What I Got From My Package Pal !!!

As I told you yesterday, I participated in the Package Pal exchange hosted by Jamie at C.R.A.F.T.

If you haven't tried this yet, you should!  Jamie does it every other month.  Just follow her and watch for her to announce it....then jump on it and respond....fast!  Only the first 100 people get to do it!

My package from my "pal" and good bloggy friend, Loy, (Grandma Loy's Kitchen.....go check it out) arrived yesterday and it was big and heavy!!

I could not hardly wait to open it!  I'm telling you it's like having Christmas in May!!

Here's what it looked like when I first opened it.  Loy is a sewing kind of girl and she teaches a quilting class, so although I didn't know what it was yet, that quilted thing on top with the cool chevron stripes in my favorite green color, was already awesome!!

Now, I just have to show you this and I have to say right here and now.....I L-O-V-E it! 

Feast your eyes on this handmade, quilted tote....

And right next to it there....she made me a really cute sewing kit with pockets inside AND a pin cushion.  (She must have caught my blog about my really ancient "tomato" pin cushion!!!  This one is much better!  Because she is a thrifty girl, she also sent me the leftover scraps to use and you just know I will!

Now I would have been perfectly happy if those things were all that was in the box, really.  Something handmade is always such a meaningful gift and I was so touched.  But.......

This is what was under that gorgeous tote and sewing kit!!!  I spread it all out on my table so that I could get a picture of it before I just dove into it.

Is that not a treasure trove or what????  Now....let me break it down for ya.....

There was a note in the box and it said that sadly, Loy's mother died last year and that she was a wonderful crafter in her own right.  Loy said she had saved some of her mother's things and thought that I might like to use them in my crafting.  I was sad, humbled, honored and grateful all at once.  How kind and thoughtful my friend Loy is.  The first thing that caught my eye were these two little critters:

Don't you just love them??!!  I'm not savvy enough to know exactly what kind of needlework this is, but I can tell a lot of work went into them and I already have a plan for that cute owl.  Speaking of owls, see that cute little charm of an owl sitting on the moon? There is NO WAY that Loy could have known that I collected owls when I was a child, but I did, and I still have some of my favorites!

This is a really nice 3 inch circle punch with scalloped edges.  I can see several projects right there!

These are some very cool "findings",at least that's what I call them.  Love that little rabbit (anyone who knows me knows I'm a bunny lover!) and that Mother-of-Pearl piece is actually a clasp.  I know I'll use the other pieces either in my jewelry crafting or as embellishments on some other craft.

But wait.......there's even more!!!!

Oh yes!! That's ribbon, lace, ric-rac and trim in all kinds of textures, colors and sizes!!  SCORE!!!

Every one of the above bags contains buttons!!  And they are sorted by color!!!  I love this woman!  There are some really cool, vintage buttons in there too!  I spent about an hour just looking at them.  I love buttons and I don't didn't have very many.  In fact, I was just down at my mother-in-laws last week asking her if she had any colored buttons.  She thought she did, but we didn't find them. (Don't stop looking Virginia.....I want yours too!!)

And...not one, but two fun craft books!! The one on the right is all NO-SEW projects and I can't wait to get into those to see what kind of inspiration they hold!

All of the items in that box will be put to good use Loy, I promise!  I thank you from the bottom of my heart!  And before I sign off here I'm going to give you a look at the back of that wonderful tote, because it's just as beautiful as the front!!

As much as I love everything in my package, the fact that I made a new friend is the best part of all!!