ornaments to share. Perhaps I should just start planning in January for next year's swap. I think I'm going to have to consider steppin' up my game. There is so much talent in our group!

Thank you Laurie Jackson, our Button Floozies blog administrator for her hard work pulling together this swap. I'll be sending out a package next week to show my appreciation. It's really great to be a Floozie!

Ornaments From A Couple of Floozies...

Over the weekend, I received ornaments from two of my Button Floozies swap partners. DeeDee from DeeDee's Craft Spot and Debbie R. created two beautiful ornaments for me.

Debbie's ornament is a cross stitched tree on aida cloth. Then, she embellished the tree with button ornaments! The needlework was mounted on matboard and a hanger added. Isn't it sweet?

Debbie certainly put a lot of work into her ornaments. Remember, she did four ornaments like this to swap!  Thank you for your generosity, Debbie. This ornament will have a place of honor on our tree!

DeeDee and I are ol' blogging pals, and have been involved in swaps and personal gift exchanges almost since I started blogging. She really knows me and what I like. She's been saving that gorgeous woven acorn just for me - and finally had the excuse to send it along in her swap package. I almost fainted when I saw it!

As if the ornament and acorn weren't enough, she included a beautiful, handcrafted bookmark, a snowflake ornament, and a little fold-up book.

...and a bag of red, green and winter-themed buttons. Dang! Why didn't I think of that??? I did include tiny bear jars filled with Sarasota-grown honey along with my ornaments, but I should have thought to add more buttons. She really went over the top!

Thanks, DeeDee. You're too generous, my friend. Between you and Debbie, I was S.P.O.I.L.E.D. again last weekend. Thank you to both of you for your creative gifts. I'm a very grateful Floozie. (hee hee)

Button Floozie Ornament Exchange...

I'm a Button Floozie. No. Really. I've been a contributing writer to the weblog, Button Floozies for some time. It's a great place to read about all the different kinds of buttons and meet new bloggers who share this interest, too.

For the past couple of years, our administrator, Laurie has organized an ornament swap for our members. Each of us belongs to a group of five and we create ornament sets to share among our group. In my group for this swap are two old friends, Denise and DeeDee, and a couple of new friends, too - Debbie and Renee.

Our deadline to mail our hand-made ornaments is today. So, guess how I spent yesterday? Yup. Making ornaments!

I had help. Miss Ellie (my Babylock Ellisimo) was all too happy to help me create the base for my ornaments, and she stitched out her work in record time.

After she was finished, it was my turn. Sewing, stuffing, stitching, detailing with vintage buttons and making the cording for hangers all went into the creation of each ornament.

They're all finished and in the mail...right on time. I'd love to show you a picture of them, but I really have to make you use your imagination. There's a chance that one of the Floozies in my group might peek at this post, and we can't have her seeing her ornament before she opens her package, now, can we? Thank goodness for Photoshop and their special effects feature.

I'll show you the actual photo some time next week, after I'm sure the ornies have been received. Today, I'll be making the November mini quilt for our monthly QAL at Sandy's Quilt Shop. I'll be taking it with me to the shop on Saturday, but I promise to share it with you first.

Happy Friday, y'all. I hope you have a creative day, too.