Me and Mrs. Jones ...

... got a thing going on. That thing was a swap and I already got my loot. I am so happy with it, too!

Now I hope Mrs. Jones will be as happy as me soon and won't send her very own battle cats after me.

Just look at this. It's a loomed needle case in lovely shades of blue (can you see the 006, my very favorite color, gunmetal AB?), much more beautiful than in the picture. It's so dark and foggy here at the moment that not even the daylight lamps seem to be up to the challenge, much less the lady behind the lens.

On the back is my initial, so I won't be tempted to give the case away in a sudden bout of generosity (yeah, right, dream on, people, this is mine, mine, MINE!), and inside there's a bead mat and some needles.

Are you jealous?

To spoil me even more, Mrs. Jones included this cute kitty keyring with a tag saying Cat on one side and Catrin on the other.

I'm not sure if she has the slightest idea how much she really made my day with her parcel!!!

The tenth door

Gifts for Christmas don't always have to be a big thing. Little things, sometimes even a special card, a flower, can do the trick as well and bring just as much joy.
From Scandinavia comes the tradition of Julklapp which is supposed to be the origin of other traditions like Secret Santa or as we call it in Germany "Wichteln". It means exchanging little gifts without knowing who your gift is from.

And then of course there are the swaps in the creative community. It's fun to exchange handmade gifts (not always that little as you will see in a moment).
We did a Christmas swap on Plurk recently and this week my parcel arrived. So exciting, especially when I saw who it was from!

Let me introduce Robyn from Jewelled Trellis. Robyn - World. World - Robyn.
And now let me make you jealous with my new pieces of jewelry. Yes, I asked before opening them if I should wait until Christmas.

These earrings are perfect for winter, don't you think? I'll have to watch out, so no Snow Queen will steal them from me.


The next pair feels like a promise of spring to me. It will be back and so will be the swallows who are carrying these pretty hearts.


Drum roll for my very first own piece of chainmaille!! I love how flexible it is!


If you are duly jealous now, you might want to take a look at Robyn's studio, there's much more, believe me ...

And Robyn, thank you so, so much!