Advent mail and a lesson.

This is the advent mail I've received from my swap partner Jolanda. It made me a bit sad to say the least. Maybe I've cried a little as well. Since I've made such an effort in my advent swap thing, it made me really sad that I received this package. The wrapping was terrible. Full of sticky tape, not just a little, but a lot of sticky tape! Well, I'm not going to lie about it, and say something nice about the wrapping, I can't.

Really cool postage stamps were totally ruined due to all the sticky tape. Therefore the postoffice had to use twice as much ink to stamp it. Such a waste, would have been so nice to have kept them.

After using scissors to try and get all the wrapping off, this is what I've found inside. I felt even more sad.

I had to totally destroy the box to even open it. Goodbye Christmas feeling.

And when I've finally reached the inside this is what I've found. I probably sighed. How could I keep this all together? The box was ruined. I even got a bit cross, it looked like there was no effort been taken at all. And it was the first, and hopefully the last time, that I decided to mail my swap partner that I was really disappointed. She replied that she did make an effort. And then suddenly I realised that maybe my standards are a bit higher than most (due to my art school background) and making an effort means something different to different people. Well, that's a lesson for me.

So I threw away the ruined box, found an empty tangerine box, took off all the stickers I could from the ruined box and stuck them on the tangerine box. Well, this way it looked way more appealing and I could finally start to appreciate the advent swap.

Advent mail to Majella

On a Facebook page about snailmail, someone wanted to do an advent swap. Make 12 items and buy 12 items with a total worth of 10€. First I didn't want to join in, way to busy! But then I got so inspired that I've joined anyway. I got hooked up with Majella (who organised it by the way). And someone else would make me an advent calender. This is what I've made for Majella.

I had this idea to make something with brown bags and labels. It took a while before I've found a place where they would sell these bags to individuals, and when I found such a place I got sick and couldn't get to that place. Well, finally they arrived through mail since I really wanted them so much! Because the whole thing is in the same style, it's pleasant and calming to the eye and it creates a sense of uniformity.

I've made labels with stamps and round pieces of Kraft paper and I used a red tie around each bag. You're not supposed to peek! At Christmas time I'll post what I've made for Majella, had a lot of fun doing it anyway!

Sinterkerst voor Bianca

For Bianca I've made a Sinterkerst mail! Over here we have a commercial from a telecom provider that always makes me laugh. It's about some rich people who got poor but still want to live rich. So they just celebrate Sinterklaas, Christmas (kerst) and New Years eve all in one! That's so funny I thought I'd make a combined mail for Bianca. She had sent me this really cute pink and green box some time ago with this really cute crocheted hedgehog. And since it's the end of the year, why not make a bit of an effort. New Years resolutions are for the new year.

The mail consisted of two packages. A Sinterklaas package and a Christmas package. Two mails in one! And a letter, since what is mail without a letter.

This was in the Sinterklaas package. Lots of Sinterklaas crafty stuff. A traditional chocolate letter with the letter B from Bianca. Some red and white ribbon, red and white hearts, labels, stickers (inside the envie), a dress up Sinterklaas and a note from Sinterklaas (no not really ofcourse, but during this time of year we send notes to one another in name of Sinterklaas, like you do with Santa).

The dress up Sinterklaas was maybe a bit childlike but it's kinda funny! Well I think anyway.

Then I've wrapped the chocolate letter and the other stuff into two presents which I then wrapped into another piece of wrapping paper. Unwrapping is just so cool! Just like when you are a kid, when you get a bit anxious to see what is inside on your birthday or at the night when all the presents arrive at Sinterklaas!

Inside the Christmas present were these white bags with red labels on them made with my really cool Motex letter writer thing. It said: a white Christmas, a vintage Christmas, a red Christmas, a chique (really fancy French word for classy) Christmas and a colourful Christmas.

These white bags were so fitting! Glad I ordered those! Inside was a lot of Christmas stuff!

A red Christmas.

A chique Christmas.

A vintage Christmas.

A white Christmas.

A colourful Christmas.

My origami stars came out great! I've made them when I was lying sick on the couch, gave me something to do besides social media :-)

Knitting, I've tried it.

Last week my friend and I did a workshop knitting. But not just any knitting! Christmas ball knitting like Arne and Carlos! They are like the knitting champions. So we thought we'd give it a go. A lot of real fanatic knitters at the workshop and me and my friend. She turned out to be quite all right at this knitting thing. Me however, I was a right disaster! Whilst the fanatic knitters just knitted away and finished it in no time at all, I was still knitting in row 10 or something and even managed to lose some stitches. I was really good at that though! I was really brilliant at being terrible at knitting! It's just not for me. I've tried it though, cause I had this idea to send all my snailmail friends a handknitted christmas ball this christmas, but in the speed of my knitting, that would be christmas in the year 2025. I'm real jealous of all those easy going knitting ladies. Maybe I should try crochet. But that would be a "must do" for next year.