MAIL FROM MY AWESOME BLOG FRIENDS!

I swear that I am one of the luckiest bloggers in the whole craft blog world!!  I may have said that before, but it's true and here's why.....
I meet the nicest bloggers!  They even send me cool stuff!  This week, I received not one, but two awesome packages in the mail. Check it out:

Remember when I was fortunate enough to meet a blog friend for the very first time?  It was Loy, from Grandma Loy's Kitchen and I posted about our meeting HERE.  I first met Loy through a package pal exchange and I'm here to tell you I was stunned at the things she sent me.  You can read about that HERE.  Well, Loy happened to see a comment I'd left on another blog (Sweet Little Bluebird) about Honeycrisp Apples.  I had mentioned that I had never heard of them nor had I seen them around here.  Loy emailed me right away and said that she would send me some.  Sure enough a box of those beautiful apples arrived at my door, carefully packaged so they wouldn't get bruised.  Aren't they beautiful??  They are indeed as delicious as they look!  What a treat!  Thank you Loy, your friendship means so much to me!  I am so glad I met you in person!  Check out Grandma Loy's Kitchen for some really great recipes!  You won't be sorry, I've tried many of them myself....some more than once.  (She may or may not be responsible for a few of the pounds that Sam has put on over the summer!!)

Then....later this week, I got another package in the mail.  When my mail lady brought it to my door, she said, "This looks like a fun package!", and it did!

Now really, who takes the time and trouble to cute up the front of a mailing package???  I'll tell you who.......the same person who takes the time to make the inside packages look cute too......and it's someone that many of you already know....

that would be Donna from Distressed Donna Down Home.  If you don't know her, you should check her out.  She makes awesome stuff!  I featured her HERE.  I first heard from her back at the beginning of June when she left a comment on my blog.  We have been friends ever since with many, many emails passing between us.  We have so much in common, it's scary!  Anyway, I want to show you what was in those two packages.  The first one....

 Yeah...the coolest picture of 3 sheep with the cutest tag and ribbon attached.  Now Donna knows I love sheep, I would be raising them on my farm if Sam would do it for let me!  But, Donna also knows something that I love even more than sheep and that's Halloween!!

 Yep...she took that very same picture and Zombified it for a really cool Halloween picture!  Don't you love it!!  It's now my most favorite Halloween item EVER!!  And that cute packaging?  Well, being the crafter I am, I carefully saved it for use in some future project.  I can't help myself!

 I mean really...those cute owls on that card she made, the darling "Witch Academy" tag, some cool hounds tooth tissue and two strips of orange and white polka dot fabric....do they just not scream, "Craft Me!!!"???  But this is not the first nice thing Donna has done for me.  Nope.  Back last summer, when we lost our beloved dog, she emailed me and asked me if I would tell her my dogs name and said she would make a donation to her local shelter in his behalf.  Seriously, how kind is that?!  Sure enough, a little later I received this card in the mail...

 and inside it said this.....

 Yeah....I cried my eyes out at the kindness all over again!  But, brace yourselves readers, because she did one more thing for me that makes my heart smile.....

SHE TAUGHT ME TO STENCIL!!!!!

Now those of you who follow me know that I may have possibly said some bad words over the last year while trying to stencil and gave up every single time.  Donna, patiently and by email, gave me some stenciling lessons.  Here is my very first ever stencil project:

  Now that's just a teaser and I'm going to post the whole project later this week.  It may not look that fancy to you, and Lord knows she tried to get me to highlight it and I was too scared, but I have wanted to learn to stencil for years!!!  Giving stencil lessons through email to a complete novice, could not have been easy.  Thank you Donna!  Thank you for everything...the cool pictures, the kind donation in Winston's memory and the stencil lessons.  You are a cherished friend and I look forward to meeting you one day!

Now....you might think this is the end of my story, and it kind of is.  At least until my next package arrives, and I can't wait to see my mail lady's face when this one comes, because it's coming all the way from New Zealand and you can bet I'll be letting you know all about it!! (My mail lady is a great crafter by the way, but not a blogger....yet.)

The lesson of my post is this.....communicate with the people in your blog world!  They're not all going to send you packages, but they are wonderful people and they have a whole world about them that has nothing to do with blogging.  They are interesting, they are kind, they are supportive, they are compassionate and they are just plain fun!!  Take a chance, ask a question...or answer a question, sign up for a package exchange or guest post for someone...you never know where it will lead.   

Linking up to any or all of these fine parties: