Advent Calendar Swap Sign-Ups!

Uh oh.. breaking bloggy rules today! BUT, I absolutely have a great excuse to be posting twice in one day.

Sarah from Notes from a Newlywed and I have partnered up to bring you all an ADVENT CALENDAR SWAP!

<div align="center"> <a href="http://missventrella.blogspot.com/2012/10/advent-calendar-swap-sign-ups.html" title="Advent Calendar Swap Button by ventrellasara, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8190/8141551302_e3d8a125c8_n.jpg" width="320" height="162" alt="Advent Calendar Swap Button"></a></div>

What's the swap all about? Well, let me tell ya! Sarah had the great idea to go forward with the Advent Calendar Swap and asked me to be the co-host. Of course I said yes because I absolutely LOVE the idea of making a hand-made advent calendar for another person to bring in the Christmas season! Here's the timeline we're shooting for for this swap:

October 31-November 9 {sign ups}
November 12 {partners assigned}
November 13-23 {get to know your partner & create the advent calendar!}
November 26 {mail day! mail out your calendar to your partner in time for December 1st}
December 17 {OPTIONAL link up here on the blogs!}

Below are some example advent calendars I found on Pinterest (yes, my addiction). I absolutely love each and every one and think they're all SO creative.

Tin Can advent calendar

Candy Wrapper advent calendar for each day!

Christmas Advent Calendar Cookie Sheet

Variety of Handmade Advent Calendar ideas

The possibilities for this are ENDLESS!

If you are interested in joining in the swap, and I hope that you are, please fill out the form below. Sarah & I are so happy to be able to bring this swap to you and we hope it has a great turn out!

ALSO: If you sign up, please make sure to go to my giveaway page by clicking the button on the bottom of this post and go to the 5th giveaway for the 31 bag - you get an extra 25 entries JUST for signing up for the swap!

Don't forget about the giveaway going on!

Have a good day, y'all!

I Made it For You {handmade craft swap}

Guess what, I participated in ANOTHER swap! This swap was just as good as all my others. I was paired with the ever so sweet Cheryl, who blogs at Spotted Around the School. She's probably the sweetest, most kind-hearted person I have ever met in my life!
Danielle from The Life of an "Ordinary" Wife and Libby from It's Never Too Late... Although I'm Always Late! partnered up to bring us the handmade craft swap. So I decided to make a few things for Cheryl.
But, I forgot to take pictures, so if you want to see them, head to her blog! But what I made... yeah. It didn't outshine what SHE made for ME. OH. MY. GOSH. I am in love with what she made for me! I told her my favorite things were Fall and the ocean/beach. So, what did she do? Made something in both categories!
First, she made this adorable fall hanging decoration that I could use during the Halloween season. It says, "FAITH - FAMILY - FRIENDS" and has a little crow at the top. Did I mention, she wrote on and painted AND decorated each of the things ON HER OWN? Uh, creativity!!

But that's not it.. she also sent me a jar filled with sand from Isle of Palms in South Carolina. Inside that jar was a baggie of shells. Now, if you know me, no matter what beach I go to, I HAVE to find shells. I'm obsessed with shells. So anyways, not only did she include sand and shells, she painted on the sides of the glass, "SAND... SUN... FUN!" How cute is she?!

Cheryl, thank you SO much. You were a perfect swap partner and are so kind, caring, and sweet! I absolutely love what you made for me and cannot wait to move to put them up! I think the hanging decoration is going to go on our front door while the jar will go in my bathroom as decoration :) I cannot wait! 
Again, if you have the chance to participate in a swap, DO IT. You will not regret it one bit!
Have a great day, y'all!

Craft Swap - Give Someone A Happy Mail Day

First, let me tell you. I had THE best swap partner I could have ever gotten. Her name is KC and she blogs at Bits and Pieces. Before you even move on, you should probably go ahead and go follow her - you will NOT regret it. She also tweets @kcbitspieces - we've had a few twitter chats here and there.

Anyway, we participated in the swap put on by Paige at Artsy Anthropology. This was a craft swap, so I decided to make this for KC!

It's a wreath with a woodpecker and an owl. The two white pieces of felt say "Knock, knock!" and "Who's there?" - get it? Because a woodpecker knocks while an owl says whooo :)

But, then I opened her package and BAM. I got lucky!

She made me THREE different things AND sent me some of her favorite types of teas. Basically, she went above and beyond for me! Lucky, huh?!

The first thing she made was a headband that is brown, white, and blue. I absolutely love it and I think it's adorable. The colors mesh perfectly and they're very calming. Then, she also made some splatter paint canvases for me - in my favorite colors! Blue, yellow, and gray. Perfect. Finally, she made a bracelet with yellow and brown beads. AND it's a bracelet that I can take off and on to match with my outfit, which is perfect.

They are all beautiful things that I know she put her hard work and love into. I know exactly where the paintings are going to go when we move, so I just need to move so I can get them put up! As for the other two, they'll be worn when I wear the colors, definitely!

Thank you SO much, KC, for my fantastic swap items. I love them so much and I cherish them. And I'm so happy that I was partnered with you and got to meet you! You are the best!

The next time you have an opportunity to participate in a swap, DO IT. Yes, there's always some kind of financial contribution to be put into it (if you don't already have things on hand), but you can meet someone as kind and sweet and fun as KC. So my advice, participate!

Have a good day, y'all!