Surprises in the Mail

There was a package on my door step today when I came home! I immediately knew it was for me for Spring Swap v.8! I literally dropped everything on the floor by the door and went looking for my scissor so I could open up this baby. 

And wow! There was not one, but two mug rugs! Sue at Beachgirl Sews was my secret partner and let me tell you she really spent some time spying on me and making something just for me.

Sue used reusable grocery bag from Trader Joe's as the envelope! I love Trader Joe's; what a creative idea.

Here is the first mug rug she made me. I am really into free motion echoing these flowers in black. Check out that butterfly! Those flowers scream spring and looking at them makes me smile.

This is just so me! Lime green and pink.... Ah! It's so perfect. Sue knows I like Drasden plate and yo yo's. The greeting card in the photo was handmade with fabric sewn onto it. I really like it :)

Okay, and there is more! Can you believe it!?!?

 Elegant pink and lime green charms for me to sew with! Here are some of my favorites.

I have both of these mug rugs hung on my walls in my sewing corner. There is no way I am going to put my dirty coffee mug on these! Sue: you are way too generous. Thank you for everything you included and for every second you spent learning about me and for making me these mug rugs. I will treasure them! 

By the way, my secret partner received the tulip mug rug I made her today as well. Happiness all around; that's the magic of secret swaps!

Mug Rug Round Eight - Spring Swap

I signed up for another round of swap for mug rug; this is one of my favorite Flickr groups. Everyone is so talented, engaging, and kind! I love seeing work people post, and the best part of all this is the joy of making something special for someone in mind. The theme for this swap is Spring, and my partner loves tulips. I decided to go with a simple look to feature this tulip.

It measures approximately 8"x8.5".

I used my precious Japanese taupe fabric as the background and made a ribbon with a fabric covered button. It's pinned onto the mug rug so the recipient can remove it easily. I forgot how to make fabric covered button and had to look up my own tutorial! Unbelievable... I also stamped a ladybug on the leaf.

Here you can see a closeup of this beautiful taupe fabric. I love the pattern.

Denyse Schmidt for the background and border.

I hope my partner will like this. Partner: If you are reading this and don't love it, please comment on Flickr, and I will make another one for you. Time to gather goodies to ship along with this!